Technik

In the home meetings Klindt has been far from his best & I think that come the end of the month the averages would put him at reserve. weather thats good or bad I don't know but if he was employed to score points at home & he ain't doing it then change it up if you can. Points win prizes & with such a small league thats what it's all about

I think the home team will shade it in the bigger races but I suspect it will be a close one.

I understand the frustration about the testing procedure but what if the rider be allowed to participate in the meeting after providing a non-negative result & then is involved in a track crash with the other rider receiving injuries that mean he must miss a few events. How then would the insurers look at our procedure if we knowingly allow a test failure to race in the event. how would the 13 other riders feel about taking to the track with a possible drug user. i understand that as a paying spectator you expect the perfect event each time but what of the others involved within the sport that work hard to produce the product you come to watch. The rules may not be perfect but if we are call bound by the same rules then it must work.

Prior to the test the selected party will be asked if they have taken any drugs within the last 48 hours, after their reply usually "No" they will be asked again but now they will be promted ti include perscription or over the counter drugs the reply again is usually "No" they will then be asked if they remember the last time they took any drugs & again prompted with for a headache or muscle strain or anything at all. So in all reality it matters not how professional or amateur the sport looks on the outside or what business the riders are in away from their racing. If it turns out to be an over the counter drug or perscribed then a severe slapped wrist is the likley outcome but if recreational drugs or alcohol are the cause then a ban is the result. I know the Glasgow promotion are not short of finances but are they willing to defend a 39 year old reserve through a case that will tarnish anybody involved.

You can't really change the rules for a failed drug/alcohol test. It is written that a failure will mean exclusion from the event & no replacement is permitted. the team manager has to sign the meeting certificate to confirm all his riders are in a fit condition to compete. This issue happens every once in a while & currently we are not aware as to why the rider has supplied a non-negative sample nor weather it is for drugs or alcohol.

Maybe he was selected so as to give an option of senior rider in Ht13. with Harris already used & Tungate already in 13 it means the only rider left or the reserve in the hardest race. It might be a stroke of genius or you maybe right eithr way we're not paid to make the decision.

This could go either way, Oxford of course with R/R at #1 is a big cross to bare. Milik showed good form in the SEC event at the weekend & with Nicholls at reserve it might just tip in Birmingham's favour. All things considered home win by 4 points

It is the sad case that Mr O is holding all the aces, As he has in previous cases (Milton Keynes, Reading, & Torquay among others) Whilst supporters have passion & desire to see their beloved club & sport continue at the venue adopted by GI with Osbourne at the helm they have never had the finances to oppose him or the local councils that are required to provide land for housing projects as our country is so over populated & growing year on year.

Max Perry EDI 7.75 Luke Killeen OXF 7.73 Ace Pijper S/S 5.81 Luke Muff BVC 4.83 Chad Wirtzfield BVC 3.81 William Hocaniuk MID 3.00 Ashton Vale OXF 3.00 Total 35.93

Looking at the teams & the fact that Poole have a much changed line up I believe Oxford could upset the apple cart & come away with a narrow victory.

I know guest's & rider replacement are at times annoying within the British leagues. But we cannot be compared to other nations league system where they opperate a squad of upto 20 riders but can only track 7 just the same as our programme. In both cases if a rider is injured or unable to start then of course a full 7 rider team must be arranged. With a squad this is done as in football by rotation of the squad members. Our system means each team has a nominated 7 rider team & should one be missing we track a full team using guests or R/R. At the end of the day it amounts to the same thing two teams of seven racing against each other. Weather you love or hate our system it's better to see two full sides of seven than a five man team

I hope we will be selecting our 2024 teams soon

My personal opinion is that it was as much rider error as track conditions. Had there been multiple falls then I would say track conditions were a major factor but the track had been hard packed & dispite it looking very wet from the outside it was only surface water. By not putting equipment on it kept the track in fair condition with only the bikes turning the dirt. race times were consistent for the whole 15 races so little or no deteriation to the racing surface occured. Both sides should be congratulated on a great nights racing & the track staff must have worked overtime after the practice day to produce the track we were served.

I hear they will be streaming some of their meetings this season, but I don't know which or when

The first comment only states they will not be taking cash. So advance ticket sales or card payments on the day will be acceptable I assume

It's going to be a tough night for Birmingham. As I see it no facility is allowed for the absent Pawlicki, I don't know how they can possibly cover that for any length of time. But a healthy win for a home team in the season opener is never a bad thing for crowd figures moving forward

If I'm honest I don't believe rev limiters are a positive move at any level of speedway. It would be more sustainable to limit bore size which would mean engine manufacture & tuners would need to provide the correct parts but engine revs would be reduced without outside retarders being needed. I understand that many will bring up the expense involved but we have been hearing about rev limiters for 6 seasons now. I'd have to ask how many riders are using an engine that is over 6 years old?

I won't disagree & will conceed that your reply was the rule in most recent seasons. However as I suggest the rule was as I stated in seasons prior. With the starting procedure being updated for the coming season & all tracks having a clock there should be no reason for any rider not being ready within the time allowance

The rule always used to be "At the tapes ready to race at the expiry of the 2 minute allowance" but this was never enforced & gardening time was allowed & as the meeting went on 2 minutes gets closer to 5 minutes as we reach the big races. The clock has been about for a good while & is used to great effect in the FIM events as well as Polish Swedish & Danish leagues but as our TV meetings have shown it gets turned off if it nears 15 seconds whilst the riders continue to dig their start area & the time is extended. If it is used correctly all races will start within 2 minutes & the regular offenders will soon fall into line as they have in other leagues.

I don't mind that as long as the 2 minutes are applied strictly. The rule is now at the tapes ready to race so just being on the track on the way to the start line then a minute of on the bike off the bike dancing should become a thing of the past. But I'm sure it will become in the best interest of speedway to turn the clock off if there is any danger of having to put a star name out of any race

I understand he pumped a load of money into the Reading project which included a scale model of his proposed new racino. It cost in excess of £50K & that was over 15 years ago. I have no doubt that it would have been an investors money that paid for it.

I wonder what his average would be today. I believe he rode for Belle Vue & was below 5.00 but since he has become a GP rider & won the Polish championship

The point I'm trying to put across keeping in mind that we are only talking about the title of this page "Oxford" is last season the Chargers were a success & were declared the champions. The development of some riders means they can no longer race at this level & must move up. This seasons squad as was pointed out is 2 points under the starting limit with some youngsters that have limited track time under competition & it has been mentioned that this is a weak team & will harm the attendance levels. My ideal is this league should be used as a production opperation for young British riders we only need to look back to Tai Woofinden in his early days at Scunthorpe to see that it can work & I see the Oxford system to use riders from their lowest squad to fill reserve places in the higher league then into the main team & now into the top league thus developing their talents rather than buy in a half baked star from overseas.

It maybe stating the obvious but isn't this league about "development" rather than winning a title.

I don't think Nathan Stoneman will return to racing. Last season's injury & the arrival of a baby has made him review his lifestyle & I think he is happy to be a mechanic on race nights. I think Boughen should stay in the NL setup for another season. I know he has ambition & wants to race at higher levels but you have to know how to win races from the front & have the pressure of being a rider within the team that is looked upon to return double figures & be in the big races at the end