lucifer sam

New dates: Tuesday, August 8th - Oxford v Kent Sunday, August 20th - Kent v Oxford

We had a little wager in 2004 on whether Oxford or Swindon would finish higher. It was Oxford, and fair play to Bob, who promptly handed over £50 to the Ben Fund.

Those in glass houses, Mr. Trigger! At least Oxford take sensible options in trying to get meetings on - none which end up with the fire brigade being called! As for yesterday, there was no rain at all until 5pm and the heavy rain didn't come until after 6pm. You can't call a meeting off simply on the strength of the forecast alone, when we all know how unreliable British weather forecasts are, especially at this time of year when the weather is so changeable. Had it been belting down with rain all day, and also been forecast to rain in the evening, I'm sure they would have been an earlier call-off, as there was Oxford v Swindon right at the start of the season which was called off in the morning, but that wasn't the case. Oxford have got on at least two meetings (Cheetahs v Poole and Chargers v Leicester) when some internet "weather experts" said otherwise, and supporters know that Oxford will always put on every effort to put the meeting on. Last night didn't work out, while in other instances it has.

You need a trip to specsavers. Harris booed for the rest of the meeting - while Jenkins was the hero of the night, clearly not 100% after Harris wiped him out but continued in the meeting and took vital points in 12 and 14. Vissing also sent Jordan flying in Heat 14, as finally the ref took his red and white specs off and excluded a Glasgow rider. Brilliant backs-to-the-wall stuff from Oxford, while Glasgow chucked away a golden opportunity.

I believe it would be 4.00 (his Championship average) x 2 = 8.00.

Exactly. Neither team misses out. It's an extra race. It was the first time I'd seen one in the flesh on Friday and it's very exciting. I don't think there's any losers in this case.

Meeting of the British Speedway season - will be hard to top. Close meeting, superb racing and it came down to a Superheat. British Speedway bosses are often criticised, but this is a great innovation - and gives fans an extra exciting race for their money. Who would complain about that?

What a daft comment! Far more than drizzle. I was at the meeting - it didn't have a chance of progressing any further. Still raining heavily when we left, with no sign of it stopping. Fair play to the riders for cracking on without complaint with the first four races (not sure if you'd have got that with more experienced riders). Sadly, the heavy rain (there'd only be a bit before tapes up) returned with a vengeance. Most of the riders actually wanted to continue, but it just wasn't safe.

The official Green Sheet Averages match my own figures - e.g. with Nicholls third and Masters fourth. So the mistake in the official scorechart was spotted and corrected.

Hugely impressed with the set up at Northside! Good racetrack, spacious pits and excellent viewing for spectators. Very impressive performance from the Chargers - for me, the man of the match was Jody Scott who combined for two 5-1s in the opening three races - including beating Connor Bailey in Heat 1 - to put Chargers in firm control. Had a chat with former Oxford skipper Craig Branney after the meeting. He led Oxford Academy to the Conference League in 2005. Craig was impressed by the last to first by Henry Atkins around the outside on the opening two laps in Heat 13. He said that he knew such a move was possible, but it was the first time a rider had stuck to the outside to roar around all three other riders in that manner. Top performances from Ryan Kinsley and Jacob Clouting too - even when put 15 metres behind for tape touching, Jacob battled to a point. He looks like a trump card now that he's at reserve for Chargers. Sam Woods did what he always does - put in 100% effort each race and he fully deserved his 3+1 tally. Alfie Bowtell's exclusion post-race in Heat 11 (which cost him a paid maximum) didn't seem quite right. While the rulebook does state that riders must wear a race-jacket, shirt or suit displaying their racing number, it doesn’t clarify whether this is an excludable offence. There have been other incidents of riders competing without an appropriate race-jacket – some very recently (e.g. Ryan Douglas guesting for King's Lynn) – but they haven’t resulted in an exclusion. Ultimately it didn't make any difference, but it's one of this cases where there needs to be both consistency and common sense applied.

When it was two missing Danes for Glasgow, a single white cloud in the forecast was enough to call off the meeting against Oxford. When it's Scunny who are missing a Dane, several cats and dogs in the forecast are permitted

Sam Masters finished second in Heat 10 off gate 4. At least it's possible to race at Oxford - it's not all over by the second bend as it is at Wimborne Road. Terrific racing last night - a number of races where positions were still changing on the final lap. I realise that may have given you a nosebleed, since you're not used to seeing it Great performance by Cheetahs last night - Poole's top end strength didn't do the job and the Oxford heat-leaders dominated, while another fantastic performance by Henry Atkins at reserve.

Henry Atkins has had the last laugh, though. He wasn't treated in a professional manner at Plymouth, but is now flourishing elsewhere.

Is it just me, or is there a mistake in the referee's official scorechart on Saturday? It's here: Berwick 17.06.23 Scorecard / BERWICK (Championship) / Downloads - Speedway Control Bureau (scbgb.co.uk) I had Scott Nicholls down as third in Heat 15 - I didn't even think it was close as to which Oxford rider was third in Heat 15. Does anyone else agree?

FRIDAY TEAM UPDATE: Unfortunately, Michael Palm Toft is not fit to race tonight, after picking up an ankle injury at King’s Lynn last night. Our super Dane is having his ankle checked out today, while we will use rider replacement for Tofty tonight.

He is, but he is quite fun at the same time. Although he seemed to complain and not like it when Henry Atkins and Jody Scott both did a lap of honour after Chargers got "just a 4-2" in Heat 10. A 4-2 that made all the difference come the end of Heat 15!

Fantastic meeting on Saturday - and a brilliant advert for National League speedway. Hope the stream was watched far and wide! I was there in person and happy to see Chargers prevail - especially after a bit of "sportsmanship" from Greg Blair in the final race to stay down and get the re-run. Had an interesting couple of discussions with the Berwick fans after that one! I also wonder if Mr Barrie needs both an eye test and a hearing aid. I was sat in the main stand, opposite the start, cheering on the boys (very loudly after Heat 15!) and yet he kept on going on about there only being two Oxford fans in the stadium. Yup, they were there Dick... spoke to them myself... and so was I

Ah, so you've now changed from a "flyer" to "clearly moved". Kerr didn't get a "flyer" because he was only third in the first bend, whether he moved or not. The ref quite often will let it go if the rider who moved didn't get an advantage. I assume you weren't too bothered about it being stopped until Kerr somehow squeezed between Lawson and the back straight fence to move from 3rd to 1st. And, of course, Lawson definitely didn't move last night, did he? Or Worrall? It's clear you only see the movement that you want to see

Kerr only gated third in Heat 9, so couldn't have been much of a flier

Poole beaten for the first time since 2006. Just like buses, two will come along at the same time, and Cheetahs also to win 46-44 tomorrow.

Not a bad meeting, but way too much dust!

Yes, because there's nothing like giving the fans extra like going back to an antiquated heat formula and taking two races away from them! Heat 15 was a decent race last night, because it was a competitive race. Heat 13 was not, because of the strange withdrawal of Richie Worrall. Sam Masters and Scott Nicholls romped home easily in that one.

It still doesn't make a lot of sense, though, does it? If he was pulled out of Heat 13 with a shoulder injury, why then place him in Heat 14 as a tactical sub? The Plymouth tactics last night were 'interesting' to say the least!

I thought it was a good race between Barker and Atkins, with Atkins almost getting past Barker a couple of times (which he had already done previously in Heat 14). Don't you agree, or weren't you in attendance last night and merely commentating from afar? Dunno why Worrall wasn't in Heat 13, though!

Yeah, I've got a strong feeling that JJ won have done the business in either Heat 13 or 15, but we'll never know. Terrific meeting between two committed sides, with plenty of incident, while the questionable refereeing calls just about balanced out, although the harshest one was to excluded Sam Woods as he was pushing around for a point in Heat 8 - slightly perplexed by that one, since a winning time was given, suggesting the race was never stopped! Oxford Chargers want to win, but it's not the be-all and end-all. It's good enough to have a talented and strong side that provide entertainment and are progressing to become the Cheetahs of the future, which has already started this season, with three Chargers in the Cheetahs. I thought Jody Scott was brilliant yesterday - he didn't allow Alfie Bowtell a way through in Heat 10 to join Henry for a 5-1 that created yet another flip in the fortunes of the meeting. That was a stunning ride from Jody, and then he made no mistakes to win Heat 14 as well. Jody is another Cheetah of the future. Sorry I didn't manage to say hello during the meeting yesterday, Mimmo, hope you're doing well.