Hamish McRaker

Speedway really has completely lost the plot if there is to be a triple header between the same two clubs. Just ditch the Shield (call it a shared winner) and the league match (call it a draw), and leave them as monuments to the past.

So, is it to be mixed gender toilets for Beaumont Park?

I thought the commentating on BT by Pearson and Tatum was much improved this season. In particular, Pearson seemed to be much better at reading races as they developed.

I thought in the two heats won by Ellis, he was as still as could be expected and got them right. Certainly if you compare them with typical starts by, for example, Hans Andersen, he was as still as the Dalai Lama meditating.

The referee was on balance correct in his decision to exclude Palm Toft. He had given away the racing line to Jakobsen, and attempted to belatedly regain it. However Jakobsen was legitimately where he was, had already passed Palm Toft. I think there was a strong case for excluding both Ellis and Harris. The track was never going to produce sensational racing and was prepared for Klindt and this was shown by Lambert having to bust a gut to get any grip. I doubt that Palm Toft will be able to ride on Wednesday, so maybe Charles Wright can do a job if he is available and has equipment ready.

You also have people being effected by shock on these type of occasions, and they go into a kind of state where they have trouble in responding, both to the incident and to instructions being made. Everyone reacts differently and if some are seemingly slow to comply, it's often for that reason.

This is what happens when people have paid to go into the stadium, and then find out the team's No.1 is not there and r/r is being used instead

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I think for next season its better if they just let Hans run things

All fine and good if a venue has the luxury of being able to set out a track without any impediments, then yes also make it as smooth as Roger Moore. But if that's not the case due to the venue having to be used for other things as well, or if the original designer of the arena and track was an idiot as with Leicester, then it needs other ways to ramp up the entertainment.

Regional papers these days are often about 2 weeks+ behind with anything that isn't mainstream, or assaults and murders. Maybe they still catching up with Leicester's team changes from last week!! You can hardly blame them for getting confused, the poor little interns.

I liked watching the riders bouncing and bucking around on the bumps and ruts. A true test of the men v the boys, with boys getting badly freaked out. They need to get practicing on ploughed up fields to stop them becoming like a bunch of mummy's boys whenever a track isn't like a billiards table. In fact what speedway in the UK needs is to have more tracks like ploughed fields. Otherwise it gets like the Andrex league in football, full of spoiled little mummy's boys. And don't get me talking about covered wickets in cricket. Incidentally I saw a programme on the gogglebox a couple of weeks ago about some race down a steep hill near Gloucester. The competitors have to chase a piece of cheese and although they start off by running, they soon just roll and bounce all the way down. If Chris Harris ever decides to give it a try, I'm sure he'd win. So why don't these new GB trainers take young riders out to steep hills and get them doing that sort of thing as well as practicing on ploughed fields? This is the entertainment business, so well done to Poole.

But he's been moved into the Sheffield side. I hope the lad has a decent sense of direction and a good satnav

Spectators with dementia would find this very stressful indeed and it would probably cause a worsening of their condition. This in turn would led to a substantial reduction in attendances.

I used to get annoyed by a race interrupting a good conversation

I think the BSPA is keeping the plans strictly under wraps, in case Poland finds out and copies them

Was thinking of dinner at the time

If the man possessed a heart it would call for a large steak to be hammered through it.

Newman looked crocked on the gogglebox last night. Struggled badly with the grip. Is Danny King anywhere near being available again? It's only rearranging the deck chairs now, though isn't it??

Just like the Swindon fella did last week !!

Poole call in James Sarjeant to replace JG (as a sub-4 CL rider). Unfortunately he injures his throttle hand when charging through the tapes at the first attempt to run heat 1, cannot continue and has to be withdrawn from the meeting. The Poole reserves, who happen to be both on fine form, can take the remainder of his rides between them. How's that?

Aparrently Josh Grajonek was seen at Dusseldorf airport this morning waiting around the check-in area. And the FIM has scheduled an urgent meeting for 29th November (it's the earliest date all 18 panel members are all available)

Oh, like Stoke then? PS as I am in the Outer Hebrides, does this excuse my ignorance over Lodz?

BT would be missing something by not televising it. " Correct me I'm wrong, Kelvin, but I think this is the first time this has happened in a league match since I started commentating" "Certainly is, Nige, good luck with the commentating there."

If he's not, then I expect that Chris Harris will guest for him.