Arch Stanton

https://x.com/ipswichspeedway/status/1797606377311154336?s=46 At least the admin has retained a sense of humour. Guess all you can do is laugh at this point!

We’re cursed. Never known anything like it!

I’m not sure Badge, the rule says “track within an 8 day period” not “Team”. Beerhut also quoted this to me the other day.. “a rider may ride as a guest (in an official meeting) at a track only once in an 8 day period (within that league) excluding Play Offs, unless he is replacing the home teams #1 or is ONLY declared in a National Development League Team” Hawkins said after Thursday that we couldn’t use him again this week because of the 8 day rule, has he got that wrong? If the above is correct, he can guest for Doyle at 1 but not for King or Ellis. I’m sure someone who is more clued up on these rules than me will soon clarify if that’s the case

Emil aside, the Ipswich team looks average at best. You’d expect Pawlicki to do some damage at reserve. Name of the game for the Witches tonight is to keep it close enough to give us the chance of winning the tie on Thursday. The final isn’t until September so if we can manage to get through here, it’ll give us the opportunity to get the team sorted and settled. Rew will probably have to take at least one R/R ride for Doyle so put him in heat one to get dialled in before heat two.

Was going to say the same Badge, Scott as a guest or injury replacement for King or Ellis is fine, that’s more his current level. But nowhere near a replacement for Doyle. We’re bad enough at Belle Vue as it is but put Nicholls in for Doyle then you can forget beating them over two legs if we happen to meet in the play offs!

Scott is great around Foxhall but with all due respect if we want to win the title you just can’t simply swap Doyle for Nicholls whether he’d be willing to do it or not. Doyle tops the Premiership averages for 2024 over all meetings, Nicholls isn’t the answer just because he had a cracking meeting on a wet tricky track. We’ll soon find out whether we’re still challengers or not.

Nah not for me TTT.

The Birmingham press release stated he will be in the team on Monday 3rd June so no idea why that’s now not happening. I don’t believe for a second it’s because he’s joining Ipswich instead though.

https://ipswichwitches.co/raceday-preview-birmingham-knockout-cup-semi-final-first-leg-a/

We can’t strategically because the team total is over. So an 8 pointer replacing Doyle’s 9+ still won’t allow enough to make replacing a lower order rider worthwhile. We also have to wait on Ellis’ timescale for a return. Huge headache.

https://ipswichwitches.co/raceday-preview-birmingham-knockout-cup-semi-final-first-leg-a/ R/R for Doyle. Nicholls and Blodorn guest for King and Ellis.

Same Badge. He’ll be replaced, but as Phil rightly says, he’s irreplaceable really.

Team total from June is already over, so it’ll likely be a single change, Doyle for a lower averaged rider. But all options being looked at currently. Kind of depends on the other two walking wounded and how long they’ll miss. All gone a bit Pete Tong unfortunately but that’s Speedway.

Moves are afoot. Massive blow obviously, but think we’ll be ok..

https://x.com/ipswichspeedway/status/1796844090094473619?s=46

I thought Batch did well for us two seasons ago. Looking at the averages for that year, he averaged just under 7, with a GSA just shy of 6. He was averaging more than that most of that season before tailing off a bit towards the end. He won us a fair few meetings by partnering Doyle in last heat 5-1’s that year if I remember. This year in the Championship he’s been riding very well for Workington. Over all meetings, 9.02 average and a GSA of 8.60. Cook does top the averages, but Batch marginally has the better GSA and tops those. When I saw the track when I got there last night it was never going to be his sort of track but as I said, I thought he battled hard and there was no giving up at the back or lack of effort from him.

The track was heavy and very tricky. There was one dry line that appeared after the first race or two which naturally every single rider followed. Nobody was likely to go off that line and in to the deep heavy stuff that got pushed wide although to his credit, Emil did successfully in one ride that just shows his skill set! Fair play to all the riders for getting out there, getting on with it and giving it a good try. Ok Batch wasn’t good last night and unlike him, he just couldn’t get out of the start. But I didn’t see a lack of effort from him.

Zach has had a much better time of it around Foxhall for sure!

Could be an ideal trial for the rider as well as helping us out. It gives him or someone similar who has dabbled with the idea of doing the UK but didn’t want to commit to a full season, the perfect opportunity to give it a go. If it’s to their liking, it gives them encouragement for a contract here in 2025, or staying on here this season and join someone else when Doyle returns. There’s bound to be clubs looking for a quality rider in a month or so’s time.

He/she was talking about Ben Cook being a preferable guest for Ellis over Batch GM. Craig Cook is indeed good at Foxhall more often than not.

Averages at Foxhall over all meetings so far this season Doyle 11.27 GSA 10.55 King 8.00 GSA 7.08 Ellis 9.25 GSA 8.00 To lose all three at the same time is an absolute disaster.

The guts has completely been ripped out of the team unfortunately. We were clearly the best team in the league but this is speedway we all know it can happen. More worrying to me was Hawkins’ negative vibe in last nights match report “We lost the bonus point, but it is not vital to us with our position in the league but if we now start to struggle because we have lost a lot of riders then come the end of the year, this lead we have pulled out over the other teams will soon vanish”. And in today’s meeting preview he admits they have no clue on how long they’ll be out for. Bash is right you just can’t run R/R for Jason Doyle with half of his programmed rides taken by four and five pointers. All Leicesters riders go well here and now Craig Cook is at reserve it makes it even more difficult. Even if we progress, we go to a Lindgren led Birmingham in the semi’s next week with the same problems we had last night. Disaster really.

Race day and no thread for this TV meeting. Nobody arsed?

Problem is didn’t Janowski come in to Oxford on a completely different average to the one he achieved with Poole during a similar time that Lindgren last rode for Wolves? It’s anyone’s guess what average they’ll lumber Lindgren with.

Probably more lack of resources than ambition in terms of a Lindgren type signing. Something has to be tried though to make it at least look like they’re trying to improve. Problem is though, if Chapman is just treading water until he’s finished at the end of the season, is he really that bothered?