False dawn

I was there, but I'll admit it; your memory is better than mine. 🤔

Agreed. And a bit of a rarity for a rider to win his own testimonial meeting.

What a week I've had. At Leicester on Monday. The Lions get my support while I wait for Brandon to reopen. And watching them claw their way back to win by 90-89 was sensational. The tension waiting for heat 15 to start was palpable. The feeling waiting for the rerun to start after the Tigers had made the start first time round was almost unbearable. And for Max to fly off gate 4 to seal the deal was truly memorable (apologies to all my Yorkshire pals). Then to sit down and watch Glasgow Edinburgh on BSN last night was another treat. A hard fought meeting which either side could have won. But to achieve a 10 point swing in 3 heats is hard to argue with. So any lingering doubts that the play offs are a good idea have been banished, from my mind at least. P.S. The delight continues. I saw Dougy win his testimonial tonight and I'm off to Torun on Tuesday to see GB win the SON (I can dream).

Are we just looking at the consequences of the decision to have the league cut-off after the play offs have started?

Good to know that the reopening was successful. The continuation of speedway at any venue has to be celebrated. As a Coventry fan and someone that has visited Mildenhall on several occasions, I am pleased that this venture hopefully has a successful future. Well done to all concerned.

Unless the Monarchs go up as well 🤔

Not to mention the loss of all those local derbies with Edinburgh

Yes, I got a similar deal. Actually an early bird deal on a £20 ticket which cost me £18. I never understood the ticket pricing at Cardiff. 20K-30K fans paying a fairly modest GP ticket price (say £30-£40) would surely have made that meeting financially viable? We certainly didn't pay £20 for a ticket to go to the NSS did we? Yes I know all about the quality of the racing and I agree. In fact racing wise I think the Friday meeting this year is up there as one of the best GPs ever. I do worry about the future at the NSS. I can only see them getting one GP next year and to make that pay with all the costs involved could lead to tickets well over £100. Wait for the comments when that's announced. For me, the original plan of one GP in Cardiff and one at the NSS was perfect. A great day/weekend in Cardiff and a top meeting on one of the best circuits (the best?) in the world was something to savour.

So if Andzejs Lebedevs wins the SEC tonight, he'll have qualified for next year's GPs 3 ways. Will he get the full set and be awarded a wildcard as well? 🤪

Respect! Wow. There's a word you don't hear very often. Certainly not in a racing context. Actually, on reflection, I was struck by the mutual respect that Sam Masters and Bomber have both spoken about on air recently. But it is rare none-the-less

And on a related point. If we're getting nostalgic, I don't remember, back in the day, riders pulling up just because they are at back. Bona fide attempt to race? Pulling up on lap 2 and then riding back to the pits after the race has finished! It annoys the hell out of me. There was even examples of this on show last night at Perry Bar. In former times I can remember meetings taking place on wet circuits that would never take place now. Riders would get filled in and then complete their 4 laps, well off the place, without goggles. I think I'm a dinosaur. P.S. I don't watch much league racing in Poland. Do riders "pack up" at the back there? I suspect the Polish managements wouldn't put up with it.

I remember Rick Miller at Coventry ending up in a race on his own when the other 3 were all excluded. He completed the 4 laps but was showboating with wheelies etc. He, himself, was then excluded for not making a bona fide attempt to race. You couldn't make it up.

60th anniversary? You don't look old enough Norbold 🤣 But it's fair to say we don't have characters like that in the sport anymore. Interestingly, the BSPL do list him under G for Gallows in their "ultimate rider index"... Tyburn GALLOWS (Real name: Raymond Sidney Humphrey) Born: 7 September 1934, Willesden, London, England. Died: 1994. Career record: (1965) Oxford; (1967) West Ham; (1968) West Ham, Canterbury; (1970) King's Lynn II.

It's odd isn't it? Simon nearly always looks miserable on TV and at times has that "rabbit in the headlights" look. But he came to the Nuneaton Speedway Supporters Club meeting a while back and he was a completely different person. Chatty, friendly, he even smiled a few times. I must admit, I changed my view of him that evening.

So the rule saying riders must sign to say they've been paid for the previous meeting obviously has no teeth whatsoever.