greyhoundp

Its sad to see jason has declined the opportunity, he would certainly get in amongst them, but as i understand it, the ACU only give minimal amounts towards the costs involved, for instance I heard one of the riders who took part last year, had expences of £800 and the ACU gave £200 towards this, added to which there is the possible loss of earnings in the UK. Cant fault the riders for wanting to gain experience though, and i am sure they will all give it there best, and good luck to them.

Well done to the 2013 British Under 21 Champion, Robert Branford, rode steadily and gated well during the qualifying Heats, got caught napping by Ash Morris in his 4th ride, but i think this gave him a kick up the backside, because in the Semi Final he was last around bends 1 & 2, but passed both Sarj & Ash between the narrowest of gaps, and went on to win, In the Final he gated and went, and left the others to fight out the minor places, Chopper you should be proud of him, Rob said himself he was a little bit shocked to win but he deserved it on the night. Garrity was unbeatable in his qualifying races, but messed up at the start in the Final, Kyle only beaten by Jason was comfortably 2nd in qualifying, Ash was steady throughout, and had a hard first race fall which didnt help him, unluckiest rider on the night had to be Stefan Nielsen had E/Fs in his first three rides, and probably the luckiest was young matty bates, he had an horrendous looking 1st race fall, just missing the support post as he went over/through the air fence. An enjoyable meeting but the track didnt lend itself to much passing, the outside line just wasnt there, again well done to all the riders, and no serious injuries. I have to say i agree with your sentiments, about the format Shadders, however Rob did what he had to in the Final, and won that race deservedly. With regards PL places they are British, so for whatever reason the odds are stacked against them, its about time the powers that be, backed British riders, however you can see it in the workplace now, None Brits getting jobs, and offering to do overtime at ordinary rates, its no wonder bosses love em, Unions fought for the rights and wages over time, and now they are being eroded by Non Brits, who share 8 people in a 2 bedroom house, so therefore dont have the costs Brit families have, so can afford to work for these rates. jeez Shadders you set me off on a rant there.

Shadders you will enjoy it, Im sure. The sun is still shining, if they have the Track right there will be some good racing, and i cant for the life of me see you having any serious mishap. The noisier element tend to be on the right hand side as you look out from the Grandstand, the more reserved types prefer to be on the left coming off the fourth bend, and the left hand steps of the Grandstand. I will leave you to judge where i will be.

Buxton do a wonderful job for speedway, in a beutiful if remote location, and therein lies the problem, I have suggested before ways that it may be possible to raise money, ie Training weekends with Static caravans to hire, that for me must be a possible way to subsidise the NL Team, and when not being used for training, then there is the Stock Cars next door, so to advertise a Sporting weekend with Speedway and Stocks could possibly be a way forward. keep it up Jayne, i will be up there soon with the Heathens mob, make sure that the burger bar is fully stocked you know what the moaners are like, and order some sunshine plz.

Well here 5 miles from the Track its a lovely sunny morning, should be a cracker with a full house expected. Likely winners i cant really see past Howarth and Garrity with Perry as the chief threat, and Nielsen and Morris as the spoilers, Garrity should win if he doesnt beat himself, and if the Track is prepared for racing we are in for a treat, looking forward to see how DG and Cleggy go in such a big meeting, and in front of a partizan home support. Good luck to all the riders, and stay safe. Admission is £11 quid adults, £8 quid concessions and i think £2 or free for kids i cant remember exactly, plenty of parking, and its available in the streets around the Stadium.

Yep, pleased to see they have signed Rob, it undoubtably strengthens them up, Robs on a good average which he should improve on, unlucky for Trevor heath but he has struggled a little, but an opportunity now for Tommy Fenwick.

works for me chopper, Rob rode well, probably unlucky not to be selected for heat 15, it was pretty much a gaters and 1st & 2nd bend track on friday, though there was some passing, what i meant was if they didnt overtake on the 1st or 2nd bend then the riders such as Sarj, JJ, Rob, Starkey, Blacky, all comfortably held 1st place, looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow night, he just needs to sharpen up that gating a little, ready for tomorrow.

I thought it was for roynon and Clegg .Isherwood for perry, and greaves for white williams, no its debatable who was for who, except down at reserve.

Yes, i was pleased to see the Pits gate closed, so that riders cant go back to the pits,if there was a false start,that habit of going back is a pain in the backside, and ALL tracks should keep pits access closed, until a race is over, i will make sure i visit Coventry as often as i can, when work allows it, because this project deserves to succeed, and at a Tenner a time is value for money.

Yeah, a good meeting, and a good crowd for a NL meeting, i would estimate 500+, some close racing and a very close result, which considering the overall trophy was decided after the first leg, it was good to see on both counts, yes there was a large Heathens following, but there were fair number of Coventry fans there, for me the meeting winner was Paul Starke, impeccable out of the gate, and unfortunate to have an ef at the gate in one ride, for Coventry, once Brendan and Richard have sorted out there machine gremlins, they should be fairly difficult to beat at Brandon, and a promising start for Storm, for The heathens, again a good all round performance, well done to all the riders, of both Teams. I forgot to mention, if it was Chris,s first night on the centre green mic, then i would never have guessed it, he is more than welcome at Monmore whenever Porky cant make it .

Something similar with Ben, and Jack i guess just retired from the sport, which was a pity because he had loads of potential.

Well bearing in mind someone who saw the team way back months ago, said it was a league winning Team, at the moment it isnt, but there is one rider who could turn it into that, Im saying the rider who wasnt at the P&P is the rider that will be announced, whenever it is deemed the time is right. Nikko you have done a great job in keeping interest alive, and continue to do a fantastic job in promoting The Kings in your locality.

Nice to see some Track action at last, and The Heathens have this sewn up, no way back for The Storm in the 2nd leg, For The Heathens NO weak links, and they will only get better as the season goes on, i will only comment on the newcomers; Gareth very impressive from the gate, and rode a good line, Starkey same as Gareth, and rides a very good line around monmore, The beast from the east Lewi was up for it, and is determined to win the crowd over, seems a character which we need, Cleggy can only improve with more experience of monmore, his heat 11 blast round the outside had a few spectators with there hearts in there mouths, but well done son, Nath again more experience of monmore is needed, but has a nice style, will need to learn there are four laps to pass someone, not just do it all in 1 lap, but then thats a 15 year old for you. On this showing, the Heathens will take some beating around Monmore, i can only see Dudley South giving them a run for there money, definate play off material, League winners ?, that depends very much on who improves, and on that note i will add, Dan, Max, and Nathan can, should, and will improve on this showing, but admitedly tougher tests lie ahead. The Storm, 2 Heat winners all night should tell you where this was won and lost, JJ, Sarj and Olly all slightly dissapointing, Richie needs to sort out his bikes, Brendon showed again monmore isnt his favourite track, Trevor was on the pace, and Martin improved as the meeting went on, i guess they were dissapointed with the final scoreline, but this was the season opener. The track rode well, crowd was about average on a cold night, made worse by a bitterly cold wind, god knows why we had an interval, maybe to freeze us even more.

Cant for the life of me see The Heathens losing this one, the Heat leaders are closely matched, Franklin should score his usual 5 or 6, Brendon has never really gone well at Monmore, so i see The Heathens 2nd strings just edging there counterparts, but at reserve i cant see Storm reserves worrying The Heathens 6/7 at all. I dont normally do forcasts but a minimum 10 point win for the Heathens, should be the order of the day. Anyone got any weather forcasts, up until now today has been dull and coldish, cant remember when we last had any rain, snow yes, but not rain. Good luck to both Teams and stay safe.

Not withstanding any injuries, this team is nailed on for the play offs, Tom Pom is as good a No1 as any, Byron and Ben are solid 7/8 pointers with odd double figures, Darryl if he has decent equipment can be fast, and in Adam Ellis, you have a real trump card at reserve, should be unbeaten at home,with 2/3 away wins will see you through to the play offs. good luck to my 2nd favourite Team, and that was even before you signed a few ex Heathens.

Its not solely about reduced admission, maybe promoters could have graded entrance costs, ie £16 versus Poole, and £12 versus BV, for Me £10 for PL and £12 for EL is the going rate for the current product, but also the product needs to be improved, and ALL kids under 15, should be free, they are Speedways future, and as someone else has said, usually only the gate money goes to the Speedway, apart from maybe The Car Parking charges.

Nice anniversary win by Smartie, and Kyle did well also, bodes well for Stokes season,if these two have good seasons.

I am sure it will be who I expect .

Malcolm. it is still a very sore point with a lot of Heathens fans, i doubt any would agree with you on this one, but as we are only a small minority of British Speedway fans, then i guess as a democracy we should concede. Im pretty sure the usual number of Heathens fans will converge on Mildenhall this sunday, weather permitting, and it should be a very close encounter.

Almost correct Phil we did manage to beat you in The National Shield, so Mildenhall were almost Grand Slam winners.

For me, this Rebels side has the potential to be league Champs, providing they stear clear of injury, every Rebel has the potential to improve, and down at reserve they have to talented young english riders, with vastly different styles In Tom Pom you have a Chris Harris type rider, he cant gate, but he sure gives it everything to get past, and in Stefan Nielsen you have a rider with a smooth style, who once in front takes some catching, he also aint afraid to mix it, Im sure you Rebels will enjoy watching him this year, once again your management have picked a plum from the NL.

Hmmm, and who amongst others was practising at Rye House today, was it the Kings No 6 or is he to be The No7, to be honest for me its a foregone conclusion that Robert will be in the Kings Team, what is of much more interest is who will be the 7th rider ? Marc Owen is he fit ?, because if the remaining 2 riders are Marc Owen and Robert Lambert, then this years NL title will be a pretty interesting dog fight, with Kent Kings, IOW, Stoke, Dudley, and Mildenhall, all battling it out for a Top four spot, and Rob Branford sitting on the sidelines without a Team spot, whats the betting that Rob has a Team by the end of May. No i dont mean Kent, Im guessing the first Team out of Stoke, Dudley or Mildenhall who look like failing to make the play offs, will look to make changes to resurect there hopes.

Im guessing that at least one of the remaining riders will be announced around about, a certain riders Birthday, and if it is who i expect, the The Kings will be up there.

Now really the mind boggles "Flashing" at a Greyhound Track? hahaha, its to be hoped that were Tony Two Laps to contemplate doing his "other" passion over say One lap, as a fund raiser, with greyhounds chasing or chewing LOL, he would wear at least a mankini, Plz do it while The Rabble of The Heathens are in Town, any way good luck guys for 2013.

Royno, hasnt been replaced, indeed he is ireplacable, Tom hasnt been replaced, Blackbird for Bekker may well be like for like, Ritchings was at reserve for most of the season, so Max replaces Dazza, which basically leaves Gareth Isherwood and Paul Starke replacing Royno and Tom pom. I still think it will be closer than you think. Olly Greenwood, Sarj and JJ are more than a match for our Top 3, they could even have the edge on us, at reserve i confidently predict The Heathens will have the edge, its that middle order im not so sure about, in Dan Greenwood and Paul Starke they both have the ability, but its there unpredictability and its the same for Gareth Isherwood, whereas with the Storm, its going to be a make or break year for BJ, since he won the Under 18,s down at Zummerset his career has stalled, and with Richard Franklin you have a lovely lad, who is now a dad apparently, and he will always chip in with 5 or 6, usually at the difficult No2 spot when he was at Dudley, to summerise Top 3 Coventry edge it, 2nd strings depends which Brendon turns up, same for the Heathens, which Gareth and Daniel, and reserve The Heathens for sure. and ? juggle things around a bit,Im sure you can do it.