MrMungo

Hasn't Paul Cooper pretty much decided to concentrate on other matters for the time being?

Agree with much of your comments, Halifax Tiger. Especially regarding the fraction of Mildenhall supporters cheering when a Saint fell (on most occasions). It's appalling behaviour and should be stamped out of the sport as much as possible.

Any news when it will be rescheduled?

Fascinating thread. Did Tom Stokes ride last year? I've been impressed by his progress, as I really thought he was one who might struggle this year. What happened to Oliver Greenwood? Is he still about? He seemed to have completly vanished off the radar. Maybe he got annoyed at the lack of opportunities for a British youngster? People like Portwood may not be at the NL level at the moment, but the only way they will improve is by riding as often as possible. Would it really be that damaging to the sport for each side to have a rookie at number 7 at the start of the season?

It was a pleasure chatting with you too, Screamer!!! Bit surprising that Mr. Allitt chose not to use Kerr a little bit more bearing in mind a few of the Young Stars were clearly struggling.

I'm a bit confused. Is this meeting on Sunday, or was it a typo? I thought the rules were 3 home/3 away, then 7 days, which would surely mean Heeps' new average doesn't take effect until Monday...

It's possible, as they did try and get him to guest for Gary Irving last week, but failed for one reason or another. Or maybe Montie is hinting at something else?

Based on your theory, Mark Loram would not have been eligible to ride in the National League. Is he less British than Chris Louis (for example)?

Nasty one for Swiderski. Hopefully he's in a better state than his bike!

Injured following a crash last night.

Some good races despite the scoreline and pre-meeting rain. Saints all looked very impressive (although Smethills will take a few meetings to get dialled in) whereas Stoneman impressed me greatly for the visitors. He looked better as the meeting went on and fully deserved his race win. Without him, I daren't imagine what the scoreline would be like! Best wishes to Adam Roynon (hope the rumours of his season being over are untrue) and Ricky Scarboro (shoulder injury?) for speedy recoveries.

On the bright side, at least it isn't dusty! Bjerre looking like he's up for it today

Irving and Birks very impressive for the Saints. On the other end of the scale, where on earth did they find that announcer? He was certainly...interesting.

I can't agree with that, Spooky. The Russians have some really talented young guys....

Very slick?? Our definitions of slick certainly differ if you think that was a slick track. Despite the scoreline, not a bad meeting after the messy first 4 heats. Nick Simmons was most excellent for IOW. Looked quick all night, and fast from the back. Rob Smith, too, looked good, especially towards the end of the meeting. Danny Warwick was one of the unluckiest riders on show, suffering bike troubles whilst in good positions in his first and last rides. Hopefully Paul Starke's shoulder injury is not serious. Looked very nasty. Lifted in the same spot as Stefan Nielsen did a few heats earlier and clattered into James Cockle with a bike knocking Stefan Nielsen off his bike too. Olly Rayson was very, very impressive for the Young Stars. Probably the best I have ever seen him ride. Tom Stokes impressed me also. He's improved no end this season. Stefan Nielsen had an incident packed meeting. A nasty crash in heat 2 whilst comfortably leading when the bike picked up on the apex of the 3rd/4th bend. Was in the wrong place at the wrong time in heat 4 and was quite lucky to escape from those 2 crashes reasonably unscathed. Clutch problems from the heat 2 crash limited his gating so he had to score the majority of his points after that from the back.

I think you need to compare like-for-like. King's Lynn is a big, wide track, whereas Belle Vue is small, tight and often tricky (even for some EL riders!). If the track curators add lots of grip, that along with inexperienced riders is a mixture that will rarely end well. A bit of common sense goes a long way. Best wishes to all of the injured riders.

Taken from Live Updates Forum. Texter: Rhidassa & Mr Mungo Updater: Islander King's Lynn Young Stars = 61 1. Kyle Hughes M, 2*, 3, 2 = 7+1 2. Oliver Rayson 1*, 3, 3, 2*, 2 = 11+2 3. Scott Campos 2*, 1*, 2*, 3 = 8+3 4. Jake Knight 3, 2, 3, 2 = 10 5. James Cockle 2*, 2*, 3, 1*, 1* = 9+4 6. Tom Stokes 2, 3, 3, 1, 1* = 10+1 7. Stefan Nielsen F, 3, 1, 2* = 6+1 Isle of Wight Islanders = 31 1. Nick Simmons 3, 3, 4^, 3, 3 = 16 2. Gary Cottham R/R (LC T, NL 0, RS 2, LC 0 = 2) 3. Danny Warwick 1, 0^, 1, R = 2 4. Rob Smith 0, 1, 2, 0, 3, 0 = 6 5. Paul Starke FX (Withdrawn) = 0 6. Nick Laurence (g) T, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 0 = 4 7. Luke Chessell T, 1*, 1, 1, F, 0, R = 3+1 Heat Results Bronze Helmet Match Race: Simmons, Cockle. 62.67 Line Up: James Cockle (Holder, gate 4), Nick Simmons (Challenger, gate 1) Comments: Cockle from gate. Nick chased and got it on the line. Updater: congrats Nick ;D Heat 01: Simmons, Stokes, Rayson. Laurence (Tapes), Hughes (Mins), Chessell (Tapes). 3-3, 62.13 Line Up: Kyle Hughes Tom Stokes, Oliver Rayson, Nick Simmons, R/R - Luke Chessell Nick Laurence Comments: Chessell touches the tapes, so Laurence replace. Re-Run: Hughes exceeds the 2 minutes allowance and will be replaced by Stokes. Re-Run x2: Laurence through the tapes and is excluded. There will be 3 riders only in the re-run. Watering the track while the tapes are sorted. Rhidassa says we may get started eventually! Sponsored by www.enjaydesigns.co.uk Heat 02: Stokes, Laurence, Chessell. Nielsen (fell). 3-3, 6-6, 63.91 Line Up: Tom Stokes, Stefan Nielsen, Nick Laurence, Luke Chessell (off 15m) Comments: Red lights at tapes again. Chessell excluded and going off 15m. Re-Run: Nielsen led all the way but came off bend 4 lap 4. He's up and walking off the track. Sponsored by Steve Dixon www.stevedixonphotography.co.uk Heat 03: Knight, Campos, Warwick, Smith (F, rem). 5-1, 11-7, 64.36 Line Up: Scott Campos, Jake Knight, Danny Warwick, Rob Smith Comments: Warwick slowed on lap 2 while in the lead. Then Smith came off bend 4 but back up. Isle of Wight were on a 5-1 first lap Sponsored by: www.speedway-games.co.uk Heat 04: Nielsen, Cockle, Chessell. Starke (FX). 5-1, 16-8, 65.32 Line Up: James Cockle, Stefan Nielsen, Paul Starke, Luke Chessell Comments: Starke into Cockle who was leading on the fourth bend. Bike then hit Nielsen. All 3 down. Starke excluded. Rhidassa now says she's not sure if the bike hit Nielsen himself or his bike, but paramedics are on the track. Nielsen & Cockle are now back on their feet and walking away, Starke took a ride in the ambulance/golf cart buggy, off the track. Delay now. Re-Run: Chessell gated, but was passed by Nielsen end of lap 3 and then by Cockle lap 4. Sponsored by Friends of Edinburgh Speedway http://www.foes.info/ Paul Starke has been withdrawn from the meeting and gone to hospital sadly Heat 05: Simmons, Knight, Campos, Laurence. 3-3, 19-11, 63.50 Line Up: Scott Campos, Jake Knight, Nick Simmons, R/R - Nick Laurence Comments: Laurence takes the R/R. Sponsored by Splod Heat 06: Rayson, Hughes, Chessell, Laurence. 5-1, 24-12, 64.40 Line Up: Kyle Hughes, Oliver Rayson, Paul Starke Luke Chessell, Nick Laurence Comments: Chessell replaces Starke. Sponsored by Heat 07: Stokes, Cockle, Smith, WARWICK. 5-1, 29-13, 63.48 Line Up: James Cockle, Tom Stokes, DANNY WARWICK, Rob Smith Comments: Warwick takes a tactical ride. Sponsored by Merlin Heat 08: Rayson, Smith, Nielsen. Chessell (fell). 4-2, 33-15, 63.05 Line Up: Oliver Rayson, Stefan Nielsen, R/R - Rob Smith, Luke Chessell Comments: Smith is the rider replacement. Sponsored by Mr Mungo is now taking over as texter Heat 09: Knight, Campos, Laurence. 5-1, 38-16, 63.32 Line Up: Scott Campos, Jake Knight, Paul Starke, Nick Laurence Comments: No replacement for Starke, so 3 riders only. Laurence made a good start from the outside and looked pretty competitive early on. Campos under Laurence third bend. Sponsored by inthedirt clothing - inthedirt.co.uk - facebook.com/inthedirt Heat 10: Hughes, Rayson, Warwick, Smith. 5-1, 43-17, 63.78 Line Up: Kyle Hughes, Oliver Rayson, Danny Warwick, Rob Smith Comments: Good race. Hughes past Warwick third bend. Rayson passed Smith start of lap 2, he then went for the blast around the outside and got second on the line. Sponsored by Heat 11: Cockle, SIMMONS, Stokes, Chessell. 4-4, 47-21, 63.81 Line Up: James Cockle, Tom Stokes, NICK SIMMONS, R/R - Luke Chessell Comments: Nick takes a tactical and Chessell is the R/R. Simmons locked up on the second lap and lost ground. Close to Cockle on the finish line though. Sponsored by Heat 12: Campos, Nielsen, Laurence. Warwick (ret). 5-1, 52-22, 63.92 Line Up: Scott Campos, Stefan Nielsen, Danny Warwick, Nick Laurence (off 15m) Comments: Laurence touched the tapes so he will go off 15m. Good battle for the lead for the opening lap. Campos then pulled clear. More bad luck for Warwick who had a slowing bike from lap 3 onwards, he was second at the time. Sponsored by Heat 13: Simmons, Hughes, Cockle. Chessell (ret). 3-3, 55-25 Line Up: Kyle Hughes, James Cockle, Nick Simmons, Paul Starke Luke Chessell Comments: Chessell in for Starke. Lynn from gate, Hughes too wide second bend and Simmons passed on the inside. Chessell had bike problems. Sponsored by Art and Stitch for all your sewing and art supplies www.artandstitch.co.uk Heat 14: Smith, Knight, Stokes, Laurence. 3-3 58-28, 64.72 Line Up: Jake Knight, Tom Stokes, Rob Smith, Luke Chessell Nick Laurence Comments: Laurence in for Chessell. Good ride by Smith. Knight never far behind. Sponsored by Splod Heat 15: Simmons, Rayson, Cockle, Smith. 3-3 61-31, 63.72 Line-up: James Cockle, Oliver Rayson, Rob Smith, Nick Simmons Comments: Islanders go off 1 & 3. IOW ahead after a tight first bend. Cockle goes round Smith at the start of lap 2, Rayson the passed him on lap 3. Then Rayson passed his team-mate on the finish line. Sponsored by www.unofficialscorpion.co.uk - The History of Scunthorpe Speedway Read more: http://speedwayupdates.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Boston&action=display&thread=8395#ixzz1S1tlDl1w

C'mon the Czechs! Show 'em how it's done Big Fil.

Was there a specific reason why there was no proper parade? Was it a one-off or is it always the case at Stoke? (It's been a few years since I last went, and I honestly can't remember whether they had a parade or not) I'd personally like to see parades made compulsory at this level. Not that it would have mattered on this occasion, as Stoke look superstrong round their home patch on this showing and the Lynn side is not the strongest with all their injuries, but would've created bit more of a "level playing field". Not the best of meetings I've ever seen but there were some decent battles once the track dried off and became less tricky. Good to catch up with the infamous Vog again!

Not a bad GP all things considered. Bit of a shame about the gates. Uneven starts to that extent are bad for any speedway meeting, especially when it's the inside. Almost ruined the GP for me, but least there was Nicki who livened it up a few times! Some good, hard riding tonight. Final's first bend and the battle between AJ & Gollob the pick of the bunch for me. Great to see Nicki and AJ getting back to near their best. Got to be good for the rest of the series

He was very impressive I thought - young Brenton, that is. Looked to have the same sort of speed as Alex Davies, just not quite as sharp out of the start.

It's bit of a shame. I'd like to meet the infamous Screamer too!

Totally agree, Baggy. It's totally ridiculous. As is using a guest who must be well into his 30s by now when Scunthorpe/Sheffield have a number 8 (and a demoted number 8, who must surely be a number 9 by now!) able and willing to ride And don't get me started on them using a reserve with a 9pt average!

Agreed. It was very, very hard, but bearing in mind the track conditions by then, you either had to be very forceful or first loser. Nicholls went for it and congratulations to him on his win. Credit to Harris for his actions. I was impressed. The track conditions at the end of the meeting were a bit disappointing, but other than that, it was a very entertaining British Final. Certainly the best I can remember for many a year.

What time does this meeting start? I have seen it listed as starting at both 7.30 and 8.00pm.