Loyal hammer

I thought Phil Morris spoke really well, very impressive. Interesting to hear there is a good chance of a new track staging speedway next year.

Does anyone know if the Millar brothers are still riding? I haven't seen Lewis or Gregor named in any of the national junior league results.

Other than Dany Gappmaier and Sebastian Kossler, are there any other austrian riders currently racing? I haven't seen the names of Mike Jacopetti, Robert Grichtmeier or Phillip Kirchsteiger mentioned for a few years.

Firstly I hope Drew Kemp is ok, it was a very nasty accident. I think Mildenhall will be disappointed not to have got a point from the meeting, especially after such a bright start from their reserves. It was nice to see Kemp win his first national league race, coincidently I think Bebee did the same for Mildenhall at Eastbourne last year. Shame we didnt see the quality of Jenkins last night but all in all it was a very important win for the Hammers. Boxall and Bacon did good jobs as guests. Alfie has really come on leaps and bounds and Locke picked up some very useful third places. Keeps us in the playoff picture for now anyway.

I think Kents stronger bottom end will be enough to see them win this meeting, but I am expecting it to be close. Maybe a last heat decider.

Interesting to read on Kents website that Matt Marson has now been confirmed as ineligible to ride on a 3.00, now has an assessed 5 point average.

Buxton have a very good top two in Williamson and Knight. Im expecting both to score very well. Providing they do, it only takes one of Buxtons middle order and one reserve to score well for this to suddenly become a close match. Im looking forward to it.

Some excellent races last night. Wajtknechts pass on Thomas was superb and heats 13 and 15 were also great races. I couldn't believe Bowtell was excluded in heat 3. Alfies fast becoming a fans favourite with the Lakeside faithful. Special mention to Jack Thomas, a great nights work after his horrible looking crash in the original staging of heat 7.

I appreciate its legal because of the averages Halifaxtiger but Lakeside haven't decided Paul Hurry's average. The authorities and the league coordinator are responsible for validating and verifying the averages. I enjoy reading your posts as i can see you're a fair minded fan, as am I, and even I'm hard pushed to fathom how 7.66 has been calculated but this is for Mr Morrish to clarify, not Cook.

Lakesides team is legal. Refer to the team declarations on the speedwaygb website. Hurry comes in on 7.66 and Spooner has been signed on a 3.00 to replace Hunter. Team under points limit.

A good meeting. I was anticipating a probable Belle Vue win beforehand. Very impressed by Bickley, and although Bewley scored 6 (score didn't do him justice really), I was surprised he wasn't named in heat 15.

I agree with many of the previous comments re slick track and the time it took to run the meeting but meetings tend to drag when a team operates rider replacement due to riders in back to back heats. Nevertheless it was a pleasing win for the Hammers. Bowen looked unstoppable! I felt sorry for Spooner slipping off in heat 2. I think its fair to say his score didn't reflect his efforts. Really impressed by Alfie Bowtell again. A good debut from Couzins too. I think Kent will push us close on Friday though.

Plenty of positives to take from the opening two challenge matches. Ben and Zach both looking classy. A good home meeting from David Mason. A good away meeting from Alfie shows he has plenty of promise. An unfortunate day for George but im sure we'll soon see what he's capable of. Be interesting to see how the reserves fair against Kent next week. With Kelvin at the helm, I'm confident we're going to have a good, competitive season.

Very impressed with young Tom Brennan. A star in the making. He won't be at reserve for long. He was the only Eagle to win in under 60 seconds at Arlington along with both Wajtknecht and Morley.

Good luck to the young lad. Who will be Buxtons final signing? 8.33 points left.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to who may be under consideration for the final team place? The likes of Ben Basford, Connor Locke, Macauley Leek appear to be amongst the most promising options. I think our final signing will need to be scoring a consistent 3-4 points a meeting from the off, particularly at home.

There's still plenty to look forward to. We have a strong top two, both young and big hitters in this league. We have progressive talent in Alfie and George. I'm sure both can progress this season under the guidance of Kelvin. I know very little about Nick Laurence but I trust the promotion see him as a decent scoring reserve. I wouldn't right the Hammers off just yet.

With 4.04 points remaining for the final spot, there doesn't appear to be too many options available. James Purchase perhaps?

If Len and Chris Hunt are aiming to build a well balanced side then I expect they want Clifton to start the season as a reserve. Looking at the likely options, the Kings could end up with something like Kingston, Hopwood, Cottham plus a 3 pointer.

Jamie Halder and Bradley Andrews to fill the last two positions? I saw Jamie Halder race at Rye House in the 2015 youth round and he wasn't far behind JPB. The young lad certainly has potential. Bradley Andrews could be a steal on an average of 3.07 if he carries forward his late season form. I'm surprised Cradley let him go.

Looking at the points available and the other teams signings, I hope the promotion has signed Nathan Stoneman as third heat leader and go with two 3 pointers at reserve. Sam Woods appeared to have scored well for Rye House at the back end of last season riding in the no 2 position, he looks like he could improve on his 3 point starting average. I'd like to see the other position given to a graduate of the British Youth Championship and / or the Hagon Academy, someone like Alex Spooner or Charlie Brooks.

I hope both AJ and Kim return. I'd like to see Adam Ellis come back into the fold too.

IMO the important thing is to make sure the 4 riders in each heat are of similar standard, racing on more consistent track surfaces. This makes for good, close and exciting racing. The racing has to be good as the foundation from which you can build and promote. To achieve that I think it's vital for the current league tier structure to stay in place. I personally feel there should be more top flight fixtures not less. This will more than likely result in many of the GP riders departing our domestic league scene. Initially, more PL riders will be needed to fill EL team spots and more NL riders should be offered PL spots. Weakening the top end strength of each of the three leagues now is needed in order for our domestic scene to survive. It may tempt another 1 or 2 current PL clubs to try the top tier.

An enjoyable meeting. Track looked a little difficult for the Kings to begin with but the 5-1 in 15 keeps the tie alive although Eastbourne are now in the driving seat.

Well done to the Aces. They were and are the better team. I'm a little disappointed that man for man (probably bar Kerr) we didn't ride to our capabilities. Our shortage of heat winners tells the story.