Great Central

Vince, I think that you are right to take this stance. Phil may not have been everyone's cup of tea but at least he had a go at keeping Weymouth going and he shouldn't be castigated in the way he is being right now. Additionally if the figures are to be believed, he put in a lot of his own money which is not the right way to run a business. Weymouth had a lot going for it in the early days and it tried to develop youngsters by running regular training schools eg George Piper and Alex Mcleod to name two but it seemed to go wrong at some point and the crowds starting drifting. I heard all sorts of discontent on my last visit but how much was true I don't know so I won't comment. On the few occasions that I went, the track was very poor apart from ironically this year when it looked the best it had ever been, however on the live updates there appeared to be real problems with dust which certainly doesn't endear speedway to the holidaymaker taking in motorsport before going out to sample Weymouth at night. What is clear now is that Weymouth is now without speedway, the NL is without another team which will have an effect on available places for young British riders and the league will be much poorer without them. I can only hope that somebody comes along with the cash to settle the outstanding bills, get it up and running and really promote speedway in the town. One thing I did notice that on the run down into Weymouth where you could attract interest from holidaymakers because of the traffic jams, there were no signs promoting speedway in Weymouth. What a missed opportunity, but isn't that the case with lots of tracks. Martin

And may I ask who owns the GRA - a Venture Capitalist group whose sole interest is promoting greyhound racing. I think not. There is some very valuable real estate in those stadiums which will eventually all go the same way and that is into housing. That is when they will get their money back and in the meantime they just let them run down into delapidated facilities which any self respecting council will not object to a housing estate being built to get rid of the eyesore. Call me cynical but the only people venture capitalists look after is themselves.

Exactly what the council said at Long Eaton!!

Don't want join the doom and gloom merchants but it sounds like another Long Eaton waiting to happen. Promises of a stadium evaporated into thin air and now the houses are being built on the old land. Everyone saw it coming but the timescale was bit longer than first thought. To all Swindon supporters, get fighting now before it is too late.

Are you on night shift or couldn't you sleep posting at some unearthly hour over there. Looks like the boy rode well today and stuck with Buxton to the end of the season. The weather didn't look too kind this morning with mist hanging over the hills so I suppose they did well to run the meeting. Well done to Buxton on the seasons successes.

Mike, I couldn't be there last night due to other commitments but it sounds like it was a good night's racing, and a good crowd as well which the match deserved. I feel for KL who got so close again but were beaten by the better team over the two legs. Well done to Buxton, and I hope that both Cal and Lewis D are ok after what sounded like a very nasty accident. Martin

Have to totally agree with your comments. Their travel arangements have not just been rearranged because Dudley did not make a final, they have been planned for some time and they would have left Dudley in a very difficult position had they not lost against Buxton. The season finishes on the 31st October, not the middle of October.

Hope the weather stays fine for this big meeting. Can't be there due to the STR meeting at KL but best wishes to the KL Young Stars and I hope they get a big enough lead to draw the crowds for next Wednesday at the NA. One would think so with it being the last meeting at the NA this year apart from some amateur meetings. To young Mimmo, the most faithful, enthusiastic and most vocal KL Young Stars supporter, a word of advice. Don't dally too long with the tarts in Bakewell. Too much of a good thing can make you ill!!! Martin Widman

Have you got the heat details?

Richard, Sorry about the mix up with the 4TT date. You rightly put it in as the 24th October which is correct. Regarding the STR venues, it is only Kings Lynn at the moment. Rye House has been lost to the STR, and a meeting at Mildenhall fell through at the last minute. I think we need to look for other venues to prevent us getting bored!!! It provides some great racing as does Scunthorpe but the A47 to KL does get a bit tiresome. The Dragons Club has a meeting at KL on the 14th November with a start time of 1300. Thanks for laying on the sun last Sunday and hopefully you can do it again this Sunday. Martin

A big well done to all at Buxton, and indeed to Dudley for very nearly overcoming the 1st Leg deficit. It was always going to be tough match today but I didn't think it would be that close. Well done to Robert B who had a crash on Friday and looked doubtful for today but came back with a great score.

You might well have understood the rules correctly as written but are they being adhered to? Looks like new rules are being dreamt up all the time to suit the occasion.

Best of luck to all the lads in the Young Stars. Although, we hope they wont be leaving too much to lady luck. Nearly there. The Widmans

Dale, The point I was trying to make was not to score points on one side or the other but just to seek clarification. I am sure that Lewis is not the only rider who has guested in a position other than the #1 position but his name was the first to spring to mind. I also make the point that rule 16.4.1 states that the National Trophy will be decided with a Final for teh top two teams on a home and away basis. Is that happening - no it isn't. Because of the sensistivity of using this post about what seem trivial matters when riders are injured, I will open up another post on the validity of the SCB Rule Book 2010 version!! Best wishes to both James and Jay - it certainly sounds like James' crash was a bad one.

Rule 18.1.5.5 States "Guest riders in the NL are restricted to a replacement for the #1 (by CMA) only" which seems pretty clear to me but didn't Bournemouth use Lewis Kerr as a guest at #4 not long ago.

Richard, Just for information, the STR meeting which was scheduled for today was cancelled and has moved to the 21st November and is the Over 40's and Over 50's championship. The next STR meeting is the 4 Team Tournament which is the 24th November. Assuming you are not still counting out the points money from last night!!!! can you please update the calendar please. Regards, Martin

It is Rhys Hooper.

Don't worry about Bryn, he will be up in that heated referees box!!! As to deciding where to go, ignore the Bank Holiday traffic and get down to the NA - you know it is the only place to be!!!

Didn't Jamie Pickard win heat 1, which would then match the individual scores right?

Now that should increase the crowd somewhat. I foresee a big influx of people to watch Parsloes actually buying a key ring fob!!! You might even get MV there to witness that momentous occasion. Enjoy the meeting - it should be a cracker with both sides having riders that can ride really well round the NA. Whilst I am on the forum, best wishes to Darren Mallett for a speedy recovery from his illness.

Richard, The STR have now moved their Novice, Intermediate and Open Championship meeting from the 12th September to the 19th September. That means that three amateur meetings are being run on the same day, albeit in quite far flung places from each other. Martin Widman

If you email me at martin_widman@hotmail.com I should be able to send you a scanned copy of the results

Dale I am sure that Buster will be ok unless he forgets that he is Team Manager, and goes off grading and watering!!! Enjoy yourself tomorrow with the big boys down in South Wales. Martin

A tremendous build up from Mimmo again, clearly trying to spread the word on how good NL racing really is if only people would come and see it. I am surprised at the times on Monday - on the television the track looked to be prepared for fast times and yet no better than a lot of the NL times. Yes there are some processional races in the NL but look the EL. No different but you pay less. The "top man" in charge for the Young Stars against a very strong Newport side in what could well be a cracking match. Hope the weather allows for a good track to be prepared.

I can only echo Choppers comments. Rain was threatening all the time and this clearly influenced how the track was prepared but it still provided some good racing. Well done to Steve Williams and everyone else who helped out to make it a success. Not that well supported by spectators but those who stayed away missed a good night. A huge thanks to all the sponsors who clearly made it possible to run the meeting. Martin Widman