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What a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon that was yesterday. We all know speedway has its problems , but when you get a superbly prepared track like that , two good teams giving their all , and for a change no rain , there isn't a better sporting spectacle in this country . After two relatively heavy away losses to probably the current best two sides in the league , there were a few nervous home fans in the stadium before the meeting . Scunthorpe didn't come just to make up the numbers , they gated well in the majority of the heats , but one thing we do have is a team full of racers and some of the passing yesterday was breathtaking . Craig Cook in that kind of form is a joy to watch round Ashfield , and Sam Jensen and Connor Bailey just get better and better . What the Pole brings to the party will determine whether we're good enough to challenge the likes of Poole, Leicester or Redcar over two legs , but if we get racing like that from now to the end of the season , its the best £17 for a sporting event out there .

I've seen electric bikes racing on an oval, including one who would have finished on the rostrum in the pro class with the lap times he was doing. Speedway with a few 1 minute races is made for electric bikes if any racing is, current battery capabilities can very easily cope with that. The spectacle was almost exactly the same as normal flat track but the lack of noise definitely made it feel less exciting, whether you would get used to it and feel the same about the racing in the long term I'm not sure. However the prospect of motorcycle racing including Speedway taking place in inner city areas does appeal a great deal. As does the idea of being able to practice and train without complaints from neighbours. So much so that I am currently looking into the idea of getting an electric trials bike purely for the ability to ride at pretty much any time I want very locally.

I heard a Makem suggested that sports designated land at NE1 4ST is currently not being used.

I asked my chum if he was going to watch King''s Lynn tonight. He replied, "not sure" as he thinks it's not King''s Lynn but another Championship Select line-up with riders from Plymouth, Newcastle, Birmingham, Eastbourne , Scunthorpe, Newcastle & Berwick!!! Also not sure if it's the KL rising stars, fading stars or just Stars? But he hopes to recognise the riders easier as they will be in non matching team leathers! Either way we can chat about it in the Pub afterwards. We feel at home there because there is always three guest beers on!

The Dutch F1 GP was nearly prevented from happening because of a legal challenge on environmental grounds, and this sort of thing is only going to increase as the world moves to electric vehicles. Whether traditionalists like it or not, speedway is going to have to move to electric if it's still around in 10 years time, and possibly even before. I'd have thought speedway with its short races would be well suited to electric propulsion, and might even bring down the costs of engines and expensive tuners.

I think the Nielsen situation for Sheffield/Poole is fair enough if his injury was after the deadline but Panthers have had weeks to replace Ulrich and chose not to - completely different positions in my book sorry.

I wouldn't say the strongest, but probably the most expensive.

Over the 13 heat format of the 70's opposing number 1's only met in heat 1. Now they meet in 1, 13 and usually 15 so it is much harder to get a 9 point average now than it was then. Also, bonus points counted in the averages then but don't now.

Totally agree. Any rider who drives around the country to gain track time and experience deserves praise for putting himself on the line even for little return. I wish a few more experienced riders would make the effort. I just hope that he does not lose heart.

I can't start this thread without a mention about Bob Cole After hearing the sad news today of the passing away of Bob on Saturday it does make you think about life and how precious life is. The meeting on Wednesday is quite poignant as I know Bob was based down in Devon for a number of years very close to Plymouth and the Speedway. He was still going down to the Coluesium on Tuesday evening's on a regular basis although still a committed Pirates supporter. Anyway the show must still go on but it will be a sad evening when i Iook behind me and see his empty seat. The other thing making it a little sad is if fit it will be Bjarne Pedersen's last ever meeting at Wimborne Road before he retires. Let's hope for a great evening's racing and 3 points for the Pirates. Thoughts?

Such a comment never fails to mystify me. Dead rubber? It’s a speedway meeting - Monday night is speedway night. There’s a meeting on, two good teams, some class riders, a great track (so most people seem to say). So why the hell does it matter. There’s no lack of effort from the riders, they’ll give it their all, put a show on for you. I just don’t understand…. turn up and enjoy the racing - at least you’ve got a team and a track. I haven’t. Never missed a Saturday night at Brandon - or Fridays or Thursdays as it became - because it was speedway night.

Interesting rumour heard tonight that King is joining Panthers.....

Crump is just ruining his legacy, a fantastic rider of yesteryear getting mullered by people not fit to wear his kevlars, sad to see

You know nothing about the track, it’s far better when it’s slick. When it’s grippy just leads to a fast inside line.

Just been announced bikes have been retrieved.

Now a win for Thomas. I owe him an apology

No thank you

Far too close a gap.. With a substainable league structure for Eastbourne to ride in, I can see them running..

So with Middlo away playing golf in Tenerife, Havvy takes charge of the Pirates for this one. Advantage Gladiators.

Well I am currently sitting looking at the picture feed, so I hope so.

But first you need a piece of land that you can actually run speedway on with council permission and that my friend is the major stumbling block.

The move against noise pollution is getting stronger by the week it seems and isn't going to go away. I posted on her possibly a year ago about some moves. Towns and cities banning loud motorbikes at the weekend. Now Paris has even gone to a 30kmh limit in most areas, and noise was one of the factors. It is getting hard for private people, so a recreational sport will find itself under even more pressure and especially one that is only watched by a small strange section of society has no real pressure working in its favour You could say it is even less necessary in Denmark as most of their tracks, possibly all are outside residential areas. Often well away

Pearson and Tatum witter on all the time & not just about the NSS. They are unprofessional when together. It has been proven that when they are with someone else, i.e Tatum & Louis then hey presto professionalism returns. Why Eurosport haven't given Dave Rowe or Dave Goddard a spot on the main commentary I don't know. With Dave Rowe reporting on the night from the other meeting taking place or doing interviews I hope he is given an opportunity to take over the main meeting coverage. p.s I'll be at the SON so me ears will be free!

Mr Crump could be the difference, hope he fades in the later heats as hes been doing on the bigger tracks Hard for me to say this as he is my all time Panthers favourite since the spotty young 16yr first rode for the Panthers in 1992 , when he left the Panthers to go to Lynn in 2000 that was the begining of my interest in attending speedway disappearing

Dankeschön Or as we say here in the North East "Donkeysh!te Mate" Regards THJ

E-speedway, no thanks. Battery vehicles will soon disappear anyway once people realise that the batteries are much more environmentally bad than they'd have you believe at present. Hydrogen engines may be one possibility for vehicles but piles of batteries dumped at sea/in the third world does not fill me with hope for e-vehicles.

Of course, most of us love the sound of a speedway bike, but local residents do not, and by extension that involves the councils, who give permits. On that basis it’s got to be seriously considered as the future for any noisy sport. F1 is very aware of noise and I sure if they are then others need to take note, after all, F1 would love to race city centres to gain even more prestige. Is it the way to go? Apart from less noise, it would probably be less money to purchase and maintain the machines.

There lies the problem . We've had a much stronger second tier in the past. Blimey in 2004 my team had Parker , Stancl, Grieves and Bentley and finished 11th . It's the weakness of the top flight that gives the impression that the second tier is too strong

Every meeting will have to be at Plymouth... Edit. Just thought the BSPL will no doubt have a cunning plan to ensure the large tracks can also host electric Speedway... They will attach a huge extension lead to each bike and plug them in.... (Only using official extension leads endorsed by a former World Champion obviously)....

Will it mean half hour breaks between each race as we wait for the bikes to re-charge? And bikes running out of charge after 3-laps, rider range anxiety

*Coughs* Andy Grahame, Birmingham and Milton Keynes. 1979.

Well Ray that's what's wrong with modern speedway - the smell has gone! There's a thread about reinventing speedway and the solution is staring us in the face - or wafting up our noses. Or rather not wafting. Bring back castor oil, take it from mothers' spoons. A good dose of castor oil made many of us what we are today and would reinvigorate the younger generation and speedway.

Not sure who is guesting at number 6 for Poole, but would guess it’s Zach Cook.

Maybe find out all the facts 1st doubt he's earning a fortune with kent in the NDL or Redcar only had 2 meetings and dropped by Kings Lynn earlier in the season. How he's obtained his equipment is irrelevant as long as it was legal !!! . The poor lad has been a victim of crime which could greatly impact his life and lively hood or is it by the same token if you live in a nice house or drive a nice car you deserve to be robbed ? At least if he's still in need of tools he could maybe contact you for some assistance ?

Fair play to Thomas for chasing rides and meetings all over the Country for not to many points.

I think that horse has bolted now, and the British leagues just need to try and move forward in a financial sustainable manner without trying to accommodate the multiple International demands they derive no benefit from. If that means teams essentially being made-up of juniors but who're able to turn up every Friday or Saturday, then that's what needs to happen.

I think I'll have to watch the action without any sound!! As good as the NSS is I can't stand messrs Pearson and Tatum wittering on about it yet again. We still have to put up with it in the SoN!!!!

I think most of the Witches would favour the Showground over Foxhall so should mean a closer contest (if they want it) Could be Crump's swansong in British top flight Speedway - perhaps the most fitting place for it to end??

He hasn't cheated but honestly an experienced ref like McGregor shouldn't be making a mistake in a last heat decider like that. It could have such abig impact on us missing out on play offs you never know. Hope the SCB review his.performance

My mate went and said it was well supported with lots of families attending. He said the presentation was very good, refreshments great and minimal delays and he got about 25 heats for £12. He also saw ex Glasgow promoter Gordon Pairman taking a close interest in what was going on. Well done Isle of White by all accounts.

You may need to lend him a calculator on the journey as a fully fledged witches fan hes not used to counting over 40 these days so the high numbers that the Panthers have been achieving may be a bit much for him at first but given a bit of tutorial he will be fine .

C-more Live, 18.50 Swedish time.

Methanol is much less environmentally damaging than petrol and filthy diesel. Argument on that score surely lost with the vast increase in diesel vans & lorries that we have nowadays (who sees and exemption for commercial vehicles in the future?), a few speedway bikes is neither here nor there. And don't get me started on aircraft . Noise is also really annoying - 'local residents' who have chosen to move right next to a stadium. Speedway is about half an hour of bike noise once a week at most tracks. F1/road racing goes on for hours, sometimes over more than one day, which again is incomparable. A lot of football stadia are in residential areas and they produce plenty of noise for a couple of hours for a large part of the year but good luck trying to curb that!

Don't tell him Pike

Match result so important not just for Kent and Scunthorpe but also Birmingham and Edinburgh. Very close race for 5th and 6th play off places. Got a lot of time for the Kent fans. Very friendly at Sittingbourne and a good travelling support at Armadale.

Some of my friends in Sweden have recently been to a moto cross meeting that was entirely on electric bikes, and were very impressed. I specifically asked them about the lack of noise and they said that initially you missed it, but as the race developed it became less noticeable. The racing was equally as good as it was with IC bikes, and they feel that particular sport has a strong future. Could it be the same for speedway ?

It appears strong because it's full of Div One heat leaders.. However, a lot of these Div One heat leaders would have been at second string level 20 or so years ago in the top division as to be a heat leader then meant either you were a GP rider or an International riding in the World Team Cup or in Test Matches..

There is a difference though! Premiership is full of 1,3,5 and maybe 4s of the championship. Therefore every race is a different level to championship

Either/or it doesn't reflect on anything to do with speedways finances

In 2018 I was involved in the purchase of waste land, probably big enough to build a speedway track on, from North Tyneside Council. It's in between a rubbish tip a motorway and a railway line and cost £1m. With all councils struggling for cash and planning for housing developments much easier I just can't see any public authority making a significant plot of land available for leisure, especially motorsports. There's plenty of grant funding out there to stimulate the construction industry but you've got to prove that your investment will benefit the local economy. They obviously did that in Manchester with the promise of National and World Finals attracting visitors to the city. Something like that would be great for an authority like North or South Tyneside or even Gateshead, to have world class sport staged in their area but the promise of attracting up to at best 1,000 people once a week for 20 weeks of the year for a noisy motorsport is a tough sell.