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What a very strange & insensitive comment. Clearly, as stated, the family have decided to let Tai decide when & what details are released regarding the injuries and treatments he has had to endure. In the meantime, his wife & mum have taken the opportunity to sincerely offer heartfelt thanks & recognition to the folk who in the immediate aftermath of the incident made all the right calls to save Tai from an outcome far more final than from what you think are newsworthy injuries. Those of us who share concern over the health of one of speedways greatest riders have been please to read the message and will continue to abide by the request not to speculate any further in preference to waiting for further official updates to be released at a time whenTai and his family decide is appropriate.

Biro sales going through the roof 😂

One of the speedway rules that frustrates me most is “somebody has to be excluded for incidents after the first corner” - why? If it’s a racing incident, 50/50, nobody to blame, just let them race again. Very frustrating! Doubly so in a pairs event.

What was Kerr suppose to do there. Riss parked it right in front of him. shocking decision for me

Not got the strength too pull wheelies at the back.😂

With the Championship Pairs taking place today at Workington, and unless he`s moved Craig Cook living locally, you`d think there must be a possibility that the Berwick promotion and management, attending the meeting, could knock on his front door and get this saga put to bed before the season starts in a couple of weeks.

Better ref last year prob. Wayne Jarvis is not one of the better ones imo. Was always gonna be tough for him as against most clubs top 2 but was expecting Worky to get to SFs today! Also good to see Plymouth doing well and congratulations to Redcar. I guess the pairs is one thing we are just not meant to win, as the occasions we make to the final we seem to get an exclusion!

Congratulations to Redcar. Gutted it ended in a dead rubber final, but as harsh as that is on Kerr, Riss has passed him and is subsequently in control of the pace of the race; it’s Kerr’s responsibility to navigate that. It’s incredibly harsh and remarkably frustrating. The Cook/Barker incident was similar; I can see both sides argument, but ultimately, a decision which not everyone will agree with has to be made. Disappointed by Glasgow’s showing in the first semi-final, but Harris and Howarth were dominant in the main section of the meeting, so lots of optimism for the season ahead. Klindt was rider of the night and Sedgmen might want to offer a refund to any travelling Edinburgh fans as he didn’t appear interested in competing.

Very poor call. Riss parked it and caused the stoppage.

Couldn't really knock his commitment last season, save for when his partner was expecting, he delivered in most meetings from what I saw. Still an excellent rider at Championship level when he's in the right place.

Just home. Great result and to be fair to the Armadale track, a decent night of speedway. I thought Dan Thompson, Harris and Howarth were outstanding. I also thought the six paid seven from Hodder and Perry was excellent; a welcome surprise, especially when you factor in Boughen’s evening. You knew something wasn’t right with Boughen, but it’s the opening fixture of the season and the local derby, so who can blame him for giving it a go? Edinburgh might be concerned by Castagna’s showing, but he won’t have many meetings like that at Armadale. Meanwhile, Thomsen had a decent evening and Palovaara was outstanding from reserve. That must have been one of the largest crowds Armadale has ever seen, too. I’ve never seen it so busy. A thoroughly enjoyable evening of speedway. Delighted it’s back.

You're spot on. In the early days of cinder tracks it was hard to produce a good starting area, as the back wheel spinning dug big ruts, worse than the ruts dug in modern shale tracks. Also electric cables to operate the starting gate etc often ran under the track and needed protection. In those glorious days before Health & Safety, the easiest solution was to concrete over the starts. Again, as you say, this was dangerous due to a lip being created which would act as a take-off ramp, and dangers due to the increasing grip on change of surface. (As previously discussed with riders hitting a concrete kerb and taking off - the coefficient of friction between a rubber tyre and concrete is much higher than that between rubber and shale). Also, as anyone who has looped a bike will attest, landing on a shale track hurts a lot, but landing on concrete hurts a hell of a lot more. As track preparation techniques improved, with better quality shale surfaces replacing cinders, concrete starting grids were banned.

Correct decision in the final looking at the video. Riss got over the top of Kerr and never locked up in front of Kerr. Think Kerr was surprised/panicked by Riss getting over the top of him and lost control momentarily causing the collision.

MJJ needs a few meetings over here before he's judged imo

Announced over the PA that we had choice of gates in the semi-final.

Still unacceptable and needs to be addressed now not later

Good point!

Good call as it keeps it in the family, it’s what we would do. I didn’t know he’d linked up with you guys as I’d forgotten about your junior team, which btw you need commending for. Luke & Freddie are probably on a par around the NSS so it’s nice to stick with one of your own.

You won’t be surprised to hear I disagree with you. If Riss was excluded, he’d have been equally unhappy, as would many others. But that’s not my point - all these kind of incidents are subjective judgement calls (so people will disagree), but the problem is that the referees aren’t allowed to have an opinion of “neither to blame/both to blame equally”. So even if they think that, they have to exclude somebody. A very strange and misguided rule imo.

The ref had 2 decisions to make and had to go running to watch the tv replays ,got the first one wrong last heat was a 50/50 call.tate will need a bit of time to get back to last years scores,would love to see that crowd back every week!

All of this is right on the money for me 👍

Aces will do a lot better than what they did against Ipswich, so I expect a close Belle Vue win. I’ll stick my cock on the block and go 48-42. BVA 1. Kurtz - 14 (5) 2. Blodorn - 5 (4) 3. Lidsey - 8 (4) 4. Z Cook - 4 (4) 5. Bewley - 11 (5) 6. Zischke - 4 (5) 7. Mulford - 2 (3) Total - 48 KLS 1. B Cook - 5 (4) 2. Klindt - 7 (4) 3. Kvech - 8 (5) 4. Iversen - 5 (4) 5. Lawson - 6 (4) 6. Harris - 10 - (6) 7. Boughen - 1 (3) Total - 42

Well done Redcar 👏. Referees decisions were shocking. Cook was disqualified for a lesser move than Riss, yet Kerr was disqualified. Appreciate someone has to go, and there would be critics regardless of the decision made, but consistency is key. ...Clearly Jarvis doesn't spend his free time NID 😂.

Now I've seen the final I can understand why the ref made the call he did. Riss pulled a slight locker but nothing major that gave Kerr nowhere to go. Kerr did drift out a little, had to stayed on the line & collected Riss I would've excluded Riss as he would've had "nowhere to go". That being said I think it was close enough to be a 50/50, that whatever decision the ref made, someone will feel hard done by. In this instance think an all four call would be totally acceptable (especially for a pairs event).

Better option than either suggestion of Ouch.

It wasn’t a racing accident. Riss parked it on purpose and left Kerr nowhere to go. Last year Nichols was excluded for that.

To me, Tate looks down on confidence. Which, after that crash last season, I’m not surprised. Maybe gives the Workington team manager a headache on the riding order front

I've not seen the Cook / Barker incident, but had the ref excluded Barker both teams would still have made the semi final.

Was thinking the same thing, Kerr really had nowhere to go

We`re used to it.

05.04.2025: MPPK, Polish Clubs' Pairs Championship, Grudziądz: https://vkvideo.ru/video-220089063_456245721

Even said on updates Barker fell on his own.

Disgraceful decision there, Zach Cook excluded for having Ben Barker off, never touched him

I've never heard it so quiet. If the Tigers fans weren't there, you'd think it was the Emirates.

I agree with this 100% imo utter contempt is being shown to Berwick fans by all concerned

Sure Tate and Antti will enjoy themselves. No last places is the order of the day 👍

Fear not Steve will water when he needs to to hopefully keep moisture in the track 👌

I think it's going to be a big year for Dan Thompson. He was superb at Oxford last night, mixing it with genuine world class riders, and it looks like he was pretty impressive again this evening.

6 points from the reserves, 5 more than most were predicting and key to the win! Max was pretty consistent and Freddy's last ride was really good. Dan T is absolutely flying and could be a genuine threat to bomber at number 1 if maintains this form.

There is a big posting about onetime concrete starting grids, a posting by Gresham on the 15th May, 2016. Speedway tracks, apparently, used to have concrete starting grds, but were banned. 2 schools of thought were discussed as the reason. 1. due to a lip being created and the concrete grid could act as a take off ramp. 2. due to the change in surface grip, making things dangerous. Flipping at the start was also suggested.

Have no fear. We'll get our revenge the next time a Polish club signs a Scotsman...

Dan is fine, did press and practice at Glasgow today and is on his way to Armadale for tonight's meeting

... and can somebody change the topic title to '5h1t a brick' 🙏

It's common knowledge that at times Craig struggles with his mental health. If he's not in a good place at this moment in time, then he's done the right thing in not riding. Let's hope he's getting the help he needs and we see him back riding soon.

We wait and do it properly 🤣

We need to accept that meetings at nearly every track are not going to be thrill a minute with passing in almost every heat. Was it ever any different though? I’ve been watching speedway for over 40 years and despite people saying the entertainment isn’t what it was due to various reasons, I personally don’t think it’s any different now to what it’s ever been. We all know the NSS is a cut above in terms of racing, but after travelling up and down the country watching speedway the last few years, the rest all seem to be very similar in what they produce. Mostly processional with a few really good heats throw in. But again, it’s always been that way in my experience.

Used to be able to do that at Arena-Essex with the "bridge" over the pits. I say the Division 2 Pairs there in 1994 won by Swindon. Kinda sad looking back & realising how many tracks & teams are no longer running. So Workington opening back up & a new stadium no less is awesome. I'll need to get down sometime.

I don't understand why people can be so anti MPT, he has a near 8 point average. It's not like I'm suggesting a reserve to replace Cook.

MPT would be worth a shout imo

Simple If you don’t like the SS don’t buy.For certain there is nobody else going to produce and deliver a new Speedway Magazine for the so called new youth generation the numbers are just not there for it.