Leicester Lion

As Holder was excluded, shouldn't there have been a re-run?

Not only the track, of course. I wonder if some of those people have a vested interest. The rain can't have helped, but it's debatable whether the racing would have been much better even in perfect conditions. There is only so much they can do when a track takes such a soaking. However, on the other side of the fence, in a stadium supposedly built for the 21st century, no spectator should be expected to put up with the disgusting mudbath on the corners, especially at these admission prices. It is taking the pee to then expect those same people to pay what is effectively full price again for the restaging of the 12 heat final. Maybe they'll make it 16 heats so they can fleece us for a new programme too. The presentation was ordinary at best. Spectators aren't interested in inane banter between Popple and the man in the box. The show isn't about them. Their job is to keep us informed and entertained, even during long delays. It is lazy to simply play endless music. Popple should be seeking out riders etc to interview, not just running for cover when it rains. They should be prepared, but they clearly weren't. Popple didn't even know the semis were being run alternate race by race rather than one semi after the other. Yesterday showed that Leicester isn't yet fit to stage a big meeting if it rains. Interestingly, the Leicester Mercury said the capacity for the 4s was 4,000, not the 5,000 of the opening night, so it appears the capacity was originally set too high. They desperately need to improve the standing areas if they hope to attract such numbers.

That's incredibly generous. God bless the BSPA.

Oh come on, we're not all common.

"Plenty" is a difficult word to quantify, but I stand by what I said, it's been better the last couple of weeks. I agree with your observation on Nieminen passing Proctor. To say Magnus has passed opponents "with ease" implies he's been sizing them up and pulling off amazing passes, when it really hasn't been like that. Magnus has done almost all of his scoring from the gate and certainly within the first half lap.

It does seem to be getting better. There was some genuine passing in the Newport match, I wouldn't say plenty, but it was ok. Heat 15 was superb by any track's standards. I'm looking forward to Sunday to see how the racing will be. Will the generally higher standard of all the riders make the racing better or worse? One thing's for sure though, it'll be muddy on the spectators' side of the fence regardless of how much work they do to make the track raceable.

There needs to be transparency. As often (always?) with the BSPA there is little, with the result that there is nothing but speculation. The rights and wrongs of allowing Leicester a wild card place in the event are debatable, but there is no right or wrong answer. It happens in some other areas of speedway. If this was being held at a neutral venue there would be no need for a wild card. I was surprised to see Leicester in the fours, given our awful record. There are more deserving teams. I do see the point in including Leicester to boost the attendance. However, I'd have preferred to see a qualifying competition giving all the PL teams a fair chance to reach the final. Personally, I question the BSPA's haste in awarding Beaumont Park the competition at this stage in the stadium's development. If the crowd is as large as on the opening night a lot of people will have to accept a restricted view. And if it rains there will be mud everywhere. Clearly Leicester have been allowed to bend the rules in order to field a competitive team. Someone must have suggested it. Maybe the BSPA offered it in a display of largesse, or maybe Leicester asked for it. Either way, having granted Leicester a place in the event, and given Leicester's unusual circumstances (has any other team ever replaced its top three riders halfway through the season?), there seems little option but to allow the Lions to use their new riders. But I think it's only fair the other teams should also be allowed to select from their current line-up with no restrictions. The lack of transparency only serves to antagonise those who have lost out, and does nothing to dispel any implication that Leicester have somehow been treated more favourably. It's a pity. The fours should be the showpiece event of the PL season. Instead, even before it starts it has been shrouded in controversy due to the poor organisation of the BSPA.

It already is - at every track.

That embarrassingly awful official statement contains no apology, no retraction. It only refers to the timing of Trump's observations, not the accuracy of what he said. On the strength of the official statement, it's obvious the mess has not been cleared up. In typical BSPA fashion it has been swept under the carpet, from where it will emerge the next time there is a dispute, only next time it will be even more difficult to resolve.

What a complete and utter waste of time, only done by the OP to draw attention to himself. Vanity.

It must have been a different Steve Shovlar in the Poole v Wolves (EL B 01/07/2009) thread then.

I'm too young to have seen Jack Geran and Bryan Elliot, although my dad used to tell me about them. Ken McKinlay was a regular at Blackbird Road even after he stopped racing; I recall leaving the stadium one evening and seeing him rolling around in a bus shelter after overdoing his birthday celebrations. It's all systems go for the new stadium. Only a couple of weeks ago it was just grassy parkland with white lines marking out the track. There is still a lot of work to do, but progress has been very fast and a lot of earth has been shifted. It'll be basic at first, but provided people don't expect too much I'm sure improvements will follow. I hope there will be some sort of speedway meeting there late this year, but I'll be delighted to see the team take to the track next March.

I'm casually watching it too, but there are too many pauses.

With three in Poland this season, it's heading that way.

Don't know but I wish they'd get the message that I do not want to win a bloody Green Card!

Try http://mjfunkz.com/mecze.php

Enjoying it, but Pedersen very lucky to not be excluded after locking up, being clipped by Dobrucki who was minding his own business, and going down like a sack of spuds.

So much for all those who prematurely heralded a new dawn for GP speedway on the basis that there was a bit more dirt than usual in the first round. Prague was the same as always. It was a poor speedway meeting, despite Pearson and Louis telling us otherwise (and I doubt they were even in the Czech Republic, let alone inside the stadium). Gollob deserved the win for being the only rider able to produce genuine passing on this awful track, which made his ride in heat 14 was even more stunning. Did Gollob bring Jonsson down? The replays were inconclusive; none of them clearly showed Gollob taking Jonsson's leg away. I don't subscribe to the view that the rider "in front" can do what he likes. I would say the rider attempting the pass must do it cleanly, but there is also an onus on the rider being passed to yield once it is clear the pass can't be prevented. It did appear that Jonsson deviated from his line a little early going into the corner, which may have influenced the ref. This was a close call, and it is unfair to criticise the referee either way.

It's also the over the top notion that when someone makes a mistake they should be sacked from their job. For the record, I think the first decision should have been all 4, the second was also wrong (Pedersen should have been out), and Mroczka's exclusion was correct.

Because Pearson is too lazy to change from the small number of clichés that he uses ad nauseum.