Teromaafan

The Grand Prix on TV is no doubt a factor.

Bates v Protor? Okay, so just two riders in the race. I'm predicting Bates to gate ahead of Proctor. Close battle for two laps, until Proctor pulls up sensing he can't win. Bates fails to spot Proctor has stopped (despite Ty waving to him from the centre green) and is determined to make it difficult for riders behind him (who don't exist). Unfortunately it becomes too much and he over cooks the last bend on the final lap and ends up on his arse. Race is awarded to whoever was sponsoring it. What do you mean taking the P155? It's speedway and could happen next week.

Doesn't tonight's score speak for itself? Yes, Scunny were without their No.1, but I doubt he would have scored more than Danny King tonight. Like that would have made much difference! For a team that ran up 63 points the night before, Scunny had little to offer. It summed things up when they were on a certain 5-1 in heat 8 until MacDonald wobbled and fell on the final bend resulting in his exclusion and a subsequent 3-3. One of their better riders on the night, but never really looked comfortable. A few people might be irritated by Aarnios return of 4 points after bagging double figures against the same opposition on the same track guesting for Newcastle a week ago. Although again it had no impact on the result, the timing of Scunny's tac sub seemed odd (heat 9) which backfired with a Lions 4-2. This will surely have been Scunny's toughest trip on the road, but they will need to go some to collect a few points to back up their solid home form.

Last season (2019) the top four in the Championship made the play offs, where is the source (can't see anything on the SGB website, although it does state that it is the top four in the Premiership) that states it is the top six (as it was a few years ago) that qualify?

You may be over thinking this, in speedway, 'debut' means first time this season!

Loving this rumour if it turns out to be true. What average would he come in on, his PL average x 1.4? If so it leaves less than 4.0 for a double change. Dan T would not let us down if a re-shuffle moved him out of the reserve berth (which will happen sooner rather than later anyway).

A good post to start the ball rolling for a few people to get things off their chest. National League aside, Dan & Joe are now competing at a higher level and are punching well above their averages and will surely continue to do so. Any criticism of them is extremely harsh, especially at this stage of the season. The team that Dickson built was based on it doing 'what is says on the tin', and any criticism should focus on the 1 to 5 of the team. So far, that narrows it down to the second strings. Proctor is only going to move in one direction, but if he can maintain his average I think that is all anyone can expect of him. No need to press the eject button there (for now). Bates is the big concern, as other posters have highlighted. Being brave and fearless is important for a rider, but so is being responsible. For some time now he has been a danger to himself and other riders. So when he has to withdraw from a meeting and miss the next one, where does that leave his team? Using R/R is a strain on the Lions since only Proctor and the twins can cover. Going back to Dan & Joe, that's not fair. Guests are an option but the availability of alternatives is more limited than ever. Let's not forget that we are talking about the current Lions track record holder here though! Surely someone can educate (okay, could be a big task) him to ride with his head not his throttle. (Back to Dan & Joe again, sorry to say but they already seem to be smarter than Josh in this department). Josh might be relying on his management connections but I'm sure that Dickson won't tolerate that for too long. Always end on a positive though, the top three are flying!

Having followed the updates it was a very solid Lions performance tonight and puts Scunthorpe's win over Plymouth in to perspective. Although Auty's duck was a major factor, it seems unlikely that he would have prevented a home defeat. Early days but I'm confident that our reserves will hold their own away and easily outscore their opposite numbers at home. Bates appeared to have issues with his bike tonight but at least didn't come off and injure himself or opponents. Scunny fans may not think that the return leg is worth travelling to but it's a night out in the fresh air and Leicester people will make them very welcome. Its only speedway for goodness sake whatever the outcome! the outcome!

After a bit of research it appears that full capacity is 100%.

Great to see this seasons race jackets on the club's twitter page, it's 1973 again! The retro approach is to be fully embraced by the management apparently. When you turn up for the first meeting in your flares and platform shoes, here's what you can expect: Wilson, Jessup & Boulger waiting in the wings to step up and replace injured/absent riders (riders drawing a pension to be allocated assessed averages of 5.00 by the SCB). Music played over the PA totally relevant to the era. (2019 stadium playlist will now be up to date and therefore retained). A packed stadium. Fans will see the 50p admission as great value for money. Bring it on!

Good point. I had a terrible dream last night. I had died and been reincarnated as an air fence. Woke up sweating and screaming when I saw Bates and Roynon rolling up to the tapes!

If we were to keep the current 1 to 7 (which is never going to happen) I would be disappointed if the Lions weren't play off finalists. Bates needs to grow up and race but not chase lost causes as he ends up getting injured.As has been pointed out by another poster, he is fifth in the team averages and may be difficult to cover if we had to use R/R. Should either or both of the twins kick on at reserve, I don't see us dropping anything at home. If they can match their opposite numbers away, we really are in business. Let's not get too picky though eh? As long as we get to smell some methanol, we'll take whatever comes!

......Then you get the riders who sign up for a British team, then dump them when they get a better Swedish/Polish gig. They're called shystars*. (* spellcheck may be required).

Totally agree. Pretty sure he hasn't rode over here since his stint with the Lions in 2015 and the fans couldn't wait to get him out of the door. He'll be 43 in the summer as well. I'd be amazed if Plymouth got a full season (COVID permitting) out of him.

His commitment should never be questioned, but whilst he doesn't mind getting hurt, the other three riders in the race might have something to say about that! He will always be a risk until Dickson puts some glue on his a*se!

This seems to be the most relevant thread without starting a new one, for something I would like to raise. Whilst everyone agrees that improved and continued (as a minimum) sponsorship is essential to keep the sport alive, opinions on what are necessary to improve crowd attendances (other than product quality) are varied. Parking the current COVID situation, the most popular spectator sports in most countries are team sports. Fact. I love speedway, football and basketball which are all working class sports. I have no interest whatsoever in any other motor sport and know quite a few other people of a similar mindset. The tribal belonging appeals to the masses and there is no better feeling than beating a local rival team in any sport. If you ask the average person what they understand by speedway, it is most likely they will say it is just motorbike racing. In my experience, people are quite surprised when you mention it is a team sport. (Best not mention doubling up, r/r & guests at this point though). The beauty of the sport is that different formats exist (individuals, pairs & fours) and whilst the quality of racing in a Grand Prix is superb, a two against two race is something to cherish. There has to be more emphasis on the team aspect in the promotion of the sport.

Ah...Rider Control. I was only a school boy at the time, but couldn't get my head around Dave Jessup (who would go on to be a whisker away from being world champion) going to Reading from Leicester, with Reidar Eide joining the Lions (from Newport?) for the 1976 season. I understood that this was associated with Rider Control. I don't know what the respective averages were, but even as a kid I thought we had been shafted. 1976 turned out to be most disastrous season I can remember for the Lions.

According to the Lion's web site all of this year's team have been offered the same contract for next season. Six of them have accepted, but one can't apparently commit yet. Who do we think is stalling?

Whilst watching some GP meetings on YouTube the other night, I remembered that there was something sponsored by Volkswagen (I had stickers on my programme board), which was more low key, but still called the Grand Prix, in the mid to late seventies. I recall that it involved several riders representing every British League team at the time. It was a series of individual meetings, all at British tracks, where GP points were awarded based on where riders finished on the night ( it was something like 10 for the winner of the meeting, 9 for second etc, a bit like the F1 points allocation). I'm not sure how long it lasted and I think it may have been the brainchild of the guy at Newcastle at the time (Ian Thomas?). Does anyone else remember this (please tell me it's not something I have imagined!) and perhaps provide a bit more information?

Totally agree with this.

I know someone who emailed the club regarding the roof covering repair on the home straight. The response? See if you can guess from the following options: a) No need for repairs, the current tent will be replaced with a permanent structure incorporating a fully enclosed bar and restaurant facility. b) Sit somewhere else. c) Bring a transparent (so that you do not obscure the view of others) umbrella. d) .................................No.....................reply.

I remember the previous fours at Leicester and I don't remember any complaints regarding the accommodation of riders. The final that day comprised 8 teams, so there would have been 40 riders present. Since then however, the format has changed and in the last few years, all clubs in the league have had a team present on the day. If that is the case, then this year there would be 60 riders present on the day. Now that would be chaos, although you would like to think that this has all been thought through (?). The main thing I remember about the previous staging of this meeting, was the promoter apparently being robbed of the meetings takings (later on the same evening). Whilst this was headline news in the local media, I seem to recall the situation going quiet thereafter. Were these people caught? Perhaps someone can shed some light?

Looking forward to the new season but would like to know if the promotion has considered replacing the stand (tent) roof on the home straight? I know it's only been missing for over a season, but it might just rain again sometime over the course of the next season. Pardon the sarcasm but it is difficult to defend the club on this matter.

Looking at the Lions team structure for next year I think we should be more concerned with the No.5 position rather than No.1. The No.5 is paired with a reserve apart from Heat 13, so if we are saying there is no pressure on the twins, then whoever is at No.5 is going to have to consistently deliver. On a more general note, why does the rider with the highest average have to ride at No.1, when Heat 8 is the only 'protected' race? For many teams, there is only a few hundredths of a point between their top two anyway. The current Heat format to me seems little different to when I first followed the sport in the early 70's, when your reserves were at 6 & 7 and you could do what you liked with the riding order of the other five.

Good job there is no combined age limit for team building! (Hang on, this is speedway, perhaps there will be next year).