Grachan

They wouldn't have known the correct rule if they had.

Lambert wasn't even close to missing the 2 minutes in heat 15. As I learned myself yesterday, on this very thread, the rule is as follows: "Riders must, at the expiry of this time allowance, be on track, under power, proceeding without stopping towards the starting gate." So, he still had about 30 seconds left when he came onto the track.

Really? I'm sure they used to have to be ready to race at the end of the 2 minutes. That's a bit daft then, if they can still do that after the 2 minutes has expired.

Isn't that pretty much what happens anyway?

Clear space? There's only seven of them left.

I've only watched a couple of meetings on there, so I assumed they were a more regular pairing. Just looked and it was the Championship League Riders Championship - 24/8/22.

I've watched a couple of BSN matches, and I agree that they do a better job than Eurosport. Eurosport seem to base their presenters on how good they were as riders, but I think Adam Roynon is the best rider/presenter/commentator I've heard. He also works well with Dave Rowe as a kind of counter-balance to Dave's full-on delivery. We also don't get long, lingering shots of tractors going round or wide shots of quiet stadiums - of which we get too much of on Eurosport. I hate to say it, but Eurosport coverage often makes speedway look boring. They could learn a lot from BSN.

Definitely. I think there are questions to be asked about his part in this - such as why he tried to sneak the closure through without anyone actually knowing about it and it only became public after it was leaked on here. Like others, I certainly wouldn't rule out the possibility of him getting paid off.

Swindon had to fit him in on a 13.5 average once.

The first race I ever saw at Swindon Ashby beat Olsen and broke the track record. I also remember a dead-heat between them - probably the following year.

Well, if anyone questions why the top British riders opt out of the UK to concentrate on Poland, I think we saw why last night. Lambert was a class above all the others - even Jason Doyle. No matter about the rights and the wrongs of Belle Vue bringing him in at this stage of the season he was great to watch.

That there Premiership Transfer Window what opens after 25% of the League fixtures are complete and then closes again when 75% of League fixtures are complete.

Interesting. That's yet another interpretation. I was thinking that it is saying you can make changes outside the transfer window for long-term injuries but, yes, you could be correct that it means you can only make more than 2 if you have a long-term injury.

Actually, I've just realised that if you read rule 12.2 as it is written, the transfer window doesn't actually allow any transfers at all for proven long-term injury. "This permits changes to the team on 2 occasions, except for proven long term injury." Sheffield and Wolves should get a lawyer onto that one!

It is rule 012.2 "A Premiership Transfer Window opens after 25% of the League fixtures are complete and closes when 75% of League fixtures are complete. This permits changes to the team on 2 occasions, except for proven long term injury." It seems pretty clear that the SPIRIT of these two rules is that there are no transfers outside the transfer window except for long-term injury replacements, and none at all after 28 August. This was clearly their intention when they refused Belle Vue permission to use Lambert. Of course, there was enough ambiguity in these two rules when put together for any half-decent lawyer (or even fan for that matter!) to find a loophole. If that was their intention, then it should have been stated clearly in BOTH rules what they meant.

That's not the rule that causes the issue. The rule is 010.3.1, which, for some reason, no Belle Vue supporter seems to want to take any notice of despite it being quoted on this forum when Rob was first refused permission. The rule reads: "No team changes will be allowed after 28th August with the effective date being 31st August. Except riders returning to the team after injury who must re-take their position, dictated by their MA, with their replacement being released." Personally, I'd rather be watching Rob Lambert racing tonight, and in terms of who wins I'm completely neutral. But if you want to look at rules, you need to include that one too, which gives no mention of long-term injuries.

I suspect it was more likely that a lawyer proved that the rules couldn't be proven to disallow them a replacement rather than proving they allowed them one.

They didn't read the rules correctly. The rules could be interpreted one of two ways. Same old same old.

Got to love Speedway and its rule book, eh? What is the point of having a rule that specifically prevents this if it is then overridden? Yes, there is also a "long-term injury" rule allowing signings, but that is relevant to the transfer-windows, not the end of the season, although I'm sure they will quote this rule as the reason it was allowed. In which case, why disallow it in the first place? Still, from a neutral point of view, having Lambert ride makes the meeting more appealing to watch. So why not just include the "long-term injury" rule in the "no signings after August 31" rule. Then there's no argument?

Well someone needs to bloody do it. As mentioned, David Rowe did it perfectly in the closing stages of the Euros last year whilst also commentating on the races. There is a lot of talk time between races on this Eurosport coverage. Plenty of time to go through that sort of thing.

For me it's an integral part of their job.

Indeed.

Yes. So frustrating. Just a load of guess work. They really need someone who has a clue on this. I had no idea that Magic was third and neither, it seens, did they.

Some similar moments there to the ones I remember, Sidney. Renember the 1974 double header against Hackney and Belle Vue? My first season and the biggest crowd I ever saw there with Bob Kilby guesting for both sides. Couldn't believe it when it was later announced that Kilby would be at Blunsdon in 1975. I also remember Malc Holloway riding through the flower beds while the track staff scattered in all directions. So funny. The Ashby/Jansson Golden Helmet. I git Tommy's autograph that night. Crump and Lee was another one. For me, the best riding I've ever seen from any rider ever was Michael Lee that night. He was beating Crump by the length of a straight and pulling wheelies at the same time. I remember it clearly. Another great memory for me was Andrew Silver coming in as our number 8 and riding straight between a couple of Wolves riders who were team riding on a 5-1.

I wonder if the statement from Tomlinson forced GI to come out with that?