thebaron

Everyone calm down; we did well last night on the Owlerton Motorway. The absence of Zeddy seemed to make us that bit stronger; as all his rides were available to the whole team. Ryan-13, topped the scorers again; and had a former rider I was standing with calling him a real prospect !; while Alex- 8 showed up well and took the fight to the Tigers in all his races. Little Josh-0; do not read that as a flat zero; because he is improving and learning fast; while Big Josh again (as at Peterborough) was constantly trying to hunt down the likes of Stead; Garrity and the excellent Dimitri Berge all of whom pulled out big leads in races. They have their engines set up for that track make no mistake. Had us talking of standardising the engines to bring riders closer together !. Nicolai was hot and cold as per; and I was surprised he stepped out from last night and we had announced a new signing for Sunday. Wilko started slow; but seemed to bring it back together and took a good second off Josh Bates in Ht14. Scorps did what we asked of them last night; and put in a decent performance after the walloping at Peterborough; so no complaints here with a respectable 41-49 reverse. Ashley Morris comes in on a 4.53 average at Ipswich last season; so it does bring the collective team average down further; and potentially further flexibility with the replacement for Nicolai. It will be a tough debut for Ashley on Sunday; against a Panthers team who put a real marker down last Friday as to their credentials for Premier League top cats. As usual we trust in the Rob; and the management but in the knowledge that we always have one cast iron guarantee. More great Speedway at the EWR on Sunday !

Scorpions will be out to make amends for last Fridays slip up at Peterborough; make no mistake about it. Anyone know how Zeddy is; will he be fit or do we have a guest ?. Tough match certainly; but we need to clear heads; and use the meeting to re-establish a foothold. Want a win sure; if we can... but if not; restoring confidence with a good nights racing; and safely; will do me.

So this is the gist; agree a rule change at the AGM no Tac Ride in League Cup. Someone prints rule books including the Tac Ride and instead of going with the decision at AGM we go with whats printed errorneously in the rule book. Yeap rearrange this organise up brewery a pi** in couĺdnt I hope I am wrong.

Some great shots there Steve excellent work. Really shows how awkward the crash was for Zed. You manage to bring the racing to life whereas watching live it was gate Go!. Thank you for sharing them with us.

Wheres the football pitch at Kings Lynn as its not the infield at Saddlebow and therefore what bearing does football have on the speedway or am I missing something about the Lynn set up ?

After a 6hr round trip from Bradford including a detour off the closed A1 @ the A639 junction on the way home! I am left feeling a bit beat up after that mauling and questioning my own sense of reason. Panthers were on another planet so much so even the rider formerly programned at Scunthorpe as Tom Perry0 is now known as Tom Perry8+2!. I sat in the mainstand surrounded by the Panthers faithful and it was uncomfortable viewing from the off. Showground is a big flat out track but the Scorps were just flat out there or have Peterborough just got themselves some cracking riders this season in Ostergaard; Porsing;MPT; NBJ and the excellent Grondal. I had hunch he would be good;but pumped for Wilko in my Fantasy Team; I might be shuffling earlier than anticipated on the evidence last night ! Time and again the Panthers outgated us and were set up by turn one. There was very little passing in the meeting such was their supremacy yes and thats including Tom Perry8+2. At this rate its going to get a bit boring at the Showground because few will be able to contain their top five there this season. Certainly there was little speedway going on last night for the connossieur. But back to the Scorps; guest Rich Hall has apologised as he was unwell. MPT ruled Zeddy out the meeting in Ht3 riding into him. Awkward one and sent Zee zee over-the Top ! Looks like a shoulder so we might have to shuffle ? This meant a busy night for young Josh who will at least have learnt a bit. Old-er Josh tried hard to go with the Panthers but quick off the mark they always had the edge and he was often chasing their tails. Ryan was our only saving grace really winning the re-run of Ht10 after Lambert slid off but it was over by then. I was thinking; had this been a boxing match the ref would have probably stepped in to save us !. It could have been worse as we were effectively gifted two shared Hts. When I look at current day 15Ht matches I always ark back to the 13Ht formulae to get the true impact of it. Last night was a 20-58 reverse in old currency; so it had me recalling 1972 and the pan handlings the Saints would take !. Alex and Wilko tried to give it a go but again chasing tails as the Panthers stormed away. Wilko was interviewed and mentioned having to re-learn to ride a track on a new set up. I suppose theres a point there so the away team is on hiding really because your having to re-learn the track on the job while the home riders are all dialled in adding further to the degree of difficulty! Insightful words from Wilko and explains somewhat. Panthers will take some stopping this season; Porsing is Elite quality and Grondals going to be big in my book. Would Nicolai have made any difference well it was a bit of a gaters paradise; with Hall under the weather he could surely have faired no worse. So where to from here is it down to the lake I fear...err No ! lets regroup check the wounded; dust ourselves off and get ready to face this lot at the EWR next week because they wont be mucking about. Panthers top five are going to be a handful round the EWR and the rider formerly known as Tom Perry0 !

I can see the logic in that but I think the way the PL teams are set up this season anyone can beat anyone on the day. We should go there without fear; its a racers track and sure the lads will be out to make amends for Sundays reverse. We could very well catch the Panthers tonight.

Devilishly fantastic news for everyone involved and speedway generally. Looking forward to seeing Plymouth on track at Scunny this season. Woohoa !

I am with you here; its just common sense not to use a rider who's competing in the same group qualifier surely. In no way am I suggesting that Richard Hall would deliberately ride down; and I am sure he will be entirely professional about it. But it kind of puts that burden on a rider if he had a dodgy night. I would say using a rider outside of our qualifying group makes sense all round. That said I have seen Richard Hall hammer round the Showground; so we might be on a winner. Tempted to make the trip as we have no action at the EWR this Sunday.

Fancy Scunny for this.

Cannot concur that Scunny were "awful" Alby; at the end of a good if not great afternoons racing we managed to post 43 points against a good looking Tigers outfit. Granted it was down to Josh Auty and Ryan Douglas with 27 of the 43; but there were postives in the meeting; not least Josh Bailey who showed that he could well be the No1 Fast track rider in the PL this season. Sheffield came up trumps with Lasse Bjerre as a guest; I was thinking he might be feeling his way around rather than looking as competitive as he did. Berge goes well at the EWR; and Bates although erratic at times; is now a contender. Then you add in the guarantees from Garrity and Howarth and you cannot afford too many slip ups before your staring down the barrel. Unfortunately; Wilko was doing well to be out there at all after his prang v Ippo; Zeddy seems to working out the best set up; once he does he will be the rider we think he can be. Nicolai; can be hot and cold; and it was cold v Tigers; he's a class act when he's out in front and he'll want to get that consistency into his racing more than anything. We always say; he shouldn't look back when he gets in front of a rider; he does that a bit often and then he loses the advantage and can put himself under pressure. Alex; had a off day; but he has shown time over what a valuable asset he is in the core of the team. Rarely can you rule Alex out of a race; he'll be on point at Peterborough on Friday. Josh Auty was superb and put down his marker as the out and out No1 we need him to be and Josh Bailey put his marker down that he is more than just making up the numbers at this level. Finally Ryan; using his head and working his way on the track and finding the right line between daring do and safety to post a polished 11 points. There was some really good racing on Sunday; you have to give credit to the Sheffield; Richard Hall love him or loathe him; is a spoiler at reserve and was in the end mostly the difference. There will be many twists and turns throughout the season; we want to see the Scorpions winning; but we also want to see great speedway racing and if it means we are going to be involved in a few hum dingers at the EWR I will take that over week in week out boring whitewashes. We'll be ok trust me.

The Shay Halifax ! first two turns topped off with a steely !

Agree Holder, Newman or Kurtz would be great calls but you might just be under estimating Andreas Lyager hes our rider and a great prospect and for me his inclusion will not weaken us.

This on the back of the National stadium debacle really spoils the start of the season; and shows the sport in a poor light. Is there no way; that in the interests of the sport; it could be run as joint venture in the hope of securing a buyer. Or am I just a speedway fantasist ?. Sorry for all Devils fans; always a colourful outfit to watch at the Scunny.

Wilkinson suffered a small break in his collarbone in an accident at Scunthorpe last weekend, but is planning to race through the pain barrier. Blooming hummer; Wilko you absolute legend; speedway rider eh ? ..tough as nails. Great news and as Rob says; "it should be an absolute belter". You can count on that folks. SCUNTHORPE SPEEDWAY - THE TRACK THAT WON'T LET YOU DOWN !

Great meeting to kick off the new season; some superb speedway throughout and as you say Heat15 was a blanket job for the four laps. Think my brother has it on my phone; so we'll stick it up on Tube as its a great advert. Shame about Wilko, sure we have that on the phone; tangling with Zeddy which was awkward; said it was a collarbone straight off. Do not reckon Carlos was too pleased with Zeddy; but it was an accident pure and simple. Rob made point about Zeddy having too much power for the track and that may have played a part ?. Ref did not cover himself in glory bringing the race to a halt as Carlos staggered near crawled off in pain either. Vital win in Heat14 when it was needed by Zdneck; really threw it into turn one and headed out of turn two. Throwing two zeros might have done his average a bit of harm mind....mmmm On Zdneck Holub; can someone get Barry in t'box to practice pronouncing his name properly !; the old Spin King on the decks was really struggling with it all afternoon; either that or he's got a set of new teeth in. But sure Zeddy would appreciate it; ZDNECK HOLUB just say it as its spelt for Rob God's sake !. Sorry Bazza I hate to complain mate. Also pump up the volume a bit and lets create a bit of atmosphere. Ryan was excellent; very assured and clean. He has a trade mark move up the inside line off turn four and it gets him past opponents when your thinking it really it should not work. But he did it again on Sunday to out pace Danny King in Heat11. Real unlucky to miss out on third as well in that titanic Heat15; as King wound it on round the outside to the line. Josh Bailey looked worked his way through his races; assuredly; Heat8 being a stand out when he came through from the back on Ritchings to sneak round the outside on the last turn and ###### it on the line. He's going to get better and better is Josh. Also Nicolai had a really good afternoon; he looks sharper to me; and he got the better of Covatti in Heat6 (no mean feat on Sunday) so much for he's a start tart. Nicolai's 10 point afternoon; kind of covered for Josh Auty having a quiet afternoon; which I think was down to mechanical issues. How good was Covatti all afternoon by the way ?; and who could not be pleased for Lewis Kerr looking highly competitive after such serious injury last year. Following Heat13 and having looked at the Covatti-King potential for Heat15; I asked would we take a draw and I would have. As it turned out in Heat14; with Wilkos injury I was vindicated on that. A draw it was; but that's no bad thing in the context of such a action packed afternoons racing. You can only look ahead with relish at the Scun-days coming our way; and anticipation of more brilliant speedway on the track that NEVER LETS YOU DOWN.

What a great start last night at Ippo; we didn't end up going due to commitments at work today; thinking a 9 hour round trip would have been a long haul. But wish we had gone; because we would have sailed home no problem on the back of that win. Look its early days no one will get carried away; but anyone dismissing the Scorpions (and a few Witches devotes did) will take notice of this. Its not a fluke; the result was well managed through the meeting and watching it unfold on Updates you could see where we had the capability of taking points off them. It is down to the management (and I have every faith) to manage the team properly; motivating; making sure are all together; and properly organised. Also knowing when to reign the lads in when it gets a bit hectic out there and picking them up when its a bit difficult. Alex "the Thunder" Davies topping the scorecard with 13; and Wilko 11; proving what a trump card he will be whilst he is at reserve. But if you look down the rest of the card Josh A 6; Nicolai 6; Zeddy 5; Ryan 7 and Josh B 2 all chipping in and keeping the momentum in the meeting. There's lots to enthuse over about this Scorpions class of 2016; and we have Andreas Lyager available to come in for Nicolai. I do not see that weakening us either. It is one of those teams you just want to get behind; and it has the potential to make Scun-day at the EWR a very exciting place to be this summer. Once folks realise we are on to something mark my words they'll want a piece of the action. Well done everyone for getting the season off to the best possible start; as Mr Daniels would say "NOW THATS MAGIC !"

Looking down the Scorpions scorers in the Ben Fund Meeting at Kings Lynn last night; Nicolai 8; Josh 6 and Ryan 5 all bodes well for the season. By the way have we got a theme tune for Joshy Bailey ?. just heard this on the Sarah Cox 80's show on Radio2 Sonic Boom Boy by Westworld https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l63rfT2OKBg worth a listen for no other reason than its a great tune; not heard if for ages. Josh "Boom" Bailey has a bit of ring to it if we are trying to promote the riders to the fans; and he might surprise a few this season once he settles in to life on the Premier. Might be good to get along to the EWR for the Press & Practice tomorrow and then its Ippo Thursday.

Scunthorpe Ipswich 1. Auty 1 King 2. Klindt 2 Sarjeant 3. Douglas 3 Kerr 4. Davies 4 Risager 5. Holub 5 Covatti 6. Wilkinson 6 Castagna 7. Bailey 7 Ritchings Do not see this as a shoe in for Ippo. Seem to recall Nicolai rides Foxhall well; Wilko has the measure at reserve, and Alex will always be in amongst it. Sure King and Covatti will be hard to hold; but Lewis Kerr is returning from serious injuries; There's a bit of unknown about Zeddy; but he's probably going to surprise a few this season. At the moment I haven't mentioned Josh A and Ryan !; and I have a hunch that Josh Bailey might just prove to be one of the best of the Fast trackers. We should not go into this match thinking we cannot get about the Witches and put up a decent show.

Sparky get yourself along to Specsavers ! I'm with you Berwick look a decent side especially having Tommy Gun; Theo and Anders in the order. Intend keeping my eye on the Bandidos and looking forward to catching them in action up at Shielfield again this season as well as the EWR.

Good point; postponements will have a bearing on it; will be some of that there is no doubt. But all things being equal; Andreas should tuck in nicely.

Nicolai's on 5.89; and Zeddy is 7:00 so if he drops 1.11 off his average job done. He's paired at 4 with Alex; so three heats he's facing opposition No's 3/4; 1/2; 5/6 at home with Ht14 4/7 - which he might be expected to take. Away he's goes against 3/4; 5/6 then 1/2 before Ht14 4/6. So not unreasonable to assume a shaving off 7:00. Any suggestion that we would deliberately ride his average down is just that a suggestion. Great news on Andreas Lyager; all for it; he's organised; on good equipment and for me could be the next Jan O Pedersen !. Check him out on Facebook; clearly very happy to get the gig at Scunny ! Footnote; don't we look good ?; so many interesting aspects to this team; return of Josh A and Ryan; and Nicolai back helps us hit the ground racing; Zeddy and Andrea's two great prospects ; Alex back who can push on this season and Josh B making his first tyre strides in the PL. What's not to like about this Scunny team ?. Hey sorry I forgot Wilko; blooming heck ! - he should be buzzin getting his EL ride at Lynn.

He does; but Andrea's I understand is in the squad and not in the team from the off; so there may be scope to bring in Andrea's as the replacement for Nicolai ?. I agree that Andre Compton would be an obvious choice to replace Nicolai sums permitting; but if we want to look to the future and bring on an asset of our own; I would look to Lyager; who I believe has a real future ahead of him.

Just noting that Redcar have completed signing young Dane Jacob Bukhave - great name by the way on a 7:00. Just makes me wonder if we will take "a leap of faith" and give our Danish prospect Andreas Lyager a return ticket; once Nicolai's Polish fixtures kick in ?.

We would settle for any sort of speedway in West Yorkshire. Its staggering that nearly 20 years have idled by without a single turn of a wheel in anger in an area that was once one of the cornerstones of the sport on this Island. But sure the NL looks set for a healthy campaign.