Bitza

Daryl Ritchings scored 12 +2.

This afternoons WSRA NDL Belle Vue vs Oxford, could be interesting from a Poole point of view, with Cairns and Ritchings competing on opposite teams. Hopefully getting to race each other. .

I've been trying to make up my mind about Kerr, on the plus side he has shown he can be a racer which is always good to watch but he doesn't seem to have the outright speed. I think he should take note of Ritchings approach/preparation and subsequent success. Kerr needs to acknowledge that he needs to be better, to start with he could take some time to test his bikes, looking for improvements no matter how minor, because a number small improvements can add up to something significant. I still think Kerr has the potential to come good, but he'll have to put the effort in.

Thank Lisa, for the Ritchings Reflects link. Here's hoping he continues to improve, he's certainly putting the effort into the pre-meeting preparation and reaping the benefits. I also like that he has shown he's a bit of a racer. He's doing everything he can to make sure he can't be ignored come the end of June.

Poole's problem is that Cook is too consistent, consistently off the pace. As already covered, Starke is exactly what it said on the can, maybe a little more based on his GSA. Kerr is debatable but I personally like seeing him race, and he definitely has potential.

Agree, Starke's not a problem (plus you can see he's putting the effort into his rides) and Ritchings doing pretty much what's expected of him too. Lawson & Rowe all good, with Tobias starting to come on song. Leaving Kerr and Cook, personally I feel that Kerr is getting better as the season goes on, but needs to be more consistent. We all know that Cook can be a great racer, but seems a bit off some of the time for the Pirates at the moment. I think that putting him back at four would take some pressure off him, and help him get back in the groove. Really looking forward to this evening, "should be" a great night.

"Pile on the points" the insightful and canny advice from Matt Ford, just as well Poole had him to advise at the 2nd leg of the league final last year. (intended as humour)

Seems to me Zac's flying in the Premiership and bogging down in Championship. Also heard he has new machinery. The cynical in me wonders if he's using his old machinery for champ rides. This is just a hunch based on nothing but speculation.

Anyone out there willing to post some updates on the racing tonight?

Well that's handy for the Gladiators I'm thinking, Poole will just have to race as ever, they have the talent to win but all riders will need to perform.

It's a bit technical and pretty boring for most but on the off chance that somebody's curious it's because speedway engines operate in a particularly small rev range so they can be tuned in very extreme ways. In this case extreme valve overlap, when inlet and exhaust valves are open at the same time, closing the throttle interrupts the flow of mixture into the engine allowing exhaust gases up the inlet. Anybody still awake?

I remember talking to a tuner (NelsonHarring) from the classic era, and he spoke of some riders complaining about engines not being on song, but when he took them apart typically they had carbon stains up the inlet a sure sign that the problem was actually the riders rolling back the throttle.

Good to see Sam finding some kind of form again, but it's been a long time coming. Mind you pity he found it again when against Poole, re the U21 final well that's racing for you, take the luck when you can. The question of course is can he maintain this level of success?

Kerr may not have delivered early on with the points, but he has a bit of fight about him that I like. He wouldn't have been my first choice but I'm begining to believe he can do the business for Poole. To be honest I'm more concerned with Zac's up & down scoring.

Bang on, he might have only got 1 point but he won it fair and square. Good to see a bit of the old fire from Tobias. Lewis seems to be coming on too. Plus of course Max Rowe.

Or..... given your temporary number seven 4 meetings to show what they can do at this level, make a judgement and take appropriate action as required. Maybe you are just judging this by your threshold for panic, relax!

Fair comment, Marson was going nowhere so RItching can only be an improvement. I was never keen to see Kerr riding for Poole and his scoring so far hasn't been great, but.... when I've seen him race at Wimborne Road he has shown more willingness than his team mates to mix it and really have a go at racing, good to watch. The Pirates really lacked that kind of aggression, particularly at the start of last week's meeting with Oxford.

OK, sorry I'm a bit late to the party, it seemed to me that on Wednesday night Poole turned up feeling entitled to a win, Anders & Kerr being the only ones to show any fight until after heat 6. Kerrs throttle issues was ridiculous for a professional. After Poole's first 5-1 things did look up but only a bit. Poole need to start gating better not just in heats but in meetings too. Tobias needs to get back to his more aggressive self, and as for Marson well he's just a waste of space. Just as well Killeen's form has dropped off a cliff.

Makes sense to me. Lewi where on the forum has it already been explained?

Well I realise it's only Arthur and me who are actually interested? but I would say that that's an encouraging result. Roll on July the whatever!

Tonight's U21 Qualifier should be interesting for Poole fans, a chance to see how Will Cairnes competes with his U21 contemporaries.

Have to agree, but it wasn't just down to Kerr having an off night, Zach was hardly on fire either, it was more of a team misfire. If I had to choose a meeting for Poole to lose Gladiators away in the BSN would probably be it.

Well sorry for those who found it boring, maybe that's partly down to not being there. It was pretty tight to start with but around heat 6 where Lawson & Thompsen had a good tussle in turns 1&2 coming close to coming off. From there on the tide turned, which we know all about being by the sea. Marson is my concern, not alot of fight or speed in him that I could see. Klindt was the class of Plymouth for sure, but not so great if he's not in front.

Well it'll be good to get our home fixtures started, and to see how the team of 25 go at Wimborne Road. The best thing about last year's team was that when riders had a dip in form others always stepped up. But I'm not persuaded yet that Riders like Kerr, Paul & Marson have that potential, but I'll have a better idea after tonight. Having said all that I'm feeling confident of a win, if we can't beat the Galdiators at home then it's going to be a tough season, with the stronger teams to come.

Have to wait and see if Kerr can up his game & stay in one piece. It was quite noticeable last season that Zac raced best when Ben wasn't around, he's going to really step up this year. I see Ben doesn't seem to be going so great now.