marko

RE Jake Allen - Totally plausible, I was good for nothing the day after my second job, the next day after that, right as rain, completely back to normal.

In the grand prixs money will always talk and Bartosz is small in stature he will always be quick but that does not always translate as a bit of weight could mean better grip off the start? Domestically something has to be done to reduce costs to the riders, no one can afford to pay them the sort of money they would like to be earning, so the only other way is to work it so that a riders outgoings are less, thus they can keep more of what they earn without it being ploughed so heavily back into their equipment. Until speedway is made more viable to both, riders, promoters and fans, things will continue on a downward trend, it really is that simple.

When I moved house I decided no more paying out to sky or cable companies for a service which I really do not use that much, I can't say I have missed not having a ton of sports and other channels to watch, the free stuff is more than enough, and I am saving well over £100 a month. There is quite a lot of speedway on youtube, ok it might only be the odd race and not live but its free and the ones filmed with no commentary are an added bonus, just the sound of the bikes.

I wonder if we will see the Thurrock Hammers promotion move to Eastbourne, they already sponsored the NL team, and are effectively a promotion without a track and Eastbourne is a track without a promotion. Of course I would like to see Essex have a track again but I just cannot see it in the current climate, the only hope would have been had Arena Essex being developed into a sports park with the speedway staying.

For several of those riders its deja vu, Lawson, Newman and Kerr were all at Lakeside in the final season and that ended up folding with riders owed money they will never get back even if the Hammers team is reborn as Thurrock, which lets face it, if we are honest, its not going to happen and those riders still wont get their money as it will be classed as a new business. Ironic that Thurrock Hammers was sponsoring the National League team.

Will affect Kent Kings too, they have lost Lakeside, Rye House and now Eastbourne, all clubs within reasonable travelling distance for away fans.

That's a bit below the belt, one day it might be your club!

Good old KKS, still living in his mothers basement, stealing her wi-fi and paying no rent.

Can never understand why some sports owners choose to punish those that get their in plenty of time by making them wait for those that got their late.

yes, don't tell me its already been done, I was looking forward to seeing some racing that isn't confined to paid channels, oh well, that's that then

when is this meeting taking place today assume 6pm?

They should be sued for failing to deliver on what I presume would have been an agreed contract

I would like all speedway to be under one roof, (Polish, Swedish, GPs and British) on a channel that you can get via an online subscription, no need for SKY tv or cable packages etc

The story of Batch questioning a kid who wanted a photo is quite sad, his confidence must be shot to pieces to feel like that, maybe a sports psychologist would help him?

Maybe some truth in the notion of Batch losing his bottle, he was always one of the first to cry off when tracks are wet. It’s a tough game and if your not committed you are going to struggle, speedway is not a sport you can do half hearted. Reminds me a bit of another Troy (Pratt) fast when gating and out in front but all at sea when faced with trying to pass someone, body language completely different.

What that tells me is something I have always know, that when something matters enough people will not only watch it on tv in large numbers but as we know from first sight, the play off matches are always very well attended. And that sums up the state of speedway in this country, the standard matches are just not seen as "can't miss" having fewer and fewer teams in the league does not help. Ps How many meetings have Eurosport shown thus far? it cant be more than a handful

This is very heart warming, on the fact of it everything is still pretty much in place, a bit more work and you could run practice on that track no problem.

I think one of the reasons why the public are so cautious about travelling to meetings when its wet is because for many years, promoters have lied about the prospects of meetings going ahead, "we have had no rain here, the track is in excellent condition" but then you get their, and puddles are all around coupled with a wet track, and it has not just happened. Promoters now are stuck between a rock and a hard place, if the weather does not come, will people actually believe them when they say "everything is ok"? reap what you sow etc

Correct me if I am wrong, but a long time ago (late 80s/early 90s) I have something in my memory about meetings could not be called off until a ref arrived and validated it, and that there were occasions where a local ref (not always the one booked) would be called in well ahead of time in order to make that decision earlier than waiting for the booked ref to turn up, an hour or two before start time?

One thing is for sure Smarzlik will do almost anything to win, risk vs reward, doesn’t always work but he is riding on supreme confidence, not only with his equipment but his own ability.

Kicking myself, didn’t bet at all in the end but could have made a good amount on Bartosz

Tia might be suffering from what I have long called the Brent Werner effect. For those that do not recall or were not supporters back in the day, Brent was an American rider, not a world beater but very good at second division level, would never settle for a safe second but once he had a kid, that all changed and he was never the same again. Not all riders suffer from this but many do, as I do not have children myself I am unable to grasp this, but I imagine it can alter ones perception of life.

You can get 9/2 on Smarzlik winning round 3, that sounds very tempting as an each way.

Eurosport simply playing with speedway, if your going to do something, be committed to it, it would be better off on premiere sports, all speedway under one roof would be so much better. Sweden, Poland, Britain and the GPS

I don't about a lot of the Non GP Polish riders but Torun look strong, so +2 makes me cautious about placing a bet on them.