T.N.T.

Although my all time favourite rider was Hans Nielsen, I would have loved to have seen some of the old time riders like Peter Craven or Ove Fundin but there are names even further back that I look at like Ron Johnston who was my fathers favourite. However the one rider I would have loved to have seen is BLUEY WILKINSON just ahead of Split Waterman and Sprouts Elder.

I think they may well have changed the rule slightly after the comments made by a number of riders like Iversen but also like Rohan Tungate who simply pointed out he has problems touching the floor let alone gardening and has to get off his bike at times. What would happen if at the interval a rider (or two) came out and started preparing their gate. Would they be excluded or punished ? If a rider is punished for getting off his bike way before the two minutes has started, then where is the difference (apart from obviously having the bike) Other new rules I can see that have been bought in are going to have an adverse affect in some meetings. Riders not being allowed to leave the track / return to the pits for one is going to be interesting. If its returning to the pits, at Monmore Green you can leave the track without having to have a gate opened and can ride 50+yards before returning to the pits. Can a rider leave the track and get repairs done 20+ yards away from the track ? If a rider does leave the track and is classed as returned to the pits, is he excluded ? can he be replaced by a reserve ? Can see some fun and games ahead, especially at Monmore due to the exit not being a gated exit

Depends what they call FULL CONTROL Does that entail being seated ? Is a rider allowed to get his leg over ?

Back in the mid 80's there was junior teams alongside the top division so as a Wolves fan we saw Andy Phillips rise to the team and the Overseas Final, plus some good riders like Andy Hackett, Carl Stonehewer and many more progress through the ranks. Now this is a return to the old days but I have very little knowledge of the heat format or how teams are formed. IE How many in a team ? Averages ? Age limit ? ......... so what do Wolves have to do to get a team for the new season ?

So it is ... BELLE VUE have priority over Steve Worrall. Stefan Nielsen is owned by ? COVENTRY have Jason Garrity not doubling up and own James Sarjeant KINGS LYNN have priority over Lewis Kerr ..... the other reserve ? LAKESIDE have priority over Adam Ellis but not Ashley Birks LEICESTER; They don't have priority over Auty or Lambert POOLE have priority over Newman but Starke ? (think he is a NL asset) SWINDON have priority over Lewis Rose but not Charles Wright WOLVES do not have priority over Bates but Blackbird is an asset of a NL club so ? Weirdly it was expected to be Blackbird and Starke at Wolves so it would be interesting to see who does get priority over NL assets ?

Adam Ellis didn't show up that well last season and this season the reserves are much stronger so can't see him inproving or maintaining his scores. Ashley Birks is the only Tier A rider that hasn't got a 6+ average in the Premier League and it looks like he misses something like 8-10 meetings any way. I think they are by far the weakest pairing and if any of the top five struggles, Lakeside be in trouble and be down with the bottom teams and way short of the play offs.

Doyle is a great #1 if he continues to improve as he has in recent years but Bjarne is hit and miss in races. As a second heat leader he isn't bad but after that ? Michelsen is a good prospect but look at other second strings around like Peter Karlsson, Craig Cook, Grzegorz Zengota etc ..... it's not going to be that easy for him or anyone this season as the standard has been levelled out a bit better. Josh Auty should do well at reserve, but again the standard of reserves has greatly improved and all these races are going to be very tough for all team, especially Lakeside in my opinion.

As expected most are Males over the age of 40

There are quite a lot of changes to these line ups, but here are some of them ... Think there is much more updated lists elsewhere to look at

Don't see Meidzinski making Swindon play off contenders so will stick with them not getting in the top four but may just beat Leicester (or Wolves) to miss out on the wooden spoon.

Your odds for the favourites are too high. If you look at the Elite League you could put £100each on Coventry, Kings Lynn, Belle Vue and Poole and as long as one of those four wins you are assured of a return of at least your stake. Poole will be much shorter due to their history of winning titles in recent years and always having a strong team in the final months. 7/4 Poole 2/1 Coventry 3/1 Kings Lynn 3/1 Belle Vue 5/1 Lakeside 8/1 Wolverhampton 8/1 Swindon 10/1 Leicester As for the Premier League, as pointed out Peterborough are one of the favourites for sure and I think you have also put Glasgow far to out in the betting, so I would estimate it;s more like ... 9/4 Peterborough 11/4 Somerset 3/1 Newcastle 7/2 Edinburgh 5/1 Glasgow 8/1 Sheffield 8/1 Ipswich 8/1 Scunthorpe 10/1 Plymouth 12/1 Berwick 14/1 Workington 14/1 Rye House 16/1 Redcar

Peter Karlsson is just three meetings behind the club record appearances of Sam Ermolenko of 542 official meetings meaning he would equal the record on Good Friday at Belle Vue and break the record on April 7th in the return leg at Monmore Green. He is also just 100 rides behind Sudden Sam. So I was wondering who holds the following records at this years Elite League tracks. BELLE VUE MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES MOST OFFICIAL RIDES MOST RACE POINTS SCORED MOST BONUS POINTS SCORED MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED MOST MAXIMUMS TRACK RECORD COVENTRY MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES MOST OFFICIAL RIDES MOST RACE POINTS SCORED MOST BONUS POINTS SCORED MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED MOST MAXIMUMS TRACK RECORD KINGS LYNN MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES MOST OFFICIAL RIDES MOST RACE POINTS SCORED MOST BONUS POINTS SCORED MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED MOST MAXIMUMS TRACK RECORD LAKESIDE MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES MOST OFFICIAL RIDES MOST RACE POINTS SCORED MOST BONUS POINTS SCORED MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED MOST MAXIMUMS TRACK RECORD LEICESTER MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES MOST OFFICIAL RIDES MOST RACE POINTS SCORED MOST BONUS POINTS SCORED MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED MOST MAXIMUMS TRACK RECORD POOLE MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES MOST OFFICIAL RIDES MOST RACE POINTS SCORED MOST BONUS POINTS SCORED MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED MOST MAXIMUMS TRACK RECORD SWINDON MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES MOST OFFICIAL RIDES MOST RACE POINTS SCORED MOST BONUS POINTS SCORED MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED MOST MAXIMUMS TRACK RECORD WOLVERHAMPTON MOST OFFICIAL MATCHES = Sam Ermolenko 542 MOST OFFICIAL RIDES = Sam Ermolenko 2815 MOST RACE POINTS SCORED = Sam Ermolenko 5963 MOST BONUS POINTS SCORED = Sam Ermolenko 481 MOST TOTAL POINTS SCORED = Sam Ermolenko 6434 MOST MAXIMUMS = Sam Ermolenko 34/64 = 98 BEST OVERALL AVERAGE (minimum 50 meetings) = Ole Olsen 10.93 from 172 meetings (88 max) TRACK RECORD = Tai Woffinden 53.67 Sam Ermolenko may lose the most official matches and most rides to Peter Karlsson at Wolverhampton in 2015 but PK is still 306+114 (420) behind Sudden Sam in points which could only be beaten if he rides after 2015. It is virtually impossible to break Olsen;s record average.

Didn't Lakeside get priority over Lawson last season ? If he was not an asset, those points scored should have been taken out of those meetings. OK - Lakeside fell way short and looking at their results there wasn't many close matches, but had Lakeside of snatched fourth place or even a team lost fourth place because Lawson scored enough to stop them getting three points, this can't happen again. Assets have to be assets and not awaiting payment. If the full transfer fee has not been paid then they are still assets of their former clubs.

Cheating could be done in various ways and no doubt it goes on to a certain degree, but machine examiners at each track are always checking silencers, dirt deflectors, tyres etc to ensure they are as permitted. Should any team feel an opposing rider is doing something to their machinery that is illegal they can protest at a fee and it is checked out, but how many want to do this ? Tracks have two machine examiners at each meeting and quite a few of these are ex riders or been involved with bikes and racing for some time like Alan Grahame, Jim McMillan, Phil Ashcroft etc and they do a very good job. However I do wonder what would happen if each team had a machine examiner with them at each meeting to check the oppositions bikes on a regular basis. However there are many ways of cheating. We all know the talk about how tracks are prepared and tricks done to help the home team while there is also certain circumstances that happen that raises questions. An example is gate positions and how touching the tape can favour a rider. The rider off gate one (or two) is struggiling while his team mate off gate three (or four) is going well but is off a gate that isn;t working. The inside rider touches the tapes and goes off 15 meters from gate four meaning his team mate now goes off gate two that is going well. Overall I think there is very little real serious cheating in speedway and I don;t include drinking and drugs in that as it's an off track matter and a personal matter that they choose to do. Yes this needs acting on whenever a rider falls short of the levels required but while we can all have our views on what Darcy has done and how it is going on, I do question one aspect of this and other cases. We are awaiting the verdict from the FIM. ...... Why can't the SCB step forward and say YOUR SUSPENDED and until the rider gets the all clear, then they can look at the issue again. However as it is, an alcohol test was done and was positive so until he is proved innocent, the SCB should be able to be in a position to act themselves and suspend riders until they are cleared, if at all.

Must have missed that bit, didn't Lakeside only recently buy him from Workington ? Think it is still the PL club that gets priority

Poole have Holder all but in just awaiting his visa but have Jamowski, Pawlicki, Ward (ban and visa awaiting), Milik, Gracjzoneck, Madsen all assets not signed up and more plus they always get a title contending team together. Noy that far off the mark usually but this is predictions and not a statement. There are 5 members of the team and two Fast Track riders, so once the draw was done, each team had FIVE riders to sign Like ?

Unless they shock the world with Greg, Emil or Darcy AND get the visa sorted for Troy Batchelor, then yes I have Swindon to finish last as they only have three confirmed without Batch and it leaves quite a gap to make them competative ....... in my opinion. Don't work nights, just don;t sleep much Only going off the averages pulished from the press release made at the time I think quite a few riders averages may be wrong or slightly out due to the Birmingham matches. Even with those taken out, a rider can have an average that may be wrong bevause during the season he could have been promoted to a heat leader or dropped to a second string with those scores included during the season.

Teams are almost complete now and we all have our own thoughts on the line ups and who looks strongest and weakest, so post your predictions below naming the FOUR play off TEAMS and then the FOUR that will miss out. Then predict which of the top four will finish as Champions and who will get the Wooden Spoon in the other four. This is NOT a competition but it will be reviewed at the end of the season so no posts after April 1st or edited Here is my predictions so please post likewise TOP FOUR Belle Vue Coventry Poole Kings Lynn CHAMPIONS Poole BOTTOM FOUR Lakeside Wolverhampton Leicester Swindon WOODEN SPOONS Swindon ==================================== BELLE VUE 8.29 Matej Zagar 7.56 Scott Nicholls 6.92 Simon Stead DU 6.21 Craig Cook DU 4.96 Max Fricke Steve Worrall Stefan Nielsen COVENTRY 8.33 Hans Andersen 7.49 Chris Harris 6.74 Daniel King DU 6.33 Joonas Kylmakorpi 4.63 Stuart Robson DU Jason Garrity James Sarjeant KINGS LYNN 9.03 Niels K Iversen 7.41 Kenneth Bjerre 6.22 Rory Schlein 5.78 Niklas Porsing 5.32 Robert Lambert DU Lewis Kerr Ashley Morris LAKESIDE 9.03 Andreas Jonsson 6.85 Mikkel Bech 6.50 Richard Lawson DU 5.63 Kim Nilsson 5.03 Edward Kennett DU Ashley Birks Adam Ellis LEICESTER 8.44 Jason Doyle 7.12 Bjarne Pedersen 6.24 Grzegorz Walasek 6.02 Mikkel Michelsen 5.00 Symzon Wozniak Josh Auty Simon Lambert POOLE 8.75 Chris Holder 7.50 Maciej Janowski 6.71 Davey Watt 6.57 Dakota North 3.94 Kacper Gomolski Kyle Newman Paul Starke SWINDON 8.21 Adrian Meidzinski 7.58 Troy Batchelor 6.31 Nick Morris DU 6.15 Grzegorz Zengota 5.27 Kyle Howarth Charles Wright Lewis Rose WOLVERHAMPTON 8.94 Fredrik Lindgren 6.50 Tobiasz Musielak 6.25 Jacob Thorssell 6.12 Peter Karlsson 5.88 Ricky Wells DU Lewis Blackbird Josh Bates

One Sells the sport One Promotes the sport SIMPLES

The deal with Sky has changed in recent years but I would be very suprised if ANY track would afford to run in the Elite League as they are without their backing. Sunday = Poland Monday = England (Elite League) on Sky Tuesday = Sweden (Elite) Thursday = Sweden (Allveskan League) Saturday = GP or European Championships With Fridays used for practice days or travelling to the GP's etc it only leaves Monday and Wednesdays and maybe you could run on both nights but each team only running one fixture each week home or away. However most would ride on Mondays any way as most weeks there are three Elite League matches on a Monday any way.

How many sugars do you have in your coffee ? What do you do if you don't drink coffee ? Each rider has a different idea on how they would like the surface to be and this can change not only on which track it is but also how the conditions determine the state of the track. Most just try and go with the flow and know what to expect at each track but it is how the track changes through the night that some struggle with or indeed improve as the track changes.ing the better overall speed dow the straights to win. At Wolverhampton we are fortunate to have a great track man in Doc Bridgett who also does Edinburgh and the surface is good all through the meeting but that is not to say it doesn't change. In the later heats it becomes pretty slick on the inside but still provides grip. You will find some riders wont change lines in the later heats either staying inside on the slick or out wide in the dirt as they have set up for this. This was shown up well once in a run off between Mikael Max and Hans Andersen. Max was the master of the inside line but was clearly more comfortable in the later heatsd in the dirt. Hans prefered the inside with his set up and for all four laps they kept to their lines and provided a great race with Max having the greater speed down the straights to win a classic race

I stand corrected if that is the case but I thought that was stopped and the other rider had to take the place instead.

A rider can only have ONE Tactical ride last season and if the reserve who has already taken a Tactical was to replace the rider taking the TR then the Tactical would be cancelled or transfered to the other rider, Therefore a reserve can score a 24 point maximum 3 3 3 6 3 3 3 = 24

I would love Wolves to go back to the Friday's it use to be when I was a kid but Monday's are when Sky want it, hence why the play offs are on Mondays only Also Denmark and Sweden ride on Wednesdays and Thursdays and remember that some governing bodies allow their riders to have Thursdays off if they are in FIM meetings the next day, including official practice days. So there is a clash with quite a few riders there, With the amount of meetings on Sky and at Belle Vue and Wolves each week, there has been six teams operating most Mondays already so the other two competing isn't making too much difference. The problem riders have is flying in and out of Britain two or three times a week and many would rather have three continous days in Poland, Britain and Sweden rather than any other day. The Elite League can't survive without the Sky money and even when the meetings are on live, the difference in the normal crowd levels is by far compensated by the Sky money. Plus riding on one night gives the four tracks that are riding away more chance to go to the away meetings rather than wait a week for their next meeting. How many fans travel to away matches at present ? You would be lucky to get a coach full at most meetings and 95% of the crowd is people living locally for their one meeting a week fix. 14 home - 14 away or 7 home and 7 away and rebuild the Premier League involving EVERY track riding on any day apart from Mondays

The best way of making the Elite League stronger is to ride on one fixed night and no other nights. This would have to be Mondays to fall in with Sky who the sport needs more than ever in this country Riders then do the GP, ride in Poland, fly into England then fly out to Sweden and have Wednesday - Saturday off or for other meetings which they choose to enter.