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Lawson is on a par with Wright, he could've been wild card if he was willing to ride. Very disappointing he chose not to ride in the British final. Watching that final, you could see how much being British Champion meant to them all (as it should be). Brilliant stuff from all four riders.

Leicester vs Kings Lynn is a more important match. Could go along way to decide which team makes the top 4. On the other hand Sheffield vs Ipswich has virtually nothing riding on it, whatever happens both teams will be in the play-offs.

But that wasn't the "masterplan". So far they have 5 riders who've upped their starting averages. ONE poor match doesn't mean they've become a bad team overnight. Given most fans had Poole in their top 4 predictions, wouldn't call it an "average" side.

Can't say I'm a fan of lowering the minimum average for foreigners to 3.00. Just makes it harder for Brits to get a spot. I have nothing against foreigners riding over here, but now Gusts will be considered far more valuable on a 3.00 ave, so clubs wanting to make a change with less than 4.00 available no longer have to sign a Brit. If the logic was "it doesn't make sense having a minimum 4.00 ave for foreigners in both leagues" then make it 4 in the Prem & 5 in the Champ.

Edinburgh have their 2nd highest averaged rider at 4, 3rd highest at 2, 4th highest at 5 & 5th highest at 3!

He's not a heat leader though. Putting a rider at number 3 doesn't make them a heat leader.

I don't know if it's in the rules, but the teams from the same group should not be in the same semi final.

If 8 clubs wanted 2H/2A then that's what they would have voted for. I can't believe they'd stick to 1H/1A just to keep Oxford trebling up. More likely the Friday clubs Edinburgh, Glasgow, Redcar & Scunthorpe want to race 99% of their home fixtures on a Friday, 2H/2A would mean more chance of having to race on an off race night.

I think Plymouth appear odds on for the wooden spoon. Don't see Berwick, Edinburgh or Workington being in any danger of finishing below them.

It can work both ways, poor weather & fans staying at home buying the stream instead of attending loses money. Poor weather & fans staying at home buying the stream, when they aren't willing to risk it, makes money. Away fans who would normally travel but decide to save travel costs by buying the stream loses money. Away fans who were never going to attend but buy the stream makes money. One thing that confuses me is why the stream is cheaper than admission. If clubs want fans to attend, should it not be the other way around?

While it was very unlikely Monarchs were going to win going into the heat 13 re-run, there was still an outside chance. Think the promotion owe it to their fans to give them the best possible chance of that happening. Marson racing in heat 14, meant there was no chance of that happening. I also think an 8 points defeat is better than a 10 point defeat etc

To have a successful season you want riders 2025 average to be higher than their rolling average. So far Lawson, Rowe, Cook, Thomsen & Starke have achieved that. Why would you move on riders who have upped their averages? Kerr & Marson are the only disappointments. They've a replacement for Marson already lined up & I wouldn't even be thinking of replacing Kerr at this early stage of the season.

Only 1 match between now & 6th June. Tough to make the fixture list spread out with no NL/NT racing, especially now they're out of the BSN & KOC.

I think the mistake was made in the previous heat. Monarchs TM would've expected Castagna to defeat a 2.00 reserve surely?

Still would've worked out better, if Palovaara beats Hodder as expected that's Monarchs 2 points better off. Wether Castagna was first or last, Palovaara for Marson gains more points.

13th June. Unless rain-offs, missing matches etc.

Pre-season everyone seemed to agree Workington preferring Bachelor over Cook was a good decision. After tonight, might have to review that prediction.

This was my suggestion before heat 13 was re-run "Now heat 13 is a 3 rider race, let Polis take a 2 minute exclusion & bring Marson in for his 3rd ride = Castagna & Palovaara in heat 14!"

With Glasgow having already qualified, would it have been worth experimenting with the riding order?

If missing an official team match, then a non-speedway injury or illness gets a 7 day ban (medical certificate or not). But if he was injured riding Speedway then no ban. I'm not sure what happens for the British final as Lawson chose not to enter, the same for the Pairs & Klindt didn't ride in the riders championship.

With Paco second in the averages that's a good r/r option imo. Monarchs have won once already, no reason not to aim for the same again. But Glasgow should be good enough to win.

Totally agree with that comment. Really don't understand riders who don't race in the British final. So what of you're not the favourite? Just go & do your best, aim for a GP wildcard of you don't think you can beat Bewley. Go to give your sponsors more coverage on TV at a big event!

To me that would be even worse i.e "not caring about losing because you'll qualify anyway" I'm sure Oxford fans are delighted to win away at their rivals, so the TM should do his best to ensure that happens. If they were 20 points in front of 20 points behind, then I'd accept that reasoning.

Joe T seems the obvious choice, then Nathan Ablitt, Vinnie Foord, Luke Harrison? Hopefully Dan will be back on a bike soon.