lucifer sam

No it's not an excuse, just an observation of seeing Hans several times at Odsal around this time. His form at Odsal did change after Erik's accident. I saw him there in the 1988 World Pairs Final - 30-point paid maximum (no mean feat with six riders in a race). But he went there late in '89, he went there and didn't even get double figures. That never happened with Hans. The 1990 Gold Cup Final he took seven riders and only scored paid 11 or 12 out of a possible 21. For some reason, Hans never produced his best form at Odsal after Erik's accident. I don't know why. As you've pointed out, it wasn't like there was a lack of aggression as Tatum found out as Nielsen took revenge for Tatum's over-aggressive ride in the 1989 ICF at Odsal (mentioned by Briggo in his auto-biography, as something Tatum didn't need to do, and cost him later!!). I seem to remember us having a similar conversation before. I wasn't at all surprised when Hans didn't win in 1990.... and everyone who had him down as an odds-on favourite hadn't been taking note of the previous five months! He was having a subdued season by his own standards (on a 10.20 average rather than a 11.00+, although yes he was still top of the averages by a distance!!). I was far more surprised in 1991, his form leading up to that final was excellent and in general he looked sharper in 1991. I fully expected Hans to win at Gothenburg and was disappointed when he didn't. I don't know who I thought would win in 1990 after Jan O got hurt. Per Jonsson was a classy rider who deserved to win one, although ironically he wasn't on form at all in 1990; Per's best era came from 1992 until his accident in 1994, and he was also very good in 1987 & 1988. He was inconsistent in 1990 to say the least (Paul Dugard beat him at Oxford), and outshone at Reading by Todd Wiltshire and Donkey. However, I got the feeling it was Jonsson's night the moment Jimmy Nilsen made a massive clanger in their first race and gave away an almost certain win. From then on, Per rode a blinder and deserved to win on the night. In the run-off, he produced a start when it mattered most. In contrast, I felt Per Jonsson was the best rider in the world in 1992, but it was Havvy who took his chance come the final. The 1992 was probably the weakest of all-time (no defending champion Jan O; no Hans) - still amazed that Gert Handberg got into the top three in a World Final! All the best Rob EDIT: Just thought of another rider missing the '90 final through injury - Simon Cross. He was in the form of his life at the start of that season; he outshone Hans over the three England vs Denmark tests.

Which playing card? Are you calling FP a joker or a queen? All the best Rob Should be perfectly possible, although he wants to take the A46 route, rather then heading straight for the M18/M1. Much less likely to block. All the best Rob

Agree with most of that, although for me Shawn Moran's big chance was 1990. No Erik; no Jan O (I was convinced he was going to win that year); no Wiggy; Hans looking very subdued every time he went to Odsal since Erik's accident there. A golden opportunity for Shooey (and for Kelvin Tatum for that matter). Had Moran won in 1990, I don't think first place would have been taken away in the same manner as second place. I always considered that weird. Rider warns before Overseas Final what medication he's been taking for a 'flu bug, but given OK to ride. FIM then wait for three months to decide actually it's not OK after all. Had Moran been World Champion, I don't think the FIM would have had the balls to take that away from him. All the best Rob

Interesting meeting. Plymouth have beefed up, while Scunthorpe are much more solid with Nicolai Klindt in the team. Should be a good meeting. All the best Rob

Speedibee, we often disagree on subjects, but not this one. Well said. What are the Coventry fans doing about keeping Brandon open? Have you got the local council and MP on side? Believe me, you're in a far stronger position now, with an operational stadium and speedway team, than you will be in three years time once the speedway at Brandon has finished. It's time for you guys to get together and let Mr Sandhu know the strength of your feelings. It's one of the best speedway stadiums in the country (if not THE best) and you can't afford to let it close. All the best Rob

Talking of the mentally fragile, how are you LG Fan? All the best Rob

46-43 to Panthers, all to play for in second leg, slight advantage to Scorps maybe. All the best Rob

:party:

Paul Evitts crashing at Oxford... during the parade. He smashed into some of the other bikes, and was out a couple of weeks injured. Plus Peter York showing Marvyn Cox his damaged bike, with a mic on hand to capture Cocker's rather colourful response. All the best Rob "Tiny" (the chap inside the chicken) gave me a warning about Wee George last year. I'd told him I'd be fine. George gave me a big cuddle not long aftewards - I'm glad he never does that when I'm out of the suit Are you coming to Sunny Scunny tomorrow mate? All the best Rob

Paul, you could form a Scottish Superleague. They would be no restrictions on using riders already riding for English teams or elsewhere, so I would suggest teams of: Edinburgh Monarchs: 1. Craig Cook 2. Derek Sneddon 3. Two-track Tully 4. Rider replacement for THJ 5. The Fish 6. Aaron Fox 7. Bert Harkins Glasgow Tigers: 1. Tai Woffinden 2. Darcy Ward 3. Chris Holder 4. Niels-Kristian Iversen 5. Greg Hancock 6. Richard Lawson 7. Steve Lawson All the best Rob

Somerset police want them to be 30mph, but police authorities in Rugby insist they should be 50mph. All the best Rob

FIRST FRIDAY NIGHT FIXTURE AT EDDIE WRIGHT RACEWAY FLUIDAIR POWER Scunthorpe Scorpions stage their first Friday evening fixture of the season this week, entertaining 2011 Premier League champions Glasgow Tigers at the Eddie Wright Raceway (7.30pm). It will be the Scorpions’ second meeting in 24 hours, since they are also in action at local rivals Sheffield tonight (Thursday). New signing Nicolai Klindt will finally make his 2014 debut for the Scorpions on Friday. The Dane was due to ride at both Berwick and Peterborough in the last week, but both were rained off. Klindt is unavailable for the match at Sheffield, due to a Danish Final commitment, so Edinburgh’s Sam Masters will guest for the injured Anders Mellgren. Meanwhile, Australian Ty Proctor is set to make his long-awaited debut for Sheffield. Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We’re after points from both meetings. We’ve dispensed with rider replacement and we have seven men for each meeting. “We will do everything we can to try to win at Sheffield. We took an excellent 53-41 victory there in the League Cup, on a night that Josh Auty reigned supreme. The Tigers are a decent side themselves, and will be out to avenge that result. “We have riders who go well at Sheffield, and it would great to win at their place again. But, as a minimum, we need a point out of that meeting – we need to start picking up away points from our league matches.” Glasgow’s Anders Thomsen was injured in a race-curtailed meeting in Scotland on Sunday, and the Tigers bring in a familiar face as a guest at No 7 – Scunthorpe Stags’ captain Steve Jones. Godfrey added: “Against Glasgow, we need to take all three league points. “We’re not under-estimating Glasgow, by any means. But we’ve already dropped four points at home and we need to start scoring the maximum points from our meetings at the Eddie Wright Raceway. “Nicolai (Klindt) got used to riding at Scunthorpe last season, and this year I’m convinced he will hit the ground running. He can gate and he is a quality addition to the side. It will be good to track seven of our own riders again.” There are 24 heats of action in total on Friday night, with the nine-heat second half including a Midland Development League match between Castleford and Milton Keynes, featuring Stags’ Liam Sanderson and Sam Chapman. Admission prices for Friday: Adult: £15.00 Student/OAP: £13.00 Child (10 – 17): £5.00 Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £35 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17) Match Programme: £1.00 Expected teams for Friday (English unless stated): FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Josh Auty, 2. David Howe, 3. Nicolai Klindt (Denmark), 4. Ashley Birks, 5. Ryan Douglas (Australia), 6. Matt Williamson, 7. Thomas Jørgensen (Denmark) Glasgow Tigers: 1. Kevin Wolbert (Germany), 2. R/R for Dimitri Berge (France), 3. Mark Lemon (Australia), 4. Theo Pijper (The Netherlands), 5 Rusty Harrison (Australia), 6. Kasper Lykke Nielsen (Denmark), 7. Steven Jones. Midland Development League teams: Castleford: 1 .Danny Phillips, 2.Tom Bacon, 3. Michael Neale, 4. Liam Sanderson. Milton Keynes: 1.Sam Chapman, 2. Jack Hall, 3. Jez Pestell, 4. Shaun Tedham. Glasgow Tigers at EWR Ave Ave Best Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Performance Rusty Harrison PL 7 24 29 3 4.83 5.33 9 from 5 rides (2012) Mark Lemon PL 8 40 77 4 7.70 8.10 18 + 1 from 6 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2009)) Kasper Lykke PL 2 11 10 4 3.64 5.09 7 + 3 from 6 rides (2013) Theo Pijper PL 5 23 30 4 5.22 5.91 10 + 2 from 5 rides (inc 4 pts T/R (2012)) Kevin Wolbert PL 5 22 34 2 6.18 6.55 9 + 2 from 5 rides (2011) GUEST RIDER Steven Jones DEBUT PL MEETING @ EWR Other Notes Rusty Harrison 2003 South Australian State Champion. 2001 Australian Under-21 Champion. Member of Workington's Premier League Fours Winning Teams in 2001, 2004 and 2006. Member of Workington's Young Shield Winning Team in 2010. Member of Belle Vue's Elite League KO Cup Winning Team in 2005. Mark Lemon Member of Exeter's Premier Trophy Winning Team in 2004. Member of Newcastle's Premier Trophy and Play-Off Winning Teams in 2010. Member of Newcastle's Premier Shield Winning Team in 2011. Kasper Lykke Made his Premier League debut for Rye House at Leicester in 2012. Helped his Country reach the 2011 European Under-19 Team Championship. Theo Pijper Member of Edinburgh's Premier League Championship Winning Team in 2003. Member of Glasgow's Premier League Championship Winning Team in 2011. Member of Swindon's Elite Shield Winning Team in 2009. Kevin Wolbert Twice German National Champion (2008, 2011) Has most recently rode in the Elite League in this Country for Poole, King's Lynn and Belle Vue. Rode as a member of the Poole Pirates Team that won the Elite League and KO Cup in 2011. GUEST - Steven Jones Current captain of the Scunthorpe Stags' 2014 National League Team. Has previously rode for both Edinburgh and Newcastle at Premier League level. Glasgow Tigers' Results at EWR 25 August 2008 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Glasgow 39 21 August 2009 PL L Scunthorpe 50 Glasgow 40 03 September 2010 PL L Scunthorpe 62 Glasgow 30 29 July 2011 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Glasgow 36 30 September 2011 PL(Ph 2) L Scunthorpe 57 Glasgow 38 11 May 2012 LC L Scunthorpe 40 Glasgow 34 21 September 2012 PL L Scunthorpe 54 Glasgow 37 28 June 2013 PL L Scunthorpe 59 Glasgow 35 * PLEASE note that the Premier League Knockout Cup clash between Peterborough Panthers and FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions will be re-staged next Tuesday (May 20).

Is that the same or different time as Wee George tackling the Somerset chicken? The mascot bloke, all seven foot of him, won't go around to the third and fourth bend during the Pairs any more - poor bloke is scared of Wee George All the best Rob

It won't make any difference. Edinburgh and Glasgow will still be able to race in the Premier League, whether Scotland is independant or not. Not that it's going to happen, in any case. The union was formed for a reason, that reason still exists, in that England and Scotland are more powerful and stronger as a combined force. All the best Rob

Indeed. Just had the exact situation explained and will make sure so does everyone else by late evening / early morning. All the best Rob

Wasn't that rule was junked before the 2011 season. Darcy Ward was injured at the start of the season but Poole still used R/R, at which point it become apparent the rule was no longer there. All the best Rob

Another 2 or 3 mins and I would have been off, so thanks. All the best Rob

Cheers PP. Was leaving setting off as late as possible. All the best Rob

Any weather updates? All the best Rob

https://twitter.com/SpeedwayScunny All the best Rob

Looking forward to this one. Neil, quick question, only requires a yes or no, has the "health and safety issue" been resolved? All the best Rob

Erm..... Leicester??????????????????? All the best Rob

I was.... a long time ago. All the best Rob

TWK, I thought you were knowledgeable about speedway in the 70s and 80s. Mick Fletcher was an Oxford Cheetah of 1980, 1981 and 1982. He took me around Cowley on his bike for my 8th birthday treat. All the best Rob

Have Peterborough come forward with a proper and full explanation as yet? They're not going to come out of this smelling of roses whatever they say, but they do need to be honest and open with the fans if they want them to show up next week. All the best Rob