Gambo

That was my view of the alleged 'punch' too!

Got a message regarding Nigel whilst I was at Scunthorpe, and I hoped that it was just a misplaced rumour. Sadly saw the confirmations when I got home. Echoing most of the messages on here, he will be missed and is a loss to our sport. Condolences to his family, friends and Media colleagues.

There is a 'Test' meeting at Gorican on 23rd April, mainly for Discovery to fine tune their output. No GP Riders involved in the meeting. 4 x Slovenian, 5 x Italian, 4 x Hungarian, 1 x Slovakian declared so far.

THE Campaign Group are pleased to confirm our planning application for the regeneration of Brandon Stadium is now live – and now we need your help. The consultation period set by Rugby Borough Council runs until May 6, and all messages of support sent to the Planning Officer will be of vital importance. Full details of how to make your voice heard follow later in this communication, but firstly a reminder of what this application is and why we have submitted it. We first went public with our intentions last summer, at which point we ran our own consultation process and revised our plans based on feedback from local residents, which was almost universally positive. Our application was submitted to the Council earlier this year, and after going through the appropriate processes it is now active and can be viewed via the following link: https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/rugby/application-details/34048 The most relevant documents to view are the Planning Statement, the Regeneration of Coventry Stadium, and the Statement of Community Involvement, but brief details follow below. Our application seeks to change the use of various buildings at the stadium in order to provide additional community-based facilities in addition to the return of speedway and stock car racing. It should be noted that the return of motorsport does not form part of the application as no planning permission is required for this – it is already the established use of the site. The fundamental changes are that Hangar No.1 on the stadium frontage will be converted into a museum celebrating the history and heritage of speedway and stock car racing at Brandon; the under-stand bar will be converted into a gymnasium incorporating treatment rooms and a climbing wall (open to the local community); and the former dog kennels will be converted into a bar and catering outlet. Further arising from these changes, the dog track will be resurfaced to become a cycle track, with cycle speedway and other cycling-related activities taking place. A large proportion of the tarmac infield will be re-surfaced to allow for the staging of equine events. The Great Britain Speedway Team will relocate their training base from Loughborough University Elite Athlete Centre to Brandon and form a Centre of Excellence, including their Academy system for developing youth riders through established programmes. One question which may well be asked is, why submit a planning application on a site we do not own? The answer is to clearly demonstrate that a viable alternative exists to the policy favoured by the current owners, which has been to shamefully facilitate the destruction of the stadium and cause maximum grief for residents via non-existent security, and to then attempt to use the condition of the stadium as a reason to support a planning application aimed squarely at the building of houses which are not required by the Local Plan. Our application is endorsed by businessman Warren Hunter, whose offer to buy the stadium remains neither accepted nor rejected nearly two years on, and it also has the support of numerous international, national and local companies, as well as individual tradespeople, all willing to provide time, materials and skills to rebuild the stadium. So how can you help? The answer is to send an e-mail or letter in support of this application to: erica.buchanan@rugby.gov.uk or Erica Buchanan, Rugby Borough Council, Evreux Way, Rugby CV21 2RR. This response should quote reference number R22/0071 and be submitted before May 6. It is important to state here that what is not required is a comparison between our application and that of the developers. You are not being asked to make a choice between the two, and the application will be judged on its own merits regardless of the current Brandon Estates submission. Please concentrate on the positives of this application, which will provide upgraded facilities to assist health and well-being in the local community, as well as re-opening the stadium as the UK’s top oval motorsports facility. We believe our proposals represent the most sustainable use of the site, and are entirely consistent with both the recently adopted Local and Neighbourhood Plans, as well as fully complying with policies in the National Planning Policy Guidelines, and are consistent with the wishes of the vast majority of the local population. Please show your support for this application to the e-mail or postal address shown above. A reminder of the deadline, which is May 6.

Birmingham only just managed 10 heats. It was heavy rain during Heat 10 too. Phil Griffin praised the 2022 track surface, saying that last year, in similar conditions, they would not have got ten heats. Track looked (and rode) very smooth.

I believe it will be:- 15 Heats. Top scorer direct to Final. 2nd v 3rd in S/F. Winner to Final. 4, 3, 2, 0 Race points. Championship points: 1st 15 points, 2nd 10, 3rd 7, 4th 5, 5th 3, 6th 1.

The No.8 rule when using R/R. I must admit that I was also factoring in what I had heard pre-season about the No.8 being present at a track, even without R/R.

Dan could have taken a ride, particularly a better scenario if a Reserve had got injured in Heat 2.

Rules should be applied uniformly across the board, not dependent on who is asking!

I'm led to believe that Leicester were happy for the 75% guest to be used, but Birmingham were refused the facility.

The minimum match points for a draw is one point.

If the meeting is curtailed and the score is a draw, the match points will be 1-1.

Any rider can take part in the Super Heat, even if they have had 7 outings. Super Heat scores are not included in Green Sheet averages. Super Heat scores have no relevance on Team totals so a 7-0 score still results in a 3-1 Match points.

And also a problem for the Ticket touts on race-day!

Thanks R&R. Looks a bit warm there! Up to11 deg today according to the weather sites. Hope that doesn't soften the ice too much.

Last season, both riders went through a tough patch with low scores and, in my opinion, the scarcity of NL fixtures at the time did not allow them any confidence re-building rides. Extra track time is always welcomed by both.

Surely the likes of Gilkes, Thompsons, Hume, Mulford will be used, as I assume they will be 'paid' to attend as No.8 anyway?

A very positive innovation. I would not travel to Poole to watch a match against Glasgow (or anyone else apart from Coventry or my 'B' Team Leicester), but I'd certainly watch a stream. Subscription to the Championship is no different to the Premiership TV coverage, other than the fact that there is more variety.

You can check if the charge applies to your vehicle: Enter the number plate of the vehicle (drive-clean-air-zone.service.gov.uk)

15 Jan 2022 Ice QR 1 Örnsköldvsik Sweden 12/13 Feb 2022 Ice Final 1/2 Togliatti Russia 12/13 Mar 2022 Ice Final 3/4 Inzell Germany 02 Apr 2022 Ice Final 5/6 Heerenveen Netherlands

I disagree about the negative PR bit. Although Dan (and others) are named as #8 for PL sides, they are not guaranteed any outings! So Dan (and others) are predominately going to be CL & NDL riders with the occasional PL outing. Are you saying that Dan (and others) should miss out on potentially 10+ confidence boosting NDL meetings in favour of a few (if any) PL meetings?

According to the new website, Cardiff GP has a 7pm racing start. No details of times etc. for the U21 GP2 on the Sunday

I would think that some refurbishment of the Grandstand would be necessary for the Referee/Greyhound Starters room to be operative.

The BSPA only go to 2dp. 3dp is only used if two riders in a team are equal at 2dp. At 3dp Danyon is still 4.88.

Agreed, but I was unsure which was which on the track, Max James or Max Perry!