EnglishRoundabout

Covatti goes well at the OTA. I’m assuming he will be at reserve. If that is the case then he would form a pretty strong partnership there with Jake Allen. The other change appears to weaken the engine room in my opinion. Charles Wright has always been a 100% rider for the Rebels and his never say die attitude will definitely be missed. He was a hugely popular figure at the OTA and has some decent sponsorship tied up in the area. With the thrill a minute speedway that he always dished up came some tantrums though. It appears this time he has pushed it a touch too far.

Bellego? I thought you wanted to get shot?

I thought you needed to be sober driving Taxis Keef?

Another cracking and entertaining match last night. So pleased to see the OTA looking smooth again with numerous racing lines. Have to admit, when Morris and Thorsell led the 2017 world champion and BWD to an easy 5-1 in heat one, I thought it was going to be one of those nights. However, as what seems to happen quite often at Somerset, once the first track grade is completed, the Rebels almost always up their game. This was an excellent all round performance from the Rebels and as I predicted earlier this season, they will take some stopping on their own ‘turf’. Even with Doyle struggling to get out of the start, the engine room provided sold backing. The switch in positions between Holder and Lawson appeared to work and Jake Allen’s drop to reserve can only benefit him and the team. Jonas Jeppesen looks a fine signing by Garry May. He rarely makes the start, but is tenacious in his pursuit of a pass. It won’t be long before he posts double figures at the OTA I’m sure. Interesting to see Charles Wright, who apart from his first ride looked really quick, grumbling to track staff about track conditions. Reckon Charles is only happy when he’s having a moan! fortunately, the track looked fine but the gremlins crept back with constant issues with the tapes. The naked eye seemed to indicate they were sagging in the middle and lifting slower on the outside. This was possibly borne out with the remarkable statistics of 12 wins out of 15 from gate one. Unusual in itself for Somerset as the outside gate normally proves more popular. Wolves battled really hard all night and I thought they deserved a point Thorsell, Schlein Masters and Howarth all fought hard in every race Howarth on occasions did look pretty wild though Good to see ex rider Bruce Cribb on the centre green Delighting the many Exeter fans who regularly turn up at Somerset for their speedway fix Cribb was roundly applauded by the Rebels fans on his way out to the centre green and on his way back to the pits

To be fair Orlovski, he’s looked very fast in recent matches at the OTA. Seems the Lynn track suited him too.

My predictions of late have been absolute garbage Ian. Truly didn’t see that coming! Brilliant result though. What with the OTA being returned to its old self, a team of racers to watch each week, all seems well at Somerset speedway!

Sadly, can only see a tonking for the Rebs.

When you were Gater 1, and poor Darcy Ward had his terrible injury, you admitted on here you had multiple aliases. You have a short memory pal .

A healthy crowd turned up for this meeting on a balmy summers evening at the OTA. Not often can one have a totally comfortable evening there as there is usually a breeze or two either whistling in from the nearby sea or from across the levels and the M5. In the past the weather has played havoc with Craig Cooks’s Recent performances at the OTA. Too wet, or even too windy, he has cut a miserable figure. Tonight however, he changed that with a classy performance. Looking out for his team mates where possible and although chasing Jason Doyle hard for all 3 of his races against the World Champion, he could not make an impression, despite looking far quicker than him. Cookie probably did sneak a roller or two, but was great entertainment. Doyle was impervious. He surely created his own groove around the track as not once did he leave the inside line. He simply blasted from the gate, hit the front and stayed there for all of his five races. As Najjer stated, curiously, he certainly didn’t look as fast as Cook or arguably Fricke. In heat 6, both Fricke and Etheridge caught and almost passed the world champ. At one stage, both were almost queuing to pass him, but it appeared his track craft and knowledge kept him in front. A classic heat 9 that saw a pumped up Charles Wright come from last to second which culminated in a superb last bend pass on Fricke, Wrighty then completed a celebratory fist pumping lap. Heat 15 was even better. Doyle once again hit the front with an electrifying start and once again seemed to almost hold up the following pack who all snapped at his heels throughout. Holder, who really does look like the signing of the season, not for the first time missed the gate by a country mile, but chased down Fricke before executing a lovely inside pass. A note of credit for young Bewley who really looks like a find. His development this season has been amazing and he once again looked the part with two fine wins. Aces fans will be disappointed in the performance of Drodz, whose future with the Manchester club must now be in real danger Finally, a pat on the pack for the Somerset management who ensured the resurrection of the old track! Thankfully, we saw the familiar terrific racing, rather than the processional stuff served up for the first 5 heats or so in recent weeks. The track looked in excellent shape and back where it should be as one of Britain’s best racing circuits. .

There is no doubt Somerset speedway have hit crisis point with their track. Once again the crowd were kept waiting for a significant length of time whilst surgery was applied to the track. Again we watched as the riders fairly trundled around for the first 4 heats. This time I noticed dissent from the local support in the shape of angry shouts towards the promotion. Indeed, Ez Curtis the former curator often received criticism for his poor communication, especially with the riders, but there is now a growing feeling from Rebels fans that he should be brought back A healthy crowd eventually witnessed some good racing and by mid meeting Swindon were looking threatening although Bellego consistently missed the gate, hampering his efforts to get to the front That said, he did look quick but left himself far too much to do Troy Batchelor looked once again in fine form However, after winning his tactical substitute ride and previously easily beating Jason Doyle, he let his lead slip by carelessly allowing both BWD and Charles Wright past him , for which in my opinion was a crucial moment in Somerset taking the points. sure, both Rebels riders deserve great credit for their terrific and courageous passes, but Batchelor should have closed the door on them both and it would have been race won, keeping the Robins still dangerously close The 5-1 reverse ultimately gave the Rebels the momentum to which they never looked back. Musielak and Morris also left their gating gloves at Blunsdon and Ellis apart, who put in a reasonable performance, there was simply no real fire power amongst the Robins. The Rebels truly look a fantastic outfit around the OTA, and once the track is sorted out, I am sure there is going to be some amazing speedway served up this year. The potential within this side is breathtaking. BWD at reserve and Jack Holder in the engine room provide Somerset with blistering pace, and with the never say die efforts of both Jake Allen and Charles Wright, it’s hard to imagine the team being beaten at home this season. Finally, good to hear that referee Ronnie Allen is to stay on for a further 3 years and not retiring as expected. In difficult circumstances this evening, I thought he managed the situation well, and although the meeting did finish later than normal, the experienced Scotsman did his best to speed the meeting through whilst constantly communicating with the riders and track staff, especially in the early part of the meeting when at one point it appeared the meeting could have been abandoned.

That’s correct. The old KKS/Gater 1 from years ago. You can tell by the similar posts with same grammatical errors and intentionally inflammatory agendas.

Ignore the attention seeker Coombers. It’s KkS doing his/her usual thing.

There’s been some cold meetings at the OTA, but last night felt like a November night with a bitter wind slicing through whatever outer clothing was worn! One guy showed me two pairs of thermal gloves he was wearing, another guy’s teeth were literally chattering as he spoke! May the 2nd it was !! The first 5 heats were the most pedestrian I have ever witnessed at Somerset The track resembled a ploughed field with around six inches of excess shale appearing mid bend Some riders, notably Lawson in heat 4, literally trundled round like a novice, a full straight behind Stark contrast to watching his two lightening starts in his next two races where he scorched to two brilliant wins. Jason Doyle took to the centre green microphone to explain to to the crowd the dilemma facing the riders Thankfully, the grading, scraping and watering, eventually seemed to do the trick, and after heat 6, the meeting came alive. There were some fine passes, especially from Kildemand on the final bend in heat 6 A bewildered Jake Allen could only watch as the spectacular Dane blasted around the outside to pip the Aussie by a tyres width on the line Heat 9 saw Charles Wright hit the deck hard and disappear under the air fence He limped back to the pits complaining of a sore coxicx, but came out for the re-run and stormed to a 5-1 with the impressive Jack Holder Both Somerset riders not giving an inch, and clearly battling between themselves for the race win A strange sight, but I guess nowadays it seems riders value the race win more than anything Heat 12 saw BWD execute a brutal pass on former Rebels skipper Grajczonek which left the Aussie non too pleased The Pirates skipper made his feelings clear to the New Zealand champion after the race with some fierce finger wagging Good to see Jonas Jeppesen win his first race and he certainly looks very combative and another decent Garry May signing Poole certainly looked under cooked, but I’m not one for joining the ‘sack the lot’ brigade, although Matt Ford was apparently on the road back to Poole by heat 14 James Shanes was always in the mix despite his feeble final score, and he has very tidy style Brady Kurtz looked fast and Graczjonek hadn’t forgotten the quickest way around the OTA The Rebels look a force around their home track, and I’ve probably said it before but this is a team of racers assembled by Garry May and the Somerset crowd can look forward to being royally entertained every week

Wield the whip?

I’m not Batchelor’s biggest fan, but when he’s got his gating gloves on and he’s out in front, he looks a million dollars. Terrific and in my opinion, unexpected win at Leicester. Well done Swindon and an excellent start to the season

Batch hates everyone doesn’t he?

He wouldn’t know the answer to that question anyway Sidney, he lives in Peterborough. Ask him one about the Panthers.

First meeting of the season and it pretty much had everything I reckon. Some close tight racing (albeit a slow start, the first 4 heats being from the tapes). After the first track grade, the meeting exploded into life! After their collision in heat one, Allen and Newman continued with their shindigs with a brilliant race in heat6 with Allen charging hard under Newman on the third bend. The race ended with Newman snapping at Jake”s heels as they crossed the finish line. For some reason Ref Dave Robinson awarded third place to Newman, which baffled the crowd and caused much programme altering, before the score was adjusted several heats later. What happened after the race was truly inexcusable, as Newman, clearly irked by the young Aussies hard riding, rode him out to the fence, causing Allen to take avoiding action Not to be outdone, Allen took his revenge by intentionally swerving his back wheel towards Newman’s front tyre, dumping the former Rebel and his machine onto the track No action ensued from the Ref, but certainly tempers were raised in the pits, with several people being restrained by officials As the track became more to the Rebels liking, they slowly got back into the match with some determined riding from the aforementioned Allen, Charles Wright and BWD, who was most unlucky to be excluded in heat 8 surely this trio are going to be an exciting spectacle this season at the OTA Wright was a revelation, riding defensively in heat 9 to keep Andersen in third, allowing Holder his first win in Rebels colours at his new track, then team riding with BWD in heat 12 for a vital 5-1 Not often seen by Wrighty , certainly from this poster! For the Lions, Pieszcek was most impressive, looking perfectly at home on a track he has probably never seen before Hans Andersen was good value too for his paid 8 points, once again using his track guile and experience to either assist his colleagues, or to keep opponents at bay Newman had his best meeting at the OTA for many a year, and looks like he won’t be in the reserve berth for too long This Leicester side has an impressive look about it even without their number one, and I expect them to be in the mix at the end of the season A new era for Somerset with the Wednesday night meetings, and certainly the crowd looked pretty decent to me

Crikey Oldtimer, just for a second I thought you were about to say something positive about Somerset speedway!! Alas, I was wrong!

Sorry, why was this a ‘pathetic ‘ comment?

Broken collar bone.

Would be good to see him at Somerset this season. Surely he’s used up all of his excuses now?

Just wanted to send my best to Somerset press officer Ian Belcher who has decided to hang up his clipboard after 15 years service to the club. Best of British in your retirement mate. Hope to still see you stood on the second bend........”so wide he nearly ended up in Wiltshire”.

Ez had a very thorough knowledge of the Somerset track and what was required to prepare it. He certainly put the time and effort in and was passionate as to how it ‘rode’ each week. One could always see him peering anxiously over the 4th bend fence during meetings. Mind you, he rarely looked happy even if his surfaces were in top condition and communication was never his best trait. That said, he will be a huge loss if the rumours are true that he has left

Thank you for the update.