lucifer sam

Cheers - thanks very much. Thanks also to Tigerite for answering, even though his time wasn't correct. All the best Rob

Does anyone have a time for Heat 10 yesterday? Thanks very much. All the best Rob

Final score: Scunthorpe 43 Sheffield 50. All the best Rob

Plenty of parking. If main car park is full, there's a secondary car park that can be opened. Food excellent at EWR - and value for money too. Get there in enough time, because Scunny normally start bang on time - first race will be at 3pm. All the best Rob

Wilko back in action, so Scorpions should be at full strength. Lasse Bjerre guests for the injured Simon Stead for Sheffield. All the best Rob

Unfortunately, it's often the case of how the Royal Mail operates these days. If they are busy or under-staffed, they simply hold back the larger envelopes and parcels for delivery. Our post was shocking for a while, but is now (touch wood) back to normal. All the best Rob

Yes I reckon you MIGHT get 25 now. All the best Rob

Getting away from the squabbling for a moment, is Belle Vue vs Cradley on Monday on or off? All the best Rob

Get off your high horse, the predictions are nothing but a bit of fun. Of course I didn't expect Chris Louis to say anything else. As for 'embarrassing', well if you try to insult other forum members with every single post, simply because they choose to be positive towards a club rather than join in with any mass negativity, then you're simply going to end up embarrassing yourself. Now, getting back onto subject, have spent most of the morning with my head buried in the Speedway Star. This edition is useful throughout the whole season - it's simply superb. All the very best Rob xxxx

The season preview is always a bumper and superb read. And the predictions are interesting, as usual. Chris Louis: 1. Ipswich 11. Scunthorpe. I assume he predicted those, before Scorpions turned over Witches at Foxhall Heath last Thursday All the best Rob PS Cyclone, you can't blame the Speedway Star for the shortcomings of Royal Mail. You'll be blaming them next for the late arrival of Monarchs' No 7.

A sensible early call off. If only the same had been done last Saturday. All the best Rob

During David Gordon's rant: “The work on the track will be reviewed by the stadium project team hourly and we will take a decision at 9am on Wednesday about whether or not we can run Friday’s home meeting against Wolverhampton. If the remedial work is successful completed and tested then we will race." All the best Rob

Experienced ref. Not necessarily one of my favourites, but he wouldn't bow down to the riders. He would have called the meeting off because the track was unfit. Which the Belle Vue management themselves have admitted (albeit blaming the contractors for it!!). Meanwhile, it looks like the BV vs Poole Sky match have been moved back to April 27? A sensible move. Track needs to be spot on - BV can't afford another embarrassment. All the best Rob

Arnie, the Amateur League had 13 teams in 1997, but I think many of them were second teams; indeed there were four 'shared' teams, with two tracks sharing the home fixtures (Reading/Swindon were one of them, if I recall correctly). The CL had 13 teams in 2003 and 2004, but without looking it up, I'm not sure how many were standalone. But yes, with the addition of the likes of Eastbourne and Birmingham, the NL has never been stronger. And, if not a record, then 8 standalone teams is the most for a while. It is a pointer that this level of speedway in Britain could be the way it survives and prospers. You can't pay out what you haven't got - Plymouth are the most recent example of this going wrong. I just hope that, somehow, the Devils can continue. All the best Rob

Club legend Wayne Carter will be riding in second half 4TT for Halifax. All the best Rob

No worries. 1957 is quite often regarded as the blackest year, because of the closure of the Wembley Lions in February. The SAL operated from 1954 to 1957, never got off the ground in 1958 (lack of teams was always a problem for the competition), and was resurrected in 1959. As pointed out by both yourself and Tsunami, it's the formation of the Provincial League in 1960 that proved speedway's salvation and led to another boom period in the late sixties and throughout the seventies. Furthermore, the creation of a British League Division Two in 1968 almost doubled the number of speedway teams within a two-year period. The past can sometimes teach us a lesson. What speedway's past has told us is that survival can be gained from building from the grass roots up. Do we actually need the top world class riders to survive? Well, no. Many of the top foreigners were not allowed in the British League in 1965, but yet this year is seen as a major step forward. Speedway clubs need to build to a budget they can afford. As long as the racing is competitive, the league of the level is largely irrelevant. Birmingham and Eastbourne are very recent examples of clubs saved by dropping to an affordable level, and many fans have hailed NL racing rather than walking away from it. Let's get back to teams being build from (largely) local youngsters. All the best Rob

It's 1958 when it was lowest, because the SAL didn't run that year. Just a single National League. But yes any revival needs to be at grass roots level first. It's no coincidence that the league currently gaining in numbers is the third tier. All the best Rob

I wasn't around, but in 1958, only 10 tracks were left, a few years earlier there had been 35. All the best Rob

To be honest, I thought Ritchie Hawkins had made a howler on the day, because I'd seen PL GSA 1 on Friday. But turned out Ritchie was right - I was wrong. Yes, his GSA for team-building purposes is 6.85. But not when it comes to determining race order (including R/R eligibility), and therefore Covatti wasn't eligible for a ride. All the best Rob

EASTER TREAT AT EDDIE WRIGHT RACEWAY HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions’ promoter Rob Godfrey is looking forward to Easter Sunday’s (3pm) clash with local rivals Sheffield Tigers at the Eddie Wright Raceway. The League Cup action forms the first half of a 31-race double-header, also featuring a four team tournament between the Scunthorpe Stags, Halifax, Hull and Buxton. The Scorpions started their 2016 fixtures last week with a fine 48-41 win at Ipswich, followed by a 45-45 draw against the Witches in a complete humdinger of a meeting at Scunthorpe. Godfrey said: “It should be an absolute belter – the racing for our home meeting against Ipswich was top drawer, and this should be the same. “Sheffield are always good value around the Eddie Wright Raceway, and it’s going to be a real test for our ambitions to reach the League Cup semi-finals. “We took five points from the two meetings against Ipswich, which was a handy start, and we need to keep adding to that. We ride well at both Sheffield and Peterborough, but at the same time, we need to win our home meetings. “We had a few engine problems in the home meeting against Ipswich, which cost us the win. Josh Auty’s bike was smoking badly and he had to switch, and his second bike was nowhere as fast as the first. Meanwhile, both Wilko (Carl Wilkinson) and Zdenek (Holub) had bikes which were far too powerful for the track. We’ll have all that sorted out for the visit of the Tigers.” Wilkinson suffered a small break in his collarbone in an accident at Scunthorpe last weekend, but is planning to race through the pain barrier. * Team news to follow later in week.

Such sad news. Hope that, one way or another, that Plymouth Speedway can be saved. All the best Rob

That's the idea of the 6.30pm start time come April, to avoid the track getting too dry and dusty. It was sensible to run at 3pm on Sunday - it was starting to get rather cold as I left the stadium around 6pm (as usual, one of the last out!!). And the track held up incredibly well. There was a slick patch appearing for the last few races, but it had no affect at all on the racing. Heat 15 was simply epic, while Heat 13 wasn't far behind. In fact, I could name almost every race (Heats 11 & 12 have just sprung to mind as well ). Good to have racing back at the EWR. Scunny's home meetings are simply awesome and well worth the drive from Oxford. Get across, Jenga, when Worky are there - it's worth it. All the best Rob

Covatti not eligible for R/R ride. In terms of team building, Kerr's 2.5% reduction is applicable, but not in terms of team line-up, including guests and rider replacement. Fair play to Ritchie Hawkins - who knew his rulebook. All the best Rob

It makes me wonder if he warned BV that the track wouldn't be ready in time, and they ignored him. All the best Rob

Outstanding afternoon of speedway. At Ipswich on Thursday, there was 1 pass after the opening half lap. Today there was 31. The luck evened itself out - I think a draw was a fair result. Over the two meetings, Scunny scored 5 points and Ippo 2. Not bad for a team tipped (incorrectly) by many for the bottom. Best wishes to Wilko. All the best Rob