Sings4Speedway

Despite the tough run of fixtures i still think Eastbourne can finish top and get first choice of opponents / opponents to avoid. matches against Kent, Mildenhall & Lakeside who are the likeliest play off place finishers will give a good indication on who they may like to pick / avoid? Start time is 7pm for the Mildenhall / Kent double header hope everything runs smoothly as this looks like being a bumper double meeting and would be a shame for it to be spoiled with delays etc

Ive always admired the passion and determination shown by many to attend every week no matter what & travel to away matches no matter the cost, time etc just for the pure love of their team but sadly that just isn't me. Kent is obviously closer to me and therefore watch more of my speedway there but i am a fan of the sport first and foremost. I will travel to watch a decent match up between two teams who provide entertainment at what ever track that may be. I stopped attending Kent matches when the results became very one sided as i have o interest in watching the home team dominate each week and for that reason i have failed to make any of my planned visits to Lakeside this year.

Congratulations to matt tresarrieu excellent all year and fully deserved. Hartel an excellent close second and superb debut year for shanes. Special mention must go to hummel who qualified for next year after just competing in three rounds.

Worrying times really as flicking through the tables i would say 50% of the teams per league have question marks hanging over the regarding their participation next year for various reasons and that is ignoring those teams who may compete but at a different level. Obviously i am keeping my fingers crossed but it will be an uncomfortable winter for many.

Have to say its the first time i have ever heard of the bspa declaring a hierarchical order when three riders are tied on the same average? Ive always thought that if you had 3 x 3 pointers in a team they can choose whichever ones they want at reserve?

With things poised to be one of the most open and interesting Pay Off run ins for a few years what are everyone thoughts on who will make the cut? Im guessing 41+ points will be required and high likelihood of points for/against to decide the 4th place position ? Any slip up at this stage could cost a team a chance and some big head to head meetings with Mildenhall vs Cradley looking vital for both sides. Any rain offs could prove hugely costly with such little time to re-arrange and with IOW, Stoke & Plymouth facing so many of the chasing teams over the next month their performances will have a say on the final outcome. Im going to poke my head over the parapet and say the finishing order will be: Eastbourne 49pts Belle Vue 48pts Mildenhall 42 pts Kent & Lakeside 41 pts Brum 40 pts Cradley 35pts

Have to admit the "designer" reserves are starting to get on my nerves this year. How many teams has Alex Spooner ridden for? If he has achieved an average over 3.00 he isn't eligible to guest if he hasn't why do so many teams keep booking him? Not a dig at Alex btw just the situation as a whole is getting out of hand.

I think its a technique that is creeping in with a few riders, sit off the seat, creep the clutch then drop themselves down as the tapes go up. Obviously the smarter riders use fixed wheel spoilers to cover this a little better than Steve Boxall has. On the subject of tyre warming am i the only one who thinks it should be banned like it is in the GP's it really gets on my nerves and delays starts no end.

As said before all the while the current RR rules are in place they will be exploited Payne - Belle Vue, Kingston - Cradley, Chapman - Birmingham and obviously the list goes on to cover most if not all NL clubs. Been saying for a while that RR should be limited to twice home twice away per team to cover for last minute emergencies, transport issues etc then the use of a number 8 should be mandatory? Perhaps allow teams to rejig the order so that the number 8's can slot in at reserve? Would certainly force clubs to take an interest in who is progressing & assist them where necessary?

Yet again the long term RR saga drags on. Sadly loads of teams have abused it over the past few seasons and until something is put in place to restrict it's use it will continue to affect results.

Going to side with Bewley on this one. After all he is not in a privileged situation to have multiple vans, bikes & pit crew. Even if he could have sent his van out on the road to Latvia and flown out later who would have taken him to the airport, traveled with him etc Whilst i am firmly of the opinion that anyone who races in an adult league should be treated as an adult a rider in the early stages of his career should still be cut some flak.

Got to completely agree there. Despite a very one sided meeting in terms of the score line due to the Dons reserves & Nick Laurence the racing at the front was excellent. Three of the best riders to take to Central Park battling it out as if it meant everything and not just a challenge match and 100% agree heat 13 was as good a race as you will see anywhere.

Sorry. Just listed as 3.30 above? I believe it is Paul "the pie man" bowen who rode for Buxton

I thought only unattached flat 3 pointers could guest at reserve?

Sadly they weren't great last time Eastbourne visited but Wood is unlikely to struggle twice and Saunders at reserve will definitely be an improvement on Saul. Much will depend on who Kent book to guest at number 1 but fingers crossed for a closer encounter this time around.

Im more than happy to watch any speedway providing im being entertained and there is no doubting the talent both sides possess. However on paper this is a mismatch and i suspect the result will reflect that. I severely hope i am wrong and that its a thriller regardless of the result.

Very enjoyable meeting last night with plenty of twists and turns plus a very good sized crowd to witness it. Morley obviously imperious & Boxall until his customary mechanical issue excellent with great support from Hurry & Bowtell but little else. Laurence has been around a long time to be so far off the pace and although i cannot question Locke's effort he does lack some basic bike skills and should have easily avoided Roynon and not scared the daylights out of him before bouncing down the length of the straight. I did feel he was hard done by when remounting though but maybe it was the angle from the grandstand? Seemed hard to believe at times that Kent were still in contention but solid displays from Andrews & Hunter, Hopwood joining in late and some superb riding from Thomas & Rowe kept the home side in the match. Shame in the end that there had to be a winner as based upon performances a draw would have been a fair result. Would have liked to see Boxall check on Thomas after the heat 15 mishap and glad the ludicrous delay to let extra fans in didn't come back and bite if things had got near to curfew. Overall i enjoyed last night just a shame its going to be a while until another level opponent visits Central Park.

Think it's sadly an indication of how dominant belle vue have been this season and how the same cannot be said for Brum. Don't know how many teams would fill a minibus for the colts away on current form.

Yep all legal thanks to a rule change this year that i don't personally agree with but theres plenty of those. Still don't believe its in the correct spirit of the league or its best interests. As things currently stand most sides need to track 2 x NL riders to be competitive limiting development opportunities for others. I don't like to criticise the work put in by a few and the SDL is in its first year but it has failed to capture the spirit of the MDL/NJL thus far.

Completely agree they are amateurs but ive seen most riders perform better than they did. The MDL had a better cap on what riders were eligible but i don't know if thats still in place? and the SDL seems to be running riot this year. From a personal point of view it should be NL reserve level riders and aspiring NL reserves. Those running 6/7 point riders are killing it. What next Bowen taking a spin to test out his fitness levels?

Well for starters reading used Tom brennan who had scored 10+ in the main meeting and was a straight ahead of the field. The rest looked very amateur with the tricky conditions. Sealey struggled and didn't look like a NL reserve. Probably best of the remaining was a guy riding an upright so certainly not a classic

If Baseby is ruled out its a big concern for Eastbourne as his form both home & away has been excellent for Eastbourne coupled with a poor weekend for Wood and things could look troubling but the promotion are smart enough to deal with it. However RR for Baseby means everyone can take one of his rides including Knight or Powell will get a lot busier outside of Speedway meaning RR for him & Mr Ayres guesting a lot.

No mention of the meeting itself? Popped down on a spur of the moment decision and was very pleased to see the meeting went ahead despite the heavy rain in the afternoon and an initially greasy track. What has happened to turns 3&4 though? They looked bumpy as hell on the inside and would drive any rider drifting wider out to the fence or (into it if you were the unlucky mark Baseby). Sadly for the match it wasn't much of a contest with too many Brum riders having off nights & the reserves being well off the pace. However on the flip side Saunders looked like he has definitely got potential to really improve and thing the bigger tracks will suit him even more. Overall a very average evenings entertainment followed by a farcical SDL and did nothing to inspire me to make another trip down for a while.

What is the NL cut off date for the play offs this year?

In all honesty Edwards & Ablitt are neither Hagon, Eastbourne or any other academy. They are the result of many hours/years hard work and commitment from themselves and more importantly their respective families. It has been their time, dedication, countless hours driving and money that has placed both lads in the position they find themselves in today as potential hot property.