lucifer sam

That's not backed up by the stats, which reveal that Rickardsson (with 6 wins in 2005) and Crump (with 4 wins in 2006) both had their most dominant years outside the KO format. I don't think any rider ever won more than 3 GPs in a season while the KO system was in place. It mixed things up a bit, and was unquestionably dramatic, with eliminators as early as Heat 5. It's what the GP should be.... full or drama. Whereas the current format, which guarantees riders 5 rides, is far too cosy. The KO format was cut-throat. Time to bring it back, to give the GP a much needed shake up. All the best Rob

Restaging date is Friday, September 5th (7.30pm). All the best Rob

Go back to the KO format of 1998 to 2004 - that was brilliant! All the best Rob

Facility was still in place. Rained off - already raining up there and forecast for tonight is truly dreadful (slow-moving heavy band of rain does not sound encouragaing!!). All the best Rob

MEETING RAINED OFF All the best Rob

But that's just your own personal intrepretation of the rule. I can't see why it can't be applied to Longtrack, neither can SCB. The rulebook just states "International or National Championship duty". FIM events are recognised by the British authorities - and tomorrow is a FIM event. It could be argued it could be also implemented for e.g. an FIM Ice Racing commitment (not many riders doing both at the moment, but some e.g. Cribby, Erik Stenlund have done so in the past). Nowhere in the rule does say it has to be a Speedway event. All the best Rob

Good point, although I guess the official response may be that the BSPA/SCB recognise FIM events as "International duty" but not SEC events. Yes, I do see the point about Rye House and Tressarieu, and why they may feel wronged. But surely this has now pointed the direction that Rye or other teams need to take in the future. They need to get the rider involved to directly contact his Federation and for them to order him to ride in the Longtrack meeting. And then 16.5.1 C can be implemented. All the best Rob

And again I'll ask the question of whether it's because Scunthorpe followed the full procedure and did everything by the book, whereas other promotions did not? A shame you've started resorting to personal insults, but a sure sign you are losing the argument. All the best Rob

Now you're just being daft. David Howe was told by the ACU not to ride at Scunthorpe tonight - we have that straight from the rider's mouth. Hence the implementation of 16.5.1 C. Tresarrieu is French. The ACU have no juridstriction over him. For Rye to be granted a facility, it needed to go through the French authorities. Maybe they didn't do that, I don't know. Scunthorpe have done this by the book, contacting all the relevant authorities plenty of time in advance. I can't see how they can blamed if other promotions have not done the same. All the best Rob

I'm afraid you simply don't understand how the rulebook works - it's only necessary to fulfil one of those criteria to be able to use a facility, not all of them. If you are going to start quoting the rulebook, try and get it right. In this case, some of your earlier posts were misleading. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and put it down to lack of understanding, rather than a deliberate attempt to mislead. At the end of the day, Scunny are using a facility, and are doing so legally. If you can't see that, even after the clear explanation by David Howe, then I slightly despair. All the best Rob

But it doesn't mention what it applies to. You have to go by the actual rule, you're trying to add bits which aren't there. C can apply to Longtrack as easily as it could Speedway. Scunny have followed the rulebook - simple as. All the best Rob

I notice that Racers & Royals was very selective in which part of the rule he quoted. Just gone and looked at the FULL rule, and this is what Racers & Royals decided not to quote: 16.5.1 A Team may utilise a "Facility" to cover the absence of a Rider(s) who: C is recalled with prior notification, by his FMN for compulsory International or National Championship duty. Now then, haven't the ACU told David to miss the Scunthorpe meeting to ride on international duty? Looks perfectly legal to me. All the best Rob

EDITED as no response no longer needed - as David Howe has now answered himself. All the best Rob You never leave your bedroom in the first place. All the best Rob

It's not illegal, and it's been known about for some weeks All the best Rob

A facility has been granted, and that's that - end of story. All the best Rob

Best of luck to Lewis in his recovery. Good rider, with a good attitude. All the best Rob

Blimey, is this what normally happens with the Glasgow threads – that they’re overrun by slightly gloating and mocking Monarchs fans? And there was me thinking the meeting was between Glasgow and Scunthorpe. All the best Rob

What negative comments? From one person? Ash generally hasn't done too badly at all this year, considering the injuries he's come back from. He remains a popular member of the Scorpions' side. All the best Rob

JOSH RETURNS FOR CRUNCH FIXTURE FOR SCORPIONS JOSH AUTY is all set to return to the line-up of the FluidAir Scunthorpe Scorpions, as the Scorpions tackle the Peterborough Panthers in a vital Premier League encounter at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Friday evening (7.30pm). The 23-year-old Yorkshireman has been ruled out of action for the last three weeks, following an operation to have his appendix removed. Scorpions’ promoter Rob Godfrey said: “We’re absolutely delighted to have Josh back. “He and Ashley Birks were forming a really formidable middle pairing at numbers 3 & 4, before he had to sit on the sidelines for a few weeks. Josh can’t wait to get back going again.” Friday’s meeting will be a tough test for the Scorpions. Both Nicolai Klindt and David Howe have riding commitments elsewhere, and the Scorpions bring in two guests from Australia - Redcar’s Hugh Skidmore and Sheffield’s Taylor Poole. Team manager Dave Peet said: “Nicolai’s official average for the month of August is 7.05. That rules out the No 1 from virtually every other Premier League club. “So instead, we’ve done what we consider the next best thing, by bringing in Hugh Skidmore, because he often rides around Scunthorpe like a No 1. “Taylor Poole has recently started flying recently, and I’m sure a lot of people saw him knocking up the points from reserve in the recent televised meeting at Sheffield. We’re hoping he will do the same for us on Friday.” Although Peterborough are currently in eighth place in the Premier League table, some 12 points behind the fourth-placed Scorpions, they do have six matches in hand. In fact, comparing home points dropped to away points won, both teams are currently +4, as indeed are Ipswich and Workington. With Edinburgh (+19), Somerset (+13) and Berwick (+12) all looking safe, it would appear the foursome of the Scorpions, Panthers, Witches and Comets are battling for the final three play-off places. With the Scunthorpe vs Peterborough Knockout Cup match at the Eddie Wright Raceway in May ending as a 46-44 win to the Scorpions, another close encounter could be on the cards on Friday. Peet added: “Peterborough were very good in the cup match around here, although one of their star performers from that occasion, Ulrich Ostergaard, is missing this time around. “It’s important that we hit back, after not taking any points in our away match at Glasgow on Monday. The Panthers are one of the teams we are battling with for a play-off spot, so this is a very important meeting for us. “Our home form has been excellent recently and we need that again, so that we can take the three points that we need.” Admission prices for Friday: Adult: £15.00 Student/OAP: £13.00 Child (10 – 17): £5.00 Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £35 (2 adults, 2 Children 10-17) Match Programme: £1.00 Expected teams for Friday (English unless stated): FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Hugh Skidmore (Australia), 2. Thomas Jørgensen (Denmark), 3. Ashley Birks, 4. Josh Auty, 5. Ryan Douglas (Australia), 6. Matt Williamson, 7. Taylor Poole (Australia). Peterborough Panthers: 1. Lasse Bjerre (Denmark), 2. Lewis Blackbird, 3. Ales Dryml (Czech Republic), 4. Aaron Summers (Australia), 5. Rider replacement for Ulrich Ostergaard (Denmark), 6. Joe Jacobs, 7. Nicki Barrett (Denmark). Peterborough Panthers at EWR Ave Ave Best Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Performance Nicki Barrett PL 1 3 1 0 1.33 1.33 1 from 3 rides (2013) Lasse Bjerre PL 7 35 57 2 6.51 6.74 13 from 6 rides (2014) Lewis Blackbird PL 15 65 85 13 5.23 6.03 15 + 2 from 6 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (PL (2013))) Ales Dryml PL 1 5 6 2 4.80 6.40 6 + 2 from 5 rides (2014) Joe Jacobs PL 2 7 3 0 1.71 1.71 2 from 4 rides (2014) Other Notes Nicki Barrett Made his Premier League debut for Berwick during the 2012 season. Signed for Peterborough in June to replace the injured Oliver Greenwood. Lasse Bjerre 2011 Danish Under-21 Champion. Member of Denmark's World Under-21 Team Cup Championship Winning Team in 2010. Member of Ipswich's Premier League Fours Championship Winning Team in 2011. Qualified for this season's World Under-21 Individual Championship Finals. Recently named as a 'doubling-up' rider with Wolverhampton for the rest of the 2014 Elite League season. Lewis Blackbird 2013 Scunthorpe Scorpion. Member of Mildenhall's National League KO Cup Winning Team in 2011. Captain of Mildenhall's 2012 National League side, which won 5 major trophies at that level. Member of Dudley's 2013 National League Championship, Pairs and Fours Winning Teams. A Fast-Track Reserve with Eastbourne for the 2014 Elite League season. Ales Dryml Has competed in the Speedway Grand Prix Series and has represented his country in the Speedway World Cup. 2012 European Champion. Won the 2004 and 2007 European Pairs Championship with his brother Lukas. Member of Oxford's 2001 Elite League Championship Winning Team. Member of Poole's 2003 Elite League Championship and KO Cup Winning Teams. Joe Jacobs Member of Mildenhall's National League KO Cup Winning Team in 2011. Member of Mildenhall's NL Championship, Fours, KO Cup and National Trophy Winning Team in 2012. A Fast-Track Reserve with Wolverhampton for the 2014 Elite League season. Also riding in 2014 for Mildenhall in the National League. Peterborough Panthers' Results at EWR 26 May 2014 KOC L Scunthorpe 46 Peterborough 44 (stats courtesy of John Eyre)

I agree. I think they do already something like that in Rugby. How about the Jack Young Shield for the table topping team? All the best Rob

Give over and move into the 21st century. All the best Rob

Well done Glasgow, sounds like a good night for the Tigers and a bad night for the Scorpions. All the best Rob

Just remind them they finished one place behind a Scunthorpe side missing two of its top three in the fours yesterday. The Edinburgh website is even in denial about it, claiming they finished "joint third". Er no, it was Scunthorpe third and Edinburgh last in the final. All the best Rob

Robert Lambert was blocked from coming in, because it was blatantly against the rules. All the best Rob

Hope that Pavlova turns out to be a decent signing for the Tigers, but also hoping for a Scorpions win. I think it'll be a close meeting. All the best Rob