Sings4Speedway

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.

Blimey at this rate in a few years the GP podiums will be full of british riders. Zach Waj, JPB and now Bewley these future world champions are popping up almost once a fortnight! Now being serious ive not seen Bewley ride yet but im sure he has a long way to go just like all the others and there are plenty of things that can happen along the way but i do wish him a long and successful career. Just hope he can continue to enjoy his racing without all the hype as i suspect the enjoyment factor at present is part of his success.

I took the gamble and went as did a fair sized crowd. There appeared to be more dirt on the track than usual and the Kent heat leaders relished that and set after the track record although it was not to be. Sadly 5 man Mildenhall did not offer much resistance and it wasn't until heat 10 that there was an away winner with the Kings claiming the chequered flag the other 14 times. Clifton, Mason & Verge were all very solid whilst Thomas, Shanes, Bowen & Ayres were excellent. The latter clearly jubilant at finally recording his first full max he ran into the Central Park crowd to celebrate with his dad & sponsors. It would have been a tough ask for a full strength Mildenhall side but with Armstrong absent, Bowtell over enthusiastic and Coles under powered it was clear cut from early on. With the reserves booked on the day (despite knowing a requirement since Wednesday) O'Keefe whilst one for the future is clearly not ready for NL yet & King failing to arrive it was a tough day for the Fen Tigers however they will have better to come.

Got no licences currently if rumours are to be believed so doesn't sound like he is that bothered this season?

Plenty of riders to look out for (well 7) current form says the danger men will be Connor Mountain & the evergreen Jon Armstrong although Alfie Bowtell is certainly one that may also catch the eye.