Col

Having seen Sedgeman fade towards the end of the meeting at Oxford the previous night, I wouldn't have put him out in heat 15 last night, Harris & Lawson were riding well. If the aggregate bonus hadn't been on the agenda, I wouldn't have given Bewley a heat 15 run out either, but it made for a good race as Bewley was finally gating by that point. Must have dented his pride a bit being beaten from the back by Fricke twice.

I'm going to keep this short, I may post more tomorrow. Was embarrassed to put my BV hoodie on once it was chilly enough to need to do so. Blodorn aside, I hope the riders feel the same. Thank you Leicester Speedway for restoring my faith in the sport after the Oxford shambles yesterday. Fricke was awesome, Beaumont Park suits him better than the NSS ever would have. Nice to be able to walk around the entire stadium & take in the action from almost every angle. The exit from turn 2 view is the best, would be better still on a cloudy night. No squinting as the riders exit turn 4.

Lordy it isn't easy to find the blinking stadium cat park, I assume because the road the Sat Nav sends you down is shut. Can't always be this difficult. Directions should say "behind the leisure centre" and I'd have found it immediately. Sadly you don't see the signpost if you approach from the direction I approached from. And all the diversions signs have "Tesco" written on them.

Well my first visit to Oxford Speedway, I won't be quick to return. The track was an absolute mess and almost unrideable at the start, 40 minutes of tractoring and 2 heat 2 first turn falls I thought that would be it. Did they empty the River Cherwell to water it pre meeting? Blimey! It wasn't a spectacle but I don't think the fairly feeble Brummies septet helped on that score. Sedgeman, Morris final 3 rides (awful before that) at least gave the Cheetahs something to worry about. Pearson wasn't far off the action but never really looked threatening, Bowtell did OK. Kemp rode OK in his final ride, but the Thompsons were very poor. As for Cheetah's I was impressed by Henry Atkins, knew what to expect at this level from Masters, Kerr & Nicholls. At least between Sedgeman & Morris they were all denied maximums. I was annoyed that having sat there for the 40 minutes of tractoring they then had an interval after heat 10! At least the racing got better after that interval, heat 12 being the pick. I was grateful that the promotion did race through the heats after the prolonged delay to the start. The track did look like it could produce good racing. Stadium is a better version of Perry Barr, the steep terracing gives a decent view from the start/finish straight and the third/forth turns. Shame (again like Perry Barr) if on the start/finish straight until the sun goes below the trees you do an awful lot of squinting. View from the third/forth turns was better but it was getting a bit dusty around heat 8, not that I wanted the curator to put anymore water on it!

Haha, yes the West Midlands has roadworks everywhere. I ended up coming past Blenhiem Palace on the Woodstock Rd.. Not exactly sure where it was but it took about 40 minutes to get through some rotten three way control roadworks on what looks like normally a dual carriage way.

Thanks!

This Tesco - 100 New Park St, Leicester LE3 5NJ? I've got a ticket now.

I don't wish tomorrow evening to be anything like tonight (at Oxford). Can I pay on the gate? Where do I park? Anywhere nearby decent fodder emporium?

No you can't pay on the gate, had to do it via mobile. Parking at Tesco is unrestricted after 8 pm. Heat 1 left allot to be desired! Hope they sort it out.

Blimey there are some appalling roadworks in Oxfordshire!

Nope. Assumed I could pay on the gate.

First visit to Cowley for me today. Few questions. 30 years too late for Gundersen & Pedersen v Nielsen sadly. Do I need cash? Anywhere to park free? Suggested fodder emporium nearby? Will have a Belle Vue hoody, probably wrapped around my waist Come say Hi.

When does Sayfutdinov's average sky rocket from the assessed 8.00. Making any changes after that will be more difficult. Wouldn't Craig Cook be better option than Barker, surely he'd fit?

TBH Witches were dreadfully poor Sayfutdinov aside. But a marvellous night's racing. Other than Brennan missing out in heat 1 and Mulford being bettered by Thompson more times than Mulford bettered Thompson don't think anyone can ask for more from the Aces. Bewley beat Doyle & Sayfutdinov by a country mile in his first two outings then had the good graces to miss the start in his final two. He picked his way to the front magnificently in his third, then gave Kurtz the chance to get away from Witches top two by making a nuisance of himself on the exit of turn two, later picking off Doyle . Blodorn rarely hits the front from the gate but always finds a way through traffic. Rew was the only Witch other than Thompson & Sayfutdinov that can be vaguely satisfied with their performances. Rew was always on the pace & in the mix, had his nose chopped off harshly by Wright in heat 14. Kurtz made one mistake all night when he drifted just too wide exiting turn 2, heat 4 and Sayfutdinov pounced. I've always liked King but he was awful tonight TBH. Didn't make a decent start once.

Meeting is not on TV, Eurosport covering Roland Garros ATM. There were very few tickets available in the Grand Stand centre sections when I looked this morning, couldn't get a aisle seat Potentially a great meeting.

4th in Ekstraliga Averages behind Madsen, Sayfutdinov & Zmarzlik.

Its a bit of an ordeal! After getting tickets for the first 3 events, I then reserved tickets for the final but had to wait about 4 hours for the first payment to clear. According to whoever is answering questions on Sparta Wroclaw's social media it is to avoid double payments. I've now paid for half the tickets for the final but now have to wait for that payment to clear before I can pay for the other half.

How do you choose a ticket type on this website?

Having been in Bydgoszcz for the race-off in 2014 & likewise Leszno in 2017 I'm pretty sure very few Polish fans are uninterested in attending if the Poles don't feature.

Quite enjoyed the meeting but the camera angles were poor, don't recall it being that bad when watching meetings from Beaumont Park on TV previously. Strange decision to put Fricke on the inside gate 2 for heat 15, he'd been flying around the outside of everyone on turns 1 & 2 all night.

Enjoyed Leszno v Czestochowa. Some good racing but despite Kolodziej being head & shoulders above any other rider present the home team were well beaten. Don't get why most posters on this forum don't like Kolodziej, he's better to watch than most Poles. 

As a contest on aggregate scores it was over once Blodorn was missing, Aces might have made is a contest with just Brennan missing. I like Castagna from watching him at Perry Barr but I never thought I'd be shouting him on in the red, black & white of Belle Vue. Would be nice if Lidsey & Bewley weren't so good at gating. Masters was poor tonight. Most of the decent racing involved Wright.

Oh Lidsey is riding & it's Blodorn missing, Linsey was at reserve when I last saw an Aces scorecard. Still no potential big scorer at reserve means no chance of aggregate win for Belle Vue, should do enough to win on the night.

Blodorn can surely cover an R/R rude? Not that it will affect the aggregate result. Aces have no chance without Lidsey.

As Wroclaw have won in Lublin & Torun, they could go unbeaten all season, I thought the title was between those. I thought the title was between those 3 teams. Didn't watch it, how come Zmarzlik score was so poor?