theblueboy

I am looking to have a punt on this evening's live Swedish meeting and wasn't sure of the heat format and the line ups, so a big thank you for that Ghostwalker

No idea why anyone is feeling sorry for the Australians. It's not the BSPA's responsibility to babysit riders who want to ride in this country. If I want to travel somewhere I look at the terms and any entry requirements. Straightforward isn't it. No visa - no entry. There is an Australian High Commision in London and there is an up to date website. I am sure everything is there to allow the relevant visa. Given that issues surfaced 12 months ago with Sam Masters then you can only deduce that Australian speedway riders aren't very bright

Hans and Morris?

Kennet and Kildemand started off well...

It's not too difficult if you don't have a vested interest in the Poole v Wolverhampton love in. The clue is in the title. A rider who I thought would do well to finish last in the GP actually won it. He won races from the front and won races from the back. He has improved immeasurably as a rider and has matured appreciably as an individual. He has never been my favourite rider and never will be but Tai Woffinden was the rider of 2013 by a country mile given the expectation level for the vast majority of this forum.

For now. These riders will then become the top riders and they will in turn will ask for more money. The promoters have fiddled (well some clubs have ) whilst Rome has burned to the point where the supporters product has been diluted because the top riders have held speedway in this country to ransom. This is not Sky's fault. They paid monies for a minority sport and brought it back in to vogue and in to the public eye. £100k per year is not an inconsiderable amount of monies if you do your sums properly. It is the responsibility of the promoters to ensure a proper business model and they have failed year after year to take responsibility. It will be interesting to see how much exposure Tai gets in the local and national media on the back of winning of the world championship. He should be a huge plus point in getting the sport back on its feet but can you see the promoters taking advantage of this fantastic opportunity? I do not know the answer but had the issue been addressed 10 years ago as it should have been then the likelihood is that speedway in this country would be on the way back. In the meantime, we continue going backwards in order to go forwards.

Nice work

Have had a good bet on Zagar in a match bet with NKI @ 2.3 with 888.com. Has 2 inside draws and crucially the red helmet when they meet in heat 17. Outright had a cock and hen on Nicki on a track he has done well on in the past.

What I would like to have said was 'A truly fantastic evening of speedway with several exciting passes both inside and out. Clearly the Poole fans have been spoilt over the years and never again will I refer to Wimbourne Road as Blue Groove Road with this fantastically well prepared track'. Unfortunately, the track was such a dust bowl that the reserves this evening were Tendulkar and Dravid. Disappointing fare for £25 to be honest and next time Poole want to host an event of this magnitude please tell them where they can shove(or should that be Shovlar) it Well done to PUK who was the evening's outstanding rider and qualified in style.

It's a pity Belle Vue didn't think of that

Am guessing the ref had Scunny @ 4/9 then... edit: well done Cookie. great ride.

Yes...coz he isn't very good. that's because Darren Bent is an employee of Aston Villa. Batchelor and Andersen are self employed and hire themselves out to the highest(or best offer).

1st trip to the OTA on a bitterly cold night. Very impressed with the facility and a follow up visit on the cards in 2013. Good sprinkling of away fans too. Scunthorpe were, for my money, the better team and were very unlucky with chain's breaking in excellent scoring positions. There was some good passes none more so than by Vissing in ht 4 to get the better of Morris on the line. For me the rider of the night was Palm Toft who was great away from the tapes (as were the Scunny boys all night) very Kildemandesque with the way he hung off the bike and rode the outside line. Midland Robin please note. All in all a good 1st visit but won't be going in October again!

Looking to attend my 1st Somerset meeting today. Any updates re weather? Am also getting there early(mid afternoon) so anyone recommend a pub for some decent food?

if I am not mistaken.....was that BFD trackside?

A truly incompetent decision. What race was Ackroyd watching.

Ok Philip you win...just dull.

A truly dull meeting lit up by a fantastic heat 20. Great performance by the Russians and the Young Danes. Not sure why Gollob kept on going wide in heat 20. He did the hard bit to get to the front and should have made Hancock go round him. Walasek was truly shocking for a guy that has had Bydgoszcz as his home track and cost the Poles big time. They will struggle to qualify for the final.

I will pick and choose my matches to attend with Robins meetings being 1st choice. With fixtures on a Friday that is definetly a bonus but certainly hope to attend at least once a month this year. Ashworth and Barker will certainly be good for lots of points but fear the Devils will struggle lower down. I am also looking to go to the OTA for the first time, probably for the Robins Challenge.

As a Robin now exiled in Torbay and who has visited on a couple of occasions, it is very small and compact. If you stand on the 1st/2nd bend you are right on top of the action and likely to get filled in with shale. It's not a huge track and there aren't likely to be many last to first passes but it's ok. I would say its more of a trappers track, with the exception, of Barker who was different gravy on the 2 occasions I visited..

Is Miedzinski fit to ride today anyone know?

From the Sportowefakty website. Mecz rozpocznie się z opóźnieniem. Najpóźniej o godzinie 21:00 sędzia zawodów podejmie decyzję czy mecz się odbędzie. Obecnie trwają prace mające na celu przygotowanie nawierzchni leszczyńskiego toru. Kicking off with a delay. At 21:00 at the latest contest judge will decide whether the match will take place. Work is currently underway to prepare the track surface Leszno.

Went to this GP last year and had a great time. City is historic and the old part of the town very enjoyable. Well...the beach volleyball was Stayed at Hotel Gotyk which is nice hotel just off the main square. Food is cheap and had a starter of soup, main course and a bottle of Zywiec for a deep sea. Suggest you stay off the square and eat down the side streets similar to Prague really. Trams take you to and from the stadium. It's about 3 miles away. Not sure of price tho but they run relatively regularly. Main station is across the river and is a cheap train ride back. Carriages are like the old BR ones in the 70's with sliding doors and am sure they are pulled by horse and cart or maybe its still coal! Didn't speak English at the station either but luckily the old Polish roots came to the rescue and managed to get the desired tickets and back to Bydgoszcz.

Just had read through the salient points and interesting to note that people convinced Bomber should have been excluded from Heat 9. Someone quoted Freddie Lindgren saying 'Harris Out'....would that be the same Freddie Lindgren that fell in Heat 13 of the 2009 Grand Final at Swindon after being tickled by Leigh Adams I wonder if the same vociferous forum members would have agreed with that decision that night had Lindgren been excluded...using the same criteria of course?

Thank you Anders. Very much appreciated.