lucifer sam

Oxford 1980. Opening meeting of the season - Oxford v Nottingham v Peterborough (3TT - challenge) Also 2012 - Northside British Under-15 Round had a race with no finishers (three riders fell simualtenously on different parts of the track - none were able to remount!). All the best Rob

BIRMINGHAM SPEEDWAY season ticket holders will be welcome at Scunthorpe’s Eddie Wright Raceway for speedway meetings for the rest of the 2014 season. Very sadly, Birmingham have withdrawn from 2014 Elite League. Promoter Alan Phillips pulled out a couple of weeks ago after a financial struggle. An official statement earlier today (Monday) from the BSPA read: “With deep regret the British Speedway Promoters' Association can confirm the closure of Birmingham Brummies with immediate effect. “Great efforts have been made by several people to ensure the team could continue racing until the end of the season but sadly this has not proved possible.” Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey: “It’s massively sad to see Birmingham shut its doors, and I’m sure I echo the thoughts of everyone in speedway, when I say I sincerely hope it’s only temporary and we see the Brummies back next season. No-one ever wants to see a speedway track close. “I feel so sorry for their fans. Birmingham have an excellent set of supporters, and they used to come to support the Brummies in numbers at the Eddie Wright Raceway in the days they were a Premier League club. I hope to see them back running in the Premier League come next March. “The Birmingham season tickers holders paid out to see speedway for the year. I know it’s not quite the same as following their own club, but they are welcome at Scunthorpe. They just need to bring along their season ticket with them. “We hope some of their fans will take advantage of this gesture. As well as standalone Premier League fixtures on Fridays, we also have a couple of double-headers left on August Bank Holiday Monday (August 25) and the Sunday following that (August 31). We’d love to see a few of the Brummies’ coats on our terraces.” The offer to Birmingham Season Tickets Holders applies to admission only. Programmes, food, car parking, etc will be charged at standard price. It is hoped that the Scunthorpe Scorpions will reach the Premier League play-offs – the offer to Birmingham Season Tickets Holders will be extended to any such meetings.

Should be a good meeting. Scunny bring in one of the Smugs (Max Fricke) in place of Nicolai Klindt, who is riding for Leicester. All the best Rob

Um, Douglas and Compton didn't crash All the best Rob

Probably nothing more to it than the fact TJ had already had 5 rides prior to Heat 15, whereas Ash had just 4 rides. All three points already in the bag, so might as well share the rides about a bit, especially as with 8 paid 10 from 4, Ash had been no slouch either. No doubt had the third point been beyond mathematical doubt, then Matt Williamson would have been left in Heat 14 as well, but Sheffield could have still snatched the point with two 5-1s, so Thomas in Heat 14 was insurance that we definitely ended up with that extra point. All the best Rob

Head-to-head in league matches since the beginning of 2012 is now: Scunthorpe 7 Sheffield 0 All the best Rob

Good three points for Scorpions who move up to second place in PL table. All the best Rob

1976. Another team who ran away with everything. All the best Rob

Good luck tonight Scorpions! All the best Rob

Which is why I said around that time.... All the best Rob

Armando Castagna and David Steen. Can't remember who it was chasing them, but after they both lost control on the fourth bend at Oxford at the same time while team riding, went flying towards each other, missed each other, but ending up swapping postions, the rider behind them thought "Stuff this" and tootled around making no attempt to go near the two mad men in front of him. All the best Rob

Or dodgy burger, maybe. There was a lot of them about around that time, I seem to recall. All the best Rob

Speedway needs to shed a lot of its "old" image. Maybe it should look at its current World Champion, who does appeal to the young. All the best Rob

I do wonder sometimes if bike technology has overtaken some of the tracks, with Brough Park being an example. The bikes have got faster and have become more difficult things to control (e.g. lay downs are much more powerful than uprights); while the older tracks have stayed the same. Apart from everyone going back to Jawa 2-value engines from 1970, I'm not sure how you resolve this, because you can't do a lot to change tracks within stadiums which are not owned by the speedway. All the best Rob

His rolling average is around twice a meeting. All the best Rob

However, if the fixture was raced in 1982, then Newcastle would destroy a 2014 Edinburgh side who are still twinkles in the milkman’s eye. All the best Rob

Al Stewart, I think you've hit the nail on the head there. I didn't identify Edinburgh as the team to beat this year; I thought keeping Cookie had left you too top heavy. You're not got a powerhouse team who everyone predicted to win the league before the start of the season, in contrast to e.g. Newcastle in 1982 (that was the year Joe Owen and Bobby Beaton came in on 7.50 assessed averages, despite the fact Joe had a 7.00+ BL average in 1981!!). There's several times where you've come within a few races of being beaten, only to pull it out of the fire. It's why I also think the Premier League isn't over yet this year, especially when it comes to the play-offs. Edinburgh aren't that much stronger than everyone else. They can be beaten. For me, Newcastle '82 will remain the strongest side put together at this level. But it will be interesting to see how far the unbeaten run of the 2014 Monarchs can be stretched. All the best Rob

He could be right, though. The '82 Diamonds were monsters at home, they won the home leg of the cup final against a good Ellesmere Port team by something like 73-23! All the best Rob

Another thing to point out is that the Newcastle '82 team completed the clean sweep... league, cup, Supernational and fours. And Joe Owen won the NLRC as a bonus. In 1991, Arena Essex missed out on a trophy... the Gold Cup. All the best Rob

Paul, I've reserve my judgement until the season is over, Edinburgh have yet to win a single trophy after all. I think the strongest team I've ever seen at second tier level were the 1982 Newcastle Diamonds. Six heat leaders, while Joe Owen was probably better than Craig Cook. All the best Rob

Well done to Glasgow for regaining some pride this afternoon, by pushing the Monarchs all the way. Meanwhile,both the Edinburgh juggernaut and the smugness rolls on.... I wonder what Blobby will count on now he's run out of fingers and toes All the best Rob

What are you talking about - Shadders is a hardcore fan, he follows the Rockets across the country. He pays his admission fee - he is entitled to an opinion. All the best Rob

It is getting tough for the poor lambs. Now they've reached 22, they've run out of both fingers and toes. Best you beat them today to put them out of their misery. All the best Rob

Who's Stuart Dixon? You're excelled yourself there, getting both names wrong. Of the 14 letters in his name, you've only got 8 right. I'm afraid that's a F. All the best Rob

Good luck to the Tigers this afternoon. Hope it's like the end of "Return Of The Jedi", when good triumphs over the forces of evil All the best Rob