Noelinho

The good: choosing to take the gates in heat 15, Tate looked properly on it, Cluff was decent, Mario superb even with the fall in his first ride. The bad: got pumped, Drew Kemp (just fire whoever booked him, he was always going to be useless), choosing gates 2&4 in heat 15 when 12 of 14 heats were won from 1&3, putting Bomber from gate 4 where there were 0 wins all night. The ugly: Cluff celebrating whilst a rider was lying motionless on the track. Really, really poor, especially as he’d ridden past Kevin twice, so he can’t blame it on ignorance.

Because we didn’t want Edinburgh to get any practice on our track, I think 😄

Also, well done both teams for making the final again. It was looking sketchy earlier in the season.

Do we know when the second leg is yet?

Yeah, I’d agree with that. I also had skin in the game as I was away with work and by the time I left Edinburgh Airport on Friday night it was already 8pm, so a call off suited me well 😁

That's a great theory, but it doesn't work in practice when the rain is expected at the start time and there's a curfew - and it's not like fans are known for being understanding when there's a rain delay during a meeting! People moan either way.

Not sure the transponder result gives people any confidence 😂

Why do I have this fixture in my calendar for next week (27th)? Has it been moved from the original date, or have I just had it wrong the whole time?

Yeah, it's not worked out for them. When he turned up at Ashfield earlier in the year he was the class of the meeting. It was so good seeing him like that, a shame he's not been able to keep doing it.

Reading that, you wouldn't think we were currently winning away from home, eh? 😂

That’s definitely up there in the list of bad decisions!

Must be measured using a Ferrari 🤣 For me, a full tank costs £75. That goes 500 miles. Return trip is exactly 200 miles - £30. £10 cheaper, door to door, I'm the DJ, and it's much quicker.

It's cheaper to drive by yourself than take the bus. It's also barely advertised.

I'm in London this week and went past the old track on the train twice today. Glad to hear of this. I love Ashfield but little would please me more than to see the Rockets back.

Weather is coming from the west. Very light drizzle so far, forecast is for no more than that. Can never be sure though.

I don’t agree with this. We have a points limit and a limit on 8 point riders. That’s already a decent amount of equalisation of teams, and Poole aside, I think most people would greet it’s been very effective at balancing the teams this year. One thing people also have to remember if younger riders are often more dependent on others for travel because they often aren’t old enough to drive legally. In that situation, it’s much harder for a rider based in say the south of England to commit to a club in Scotland. No one’s fault, just practicality. What I would say is the rising star programme really belongs in the Championship rather than the Premiership and it’s a shame we don’t have that. Or maybe there could be a progression and have it in both leagues. I would also be minded towards only allowing British riders at reserve. Mario might not be a fan of that…

Just a little bit?

Not quite. William and Cooper at reserve on Friday. When new averages take effect, it will be William and Kyle for June.

Between them they're not a long way off. Cooper's average will be 6.17 when effective, and Cairns is averaging 6.59 this season, albeit the official average will lag behind given he came in half way through last season. How many young riders have come in to the Championship and done that in recent times?

We hit 30, better than expected 👍🏻

They wanted to watch Eurovision?

Bomber passed on lap three and was about 10 yards clear of Mario at the finish.

Loved watching Craig round Ashfield tonight. He’s still a brilliant rider.

Only five weeks until the next home fixture after tonight!

Crowds have felt normal to me this year. I've not noticed them being particularly up or down on last year.