Blackadder

The Swindon Advertiser says that the BSPA are to issue a statement later today.

From Rod Colquhoun, Heffernanmotorsports.com:- Queensland’s Tyson Nelson may hang his leathers for good having been denied a UK visa for the second year running. The likeable Nelson has just finished in the top eight of this summer’s Australian championship and was keen to head back to the UK but that is not going to happen. “If I can’t ride professionally then I don’t really want to ride at all” he told me today. “I have three complete bikes in the UK and I will have them boxed up and sent home to be sold. “It’s a bit of a let down but I have a young son here in Australia and a good job so I have to take the positives and move on,” he concluded. Nelson’s inability to get visa comes as a result of a minor legal matter that took place when he was under 18 but it still shows up on his record and is causing him problems to this day unfortunately.

Could he have got into the country in the first place by flying in from Germany, instead of direct from Australia?

I agree too that it was the best team riding I have ever seen. Was it Chris Neath who was shut out?

I was wondering what Oxford had to do with it!!!

I think that as captain, and with his experience and capabilities, Simon should instill a team riding mentality across the whole team. Paul Rickitt said in a recent Speedway Star that he should look round more often.

From Rod Colquhoun:- Injured Umina based flyer Taylor Poole hopes to be back on a bike in early February as he continues to recover from a broken femur. He says he’s generally in good health but the extra time off will help his leg to heal properly.

A good team and a good Team Manager. Some decent team riding where applicable and we should do well.

I know that he won the 2008 and 2009 Australian Under-16 Individual Speedway Championships, and finished second to Brady Kurtz in the final of the 2010 championship.

Good signings so far. Nice to get back to the days when we always seemed to have a promising newcomer in the team.

According to the Sheffield Star, Josh Bates has signed for Sheffield.

According to the Sheffield Star, Josh Bates has signed up for another season at Owlerton. Josh Bates has rejected interest from several rival Premier League clubs to stay with Sheffield. And the Barnsley boy insists hes not just doing it to keep it in the family after doing a deal with co-promoter Damien Bates, his uncle. Bates is in for a busy season riding for Tigers and also Wolverhampton in the Elite League after he was selected by the West Midlands side in the draft system last week. The British Under 21 Champion is current in Australia where he is spending time on the bike preparing for next season. And he said: Im delighted to be back with Sheffield, but its not just because of the family connection, I wanted to go back there purely as a speedway rider. I feel Ive got a point to prove, I know I can improve and there were other clubs who asked about me Im told. But staying with Sheffield was always the best option for me and I want to underline to people that I have what it takes to become a very good speedway rider. Sheffield is a great venue and a great track and I hope to get better and better as the season progresses. Its going to be an exciting season, Im so excited about riding for Wolverhampton as well and hopefully in between matches I can get some more regular training and testing in. Of course its nice that members of my family are involved at Sheffield but I always said I want to prove what a good rider I can be without that pressure and Im looking forward to it. Damien Bates, who is preparing for his second season with the club after a late winter takeover, wants to ease the pressure on his nephew. We had a long chat with Josh about the family thing and riding at Sheffield and its no big deal, he said. Believe me, we havent just handed the lad a team place because of his surname, we saw good progress in his riding last year and of course he won the British title which was great. Hes got an exciting style and Im sure he will get better as the season goes on. Wolverhampton are delighted to have him on board in the Elite League and so are we in the Premier. We are hoping for more rider news in the very near future.

Also at heffernanmotorsports.com:- Congratulations to well known former West Australian rider Steve Johnston on the birth of his first child, a boy, Alexander Paul Johnston. Alex was born today (13/11) just before 2pm WA time. Johnno is an absolute champion and this is a wonderful time for his family – congratulations!

Found this at heffernanmotorsports.com. Unfortunately, it doesn't say much. Good for Aussie news though. "The return to speedway of former World road race Moto 3 competitor Arthur Sissis certainly has people buzzing. The quietly spoken 19 year old is a natural on a speedway bike having won three Under 16 Australian titles before turning his hand to the asphalt. A UK career is on the cards and we will have more detail on that in coming weeks."

It appears to be a fund raising exercise by a group called Caged Northwest, to pay for an advert in the Daily Mirror to protest about greyhound racing in the UK.

I would be tempted to swap Birks and Bellego around.

A good signing by the Promotion. Bienvenue David.

A former Referee who has been Team Manager at Scunny recently, and has done the same job at Hull, Berwick and Redcar.

Offer for Evans to train at Sheffield Utd. has been withdrawn.

Well done on getting the award again. A genuine question - your track is always highly rated and you have had good teams in recent years, so why have attendances fallen? If you can't maintain good crowds, what chance have certain other tracks got?

It says so in a press release from Berwick.

Didn't see this, from Berwick, in the AGM statement:- Also now included is the guest facility for your lowest reserve, allowing for any guest rider up to and including his average, plus a percentage increase allowed if you bring in a guest for a home meeting, when an eligible rider is missing.

I was hoping that they would have looked at reducing riders' costs and changing the rules for starting races, to try to reduce the number of re-runs.

I understand that the girl has had to leave her home because of Internet trolls, and will be paying the price for years to come.Whether it was rape or not, Evans has some disgusting habits and I can't understand his girlfriend's attitude at all.

Re Injuries - bad - could it have anything to do with the silencers as many have suggested, if so at least that can and should be sorted. Following the miserable failings of my best Speedway Star FSL team, which dropped from 5th to nowhere, I had a quick look at the final Green Sheet averages for the EL and PL and counted 25 riders who didn't make it safely through to the end of the season. That's a shocking number.