Sings4Speedway 3,246 Posted March 21, 2018 Shame P&P plus the opener is off was looking forward to my first speedway fix of the year. Have things changed with the stock cars? I don't recall there being many publicised track issues in the past? Although the weather present & forecast doesn't help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teaboy279 1,038 Posted March 21, 2018 Considering it snowed all afternoon and night at Arlington Saturday , the shale looked in good condition. Hardly any cars went on there during the evening, 'so I would say the conditions have affected the track rather then the stock cars. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 22, 2018 The line up for the U21 meeting on 7th April looks really good. Looking forward to it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunters 210 Posted March 22, 2018 The changes to the under 21 Semis have made them very lopsided. Originally the Arlington venue had five riders (Shanes, Zach, Bailey, Clegg and Perks) all at 8+ average with Newcastle getting only four (JPB, Greaves, Mountain and Smith). If they all qualified as expected it left two spare places to be fought out at Arlington and three at Newcastle. Now JPB and Perks are out which was one from each venue but with Mountain joining Coventry they have had to switch him to Arlington but instead of moving one of the better riders up to Newcastle they made it Kelsey Dugard. This only leaves two at Newcastle which becomes easily the weakest line up. Kelsey must be a very unhappy bunny having to give up his home track and travel all that way. It is easier to qualify up there but he has probably never even seen the track before. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TurnTwo 317 Posted March 22, 2018 He spannered for Bowtell all last year there didn’t he? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woofers 467 Posted March 28, 2018 On 09/03/2018 at 12:08 PM, sussex bulldog said: https://www.eastbourneeagles.co/ now takes you to the new web page which is still under construction. Excellent news. No doubt that was the plan all along...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
00000 1,279 Posted March 30, 2018 Eagles v Kent in the Easter Chase is off. Another one falls to the spring weather. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunters 210 Posted April 14, 2018 Great start to the much delayed campaign last night despite Kelsey obviously having mechanical problems and Charlie Brooks will need time to adapt from Long Track. Have they banned reserve switches this year? Edwards for Brooks in heat 12 was an obvious one but did not happen. I can imagine what was going through Mark Baseby's head prior to heat 15, determination not to lose. It looked to be a real captains performance. Blue sky and sunshine at last, should be a good home opener tonight. Hope Ben Wilson and Connor Coles are at their best because the Hit Man tail looks rather fragile. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iand 133 Posted April 14, 2018 3 hours ago, Hunters said: Great start to the much delayed campaign last night despite Kelsey obviously having mechanical problems and Charlie Brooks will need time to adapt from Long Track. Have they banned reserve switches this year? Edwards for Brooks in heat 12 was an obvious one but did not happen. I can imagine what was going through Mark Baseby's head prior to heat 15, determination not to lose. It looked to be a real captains performance. Blue sky and sunshine at last, should be a good home opener tonight. Hope Ben Wilson and Connor Coles are at their best because the Hit Man tail looks rather fragile. Sure reserve switches are still allowed, could have cost Eastbourne the win. Not sure what happened regarding Kelsey's bike, couldn't understand why he didn't use someone's else bike in his scheduled 2nd ride and then came out late and missed the 2 mins in Ht8 on Marks bike, mistakes like that could have cost the Eagles the win. Devils unlucky with Cockle having a off night but overall a good meeting with Eastbourne deservingly just edging it. Edwards a fine young prospect. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TurnTwo 317 Posted April 28, 2018 Fair to say Eastbourne are on fire at home this season.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ChaosTheory22 13 Posted April 29, 2018 Eastbourne typically looking comfortable at home.The side this year young & all seem to get along well. They are fortunate to have had track time unlike some clubs. It's good they seem to be moving on quickly between racing, not hanging around. Also good they are doing second halves more value for money for fans that stay to support & maybe see a few future NL stars. Even though weather last night was cold, nice to see more atmosphere than previous week. The Mike man makes it better for the kids with chatter & selfies etc. Might be worth Eagles giving time for fans to have pics/ autographs with a different rider each week like they do on the Isle of Wight. Myself & my family all like the new colours freshens things up. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted April 29, 2018 It would be nice to see some closer matches at Arlington, last night was pretty boring if I'm honest. Still you can only beat what's put in front of you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TurnTwo 317 Posted April 29, 2018 I agree but like you say they can only beat what’s in front of them Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gee jay 234 Posted April 29, 2018 (edited) i would say enjoy the 60 pt wins for now as i see another one next week . as a team the eagles are improving by the meeting and i don't see the same in the i.o.w team so can only see another hammering maybe even bigger than the cup . kent will certainly be no whipping boys and mildehall will really fancy their chances even though lack of meetings might count against them . can't wait for the return to covcester in the cup to see what they can do there when they haven't ridden twice and driven 1000 mls before hand. oops , just noticed mildenhall is away so they will definitely fancy their chances . Edited April 29, 2018 by gee jay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
woofers 467 Posted May 3, 2018 I think you are correct in that this Saturdays match will be fairly one sided - again!, and I know you can only beat what's put in front of you. I wouldn't want the marketing mans job at the moment, anyone coming along to the opening matches wouldn't be coming back in a hurry, many of the 'races' are really 'riding around' with only the die-hards appreciating the riders efforts. So, I really hope that things pick up pretty quickly in terms of entertainment, Mildenhall, Kent, Coventry all look interesting. I have been attending Eastbourne since 2004 so am fairly well versed with the ups and downs of the club since then, and I have welcomed the NL as I like to think some speedway is better than no speedway. I also appreciate that the NL riders are mainly new to the sport and mostly 'hobbyists', so I have no axe to grind there. I just wonder if Eastbourne might be better off in the Championship ? The Dugards obviously have a competitive instinct and ambition, and I'm fairly sure the crowds would support professional speedway riders - the fortunes of Lakeside may well be worth keeping an eye on this year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
