SPEEDY69

I think we were harshly treated then! Harris was fortunate then to be nominated ahead of Lambert and Worrall. I hope he does well.

Can't fault his desire. I'm surprised though that neither Steve Worrall or Robert Lambert wanted to contest the GP qualifiers.

Ellis is the strange one to me, Lawson a much better bet. Maybe he has a few U21 in case of injuries?

I agree. I think there may be more of a financial impact if you rent a stadium rather than own it.

He means this view: here I've done that before as well.

Was a good meeting on a warm evening - sun delay again though. Bailey apart, all other riders had their moments and there was plenty of hard racing. I thought Huckenbeck did well for Stars and Wells impressed me for the Rockets. Sometimes the scores don't tell the story - Nicholls had a great scrap with Lambert in Ht 15 all for 0 points! Vintage Harris though, his bike looked perfectly set up from the beginning and he was making starts! Overcooked burger though

I see no reason why an out of the box engine cannot win GPs. The main challenges are maintaining optimal grip around the track and of course off the start line. Other aspects unrelated to the engine internals, such as timing, gearing, jetting, wheelbase, throttle control, seat height, rider position, tyre pressure and plug can all have a dramatic effect on this - commonly referred to by riders as 'setup'. It's this ability of the rider/mechanics to achieve an optimum setup alongside a rider who is on his game to produce race wins. The pilot has a much bigger influence in speedway than on other motor sports such as F1 for example and Freddie is riding really well at present - he has to be given credit for this. People may suspect he's doing something extra with his engines but they're just jealous they're not being as successful so look to point at a reason. It could just be the GTR offers the right power delivery out of the box to achieve the optimum grip. Tuners are rightly in fear for their income - I see PJR is already developing an engine with a rev limiter to try and compete.

Ego? And I include your post as I did not concoct anything but thanks for the reply.

They both had different reasons. LR was about funding for National side, SN was about training and support for GB riders - policy on SEC was the straw which hurt the camel. He has now recognised the work being done by the BSPA. As far as I can see Tai's reasons are the lack of doing things his way, using his people - or have I got that wrong?

Trouble is, comparison is always difficult. There's nothing to make me think that PC couldn't have won more titles if a GP system was in place back then.

So things brings me back to the question I posed earlier - why was Harris selected for the Danish 1/4 final ahead of Lambert and Steve Worrall, both of whom finished way ahead of Harris at last years British Final.

Should be a comfy home win. Pirates by 14.

I think R Worrall and Roynon would make Poole much weaker. They will maximise the opportunity for horses for courses guests (as with Bjerre this week) and then either KK will be back on form as the tracks become dry & slick or they will have a high end replacement.

I'm surprised Somerset haven't had more of these defeats. Tungate as a number 1 was never going to work.

. In-form guests will strengthen Poole - hard luck for the teams facing them over the next 5 weeks! This gives a few weeks to get a replacement for the season if that's what they want.

I think this Semi is much tougher than the Newcastle one - the top 8 are hard to pick.

How does Harris get in ahead of Lambert and Worrall?

Wow, didn't see that coming. Aces complacent maybe, well done Somerset.

Maybe he'll be ok? It could be that special type of flu that only speedway riders get - the type that doesn't last 5-7 days and require remaining in bed. Other people call it a cold.

Big Belle Vue win, 55-35

Lindgren was awesome, attacking it. The really poor ones were Lindback who looked rubbish and Nicki who was riding a lawnmower. Got a good second with faster guys behind him but neither could blame the track. Zagar also looked good. So much fir the poles taking over. Start and go full throttle all the way around makes it a bike test only. Still, we enjoyed it, cheap drinks but the food was shocking. Burgers in pitta bread was all that was on offer.

Heading off to the airport shortly, hoping for a Nicki P, Greg and Freddie 1,2 ,3 but I know this is unlikely!

Should be a comfortable homw win now that Wolves have strengthened.

Newcastle seems much the easier semi to me.

BWD definitely makes Poole strong favourites as he's a better option than Kerr.