MrMungo

Feel a bit for Morley. Thought he performed well enough in his 114 PL guest bookings this season to warrant a reserve spot at Rye. Hard to judge the side without knowing what the other line-ups will be like, but I suspect that's a mid-table line-up unless one of Garrity/Boxall/Nelson really kick on and have an excellent season.

Me thinks Tai Woffinden would clean up at reserve if that was the case!

They will be allocated? It gets better! I see nothing wrong with that at all!

The Announcement doesn't appear to specify anything about the NL riders. Current NL riders? Next season's NL riders? Riders that have ridden in the NL in the last 3 seasons? The mind boggles. Clearly they don't want to lose Ward, Iversen, etc, as that wouldn't give them a great deal of chance getting another SKY deal. That's the only very flawed logic I can see in it. Just can't see it working. It will either lead to some very one-sided races, or if they change the meeting format, it would leave some riders with an inflated average. It's a good job British get that reduction! Oh, wait.... Just can't see it doing any good. No good for 90% of the NL riders, no good for the spectators, no good for the sport.

NL riders in the EL? Seriously? When I first read it, I assumed it was a typo and they meant NL riders in the reserve spots in the PL. That would actually make sense!

Is a 5.00 PL average now the limit? Was it not 4.00 before? (Given up trying to keep up with all the rules!)

You could also say the same about Mildenhall having to go with 2 rookie 3 pointers, Baggy! Add in a basic 6 from 6 for Rumsey and Mildenhall could be taking a 20 point lead to the Norfolk Arena! It's all swings and roundabouts.

Increased his starting average more than anyone else in the team! The only reason Stefan struggled on the Northern Tour was due to trying a different engine setup to try to find something that works better on the away tracks. Unfortunately it didn't work this time, whereas it did work the previous week when he got a maximum. You need experiment to improve. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If His Highness really wanted more points from the reserves, he should've spent more time helping them rather than trying to get them sacked! Which he has been doing for a while now. Stefan's done his job all year. Simon is coming back from injury, and was released from Rye House if I'm not mistaken. What exactly were they expecting from the reserves? If you want high scoring reserves, don't start the season with 2 3 pointers. It's not exactly rocket science!

Charles Wright and Lewis Rose?

Pretty self-explanatory isn't it, Najjer?

I doubt Garry May thought so, as he sacked Stefan after the meeting! Lambert got sacked before the meeting.

It was only good fortune up in Cumbria that enabled Workington to get as close as they did

I don't understand the whinges about the track, was an excellent meeting with lots of great races (with passing!) and a close scoreline too!

Since when has every point not counted?

Perry has had a few different mechanics this year. Not sure if that's his issue. From the start of the season, he just seemed to lack speed. I don't know who does his engines, but do wonder whether a new engine tuner could help him. Did mention to a Dudley fan earlier in the season that I felt he would struggle to move onto the next step until he's a more consistent gater. If you don't gate, don't have speed, and lacking in confidence aswell, points will be hard to come by. Great meeting though. Really impressed with Edinburgh. They look a really strong outfit, and will be hard to beat over 2 legs when we come down to the nitty gritty. It reminded me a bit of the Plymouth (LC) meeting. Somerset struggled to adapt to a slicker surface as the meeting went on, and on that night only a super Grajczonek ride in heat 15 sealed the win. Edinburgh, though, were a different kettle of fish. Cook excellent again. Very few riders pass Doyle round OTA.

I actually quite enjoyed it. It was a little bit different - best way I can think of to describe Zagar as a Czech! That part was a little ridiculous to say the least. Hampel as a spectator was equally so, but guess it worked out for the Poles in the end. There were a few segments that were very interesting, and the racing was good towards the end. The commentary pairing seemed a little "awkward" at times, but so was Chris Louis when he first started on SKY, now he's the best of the bunch. So am confident they will improve given time. Hopefully there'll be more meetings like this in the near future. Preferably starting @ heat 1!

Josh has been ill over the last few days, so any iffy score can be excused I think, especially considering how awesome he has been for Somerset so far this season.

Don't think LC matches count towards the averages. As for Palm Toft, he certainly hasn't looked as quick as he did last season. A change in engine tuner might help?

Jake Anderson in for Tom Perry

Best wishes to Liam Carr. I didn't see the incident as had left by around heat 8, but he really impressed me. Still don't know why he's not in the NL. What were the track conditions like at the end of the meeting? Even during the PL, some PL riders were having bit of a whinge at the conditions.

Meeting off

Josh is at Mildenhall today, so I guess he's no longer with Scunthorpe?

The reserves were good. On the pace throughout. Both suffered some misfortune - Greaves suffered a nasty looking spill on the last bend in heat 4, which may have affected his performance for the rest of the evening. Clegg too was unfortunate to suffer mechanical gremlins in heat 9 losing out on a couple of points. Both have tidy styles, and expect they'll chip in with points wherever they go. Think Dudley will always have strong reserves. They were/are my tip for the title. Got a nice balance to the side, whereas some other sides rely very heavily on certain team members.

Feel free to send me a text later Sue if you're really stuck

Riders often use the same engines as the previous year. Just make some alterations, and parts are regularly replaced during a service. It's a shame you weren't there, Aljack, you would've loved Risager blast around the outside of everyone in heat 3! To be fair to Makinen, he did score. It was a genuine point aswell. Progress! He was challenging for a point in one of his other heats aswell. But when he was outgated, he was nowhere near the action. His signing always did appear a case of him having the right average. The Ipswich side looks to be a very mediocre one at the moment. Ellis will take time but whilst he's "getting there" they need the rest to chip in with the points, which doesn't look like happening. Tungate, Risager, Lanham will all have great rides, and some fine meetings along the way, but as a trio, they are a little unreliable. Lanham can go from getting crucified in one heat, then lead Doyle for almost 3 laps in the next one. Risager can easily do the exact opposite. It's a strange side. Has mid-table written all over it at the moment. But it is still early season - someone somewhere can find some form, which can quickly turn things around. The OTA has changed so much since I last visited! It's like a new place. Impressive setup they have done there. Nice sausages aswell. But it is not a warm place to enjoy Speedway, sadly.