Sings4Speedway

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.

Hope they are stored dry & warm lol "Rumour" is only an up front payment to assist production costs. IF GTR when bust tomorrow the BSPA have squandered the money for nothing. Not that they have got much out of it anyways.

Some big improvers in the above list. Ben Morley moving from 12th up to 3rd. Baseby 13th to 7th. But probably the biggest mentions should go to Jack Thomas & Rob Shuttleworth who have seen a big upturn in form to lift themselves into the elite group. Armstrong & Halsey have also rejoined the top 20 but its more down to previous poor form that they dropped away anyway.

For me its a multitude of factors including bikes etc but the biggest one is the attitude/approach of riders. In years past the quickest riders were those who were able to be fast but within their own ability levels. Now its those who have the biggest will to hold the throttle fully open and move across the bike in order to stay aboard relying upon survival instincts and good fortune (i am far from stating this is all riders but a growing proportion). The shift in attitude is not solely down to riders but the pressures placed upon them from promoters and supporters. The pressure to score points now has never been higher due to rising commercial costs, riders having speedway as a sole income & the rise of social media opinions that can be widely heard. In the modern era if a rider is not prepared to ride flat out and hope for the best they will be dropped as there is a queue of riders forming behind them that are prepared to take the risk.

Getting slightly off topic but have to disagree. There are current riders in the NL who wouldn't have got a sniff 10 years ago and same can be said up the leagues. Im not saying that entertainment has suffered for it but equality and ability of riders is largely apart from where it has previously been.

Saunders "could" be a huge signing. a few years ago he was head and shoulders above Baseby, Wood & Powell on the grass. However track time & behind the scenes changes have limited his progression. From what i recall im not 100% sure his style will suit the shale but if he can adapt he is one hell of a motorcyclist.

A lot of the problems with rear chains are caused by the tight angles that tiny rear sprockets cause. Primary Belts are a natural progression if looked after correctly & dont lock up if they do break. Pretty much a necessity on longtrack as chain oilers are not allowed.

Sounded a lot worse than that? But either way concerning.

Not an ideal situation but it happens. Obviously somerset wanted the meeting on as it would be a bumper crowd. As it stood they didn't open the turnstiles which I appauld. The track had big puddles but only on the inside and I've seen much worse ridden. Ho hum night in the pub and better luck for us tomorrow

Ditto. Travelling down whatever. Any locals offer which is the preferred drinking establishment if the unthinkable happens? Fox & Goose or Bristol Bridge Inn?

What were Tom Bacons clutch problems? Or did he go through the tapes again? Can't say much about the meeting as there were no updates which was disappointing but the drop in Luke Priests form has been nothing short of alarming.

Certainly wasn't implying anything against Eastbourne with regards to fixture manipulation. More that if they were in the same boat a lower ranking 1-5 rider could pick up an injury / not be available and then allow guests to be used for both bowen and stoneman rather than just RR for stoneman?

Injuries can happen at any time i quite agree some just seem to be more prone than others (not implying anything about Stoneman). Thats rough for Kent then and most likely rules out a Shanes return. Not many riders around 7 point mark available and Kent are without a genuine heat leader now barring guests. Eastbourne would work around this but not sure Kent are quite as savvy?

Big shame about Stoneman. I do wonder if hes been dragged along a bit quickly as its easy to forget he came in at reserve during last season. As for Kent RR is going to be limited and maybe changes would be best. If its multiple changes does the team have to come back to under the points limit?

Any word on how long Stoneman is likely to be out for? Broken Tib sounds like the long haul so difficult times for Kent with changes surely on the cards?

Must admit the options are limited with alfies average although I would think priest or verge would both score more than RR will bring? I just hope this decision doesn't swing the meeting too much or delay it into a bore fest.