Aces High

Cook has been picking up some decent scores away from home which should help. Hopefully Max and Dan can continue to step up as Drozdz still needs a bit longer to get used to some of the different UK tracks. Even a point would be a good result.

How is that stupid? Makes it far fairer. Helps give teams with a smaller talent pool (such as GB) compete against the teams with a larger one.

At the meeting I didn't realise Cook was on a warning and was very disappointed for him. However knowing that I think Rossiter did the right thing for the team and should be commended for it. I felt that the replacement in the second heat was pre-planned but when Lambert won he had to stick with him. Lambert then followed that up with another race win and by that point I don't think Rossiter had much choice but to go with the form rider. It would have been unfair to pull Robert at that point and although he slipped up against Italy throwing Craig back in for those two heats after everyone else had four heats under their belts would have been unfair. Lambert grabbed his opportunity and Cook didn't. Will Cook be disappointed? I would have thought he absolutely would be, he has to know it has been a poor season so far. This has been a new low but even in the league he has been outshone by Fricke, Bewley, Worrall and now Tungate. As a BV fan I will be hoping he can turn it around next Monday but he must be about fourth or fifth favourite for that meeting now on his home track. If he doesn't win it or go close I can't see where the turnaround is coming at the moment.

I wouldn't completely write France off from competing. Bellego does alright in league meetings at our place and Berge was in the mix for a lot of the 90th anniversary meeting.

Pure class that! Hopefully we will see riders helping their team mates out tonight instead of disappearing off into the distance. Despite all the moaning on here I am really looking forward to going to this tonight.

Is Gino ok? Felt awful watching that.

Aces/Stars match thread - now with tinfoil hats.

Rain on its way. Would be *devastated* is this meeting can't go on.

Belle Vue Craig Cook - C Dan Bewley - A Rohan Tungate - B Max Fricke - B+ Jye Etheridge - B Damian Drozdz - C+ Biggest disappointed - Stevie's injury. Biggest plus - The young lad we keep going on about.

Nice try

I remember when I used to watch Rickardsson riding for Kings Lynn's and I remember him missing gates loads and over taking everyone for fun. Bewley reminds me of that sometimes when he gets going. He rides a different line around the NSS to almost everyone else but it works.

It's Man City's title parade too so that probably won't help the attendance. Bet there is some 'creative' camerawork tonight...

With respect to Jack probably not. We are probably strengthened by using r/r at home too. I think Jye and Damien will go well in this one, Drozdz will start picking up 8/9 points a meeting soon.

I love Dan but he has a way to go before being as well rounded as Lambert. Might be a season too early for him but he is getting there. Thought Cook looked the same he has in a lot of his NSS meetings so far...well down on both confidence and power. Whatever changes he made in the winter dont seem like they have worked. Hope he can bounce back tomorrow.

What a ride by Tai!!!

Zmarzlik was lucky at the end there.

Good racing but some big crashes too.

Not when comparing him to zmarzlik! Dont think Bartosz has ever seen a risk he wont take on, love him.

Baptism of fire! I really hope he goes well but not expecting him to. It'll be cool to see. His matt black bikes look class.

To be fair to SS, in a poor team it is easily possible to be the second best rider and still be abysmal.

I am still shocked by that to be fair!

I think that kind of works both ways because they compete within an enormous sports and entertainment marketplace. It's not the same as somewhere like Kings Lynn where there is very little else to do. BWitcher has a very valid point though and despite the product being really good, Belle Vue is currently like to trying to sell a really high quality of DVD player to a marketplace who have moved on to streaming.

This thread is somehow already an enormous 506 pages and I'd estimate a good 350 of those are talking about Poole's poles and how good the team put together for 2018 is. Plus, largely due to a lack of moderation to be fair, there were a load of Poole fans posting about Woryna, Sczepaniak and Kurtz in other teams' topics all winter as well which did get a bit tiresome. Every forum has bad posters (hi) but it can be a hardly a surprise that everyone else is on the windup now.

It's an odd one but I suspect it is a combination of a lack of rides due to not doubling up and being cautious not to miss the GP's. There have been flashes of last seasons form but he hasn't really put together a full meeting yet for the us like Max and Dan have. I suspect the best is yet to come, his form in Poland improving is a good sign.

Dan once again proving he is capable in the main body but it also helps us to develop the other two. Drozdz has something about him and will do well, I still think we are pretty strong at reserve at home. Jye has been pleasantly surprisingly as well, capable of chipping in.