Grachan

Cook has a CL ave of 10.51. Divide that by 1.5 you get 7.00. Even if he had a CL average of 12.00 he'd still fit.

Pretty clear from this that it is: 18.10.3 The Guest must be in a current Team Declaration and have an MA that is the same or lower than that of the absent rider. If a rider has an established MA in both Premiership and Championship leagues the MA for the league for which the rider is guesting, will be used. If the rider does not have an established MA in that particular league then the conversion factor of 1.5 will apply.

I don't really see how Swindon can make a reserve change. What are the options? With a 3 points minimum, we can't go for a stronger reserve and a 2 pointer. Whoever we have will, virtue of our top 4, be weak compared to other reserves in the league. Taking this into account, I think Zach and James are doing as well as anyone else could be expected to be. At least they are in the thick of it and no being outclassed, so points will come here and there.

You could also say that if Ellis and Musielak had been more "pro" and not moved at the starts that Swindon might have picked up an extra 4 points and won by 10.

I was surprised Ellis wasn't in heat 15, but maybe it was felt he might twitch at the start under pressure? Having said that, though, Tobi was in instead and he is the other one who has been moving a lot at the start too. Rosco was a bit chirpy at the after meeting press conference, calling them both "pillocks" for moving and nearly costing Swindon the meeting!

I don't see why riders need to keep up with team scores. That's the manager's job, and he can tell a rider if they are 6 down, for example, before they go out. No need for riders to know the exact score really.

I'm guessing you never saw the replay showing it from behind. Zagar rode straight into Doyle and caused the accident. Just because something happens on the first bend it doesn't always mean nobody has caused it,

You are Dave Robinson in disguise and I claim my £200!

Zagar came from the inside gate and moved out, wiping out Doyle plus his own team mate in the process. Shocking from Zagar.

What the hell was Zagar doing there? It looked deliberate.

I think James Shanes deserves a break. We even have someone who spent most of last season saying Swindon should sign him already talking about him being dropped. The fact is there is a minimum average of 3.00 this year, with no rider below that eligible for the top flight. Whoever comes in at 7 for Swindon is going to struggle, virtue of being the lowest averaged ridrr in the league. Do people really think Tom Bacon could come in and start beating the likes of Bradley Wilson-Dean? At least give James a chance before calling for his head. Swindon have a very strong top 3, and because of that other teams have had to go with a more solid line up. Any 3 pointer will find points hard to come by, and the best way is to stick with James and help get him up to speed. I thought he rode ok against Ipswich, even if the points aren't there yet. Zach and Dawid have started to score a few now. Who's to say James can't start soon. The level the league is this year, any opposition rider he beats will be a good result. At least wait until David Bellego drops low enough to come in!

A good performance by a weakened Robins who were, in the end, possibly beaten by the Twitter vote. Musielak in 14 and Doyle and Bachelor in 15 may well have got us a draw. A better performance by Zach too. We started the season as a 4 man team, then became 5 man. Now we are a 6 man team with 3 solid heat leaders, and the league hasn't really got started yet. No wonder there's a feel good factor down Blunsdon way! ☺

Lampart was his new Bellego last week, until he scored 10 on Thursday.

Really? You watched that film and got annoyed by the politics? I didn't even notice that there were any politics in it.

A very entertaining night, and I liked the changes to the track. A definite improvement. Fairly comfortable for Swindon, despite some super fast gating from the Witches. Some of the starts looked like flyers, they were so fast, but, to be fair to the ref, the only real movement was from Lampart and that was pulled back for a restart. I prefer seeing races left if there is no clear jovement and, in most cases, the Robins managed to get past so it meant for much better entertainment that 5 races getting stopped on lap one.

This voting is rubbish. You only get one vote. Surely you should get 2? Why is Lampart in it?

Spot on about Joe Owen. Used to average 11 for Newcastle back in the day. If that's not proof that the old Second Division was stronger than the top league is now, then what is?

True. But always a disappointment not to win. That's always the main objective (unless the averages need to drop a bit, as it were).

So here we are again. Another season of whingy, whiny Swindon fans and the same old Reading fan calling for team changes after one match. What a surprise. Losing by 2 at Wolves is a disappointment, but hardly a bad result for a season opener. Swindon haven't even had a practice yet. Yes, the botttom end didn't score many, but that is how the side is put together. It's always going to be the top 4 scoring nearly all the points, especially away from home. Nine from Jason could have been more, perhaps, but he was paid for 11 and it included a 15m handicap for tape touching. Could Jason still have gone in heat 15 I wonder. His big race mentality might have got us a draw? Hard to judge without being there.

My 15 year old enjoys speedway a looks forward to going if I suggest it. Five pounds doesn't break the bank, but I don't go regularly - just when the mood takes me. I do think that letting under 16s or under 18s in for free would be a good strategy to get kids interested and parents attending, particularly if you are going to attend regularly.

It was 2008 when speedway began its current decline. Before that is was having something of a minor revival, with radio 5 even running a report on how Speedway had become "cool" at one point. Then, with crowds relatively healthy, the introduced low points limits and "cost cutting" measures time after time, and each time they did it the crowds dropped. So, each time the crowds dropped, they did it again. So they dropped again. It always amazes me when people say that the future is about cost cutting. That is what caused the trouble in the first place.

Weird how it seems to be mainly Belle Vue fans criticising Swindon. At least Swindon have been honest to supporters and said that the track isn't ready rather than taking the fans' money and making them stand around for hours.

I do wonder if it might be a good PR exercise to offer free admission to people who live on the adjacent estate. Get them onside, as it were.

It's interesting to see the difference between these house and the properties being built right next to Newbury racecourse. The fact that they overlook the course is seen as a selling point, and those that have a direct view of the course are actually more expensive. On race days people are out on their balconies watching. There's not the merest hint of houses being built there being any kind of threat to the racing.

Only on bends 1 & 2. I would imagine that won't be a great place to watch, but there's loads of other options.