False dawn

A medic will issue a certificate based on what the rider tells him. Given that X-ray facilities are not available, the medic has no choice but to believe what is being said. I would suggest that comments made at the time with reference to the track and subsequent events i.e. the guest appearance the next day had a lot to do with Buster's decision.

So if Peterborough is rained off.... and Rye can't go back on their announcement to use RR... can Chris Harris guest for BV?

Thanks. I'm glad you cleared that up. I'm obviously alone in thinking that a rearrangement of an August fixture, possibly critical to the playoffs, moved back in April, should lead to a Premiership club appearing without a senior rider. Well my opinion, for what it's worth, is that this is daft. Perhaps Peterborough could be persuaded to release one of it's riders. A few bob might do it..

No. And to fail to reach the semis on 8 is rare. Bartosz Zmarzlik in Prague Martin Vaculik in Daugavpils and.... Tai in Krsko And if you think that's bad. Tai got 7 in Prague. Which of itself may not warrant further consideration except for the fact that Piotr Pawlicki made the semis with a score of 6 in Mallila. One race can still turn the championship!

So the match at BV tomorrow is a re-arranged fixture? I looked in the fixture list and couldn't see the original staging being postponed. Oh well

Am I being a bit dense? It wouldn't be the first time and I apologise for my lack of understanding. Chris Harris signed for Rye House during the winter, before Christmas if my ageing head isn't failing me. He expressed a wish to double up but it wasn't until some months into the season that Peterborough took him on. Therefore, if I understand the rules, Rye get priority in the event of a fixture clash. What gives?

So we're debating whether Chris Holder should get a wild card for next year are we? Am I missing something? There are 4 rounds left in this year's championship. Chris is 14 points behind 8th place and should be thinking, "I can more than make that up". And if you want some perspective on what this thread is really about. Chris is only 7 points ahead of Greg with the benefit of scoring in 3 more rounds. Think on.

Injuries, the KK factor (?), home advantage or otherwise, down right bloody minded effort. There is a way to go just yet. And thank heavens it is so. Come into the playoffs 20 points behind and win the lot. Sound familiar? Clue Poole won't like it and I'm a Bees fan (present tense).

That's a shame because I, for one, would be interested. I do believe, however, there might be considerable interest in some of the costs involved. The base cost of an engine. A typical service. The cost of parts made from exotic materials such as titanium. Tuning. If we all knew just what a racing budget looked like (even if some of it was guesswork), there might more of a push to lower costs and put speedway on a more sensible business footing in this country. It is now explicitly outlawed within the SCB's Speedway Regulations: "10. MOTORCYCLE (Solos) TECHNICAL STANDARDS.... 10.9 Carburettors, without any electronic devices fitted, only can be used; i.e. no Fuel Injection." But I don't know about the past. I bet there was a time when the rules didn't cover this and somebody tried it.

Be careful. If your riders are over 40, there are those that reckon they don't deserve a place on our sport.

They did when Egon turned up on a GM and won the World Champs

A one minute warning for restarts has been a hobby horse of mine for many seasons. We've stopped riders going back to the pits. But hell, if you follow the Tomasz Gollob two minute regime, you can change the rear wheel, alter the wheel base and change the engine timing between starts. And then, still change bikes before the time runs out. No disrespect to Tomasz, given his serious injuries, but he was a past master at this.

I remember the year when the modern laydowns were banned by the British leagues on cost grounds. I went to Hull with a lot other fans to see Sam and Simon W riding theirs in an invitation event. People were fascinated by the technology. I guess it depends on the fans!

Laydowns in the 1920's? http://www.cybermotorcycle.com/archives/speedwaybikes/mckevoy.htm Don't tell me riders haven't been chasing that technological genie since we took road bikes and went racing. Even the discussion isn't new!!! http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=46346&page=1

You don't remember Jawa vs JAP? Jawa vs Weslake. Everyone vs The Neil Street 4 valve? Jawa vs the 4 valve Weslake? The 4 valve Jawa vs everyone? Are you kidding?

Jason has to learn that winning a multi round championship, takes more than being faster than everyone else most of the time. Don't be in the wrong place at the wrong time and if things don't go your way, don't throw your teddies out, accept you did something wrong and get on with it. He has turned me off several times, at league meetings and elsewhere (*). Better men than he have accepted defeat with much better grace. Just because he's "supposed to be World Champion" doesn't make it happen. There's more to being a champion than speed and desire. Jason doesn't need a sport's coach or a better tuner. But a personality tuck might not come a miss. *For example: He came to Brandon as the Leicester No.1. In his last ride he was excluded, harshly even in my opinion. But then when Leicester won the meeting, he did not join his team mates on the lap of honour. I have experienced two similar examples of poor behaviour. This will bite him.

Not sure about your suggestions (all worthy)....... But I would ditch the TR option and reintroduce the old TS rule. Also give the losing side (6+ points) choice of gates until they are less than 6 behind.

It is a matter of record that I have no issue with Jack Holder. However, his absence from the fours (or should we now call it the three's?) remains a matter of some concern. Had Peterborough missed out in the final, there would have been those that said, "Serves you right". My view is that Peterborough's final placing was irrelevant to this discussion. You can't justify the decision regarding Jack by the end result. There are higher principles at stake here. British speedway is a pale shadow of where it once was. But we are hopefully still above simple profit motives. There is honour in victory and defeat. There is a trust between club leadership, the riders and the fans. You meddle with these fundamental ideas at your peril.

Hey, I'm a student of averages and statistics. Mr Shovlar and others have accused me of predicting the future based on past form. A dubious attempt at best, in their opinion. But sometimes the numbers don't lie. Yes, there are still no guarantees, but they do indicate a likely outcome. Given a big enough sample, the statistical significance of a set of numbers will give us a likely outcome. My "off the cuff" prediction tonight was no such thing. The numbers suggested such a result could happen and that, actually, it was overdue. It still may not have happened and I could have said nothing and hoped no one noticed. But check the records. I haven't made many predictions and especially one so outlandish. I'm cock-a-hoop Leicester pulled off the win but it was on the cards. Trust me, my daughter's a doctor.

It would not have changed my view one jot.

Oo, I think you should talk to Poole and how they guaranteed a victory over our Bees in the play off finals a while back. The fireworks and champagne were quite memorable.

That's a big leap. "For you" suggests I'm a Leicester fan. Nigel would turn in his grave. In the 70's when I couldn't get home to Brandon every week, I was able to get to Blackbird Road. I did, of course, always shout for the opposition. Leicester are the auld enemy. But I am a proper speedway fan. Be it National League or the Ekstraliga I enjoy a good race between committed competitors. Leicester deserved their win tonight. BV are a first class side but they had an off night and Leicester were at their best. The joy of the unpredictable eh? (unless one foresaw what was going to happen!)

In all seriousness, I said to my wife after about heat 2, "I wish we were at BV tonight". I just had a strange feeling that this was going to be a cracker and that Leicester were going to produce a surprise. Danny King and Josh Bates were at their best. Kim Nilsson was below par. Considering those facts and Leicester ran RR for Pawel, you could have expected a home win. But that didn't allow for Lasse having his best meeting of the year, bar none. His 3 paid 4 from his first two rides were par for the course. 4 straight wins after that were exceptional by anyone's standards. Paid 16 deserves praise indeed.

Greatness is transient. There have been (not many) riders that for a while have been unbeatable. I remember Ole having a purple patch when he was at Coventry. He went everywhere and it was big news if he dropped a point. One trophy after another, league racing was a guaranteed maximum in every meeting. Almost boring. But it didn't last. Was he less of a champion after that? No, of course not. But absolutely imperious, no. The difference between really good and jaw droppingly great is very small. But PC at his best, Bruce, Ivan, and a small handful of others at their best have experienced that feeling of invincibility, What must that be like?

Depends on how good your crystal ball is!