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Along with learning UK tracks ,the lad is adjusting to also being over here on his own at a young age. Considering 1st race was Armadale, second was a wet Ashfield and third an extremely slick gate and go Shieldield he has still managed to score points, but time will tell if he can add to those points each meeting as he settles both on and off track.

Tricky one to call this due to it being our last fixture before the German GP. Both Brady & Dan (and no doubt Norick) won’t trouble to scores too much as they will be concentrating of their forthcoming world championship bid. I’ll go for a narrow witches victory sealed in a heat fifteen advantage. Above post produced by AI when asking for a prediction using BSF as source material.

Derek Sneddon is hoping your wrong.

He was very impressive looks like you have uncovered a gem. Would like to see Berwick have a better season with some success it has been long overdue.

Think it’s because of the tracks location and the time it would take for a ambulance to get hope Connor is not too badly injured 🤞🤞

That's what us keyboard warriors do, we always forget the tack sub. And if you dont agree with me, you are a keyboard warrior🤭

Entertaining meeting on a beautifully prepared track. The track changed constantly as the dirt moved out and the moisture evaporated quickly. It is a constant battle to retain enough moisture on such a wide track in full sun and breeze. The two Comet 5-1's in heats 12 and 14 both involving Cooper Rushen who fully demonstrated his superb bike skills and advanced racing brain for someone only 16 sealed the meeting for the Comets after it was all square at the interval with a few home fans getting a bit uneasy. The job was completed in heat 15 with classy win by Comets No1 Jonas Jeppesen from the impressive Josh Pickering with Cookie 3rd. Young Niklas started really well but appeared to suffer bike problems in his 3rd ride which probably curtailed his scoring. It was great to see Tate win heat 14 this can only be good for his confidence. The skipper started really well but at the sharp end of the meeting was on the wrong end of Scunny heat advantages in heats 11 and 13. The Scorps battled away with every rider chipping in at times. Stand outs were Picko and young Ryan Ingram at no7 whose progress is impressive. Good to see Captain Comet make a return, big well done to whoever it is 😉🤣 UTC.

This is the realistic view. Anyone looking for Mario to be another Villads will be disappointed. He's not. Villads is an elite prospect, an established SGP2 rider and an SGP3 medallist. Mario is not. Yes, he has a team medal, but that's from one meeting where yes, he did really well, but you also need to keep it in perspective. If you compare Villads to Mario in the Polish league last year, there's a big difference. In the second tier, Villads was 7th in the averages, Mario was 35th. Converting to British style averages, Mario averaged 4, Villads averaged 7.4. Villads also comes from Denmark, and their tracks and climate is a much more natural transition for a rider coming to Britain. None of this is to say Mario is a bad signing. I always saw it as a risk, and a much bigger risk than Kevin Juhl Pedersen, but one well worth making. What matters is his progression come August/September. He will struggle at some tracks, but the hope is that he learns and comes back stronger next time he sees them. I'm sure he'll be fine at home once he's had a few race meetings too, which is always different to practice. Give the guy a chance, but don't build him up to be something he was never going to be either.

Sacrifice entertainment for silverware , win at all costs and all that ? Fair enough, each to their own, but when fan numbers drop you'll have the answer to why already. For Berwicks 1st meeting of the season and fair weather the crowd was less than great, I'd be more concerned about how to get more fans back rather than how to bore off your current remaining fans.

Loudspeaking system at Shielfield is (unfortunately) in the control of football club. Has been for many years. Every effort by various speedway promotions to improve or augment it have been largely unsuccessful. Speedway has an excellent sound input unit, good-quality microphones and other good gear -- but the sound still has to pass through, and out of, the stadium's speakers, which speedway can't access.....

Berwick Track was the slickest I have ever seen it so passing was very minimum and you had to make a start or your stuck whatever position you come out the second bent Bomber not scoring much didn’t help as he is usually good for at least 10-12 points

Have to agree, it is amazing, especially if you get close to the ultras on turn 1/2. I'll be there in 2 weeks for the derby v Grudziądz.

He was that far in front George probably never seen him 😀

Don't know if it was the microphone or the speakers couldn't hear a thing on the back straight either, really needs sorting out.

You said he won’t be around for long after three races; I said we must be patient and I hope he comes good, but alarm bells are ringing after three meetings. A slight difference.😂

I feel like this perspective is shared by those running British speedway and in my opinion, it’s the biggest reason British speedway will die (as a competitive sport) in the not too distant future. Far too many people tolerate mediocrity and outright amateurish standards, accusing those (myself included) who demand standards and improvement as ”moaners” and ”negative”. We all want the same thing; British speedway to thrive, but I believe some of use are already anticipating what is coming while others bury their heads in the sand.

I’m pretty sure that Reid won heat 2 last night.George Dodds has that one wrong.

Read somewhere that the transponders called the result and ref wanted a 2nd opinion, but also read a few times in the past, that the transponders don't always work 🤔 apparently Godfrey organised a supplier for them so that explains a lot 😜

Walked the track before the meeting yesterday and it has a new mix of Grano dirt in it, which hasn’t been used before. Used to absorb the moisture in the track and avoid future rain offs. Could see it working yesterday by how dry the track was in the end. The imminent move away from afternoon racing will help massively by keeping the sun off it, as the track gets no shade.

Apparently niklas was on a borrowed bike for his last ride . Regarding the point for batch/Cooper the ref asked for a video replay and awarded coops the point, myself and many others thought batch had won easily, maybe batch shut off at the last minute to let coops get the point 🤔

Might be wrong but I thought that as Howarth had been warned for moving in heat 4 then again in heat 9 two warnings mean disqualified from heat without option of 15 m so that would be why Hodder was in.

Kyle is a great team man who has won silverware for every team he's ever ridden for. After his 7 years at Sheffield he still has many friends and admirers and he'll be welcome here anytime.

As a lifelong Brummmies fan, I got so disillusioned with the sport that I walked away from it mid season 2024 and haven’t been to a meeting since. there are many similarities with the start Northampton have had to this season , joining the league at the last moment and all the ensuing problems that brings, with the last few seasons at Birmingham. I have thus learned not to have any great hopes or expectations of the upcoming season . I got used to under strength teams snd often, deeply frustrating snd disappointing team performances. I am going to give Northampton a go as they are anew team and thus, I do not have to support any team that I have been “against”, for year after year . all I ask of my new team this season is that all riders and management give it 100% at all times and adopt a positive attitude to a difficult season with a view to being able to start next season on a more even playing field with the other teams where team building is concerned. Can I wish everyone connected with Northampton an injury free season and, one with as few problems both on and off the track as possible. To me, a success season will be one where it hasn’t been embarrassing to admit to being a Northampton fan and more importantly, one where the club grows snd there is not in any doubt about them running again next season

Flint was in heat 15

Maybe he wasn’t put in as a tac sub because that would of meant he was out in heats 10,11 and 12

I've never known anybody to be as obsessed about other people's money as you.

@SteelShoe the professor/ scientist of track preparation 😜🤣. Hope your gonna get your lawnmower out this week people are complaining from afar 😜🤣

Lambert on the magazine programme https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17KvfHZnyd/?mibextid=wwXIfr

All sorted now

Hold that thought! One injury to Pawlicki and they will drop dramatically. I hope they don’t as I like Leszno, would be nice to see them really push on.

Speakers been poor for a long time on back straight unfortunately. Reid Battye has made himself a fans favourite on home debut, fantastic from him. Solid from Jye and PK, should be a strong partnership if Dickson stays with them. Palovaara done his job on paper over the weekend, but having went to both meetings, I thought he was fairly poor, but consistently beat who he should, maybe I’m being a tad harsh? Decent opening weekend, the next two weeks will see if we can get through either of the cups.

When I said the same thing about Hausl, you replied to my post, as shown below. I thought after I posted my comments that maybe I was a bit harsh on him, considering how tight the Edinburgh track is. I half expected I would have to eat my words after the Berwick meeting. Knowing a big track would have suited him better. The updates said he had a great 1st ride. What happened in his other two? Things won't get easier for him. Up next, Plymouth. Another very small track. You're correct in your assessment of the two reserves. Hagon should really be kicking on now. Third full season in Division Two. Berwick was his home track last year. I thought he would have been your match winner. As for Hodder. imo he will have some half-decent meetings, but he doesn't look like he has improved that much from last season. Early days, though.

Only in Speedway then.All the other forms of Motor Sport use them without any problems.

Ill never slate a young lad, but hes been thrown in the deep end and is struggling. Sam Mcgurk was a gamble, but I understood why they gambled. He was a good rider at NDL level, especially around workington. He was also, alot of the time, on the pace with others at home, he just couldn't gate. Jamie is, unfortunately, a couple of years off this level. He can't gate, and he gets further and further behind as the race progresses. He could maybe fix it but he'd have to be up at northside practicing at every opportunity, which I dont think he can due to where he lives.

I'm still waiting for a reply from them as to why they docked Workington league points last year... as soon as I get that I'll follow it up with this 😂

Was there something wrong with the speakers on the back straight? The old boy next to us couldn’t hear a thing. I struggled, but had to give him the times after most heats. I think Shielfield’s one of the only tracks where even without a great deal of passing, the racings exciting. Seeing riders navigate those top two bends is superb.

And the silence is deafening from the BSPL

The cost is the most expensive ticket in all of the league, they are charging 120 złoty when other clubs charge 45 złoty. A big difference for the Polish fans, Falubaz fan club have decided to attend Thursdays meeting but to wear all black in protest, Grudziądz are also potentially joining the protest.

I'm not sure it would have changed much. The points don't reflect, but I do think Hagon looked more competitive than Hodder last night. Edit - I also think Howarth should have gone off 15m than replace with Hodder in H9.

I’m not disputing any of this - you’ve quoted me saying ”patience is key” and ”I hope he comes good” - but the fact of the matter is, we’re talking about someone whose arrived a gold medalist at the SON2 and victor of the Gold Ribbon, ahead of several big names. It cannot be argued that the pre-season excitement has been extinguished somewhat. It’s difficult not to compare him to our most immediate similarity; Villads Nagel who was younger and arrived mid-season, but who hit the ground running. As I said, I hope he comes good.

He wouldn't be the first nor last time do 2 or 3 on the bounce. He had good pace & energy, I think he's the type of rider to thrive in those circumstances. There was an interval between 11 & 12 too.

You miss one obvious fact When 16 - 17 year old British lads turn up with the sponsored van festooned in Stickers, 3 CL Class bikes festooned in Stickers, dad and mom and 10 relatives all wanting free tickets and a couple of PL level mechanics and wanting more a point than most CL teams pay an experienced second string plus bonuses and all other sorts, then actually keen potentially progressive early 20's European riders who are here to race and learn can overall be a far more economical option. Then when these 16-17 year olds do anything remotely notwworthy they feck off to one of the "big clubs". That's after they have signed for your NDL team at 15, only agreeing because you promise them a CL place if they perform well, and when they do, they still feck off to another CL Team, then its not hard to wonder why some young british riders who think the Sport has the money it had 20 years ago are quite simply pricing themselves out of the market.

Except the ref's official score card gave the point to Rushen.

Slovenian riders give me PTSD since Matic Ivacic, but this boy can’t be any worse.

Apologies if it came across a bit strong. I just think we might surprise a few. After all most, including myself wrote Peterborough off a few years ago.

You'd hope that the broadcaster would market it. Afterall they're after advertising revenue via viewing figures. That's all the sports channels do. Some of their content is shall we say ordinary but they push it as if it's the best thing since sliced bread. My niece worked for Warner Bros so was involved in TNT marketing campaigns. They know most of their stuff is filler in between football but they still want to retain the viewers so they hype stuff up. The thing with the Extraliga is you can hype it as the best speedway league in the world with all the best riders and best stadiums and that's what you'll get. Sure it would be better if there was more British riders but the fact that two of the best are is a plus. Have a look at the ITV4 schedule on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. There's loads of random bits of live sport in between reruns of Minder and the like. Copa del Ray Final tonight. That demographic is bound to include people who used to like the speedway and didn't realise it's still going. Gotta be better than having zero TV presence at all.

The fact Mr Park was so keen to support the demolition of the stadium would certainly suggest he stands to gain something from it! There are people keen to run the sport in Swindon, but that's very hard to take forward whilst dear old Uncle Clarke still owns the stadium.

If anybody runs into a Northamptoningham fan at King's Lynn can you explain to them why they've not been knocked out of the Knock Out Cup if they lose 😁

No this isn't another April Fool (another?🤔) If a possible shortage of jet fuel is a reality and not just another media catastrophisation, how would the PL look if riders based themselves and prioritised Poland over UK racing... Belle Vue and Northamptoningham could be in trouble... I'm sure our leaders have a plan in place to carry on running though 😁 Belle Vue Aces: 1. Brady Kurtz 8.97 2. Norick Blödorn 4.87 3. Peter Kildemand 5.28 4. Zack Cook 6.20 5. Dan Bewley 8.64 (8.86) 6. Tate Zischke 3.00 7. William Cairns (R/S) Ipswich Witches: 1. Tom Brennan 7.05 (7.23) 2. Scott Nicholls 5.55 (5.69) 3. Danny King 6.50 (6.67) 4. Tobiasz Musielak 6.63 5. Richard Lawson 6.83 (7.00) 6. Philip Hellstrom-Bangs 4.00 7. Jason Edwards (R/S) King's Lynn Stars: 1. Max Fricke 9.89 2. Paco Castagna 4.13 3. Chris Harris 6.53 (6.70) 4. Ben Cook 6.39 5. Jan Kvech 6.91 6. Cooper Rushen 3.00 7. Jody Scott (R/S) Leicester Lions: 1. Ryan Douglas 8.12 2. Kyle Howarth 5.00 (5.13) 3. Dan Thompson 5.87 (6.02) 4. Nick Morris 5.89 5. Sam Masters 7.28 6. Drew Kemp 4.72 (4.84) 7. Dan Gilkes (R/S) Nothampton: 1. Lidsey 2. Batchelor 3. Klindt 4. Zagar 5. Iversen 6. Thomsen 7. Harrison Sheffield Tigers: 1. Jack Holder 9.08 2. Leon Flint 5.06 (6.74) 3. Anders Rowe 5.22 (5.35) 4. Chris Holder 6.84 5. Josh Pickering 7.76 6. Jye Etheridge 3.00 7. Luke Killeen (R/S)