Bitza

Well I guess you envisage deja vu of the worky result, well for me that ain't going to happen. But the Scuny team GSA profile is unusual all being between the 4s and 7s, so Poole really need a strong showing from 6 and 7.

Well much as "track whinging" makes me yawn, you could see riders having issues with uneven track, unpredictability which leads to limited overtakes. But at least it's the same for both teams, and gave a fair result. If I was the Edinburgh promoters I'd be asking for money back from MPT, he's a shadow of his former self, should probably hang up his kevlar imo.

Sure the reserves need to perform tonight, but it seems to me that they are up to the job. Lawson has been Mr Reliable long may that continue, Tobias is doing his job, Zac with a new clutch is back to his old self, all good. I'm more concerned with how Kerr and Rowe go, for a start hasn't Anders injured his arm? As always looking forward to tonight.

Yes good to hear that the Comets have got whatever it was sorted, and are ready to get racing again. We can't afford to loose any more speedway clubs. Interested to see how Vinnie goes this season, many didn't want to see him leave the Pirates. Good luck to you on Saturday just don't win.

If the track was extended onto the old dog track, even by say 2m it would make a big difference to the racing. Maybe the way forward should be for Bournemouth Poole and Christchurch Council to think BIG and look to develop Wimborne Road, into a national speedway stadium. OK I'm dreaming!

All true, I enjoyed that evening down at Wimborne Road, had expected Glasgow to turn-up and make a competition of it. Plainly you could overtake (Lawson, Harris, Rowe) but if you are at the front after turn 2 who is there to beat. Also some great defensive riding by Zac. All the winging about the Poole track is like a scratched record, the surface is only one factor, the length and width are equally important, but you have to go with what you have available. The ground staff appear to put the work in, is there a lack of depth to the shale I don't know. Are all the other tracks great? No only some of them. Roll on the 16th can't wait.

OK first we all want to see how young Will goes. Should be a competitive match up. Chris and Dan are a real threat, so Zac needs to keep scoring like last time out. Does anyone know how fit Anders is?

Maybe choosing your top twenty championship riders, based on current form although it can be based on hard fact/averages, it doesn't always tell you how exciting they are to watch. I prefer a rider who is always willing to mix it, rather than fast riders who rely on a good gate. On that basis Chris Harris would be top of my list.

Smith had already had a nudge from Smarte before he clattered into Ritchings. Upon reflection my first comment on last night's meeting was a bit harsh, the track particularly turn 4 looked difficult to ride and the relatively slow race times seemed to support that. I just would like to see more racing from our riders.

Well good result, but apart from Rocket Man, no Pirate really showed any class more a matter of the Bandits being a bit of a shambles. OK Zac did score well but only from the front. Smartie ended up with a good score but only because he was in just about every race. Anders has a medical excuse. Kerr was OK but no real pace and poor Ritchings left stage left through no fault of his own. So my point is Poole need to get much better if they are going to teams like Glasgow.

Well my advice (for what it's worth) to Poole riders would be concentrate on your own race, get that right from the start and it will be plain sailing. Hagon has the potential to come good, but put him under pressure from the off and I think he'll crumble.

Plus Kerr 8+3, and Hagon 0. All looks positive for Pirates on Wednesday.

I see Lawson will be riding for KL, so wrist can't be critical.

As already mentioned elsewhere, Pirates have a couple of potential fitness issues, with the two strongest riders Lawson & Rowe. Richard - wrist, Anders - groin. If the team are all fit it should be a win sufficient to add the bonus point.

Has anyone out there come across any news on Anders' injury/fitness?

Well personally my only experience of a groin injury was with a very nice lady in Bangor, well I say injury it was more of a nasty little rash.

I Googled groin injuries and it seems apparently that the recovery time is 1-2 weeks for a minor strain, and weeks for more serious conditions. Of course this isn't in any way actually based on Anders situation, but it doesn’t really suggest that his injury is going to be insignificant.

Now is it just me, but Smarte seems to be getting alot rides at the moment? I assume it's down to his GSA making him eligible to cover for anyone.

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)