Sings4Speedway

What does all the money actually go on? I didn't think that the youth classes could be paid prize money as such? (spares van vouchers perhaps) but what else? First aid fair enough but are the clubs actually trying to profiteer out of the youth rounds? Do the refs charge their exorbitant fee's? Do the organisers want a new thesaurus as well? Surely with a bspa contribution and a gesture of goodwill from the clubs, a requested but not compulsory donation of £5 would be adequate.

Had to look this up myself but the ruling was correct. Its either; Top 3 scorers including bonus points (from 4 scheduled rides) unless a rider has already taken 7 rides then you can drop to the 4th highest scorer Or Top 3 from teams averages unless a rider has already taken 7 rides then you can drop to the 4th highest average. So Jack Thomas' plus 2 kept Danny out in the scoring charts & he is 4th in the Kent Ave's so a a piece of rulebook wizardry but the Eastboure promotion that im sure even John Sampford would have been proud of.

I suspect Hughes to IOW and possibly BDJ so Compton is nailed on for Buxton in my head anyway. Speight out and O'Keefe in is a move for the future but will not help today as he ha much to learn and strengthen up. Plus it pushes Rutherford up into the team so will heap a lot more pressure on Geary at reserve

Shame. I might have considered making the trip up if there was the possibility of a fiddle available

First up is to point out that the pit staff at Kent are first class and in no way to shoulder any blame. They can hurry riders to the best of their ability but in most cases will be largely ignored as the 2mins is the law and the pit helpers are largely unsung heroes without which there would be no speedway. As for the boo's im not sure where or why they started and despite the large frustration there was no need. I will say that the very same fans stood and loudly applauded the Birmingham team as they collected the national trophy and i hope would extend the same courtesy to anyone.

Right about last week and no ht 15 but that was an acceptable reason attending to a fallen rider after a nasty spill. however kent got the luck then and didn't last night so maybe it levels itself out? Real shame was that kent fans appauded the brum team after the trophy win and were repaid with under hand tactics and under hand waves

I don't see you point? Yes it did. Heat 1 Luke Bowen inexplicably missed the 2 mins. Heat 2 Thomas breaks a chain, excluded and gets 2 mins to get another bike which arrived. Then Jack Smith turns right on Danno Verge bringing him down and required attention. Once up the ref allows even more time to get himself sorted. So Kent issue, Brum issue and ref issue whats your point?

Whilst Brum played the game both sides were at fault for running out of time. Bowen was a wally in heat 1 and was always arriving at the tapes at the last minute then beggered about gardening, Jack Thomas the same, a tight/old chain in heat 2 and was always last to the line. The ref did little to keep things moving until it was 2 late and although extra time should be afforded to fallen riders especially if no fault of their own (Verge & Clifton) but they were given an age. Meetings need to run at a sharper pace at Kent and the home riders need to set the pace on this. On the plus side it is a compliment to the Kings that Drury didn't think his team would win over the full 15 heats.

Well where to start from last night? A meeting where the score swung to and fro and where hard racing was evident from the start. Starting with the good and in this case very good Tom Bacon was superb, gated well, was composed out front and was the standout man on the night. Jack Smith when behaving was very fast indeed and James Shanes was simply box office plus a mention for David Mason who was much improved and always near the thick of the action. Now that bad (deep breath) Ritchings was pants & awful attempt to try and get a rerun. Bowen getting timed out under 2mins in ht 1 was silly and costly. Ayres awful attempt to run Smith into the fence in ht 7, nothing subtle about it and was both reckless, unnecessary and costly again. Then Smith the move on Verge was shocking and his gestures at the end of the meeting were a disgrace and i hope a fine is heading his way. Winners on the night Brum & Drury's terrible actions in slowing the meeting down Losers the fans who pay to watch a full meeting and were denied by blatant time wasting, a slow ref & Kent riders who lacked urgency to get to the tapes and get going also. Judging bythe way the stadium quickly emptied & the grumblings on the way out from both sides i was not alone.

Been racking my brains as to who the 1-7 rider is but Compton looks as likely as any. I suspect whoever it is will be released with Kyle Hughes replacing them in a 1-7. IOW badly need a number 1 after yesterdays performance and perhaps Buxton is the place to get Benji back on track?

If theres anybody you can rely on to get it wrong its bound to be the ref!!!!

I fully accept that plenty of riders have numerous falls early in their career's (both whilst pressured & on their own) lets not forget Danny Ayres was hardly regarded as a smooth rider in his early rides. The difference is showing levels of improvement over time & what the rider / club does to attempt progression? Danny Ayres like Danyon Hume also mentioned on this thread went off and got as many additional rides in as they could to hone their skills / run at a level they were more suited to and then bring that experience back to the NL. Its not Locke's fault he is taking the opportunities presented to him its the Raiders promotion who should take responsibility for taking a rider with very little speedway experience and thrown him into the NL (just because a couple of other grasstrack riders had successfully made the transition) .

With all the sponsorship he has picked up at B.V i should think so too. That said good luck to the lad. Plenty of potential & good backing should see him do well.

In terms of scores and entertainment i thought it was a pretty decent meeting. Branford & Morley were a cut above and well supported by Priest although no lack of effort from Ayres & Shanes (who looked frustrated riding @ 3 and has not yet formed a decent partnership with Mason). Wood was always going to struggle @ 1 whoever the opposition. As predicted the meeting was swung on the lower order with 8 points coming from RR, some decent rides by Thomas (who was lucky to escape a fall when over riding) and take a bow Danno Verge who battled and led Branford for 2 1/2 laps. Leek picked up the scraps but Saul was well off the pace and as for Locke....credit where its due he cleared the track / continued every time he could but the falls were so numerous i lost count and looks desperately put of his depth. A lot of time and development is required and the NL is not the level he needs to be at right now. However i don't blame him as he keeps taking the opportunities offerered, i personally think its poor of the Rye promotion to keep exposing him & others to such risk and with this being about as good a performance as the Raiders are capable of they still came up short.

Branford in good form recently and may relish the differences made to the Kent surface but Morley is having a slight dip at present. However as always if these 2 can manage a full 28 between them (and i think he who D'Ayres will have a say in that) where will the rest come from? 10 from Priest perhaps? Hunter may get half a dozen but i can only see duck eggs from the bottom 3 who have an average of 4.5 between them. Much will depend on how many The Kings reserves get tonight but they should be looking for heavy pay packets again. Mason with an injury is a concern as his efforts this year have been conservative at best. It "should" be a comfortable home win but theres something nagging that it could be closer than many expect.

In that case i would highly recommend you take trips to Somerset, Scunthorpe & the revised Rye House as i think your top 5 would get a shake up.

Not quite that simple but not too far off as i suspect there is a selection of paperwork etc to get through first but ultimately thats how it works. The riders will find you as the reduced MDL this year is leaving many searching for extra track time. Lawrence, Garry and co have done a great job reviving Carmarthen, the Milton Keynes name has been running on for several seasons now, Exeter & Weymouth are in action at Somerset & i believe Hull + others run from Scunthorpe? Would be great to have a defunct team tournament? Same day knockout cup for example to give all those missing their former teams something to cheer about.

That is a very valid point although you have a full 1-7 tonight so just being greedy Im sure i remember Drury getting a little miffed at some riders doing additional meetings last year and i know the same applies this year.....

Tough decision. If Kent could get a guest for Clifton and run RR for Mason it would make them stronger as all barring Branford could take an extra ride but there is only really Richard Andrews or Jack Smith around on reasonable averages and not sure Brum would allow their riders to help Kent? Alternatively we could have Carr in for Mason or Hume who flies around Kings Lynn but it limits the options for RR. That said Kent are meeting Kings Lynn at the right time as its Hazelden & Whitmore at reserve and im not convinced they will be as potent a threat as Kinsley has been previously so the unbeaten run should continue.

Connor?

Anyone know what happened to the dream team thread? Would be interesting to see who i thought was wise to include at the beginning of the season?

So who is making way at Rye house? Saul replaces Banks but currently they are using Locke, Leek & Bowdrey? Im assuming Kenny will lose his place again?

Which Mildenhall Tigers pose the biggest threat? Will any take a heat win? Will Mildenhall clear 30 points? How many times will Ruddick be on his backside? Which Brum riders will max out? (Im tipping Hume) Will Ritchings find some form? Much to discuss.....

Ooh sitters........must read things more carefully!

Has an attitude problem full stop. Plus is not what most (Ben Hopwood apart) would consider "race fit" however it could now mean that Conor Locke is not the rider with most falls per meeting from now on........