StevePark

"Preview" (if you can call it that) on the Plymouth website: The Plymouth Prow Park race their final meeting of the 2023 Cab Direct Championship when they take on The Berwick Bandits at Shielfield Park tonight (9th September) Following last night’s defeat against Edinburgh, the Gladiators will be looking for a result to avoid picking up the wooden spoon, with both teams tied on 4 points at the bottom of the table. Justin Sedgman and Matt Marson again come in for the injured Ben Barker and Dan Thompson, with rider replacement operating for the injured Dan Gilkes. Tapes up at 7pm Berwick Bandits:1.Rory Schlein 2. (tbc) 3. Jye Etheridge 4. Leon Flint 5. Hans Andersen 6. Jacob Hook 7. Luke Killeen Plymouth Gladiators:1. Kyle Howarth, 2. Rider replacement (Dan Gilkes) 3. Matt Marson, 4. Justin Sedgmen, 5. (Guest for Richie Worrall tbc), 6. James Pearson, 7. Ben Trigger." This is copied and pasted from the site, so don't blame me that they can't spell Sedgmen correctly. Also note the new name of the visitors!!

Well..... you wouldn't think there was a meeting on at Berwick tonight. 5 and a half hours before tapes up and neither team have a preview on their websites. The BSPL have TBC in both teams, so heaven only knows what the line-ups are. If the teams (particularly the hosts) can't be bothered, then why should the fans. And they wonder why the sport is dying on its backside.

11-1..... 11 bloody 1..... Hagerty F., Hagerty R., Tomkins, Noble, Carrick, Dobson, Crapper, Dewhurst, MacIntyre, Treadmore, Davitt.

Seth Perkin (according to updates).

Am I right in thinking, if he missed the Polish fixture (and rode for Redcar), he'd get an FIM ban, so would wouldn't be able to ride for anybody, anywhere? Or is that not the case (I believe it used to be, but they keep moving the "goalposts" so it's difficult to keep up!)?

Because this is a rearranged meeting and the Fours would have been in the dates since before the season started I can hardly remember yesterday, let alone what happened years ago! Not only is this a rearranged fixture it has been rearranged on a Redcar "off night" so the ruling is he can ride in Poland, whether we like it or not!

So, a completely different scenario then? Having said that, the Fours would have been on a Sunday, so maybe the rules were the same for UK Sunday fixtures not having priority at the time? Or is this a "new" rule?

Can't remember, so this is a genuine question, were the Jack Holder meetings in the UK rearranged fixtures, or original ones?

Charles Wright out - Ben Cook guests

Which means that "dedicated race nights" are a complete fallacy and mean nothing!! I doubt there will be such a thing in 2024 ("dedicated race nights"), as there (probably) won't be enough teams for three leagues!

Fixed race nights don't really exist though, do they? Leicester ran a Premiership Leagues match the other Saturday.

Didn't the BSPA(L) put a stop to teams not riding at their own track a few years back (Cradley at Wolves for one)? Has that stance changed since then?

Indeed it was Joe Screen and James Grieves in 2011.

Why? He's aggravated an injury and is going to seek medical advice to try and get it sorted.

Might be cause for a separate thread... but.... is it time to scrap the Pairs?

I quote the Edinburgh website: "We did make considerable efforts to bring Bastian Borke back over for the event, He was willing to do it and we had a driver to take his van down, but unsurmountable problems prevented this happening."

Guaranteed a play-off place then (Top 3 qualify) !!

Hasn't really happened before though has it? And, sadly, can't see that changing. They've had "wonderful" ideas in the past, which last a year (if that sometimes) before they are scrapped. Remember a few years ago, when they were telling us that "this is the most important AGM ever" and all they did was bring in the green helmet colour!!

Kyle Howarth withdrew from the meeting at Leicester today - Don't know if this will have an impact on his participation tomorrow.

The weather forecasters have difficulty in predicting the weather for the next day, let alone three weeks time. More than plenty of time for the forecast to change.

Depends on who he signed for.....

So, I take it from what you are saying, the one on the BSPL website on Thursday is (currently) correct?

It was in a totally different riding order too!

He might have told Berwick "count me out of the Pairs".

New line-up announced (on BSPL website): THE revised line-up for the Championship League Riders’ Championship, which takes place at Redcar on Sunday (5pm), has been published. Alterations have been made to the original line-up due to recent injuries and re-arranged fixtures in Poland on the same day. All nine Cab Direct Championship clubs are still represented with a host of top heat-leaders contesting the major event at the ECCO Arena. The line-up is as follows: 1 Rory Schlein (Berwick) 2 Justin Sedgmen (Birmingham) 3 Troy Batchelor (Birmingham) 4 Scott Nicholls (Oxford) 5 Richard Lawson (Poole) 6 Richie Worrall (Plymouth) 7 Kyle Howarth (Plymouth) 8 Lewis Kerr (Oxford) 9 Charles Wright (Redcar) 10 Ryan Douglas (Scunthorpe) 11 Craig Cook (Edinburgh) 12 Ben Cook (Poole) 13 Chris Harris (Glasgow) 14 Jake Allen (Scunthorpe) 15 Danny King (Redcar) 16 Leon Flint (Berwick)