lucifer sam

If the track wasn't ready, then the buck stops entirely with the promotion. They should have called it off several days ago, and stopped fans from all across the country travelling to Manchester today for what was a massive waste of time. They have shot themselves in the foot. All the best Rob

The thoughts of Alex Davies on the win at Ipswich: http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=4945 All the best Rob

Kerr 7.03, Risager 6.86 according to last night's programme. All the best Rob

Dave Peet's views on last night's meeting: http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=4938 Alex Davies' reaction will be added tonight. All the best Rob

By my reckoning, there was one pass after the first-half lap all night. Lewis Kerr passed Zdenek Holub in Heat 3, as Holub was learning a brand new track. The Z man was good after that, including a cracking ride to keep Covatti at bay in Heat 7. The racing was awful - the track had no dirt and one line. And not sure what's going on with the Ipswich suits - half the team are in yellow and half in green Still, I went home with a huge smile on my face, after a great performance by the Scorpions - it was seven riders against four, and the seven won. Alex Davies could be in for a big year, but every Scorpion contributed last night, including a very neat ride from young Josh Bailey in Heat 2. All the best Rob

Got my ticket yesterday, having registered an interest by email. Yay!! Have therefore cancelled my alternate Easter Monday plans. All the best Rob

Get in Scorps!! Hard to believe some poor deluded souls thought the Witches could score 60 against us All the best Rob

Seems there is a stretch of the A14 closed overnight tonight as well. All the best Rob

I'm leaving work at 4pm today (Oxford), so it'll be slightly tight for time. I will leave M25 at junction 28. Are there any roadworks on that stretch of the A12/A14 at the moment? Thanks. All the best Rob

HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions are looking for a successful start to their 2016 season, with home and away fixtures with the Ipswich Witches this week. The Scorpions travel to Foxhall Heath tonight (Thursday, 7.30pm) for a League Cup match, and then face the Witches in the return encounter at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday (3pm). Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We find ourselves in a tough League Cup group with Ipswich, Peterborough and Sheffield, but we would like to get off to a good start to the season and put in a strong challenge for a semi-final spot in the competition. “I’m full of optimism for the new season – I believe we’ve put together a team that can deliver. “Nicolai (Klindt), Josh (Auty) and Ryan (Douglas) all scored good points in a competitive meeting in the Ben Fund Bonanza at King’s Lynn on Saturday and everything is boding well for the new season. “The visit to Foxhall is the first official fixture of 2016, and there’s a chance that we could catch Ipswich a little cold. We’ll approach the meeting with a positive attitude – there’s no reason why we can’t take a result from the meeting. “In return, I’m expecting an exciting, close-fought encounter at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday, but we will definitely be out to start our home meetings with a victory. “Ipswich’s last visit to Scunthorpe back in last July was, in a word ‘eventful’ and if we get even half as much entertainment on Sunday as we did on that Friday night, we’ll be in for a treat!” Admission prices for Sunday: Adult: £15.00 Student/OAP: £13.00 Child (16 – 17): £5.00 Child (0 – 15) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £35 (2 adults, 2 Children 16-17) Match Programme: £1.00 Expected teams for Sunday: Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Josh Auty, 2. Nicolai Klindt, 3. Alex Davies, 4. Zdenek Holub, 5. Ryan Douglas, 6. Carl Wilkinson, 7. Josh Bailey. Ipswich Witches: 1. Danny King, 2. James Sarjeant, 3. Lewis Kerr, 4. Morten Risager, 5. Nico Covatti, 6. Paco Castagna, 7. Darryl Ritchings.

Steve, there's no doubt that he was volatile (especially early in his career), and he admits himself that he had a reputation for events off the track. That's why it's interesting to hear his views on that subject. And yes, the sport is in need of a few more characters these days. Agree totally with that sentiment. All the best Rob

Steve, I think he revealed a lot. For example, I didn't realise the personal trauma he'd been through in 2004 - Steve mentioned that despite the fact it's understandably tough for him to talk about it. I know you regard him as a arch-villain, but I found him as eloquent, intelligent and modest; someone more interested in talking about the future of the sport, than talking about himself. One thing he was reluctant to do was to bad-mouth other riders e.g. regarding the incident with Briggo at Reading, what he wanted to point out was that they had bumped into each other in the last year or so and had talked things out. Of particular interest, I felt, was his reasoning behind any trouble on-and-off track. He clearly had his own code, and if anyone went against that, then he wouldn't hesitate to stick up for himself. A standard closing question is "Do you look back fondly on your speedway career?". Steve gave one of the most eloquent responses to this, explaining how it had shaped his subsequent life. All the best Rob

Down and safe in Groningen. Hope to bump into Conkers (met him many times) and Iris (for what would be the first time) at some point of proceedings over the weekend. All the best Rob

British Semi-Final coming to Scunthorpe (along with Glasgow). A date expected to be confirmed later today. All the best Rob

Tyretrax, are you deliberately going around the forum trying to cause arguments? This was a positive thread regarding a medical breakthrough that could possibly change the lives of several wheelchair bound speedway riders. Well, it was until you came on here... Your comments are completely uncalled for. All the best Rob

SCORPIONS HOLD PRICES HENDERSON INSURANCE Scunthorpe Scorpions have held their admission prices for the third successive season. It will remain £15 for an adult to watch a single Premier League meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway, and £17 to watch the double-headers on Easter Sunday, May Day Bank Holiday, Spring Bank Holiday and Summer Bank Holiday. Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We offer one of the most attractive set of admission prices across the entire Premier League, and that will again be the case in 2016. “We are pegging our admission prices at the same level for the third successive season. “We realise the need to provide a good value-for-money package. That doesn’t just cover the admission, but also the programme and the food. It doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to watch speedway in Scunthorpe and that’s important if you want people to come back for every meeting. “As well as keeping the prices down for supporters, we will again be going all out to make sure the racing at Scunthorpe is second to none. We’re proud that many supporters from all over the country have visited and branded our racetrack the best in Britain. “I believe we offer an unbeatable package, with plenty of entertainment and thrilling action at the Eddie Wright Raceway.” The Scorpions commence their home meetings on Sunday, March 20th (3pm) with the visit of Ipswich Witches in a League Cup encounter. The Witches won a highly controversial encounter last July, and Scorpions will be looking to avenge that result. Three days earlier, on March 17th, the Scorpions travel away to Ipswich in the corresponding fixture, where they will be looking to get their League Cup fixtures off to a flying start. ADMISSION PRICES 2016 (same as 2014 and 2015): 2016 Premier League Admission Prices (single meeting): 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 2016 Bank Holiday double-header meetings (i.e. Premier League match followed by a further meeting): Adult: £17.00 Student/OAP: £15.00 Child (10 – 17): £5.00 Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £39 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17) Match Programme: £1.00

So hope that this proves to be the breakthrough. Of course, Darcy isn't the only rider affected. Fingers crossed for Lol Hare and Garry Stead and Leigh Adams and Pip Lamb and every other wheelchair bound rider as well. All the best Rob

I agree that Berwick have a poor looking side in 2016. Scunny look pretty good, though! All the best Rob

Fundin had a reputation (not sure if it was justified?) for being very selfish on track. Jimmy Gooch moved from Norwich to Oxford in 1964, because (might have my details slightly out here, but I believe the general gist is correct) he thumped Fundin, after Gooch finally lost his patience at taken out by Fundin. Or was it that Fundin thumped Gooch for daring to beat him? In any case, I don't think there was much love lost between Fundin and some of his team-mates. When Tony Rickardsson joined Oxford briefly in 2006, he took team-mates out of the race, although Piszcz or Skornicki didn't actually confront him. He had an unsettling effect on the rest of the team, and as soon as Todd Wiltshire came in (Aaron Lanney, realising the problem, cut Rickardsson's six-week period to four weeks to bring Todd in early), the spirit rocketed and team performances improved. Maybe Oxford just caught Rickardsson at the wrong end of his career, since within a couple of months, he had retired altogether. But a one-tracked, selfish nature is sometimes what took riders took to the pinnacle in the first place. Most of the time supporters don't mind if the star rider is selfish, as long as he is banging in maximums and the team is winning. Some World Champions (Moore, Nielsen, Ermolenko, etc) were renowned team riders. All the best Rob

So which country would actually win the meeting? Sweden probably have the strongest pair in Fundin and Rickardsson, but both were individuals, rather than team men. Could they end up dropping points from racing each other? New Zealand probably would fare better in that regard, and I think Mauger/Moore would be NZ’s most suitable pairing for a pairs event. They’d be major contenders and in with a shout. But I think I’d plump for Nielsen and Gundersen. They were each other’s biggest rival, but there was mutual respect there as well, and they could combine together brilliantly. Most World Pairs titles? Nielsen. Second most? Gundersen. Hard to look elsewhere really. All the best Rob

I reckon Knudsen will be in there, somewhere between 4th and 6th. All the best Rob

PLEASE NOTE that there is a new start-time for the meeting between the Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions and the Glasgow Tigers at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday, July 10th – which takes place the day after the British Grand Prix in Cardiff. After a request from the Glasgow management, which has been agreed to, this meeting will now start at 4pm (rather than 6.30pm).

Surely the dominant rider is a combination of world form and league form. The Danes were completely dominant in 1991, due to the twin spearhead of Jan O and Hans, and Tommy having a very good year as well. In the World Pairs, the Danes won easily, with Nielsen unbeaten. Hans was favourite for the World Final having cakewalked his semi-final with a maximum, but instead it was Jan O who deservedly won at Gothenburg with a brilliant, untroubled maximum. The World Team Cup saw the Danes set a new record total - I seem to recall Jan O scored another maximum, while Hans only dropped a single point. Pedersen and Nielsen were the dominant riders of 1991. Pedersen won a clean sweep of world honours; Nielsen won the World Team Cup and World Pairs. What international honours did Sam win in 1991? Jan O's sad injury, plus Nielsen suffering a collarbone injury which led to his elimination, created a vacuum in 1992. That season the USA did win the pairs and team events, but wasn't it Greg who came in mid-meeting and won the pairs for the Americans, defeating Havvy in the run-off? No one rider dominated 1992, but the best rider overall was probably Jonsson, the World No 2 that year. Didn't Sam have a shocker of a World Final? And Havelock had one hell of a run in the World Championship. Sam was the best rider in 1993, without any question at all. But I think that was the only season where he was the best rider in the world. All the best Rob

Jan O Pedersen and Hans Nielsen were better in 1991, and Per Jonsson was better in 1992. Ermolenko was the best rider in the world in 1993. Again, it's not who was best in an individual year - it's who was better over the whole timeframe. Ermolenko doesn't come near Nielsen over 1983-1995. All the best Rob

I thought the poor World Final might be dragging him down a bit. I realise it's a ranking over the whole season, but Cocker's form in the latter half of 1986 really took off and he was regularly taking points off the very best. The Oxford team of '86 wasn't as strong all-round as Cradley '83, but the reason Cradley lost twice in the BL while Oxford remained unbeaten was how well Nielsen, Wigg and Cox scored as a heat-leader duo, once the BL campaign started. Oxford fell behind at both Cradley and Reading, used tactical subs, and ended up winning both meetings with a race to spare. All interesting stuff. Shawn Moran could be quite a rider. Wasn't it in the 1984 ICF where he was playing with the opposition? He let Kelly by in one race, but still won the meeting. And yet I also remember him at the 1987 BLRC. Five rides, five stone lasts. PS I reckon Bruce would have still been World Champ in '82, even in a Grand Prix series. He was a more effective performer than Carter on the big stage. All the best Rob