Steve Shovlar

Kemp and Wright do not ride for Poole. They were guests last night. You need to learn who rides for Poole.

Poole would beat both of these teams. Seriously.

That is the issue which would need serious consideration. Perhaps weakening down at reserve by using NL riders. There are riders out there from the continent and Australia who have ridden here that could come back. Ellis Perks, Josh Gracjzonek etc. It could be done. A north south league with north riding against each other twice and the south once. Playoffs top 4 from each section leading to semis and final.

Both teams tonight are not as strong as the Poole team, in a lower league. This winter will surely se an amalgamation of both leagues. There’s nothing premier about the premier league bar it’s name.

Funnily enough I visited the Poole track shop last night for the first time this season. Thought I would treat myself to a Pirates mug at £4.99. Ended up being tempted by a new Pirates jacket at £59.95. A queue in there for tills 15 deep. All holding Pirates jackets and t-shirts at £29.95. Hundreds of pounds of merchandise in that one queue at that one moment. Merchandise must raise thousands of pounds for Poole over the course of the season. It’s an important income source and to lease it out to a third party is foolhardy in the extreme.

Weather forecast for tomorrow looking dodgy. Light rain most of the day. Fingers crossed it misses or blows through quickly.

This meeting is lining up to be an absolute classic. Wish I could have come but might have a chance if we meet again in the cup or playoffs.

What bump/hole? He over cooked it and slid off on bend two. Track is nice and smooth, albeit slick tonight.

Paul Hurry has been a good servant to British Speedway but his time was up. Bring in a youngster who would do no worse.

Thanks for the info. Hope you can get out there and do your job again soon. As for the PA, it really would be worth investing in a couple of decent speakers facing the grandstand. Not hugely expensive and would make things so much better. Sorry I had a go at the announcer but a muffled voice in the background is extremely poor and it needs fixing properly, not just tweaking to make it clearer. Worth doing.

Just got back. Great to see things looking like normal. Good crowd, great atmosphere and a Dominant Pirates win over the favourites for the league title. Don’t somehow think Leicester wil be choosing us if they finish top and have the choice. (Should we make top 4) A 40 mile an hour wind all day did it’s best to ruin the track surface but the track staff put plenty of water down to keep the dust away until the final couple of races. Poole heat leaders far too dominant and the only heat advantage for the lions was in heat 14 when Neilsen fell on bend two, gifting a 2-4. Other than that it was damage limitation all the way but in truth Leicester were no threat and never close to challenging for a losers point. For Poole Schlein was excellent. Kemp took a surprise heat win. Worrall was excellent until heat 15 when missing the start in slick, dry conditions. Neilsen was solid and dropped 2 points with a silly fall. King was excellent and had a couple of very tough battles with Hans. Rider of the night. Wright did much better than yesterday. Hume battled but had a fall in his last by the starting gate trying to make a pass with his bike somersaulting over the finish line. Got up a bit sore but bike a bit bent. For Leicester Hans came alive and the bit between his teeth in the second half of the meeting. Dan Thompson didn’t really do much. Neither did Nick Morris to be honest. Not close to winning a race. Gated in one and S Glenn went past him on the back straight like he was standing still. Howarth battled and gated in heat 14 to win it. Douglas gated and was Gone or missed it and ran two lasts. Kennedy did ok but was a bit wobbly. Hard coming in mid season. Joe Thompson found it too much for the lad. Better days ahead I am sure. Well done to the handful of Lions fans who made the trip down to Wimborne Road. I hope they enjoyed the meeting even though they lost. On another not the music after each race is much improved and gets the crowd going. Keep it up. Danny Ford said after the meeting there should be an announcement on the number two in the next week or so, but they are not going to say who it is until it’s all a definite and the rider can take his place. No idea who it is. Next stop is Scunthorpe on Friday. A very tough fixture for the depleted Pirates but they will give it their best shot. Pirates remain in 6th place, one point behind Leicester with 3 meetings in hand.

Twitter is the place to be 100%.

Unfortunately Zane didn’t score many points in his time with us. As I said on another thread I have no idea what happened out of the public eye but clearly enough for MF to publicly dump him. He was woeful around Wimborne Road. Last week he failed to beat an opposition rider at Poole. I don’t believe for one second we dropped a clanger. He can gate, and you can’t pass at Plymouth so he is scoring ok. I hope he continues to improve and has a career in the sport.

Been dry all day with a very low risk of showers dying out. Should be on no problem.

Scott said on Twitter this morning he hurt his shoulder in the heat one fall which ruled him out of heat 15.

No there isn’t.

Hume seems to have been constantly overlooked in the past, with clubs faffing about with the Jack Smiths. He was there to be picked up but no club fancied him until Matt Ford grabbed him for this season. I must admit I knew little about him but he has been a revelation. He can pass. He is not afraid to keep the throttle open and is fast out front. Last night he was miles clear in heat 2 when Wright fell and in the rerun was caught Morley’s back wheel trying to pass which caused him to lose second to Gilkes. Without Wrights fall he would have ended up paid 15. He is still a reserve though and could well up with just a couple of points in another meeting. But he has potential and any young Brit improving in the sport is only a good thing. It will be interesting how he gets on tonight against the Thompson twins and Zane Kennedy.

Why don’t the promotion invest in a couple of speakers placed on the dog track facing the main stand? It was like listening to someone with cotton wool in their mouths. Awful. And why not advertise for a center green announcer? A good DJ with a knowledge could do the job and it wouldn’t cost the Earth. What about approaching Kevin Coombs at Eastbourne? Not too far to travel and would improve the product 1000%.

Leicester is a basic stadium compared to a purpose built stadium at Sittingbourne which no doubt could seat a couple of thousand fans compared to the temp stands at Leicester. No doubt Sittingbourne could do with a tidy up and lick of paint. Doesn’t look like it has been touched since it was built and there are tractor parts laying around on the first bend. But where is the money going to come from Swale Council clearly don’t like speedway to force draconian conditions on the club. Racing between the two meetings was chalk and cheese. Leicester was a race to come out of the first bend leading. There was no hiding place at Sittingbourne where there was passing in every heat bar one. I had been told passing was at a premium at Sittingbourne but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. Perhaps it was in NL level but last night was the most passing I have seen in a meeting in many years. If it was filmed, this is worth watching. Cost wise it was £20 last night for adults and a program. Viewing was very good. Perhaps the track could have been a bit bigger and closer to the main stand. Leicester’s track is bigger but little passing.

Well done Zane. Then he was beaten in his next in a race 4 seconds slower.

Couple of things from last night. No center green commentator. All we got was some muffled announcer who we gave up trying to understand what was being said. Couldn’t hear the race times and rider changes. The announcer shows little to no enthusiasm and there is a distinct lack of atmosphere. The fans don’t make any noise and tepid polite hand clapping is not what this sport is about. The presentation severely lacks. A center green presenter whipping up a crowd is what is needed.

Pay on the gate Mike. Gates open 6.30.

After away wins for both teams last night, the clash is something to look forward to this evening. A few showers around but nothing like yesterday and we should be good to go tonight. Leicester were humbled on their own patch on Saturday and will be all out for revenge tonight. Pirates can have no complacency and the way we are currently riding, I don’t believe for a second there will be any. Yes we are 2 riders down but the way I have seen us riding recently means we should cover any weaknesses. Should be a classic. See you there!

My first ever visit to Sittingbourne and a real pleasure all round. We arrived at 3pm, found the stadium then decided to head over to Leysdown on the isle of Sheppey to see if this little seaside resort was as bad as I remembered it last time I was there years ago. In fact it was worse! A street full of amusement arcades and candy floss. Lots of overweight to obese people scoffing the pies and pizza, kids running amok and I spent £2 in 2p’s over 30 mins on the cascade thingimy. In the end I was struggling to spend it as the 2p’s kept dropping out! We watched from the shore as a massive thunderstorm floated across Sheppey and headed towards Southend across the water, then headed back to Sittingbourne to get something to eat before entering the stadium. A nice stadium in a huge industrial estate. The council imposing an 8.30 curfew is frankly ridiculous. But the stadium can hold probably as many as Belle Vue and although it needs a tidy up and some fresh paint, deserves bigger meetings. No parade or practice laps for the riders. Straight out for heat one. Poole gated on a 5-1 in heats 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. Yet at the end of heat 4 the scores were 12-12. Heat 1 and Pirztes gated. But Nichols held it tight to squeeze up the inside of the Poole boys off bend 4 to take the win. Heat 2 and Pirates gated, leading by 50 metres down the back straight. A nailed o 5-1? Nope. Wright binned it into the fence. You know what happens in a rerun? Kent gated. Hume git between the pair and was challenging Morley but clipped his back wheel, which allowed Gilles through. Heat 3 and Pirates gated but Starke kept the pressure on and got past Worrall. Ge couldn’t quite catch Neilsen. Heat 4 and Poole gate. But Heeps manages to get last Hume after the youngster messes up bend 4 lap 2. Heat 5 and Starke penalises himself at the tapes and the Pirates are away. But the ref sticks the red light on straight away! Really if a rider jumps then pulls back as the tapes go up it’s his error. In the rerun Starke gated but Schlein was having none of it and reeled him in to a great pass. Heat 6 and Kent gate, but King was determined and after blasting around Nicholls on lap two he caught and ladt Morley on the final lap. Heat 7 and Morley gates but Worrall reels him and and in lap three blasts through down the back straight. 19-23. Heat 8 and Poole gate but Thomas messes up on bend 4 allowing Gilles through, then messes up again to allow Hurry through. Danny Hume away and gone. Heat 9 and Starke gates. Pirates fill minor places but again Wright dumps it into the 4th bend fence. Race awarded. 26-28 Heat 10 and an almighty battle between Worrall and Nicholls. No quarter given and Worrall came out on top. Heat 11 and Hume comes in for Thomas. A tough first bend sees Hume battling down the back straight with heeps but the youngster will not back down, joining Schlein for an impressive 5-1. 29-37. Heat 12 and tac sub time. In comes Nicholls to partner Starke. Starke gates but the 2 pirates Worrall and Hume hold off Nicholls fir the 4 laps. 32-40 Heat 13 and Schlein gates, blocks both Kent riders Nicholls and Heeps and clears off. King messes up the first bend lap 2 and tails off. Heat 14 and a big 5-1 from Neilsen and Hume to seal the match and the 4 points for Poole. Heat 15 and King makes up for his zero 2 races earlier with a win and thrilling face off with Starke. 38-52. In the end Poole were far to strong for Kent, who battled hard but were lacking firepower through the team. Starke was excellent value, backed up by Nicholls and Morley, but after those three there was little else. But the meeting had so much going on. Thrilling races, passing in all but one heat. Really a great meeting in front of a decent crowd. Rider of the meeting? Danyon Hume. Paid 13 and best Scotty Nicholls in the process. He is going places. Home by 11.15 pm. A good day.

Absolutely cracking meeting with passes in every heat. Super setup. Good crowd and all over and on our way before 8.30. And stand up Danny Hume. Rider of the night.