Happy Hunter

According to the BSPA website report on the Cardiff GP Jason Doyle still rides for Swindon. You couldn't make it up!

Well you can't accuse the owners/promoters of dragging their feet or being afraid to wield the big axe!

I think that the season is now finished as far as the Lions are concerned - they only have 4 home matches left plus 9 away so I can't see them getting anywhere near the playoffs. It will be a battle to avoid the wooden spoon again. I feel sorry for the owners and promoters because I think that they have done their best to put a good team together but have been hampered by injuries and riders not performing. I was on here earlier in the season saying how low Bjerre's percentage of winning rides was - I think it was about 33% then. Its now 27% which is less then Andersen, Pieszczek and Wells. He has only 4 wins in the last 6 home meetings so I think it would be wise to replace him although I take the point made earlier about his performances away from home. Having said that we need to win at home to keep the punters coming back! The two reserves are inadequate. I have lost count of the number of times they make the gate only to be at the back when they leave the second bend. The jury is still out on Pieszczek - his early promise has not been fulfilled although in recent weeks he seems to have been having problems with his machinery. He has always been inconsistent - winning one race and losing the next - but that's o.k. if he keeps getting 8 or 9 points and not the 4s he has been getting recently. Another point is that the Wright/Pieszczek pairing looks like an accident waiting to happen. One of these weeks they will wipe each other out as they both want to be on the same part of the track. Perhaps the pairings need looking at. Here's hoping that we have a better end to the season!

Dreadful performance by Lions. Only Andersen, Wells and Wright anywhere near good enough.

Being a bit paranoid after the Rye House fiasco I noticed at the box office last night that the list of admission prices had been removed. Will there be a new one soon with higher prices? Someone has got to pay for all the smartening up (grass cutting etc.), the erection of the Sheffield gantry over the start/finish line, and the electronic scoreboard that was on display last night

I am afraid that, over the years, a good meeting at Leicester is defined as one where the home team win by a narrow margin. The excitement level depends on how often the overall points lead changes over the 15 heats!

No you can't blame Glyn for the Leicester track!

Like it!

It was probably the nearest he could get from his local Charity Shop.

Nicholls wearing a Pirates shirt on BT Sport tonight!

The last time something like this happened people were surprised by the number of retired riders (of various ages and for various reasons) who came back to ride.

Charles Wright injured last night. Not riding for Sheffield at Scunthorpe tonight!

Having read various comments about Poole on here over the years I thought they were already in a league of their own!

I think that the track was better prepared when Glyn was curator. It's got worse since they got rid of him and he was the one who did his best to improve the racing by carrying out the alterations to all four bends. As far as the pits are concerned I agree that it would be better to be able to see what's going on but planning and environmental concerns meant that the City Council insisted on the current layout. If funds ran to it an alternative would be a big screen on the 3/4th bends (back to sun) showing what is going on in the pits and, possibly, a re-run of each race.

Further to my post a few days ago a bit more information for those interested. First the figures are for league and cup meetings. Second you need to bear in mind that the winning percentages are likely to go down as the Lions have only ridden 3 away matches compared to 6 at home. Third a bit more information: Winning percentages home & away: Andersen H 50% A 20% T 32% Bjerre H 33% A 17% T 27% Pieszczek H 48% A 7% T 34% King H 25% A 13% T 21% Newman H 16% A 13% T 15% Serjeant H 14% A 0% T 9% Kurtz H 12% A 10% T 11% Last place percentages home & away Andersen H 0% A 20% T 6% Bjerre H 25% A 33% T 27% Pieszczek H 19% A 29% T 24% King H 13% A 50% T 25% Newman H 20% A 40% T 28% Serjeant H 36% A 64% T 45% Kurtz H 36% A 60% T 43%

One of the Lion's problems is that the no.1 and no.5 riders are not winning as many races as they should. Bjerre has only won 30% and Andersen 41%. I think you should expect them to win at least 50%. Pieszczek has won 34% of his. In addition there are problems at the other end of the team that others have mentioned. Has anyone any idea when or if Bates will ride?

Due in to EM at 19.50.

On a completely different tack - does anyone know what gizmo Hans Andersen was using on his bike on Monday? On the left hand side underneath the saddle I could see two orange lights on some sort of box. Never seen anything like that on any other rider's bike. Looked a bit like Blackpool Illuminations! Do the lights come in different colours - could they be the same as the helmet colours?

They didn't when they started on concrete! Anyone else remember that?.

Always been known as a family sport.

We really should not have to rely on another club's web site to find out the make up of the Lion's team!

Over the Easter Holiday weekend tens of thousands of people will visit the Beaumont Leys Shopping Centre. I bet that only a tiny proportion knows that there is a speedway track virtually next door. If I was the promoter I would ask the Supporters Club to ask members if they could spend a few hours over next weekend giving out flyers giving brief details about speedway, the Lion’s fixture list, a map of where the track is and an offer of a couple of quid off the admission price on production of a flyer. If the Thompson Twins in their gear could help out that would be even better. No doubt the owners of the Centre would need to give permission but I would not think that would be a problem as Speedway fans must generate some extra income for their tenants even if it’s just visiting MacDonalds or the pub or filling up with cheap petrol like I do. If the owners do not give permission then I would arrange for cars plastered with speedway posters to be parked in the car park for the permitted four hours whilst the car drivers did their shopping or had something to eat and drink. Two four hour sessions a day over the four days of the holiday would only need eight different cars and drivers. What are the chances of something like this happening? Zilch!

Couldn't agree more! The promotion must have decided ages ago what they are going to do. On Monday the sensible thing would be rider replacement so that those riders who can take the extra rides get a bit more track time. Then they should come out and say if they are going to replace Josh or use guests/RR (not sure which they can do) until he is fit. One thing that promoters should do is try to build a good relationship with their fans. Not letting them know until the last minute who will be in the team doesn't help to do that!

Not every track has a pit gate that can be closed!

Calling all anoraks - these have now been published - http://www.britishspeedway.co/2018_speedway_regulations_online.pdf