BarracudaAce

So, I presume here that if no facility was granted, and Jake decided he didn't want to ride for Belle Vue after his 28-day contract expired, then the Aces would just be left with Rider Replacement as their only option. I'm thinking that they couldn't use the No.8, as he is only able to be used to cover the absence of the Rising Star?

Are we sure? If it is, then two clubs will have an extra two fixtures in their schedule as opposed to the other four. Four clubs will have 20 League & 4 League Cup fixtures, and the other two will have 20 League & 6 League Cup fixtures. 25% of 24 matches = 6 matches, and 25% of 26 matches = 6.50 matches. Surely, even our governing body, wouldn't base something on all clubs not having the same number of matches and, also, ending up with a non-whole number as the 25% figure. If they have then will they ‘round up’ or ‘round down’ the 6.50 – if the former then four clubs will be able to change their line-ups after six matches and the other two will have to wait until seven matches are ridden. So, if League Cup fixtures are counting towards the 25% as Daniel Smith suggests above, Belle Vue couldn't sign Matej Zagar until after six completed matches, four of which have already been ridden. So, they couldn't use him for Peterborough (H) on 2 May and Ipswich (a) on 5 May. He could then be brought into the team starting with Peterborough (a) on 9 May.

That seems to be the exact crux of the matter, given the differing views of how this particular regulation is being interpreted on this forum. As another poster has said, though, it is only the SGB Premiership Ruling Authoritites' interpretation that counts and how they want to enforce it. If Matej Zagar's signing is permitted then we'll know a few on here have interpreted it differently from the Ruling Authorities.

I couldn't agree with you more on your last comment, but it is being weakened for 3 clubs (yes, only 3 clubs - but that is 50% of the league) and they would have had to release a rider(s) without the retirees and Dan's situation. The point I was making was the fact that one rider to lose his job because of team building limits could well have been a reserve (if Bjarne had not been retiring and Peterborough chosen to replace him than someone else) and just seems plain daft to me.

And that just about sums up British Speedway!! Never mind the fact that Bjarne Pedersen himself is retiring anyway and the Peterborough 2021 team was built in a very specific way. The team building points limit is raised, yet one team is still set to replace one of the season-ending reserves with a lower averaged rider!! Not their No.1, but a reserve for heaven's sake!!

There's probably someone sat at a desk at British Speedway HQ that has read this, and right now is thinking 'Now that's a cracking idea, why didn't I think of it?'

My local weather app currently shows any rain in rhe Gorton area clearing by around 1.00pm and not returning until around 9.00pm. I'm actually 10 miles away from Belle Vue, it rained here earlier but the sun is trying to peak through the clouds now. Not too successfully though.

Taffy was in the very first race I ever saw back in August 1970 on the opening night of Boston Speedway, and he helped the Barracudas to a win against local rivals Peterborough Panthers. Taffy's passing means the two riders that represented the 'Cudas in their first ever heat 1 are sadly no longer with us. Taffy was guesting for the injured Arthur Price, and he and the late 'Jolly' Jack Bywater raced to a 5-1. On the wishes of Boston co-promoter Cyril Crane, Taffy eased up to allow Jack to pass him and take the chequered flag, as Crane told Taffy that he wanted one of Boston's own riders to win the first ever race at New Hammond Beck Road. There was an Aces match at the NSS in August a couple of years ago just about on the 49th anniversary of Boston's opening night, so I spoke with Taffy in the Peter Craven Suite about it. He remembered the night vividly and talked about all the pre-match media attention reporting on the opening night, and mementoes given to the riders of both teams. He was quite taken that I remembered he went onto notch up a paid maximum and ended the night as the track record holder. His contribution to opening night meant he was then always a popular visitor to Boston as an opposition rider. RIP Taffy and thank you for the memories.

An email hit my InBox about 25 minutes ago advertising tickets. On a quick look at the Grandstand availability, there aren't many seats remaining in Block D but still quite a number across all the other blocks. Doesn't show the remaining availability in the South Stand standing, but you can still purchase tickets in there.

Yes, Wolves' Leon Flint - and, with all due respect to Jack Smith, I reckon Wolves will be happier with the postponement than the Aces. With Leon in the team – and the way he rides the NSS – I reckon Wolves would have had a much bigger chance of winning than with Jack. Yes, they’re both ex-Colts, but Leon has already had a 15-point maximum in a National League match at the NSS this season. With the grippier conditions that there would have been had it gone ahead tonight, it would have suited his style of riding the NSS to a tee.

Thanks Rob, and that makes it all sound very logical. More so, as I now have found out that of 5 of us sat in various locations within Block D on Monday night - and had checked in via the QR code - just 3 have received the message from the App. However, I'm now thinking I'm not fully seeing the wood from the trees here!! If it is the App's Bluetooth monitoring ability that detects and notifies you to isolate e.g., after it has detected that you have been near someone in a stadium for at least 10 mins and that person later tests positive - then why is there a need for checking-in via the QR code? The QR code must do something else I presume then? I'm presuming too that those attendees who don't have the App, don't check-in via the QR code, and have their details taken by the NSS staff that these details must include their seat locations?

A friend of mine who was at the NSS on Monday has just told me that he has just had the NHS track & trace app message to say he has been in contact with someone with Covid, and must now self isolate. He has only 'checked in' with the app at two places - the NSS and one other place - and, as I haven't had the same message, we are assuming it will be from his visit elsewhere. However, just to see if the app is working properly, has anyone who was at the NSS on Monday had such a message?

I recorded Wolves v Sheffield last night but haven't yet watched it. Wonder if you have Phil or anyone else? If so, perhaps you can confirm what a friend told me earlier today, that he had been told by another friend who had watched it live. And that was Eurosport never even mentioned the Aces v. Ipswich match was also being raced last night, yet they kept going over to Peterborough v. King's Lynn for updates and the final result. Surely Eurosport could have at least given the Aces v. Ipswich result, or the latest score if they were going off air before the match at the NSS had finished? And, unless it changes / has changed, it doesn't seem that Eurosport are broadcasting - on TV at least - the first of the Speedway European Championships rounds this coming weekend. They've broadcast all the rounds of the SEC in previous years. Hope they don't start not broadcasting some of the Grand Prix when they take over next year.

Indeed. And Bomber certainly looked slim enough in his 'civvies'. All the 'senior' riders did to be fair - not sure I was as slim as them when I was in my late 30s /early 40s!!

I was talking to a family of four at the Belle Vue Colts match on Friday night and they said they were unable to get tickets for today. They commented that they would have been prepared to pay a tenner each if today's Aces match had been streamed - even though they would have been watching it on same TV. Just to add to the frustration, the match was being filmed today and Dave Rowe was doing commentary,

Technically GAH was correct with the highlighted bit. Bewley 15 max and none of the Panthers did get close to Kurtz - they were either miles in front of him or miles behind him!!

No it doesn't matter - you are 100% right. My thoughts on maybe no return flight to Gorzow, and the twaddle over a rearranged fixture, were hinting that the Ipswich website was feeding us some BS. Jack himself was probably giving us a clue that he wasn't going to be at Ipswich in his Eurosport interview at the NSS last week. And Red Flag is most likely correct. Doubt a UK club would 'get away' with insisting that though.

Interesting what Gasser90 has just posted but, if Holder definitely isn't riding for Sheffield, it looks like we've all been led astray by the wording of the Ipswich website article. So what is the reason Holder is missing from the Sheffield team? Is it just down to flight availability - could it really be, for instance, that there is no suitable return flight to get him back to Gorzow on time for Friday, and so he is staying in Poland? Why not just be forthright and state the real reason, rather than come out with some twaddle about a rearranged match?

Indeed, so much for the UK having priority over other leagues/countries on Mondays and Thursdays eh? Makes a complete mockery of the 'priority system'. Surely he should be at Ipswich? If this Polish match has been rescheduled to whatever day/time and means, by competing in it, there is no way Holder can make it to the priority Ipswich fixture then, quite simply, he shouldn't be riding in Poland. He should be on a flight that does get him to Ipswich on time. But, we all know what should happen and what does happen, are polar opposites when it comes to such matters. You can bet your life that if it had been the other way round, he wouldn't be missing a Polish fixture on their priority days!!

....maybe it shouldn't, but it does happen!! Indeed, it has happened in two of the three matches this week - and in the third match, the home no.1 was third in a visitors' 5-1. If you're taking heat 1 in isolation, and saying that Brady Kurtz not getting 2nd in heat 1 cost the Aces a win, then you can say that Troy Batchelor and Craig Cook not winning their heat 1 cost Sheffield and King's Lynn a draw respectively. But, of course, other things happen in other heats that affect the final result. If only Jake Allen had not been passed by both Aces in heat 15 last night then Ipswich would still have won!!

If it had gone ahead in August, I wonder just how easy or difficult it would have been for UK supporters to have attended. A Warsaw 2022 GP should/hopefully/probably make it more likely that we will be able to go and enjoy the whole weekend in a much closer way to pre-covid days.

That certainly is a good point, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it is a bizarre choice. Probably a bit unexpected true, but maybe it is something Ben will relish - especially as he is the longest-serving Colt in the team this year. He talks here about his desire to build team spirit. If his form begins to suffer, however, due to the extra responsibility I'm Steve & Graham will take action. Just hope the weather doesn't intervene tomorrow night - not looking too good though right now on the forecast. BELLE VUE have handed their NDL captaincy to Ben Woodhull ahead of their opening home fixture on Friday, May 21 against National League newcomers, the Newcastle ‘BTS’ Gems. The visitors announced their challenge for league glory in magnificent style at Armadale only one week ago when they earned 43-46 bragging rights over the Devils. The Cool Running Colts class of 2021 have changed quite a bit in the period between now and the start of the UK national lockdown back in March last year. But Woodhull believes the changes have given his side a good balance of experience and new talent that will prove crucial in their first few meetings. On his new role as captain, he said: “We’ve always said there are seven captains in this team, but to be officially named as skipper this year is a real honour for me. “This team always meant a lot to me before but now I feel even more responsible for the boys. I want to build a great team spirit this year but we’re already starting to gel quite well. “There’s a lot of potential. I think that Jack [Parkinson-Blackburn] will really come out of his shell and step up as the No.1, and the McGurk brothers have a lot of talent we’ve not seen yet. “There’s a good mix of experience in there as well which will no doubt be vital to the younger lads as we settle into the season, but I think collectively we can do very well. “Obviously Newcastle have the advantage of having had a meeting already and having won that meeting I’m sure they’ll feel confident about their chances in Manchester “But the National Speedway Stadium is somewhere that I certainly feel comfortable, and a lot of the other boys do, and even with the changes we’ve gone through I think we can still beat anyone here. “Everyone is so excited for this match. We will take it one race at a time and as long as we stay focused on our game plan and have fun, I believe we can emulate the Aces’ success against Sheffield.”

Indeed!! They certainly seemed very popular with visiting supporters coming to New Hammond Beck Road (and home supporters too of course!!)

Congratulations to Ben Woodhull on being appointed the Colts' captain for the 2021 season. He may never be World Champion, but certainly gives his all in every race and shows great enthusiasm. Just what a captain should be like. Good Luck to all the Colts for the the season ahead, and looking forward to seeing all the National League teams visit the NSS.

From my understanding that isn't exactly true. Unless it has changed - and from what I was told by a BT guy I was talking to at Belle Vue a couple of years ago - that whilst Natalie was a contracted BT employee, both Kelvin and Nigel have been employed on a freelance basis by both Sky and BT Sports. Don't disagree with some of your other comments though.