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Brilliant track always decent racing.

Well done to the Spires on yesterday's win in the Championship pairs 😂

Indeed it was... and Cookie is keeping them "Hanging on the Telephone" I thang you, here all week 😁

Just wanted to say it’s been a pleasure watching and listening to Ben Barker over these past two days. Well done, him. I thought BSN did him absolutely dirty during the winter when they posted that media which showed him to have the biggest drop in average in 2024, so I was delighted to see him in amongst it at Workington and Scunthorpe. Signing-off qualifying and securing a semi-final spot with a heat 20 win against Thompson, Masters and Harris was superb. I also found his pit side interviews with Greg Blair to be really insightful; he gives you nuggets of information a fan wouldn’t consider. For example, there were seven heats between his first and second rides, but with no other Plymouth rider competing, he was at a disadvantage because every other rider had a teammate present, advising on how the track is developing, the best lines, etc. Well done, Ben. A great weekend.

I really dislike having finals after the 20 heats. I know all the riders knew the rules beforehand & officially Bomber is a deserving winner. I can't say that Worrall is "unlucky" as the top scorer has no "divine right to win" but I think any extra heats are unnecessary & that it should be decided over 20 heats.

You dont like us , fine that's your perogative. I've been to North side a few times now and I'm well away of the cash only policy and have no issue with it . Personally never heard any moans about it . Had a very enjoyable afternoon on the 1st/2nd bend

Oh yes, because there was never any replacements in those meetings.

Can't comment on the above as i didn't see any of that ,but myself and my mates had no issue with the cash only policy as prior warning had been given. My first visit at Northside yesterday and it is a tidy setup, very impressed enjoyable day out and will certainly return when we are down later in the season.

Must have been gale force to have made it across from the east coast

In my opinion the reason why they do semi's and finals is to keep the riders interested in a one off meeting with no final you come last in your first ride you might as well pack up and go home as you aren't winning. They need something to race for and one bad race at the start of the meeting means you don't in a top scorer wins meeting

Anders wasn't eligible for the Pairs (4th in the averages) or the riders Championship (average too low). I guess the reason Paul (Starke) won nothing is because he wasn't riding?

It’s unique for sure, must be the bumpiest track in the league. Have a bad back just from watching it. It’s motocross like surface and shape probably just create the close racing. Never been my favourite track to watch racing at to be honest.

I can remember an Arena Essex meeting where rain was expected about 70 minutes after start time. Frank Ebdon was the referee and the two minute warning horn sounded as soon as the last rider finished the previous race throughout the whole meeting. As a result the meeting finished before the very heavy rain started under five minutes later! Frank always got through meetings quickly and I have always wished other referees would do the same.

Thought the Ref was right to exclude Kerr.While it was tight going into the corner a gap appear before Kerr drifted into Riss.Kerr should have been able to handle the situation.Dont think Riss “parked” it.

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.

So the cheering wasnt loud enough for you. How sad. I hope those on the 4th bend cheer loud enough for your liking on Friday. The Wembley and Cardiff comment was to pre-emt comments, but that passed you by too.

He’ll be a big miss when he isn’t riding, glad we’ve got to see him at Workington.

Not at all, we all love Bomber, helped us win the title a few years back, passed Doyley on the last bend. Glad you found out how to spell!

not too quickly though socialising with people you see at speedway is part of the evening and i wouldnt want it to be all over and done with in an hour or so id feel short changed 90-100 mins about right imo

The other rider injured him according to the Referee 🤔

My own personal opinion is the person who signed him is a personal friend of cook and is trying to cover for him, he was made to bring in kemp at Leicester because Phil morris made him as they didn’t want the official press day to have this issue for all to see but Phil morris isn’t over the championship so he is using this silence to hopefully get cook out the pub(so to speak) and resume his career, which on a friend level I get but this is a professional sport (allegedly)not a rehab center for those with issues outside of the sport.the fans of Berwick deserve answers(they pay the wages remember)and have a team of riders they can get behind and the longer this saga goes on the more the fans are getting mugged

Obviously Erik’s cunning plan to “park his bike to cause a crash” yesterday has backfired on him. (I’m being sarcastic just in case anyone takes this literally)

Tyres were changed then they had to toss coins in the make shift tv studio no thought given to the fans stood around waiting.

Maybe it was out of respect for Prince Charles recent stay in hospital... or something 😂

Castagna was always unavailable for this. He’s supposed to be riding in the Italian championships today.

While I can understand arguments for and against the refs decision, some of the comments on FB especially are so over the top. Saying Riss pulled a massive locker, almost stopped the bike dead, parked it in front of Kerr etc. If you watch Riss going into the bend & ignore Kerr for a moment, you'll see he doesn't lock up much at all & may even feel he's a fault. But let's be realistic about what actually happened!

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.

Where were Harris and Howarth for the presentation proceedings. They were third.

The downside of that would be referees could end up doing multiple all-fours to avoid having to make a decision & multiple re-runs with all-four mean the match goes on for ages. That happens in cycle speedway lol! But I do feel it would have been a fair call this time. Maybe restrict that ruling to shared events / GPs / play-offs etc. Or just explain to the referees only use it in exceptional circumstances, where there really is no-one at fault? Not to use as a get out of jail card & give the ref an easy night? Don't think any fans in attendance would've minded an all-four here.

Agree with this. Easy to forget he was the top average in 2011 and 2012 as well. He has always come across well in interviews and is a good team man.

You're assuming that the Berwick management knows more. The impression is that Craig has just gone to ground.

You can never right ben off,he as good as anyone on his day.

Well done Chris, I'm absolutely delighted for him. Watching him gives me so much enjoyment and hopefully a few years left in the tank.

Why should they have, did fine without him. Didn't win either of those meetings last year, so that means nothing

Good meeting - enjoyed it as per usual at the EWR. Well done Bomber well deserved.

Close call probably 46-44 either way

I like that rule tbh, gives the next batch of "rising stars" a chance to prove their worth. Nathan Ablitt, Joe Thompson, Luke Harrison, Vinnie Foord, Ben Trigger all have a Champ ave above 3.00. Plus Freddie Hodder as he will be used to the track.

Can't say I noticed it being long drawn out either. We were having a good crack in the spring sunshine. Wonder how many moaning were watching it on TV ?

With the situation regarding Craig Cook, maybe its time the decision was taken out of the riders hands. Its fair to say Cook was never the most popular rider at Berwick, if the promotion believe that after recent events he will be welcomed with open arms then they may be in for a shock.

Anyone mentioning Sedgy’s performance yesterday? He was worse than Craig Cook.

Probably at home tucking into their dinners it took so long to run!

It was absolutely BALTIC on the back straight stand ! I have never felt so cold in my life. Being in the shade all afternoon didnt help. As soon as left the stadium and passed through the entrance gate, the temperature shot up incredibly ! How weird !

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.

wouldnt be surprised if grudziadz have told him to take no risks in the uk

Yeah I watched that, completely different rider

There's (a positive) update on Sportowefakty... Woffinden has woken from his (induced) coma according to reports.

It's not really important is it, this thread is about Tai.

Seriously, why?

Sorry to say your gonna need a new rider, he is just not committed no more to speedway but uses his mental health issues at the drop of a hat. To be honest if he does have issues as bad as he makes out should he really be riding a speedway bike professionally ? He has let Leicester down massively today and with the same team manager can not see him riding for him at Berwick. You will be better off without him as even if he did actually turn up for your press day he will let you down this season at some point just like he did at Workington last year.

Don’t think so. Bought my ticket at 1pm before gates opened. Then sat in my car, listened to radio, keeping warm, ate my lunch and then waltzed into stadium with no delays. As has been said, they did 21 heats in a little over 2 hrs once racing started. Races flowed quickly in blocks of four. No complaints from me about delayed start, it’s a testimonial after all. As has been said by another,I welcome a bit of tractors so I could catch up with people I only se e at speedway. Great day for Puk. So pleased for him. Also good to see a 4TT again.