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I don't like to see it, not in a qualifier, yes be happy, high five each other, whatever, but all this over the top stuff for winning a semi, not for me. Leicester did it last season and I didn't like it, especially when they were sunk without a trace in the final, they did it again, to a lesser extent last Monday, I just think it sends out the wrong signals, a signal of job done, when the job is far from over! You don't see serial winners Poole doing that kind of thing, in fact you don't really see it much in any other sports. Like when sprinters win qualifiers and they try to look like they're not even out of breath after the race, they're not jumping up and down like they've won the Olympics. It's almost as bad as people celebrating "winning" a silver or bronze medal

A fantastic night of racing. Ebbed and flowed and did look like Edinburgh had enough of a lead late on. But full credit to every Tigers rider, each point mattered and was fantastic to see Max having a score he deserves for the effort he puts in. Bomber is absolute box office, and Leon, Dan, Kyle and Freddy fought for every point. Tremendous effort. Really hope Villads is able to get fit and is back for the final. He clearly wasn't fit before his first heat crash and it's a credit to him that he tried to race on. He'll go far in this sport as he's so quick and seems fearless. Top notch signing. Huge thanks to the riders, management and fans of both sides. Made it an enthralling match with a Hollywood ending for the Tigers. Track staff deserve a round of applause because it was a fair and fast track for all. Really hope we can give more superb performances and win the playoffs as the racing has been awesome this season.

Or all meetings were not completed before the playoffs

Celebration Police 😁

Enjoy the match!

What night of action. Will cover the negatives first. The bizarre decision on the re-run in heat 1. Any explanation over the tannoy would have been good. Just gave enough time for the rider to get sorted like it was some youth meeting. The human error of putting the red lights on, sure it could happen to anyone but that was amateur stuff. Both incidents benefitted the away team. Track still wasn’t at its best. Lots more dirt than Tuesday but probably little clay put in to bind it. Now the positives. Glasgow winning in the last heat decider over two legs on our home patch was simply phenomenal. The atmosphere was electric. Always great when a big travelling crowd come through and make a lot of noise. The place was buzzing, the tension built and built till the amazing heat 15. Tigers top end was always going to be strong. BSN’s great coverage. A semi final being run in relatively warm and dry conditions, let’s hope the final isn’t decided in a swamp. Well done to all involved.

Hopefully, the weather will be kind for both legs.

Definitely. Plenty of top riders who were also characters too. Sadly lacking nowadays.

Used to love Ipswich coming to visit. The battles between Kenny and Sigalos and Billy Sanders live long in the memory. Great times.

Common sense picks. Fricke - Only fair considering he would've qualified in the old format. Laguta - Didn't get a chance to defend his WC. Sayfutdinov - Still one of the best riders in the World. Vaculik - One bad season doesn't make him a bad rider, Prague GP probably see's him get a WC imo. If no Russian's then swap them for Doyle (Tried and tested with something still to offer the GP's) and Drabik who has been ultra consistent this year for all of his clubs.

Remove semi-finals and finals from the sport and it’s the final nail in the coffin for speedway. Regardless of what you feel is justice, such as finishing top of the league or an individual competition, you’re proposing we remove the prospect of a climatic showdown. This is a spectator sport; let’s not try to remove the spectacle of drama. Let’s reward consistency, not with the trophy, but with a place in the semi-final or final and let’s reward the trophy to the rider or team who has the nerve, bottle and mentality to be a “winner”. I can’t believe that’s been suggested. Entertainment out the window with that suggestion. Mental. We’re trying to improve the sport.

We’ve had a nice summer

https://classicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/ My website has now reached 50,000 page views for which many thanks. The October "issue" will be my last having more or less written myself to a standstill. I started it just after the wonderful Classic Speedway magazine folded as I had a few unpublished articles in the pipeline.. and it lasted for nearly three years. Thanks for your support. Best regards Doug

The fixture congestion has very little to do with the Play-offs (IMO), it has all to do with the gaps in the fixtures from May-August. Fill those gaps when racing can take place and you get rid of the congestion in September/October when the weather is a damn site more "iffy" than May-August. BTW, I don't like the Play-offs either. I also don't like Semi Finals and a Final in an individual meeting either. Top of the League/Top Scorer after 20 heats should be crowned Champion in my book. But (sadly) Play-offs are here to stay.

In an ideal world the sport would be big enough worldwide to support riders racing for one team full stop. That’s flying pigs territory though. I understand your point about doubling up but there’s no other sport to my knowledge where a competitor is competing for multiple teams in the same week, racing with and then against the same rider tooth and nail from one night to the next. It’s shambolic really. First we need to get rid of doubling up (except between the “development” league and the “professional” league), the next step after that would be to work towards guests being scrapped too.

Tiger was a top man . Ex Halifax Dukes alongside King Kenny and Demon Doug Wyer .

Having read the preview for the Sheffield Ipswich meeting, it was blatantly obvious that little effort was going to be made from an Ipswich perspective. “Should put on a show for the paying public” etc etc, but Ipswich have far bigger fish to fry and the reality is it’s natural to hold back and not risk injury with a grand final less than a fortnight away. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the Ipswich riders were on some sort of staggered guarantee for that meeting, helped by the sponsor. From the managers comments, they certainly had little interest in exerting themselves.

Doubling up was a great idea when it was first introduced. It allowed a second tier rider to share a reserve spot with a top flight team. It’s now gotten massively out of hand and needs to revert to what it was a couple of lower league riders sharing one position in the next league up. long term the sport here needs to become a mix of amateur, semi pro & pro riders. Developing enough riders so that teams can have a type of squad system. using the structure we currently have. MDL solely for amateur riders who ride in the uk using standard cheaper equipment so opening the sport up to more participants. The top MDL riders could hold squad positions in the second tier but no more than 2 per second tier club & only 1 can be used at any time. The second tier a mixture of amateur & semi pro riders with controls on equipment costs to allow riders to compete & not have to pack up because of costs. Again the top riders can hold a squad position in the top league a maximum of 2 per top flight side & only 1 can be used at a time. The top flight a pro league along the lines of what it is now. As a rider if you wish to be a full time pro then you need to have the ability & desire to progress through the ranks to a point where you can support yourself as a pro. However before you can expand & develop your rider base we will need to do some sort of merging of the league to stabilise the sport for the next 2 or 3 years . My thoughts require a long term commitment to a strategy that will hopefully begin to grow the sport.

What did he say?

He was outstanding. Zmarzlik wouldn’t have caught him in heat six. I thought stopping to fist bump Harris as he celebrated after heat fifteen was complete class. Human instinct would be to disappear back to the pits.

I would say the answer to the two questions are the same.Money,fans and pride.

Totally agree. Ive said elsewhere that it’s the rules & lack of credibility that does more harm to the sport than the racing. The racing is just as good now as I’ve witnessed in the last 35 years however it is much faster. I’ve also watched plenty of highlights on you tube from the golden years of the 70s & 80s & it certainly wasn’t any better. As with any sport if you have a competition that people want to watch so atmosphere is generated & businesses are willing to invest the actual visual product plays second fiddle.

You see I don’t get this argument and I never have. When doubling up, you’re not riding for two teams that are in direct competition with each other are you? They’re in completely different leagues. Going by this reasoning, riders shouldn’t be riding for another club in Poland, Sweden or Denmark either? What is the difference? Chris Harris for example rides for Kings Lynn and Glasgow. Kings Lynn and Glasgow are not rivals/competitors because they ride in completely different Leagues. What’s the issue? Guests are far worse because you’re borrowing riders from a direct rival you’re competing against.

And guesting has become the all too easy go to solution for missing riders... You don't need to develop riders to a certain level when you just share around the ones already riding at that level on an ad hoc basis... A "troupe" of usually the same riders earn more money, and clubs can even improve their teams by using them.. Everyone (short term at least), is happy... Long term? With Brexit also now also impacting visa's, a lot of challenges ahead as an ever ageing "mid level" rider base will inevitably one day wind down their careers..

I was hugely critical of Kye Thomson at the start of the season as I felt we weren’t getting enough from him. He’s been brilliant in the second half of the season - real aggression and speed in his racing. He’d be the first rider I’d have back next season. Great to see and made me eat my words.