Sings4Speedway

Its clear all engines will have issues the major concern was that the USP of the GTR was that it would remain competitive for far longer than a currently tuned Jawa/GM. Once doubt is in peoples minds the price tag becomes a bit too large to gamble on. There was also the never declared service costs? Its no good lasting 5 times a long if the bill will be 5 times the size. Personally i feel it would have been good to set up a factory team perhaps at NL level and see how the results were across the board over a season. All the riders would have had to work together to gain setups and the cost saving could have then been noted at the end of the season.

In fairness JPB has only just signed so no time to get a race suit for him. Butcher on the other hand i assume is just temporary until other options come available? Would have thought he would fit into the scrabble mans suit so must be holding onto it. Would have thought Embleton did himself no harm last night in staking a claim to somewhere closer to home. Once the averages change i would be concerned at Brum with Cupitt dropping to reserve as if his confidence doesnt pick up it places huge pressure on the top 5.

Its no secret that he hampers himself but his scores the past couple of seasons have been impressive for a higher end NL rider whatever the timber he is carrying.

Im not going to disagree that some are not ready to be out there and are a danger to themselves and those around them. But where do NL reserves come from otherwise? There is a lot of time and effort put in by volunteers to stage development league racing and for that i commend them BUT some hard choices need to made with some riders as ive always said its the promoters responsibility to ensure the riders they track are competent whatever the level of racing.

Well looks like IOW made a decent match of it early on (with the help of a few silly points thrown away by Brum) but ultimately were out gunned. Not sure there will be many easier meetings for Cupitt to score points and still didn't set the charts alight. The return of JPB shows the enigma he is with mechanical gremlins and fastest time of the night. Theres just a touch of Bridger about him that concerns me. For IOW it was the usual story with Morley unlucky not to have scored more, Hopwood performing well & Verge battling hard. Widman getting his best score of the season says a lot but the reserve headaches continue for the Warriors

Whilst i wholeheartedly disagree that it should be scrapped the difference in ability levels this year does seem more apparent than ever. Sadly the opportunities for riders to get on the bike is ever decreasing and there are riders edging into M/SDL teams this year to get extra track time when to be honest they are not ready. Lets no forget that from the Brum team Bacon, Hume, JPB, Cupitt, Walker & Butcher all progressed up from the MDL so it must be doing something right.

Speedway as a whole must have lost out. If the monies quoted were invested into an engine which very few want rather than into youth speedway, training days or stop the press....promoting the sport things could be very different. Instead there are now plenty of people stuck with engines worth little more than scrap that they are faced with the option of persisting with, storing or selling at a huge loss.

Have to agree sadly for IOW if these 3 don't score points here they will be difficult to get anywhere. Id be very surprised if Walker doesn't get a hatful, Layne should get a handful and Butcher just needs to try and notful (not fall ). Hoping Morley can keep it respectable but in reality IOW will do well to clear 30 points

The list of genuinely capable 2 pointers is very limited and Luke Ruddick isn't on that list IMO. If he or any other rider wants to be a lamb to the slaughter turning up for appearance money only then good luck to them but as career progression at the moment its not a good move for many and a step up for Ruddick now i fear will leave him getting seriously hurt.

Hume Bailey and Hopwood might make a meeting of it but Verge is average at Eastbourne. RTD is average full stop and the reserves is a huge mismatch. Looks like a confidence booster meeting only rather than pushing the main team to perform.

Sadly lifting/ poorly fitted air fences are an occurrence at many tracks

Some times speedway is secondary to what really matters. Get in touch with those who love you Danny. Get everything sorted and your many fans will be waiting for you when you return.

Hearing about tonight makes results between teams so insignificant. Best wishes to all injured riders and especially Mitchell.

Seems odd that the Scorps are going to pay out for Steve Worrall to be DBS checked and for his Officials licence for one meeting however i guess it might provide a better value return via PR / team bonding

Difficult to call although cannot disagree that £9 per meeting inc a programme is excellent value. For me personally i feel the NL should be £10 - £12 Max. It might sound like i am quibbling a couple of pounds per meeting and as i do not attend every home meeting i cannot cite that it adds up over the year etc (although for some it certainly does) its just about what appears to represent value for money in much the same way as i am less likely to drink in a pub where a pint costs £4.50 compared to somewhere that costs £3.50. Should the surroundings have received a major upgrade or the team on display be significantly improved perhaps an increase would be justifiable but as things are at a status quo at best / slightly down it feels like a price rise for the sake of a rise.

Im not going to debate the surrounding at Kent are certainly better than some but would certainly not carried away and claim they are superior. For my mind the money i spend requires two things in return entertainment & quality. If the quality of speedway is higher i will be tempted to part with a few more pounds and if the entertainment is high i do not generally question the costs. However Kent has become a bit of a fortress over the past couple of years and 14 quid for home sides drumming the away team is not for me so i will just pick and choose my matches more carefully. As for programmes that doesn't worry me as everyone has a choice if they wish to buy one or not, i choose not.

Heart says would love to see Wright or Hans win it gut says Brady or Morris.

The tiers two high flying teams meet tonight as an early marker of where each team is at and would say its almost too tight to call. The Fen Tigers heat leaders have all been performing well and Kemp at reserve has been hammering in points. The Brummies Heat leaders have been no slouches either and Flint has likewise got off to a flyer. Certainly not a bad move either by the Birmingham promotion to keep Butcher rested and bring in Sealey. I suspect the meeting is going to swing based upon the performances of the second strings from each side and who can avoid any silly exclusions. If i was forced to make a call i would think a narrow home win but not enough of a lead to see them through to the next round of the KOC.

Didn't go on Monday as the visitors didn't sound like it would produce an attractive enough meeting and glad i didn't given it was such a long drawn out event but what did shock me was hearing the admission has gone up again. £14 !!!! Four-teen pounds to watch NL speedway. Kent must now be the most expensive club in the third tier? Things are getting out of hand with admission costs.

Sounds about right although now i have a hankering for a few beers and a ploughmans lunch

Since when has only one rider been allowed to go off 15 meters ? I thought if a tapes infringement takes place you start in your original gate 15m back. If in the re-run another happens same thing applies right? There is no reason why all 4 riders couldn't start off the 15 metre line is there?

Personally ive never had an issue with the surroundings at Stoke. I find its slightly run down cobbled together look part of its charm (however much i would love to see huge investment into the stadium and turn it into a top venue). All ive ever wanted on my visits is the track to be in a decent state so that good safe racing can be produced and somebody to smile when they take my money on the gate sadly the first has a 50/50 chance at best and the second thus far has been 100% against but at least i do know where to head if i ever want some milk to be rapidly soured.

Think it's the MDL riders I feel most sorry for. Travelled at their own expense watched 15 diabolical heats and then told the 2nd half is cancelled. I would imagine they all felt so inspired and valued

Cheap guest / limited riders interested in doing it. Either way providing Lakeside go through the motions it should be job done.

Learn fast is definitely the answer. Personally i think its one of the smaller tracks that can handle grippy preparation. Far too many slick tracks these days which is why riders at this level can struggle as there is just not enough opportunities to gain experience on them.