False dawn

Josh had been beaten by Dan Bewley. Brady had been beaten by Dan Bewley, Steve Worrall and Max Fricke. Jack had been beaten by Max and Scott (not to mention his own team mate, twice). I think the meeting was in the balance, however you look at it.

Perhaps Leicester can talk nicely to Charles Wright tonight.

You are quite right, of course. But if you take a big enough sample, the influence of one gate over another will begin to emerge.

We can debate the pros and cons of qualifying. For me, the focus is now starting to move to where it should be. Just what makes one gate better than any other? Last year, 10 of the 23 heats were won from gate 3. Unacceptable in my view and I ask, "what was so good about gate 3?". Well this year, something quite different happened. There was a total of 2 points scored from gate 3 in the first 8 heats. Two contrasting sets of statistics which should raise some questions. But worse still. A late significant "track grading" suddenly changed the picture completely. In the last round of qualification races, 3 out of 4 of the heats were won from gate 3. It was quite clear that this track (as well as any, in my opinion) could be prepared to make all 4 gates fair. Oh, I know the characteristics of gate 4 and to a lesser extent gate 3 do evolve as these are on the racing line. But grade the gates. Men with rakes. It ain't rocket science.

But, as someone has pointed out elsewhere, we have, sort of, replaced the old lottery draw for a new one. Why not give the lowest scorer from the previous GP, first pick of his qualification slot. At least we'd avoid any worries about manipulation. And before you say the lowest scorer would obviously go first, the first 3 GPs don't support that assumption. Warsaw being the most obvious example where Matej Zagar was fastest, having gone out 8th.

Thank you moomin man 76. A thoroughly illuminating report on a meeting of great interest to many fans. I wish I'd cancelled my other commitments and gone now. The nerdy analysis shows that there was no significant advantage to any of the gates and the race times were quite comparable to the track record. Despite the obvious speed of races generally, your report and others show that there was a goodly amount of overtaking. It sounds like Glasgow deserve a huge pat on the back. The importance of this meeting cannot be overstated in world championship terms. Riders career aspirations can hinge on track preparation alone. I'm sure the FIM won't have missed the quality of this presentation and will hopefully assign future meetings to the same promotion.

Interesting rule question. It appears that it's clear that you can't ride without gloves. Someone said to me on Sunday at Leicester when wet shale was a problem to everyone but the race leader, that riding without goggles was against the rules also, despite some riders pulling them off during whilst racing. Can anyone confirm this please?

Interesting slant. It will certainly take some quick thinking based on the choices made by riders ahead of you in the process. Maybe riders will concentrate on just a small number of their opponents as the championship develops. As one of the riders pointed out in interview, even the gate choice wasn't that much of an advantage since the riders don't go from the gate(s) in practice. I still think I'd tend to go out in heat 4 as my first ride since you can at least see any obvious track problems or advantages from watching the first three. An early conclusion for me, is that it's probably too early to tell if there is any advantage based on qualification position.

Is it permissible to return to the subject of this topic? I note that the top 7 riders in qualifying, all finished outside the top 7 in the GP scores. Working down the qualification list, all the riders from 8th downwards (including those not there) "improved" their position. To put it another way, the top scorers and their qualifying positions were: Patryk Dudek 10th Fredrik Lindgren 11th Niels-Kristian Iversen 8th Leon Madsen 9th Bartosz Smektala 12th Bartosz Zmarzlik "16th" Antonio Lindback 13th Based this rather limited statistical sample, it doesn't look like qualifying well, necessarily leads to the best final score.

Well I'm not glad to knocked out in the first round. But I do work hard to gather statistics and facts surrounding each round. So this is one less thing to think about. And if you believe that analysis, you don't know me. Good luck to all the players still in. Which I note, doesn't even include the bookie himself (!!?!??). That, at least, makes me feel slightly better.

Speedway always has been and remains a rare sport indeed. And I'm not referring to the racing spectacular that we all appreciate. I refer to the "family" nature of the sport. I'm sure there are other sports that have a similar look and feel on the terraces, or wherever you spectate. But we should cherish that friendly environment and me taking my boy with me is but an extension of that. Lenny will leave you alone and won't disturb your enjoyment, so why shouldn't I take him with me? He doesn't like being ignored because he's a very friendly chap. But feel free to take no notice of his presence. For my part, if the promotion permit me take him with me, i will continue to do so. Not to spite anyone, but because I enjoy his company.

And the downside for Kolodziej, Doyle, Fricke and Lindback will be that their bikes will be on track for the first time tomorrow night. I quote (from many live meetings, videos, DVDs and conversations with riders) "The track is nothing like it was in practice". As the sport's leading bookie, are you telling me you're worried by anything you saw in practice? [You and I have lived long enough to know better]

So, given there's no Magic (except in my predictions): £100 less Antonio Lindback £100 more Martin Vaculik

Till Hell freezes over eh? Have you seen the forecast?

I'm slightly confused (an increasing problem!). If I fathom the facts properly, Tai was "excluded" from this new qualifying procedure due to a Polish commitment (?). A bit disappointing, since this is the World Championship, after all. But he was elsewhere (for whatever reason) and he ends up in heat 4 as his first appearance. Therefore he's able to judge track conditions and the best lines etc. from heats 1-3 and gets gate 3 twice, which last year was one race worse than the best gate, gate 1. Given that "penalty" (???) I think I might take the £1000+ a point in a Polish league match. Or am I just a cynic?

I just thought that the TS in heat 7 was a strange choice. No argument in using Scotty, he was obviously on fire. But Ryan was far from the weakest Leicester rider on show, even at that point in proceedings. You have one shot. Use it well. And if you lose by 1 point, expect some clever hindsight analysis. So, I'm not pretending to be clever. But I do think Scott could have been used better and who knows, we could have won.

The Thompsons were sensibly fast, if there is such a thing. What I mean is that they weren't silly fast but they both showed determination from the gate and they both attacked the corners. Impressive indeed. But let us not forget the rest of the team, not least of which was Ellis Perks scoring a 15 point maximum. 12 race winners and 9 heat advantages also tell their own story. And the number of last places is even more telling. A good start to the season and hopefully one that mirrors the senior team's solid start. As a Leicester fan, the future looks bright Pity, I'm from Coventry.

£100 less Magic £100 less Antonio Lindback

Well I have to say that I spent a very pleasant afternoon, yesterday, with my wife and dog, Lenny at Leicester Speedway. The staff on the gate and several stewards were very welcoming and Lenny made several new friends (he just loves people but he couldn't eat a whole one, ugh). Seriously, I know not everyone agrees with the concept of dogs at speedway, but Lenny was (as always) a model of good behaviour and was given many admiring looks from passing fans from both teams. Having all but finished my list of tracks that do and don't accept dogs (see 1st post on this thread), I'm heartened by the numbers that do. Thanks to all those who helped in the compilation of this information.

That was a discounted price. The price was 7s 6d which converted to 37½p on decimalisation. However the half pence was discontinued in 1984 and the price of the licence reduced to 37p. Why am I telling you all this?

Do you know? I don't care what we're talking about. Those 2 sentences are more telling than anything I've read on here in a long time, maybe since I joined the forum in 2001. Yes 2001. When we debated sensibly about tracks, riders even Norbold's Hole. I'm heartened by your contribution. There's hope.

It's funny really. I'm a homeless Bees fan trying to get used to supporting the old enemy, Leicester. Well Scott and Josh ease the pain a bit. But I'm listening to rider interviews (from both sides) saying how Beaumont Leys is a trick track and how hard it is to get "dialled in". I've been around since the 70's and Arena aside, Eastbourne has always been the fortress. You go there and if you come away less than 20 down you count yourself lucky. So to go into heat 15 with a chance was an achievement. To have a rider who everyone KNOWS is over the hill pressing for the lead was beyond expectation. For sure, what happened to Richard Lawson was less than lucky. But he was under pressure and that played a hand. To leave with the points is reminiscent of championship years with the Bees. A good team? Yes. Lucky? Yes. Both? well maybe and if so it's priceless.

Maybe I'm getting old (no maybe about it David) but I can't differentiate between the white and yellow helmets this year

You're not wrong. But Hans has been round the block more than once (he did it with us once at Brandon). He has to dig in and score 5 or 6. The pictures of him on TV tonight suggested something different. A rider in crisis, doing daft stuff at the gate, possibly blaming his pit crew and not looking at ease at all. He's better than that. I know, he's ridden for my side. I know time moves on but his experience at all levels up to World level should be enough to bring him through this. Anyway, I'm not having a go. Well done Peterborough for getting that close, scoring a league point and contributing to good TV.

P.S. please don't fall out about something this trivial. The sport retaining the "odd" fan who wants to bring his dog to meetings has got to be less important than say, a corporate giant trying to destroy an iconic venue or our sport facing total collapse before I pop my clogs.