lucifer sam

Jayne, that's somewhat worrying to read. I was encouraged by the introduction of the NL last year - because it seemed that it was more-or-less the CL, but with proper rules (the "rules" were always the bane of the CL). However, it seems that costs, which were already on the rise in the third-tier, have spiralled even more. It should be remembered that one of the primary reasons for the introduction of a third tier in 1994 was to provide a cheaper level of speedway, so that tracks could open that otherwise could not have. And it's also provided the entry point to the sport for Somerset, Scunthorpe, etc. If Buxton can no longer sustain NL speedway (after 15 years of running in the third tier), then something has gone badly wrong. All the best Rob

Only 23 out of 24 races were held in 2009. All the best Rob

Hi Tony, thanks, see you there next week. I'd forgotten that there's also the books of Ivan Mauger & Leigh Adams coming out next weekend. It's going to be an expensive weekend. All the best Rob

Well I put him in for Torun, selected him as captain and moved from near the bottom to near the top. It took me ages to find my team (in the end I used Ctrl F), I wasn't expecting them to have moved up like that. All the best Rob

Actually, wasn't it Peter Craven who was the youngest ever World Champion? All the best Rob

Tony, Are you going to be at Somerset for the Pairs? If you are, I'll come and buy both the 1970 World Finals DVD and the Michael Lee book. Also plan to get Jeff Scott's new book that day. Going to be an expensive trip. All the best Rob

When did this thread turn into a domestic? All the best Rob

Good to hear it. Always thought Newport could be a much better racetrack if the meetings were held in the evening. Bit too late for you to be allocated the 2010 pairs though. All the best Rob

.... but with no lighting. All the best Rob

Not a bad idea at all. Say you've got 15 teams in the league next year. Seed Somerset to the final as hosts. 7 teams in each semi, top three through. It would work I reckon. Northern group would be e.g. Glasgow, Edinburgh, Berwick, Newcastle, Redcar, Workington and Sheffield. Rest in the southern group. Three cracking meetings and a fair format. Hey, even Najjer may improve. All the best Rob

BFD, no, Malcolm is one of the good guys All the best Rob

For years, the National League pairs took place with 16 teams under a 27-heat format. 16 = 4 groups of 4, so it works out nicely. I agree that a straight KO would be interesting, but it's a long way for riders to travel for just the 1 ride. All the best Rob

RocketBen, two groups of seven with each pair in six qualifying riders would be two groups of 21 heats, plus a final, a total of 43 races. That's too many. You ideally want a maximum of somewhere around 25 races. All the best Rob

And how's that any different from this year, when one group is noticeably stronger than the other? There are ways are fitting 14 teams in Best Pairs, with a format that is (reasonably) fair to all. You use the format I have already stated (14 teams, no groups, 3 rides each) and then seed it depending on qualifying average, so that each team gets one ride against a top team, one against a middle team and one against a bottom team. All the best Rob

In the 1988 British Open, there was two groups of four and one of three. The team from the group of three (Oxford) won the competition. So that blows your theory out of the water, sunshine. But how about this one then? 14 teams each (not grouped together) get 3 rides each - 21 races. Top four through to the semis. Total = 24 races. All the best Rob

14 teams into 2 groups of 4 and 2 groups of 3. Winner from each group progresses to two semis and then a final. Number of races = 21. All the best Rob

Paulco - well said. As a neutral at Somerset, I want to see the best possible line-up, not riders blocked by red tape for no good reason. But unfortunately some people on here can't see beyond their bias against Glasgow. All the best Rob

British team should be: Scott Nicholls Chris Harris Lee Richardson Tai Woffinden Ben Barker All the best Rob

ML, well to be honest, Screen is a little more high profile than Grieves. That's why his absence was mentioned first, but the omission of Grieves is wrong as well. Both Screen and Grieves had ridden for their new clubs by the time the line-up was announced. Why have a cut-off date of several weeks ago? Who cares who was riding for who three or four weeks ago? All the best Rob

ML - where did I say that Grieves shouldn't be in the meeting? Of course he should. As long as the rider is in the official 1-7 of a side at the meeting and has rode for the club in a Premier League match, then they should be allowed to ride for that team in the Pairs. All the best Rob

Maybe not to you or me, but he is to the armchair viewer who goes along to one meeting at Cardiff each year. And so would be Joe Screen. If Screen isn't allowed to ride, then it's an opportunity wasted to draw along the casual fan. All the best Rob

I dunno. Maybe Glasgow could say both Josh & Lee are elsewhere that day and use Screen instead. Seems rather silly that one of the PL's biggest events is taking placing without arguably the best rider in the entire league. It's the day before Cardiff, so what better way of getting the GP crowd there than the presence of Havelock & Screen - these are the names that floating supporters will recognise. It's a big own goal not having Screen at Somerset. All the best Rob

Ah yes, that's a good film for its own reasons, but difficult to discuss on here. All the best Rob

If you recall, I said, during the 2008-2009 winter, that I felt that Hampel had to be in the series, because he was amongst the best 6-8 riders in the world. But I think not getting that 2009 nomination actually did him the world of good. He has come back such a better rider. Although I think he still has slightly too much respect for Gollob, he should have slammed the door shut on Gollob in Heat 10 in last weekend's GP. If he wants to compete against and beat Gollob, he's got to be tougher on him. All the best Rob

This should be Lindgren's last year in the GP, unless he can turn things around before the end of the season. Just how many chances does he expect to be given? All the best Rob