lucifer sam

Seems to be a bit of understandable frustration on his part. As for an "improving performance", how's he supposed to deliver this, without being out on the racetrack? All the best Rob

Well done to Kent on their big win, although the big question on the night is why on earth they didn't give No 8 Adam Sheppard any rides. All the best Rob

Blimey, can't this thread stay as Kent vs Scunthorpe, rather then relative strengths of the NL teams yet again (although Scunny now only have two 3.00 men, the rest have increased from that). The other promoters voted Scunthorpe in, after the original press release where it stated Stags were intending to track six rookies - the other tracks knew what they were getting, but still welcomed Scunny in. But can't we discuss tonight's meeting instead? I'm really interested to see, in particular, how Reece Downes fares at No 4. He's a got sensible head on his shoulders, so I think he'll take it in his stride. And can Arron Mogridge mix it again with riders with a lot more speedway experience? Cradley seemed to think they were going to whitewash us, but Moggo Jnr had other ideas. All the best Rob

Then follow in F1's example. Riders have a flying lap; order determined by drawing lots. Rider with the fastest time has first choice of draw number (most likely to go for 1, 5 or 13). Second fastest rider has second pick. Down to 16th rider having whatever is left (no 3 is a bum draw, good chance this could be left). Media then not only has a draw to publish, but also qualifying times. Could create a story, e.g. if there's a surprise top qualifier, how the championship contenders fare against each other, etc. If practice is cancelled, then riders pick in championship order. All the best Rob

Moggo Jnr is a very decent speedway rider - despite very limited experience. Gutted to be missing this, it was down in my diary but the 4TT at Wolves featuring Oxford is where I'll now be. From an entirely selfish point of view, I wouldn't mind a rain off at Kent tomorrow, so that I can get down for the restaging. I hope all the riders stay safe and don't worry about the entertainment value, the Stags' lads always give 100% and nothing less. All the best Rob

Meeting off. All the best Rob

If a rider wins their first three races and has 9 points, if they then run a third, they might be not too unhappy to sit in that postion. Where under the KO format, if you did that, you were straight into an eliminator, even if you'd been previosly unbeaten. You couldn't affort a duff ride in the KO format, you can under the current format. It favours the top riders too much now, whereas under the KO format anybody could get into the mix. There was cut-throat racing throughout the KO format, you only tend to get that from Heat 17 onwards under the current format. It's too safe for a high-octane motorsport. Make it dramatic. All the best Rob

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