Ben91

Social media interaction is good, however it should be consistent across both popular platforms (Facebook and Twitter). Personally I very rarely check Facebook for anything other than the Rye speedway group these days. Both these bases should be covered but regular updates on the website are a must too. People need to be told things from an official source and shouldn't be expected to pick up news from Facebook, not everybody uses either platform, most people can check the official website though. I'm glad the quotes coming from "Team BMR" have stopped and that they are being made by the team manager. Glasgow are still a work in progress too, comparing us to them now doesn't make sense, either promotion could fall flat on their face yet, neither is a completed job. It strikes me that our promotion are trying to make the place self sufficient, looking to run more events at the stadium and opening a KTM(?) dealership at the stadium. The training track will bring in funds too and hopefully we'll see some riders come through that and progress into the Rockets' team in years to come. Kings Lynn would be a better measuring stick for us, they made their stadium a multi-purpose venue, cleaned up at PL level and have now moved up the the EL, I see us potentially doing something similar, although I'd happily stay PL while the EL is Elite in name only.

It's not speculation though, it's fact. Tyres are tyres and a speedway track is a speedway track, it doesn't matter how good the bloke on the bike is, if a blue groove is going to appear it's going to appear.

PL riders being more skilled will use more lines than NL riders who will stick to one line meanining more rubber on one part of the track in the NL meeting, just as we're being pedantic. 15 heats of league speedway at any level will produce a blue groove eventually around Rye.

That's not true, 15 heats of speedway is 15 heats of speedway, there'd be a blue groove still after the first meeting.

Holub, king of the loophole.

I think team building made it clear that the promotion are still new to the speedway game, seemingly expecting Rob Lambert to sign and also letting NBJ go were huge errors. The signing of Karger was also an error, it pushed Kasper into the main team and the bloke is also a dud (one race win over Masters is no justification for his signing). That said Len Silver has been guilty of plenty of huge errors on the team building front too, dropping Jason Doyle for Steve Boxall being one and not using Jason Garrity at reserve when on a four point odd average being another, not mentioning constantly coming in under the points limit. Hopefully next winter the new promotion will see where they've gone wrong and know more about what is required to build a winning speedway team. Track improvements have been top of the agenda it seems which is absolutely the right way to go, people go to speedway to watch the racing first and foremost and they are much more understanding about the rest of their surroundings being a work in progress if the racing is of a good standard. A training track being built shows the commitment to the future of speedway at Rye House and developing our own riders. There will be bumps in the road but it seems like things are moving in a good direction.

Until (although that day coming is very unlikely) clubs announce attendance figures then crowd estimates from supporters should always be taken with a pinch of salt. It's no more than opinion.

R/R for Ayres has hurt Kent today but guest options would have been slim pickings, Ben Wilson perhaps the only rider that could have scored similarly to Ayres on a lower average.

Think he's taking a break, no way we'd fit him in without dropping Morley or Branford anyway.

28, they have to race together in two heats.

Branford is guesting for Karger, it's purely incidental that he rides for the Raiders, he can't be number eight anyway as he has a PL average over three. Hunter could also be used as number eight for the meeting, though that depends on how he is after his injury at Birmingham in the week. If he isn't fit then we should be naming Priest at eight for the Redcar match, he'll be in the stadium anyway so it makes sense to name a number eight.

Yes, once Karger is in the 1-5 if he's still injured it has to be R/R (or a 3 point NL guest). Unless Lanham remains out too of course, then we would be able to use a guest for one and R/R for the other.

There has been a lot of chopping and changing at the bottom end of the Raiders team this season, to me that shows that the promotion are trying to find riders who will score more points, until then they have to carry on with what they have. Leek looks like he can score reasonably well at this level. If Couzins who was at Kent last season is still riding he could be a worth a try.

The MO for the Raiders is to develop riders, they have to start somewhere so I have no problem with the likes of Locke, Leek and Bowdery being blooded. The Raiders are a second team, results are secondary. To lose by seven points to a standalone side away from home is no disgrace at all. It's a real shame Bowtell and Hume didn't stick around, we could have put a real challenge for honours together if they had.

There always seems to be injuries when Rye and Birmingham meet, best wishes to Hunter and Bacon, two riders who both have potential to make careers in the sport. Bacon's absence will surely just see the Brummies employ r/r for him and track guests for Perry and they'll still be just as potent a threat. What riders looked uninterested Martin? Perhaps the nature of Bacon's crash was playing on a few minds, have to remember Priest has suffered horrific injuries in the past while Bowdery, Lock and Leek are a way behind Hume, JPB and Smith in their development at the moment.

Hope the Brummies have sense to name a number eight for meetings, no doubting they've got the talent to cover Perry with R/R but it's always better to have seven men in the team. Our top three will hopefully keep things competitive, racing against JPB, Smith and Hune will be a good measuring stick to see where our bottom four are at present.

Newcomers shouldn't be penalised due to age, an experience limit would work well however.

If it's a case of the most petty argument wins then of course Birmingham could always appeal on the basis that Hall hasn't got a NL average as it was the Conference League in 2004.

The issue is that there is nothing in the rules stopping Richard Hall from signing for Birmingham. Whether that is right or wrong from the standpoint of the National League being a development league is irrelevant. Eastbourne recently signed a rider (Adam Ellis) who is currently averaging eight points a meeting in the Elite League, Richard Hall's latest rolling figure is below four in the Premier League. Both are eligible, so both moves should have been approved in my opinion. We also have riders such as Clifton, Rutherford and Purchase who have started the season on assessed figures lower than the ones they last recorded when they were third tier riders. The National League should be looking to encourage the development of young British riders without a doubt, however a smattering of experienced riders such as Jon Armstrong, David Mason, Luke Bowen, Ben Wilson and Tony Atkin is incredibly valuable for our young riders. The knowledge these riders pass on in the pits will stand them in good stead, watching them on the track and riding with and against them on the track will help their development and having them about gives the young riders a real target to aim for. A Premier League promoter looking to sign a reserve will be looking for a rider who has the scalp of riders such as Bowen and Wilson who have recently been 4/5 point PL riders. Each side should be allowed one 'experienced' rider, that being someone who has raced in the Premier League or higher for a set number of years or more. It has been widely reported how young this season's Birmingham team is, they shouldn't be penalised for trying to replace Tom Perry's scoring with a rider potentially capable of matching it.

So the logic is that a guy struggling to average four in the Premier League is too good for the NL but a rider with an eight point EL average (Ellis) is allowed. I'm fully behind both being allowed in, just stating the inconsistencies in rule "enforcement."

Hope Rempala pulls through, that made for incredibly uncomfortable viewing. This is an amazing sport but it can be so cruel at times.

Yes it would, the host track is irrelevant. What is relevant is that 15 year-olds cannot race in the PL and that overseas riders cannot race in the NL, the overseas riders took part and the 15 year-old didn't.

Clifton and Rutherford averaged more in their last CL/NL seasons than their assessed starting averages for this season. Purchase may well have done too thinking about it, no difference whatsoever. Even Luke Bowen's last CL average was probably higher than the figure he started on this year at Kent.

2004 was averages, gradings came in in 2005. The average would have included bonus points in 2004 though. Surely this casts a cloud over the likes of Clifton, Purchase and Rutherford who have come in on assessed averages this season despite having already achieved CL/NL averages in the past.

It's not because it was held at a PL track it's because it was still classed as a PL standard meeting, if it hadn't been then Etheridge and Davey (for the time being) wouldn't have been allowed to ride as they're ineligible for the NL on account of not being British.