*JJ

By signing the World Champion for the play offs ... 😖

He didn't ride because his bikes had not arrived.

I was told by a promoter that they can't be bothered to keep the track open for another half hour. Still, everybody knows that speedway riders come from Australia or Poland ...

Very witty ... I tried to crop the photo, but it seems that it is still too big for this forum.

No - I have a photograph of Ellis in the pits at Perry Barr at the time. I wanted to post it here, but it seems that it was too big. And your last sentence is also wrong: I for one certainly knew that Ellis' signing was intended as being temporary.

You are wrong again, he did: I was there. It was only when we saw Ellis in a Birmingham jacket that we knew who the rider was.

Well, if someone could explain where this rumour started. As far as I can see, it is just something which was invented on this forum as a conspiracy story. I may be wrong, of course, but so can you and all of the others. As for Adam Ellis a couple of years ago, his was an emergency signing as the Brummies had been unable to find a number 1 as they had been accepted into the Championship very late; Ellis was signed as a temporary rider at the press and practice day. This was explained at the time and everyne knew this. No such announcement has been made about Jeppesen?

Why should he be replaced?

💋

No; it isn't 'live', the programmes are recorded and transmitted at midnight, when I for one am asleep.

Do what I do; I record the programmes and fast forward Abi. Same as the bimbo in the Rally Championship!

Which is what I have done ... I discovered last year that the matches - the whole meeting, not just the 'highlights' - appeared on Youtube the following day!

Isn't that Phil Morris' job, Dean? Or it should be part of it. As for Perry Barr, I once measured it on a map, this track and Monmore and Cradley were only nine miles apart as the crow flies, and indeed Cradley used PB for a while when they started in the NL. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that when the dogs move out, planning permission could be sought for speedway use on other days ... on the other hand, when I commented to Laurence Rogers that there was a convenient piece of land next to the athletics stadium, by the motorway, he grimaced and said 'Planning permission...'

I am told that Richings decided himself to get back into speedway, and contacted promoters for a team place.

That's because there is no encouragement for them. You can't just jump from 125s to the NL without an intermediate step.

You had better tell the promoters who decided that this invaluable route for a rider to progress was not required. Once, a few years ago, there were many teams and plenty of riders to man them.

Promise?

My comment was in reply to HGould asking about the NDT team!

So why did Stephen Miller find this funny? 😲 It was true ...

One will be Darryl Ritchings who is doubling up with Oxford Chargers (this is allowed between NDL and NDT teams, apparently).

Darryl Ritchings ...

Malcolm Simmonds. He used to sit upright and relaxed.

I don't know; he is not a heat leader, but he did well enough until he became ill.

He was never any good at Perry Barr when he rode for Wolves. Perhaps he has improved over the last 10 years.

When he rode for Birmingham in his last season he was great. What a waste of some considerable talent, what an awful crime! Mind you, when you look at his photograph, with his low forehead, he doesn't seem quite right.