Sings4Speedway

Whilst 2nd halves are a mixed bag in terms of quality i personally find it satisfying to watch the riders progressing and keeping an eye on those for the future. It may not add loads to the attendances but does offer better value to those who do attend and you could see the next star in the making? Im sure those who used to stay behind and watch the Rye House MDL team have enjoyed the progress of Danny Ayres from constant faller to PL rider. Its also worth remembering that many of the Brum team learnt their trade in the 2nd halves & those teams who have long tails this year should look at themselves and what they are doing about it? Rye House, Stoke etc have both dropped the MDL in recent seasons and now struggle to find any usable reserves. The 2nd halves may not always be entertaining today but they are there to help provide the entertainment of tomorrow.....

Not a classic in terms of quality but very entertaining meeting none the less. Mildenhalls top 3 were excellent value, Armstrong the evergreen looked superb, Mountain looked like a true number 1 and Halsey was quick and brave. The rest of the fen tigers blew hot and cold though. Widman should be much stringer at reserve than he currently is, Bowtell had a patchy afternoon and Coles is having a shocker this season and looked was slow. For the Kings it was a case of better late than never but lacking in heat winners early on was a big worry at home. The Clifton/Mason partnership at 3/4 didnt seem to work with Mason always gating but Clifton faster but stuck behind. Shanes got shown up on occasions by riders who use the conventional line quickly. Then Bowen 747 who threw the bike everywhere in ht15 to try and pass the fast gating Halsey, i personally didnt think it was going to happen and then off the final turn the home crowd erupted. Hard on Mildenhall who i felt deserved the draw for their efforts but reminded everyone that on their day they are a potent force.

I believe there is an amateur dragons at Kings Lynn on 5th June. Free entry, a quid for a program (i think) and 40-50 races to enjoy. No prima donnas just riders of all ages out to enjoy themselves and run by a club who rarely make a profit but run because the genuinely want to give something to the sport and long may they prosper. If you want to visit one new venue / meeting this season an Amateur Dragons would be a very good investment of your time.

Sadly your tail would be average in the MDL this season. Locke & Bowdrey with little / no speedway experience & Banks with little / no commitment. The buck stops with the promotion though as they picked the riders and chose to let them learn in the NL.

Oh what could have been if the raiders had followed Mr Sampfords advice. 2 very inexperienced rookies and Sam woods was never going to be the answer. There are plenty of riders out there who can stay on board and pick up far more points than the current crop given time. Leek is proof that you need some speedway experience before hitting the NL

Is it going to be a full strength IOW side at Somerset on Friday night for the challenge against Weymouth?

Interesting line ups now the averages are out but well done to little Josh for getting into the number 1 jacket. Both sides lower orders seem a little odd to me? Layne clearly needs a confidence boost so getting out of the sticky number 6 jacket would help that surely? Geary must also be slightly annoyed at getting pushed into the team whilst a debutant gets the reserve ride? Even so unless things go very much amiss it should be a comfy home win.

Nice to see the Raiders back to something near full strength but that's about all i can say for this one. "If" Morley, Branford & Priest are all in top form, Hunter chips in a few and Brum throw some away Rye might squeak an away point. Perry is a big miss for Brum though & hopefully a short term replacement can be found soon.

Hope not. I dislike RR but am coming to accept it as a necessary evil but holding a place that somebody else could take seems criminal. Does Richard Andrews fit? Could you cope with 2 Andrews in a team?

Missed the boat i think? (not literally) with Bewleys average shooting up it makes any changes very tricky whereas previously they had nearly 3 to play with plus a 3 pointer. Could have had Richard Andrews in for Mellish and made a really solid top 5.

How long can / should a team run RR for a rider who has stepped down? Not a dig just a genuine question?

Any whispers about who will replace Kingston? Do you have a declared number 8?

Is it open to guesses / educated guesses?

I don't really see too much of an issue with this move and suspect that after appeal it will go through. Hall "should" be head and shoulders above anyone in the league however on recent PL showings he isn't cutting it anymore. Ive seen plenty of comments stating Hall would get beaten by the 2nd halfers etc so lets see what he can do. I don't think he will have it all his own way although with the run of home meetings coming up he might be ok. If it was a string of away trips to Rye House & Eastbourne etc it could have been a very entertaining signing.......

That would be a major blow. I suspect he might be getting a bit tired of that van.........

Branford is a top number 1, JPB has heat leader potential and Ryan MacDonald will be present. I can see Wood, Knight, Powell & Harris all having a liking to a bigger circuit with their grasstrack backgrounds so wouldn't worry too much about the Eagles + friends. The Belle Vue team looks solid but no Bewley is clearly a big miss and a lot will hinge on how Wooley & Holt perform. Think Eastbourne are capable of a point at least if all the guests are putting the effort in but im going for 45-45.

To be fair i didn't take into account that the Young Stars have hardly had any meetings so some riders will still be a bit rusty / getting new equipment set up. I still think that the Kings Lynn team is one to watch and everyone is entitled to have a bad day at the office but when several do and you come up against a strong team like Brum there is going to be a bashing.

Also nice to see Widman fixed up at Mildenhall quickly. A spell at reserve should do Chris the world of good as well as the change of scenery as i suspect visiting Stoke every week would get anybody down. Hard on Rob Parker but other chances will come his way.

Lots of questions to be asked about Kings Lynn after this one who are looking like a 2 man side with home grown heroes Bailey & Kinsley offering the only serious resistance. Stokes will have better days but of the others major concerns are starting to be raised? Greaves sadly isn't the rider he was before his leg break, Hazelden & Campos just make up the numbers. Its always amazed me that Campos gets a team place every year for what feels like the past 10 seasons and still performs extremely averagely. Hume & Cupitt were at a similar level in the MDL last year but now Hume wins heat 1's and Cupitt runs consistent last places at home. Take nothing away from Brum though. 6 of the 7 recorded at least one win and JPB will clearly have better days. Its no secret that the heat leaders are strong but its the 2nd strings that are really starting to kick on and i can see this Birmingham team sticking 70 points on someone in the not too distant future.

Doesn't look like there is an official MDL at Kings Lynn until 2nd June.......

No problem (although i may have only borrowed it from Speedway GB)

It is very much a split this year with teams either strength in depth like Kings Lynn or strong 4 and 3 x 3 pointers. Its always a gamble as Kent & Birmingham both lined up similar ways last year however one finished top and the other bottom largely because one reserve had a sensational year. If teams set up with 3 x 3 pointers they are relying on at least one to kick on. The only difference this year is that they opted for smooth and steady allowing the speed to come where as others like Rye & Eastie have gone for fast but wobbly.......

Milton Keynes Knights 19 Rob Watts 2,2+1,3,1=8+1. Jake Isherwood 0,1,0,1=2. Ben Baseford 3,3,3,f ex=9. R/R. Kings Lynn Lightning 17 Alex Wilson 3,2,3=8 Lewis Austen 1,1+1,2=4+1 Stephen Whitehouse 1,2,2+1=5+1 Danny Wright 0,0,ret =0 1,Wilson,Watts,Austen,Isherwood 67.7 2-4 2.Baseford,Watts,Whitehouse,Wright 68.8 5-1 7-5 3.Watts,Whitehouse,Isherwood,Wright 69.4 4-2 11-7 4.Baseford,Wilson,Austen,Isherwood 67.2 3-3 14-10 5.Baseford,Austen,Isherwood,Wright-RET 67.1 4-2 18-12 6.Wilson,Whitehouse,Watts,Baseford-FELL EXC awarded 1-5 19-17

Hopwood is a good addition to any side. Don't really grasp why MacDonald was signed again as Stoke were in the same situation last year. Certainly makes for a more solid looking line up.

Changes at Stoke. Ben Hopwood lines up for his 4th team of the season replacing Chris Widman & Ryan MacDonald is dropped yet again for Paul Burnett.