A great rider and always seemed a decent guy. RIP

R.I.P.  a true legend of the sport

What a way to end the competitive season. The last Friday of summer 2026 brought weather which was anything but summery and a track which resembled, perhaps aptly, a pool. Having done the hard work on Wednesday, the Pirates barely had to get out of second gear in this one, sweeping aside the home challenge before it had even contemplated beginning. Rider of the Night, by a country mile, was Kyle Newman. I mentioned on his previous visit that I could quite happily watch him every week. It’s fair to say that opinion was reaffirmed last night. In fantasy world where I buy the Monarchs for £1, Newman is my first signing, that much is certain. His reserve partner, Slater Lightcap, didn’t have quite so good an evening. Obviously super-excited to be returning to the plush sunny Armadale surroundings, he nervously twitched his way to a heat 2 warning, before crashing out in heat 6 (speedy recovery). I couldn’t help but notice he wasn’t wearing his team racesuit. Why doesn’t he have one? He’s been here 5 weeks. Are the Kevlar manufacturers on strike? With Monarchs 4 points down and 28 on aggregate after heat 9, I rallied the troops around me. “6 5-0s and we win. Or, even better, 4 5-0s and 2 5-1s and we get an extra heat free of charge. Let’s do this!” As Monarchs gated on a 5-1 in heat 10 I thought, “bang... bang... here we go”. And then Lewis Kerr pulled off a tremendous outside swoop on not-so-super Grahn. The resulting 4-2 meant the tie was mathematically won. I didn’t notice too much (anything?) in the way of on-track celebrations. Perhaps FJ Havvy doesn’t have a calculator in his back pocket? If there was any jubilation, it appeared very low key. Almost as low as the volume on the home straight tannoy, which left me not knowing whether the presenters in the Tower had actually congratulated Poole on their aggregate victory. I assume they did? They’re usually very professional. That said, a low-volume tannoy does have some benefit as it means I don’t have to listen to the ‘modern’ music in between races. Why no Avril Lavigne? It’s all so uncultured nowadays. For the Monarchs, it was something of an impossible task from the off. And by the time the Thom(p)son non-twins were skittled in heat 13, the relief upon hearing of the resulting abandonment almost seemed palpable. It was sad, albeit perhaps fitting, that Justin Sedgmen’s final competitive race of the year saw him go from first to third. That apart he was decent, unlike Mitchell Cluff. Let’s just say, if the play offs were his shop window for a return in 2027, he shouldn’t receive an offer. Finally, I can’t not mention Captain Pugwash himself, Michele Castagna. When he first signed, I always remember him saying, “when I get dialled in, I’ll be virtually unbeatable”. Still waiting son. Still waiting. Well done Poole. The People’s Champions 2026. Here’s hoping you finish the job in the daft final. Roll on next season...

That Valentine race is on Retro Speedway's 1974 production.

I think most Lions fans would agree with you!

Perhaps if Mario had shown an interest in practicing around Ashfield, he’d have found he had an home advantage. It’s total nonsense to say there’s no home advantage for Glasgow riders, it’s just an excuse when we lose. Most of the clubs that apparently have a home advantage get beaten at home more than Glasgow.