drew2

That should have been good news for Sheffield really as he is awful at Somerset. 6+1 from the R/R is better than what he would have got!

Don't think you will be seeing Zach on Sunday? Got a feeling he is still sidelined with his badly broken fingers.

Looking forward to this one but it will be a long day before the racing starts with the Rebels Golf Day FORE! taking place before it at Brean Golf Club. Hopefully it will be a fun day for everyone and a successful one for the club both on and off track. Great to see a few of the riders and other clubs supporting it as well. Not sure what Jake and Rohan are like on the golf course but we will find out in the morning! On the track i hope it is a home win and the slip up against the Devils from 2015 won't be repeated. If Rohan brings his form from the EL this week i can only see another maximum for him again.

He didn't like the trademark Jake Allen divebomb into turn three on lap one of heat one! He obviously hasn't seen Jake at the OTA as he does it once a meeting at least and it is the most controlled divebomb i have seen as he holds it no wider than mid track around the 3/4 bends despite coming in at about 100mph!

This was in the match programme last Friday (with the full T&C's) but wasn't mentioned over the PA on the night. So i thought i might add it on here to raise awareness of the Season Ticket raffle which is running in connection with the upcoming Rebels Golf Day FORE! which helps to support the ongoing cost of the Air Fence/repairs and also other improvements to the OTA. Buy a ticket for £5 and if you are the lucky person whose ticket is drawn out of the hat during the meeting against Plymouth on Friday August 26th then a 2017 Season Ticket to watch the Rebels could be yours. Keep your eyes open for the tickets on sale on Wednesday evening and again on the 26th but make sure you buy one before the tapes rise for heat one against the Devils to be in with a chance of winning.

Got a feeling Josh is Swindon 'doubling down' as his contract is owned at EL level so they get first call for original fixtures. Rohan i think is still PL owned (Ippo??) so we get priority on him. I may be wrong on this though or just making it up as i go along but that is speedway for you! What average is he on??

Not sure Charles is allowed back until Glasgow at earliest (9 days?) and I understand from what Jake said on Radio Bristol earlier he is away all weekend as he is driving to Sweden for U21 WTC after home meeting next Weds. I also think you might find Swindon are riding at Belle Vue next Friday as well so no Josh anyway even if he is fit for that one. Dan Bewley was mentioned as Zach's replacement on Saturday and Sunday.

A depleted Rebels did a great job tonight to beat Sheffield. Missing 3 of our normal riders remaining 4 plus the guests produced a solid performance to start another winning run! Great effort by Brady back in a Rebels bib showing he hadn't forgotten his fence scraping lines around the OTA. Jake was so unlucky as had heat 1 all sown but until the chain went. He was that far ahead he still almost reached the line before Brady in third! R/R produced 9 for Wrighty so possibly only a point or two dropped with that being used . Starkey was the rider of the night by a mile for me. His ride in heat 5 to fend off Stead and protect BWD was amazing but still not a patch on the ride he produced in heat 12 to beat Howarth by about 1/4". Rohan was that good also that you hardly noticed he racked up 17 points, certainly thriving on the Somerset air. BWD was solid as ever with a great win in heat 5 on his R/R outing ahead of Stead/Bates. Chessell tried hard but lacked the speed to keep riders behind him although Greaves locking up in front of him certainly helped Sissis in heat 2. For Sheffield Stead was a bit hit and miss as was Bates. Both scores were increased by one point due to Allen's misfortune. Comedy moment of the night was heat 10 when Sheffield team manager put the B/W on Howarth but no one told Berge (who would have been my choice for it anyway!). Howarth looked ok and had a great race with Starke in heat 12 and Berge got better as the night wore on spoiling Starkey's max in heat 14. Garrity was poor for the experience he now has. Obviously was his left hand causing the problems as in true Coventry fashion he dropped the clutch before the tapes went up in his first two rides. Not sure what he did in heat 9 with his slow motion fall and failure to clear the track due to much hand shaking. No idea what or how he hurt it but can't have been too bad as he was back in heat 13. Sissis was poor but might have been hampered by the Sheffield shale still all over his kit from the night before! Greaves score flattered him a bit too as had 15m advantage over his partner in heat 2 and only beat Chessell twice. Good night of speedway overall and onto Edinburgh next Weds ahead of a Northern Tour which i doubt we will get much out of after hearing the teams news tonight. Although this is the 2016 Rebels we are talking about so who knows!!

He surely can't be better at the inside line than Mathias Kroger was!

Come on Najjer it is tough to single any one of the Rebels out this year, they have all been superb!! I do agree that Rohan has been superb on a track (I think i am right in saying?) he admitted to not liking at the press launch day. Despite those great performances he still can't get the no 1 racejacket off Josh which shows how good he has been too! And then you have the engine room of Wright and Starke, The Oak Tree Arena would be a much duller place if those two weren't in Rebels colours each week! Possibly only Zach hasn't hit the heights yet but he will get there when he is fit again.

Was it a different Presenter tonight then? Not Pete or Nigel?

Saw that Simmo one 'live' too. Think it was the first bend at the County Ground though (not 3&4) and remember they couldn't find him to start with and when they did they couldn't get him. Eventually ropes where found to reach him and despite pelvic injuries he walked to the ambulance near the tractor/grader park on bend one. Saw Garry Stead's career ending one at the OTA although two races earlier Rebel legend Glenn Cunningham, on his return to Somerset for Stoke, was a 'sitting duck' on bend four after falling and not being able to clear the track and either the red lights failed or the riders didn't see them in time. Think Zorro and possibly Matt Read missed him but Ben Barker ploughed straight into him, you just could see what was going to happen and it did. Luckily neither rider was as badly hurt as Steady was two races later on that fateful night. Can still see poor old Jordan Frampton colliding with the stricken Stead who fell right in front of him and he cartwheeled bike and all the length of the back straight virtually. Unfortunately Steady, as we know, wasn't as lucky as Cunningham or Barker had been before him to walk away.

If heat 11 had run its course before Jake's crash then that score would have been much closer. Rohan looked beaten in that one but as often happens he popped out the start and cruised home. Great to see Wrighty back out around the boards too!

Didn't know Kildemand had an issue with chains breaking?? Starkey's fall from where i was stood sounded mechanical rather than any hint of rider error.

but after the luck he had tonight probably wished he was at Belle Vue instead! Phillips got away with a flier in heat 2 but then rode a steady race to win but then was 'gifted' his paid win when Starkey fell (due to mechanical issues i think) when way way clear at the end of lap two and it was awarded, despite Zach chasing him.

I was thinking 'why he is still riding the GP's' last night but if i had that opportunity to experience being part of that event (I haven't as i am a Professional Golfer!) as a competitor i certainly wouldn't pass it up. Yes he was probably very frustrated at his lack of points but getting the reaction from the fans on the parade and being able to line up at the tapes in the biggest meeting of the year must be a great feeling/buzz. Why wouldn't he want to do it?

I had confidence in the team Gazza built from day one although some others didn't share my view but i never thought we would get to July only losing once (and that was a meeting they could have easily won too)! Top effort from the whole team, long 'May' it continue.

It was bound to be, the bad races at the OTA are better than some tracks good ones!

I'd like to think the Rebels can muster 29 points in the second leg!! Nice to Jake Allen register his first maximum in British Speedway. It is a bit tough when you 'up' your assessed average in your debut season and then still drop to reserve!

Yep remember that night too and as you say it was a very nice day before it. I suppose that riders going out of view and then re-appearing made it a bit like the old County Ground. That happened there every week in perfect weather from some viewing points!

Especially when he is actually a Somerset asset! I know what the rules are though before anyone says.

I suppose that would mean a loan fee for Brady to be paid to the Somerset promotion then??

8 miles and about 12 minutes to the OTA from home for me. I could walk to it though when i used to work next door in the Driving Range!

Somerset are stronger than you might think. A lot of people underestimated them but as usual Garry May (not Day as in your prog!!) has put together a very useful side.

Impressive from the management to foresee the wet weather of today and not to have a fixture arranged that would have definitely have been cancelled! Onto next week when the Witches are in town.