Hunters

I would like to see James Shanes as guest and RR should cause no problems providing they don't come down to 5 on the night. Do not underestimate Georgie Wood he is a terrier from the back and he broke his own NL Track Record on Sunday much to BWD's concern, he beats Wood but cannot beat his times which after only 3 meetings are already within 3.0secs of the average Elite times. All tracks are new to them so I don't think that will put them off to any extent. I will not even try to forecast this one but I do suspect a last heat decider, provided there are no misfortunes.

Still trying to get my breath back. 64- 24 looks a big bore but it was anything but. James Cockle gated really well but his head must have been in a whirl in heat 1 when Mason flew by inside him on the home straight whilst Andrews was doing the same on the outside. 1st to third in a matter of yards without actually doing anything wrong. If that wasn't enough he made another great gate in heat 13 but after leading for a couple of laps fending off Mason on the inside they came out of turn two and Wilson Dean went round the outside of both. Next turn Mason got the inside pass he was looking for and relegated cockle to third again. Heat 15 looked to be the same again but Wilson Dean went round the boards and went by coming out of turn two. A good tussle ensued between Mason and Cockle with Cockle just hanging on. The only downside was the accidents, Only Mason and BWD avoided an incident. After two falls Kelsey carried on but later Owen and Warwick were Withdrawn. Georgie Wood was involved in the Warwick pile up and damaged an ankle but after treatment won the re run and looked OK. Andrews then had a bend one crash and took along time to recover but again did alright in the re run. At one stage it looked like we might go to Cradley 2 or 3 men down. Unless their is a relapse it would appear that only Warwick will be unable to make the journey. My wife who is not really a speedway fan but goes to please me left the Stadium and said 'that was a lot more exciting then what we saw last year' and I have to agree. The NL is definitely more entertaining and unpredictable. A word for the Kings Lynn fans, your team never gave up trying and were pretty good gaters.

It was inevitable they would split Marc and Bradley up, that pairing was very strong but I thought they would switch Marc and Danny around so that Bradley could look after Danny who has yet to really prove himself. No doubt Bradley and Georgie will also prove a good combination, Bradley has usually been away in front after bend two whilst Georgie is not yet hot out of the gate but catches and passes well. The whole team is looking very solid and it was interesting to see how many times Ben Morley's fastest NL time of 61.6 the previous week was beaten. Georgie a reserve now holds it with 61.1 which shows how finely balanced the side is. I don't want to be over optomistic as we need to see them against a few more teams, However I do feel that Cradley might be in for a bit of a surprise on Wednesday. A pleasant one no doubt, A close match.

I too was most impressed with Georgie Wood his rides from the back to go by Richard Andrews a few heats after doing the same to Marc Owen were quite something but what happened with his fall? A two man race against a very weak opponent and easily in front ! Could only have been a loss of concentration but it cost him a 13 point tally and runners up spot. Strange decision by the referee as well, Adam Sheppard had gone by and Georgie was remounting to get the 2 points when the ref put the red lights on and excluded Wood, costing him joint 2nd scorer on 12 points. Another surprising thing was Georgie's times, the four fastest were shared two each between Georgie and Bradley with Georgie clocking the fastest by 0.3. This is only his 3rd meeting on shale so what will he do in 2 or 3 months time? We have the makings of an excellent team but I still have a question mark over Mason & Warwick. They had the points yesterday but all from good gates and mostly poor opposition, can they come from behind or can they gate well regularly? My biggest worry his Kelsey, I have long admired his ability and he is certainly showing his talent but can he keep his enthusiasm under control. He has had 8 rides with 4 Wins 1 Second and 3 falls. Two of the falls were when leading and had to withdraw from both meetings. An injury at this stage could set him back. It was also interesting to see Anders Rowe beat Tom Brennan the 4th time they met in the 250cc, the first time I have seen Tom beaten. Anders could be another good prospect but I don't know how old he is.

Thanks for that, I was just thinking that if Wilson-Dean, Wood and Dugard develop well they could go into a PLteam for only 9.0 points leaving a handy 33 for 4 others. Could even use 3 of their Elite Assets. I have a feeling this season is a try out to see if Sundays will warrant PL next year, after all they only put their licence on hold. There must be a reason for that and I am sure it is not to go back in the Elite. That ship has sailed.

Why was Witawowski riding Friday 2nd half and again on Sunday? He is a pole so not eligible for the NL. Can it be they are trying to unearth some talent in readiness for the PL next season? I love these theories. Can any experienced NL people tell me what the rules are on GSA for riders moving from NL to PL. It used to be PL Average x 0.6 to go from PL to EL. It must be different in the NL because I notice that Ben Morley is 9.06 in the NL but only 3.0 in the PL.

I cannot disagree with anything that has been said but would like to bring a new perspective. I arrived very early and spent 1.5hrs chatting with the Kent supporters. A most welcoming and pleasant group they were, just like it was back in the 1950,s and I hope I have the chance to go again. They supported their own team well but also applauded the visitors and no sign of aggression or bad language. Hope we can repay the compliment next time you come to Arlington. Thank you Guys, We had a great time despite the cold and I really hope the Kings turn things around and have a good season.

Really enjoyed last night, with a crowd as good as many elite matches in the past there will be no financial problems and what might it be on a sunny Sunday afternoon? The promotion was much different than in the past with riders at the tapes before the official result of the previous race. I don't think I have seen a match over by 9.03 before. Hats off to the riders who fell which was quite often,every time they were up and going again or getting off the track with haste. How different to the gamesmanship of the Elite. The Ben Morley incident was the only exception as the red light came on quickly. Good move also by Kings team manager who was quick to spot Warwick was the Achilles heel and give Danny Ayres the TR which at least helped to make the score respectable. Kent man of the match for me was James Shanes, what a little terrier he is I would welcome him in blue and yellow any day, a real entertainer. For the home team we all must have felt sorry for Bradley Wilson-Dean in heat 15 going for a paid Max in his first meeting. Comfortably in front of Ben his motor blew coming out of bend 2 on the last lap. He walked back almost in tears and it was good to see one of his team mates put his arm round him in commiseration. It wont be long before he succeeds. Also felt sorry for young Kelsey going for a full Max in his last ride, missed the gate and went for the cut back to come under but overdid it. He was also a revelation and the future looks bright. Despite many positives there were some negatives, Danny Warwick certainly struggled and If this continues will be at risk of dropping to reserve. For the Kings the big negative was their tail. The bottom three never looked capable of anything, 5 of their 6 points came as a result of falls or engine failures. Their only point otherwise was when the two reserves rode together. I hate to be a critic of young lads trying to succeed as that is what the league is all about but that is the Kings Achilles heel. Maybe all teams have the same problem,I don't know the league well enough to judge but I doubt it.

That's good news, I really want the Eagles to be tested so we can see what they are made of.

The BBC Hourly forecast showed light showers up to 13.00hrs then clear for the rest of the day. All we have had since dawn is a brief shower at 10.00. Currently it is quite bright and I notice they have changed the forecast to make it clear from 12.00 now so I think we can be pretty confident. The temperature is said to be constant at 9c all day and evening so it should not be cold.

Good news, I want to see him testing the Eagles to give us a guide to their ability. Never mind the result of the match, 46-44 would be just fine but 60-30 as suggested would not help bring the fans back.

I have to agree, I went for a couple of hours and enjoyed the sunshine and atmosphere. My only concerns were David Mason who seemed slower than the others and not so smooth and Richard Andrews who looked fast enough into the bend but fell twice trying to turn. Hopefully they will soon get to grips with the track which must be a bit strange. The rest looked pretty good, all pretty quick and not a fall between them whilst I was there. Impressed with Bradley and Georgie looked like he will convert to shale without too many problems. Kelsey continues to improve and looked as quick as any. Of course he has grown up on the track and if he gets a good gate will be difficult for many to catch. The real star for me was young Tom Brennan, I thought he was on a 500cc but apparently it is 250cc. I liked him in second halves last year but he is coming on leaps and bounds. Martin Dugard looks after his bikes and I like the way he is being included in the team set up giving him a complete set of Eagles Kevlars with his name and No 9 on the back. Hard to imagine he is only 13. In a couple of years time they will give him a lower number than 9 you can bet. Impossible to say how they will fare this year until we have seen some of the opposition but I will be surprised if they don't hold their own.

It most certainly would not, a quick look at that particular season averages gives second strings such as Mike Broadbanks (Swi) 4.16, Cyril Maidment (Wim) 5.07,Cyril Brine (Wim) 5.36, Bryan Elliott (Lei) 2.95,Harry Edwards (Nor) 4.80, Reg Duval (Cov) 5.31, Jim Tolley (Cov) 3.57,Al Allison (Bra) 4.06, Guy Alloyy (Bra) 4.61, Jimmy Squibb (Sou) 4.35, Alby Golden (Sou) 4.86, Bill Holden (Sou) 4.52, Ray Cresp (Ox) 4.20, Hoedy Byford (Ox) 4.25, Roy Bowers (Ox) 4.64, Bert Edwards (Ips) 4.43, Jimmy Gooch(Ips) 3.65, Pete Lansdale(Ray) 4.68, Peter Clark(Ray) 5.1, Alf Hagon's 6.11 was his best year, indeed he was 35th in the overall table, but an average of 4.5/ 5.5 was very much a second string. Now for the reserves, at least the more regular ones, as even a young Ivan Mauger could not hold down a reserve berth. Bob Andrews(Wim) 2.92, Des Haswell (Lei) 0.86, Wal Morton (Nor)2.32, Geoff Pymer (Nor)3.28, Slant Payling(B Vue) 3.06, Les Owen( Cov) 3.06, Frank Johnson (Ox) 2.54, Danny Dunton (Ips) 3.09, Johnny Fitzpatrick (Ips) 2.47, Maury McDermott (Ray) 3.07. Now that was the reserve standard. Now I will be the one to suggest. If you are going to chip in on the older times get some understanding of the situation. In 1950 there were 34 League teams which fell to only 11 by 1957 and 9 in 1959. Team spots were at a premium and inevitably it was the better riders who took a lot of the places making for some strong heat leader combinations. A second string usually had to ride 4 of his 5 outings against 2 quality heat leaders, his job was simply to beat his opposite number for third place. Dependent on his place in the team or Home /Away he would get either another second string or reserve as partner in his 5th race and that had to be his chance to get a pay day. If they shared the points between them all 2nd strings would struggle to beat 4.5 or so. A 5.0 was a nights work really well done riding for most teams with a chance of a bonanza against a Rayleigh with not so strong heat leaders but more competitive second strings. Little or no chance against the likes of Wimbledon ,Norwich or Belle Vue . I don't know why I have wasted my time with you but I will finish with what I started. Alf Hagon was no reserve.

Even a mathematical genius could not take 15 points and 5 rides from a full seasons total and drop the average by 1.6 points. It looks so obviously ridiculous. So much for creditability. The correct statistic is 159 League points from 104 rides giving a GSA of 6.11. Adjusting for the maximum would have made it 144 points from 99 rides giving a GSA of 5.81.

Be careful, I don't know where the 'cat' got his information from but on the web site Martin is quite definite that there will be no public admission before 1.0 .

Never any doubt he was better on grass, his record proved it. That was not the point. I took issue with the ' reserve status' . You obviously have no understanding of the situation in the 1950's which look to be well before your time. I wonder why you even poked your nose in. Presumably just trying to be controversial or perhaps looking to be the next Shovlar.

An interesting point. Promoters are not too forthcoming about how the costs are arrived at but from what I have read it seems that they pay £10 a point in NL, which would indicate about £2000 per meeting excluding Stadium Rent or costs. This would make sense of a statement from one of the Dugards when they announced they were going NL. They said they needed a 200 gate to break even and at 400 they could give extra help to the riders. Presumably the difference between 200 and 400 would go towards Stadium Rent or in Eastbourne's case costs as even a self owned track still has a lot of cost and of course Council Tax will be quite high on an area and structure of that size. They struggled for survival in the Elite but there was a hard core of 600 or 700 each meeting and the final date last season looked to be well over 1000 as people came to see what was expected to be the end of Arlington. Unfortunately we never know the real figures as attendances are never revealed. The main problems were geographical spread of fans ruling out the viability of mid week fixtures and GP's / Individual Championships ruling out far too many Saturdays. Significantly there were still the usual 200 enthusiasts at the Annual Meeting and I have only heard of one or two others not wishing to see NL. Instead of Falling gates I can see a real possibility of an increase because of the return to the always favoured Sunday Afternoons plus the added bonus of reduced admission prices. I will stick my neck out and forecast 750 average this season but once again we will not be told. .

I have to take issue with you Rebel1 Alf Hagon was a lot more than a reserve. An average of just under 7 would have been one of the better second strings in 1957, in fact they would love it in the Elite now. And the league was stronger then. If you look at his heat details he beat the likes of Dick Bradley, Split Waterman, Jack Young. Aub Lawson ,Peter Moore along with many others and seemed to have the Evil Eye on Arthur Forrest, Nigel Boocock and Ron How who he beat often. In 1957 he beat both Peter Craven and Ron Johnston in the match against Belle Vue and in 1960 probably his finest hour when despite losing the match he beat both Craven and Johnston twice each for a 15 point maximum whilst Ken McKinlay or anybody else failed to beat either of them. He even managed some good scores away. outpointing Ken McKinlay with double figures at Wimbeldon and a paid 15 at Coventry. It is true he could be inconsistent but I notice he seemed to fall away in the summer and then come good again next Spring. I suspect this was down to concentrating on retaining grass track championships where he was a master class, I don't know why this hit a nerve because I was not a particular fan of Alf but to say he only really made reserve status is very wrong.

I struggle to understand why people fancy Birmingham to win this league, I tend to look at numbers and with the League set up on a 36 GSA point level but with 42 points available on average, it means that given equality all teams would improve by 6 points. They will not of course all finish equal so to reach the top four probably requires an improvement of 7 to 8 points and to win the league 8 to 9. Looking at Birmingham I think they are too top heavy with their 2 heat leaders. They are probably going to partner each other at least twice in each meeting so must drop a couple of points between them as Bonus Points have no bearing on GSA or team score. This would mean that they can only average 11 each even if they beat everyone else every time. Extra rides could ease that average up a little but is likely to result in another ride together and could be more deleterious than advantageous. Given that they are sure to have their share of motor failures, mishaps and bad gates, it is dubious whether they can put more than a point on their combined average. This should put too great a strain on what looks like a long and weak tail. If one of the top two goes off the boil or has an injury they could be in trouble. At this stage an all round team with no big star and no weakness in the top 5 should be favourites. As regards the reserves they all seem pretty new to this level and to try and differentiate would simply be guesswork. I don't like to forecast because something invariably happens to turn it upside down but I do have my top 4 candidates in mind and Brum are not one of them. I will confess to a sneaky feeling that Stoke may be the team with the right blend to go all the way but I wont be putting money on any of them. Whatever happens this looks like being a very interesting and competitive league and the winner will probably be the side that produces the unexpected 'Little Gem' or gets the lucky breaks (perhaps that should be avoids the unlucky breaks).

A bit unfair on Alf Hagon he was more than reserve status. I saw him every week in the mid fifties and he was a very competent second string in a league of few teams which included virtually all the World finalists at the time. From memory and without bothering to look it up I think he partnered Jack Geran.

Hoping to make my first visit to the Kent Track on Easter Monday. Can anyone please tell me if there is adequate seating or do we have to bring our own.

Now that we are not in the elite league I can take a more objective view. I struggle to understand why so many are thinking that KL will be up the top. This year there are a couple of important differences when compiling a team at 1 to 5. Firstly the Points allowance was raised and secondly there are 8 not 10 teams which means a greater availability of riders. This should mean all teams are stronger at 1 to 5. Looking at the line up and recognizing Poole & Leicester are incomplete there is no doubt they all are, or will be, stronger with the exception of KL who have stood still. Next problem is the Reserves, They made a big contribution last year but this year the addition of Auty, Wright and Birks to the draft plus once again only 8 teams to divide them between means the reserves will be much stronger this year indeed several of last years No 6 will be at No 7. It does not look as though there are any 'easy' heats 2 & 12. On an individual note I have no doubt Iversen will do his job well and I am chewing over the prospect of a sizeable bet at 7-1 for him to win the World title this year but Bjerre and Schlein looked to be struggling as last season wore on. I have a feeling their best days are past and they will struggle to avoid sliding further, They will have their good days but I think they will get more inconsistent. This puts a huge load on Porsing and Lamberts shoulders. No doubt they will improve but so too will many of the other young men in the other teams. This looks like the most open title race for years so let's hope nobody is struck by the injury bug. I am a little dubious about Wolves and Swindon but fancy Leicester might spring a surprise and make the play off's whilst KL may be the team that disappoints.

Martin has clarified the situation on the Eagles Web Site and it is exactly what Eagles fans I spoke to thought it would be. Anybody that read the New Zealand paper announcement on 10th December should have noticed that Bradley told them on the previous Sunday (Dec 7th) that he had signed a few days before then. Brendon was announced on Friday Dec 12th. The team was obviously set up to include them both and only when the 3.00 or 5.00 issue came to light did he find he was 1.81 over the limit instead of .19 under. Somebody had to be let down and you can argue forever which one it should be. In the end issue he has to decide what is best for the team and it was probably a toss up between Johnson and Warwick. I would have said Warwick as it would have given him 5.2 points to find a replacement instead of 4.5, On the other hand there does not appear to be many available riders on either of those gradings so perhaps it was better to keep Warwick and not be too far under the 36 limit. As Martin said, he made a mistake and I have little doubt that every promoter has made one(or more)at some time with the rather cumbersome and very confusing rule book which has led to constant debates, misunderstanding and interpretation on this very forum over the years. I suppose it is inevitable that those charming people who have conducted something like a hate campaign against the family and the club over the years will continue regardless of a change in personalities. What sad lives they must live.

If Adam Ellis is not at Ipswich, could he be heading for Arlington and what would his NL Average be?

The difference between our averages Islander is that you included a Challenge against Kings Lynn which does not appear in the updates site and accounts for most of the points you include. They included challenges against Arena Essex & Wimbledon but no sign of one against KL.