CardinalSin

Yes....

Totally disagree with this. As I'm not a rider, a father to a rider or a "track expert", my opinion on last night probably means diddly squat. But I've been watching speedway ridden in various conditions for over 30 years and to say I was surprised when I got there to learn it was off, is the understatement of the century. I can't agree with your statement above though that it's a regular occurance because to be honest this is very unlike Ipswich who normally do all they can and are very good at getting meetings on. all well and good saying it's the ref that makes the call and that is correct, but that's normally after consulting with the riders and promotion before making his decision. how much encouragement was he given that enough could be done to get the track in shape to race? Not a lot by the sounds of it. A shame, but time to move on now I think.

Bizarre!

The reserves will see us home in this one. Hopefully Barker's 14 at Plymouth will kick start his season as he's looked really slow at Foxhall so far. Light years from the Barker we saw at Foxhall with Plymouth last year.

I said this yesterday. The promotion would have had a budget in mind in which to build the team and it's more than likely that Sedgman would be more pricey than Makinen. But sometimes you have to speculate to accumulate and push the boat out a little if you want success. I doubt it would be THAT much of a financial difference to put the club at risk. Put Sedgman in the team in place of Makinen and the team is strengthened without question. That would lead to better results, more chance of success and money spinning play offs, and more paying punters through the gate. That change as you say would more than likely pay for itself.

The problem is it's now or never. Replacing him is not going to be easy with the limited points available but one rider is screaming out and that is Justin Sedgman. He's issued a come and get me plea so is available, and his average believe it or not fits if the club signed him and re-declared the 1-7. I don't think he will sit on the shelf too long before somebody snaps him up so the opportunity is there if they move quickly. Whether they can afford it financially is another matter but sometimes you have to speculate to accumulate. Make the change, more chance of success and more chance of numbers on the gate.

Good win. Makinen remains the big concern and that problem needs to be sorted if we are to have any success because you simply can't carry any passengers if you want to win things. 2 points in his 5 meetings?? Woeful in the extreme. On a brighter note, Heeps' great start continues. It seems such a shame to be in this position so early in the season. I do feel sorry for the lad but Louis had a decision to make fairly quickly I think. A rider like Justin Sedgman in place of Makinen could see the club fighting for honours. Leave things as they are for too long and that chance could disappear.

What on earth has happened to Ben Barker? He's been dominant in the PL the last couple of years but has started the season for us poorly. A couple of times he made half decent gates and was on the outside on bend 2, when you then expect him to fly up the back straight in to a clear lead but he did the opposite and went backwards! Looks generally slow. The reserve pairing looks as good as any in the League and to be honest there isn't an awful lot wrong with the team. Just need to get Barker going and solve the problem of Makinen.

Due to the very cold weather recently I think every track is having problems at the moment producing an entertaining surface. The track at Foxhall on Good Friday was very slick and didn't produce good racing either. Give it a few weeks to warm up and allow the track staff to prepare a track for good racing before condemning it.

It wasn't a classic no as the track was understandably very slick. Anyone trying the wide line wasn't really getting anywhere but that will come in the coming weeks no doubt.

Must say the view from the stand was fantastic. Didn't stay up there long though as it was even colder up there! Another stand going up and other improvements planned also so all very positive. On the meeting, delighted to see the kid Heeps start very well indeed.

looks to be some good match ups and I agree with blupanther the Allen/Bunyan pairing looks a good one. Barker will have to be on top form. I'd expect Lanham to have the measure of Nelson though and the reserve battles look very interesting. Very much looking forward to this.

A little early but it's been a long LONG winter. No challenge warm up this year so straight in to a competitive League Cup fixture. All sorts of goodies for the kids including face painting, bouncy castle and an Easter egg hunt. Kids go free with a paying adult too. All details here http://www.ipswichwitches.co/index.php/news-centre/602-season-starts-on-good-friday Not sure on the rider order for Rye, but we now know the Witches will line up as follows 1 Barker 2 Makinen 3 Tungate 4 Risager 5 Lanham 6 Ellis 7 Heeps Very much looking forward to getting under way so fingers crossed for some decent weather! Any Rye supporters planning on making the trip? Predictions for the meeting?

Well I'm really in no position to judge as I've only ever seen the one meeting and that was the Fours in 2011. But I have to be honest on that day I was quite impressed and saw some decent racing. I can remember Tressarieu making a good pass on Niemenen and I also remember Risager of all people, having a great scrap with a couple of riders. All three passing and repassing each other which brought great cheers from the crowd. But as I say that was only one meeting maybe I got lucky

Crikey it can't be that bad surely! Sometimes even a small alteration can make a difference. I remember reading once from someone at Oxford, that a relatively minor track alteration made a big difference to the racing so maybe best to just wait until the racing starts and give it a look before slashing your wrists

I've only ever been to Leicester the once and that was 2011 when the Witches won the fours. I've got to admit I also thought the straights looked a little narrow too. Not overly so and Ive seen narrower, but still a tad tight. I enjoyed my visit and thought the racing was actually ok and better than I was expecting after reading so many negative comments about the track beforehand. But I guess the comments from those that attend on a regular basis hold a lot more water than mine who has seen only the one meeting.

Me too. The off season always seems to take forever but this year it seems to be dragging even more. Just need to get this month out of the way and get stuck in to February, then we can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

It did on the article that has now disappeared from the website. Why has the article been removed? Speculating here, but possibly something to do with the stand not being available to the promotion unless rent terms have been re-negotiated? Purely speculative on my part but it does seem puzzling that the article has been pulled.

I agree about Lanham and i'd expect him to be around the 7.5 mark again next season, so he should up his average slightly. Heeps got an Elite league booking last year for Coventry and by all accounts impressed with a paid 6 or 7. Came over with a big reputation and lit up the NL with Mildenhall at 16 years of age. Time will tell if he realises that potential but the lad certainly is talented and one to keep an eye on.

I'll be hugely surprised if Heeps doesn't up his starting average of just over 4. The kid has huge potential. I know you're not a fan of Lanham and if he joined my team in the EL i would agree, but i'll also be very surprised if he doesn't up his PL average after it fell riding at 1 all last year. It should in theory, be easier for him this year as he won't get a sniff of the number 1 jacket with Barker in the side.

It looks almost certain that you've got him at Sheffield spinny. On twitter he say's teamS and "The team's will announce it when they're ready" Obviously meaning both Elite and Premier.

I would have prefered him in the Ipswich team instead of Makinen but hey ho.

I'm pretty staggered that Neither Dakota North or Taylor Poole have been snapped up. Only Sheffield can fit either in now. Matt Tressarieu is another of the Ipswich riders from last year I didn't expect to see without a team place. There certainly looks like options for anyone needing or wanting to make early changes.

It certainly helped him this year. He went to Oz with Cam Heeps last winter and came back and had his best season yet so it certainly seemed to help him. I'll be keeping a close eye on Joe next season as an Ipswich fan and i hope he does well.

I'm pleased he's been fixed up with a PL place as in my opinion, i think he needs it to hopefully pull him along a little quicker.