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Having read a lot of the negative comments about Plymouth speedway from other teams "supporters", Ive come to the conclusion that they are fuelled simply by JEALOUSY. Plymouth isn't a big money club run by faceless people. It's a smaller almost "family" run club. Looked after by volunteers and people who do it fir the love of the sport. Not people who run it with a "win at all cost" mentality. Yes it's nice to win matches and silverware but at Plymouth it's more about an evening out with good mates and enjoying good racing. Other teams could do with buying in to the Plymouths ethos.

I had my first visit last week (v Oxford) fantastic track and stadium, great racing too.

Just to clarify it was a very well attended meeting, for anyone who didn’t attend and just guessing.

Back home after supporting the guys tonight, never go to Edinburgh with much expectations it’s such a unique track to ride. Big mention to Batch and Hooky, everyone tried but as said it’s a unforgiving track and is extremely hard to pass after the 2nd bend even for the home riders! We are all aware how good we can be at home let’s make a go of it and try for that bonus point. Hopefully see a few travelling Edinburgh fans too. Onto tomorrow!

I find it quite embarrassing that so called Speedway fans bitch and criticize another clubs track and facilities . A club that is trying to survive ! Not to cheat and bend the rules for success, For them winning is having a speedway team to support. Its almost like some fans want another track to close. I'm sure if you asked Swindon, Peterborough , Coventry, Newcastle and Birmingham fans they would love a track like Plymouth . I would rather see 2 competitive teams compete in a meeting and if that means guests so be it .

It was to see if his broken leg would knit together by the time he got back to the pits. Forever thoughtful in Glasgow.

Hts 9-13 a total disaster after a really strong start. A meeting Edinburgh should definitely have won. Anyway, that aside - Jonatan, Paco and Jordy were really good. Kye had his moments but the others meh. First visit to Northside and was hugely impressed. Perfectly set up and so good to see a purpose built speedway venue. Hopefully the locals continue to support it - I’ll definitely be back. Free entry for the kids, sticker at the gate and a free post race ice cream means my two went home very happy!

Giving free tickets to a canny Scotsman and not expecting them to use it themselves is a huge risk 😂😂

So confirmed now the Gladiators side: 1. Zaine Kennedy (G) 2. Rider Replacement 3. Tobias Thomsen (G) 4. Declan Kennedy (G) 5. Scott Nicholls 6. Alfie Bowtell 7. Kai Ward (G) Fair play to Garry for patching the side up in such short notice. If we didn't have bad luck, there'd be no luck at all!

Also looking forward to my first visit to Northside. The dates vs Edinburgh haven't worked so far so glad to be making the trip tomorrow.

As a lifelong Birmingham supporter, I wish Swindon folk every possible success in their efforts to revive the Robins. I have just been shown a copy of the leaflet beind distributed by the "opposition" and fully agree that it contains a great deal of inaccuracies especially the noise levels ("Can be heard from 10 miles away" "As loud as an aeroplane" etc) which are patently untrue, and which will need to be challenged. I'd suggest forming a group to formulate an alternative leaflet which could contain all the true facts - noise testing will disprove the "excessive noise" claim. Speedway bikes do not use petrol or diesel - they use methanol which is non- polutive, non- toxic and emits no smell. Speedway matches would be limited to once a week starting at 7.30pm and continuing until 10pm with 15 one-minute races of o ly four riders. etc. etc. etc. It will be a mistake to try to belittle what the Nimby's are claiming. We have to remember that the vast majority of the people living within the vicinity of the site will know little or nothing about speedway and will find it difficult to distinguish fact from deliberate fiction. so the more information that they can be provided with. the better the prospect of getting a planning consent. I was heavilly involved with the battle to obtain a planning consent at Birmingham in 2007, and know from experience that the hard core opponents will never see reason, but on the other hand, the majority will tend to be reasonable if they are civilly approached. The very best of luck to you. T

The return leg of the clash on Friday against the Redcar Bears. Tobias Thomsen guests for Klindt, RR for Lasse - no idea about guests for Spencer if he’s missing or for Redcar. There’s been some huge crowds at Plymouth in recent fixtures and more importantly some outstanding racing. Expecting another HUGE crowd this week and the Gladiators promotion have announced a new ticket offer for season ticket holders of Plymouth Argyle, Torquay United and Exeter City - £5 off entry for all ST holders from those clubs. Fingers crossed for another memorable night, huge crowd and brilliant atmosphere.

After last weeks tough match against Oxford the Comets are back in League action looking for more points to lift them off the bottom of the table. The Monarchs bring a decent side to the GT Tyres Arena and will be eager to push the Comets all the way. Its a busy weekend for the Comets with away matches at Edinburgh on the Friday and a trip to Oxford on the Sunday so a testing time for riders and machinery.

I enjoyed my first visit to Northside very impressed by the overall set up, one look at the track you can see its designed to give riders the opportunity to race so without a doubt that will provide some great racing, the conditions being hot, dry, and with that stiff breeze that was blowing made it very difficult for the track staff. Its does also seem to have the capacity to be developed further as the club progresses, reminded me a bit of Somerset and how that developed. I will certainly be back, at first it looked like the Monarchs were going to win at a canter but Comets made a great fight back to take the last heat decider. A great day out except for the 45 mins delay on the M6 for an accident and a 1 hour delay on the A66 where i believe the air ambulance was called out, but it didnt spoil the day, congratulations to all that brought the Comets back with this facility.

Typical response from a thicko.

Great racetrack if your good enough you can make a pass.Harris is a joy to watch round Ashfield makes it look so easy and effortless.Always some decent heats.

Good effort by Plymouth to get so close, but now it's a fight with Scunthorpe to avoid the wooden spoon. I wonder if things would've been different if Klindt could be bothered to ride at home?

Think you are reading too much into that. Riding at No.2 is the obvious position to slot him into after his injury.

I love it, I never minded crashing it’s actually quite exciting it was just the pain I didn’t like

2 riders do not make a team!

Well I have had a gale of gusts before, but Plymouth now have a hurricane of gusts. I knew Ben Barker injured a shoulder but he has ridden since. Klindt doesnt turn up for Plymouth only KL, what's the other problems ?? Even Redcar have a gust , the ever inconsistent Lou Kerr, who is he replacing.

Track very slick again, gating at a premium again and Comets being found out again

Leicester will edge this close meeting home win. Gavan are you making the trip to Leicester?

2011 Edinburgh v Workington 48-41 Workington James Wright Peter Kildemand r/r Richard Lawson Rusty Harrison Tom Topinka withdrawn collided with mechanic on parade. Charles Wright Kenny Ingalls Saw this when dumping hundreds of programmes.

Becker being named at 2 has RR incoming at the last moment written all over it.......

Absolutely.

When the The US President is giving the red carpet treatment to a despotic war criminal; a SGP wild card seems a very small step. The FIM need to rethink their position.

Thanks for clarifying. Gladiators Website very poor to navigate.

It'll be interesting to see how Hagon goes as he generally does well at Ashfield. Our reserves may have a tough time but our 1-5 should score heavily. Would expect to break the 50 barrier tonight.

Well of course what we know we were there 🙃

Should be a fairly comfortable win for Tigers but Killeen , Masters , Knudsen and McDiarmid could score ok. Also can Worky ride their next away fixture (2026) against Edinburgh at Glasgow please.

They use follow me drones they can't hit a target they are following 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️. Clueless

Cant see Oxford giving the T's any problems Gusts suspended (Hagon in) Is Kileen fit after crashing midweek?

Stick your thumb out you may get a lift or arrested 😁

Horrible crash in heat 3 for Ben and Joe. Best wishes to both of them. Ben just has no luck with injuries and that a couple of big knocks for Joe in the last 7 days after his big off at the Coliseum last Saturday too. The rest battled hard to keep it going as a contest until the later stages when they just ran out of options. Effectively that first 150 metres of heat 3 ended any hopes Plymouth had. First visit to Redcar and very impressed with the setup and a friendly welcome. Luckily haven't got that long trip home as staying up north for a trip to Workington tomorrow. Garry's going to be busy on the phone on his way back South trying to find a combination of 6 riders to represent the Gladiators tomorrow night. I reckon only Scott and Alfie will be there from the declared 1-7. If anyone can sort it Gazza can though.

Not my mistake- you obviously didn’t read my post fully- BSN isn’t TNT TV !! I will accept an apology for smearing my good name lol

Box office

Jesus that was a ruthless 2 laps from zmarzlik

Think Kurtz can count himself lucky the next GP isn’t at Częstochowa, zmarzlik in a class of his own tonight, using that outside run to generate ridiculous speed for the 3rd/4th turn

Oh Tim Many moons ago on this very forum you knocked one of my posts saying you didn't make many/ or any mistakes when you were TM of Reading. You love to post links and lineups for various meetings around the World. So how are you unaware of the fantastic BSN coverage which includes 4 meetings between today and the date of the BH fixture. one of which includes the two teams you've mentioned.

I have never considered passes off Bend 2 as actual overtakes - they're part of the opening of the race unwinding. I appreciate that it's subjective. As for crowd figures ... nobody knows them. Again, any estimates are not only guesses, they are also subjective - ask 10 Ipswich fans and they'll have different ideas. What BV fans consider to be a good attendance at the NSS will also vary.

He's wrong anyway under last years system Brady would be 1 point better off.

there are three things you can guarantee you will see when Gavan has posted, either the Belle Vue track, how under appreciated Danny King is, or it will be a reply to Shovlar who he follows around like a puppy.

I'm no Belle Vue fan but, to be fair, nobody brings it up more than you! And a pretty poor choice of video to highlight passing last night. Weird how the argument has developed, we've even had some fans suggesting there's too much passing at Belle Vue lol

OK, make a cup of tea, sit down, put your feet up and get ready to read one of the longest posts ever posted on here! It is 60 years to the day since I saw the best and most memorable speedway match I have seen in all my 65 years of going to speedway. A match I can still remember vividly. In that year, one of the Quarter Final matches of the KO Cup saw a local derby London tie with West Ham drawn at home to Wimbledon. Before the tie, the two teams appeared to be evenly matched and so the match proved. With one heat to go the scores were level at 45-45. That final heat saw the Wimbledon pair, Olle Nygren and Reg Luckhurst, “fired themselves to the front” (as Kelvin would say) over West Ham’s Brian Leonard and Norman Hunter and it looked all over for the Hammers when suddenly Luckhurst’s engine blew up resulting in a 3-3 and a tied match at 48-48. Having drawn at West Ham, Wimbledon looked a good bet to take the tie in the replay on their own track. But there was even worse news for West Ham as their top rider, Sverre Harrfeldt, was injured the previous evening at Hackney and unable to take part and their third heat leader, Norman Hunter, was also unable to ride as it was his wedding day! There were no guests allowed so the Hammers had to resort to filling the places of two heat leaders with Tony Clarke, making his racing debut, and a Wimbledon junior, Geoff Hughes. Only Ken McKinlay was a recognized heat leader and, although by now a team regular, it should be remembered that at this time, although gradually improving through the season, West Ham’s 19 year old Malcolm Simmons was still no more than a good second string. No-one, not even the West Ham supporters present that afternoon, gave the Hammers much hope. By heat six it looked as though Wimbledon’s superiority was about to assert itself as Wimbledon skipper, the great Olle Nygren. along with the experienced Jim Tebby, took a 5-1 against West Ham’s newcomer, Tony Clarke, and second string, Brian Leonard. The lack of two heat leaders looked as though it was now beginning to tell. But as West Ham were six points in arrears it meant they could use a tactical substitute and they wasted no time bringing in Ken McKinlay for reserve Ray Wickett in the very next heat. The line-up for heat seven was therefore Bob Dugard and Keith Whipp for the Dons, Malcolm Simmons and Ken McKinlay for the Hammers. The young Simmons shot away from the gate with McKinlay behind him and that’s how the heat finished. A 5-1 for West Ham and four points pulled back. Simmons’ time of 66.2 was the fastest of the night. The next heat saw McKinlay out again, this time in a scheduled ride, with old campaigner Reg Trott lining up against Reg Luckhurst and reserve Mike Coomber. Some brilliant team riding by McKinlay and Trott kept Luckhurst behind them and with Coomber falling, it meant another 5-1 to the Hammers and, unbelievably, at the half-way stage, West Ham now found themselves with a two point lead. With Nygren and Tebby lined up against Simmons and Wickett in heat 10 it looked as though the Dons would edge back into the lead, but, once again, Simmons rose to the occasion and beat Nygren in the second fastest time of the night. Heat 12 saw another astonishing turn of events as Wimbledon’s Bobby Dugard fell and was excluded from the re-run. It was a simple matter for McKinlay and Trott to defeat Whipp and take a 5-1. It was now West Ham who were six points up and it was now Wimbledon who used a tactical substitute as they brought in Nygren for reserve, John Edwards. Unfortunately, it did not have the desired effect as, for the second time that night, West Ham’s new hero, the young Malcolm Simmons, beat Nygren, leaving West Ham still six points in front. This time though, Simmons had done it the hard way, coming from behind and taking the Wimbledon captain on the last lap. With just three heats to go, time was running out for Wimbledon and the impossible suddenly looked possible. However, a Nygren and Dugard 5-1 over Trott and Leonard put them back in with a chance and when, in heat 15, Tebby and Coomber pulled off a 4-2 against Clarke and Hughes, the scores, were back to level with one heat to go. The line-up for that final heat saw Keith Whipp and Reg Luckhurst for Wimbledon against Ken McKinlay and Malcolm Simmons for West Ham. The tension around the stadium was palpable. Everyone was holding their breath. A match which at the beginning of the afternoon had seemed likely to be very one-sided had now come down to a last heat decider. To some extent the final race as a race was a bit of a disappointment as Simmons once again flew off from the start and never looked to be in any danger and with McKinlay settling for a steady third place, the match was won by West Ham by 49 points to 47. The small band of Hammers’ supporters who had made the trip across London couldn’t believe what had happened. The hero of the hour was the 19-year-old Malcolm Simmons. He had beaten the Wimbledon captain, Olle Nygren, twice and had set the three fastest times of the night. In fact he still wasn’t finished. In the second half scratch race event, he won the first heat, beating McKinlay, Luckhurst and Dugard and then went on to win the final, once again beating Nygren. As if that wasn’t enough, a special Handicap race was held with Simmons starting off 20 yards, Nygren off 10 and Trott, Leonard and Tebby off scratch. Yet again, Simmons got the better of Nygren, even with his handicap. As for me, although that match was held 60 years ago I can still remember it as if it were yesterday. In fact I can remember it better than matches I saw last season. It was just such an amazing afternoon. I went along there with a few other Hammers’ supporters expecting a reasonable match but when it was announced just before the meeting started that neither Harrfeldt nor Hunter would be taking part we seriously considered going home. The Wimbledon supporters around us were saying things like, ’You’ll be lucky if you get 20 points’ and ’This is going to be the biggest thrashing of all time.’ Of course, we gave back as good as we got but in our hearts we felt they could well be right. But suddenly there was this rider called Malcolm Simmons, who we had seen rise from the ranks of a second halfer at West Ham to a good second string but no more, taking on and beating the likes of Olle Nygren and Reg Luckhurst on their own track in the fastest times of the night. He was just phenomenal. Following that match, and now with a fourth top-class heat leader, West Ham remained unbeaten for the rest of the season, taking the treble of League, Cup and London Cup. Recalling the match later in an interview I carried out with him, Malcolm Simmons told me that the West Ham team had gone to the meeting thinking they would get thrashed but somehow the whole team had risen to the occasion. He went on to say, “It was the first good meeting I ever had for West Ham. I just came good on the night.” He also told me that he didn’t clean his bike for weeks afterwards as he was afraid of upsetting whatever it was that was making it go so fast! As we now know, Simmons went on to become one of Great Britain’s greatest ever riders and runner-up in the 1976 World Championship, World Pairs Champion in 1976, 77 and 78, World Team Champion in 1973, 74, 75 and 77 and British Champion in 1976. He was capped 80 times for England, seven times for the British Lions (touring Australia), five times for Great Britain and four times for the Rest of the World. But it all started that night and I feel very privileged to have been there to witness what must have been one of the best matches of all time and one of the most outstanding personal performance of all time. I should add that the rest of the team also rode exceptionally well, especially Reg Trott, Brian Leonard and Tony Clarke, who all rode far above expectations.

If you had seen him in the pits you could see he was trying his hardest to get some sort of set up to work even changed bikes shouting in Danish chucking things about the place ,to travel all the way to Glasgow for 1 point he would have lost money

It just means ya lost / majority of the 3k here seem happy with tonight 😉

I’m not praising BSI I’m just saying discovery are dreadful

Im looking forward to my first trip to Northside, prefer the earlier start time compared to Derwent Park, just hope the weather keeps behaving. 😉