Bagpuss

Had Lewis Blackbird not 'signed' for Lynn last year at one point?

Absolutely, and if he's happy to be seen in that light then good luck to him, its not done Pedersen or Fisher much harm in their careers so far. You'd imagine that Troy has probably had the professional courtesy to make contact with Kozza since the incident to see how he is anyway so his interview perhaps shouldn't be taken as his definitive response to things. Will be interesting to hear what Kozza has to say too, can't imagine him being anything other than philosophical about it all.

Two seperate issues now......as I've said I don't think there was too much wrong with the race itself but Batchelor's words afterwards leave a lot to be desired. He could certainly do with a bit of PR training, unless of course he likes being portrayed as the bad guy.

Batchelor's take on things http://speedwaygp.com/news/article/1033/batch-hits-back

I don't often agree with Shovvy but I think his post above is spot on. It was a similar move to that which Nicholls pulled on Harris in the British Final last year, tough racing. If there is a small gap there it has to be gone for when a National Championship is on the line. Like others have said though, its easy to see things differently when the rider getting hurt is from your own team, as I did the first time I saw it. When you see it a couple of times though it was just hard racing and would probably have resulted in everyone staying upright nine times out of ten. If a similar incident occurs at Poole this season I'm sure SS will respond in exactly the same manner

It looks like it was the footrest which caused the crash, just a hard but fair piece of racing leading up to the riders coming off. Definitely a gap there to go for and Kozza was within his rights to try and close the door, just highly unfortunate that the machines locked together.

No suprise that Holder won but quite a performance by Tungate to come third. Going to be a scramble among the EL clubs for his services methinks.

I think Bellego and Edberg look very handy also, probably not quite as much potential as the two Aussie lads but not far off. They've the advantage of having a bit more PL experience than Heeps and Tungate too. I think most teams would be happy to have either pairing as their reserves.

Robert Lambert ain't old enough yet, I believe he's only thirteen or fourteen and won't be old enough for NL racing until the 2013 season. To answer your question of what he's like, I'd say he's potentially very, VERY good.

Impressive response time Constable Keeble

I believe heat 12 was home 1&4 v away 3&5, and heat 13 was vice versa. In those days most teams had four very good riders in their team making those heats very tasty indeed. Basically two helpings of what is now heat 13

Quite agree, there must be a good reason why he hasn't been signed up by a PL side yet. I don't think he has any trouble riding small tracks. When he gates he can get round them fine....as with the big uns his trouble in the EL has been getting to that first turn in contention.

The article doesn't explain things very well.....why on earth are the BSPA asking Mildy to pay twice as much as other NL sides to enter the league?

'Speedway at Mildenhall under threat' according to the Newmarket Journal http://www.newmarketjournal.co.uk/sport/speedway/speedway_at_mildenhall_under_threat_1_3341117

Is it Not Unusual to see a Tom Jones in the line up?

While I'd be loathe to compare Heeps or Tungate to Darcy and put all that pressure on them, and at the risk of repeating myself, this Witches line up reminds me very much of the 2009 Stars with an experienced number one, two very promising reserves and an ultra solid middle order. And you guys are making semmers' fishing trip far to easy

And Simon Stead

Regarding the number five slot, opportunity knocks for everyone bar Doolan really. One could argue that if Poole or North in particular are going to progress in the sport then their third year in the PL should be one where they start knocking on the door of a 7-8 point average.

Its worth remembering also that these Poles rode on what was, until it was widened two winters ago, a pretty dull Foxhole circuit.

There are several between 6 and 7 who may or may not fit the bill such as Sweetman, Eklof, Morris, Legault, Wells, Wilko, Hefenbrock and Topinka and one who is just under 6 in North who probably looks the best bet of them all everything considered. Linus would be ideal but I suspect he'll be riding in Sweden on Thursdays.

Just going by the fact that the six I named would leave 7.18............

I've already mentioned on another thread that the probable Ipswich side of Doolan, Poole, Matt T, Risager, another 7 pointer, Tungate & Heeps reminds me a lot of the Lynn team of 2009. Nobody is going to have reserves to get anywhere near Heeps & Tungate in my opinion and as a result the Witches are generally going to have the upper hand in heats 2,8,12 and 14 so more often than not heats 13 and 15 aren't going to be as vital as last year. Plus the fact that I think Doolan will increase his average anyway.

But Workington have given two young Brits a chance, Newcastle two more, Scunthorpe another. If the authorities pulled their fingers out and sorted youth racing out properly then no doubt there would be plenty of Brits around for everyone. And I expect you guys would be using Blackbird if you hadn't unearthed two cracking Aussies.

Unfortunately Greg I think Tom is way past his best now and numerous injuries over the last couple of years have taken their toll.

What about heats 2,8,12 and 14 though?