Championship League Riders' Championship at Poole

[soupy]

10 hours ago, cyclone said:

Superb from Sam. All the more praiseworthy considering the injuries he is carrying and then being able to recover from the nasty crash in the first running of the final (courtesy of a nudge by Kerr), to win the re-run.

Sam would of done the same thing if he was off gate 1 but choose gate 2

[lbw]

Sam Masters testing his shoulders before the meeting, is there an hidden grimace in there somewhere? 

[foreverblue]

32 minutes ago, iainb said:

I remember when this used to be an even bigger meeting at Coventry on a Saturday night and it would attract 7-8000 fans from around all the tracks! Also the winning rider used to get a new bike/engine... last night they got a lump of plastic

Unfortunately those days are gone just like Coventry racetrack. The winning rider is the champion, the record books will show that, means more to Sam Masters than the actual trophy and cements him as the  best rider in the Championship league. 

[foreverblue]

54 minutes ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Neither are anywhere near good enough imo. The opportunity to get a place in Poland is difficult in the extreme. Brennan has been around for quite a few years now and won’t get to the level of King, Lawson or Wright. He would have broken through by now. Flint certainly won’t. Both championship riders. Brennan will get further than Flint but when you compare them to Polish riders at the same age, well they are well behind the curve.

People moaned left right and Center about Poole’s bumpy track, so they took out all the bumps, and now people moan about Poole’s perfectly smooth and fast track. Just perhaps they moan for moanings sake, as it’s Poole. The track was fine last night. There were some great races. Didn’t the Lawson/Batchelor/Wright race thrill? If not, then perhaps the sport is no longer for you? The track is there and allows riders to produce great races, if they wish to go for it. We see it often enough in league meetings here. Just perhaps, riders not in contention were not pushing it as they had nothing to gain? And Riders like Masters, Pickering, King, etc are very hard to catch if they gate? 

Pretty sure the crowd there last night enjoyed the whole meeting, even if it was too long and drawn out. Blame the ref not the club. 

I agree Steve, there is no bumps anymore and the track staff did an amazing job especially getting the demolished air fence repaired so quickly. 

[Fromafar]

57 minutes ago, marko said:

Well done to Sam Masters, its weird having possibly the top rider in the top flight win the second division riders championship but that's where we are now in this country.

Every rider gave it their all apart from Batchelor who should have refused the booking and let someone else have a go instead, even Bomber despite starting slow and knowing he could not make the semi finals, still rode his socks off trying to get some points and entertain the crowd.

I thought the track was ok, dirt line a bit too close to the fence for most riders liking but plenty were prepared to put their back wheels there, at least with Poole you know they will try and get the meetings on, its a wide track with plenty of room to race.

Most of the riders there are top men in Top Flight,just shows the unhealthy state of the the sport in this country,it’s just a circus 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Fromafar

[lbw]

33 minutes ago, Turnip said:

Charles Wright......bonkers conkers bucking bronco.....wot an adrenaline rush watching him ride at times last night. Bet his balls grew a bit after last night. Total entertainment. Just glad all ended safely.

Wot these lads do whether by intent or otherwise. Total respect. 

The award for Mr Entertainer goes to.....drum roll please........

CHARLES WRIGHT

[arnieg]

1 hour ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Neither are anywhere near good enough imo. The opportunity to get a place in Poland is difficult in the extreme. Brennan has been around for quite a few years now and won’t get to the level of King, Lawson or Wright. He would have broken through by now. Flint certainly won’t. Both championship riders. Brennan will get further than Flint but when you compare them to Polish riders at the same age, well they are well behind the curve.

People moaned left right and Center about Poole’s bumpy track, so they took out all the bumps, and now people moan about Poole’s perfectly smooth and fast track. Just perhaps they moan for moanings sake, as it’s Poole. The track was fine last night. There were some great races. Didn’t the Lawson/Batchelor/Wright race thrill? If not, then perhaps the sport is no longer for you? The track is there and allows riders to produce great races, if they wish to go for it. We see it often enough in league meetings here. Just perhaps, riders not in contention were not pushing it as they had nothing to gain? And Riders like Masters, Pickering, King, etc are very hard to catch if they gate? 

Pretty sure the crowd there last night enjoyed the whole meeting, even if it was too long and drawn out. Blame the ref not the club. 

Not strictly true.

When Wright was 21 he was a Premier (now Championship) reserve with Redcar and still riding in the NL.

King was riding for NL Mildenhall when aged 20 (in 2006) 

and Lawson hadn't even started speedway (he made his NL debut aged 22)

I think you are being too harsh on both of them, although your original premise that comparing them with others in the same age cohort abroad suggests they may struggle to reach the very top level is not an unreasonable one. I suspect that both may prove in the long term to have similar careers to the three riders you've named.

Edited August 25, 2022 by arnieg

[Normski]

1 hour ago, iainb said:

I remember when this used to be an even bigger meeting at Coventry on a Saturday night and it would attract 7-8000 fans from around all the tracks! Also the winning rider used to get a new bike/engine... last night they got a lump of plastic

I remember when this meeting used to be held at Wimbledon. Best dressed bus, Miss National League Speedway, Berwick riders winning it in 1980 & 1983. In the words of Mary Hopkins, Those were the days.

[lewy]

4 minutes ago, arnieg said:

Not strictly true.

When Wright was 21 he was a Premier (now Championship) reserve with Redcar and still riding in the NL.

King was riding for Mildenhall when aged 20 (in 2006) 

and Lawson hadn't even started speedway (he made his NL debut aged 22)

I think you are being too harsh on both of them, although your original premise that comparing them with others in the same age cohort abroad suggests they may struggle to reach the very top level is not an unreasonable one. I suspect that both may prove in the long term to have similar careers to the three riders you've named.

Don't let facts get in the way of Shovlars ramblings 

[Hamish McRaker]

20 minutes ago, Fromafar said:

Most of the riders there are top men in Top Flight,just shows the unhealthy state of the the sport in this country,it’s just a circus 

 

 

Has the time come to just regard the two leagues as separate entities, with slightly differing rider eligibility criteria and different sets of race nights?

[Fromafar]

8 minutes ago, Normski said:

I remember when this meeting used to be held at Wimbledon. Best dressed bus, Miss National League Speedway, Berwick riders winning it in 1980 & 1983. In the words of Mary Hopkins, Those were the days.

The Berwick bus trips in those days were an adventure.!!

Edited August 25, 2022 by Fromafar

[Bagpuss]

Should be remembered that Brennan missed a season through a broken leg, add that to the year that everyone missed through Covid and he's not doing too badly for his age. He has improved greatly over the last 12-18 months and I think he can be much better than he is now, whether that is to the level that Lambert and Bewley find themselves remains to be seen but he certainly has something about him. Also worth chucking in the Jason Doyle example of a late developer too.

[lbw]

12 minutes ago, Normski said:

I remember when this meeting used to be held at Wimbledon. Best dressed bus, Miss National League Speedway, Berwick riders winning it in 1980 & 1983. In the words of Mary Hopkins, Those were the days.

I went to Wimbledon in '84 for the event, Dave Perks (Long Eaton club legend) won his 2 rides before the rain scuppered his hopes. Then in the restaged event at Peterborough Mr Barney took advantage of Perks' snapped chain on the last bend last lap.

Still painful to this day. 

[Normski]

1 minute ago, Turnip said:

I went to Wimbledon in '84 for the event, Dave Perks (Long Eaton club legend) won his 2 rides before the rain scuppered his hopes. Then in the restaged event at Peterborough Mr Barney took advantage of Perks' snapped chain on the last bend last lap.

Still painful to this day. 

Remember that day 

[PhilTheAce]

1 hour ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Neither are anywhere near good enough imo. The opportunity to get a place in Poland is difficult in the extreme. Brennan has been around for quite a few years now and won’t get to the level of King, Lawson or Wright. He would have broken through by now. Flint certainly won’t. Both championship riders. Brennan will get further than Flint but when you compare them to Polish riders at the same age, well they are well behind the curve.

People moaned left right and Center about Poole’s bumpy track, so they took out all the bumps, and now people moan about Poole’s perfectly smooth and fast track. Just perhaps they moan for moanings sake, as it’s Poole. The track was fine last night. There were some great races. Didn’t the Lawson/Batchelor/Wright race thrill? If not, then perhaps the sport is no longer for you? The track is there and allows riders to produce great races, if they wish to go for it. We see it often enough in league meetings here. Just perhaps, riders not in contention were not pushing it as they had nothing to gain? And Riders like Masters, Pickering, King, etc are very hard to catch if they gate? 

Pretty sure the crowd there last night enjoyed the whole meeting, even if it was too long and drawn out. Blame the ref not the club. 

Oh come on Steve, let’s defend the YOUNG lads. 
 

brennan 21

flint 19

 

they ain’t past it mate, they not even began there careers. 
 

flint at 19 is holding his own at the difficult no5 position in Berwick team for most of season. 
 

brennan been heat leader most of season to at 21. Scoring double figures for belle Vue at the no2 position he also missed a year with a broken leg then a year with covid putting him 2 years behind. so another way of looking at it is, he’s like a 19 year old

 

yes they struggled last night. But with 1 racing line right by the fence. Why would they risk injury when there have important matches still to come. 
 

Not everyone can be a dan Bewley, Michael Lee, bartosz Zmarzlik. Them top young riders come only every so often. 
 

now I’m not saying they will be world champions. But they will be better than championship riders. 100%

Edited August 25, 2022 by PhilTheAce

[SPEEDY69]

1 hour ago, Turnip said:

Sam Masters testing his shoulders before the meeting, is there an hidden grimace in there somewhere? 

that's a tricep stretch. It makes me grimace but then again I'm old 

[Bagpuss]

7 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

Oh come on Steve, let’s defend the YOUNG lads. 
 

brennan 21

flint 19

 

they ain’t past it mate, they not even began there careers. 
 

flint at 19 is holding his own at the difficult no5 position in Berwick team for most of season. 
 

brennan been heat leader most of season to at 21. Scoring double figures for belle Vue at the no2 position he also missed a year with a broken leg then a year with covid putting him 2 years behind. so another way of looking at it is, he’s like a 19 year old

 

yes they struggled last night. But with 1 racing line right by the fence. Why would they risk injury when there have important matches still to come. 
 

Not everyone can be a dan Bewley, Michael Lee, bartosz Zmarzlik. Them top young riders come only every so often. 
 

now I’m not saying they will be world champions. But they will be better than championship riders. 100%

Add to that Brennan has scored major points in World U21 events this year and is riding regularly in Poland albeit the third tier. His career is only going one way at the moment, exciting to see how far that will be.

[IainB]

15 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

now I’m not saying they will be world champions. But they will be better than championship riders. 100%

And of course Tom is already a World Champion

[scoobydoo]

1 hour ago, iainb said:

I remember when this used to be an even bigger meeting at Coventry on a Saturday night and it would attract 7-8000 fans from around all the tracks! Also the winning rider used to get a new bike/engine... last night they got a lump of plastic

They got a cheap looking lump of metal  probably aluminium in the shape of a trophy,  the lump of glass or plastic was no doubt ordered from Amazon and was dispatched from China around a month ago

There was a special award for MPT as he completed another 6 laps of a speedway track before going home

Edited August 25, 2022 by scoobydoo

[Steve Shovlar]

38 minutes ago, arnieg said:

Not strictly true.

When Wright was 21 he was a Premier (now Championship) reserve with Redcar and still riding in the NL.

King was riding for NL Mildenhall when aged 20 (in 2006) 

and Lawson hadn't even started speedway (he made his NL debut aged 22)

I think you are being too harsh on both of them, although your original premise that comparing them with others in the same age cohort abroad suggests they may struggle to reach the very top level is not an unreasonable one. I suspect that both may prove in the long term to have similar careers to the three riders you've named.

I hope they do for the sake of British Speedway. But we are falling further and further behind those on the continent and for all the great effort put in by Neil Vatcher, the difference between our young riders and their Polish and European counterparts is vast. The top ten Polish u21 riders would knock our equivalent into a cocked hat.

Brennan has a team berth in the Polish third tier, which helps him but he needs to be riding in the second tier to really meet riders a step above him. The chances of a team berth are slim unless he does something special to catch the eye. Polish talent spotters will be more likely to use local talent which is cheaper and more than likely score more points. 

I expected Brennan to win a race last night, or at least come a close second in a couple of heats. He was nit really any better than Flint who scored the full minimum. Brennan has ridden Poole well in the past in league meetings. Perhaps I am being on the harsh side but I expected more of him. Flint had a blinding meeting at Poole earlier this season with big double figures. Last night he was invisible.