EC Rides Again

Very good performance from Lewis Kerr tonight. Deserved his win in Heat 14. For the Scorpions it was good to see Auty and Howe looking more like their old selves. Overall an entertaining meeting once again on a slower track than normal - but plenty of passing nonetheless.

Looks like the showers are staying away from Normanby Road looking at the "Rain Today" radar. Just a smudge or two south of the steelworks, but the track is north of the steelworks. . Can a local resident confirm ?

May I just add a humble word of thanks for everything that Richard has done for Scunthorpe Speedway. Long may he continue to have the appetite to keep up his brilliant work with the Amateur meetings et al.

Not really as close as the final score suggests. Sheffield were the better team throughout. Congratulations to the Tigers, you'll be tough to beat at Owlerton this season. Howe and Auty had off-nights so the main scoring power of the Scorpions was blunted.

Like most of the early season matches this will be close. Scunny by 2.

A good entertaining meeting considering the conditions. Blackbird and Nemo the pick of the visitors, but they were all competitive. Also good signs from all the Scorpions, especially the reserve pairing who were a big question mark pre-season. Leicester and Scunthorpe are solid teams that will both be there-or-thereabouts when the silverware is dished out. However, caution should always be used when making predictions based on the first few meetings of the year.

I will report once I've thawed out. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !

Here we go ! The season starts here. Just got to don my Arctic gear !

I'm surprised that nobody has commented on the news that the Saints have risen from ther dead and will take to the track for some challenge meetings in 2013. At last some good news from the EWR. I see that Richard has issued a "come and get us " plea for some away meetings too. I would have thought that stand-alones like Mildenhall and Stoke would be glad of the extra dates.

Welcome Josh. Great to see a young Brit given the opportunity. Grab it with both hands lad. Key to success for the Scorpions is that super-strong top five. If they all fire at the same time then the reserves will not need to do much other than pick off the odd opponent. However, that luxury of a high-scoring reserve who is able to float around and go into a heat at the manager's choosing will be missed in close meetings. I'm starting to get that feeling that the season should be starting soon, can't wait.

Latest news indicates the last piece in the Scorpions jigsaw will be announced on Thursday 7th Feb (to coincide with the publishing days for both the Speedway Star and the Scunthorpe Telegraph). Typical of Rob's sense of "humour" it's "subject to finding a suitable interpreter".

Is Ben a Rye House asset ? Reading Rob's latest musings in the local rag he seems to have someone in mind who is presently unattached and wants him to commit to Scunthorpe as a club asset.

A very thoughtful preview, Spinny. Hard to disagree with your thinking for most teams. A few comments: Will that the same six teams will qualify for the play-offs? Of those who didn't make the cut last year I can't believe that Ipswich will mis out two years in a row. Scunthorpe have as good a top-five as anyone, but the loss of Gary Irving leaves too many queston marks in he reserve spots. Either the Scorpions or Newcastle will miss out o the top-six in 2013.

Good luck to Gary. Gonna miss you down at the EWR. Quite a spanner in the works for Rob and Richard when they must have thought that the 1-7 was all signed sealed delivered back in November.

I've looked all over and can't find any results for these two meetings. Anyone able to help ?

I'd be mightily surprised if Nick wasn't a Rebel next year.

Sad day. I hope that the Saints will "come marching in" once again in 2014. Maybe some Challenge matches on Bank Holidays will be arranged in 2013 just to keep things ticking over. Birmingham Bulls did this on and off for the last 3 or 4 years. I think that finger pointing in this instance is a little unnecessary. There has always been an uneasy tension between the "stand alone" clubs and the "second teams". The Saints folding are just a very unfortunate symptom of that tension. I really hope that Dudley find a permanent home ASAP and then they can take their "Elite" level support into the appropriate level of competition. Maybe they will then field a "Junior" team just like Scunthorpe have since 2008. Let's hope so.

Now that the dust has settled on the AGM maybe some decisions about who will run in the NL will be made soon. I see that the BSPA website is showing nine teams in the "NL Teams for 2013" section (the exisiting ones plus Coventry). If Scunthorpe dib out of the KO Cup and just run in the League then they'll have eight home meetings just like 2012. I'm hopeful.

Continuity will please all Scorpions fans. A healthy full season from David Howe will more than make up for loss of Nick Morriss. Reserves will have to go some to replicate what Toft/Birks managed in 2012. Pleased to see a full team signed up nice and early.

Good question. It would be a very sad day if the Saints are disbanded.

When Rob Godfrey was on Biker FM a couple of weeks ago he indicated that it's up in the air until the number of teams indicating that they will run are known. He said that finances would dictate that if there were too many teams, and therefore too many fixtures, the Saints would not be viable. If at all possible I'm sure that Stuart Parnaby and the rest of the support team will want to complete "year 2" for the current crop of young Saints.

Oops !

Have you ben asked to contribute to the much vaunted "Crisis, What Crisis? - Pre-AGM" Edition of Speedway Star? A few of those in power could do with listening to you and other riders.

Stefan's future is still up in the air it seems. I would expect most of the Scorpions team to be named soon after the AGM next weekend.