89buttons Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, mikebv said: Not sure how it will be more competitive... 80% of the riders will be Championship riders so it will be as similarly competitive as it would be in the Championship surely? And a rider like Doyle, who is head and shoulders better than all but a few Championship riders, could make it even less competitive.. Having watched more and more higher quality riders drop down into the championship over the last few seasons I feel like the distance between the top riders and bottom riders level in championship is far greater than in the premiership and therefore the racing should be more competitive, especially as most teams have more of a strength in depth look to them - if Heeps/Allen make a good start in ht 4 (5&7’s race) for example they have every chance of beating an opposing heat leader and achieving heat advantages or at the very least closer races between all 4 riders! The drop in point limit for the championship has only exacerbated the situation - next year there’s several riders at reserve in the championship that have barely reached heat leader status in the national league yet, we’ve seen at Foxhall over the last couple of seasons it’s not an easy track for national league graduates, it’s set up grippy for home advantage, while the shape/size means you have to turn the bike quite hard at the same time, tricky skills that take time to develop and are particularly rigorous on the upper body so young lads of 16 barring some exceptional talents will struggle more with as they’re learning and getting stronger. Look at difficulties the likes of Connor mountain has had at Foxhall and he’s been a 9 point rider in the national league for several seasons now and is miles ahead currently of several of the lads stepping up this year yet teams still have Schlein/Harris Kenneth/Lawson nicholls/r.worrall at 1&5 how can you say races with two of these guys in accompanied by two 16years old 6pt national league riders are going to be as competitive as say Harris/Allen vs Andersen/barker....? It’s not! You’ll get two match races in one, with one half a lap ahead of the other. We’ve consistently seen fantastic races in ht13&15 the last couple of seasons when Danny/Rory come up against competitive pairings of a higher skill set and with the top flight we’ll have a lot closer matches races across all four riders in a race! Like chessell, Henry Adkins cannot beat Craig cook or Rory Schlein - maybe one day but not yet and won’t get there in 2019 cameron Heeps Jake Allen could and probably have beat some top boys in the premiership. its been a difficult winter as a witches fan and clearly teambuilding has been tough for Chris and things haven’t gone quite to plan, but I firmly believe we have a side assembled that can be competitive in all our home matches and the entertainment will be much improved than had we of gone into this season in the championship with the new reduced points limit. im hoping first and foremost we can have a season that steered clear of too many major injuries as we’ve had more than our fair share of rotten luck the past few seasons. just having a quick skim over the announced riders assuming Kerr and mpt are back at Lynn I make it 21/49 prem riders racing in championship so that’s more like 42.5% - I know you’re statement of 80% wasn’t calculated but I think this does illustrate there’s a much bigger difference in the two leagues this coming season with the lower points limit for the championship. Edited February 5, 2019 by 89buttons 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldyman Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 I certainly think the racing may be a bit more closely looking with the witches riders trying to chase dowm their opposition, but I think less passes will be made. So I'm not sure if that's classed as better racing or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icicle Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 Just hoping that whatever type of racing there is the crowds go up this season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontforgetthefueltapsbruv Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 7 minutes ago, Icicle said: Just hoping that whatever type of racing there is the crowds go up this season. I would expect there will be at least an initial upturn Very few of those that could be tempted back will read the mixed verdicts on here - they will get the mainstream news - and I think the top flight return will be viewed positively A good start at home and some entertaining meetings will be needed to capitalise and maintain that advantage Fingers crossed 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldyman Posted February 5, 2019 Report Share Posted February 5, 2019 Surely that will depend on getting some fans back and the racing being good enough to keep them coming back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderman1 Posted February 6, 2019 Report Share Posted February 6, 2019 18 hours ago, 89buttons said: Having watched more and more higher quality riders drop down into the championship over the last few seasons I feel like the distance between the top riders and bottom riders level in championship is far greater than in the premiership and therefore the racing should be more competitive, especially as most teams have more of a strength in depth look to them - if Heeps/Allen make a good start in ht 4 (5&7’s race) for example they have every chance of beating an opposing heat leader and achieving heat advantages or at the very least closer races between all 4 riders! The drop in point limit for the championship has only exacerbated the situation - next year there’s several riders at reserve in the championship that have barely reached heat leader status in the national league yet, we’ve seen at Foxhall over the last couple of seasons it’s not an easy track for national league graduates, it’s set up grippy for home advantage, while the shape/size means you have to turn the bike quite hard at the same time, tricky skills that take time to develop and are particularly rigorous on the upper body so young lads of 16 barring some exceptional talents will struggle more with as they’re learning and getting stronger. Look at difficulties the likes of Connor mountain has had at Foxhall and he’s been a 9 point rider in the national league for several seasons now and is miles ahead currently of several of the lads stepping up this year yet teams still have Schlein/Harris Kenneth/Lawson nicholls/r.worrall at 1&5 how can you say races with two of these guys in accompanied by two 16years old 6pt national league riders are going to be as competitive as say Harris/Allen vs Andersen/barker....? It’s not! You’ll get two match races in one, with one half a lap ahead of the other. We’ve consistently seen fantastic races in ht13&15 the last couple of seasons when Danny/Rory come up against competitive pairings of a higher skill set and with the top flight we’ll have a lot closer matches races across all four riders in a race! Like chessell, Henry Adkins cannot beat Craig cook or Rory Schlein - maybe one day but not yet and won’t get there in 2019 cameron Heeps Jake Allen could and probably have beat some top boys in the premiership. its been a difficult winter as a witches fan and clearly teambuilding has been tough for Chris and things haven’t gone quite to plan, but I firmly believe we have a side assembled that can be competitive in all our home matches and the entertainment will be much improved than had we of gone into this season in the championship with the new reduced points limit. im hoping first and foremost we can have a season that steered clear of too many major injuries as we’ve had more than our fair share of rotten luck the past few seasons. just having a quick skim over the announced riders assuming Kerr and mpt are back at Lynn I make it 21/49 prem riders racing in championship so that’s more like 42.5% - I know you’re statement of 80% wasn’t calculated but I think this does illustrate there’s a much bigger difference in the two leagues this coming season with the lower points limit for the championship. ipswich looking good and yes allen has beat many number 1"s home and away ,if they all can stay fit they will be in playoffs for sure 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baldyman Posted February 6, 2019 Report Share Posted February 6, 2019 Oh have they brought the relegation play offs back again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badge Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 This will please a few https://ipswichwitches.co/long-returns-as-presenter/?fbclid=IwAR1JtKdKCuPAEpf3LM3v2SVv5XhKwubhgihh2uOmoPam3QMtZwJFLaikDPs 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racin Jason 72 Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Badge said: This will please a few https://ipswichwitches.co/long-returns-as-presenter/?fbclid=IwAR1JtKdKCuPAEpf3LM3v2SVv5XhKwubhgihh2uOmoPam3QMtZwJFLaikDPs Excellent news. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontforgetthefueltapsbruv Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 Welcome back Kevin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmauger Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 Seem to recall Nicholls almost won at Cardiff one year, made the final but broke the tapes. Ok, he may, and may not, have won anyway (against the likes of Adams, Crump, Greg, NickiP, TRick?) but theoretically he had a 1 in 4 chance.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno Posted February 7, 2019 Report Share Posted February 7, 2019 He was passing riders all night as well, could easily have won that year. Was it the year after Bomber won? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderman1 Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 Think he was on the bbhf bike was it not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPEEDY69 Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 2005 Czech Golden Helmet was a great achievement also, passing Crump and Nicki P in the final. Funny, when I was looking at old GPs it was often Scott and Nicki battling it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K2tL0PbX4M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DOSmiMV9Js https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DOSmiMV9Js https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvD-Y2YHX5A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89buttons Posted February 8, 2019 Report Share Posted February 8, 2019 2 hours ago, SPEEDY69 said: 2005 Czech Golden Helmet was a great achievement also, passing Crump and Nicki P in the final. Funny, when I was looking at old GPs it was often Scott and Nicki battling it out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5K2tL0PbX4M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DOSmiMV9Js https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DOSmiMV9Js https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvD-Y2YHX5A Agree Czech golden helmet is a big accolade scotty finished in the top 10 in the world on 4 occasions and has a record number of British titlesI really don’t see that as underachieving 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badge Posted February 14, 2019 Report Share Posted February 14, 2019 Ritchie taken from witches website https://ipswichwitches.co/hawkins-the-team-will-gel-quickly/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch Stanton Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 Tru Plant/Tru7.com and Guy Nicholls continue their sponsorship of the Witches https://ipswichwitches.co/tru-plant-continue-title-sponsorship/ Excellent news obviously but a few interesting little titbits in that article. Firstly, from the wording it seems like if we’d have remained in the second tier he/they wouldn’t have sponsored us? And secondly, the last paragraph names the riders they are helping out this year. Makes it a little more surprising (and disappointing) that a deal couldn’t be done to get Doyle at Foxhall this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiderman1 Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 3 hours ago, Arch Stanton said: Tru Plant/Tru7.com and Guy Nicholls continue their sponsorship of the Witches https://ipswichwitches.co/tru-plant-continue-title-sponsorship/ Excellent news obviously but a few interesting little titbits in that article. Firstly, from the wording it seems like if we’d have remained in the second tier he/they wouldn’t have sponsored us? And secondly, the last paragraph names the riders they are helping out this year. Makes it a little more surprising (and disappointing) that a deal couldn’t be done to get Doyle at Foxhall this year Disappointing? Didn’t Harris beat Doyle when it mattered most,finals! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badge Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 Chris on the countdown with Mike bacon https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/witches-promoter-chris-louis-on-his-hopes-for-season-1-5896536 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arch Stanton Posted February 18, 2019 Report Share Posted February 18, 2019 5 minutes ago, Badge said: Chris on the countdown with Mike bacon https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/witches-promoter-chris-louis-on-his-hopes-for-season-1-5896536 Chris didn’t know who was in our group either did he 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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