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Starke would be eligible for the NDL/NDT if he didn't have a Champ spot. Maybe that could be the reason given for him being allowed to ride? He's in a similar situation to Ben Morley, if Morley signed for a Champ team, he'd have to give up his NDT team spot. Maybe that's the logic if Morley can ride, Starke can too?

With Vuolas being second in the averages, r/r should cover well. Gives the Comets riders an extra ride to impress & stave off being dropped, with the poor start to the season they've had a great many could be under the threat of the sack.

So Mark Parker is still in the Monarchs team despite a couple of people seemingly adamant I was being foolish for my comments about his inclusion! Is my point relevant now by any chance? Anyone care to admit they were wrong?

Can only ask the clubs if their riders are available. Birmingham race on Mondays, King's Lynn on Wednesdays, Plymouth are racing on a couple of Tuesdays and Poole just ran an individual on a Wednesday, so it is possible to run away from weekends.

Normally I'd question putting r/r at 2 when it's the second highest averaged rider, feeling that it would be a waste of Masters' extra ride coming in heat 8, but that's not the case this time. Heat 8 could conceivably be Sedgmen & Palovaara against Masters & Hook!

A bit late now, but could they have moved the Edinburgh vs Oxford NDL match to this date once they knew so many riders would be missing? Any Oxford fans who had already planned to travel up / took time off work / booked hotels, would still get to see an Oxford team riding? Having recently booked a hotel room for a fixture that got moved, I can understand why they may not want to postpone at short notice.

100% agree with you. Don't understand what foreverblue meant?

Quick history lesson on why that is a bad idea. In 2015 Edinburgh had 2 x 3.00 reserves (minimum average at the time), when you didn't have to have any. They both upped their average to 3.5 approx, then in 2016 a ruling was brought in that each team had to have a 3.00 rider. That meant Edinburgh having to drop one of these improving young riders because they had done too well. So by all means, suggest 2 Brits at reserve, but don't limit it to newcomers, where will they find 18 new riders every season for the reserve berth. One thing they could have done, was to increase the minimum average for foreigners to 4.50 or 5.00 making it much harder for them to drop to reserve, not lowering it to 3.00, which doesn't help Brits at all! Probably should mention King's Lynn now, if Nathan Ablitt had a Champ team I'd give him a go as a RS, but if they can use guests, no harm in picking riders on tracks they'll go better at?

To be fair to Schroeck Killeen wasn't in form before the meeting, but could still have gone with r/r knowing McDiarmid was flying before the match. Maybe Schroeck couldn't handle r/r, he can barely manage to give his stronger reserve more rides in matches lol!

Amazing to think there are only 3 Poles in the qualifiers when Italy & Slovenia also have 3, then there's 2 Austrians. It's actually a clever idea for Kurtz & Holder to enter the qualifiers, if only to limit fellow Aussies chances, as harsh as that may sound. The more Australian's who qualify for the GP / do well in the Challenge, the harder it would be for Holder & Kurtz to get wild cards spots (if they finished outside of the top 7).

15 development league riders rode in this meeting. Starke stopping a 16th rider getting a ride, isn't really gonna hurt youth development in Britain. Starke riding also give riders looking for a Champ spot someone to try & beat to prove they are ready for the step up. If any rider beat him they'd maybe get a foot in the door & be in line for guest bookings / Champ team spots.

That's exactly it, I cannot understand how he can be so bad? How has he still got a job as team manager? Do the promotion not see the mistakes all the fans see? To think he got manager of the year award last season baffles me!

Well if Killeen was Oxford's second best rider (used in heat 15) why wasn't he given extra rides before heat 15?

I wonder if Glasgow tried to get Erik Riss to guest for them?

If that's true, seems a strange decision to give him the r/r outing in heat 1? While riders shouldn't dictate to managers when they'll go out, if he'll be stronger in the second half of the meeting, use him more then?

It seems once a rider gets his foot in the Prem door, he's on the mind of many teams. Hume picked by Sheffield, guested then signed by Birmingham, guested for Ipswich. Compare that to Connor Mountain, who has a higher Champ ave, but seemingly gets completely ignored by Prem sides!

Missing a RS 99% of the time makes a team stronger, so having to use the other reserve off 15m just evens things up, not a "further punishment" imo

I'm a massive fan of the RS system, would be happy for it to be in the Champ as well as the Prem, but not instead of. All sounds like force feeding these youngsters into the PL whether they want to or not. The riders clearly want to be in the Prem otherwise they wouldn't be on the RS list! The good ones would have probably got their chances anyhow. Possibly, but not always, as the points limit can always leave good promising young Brits without a team. Look at Dan Thompson, no Champ team wanted him at the start of 2023. Connor Bailey didn't have a Champ team the year he was U21 Champ I believe, then someone got injured & he got a place, but wasn't a first pick. If the rising stars all had 1 point averages because they only beat each other in heats 2 & 8, then I'd agree it hasn't worked. But there will always be reserves who struggle, that's not the RS system that's caused it, look at Zischke & Gusts for example?

It won't drop soon. The earliest it can drop is July 1st.

The downside of just racing for Workington is going weeks without matches.

That ruling has been used a few times, most notibly with Covatti at Plymouth, they were allowed a 28 day facility when he got injured before his first match. I can't remember other examples of the top of my head, but feel it's happened often enough to believe it's a consistent ruling not a special dispensation for Woffinden / Sheffield.

That's why I'm looking for answers from others, because I can't understand it lol!

I understand that, but why wouldn't the club address the fact a rider didn't take his 3rd race (with no replacement)?

It would be a shame to see Birmingham struggle (more than they already are) but they shouldn't "invent" rules mid-season to keep them competitive, when year after year they pick awful teams. If the league knew teams would struggle, then should have made a lower limit, allowing Oxford & Birmingham to be more competitive, rather than "gifting" them an underserved facility. However Birmingham were only given a 75% facility for Zagar & effectively replaced him with Hume till he returned. So if Brummies riding under strength then wasn't a threat to them finishing the season, why would it be now? Edit: I've just realised I'm looking for logic & consistency in decisions made by the BSPL. That probably answers my question lol!

If that's the case facility shouldn't be extended.