Great Central

Mike, No I missed the bit in the Star but I echo Whippy's comments, and knowing what you came back to post your holiday, it must have been a very difficult time for you recently. Really glad that you managed the trip to Buxton since I know how much you enjoy getting up into the hills. An added bonus was the result going in your favour which is not the result I wanted, but well done to the Young Stars. Hope to see you next week for the re-arranged fixture with the BV Colts. Some serious racing for us in the meantime with Dudley and Sheffield away and then KL. One day we may race at home!!! Martin

Judging by the lack of dialogue from him, it looks as if he missed out on his favourite speedway journey out into the wilds of the Peak District and this time the Young Stars won. Sounds like a good meeting with all the drama that Buxton brings.

BV Colts have: Home Hackney, Kings Lynn Away: Dudley, Sheffield and Kings Lynn Still to be arranged: Newport Home/Away and Stoke Home(Previously rained off)

I am surprised that nobody has mentioned the high cost of a programme which was so poorly designed that there was no room to enter in any of the several changes in any easy way. And why do we need such a glossy programme anyway? As for lack of passing, I think the "follow my leader racing" would have been evident on any track for at least the 1st 8 heats due to the amount of slush on the track, and in reality had it been held at any other track it would probably have been called off before Heat 1 was started. That track took an awful lot of water in the initial downpour. Well done to the track staff for at least getting 16 heats done.

Many thanks. I supose that it was the right decision but tough on Brandon.

Thanks for the summary. Was the result in doubt when Brandon was pulled out of his 4th ride? It is frustrating for No 6 reserve because that is the heat when they have a chance to meet a fellow reserve. Good to see David Mason getting abck to good form.

Glad to hear the good news about the injured Dudley riders and well done to the three Heathens riders who kept the match going until Ht 12, especially young Adam Portwood who was riding BV for the first time. He top scored for the Heathens and although short of speed down the straights, actually rode a superb line around the bends keeping it tight in and clear of the fence on the exits from bends 2 and 4. There have been a lot of postings about what happened last night and the losers were the spectators who paid good money to watch a speedway match but if the track was that bad, how come times in the 62 sec region were recorded including a brilliant ride by Tom Perry to pass Adam McKinna on the line. Kyle H went out in Ht 1 with the track at its worst and recorded 63.0, hardly an indication of a bad track.

You are safe. The meeting won't be held next week since BV are at home against Dudley. Not a good day yesterday since our match at Newport on Sunday was also cancelled. See you soon and enjoy your holiday.

Mike, Best laid plans etc etc all gone out of the window so this week is not to be. CDW will be put on ice for now, especially after the sun drenched Dragons practice at the NA yesterday. At least the postponement will give you time to drum up a bit more support and hopefully Whippy can sort our her transport arrangements, although plans were being hatched so that she wouldn't miss what was looking like a cracking meeting. See you soon, Martin

Mike, We were hoping to drop by, score a couple of points and leave without any fuss. Now you have wrecked our plans!! Hopefully the weather will be kind to us and the racing lives up to your expectation and the crowds come flocking in on the wave of anticipation that you have generated. See you on Wednesday. Martin

I see you are a mechanic when it comes to free food!!! Wasn't laid on when BV were there, unless they kept it hidden until we had left. Say well done to Rob - there can't be many visitors go to West Row and come away with a maximum. Martin

Looking at the webcams close by, it is overcast but dry sp hopefully you should be ok. PS What have you done wrong in Wednesbury - it rained there yesterday but nowhere else!!

Full results on the Long Eaton website, or in the Amateur section on the forum. Unfortunately Bryon couldn't ride due to damaging his shoulder in a nasty accident at BV on Wednesday and his place was taken by Ben Hopwood. Steve Jones couldn't ride due to his licence not arriving in time so Daniel Mitchell stepped in at short notice as cover. Time was very tight after a protracted PL meeting but 6 heats were slotted in somehow with all riders ready to go as soon as one race finished. Well done to Nigel and the staff at Sheffield for making it happen. Martin Widman

Malcolm, What a balanced posting from somebody so passionate as you about the NL. We certainly don't want a repeat of the Nelson incident since that really does not do the sport any good. Martin Widman

Totally agree with your comments about the Morris/Garrity race, and Ht 12 was another cracker with Kyle Howarth and Tom Perry. I think in Ht 14 anything could have happened but both riders showed respect for each other holding lines where required and that race was worth the admission money alone. Hopefully the crowd saw Jason in a different light from last year and I think from the way the boys went round the track after the finish, they enjoyed it. Not sure if the crowd was the normal size since I have nothing to judge it by with it being my 1st time at a NL match at Wolves but I am sure all NL promoters would be happy with that size crowd every week.

From the Twitter updates it seemed to be a meeting that had every sort of action but the final bit of news was very sad indeed. With Adam Lowe being sidelined as well, the Young Stars have really been hit by some bad luck at the start of the 2011 season. Our best wishes go out to Darren and Lewis for a speedy recovery. On a more positive note it appears that there were more spectators there than usual so hopefully that will continue down there at the NA.

Just seen the line up for Buxton and whilst the reserves may just swing it for KL, the outcome will be closer than I thought. It may well get quite close and it should be a cracking meeting. I hope the weather holds out for you down at the NA and that the supporters turn out in force to show some support for the youngsters.

Having been at both meetings, I thought that some strange decisions were made in both and there is a defintely a lack of consistency with referees. I don't suppose they have the benefit of video replays at NL meetings so it is as they see it at the time. As far as I remember, James Brundle was excluded for falling on his own and getting stuck under the air fence one lap after the incident with Chris Widman. The race should have been stopped at the first incident and rerun without Chris giving Brundle the chance to score points in the rerun, but maybe the referee saw the clash as a 50/50 racing incident. Who knows. Regarding Belle Vue, I think mikec sums it quite nicely: "We're in a dire stadium where we've not been wanted for years. Viewing is poor, facilities are tired at best". If standing outside, the view of the riders is very poor so a lot of spectators go inside. Apparently it was quite full inside last night but obviously that doesn't add to the atmosphere outside. I think the BV spectators are beginning to warm to NL speedway and with EL matches not being held every week, why not come and support the youngsters on the "off weeks". You will see plenty of commitment, exciting racing and no messing around at the start and last night the scoreline did not do Mildenhall justice for the effort put in by the riders. It is not going to be easy to come to BV and get points of the Colts since most NL riders will be seeing it for the first time this year.

Thanks for the weather updates. Forecasters are predicting some heavy showers but I don't think they know where they will be. Hope they are not over BV.

Mike, I totally agree, and there comes a time when a team starts to click, and after a slow start, Buxton could do just that this week. There aren't too many riders that go better round the NA than Adam Allott and riders struggling fo find form at home on the hills above Buxton may well find the open NA more to their liking. Whatever happens, the riders will give their all, something that is not always seen in the higher leagues of speedway. Martin

Mike, Can't fault your dedication to promoting NL racing. You should be on payroll at the NA!! Hope that some of the EL fans out there turn out to support the young local riders since they won't see any EL racing at the NA until next week at the earliest, but the trouble with this meeting is that I can't see anything else but a big score for the Young Stars. Yes Adam and Rob will provide some strong opposition, and Dean Felton can certainly score more points than his average suggests but the Stars team just look too strong for Buxton this time round. Having just been to Rye and Mildenhall with the BV Colts, what you do get with NL racing is action, commitment and some excellent racing from the youngsters and it is just a pity that a lot of people can't see that this is where our stars of the future serve their apprenticeship. Yes some may struggle at times but they all have to start somewhere. Martin PS Excellent crowd at Mildenhall yesterday so can imagine the local derby next week will increase their crowds somewhat.

Fantastic work and bang up date - you must have the patience of a saint to create all this data. "Any mistakes are down to an utter lack of attention on my part." Great comment but far from being true. Well done again. Martin

Richard, Can you add the Dragons meeting at Sittingbourne on the 17th April please. Also missing is the STR Best Pairs and Support classes meeeting at Kings Lynn on the 10th April. Many thanks, Martin

Good to see some positive comments on the BV Forum from non-NL supporters who seemed to enjoy the excitement, incident packed night and to witness the tremendous commitment from all the lads on display. With currently only one meeting per week at Belle Vue, it is hoped that some more of the EL supporters come along to support the Colts. They won't be disappointed.

Well done to Jason for winning last night with a fighting finish after his tapes exclusion. Good to see Shane Hazelden getting up there on the rostrum as well.