Roger Jacobs

That’s an interesting thought, although they would need Holder to return by 31 August. Not sure if Pickering and/or Ellis and/or Kerr would be excited at the prospect of being released …

As I said earlier: the average is irrelevant, he's replacing Holder.

His average is irrelevant - even if he was on 4.03, he's been signed to replace Holder ...

7.03!! https://britishspeedway.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/p23_issue_23-2.pdf

I wouldn't say "better" prepared - I would suggest they are prepared to suit the unstable rocket ships they like to ride ...

I think you mean you've seen more fat on a butcher's knife. Doyle will be muscly and very lean.

BBC use a different supplier: MeteoGroup.

No, they've been testing transponders, but not every track has the appropriate equipment - or possibly even the facilities to install it!

I recommend that you try it with a hand-held timer ... the same race several times - you probably won't get it to the same tenth every time.

Does anyone really believe they can time these to hundredths of a second!!!

But it was never to the extent that people remember. ITV was, as pointed out, localised. World of Sport showed highlights of some big meetings.

It has never been on terrestrial TV, apart from highlights. People have rose-tinted, and very distant, memories.

Way back when Ipswich nearly went to the wall, it was confirmed that John Louis, as promoter, was the only person (other than the riders), who took a wage out of the club. All clubs are totally reliant on volunteers, and most clubs have no tangible assets. There doesn't appear to be viable operating model, and certainly no opportunity for investment.

8 x 6 = 48, which is roughly the total number of different riders currently gracing 16 teams in the Prem & Championship - so your hope of a 4.50 minimum is impossible. Guests? R/R? Squads?

Jymon Lidsey Dan Gilkes (with a hard G)

Fair enough. However, "bang on average" is just accepting King as he is - not as a guy who reckoned he himself could push on this year. He's not to blame for all the problems, but he set himself up to fail, because you would hope that such a phenomenal top two would spur him on and give him the space to improve - but he hasn't.

In recent years he has ridden at 5, so was in 13, and was in 15 more frequently.

Yet, as pointed out by several people, King himself made the (daft) claim that he could push Doyle & Sayfutdinov - while the alternative statements suggested by those people make much more sense. Those who say "he's scoring his average" exercise the cognitive dissonance of accepting a contribution that clearly needs to be better for the team to be successful. King's performances in the tough Heats 13 & 15 over recent seasons have been 5.0-6.0 average compared to his overall 6.5-7.0 average, which shows he can't raise his game when necessary. It would be interesting to check his scores in Heat 12 this season.

I love the way that people keep assuming there will be a league in the same format with a points limit to accommodate anything like even the types of teams this season …

Whooosh!

Tarasenko - not difficult to check the correct speeling

Cloud Cuckoo Land!

After tonight, there's a 3 week gap until the next home match, and then another 2 weeks until the final home league match = two home meetings in the school summer holidays! Riss is more likely to be dialled in to Dial-a-Disc.

Although Doyle seems a bit off the boil, I would have thought the Witches can reach 37 ...

King had a good start with a 3. No one can claim that his second ride was good - it was not good being beaten so easily on his home track by Blodorn.