Fourentee

More freeloading jam eaters! Edit: Little West Cumbrian in joke there, apologies to anyone puzzled.

I would have thought the declared line-up would have to stay, but stand to be corrected by those with more rule book knowledge. Masters was at Belle Vue.

He must have ridden in it some time, surely? Wasn't he in the one at Leicester a couple of years ago when world champion? And certainly the 2010 at Rye House. And the first one at Sheffield? Presumably you've mentioned these somewhere in the thread.

I think basically it has to be up to the individual clubs and I wouldn't criticise them either way. I don't think it desirable or practical to give free entry to anyone who ever threw a leg over a machine and once you arrive at that stance, where can you possibly draw the line? Club legend? Stalwart? One solid season? Fan favourite? It would be a wisdom of Solomon call. Going back a year or two at Wolves, I was amused to see a visiting couple from abroad head for the pits during the open session before a match and make a bee line to their hero for an autograph and a chat, which he conducted very graciously and with evident pleasure. But that's (machine examiner) Alan Grahame for you.

Yep, would surely be the fairest way to leave things as they are.

I once picked up Billy Hamill at an airport and drove him to an Elite League meeting where he was refused admission at the car park gate, having forgotten his rider pass. He was allowed in as a 'plus one' on my press pass. Just as well, given he was riding in the match...

Good luck with that. Oxford was one of my favourite circuits to visit. Hope it goes well. On a small point of order you appear to have mistaken the circulation figure by a factor of five. http://www.abc.org.uk/Products-Services/Product-Page/?tid=20917 See above!

I'll settle for the British one on the front of his race jacket.

Mercifully for Great Britain's prospects, Mr Rossiter is unlikely to see things the same way.

Well, maybe, maybe not. The final race in the British championships has been littered with crashes and reruns, some to Tai's benefit and others not. I wouldn't have regarded it as a foregone conclusion.

Well, that's 53 pages of our lives we'll never get back...

The format should help. Garrity is not one of those riders you would imagine stringing five consistent rides together to win an old-style individual. But if he makes it to the semis -- and I rather think he will -- then it is, in effect, two one-off rides. And then....? In passing, going back a few years I used to have much the same view of Lewis Bridger in this kind of competition.

Just for info, Star Lady, I'm not playing 'good cop, bad cop' here with BWitcher!

Sure, no problem. In his Wolves days some of his team riding can be quite below the radar in the way he controlled the first/second bend to usher a teammate through or block a rival's run.

FWIW I can recall plenty of team riding examples at Wolves, including one (failed) attempt to nurture Joe Haines round against Chris Harris (if memory serves). It was put to him afterwards that he could have cleared off and left Haines to his fate and he replied: "But I'm the captain."

Welcome to my world.

All the easier to take a week off and recharge.

You wouldn't regard his willingness to ride for Team GB as being supportive of British speedway?

Any particular reason for that? Just the merest hint of a contradiction on the old internal logic front, is there not?

Me neither. And this isn't one of them.

Can I not just tease Steve a bit without you going all factual on me?

Au contraire, the young Briton Bates elevated out of the reserve berths points to the system's success!

Steve, given that they currently have five Britons in the side (of varying ages, admittedly), that's perhaps a path down which you should not stroll.

How many, then, and of that number how many potential finalists?

Tai was on the British Final rostrum at Swindon and Poole when still in his teens and as has been pointed out numerous times -- and by numerous people -- has never been dominant at Monmore. Would you care to name these "several riders" who feel "cheated"?