Garry1603

Raining again about six miles south of the stadium. Weird weather!

Really enjoyed that. Belle Vue were certainly 'on it' today and were fired up from the off. The return of Zagar has given the club and crowd a real lift and he didn't disappoint - a real showman. For the Panthers, there were two or three that are starting to ride like their age I'm afraid. Comes to us all. Maybe a season too far for Harris, Nicholls and Andersen?

Good first GP of the season with more passing than might have been expected, the coverage was very good to be honest. Kelvin stepped up to the plate (Nige wold have been proud) and the general presentation was fine. I liked the heart rate graphic, even if wasn't maybe 100% accurate (maybe!) We're in the Zmarzlik era though and it will be hard to promote as he's a few percent above everyone else at the moment (Laguta and Sayfutdinov's absence doesn't help obviously), but that shouldn't detract from the event'. To me he's like a Schumacher of the early 2000's - great equipment obviously, but also a little bit better than anyone else. Let's respect that even if it detracts from the promotion of the sport to the wider public,

Looking forward to this, my first meeting of the year. All the Panthers seem to go well at the NSS, but I still think that the Aces top 4 (plus Brennan) will be enough. 48-42

Such, such sad news. I loved his enthusiasm and knowledge of the sport and he could make a boring race interesting. Some commentators are synonymous with their sports, Murray Walker, Sid Waddell etc - we've sadly lost ours. RIP Nige and thanks for the memories, you will never be forgotten.

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I think that there's no doubt that Simmo was the better rider (certainly in individual meetings) but Betts was the better team man. I think given the choice, if I were a promoter, I'd rather have had the latter.

My friend’s just invented an air freshener that works by mind control. .................I was initially sceptical but it makes scents if you think about it.

For those in the North West, Granada Reports have a slot in their program tonight at 6-00 about Peter Craven and apparently to boost the idea of a statue of the Wizard of Balance to be erected in Liverpool.

Yes, you're right. In the past a Best Pairs event )which this effectively was) would be won by a 'Star' rider getting 16/17/18 points with a back up getting around 10 points - that would be enough for victory, but this system of 'avoid getting a last' encourages a more consistent second rider to win - and we did it very well. Well done Team GB

Yes, and we did it well.

The format really rewards the team that has a very good / consistent number two rider, which Team GB certainly had in Woffinden and Bewley.. There's no denial that Zmarzlik was head and shoulders above the opposition, but Magic, was a bit too inconsistent. It's all about not being last in a 4-3-2-0 format especially in the latter stages, so it's a well deserved win in my opinion. (albeit a bit lucky in the final when Janowski came to grief).

Brilliant result and what a boost for the sport. As always the Belle Vue track was the real star of the show and the real winner is the sport itself. Pity it's the end of the season because any casual viewers can't fail to have been impressed.

The Eurosport coverage was disappointing again. What annoyed me was that every reserve change (Pedersen, Palin, and Brennan) were shown as 'rider replacement rides' on the graphics as they came to the tapes. Annoying for a fan of the sport but any newcomers would have been totally confused.

Loved the Ivan and Ole feature. Two true superstars in the history of our sport.