TheWellBehavedWorrall

Just saw that heat fifteen on BSN. Wow. What a ride from Schlein. The two Monarchs seemed to ignore him after the race. Sedgmen definitely did; Schlein had his hand up for an embrace, but Sedgmen looked at him and didn’t offer the same in return. Bizarre. Perhaps a little embarrassed at being absolutely bullied by Schlein on their home circuit? Also, is it normal for the winner of heat fifteen to go straight back to the pits? Schlein did and I assume there are travelling Bandits fans who would have been grateful for a lap of honour in appreciation.

That was a great win, but it felt closer than a twelve points swing. I thought Masters and Nicholls looked untouchable at times. Masters had mechanical issues at Ashfield towards the end of last season too. Nightmare for him. That Flint and Starke pairing is doing exactly what is expected in terms of points, but I don’t know what it is; Flint doesn’t look comfortable around Ashfield and Starke appears to lack pace, rendering neither a threat to the rider ahead of them. Pijper versus Boughen in heat two was outstanding. 17 and 16 years-old respectively and they’re weaving in and out of one another. We’ll be watching them go toe-to-toe at a much higher level in the future, I’m sure. Best wishes to Pijper.

That was a good win against a a decent Berwick side. It’s worth pondering the outcome, had Flint been available. Would he have scored as many as Vissing? Doubtful, but then again, if Complin was available, I’m confident he’d have scored more than Hagon’s four. Starke looked slow, so credit where it’s due; his five, paid eight was an achievement. Borke is a rider. I can’t imagine he’ll be at reserve for long. Berwick have a great talent on their hands there. There was some great racing on show last night. Lots of passing and lots of tussling, so fair play to both sets of riders.

More brain damage speedway from the Premiership on BSN. Belle Vue, last week. Ipswich, this week. If either were my first speedway meetings, I’d never be back. Credit to BSN for more great coverage, but how has a race involving Sayfudtinov, Doyle, Harris and Janowski delivered so little? Jesus, this is a tough watch.

What’s the script with Clouting?

Which referee and what happened?

I’ve just watched the highlights of this meeting on Berwick’s YouTube channel and I have one question… was Stevie Wonder the referee? Etheridge’s exclusion in heat five was beyond harsh; his front wheel was taken away from him by Thomson in what’s surely the perfect definition of first bend bunching. If that was how the referee was governing the entire meeting, then fair enough, but he then went on to allow Castagna back in the re-run of heat fourteen after clipping Borke’s rear wheel, causing a crash. I thought both incidents were the natural risks of bikes hitting a 10M wide corner with no breaks, so all four should have been back for the re-run, but for the referee to discriminate against one - arguably the least offensive, too - and not the other, is outrageous. Are referees held accountable in speedway? If Berwick dropped points on Saturday night, they would have had every right to be furious. Shocking, bizarre and outright poor refereeing.

That was tremendous TV. Greg Blair - an outstanding pundit - on BSN wanted Boughen‘s professional observations while being shown the replay, but what he received was ”got over him… and he’s just f*cking ran straight into me”. In five years time, we’ll hopefully be watching these two compete at an even higher level because what they’re doing as teenagers and the company they’re doing it in is nothing short of incredible. They’re both a credit to themselves, regardless of how many times they fall or come last.

If we didn’t wait for him, he wouldn’t have joined Pearson for a 5-1. Edinburgh would subsequently have entered heat one as the stronger pairing; a positive result might have set the tone for the rest of the meeting. How many ”ifs” are we talking here, Lisa? If my gran had wheels, she’d be a bike. Pijper has received criticism because he rides full-hearted and in doing so, races hard. Andre Compton, Jan Pedersen and Tomasz Gollob used to do it. Pijper’s doing it at 17 years-old though, so he’s getting nothing but credit from me. The way his dad is by his side the second he’s in need is one of the most endearing things I’ve saw at the speedway.

What happened with Pijper and Coles? I didn’t have a great view, but definitely expected Pijper’s exclusion light to come on, so was pleasantly surprised when it was Coles’. I also heard the announcer mention handbags, but didn’t see anything.

Brilliant. What a guy.

There wasn’t a minute’s silence or applause for John Louis at Ashfield last night either. Sad. I never saw him ride because he was well before my time, but knew he was a legend.

I loved it, but I’m not going to lie, I’m suspicious. I want to believe it, but the sceptic in me is screaming ”gullible”. Harris’ delays were relayed to me, and others, several times by multiple different people associated with the club. I’m not sure if that was strategic. The timing of his arrival was Hollywood-like. Nothing short of spectacular, if it played-out naturally. Having said that, why would Edinburgh agree to play along with Glasgow’s orchestrated drama? They wouldn’t. I’m 75% sure it was real, but 25% suspicious it was a set-up. Either way, what a situation. Brilliant.

No way I’m witnessing this helmet chat. What age are we? Honestly, come on. Can’t we just assume that Chris Harris has handled enough helmets - the Bishop said to the maid - to know how to put one on while adhering to SCB standards? If I’m an Edinburgh fan, my focus isn’t on finding an excuse; it’s wondering how my number one, ”Joshie”, has just been smoked by a guy who’s jumped out a van 60 seconds earlier.

That’s an absolute nightmare. Gutted for Kerr. I saw an interview with him during pre-season where he spoke about having the opportunity to be an out-and-out number one in a very humble manner. So, even though we lost and he excelled at our expense, I was pleased for him on Saturday night. He didn’t just beat Harris three times. Not a single one was close. By the time Harris settled into second in each race, Kerr was long gone. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.