lucifer sam

SCORPIONS SEEKING A LIFT AFTER A BLACK WEEKEND THE EDDIE WRIGHT RACEWAY stages a 33-heat feast of speedway on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon (3pm), with the Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions hosting the Newcastle Diamonds in the SGB Championship, followed by the 500cc and 250cc classes of the second round of the British Youth Championship. It’s been a dreadful weekend for Scorpions, rocked by the shock retirement of the club legend Josh Auty, which came just 24 hours after youngster Josh Bailey announced he ‘needed time out’ to allow his injured shoulder time to fully heal. Both riders have quit with immediate effect, leaving Scorpions searching for two new riders. In the meantime, they will utilise rider replacement for Auty against the Diamonds at the EWR, while David Wallinger will guest for Bailey. Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey says: “Let’s not beat around the bush - it’s been a horrible weekend for the club, with the news about firstly Josh Bailey and then the huge bombshell regarding Josh Auty. “I’m absolutely devastated that Josh Auty has quit, and I know a lot of our supporters will be feeling the same. “The one thing that can lift us all is getting back on-track around the Eddie Wright Raceway, seeing some cracking speedway and witnessing a Scorpions’ victory over Newcastle. “It won’t be easy, but if were fire on all our remaining cylinders, we can take three league points from the meeting. “We have an extra 18 races with the cream of Britain’s youngsters taking to the track for the second round of the British Youth Championship at both 250cc and 500cc level. There are some great kids involved who have bright futures in the sport. “It should be a top afternoon of action, and maybe that will be the medicine that we all need.” Diamonds are led by British Under-21 Champion Robert Lambert, and also feature ex-Scorpion Steve Worrall. Bank Holiday Monday’s adult admission price for the double-header is £17. It’s just £2 more than a single SGB Championship meeting at the Eddie Wright Raceway, for 18 extra heats of action. A full and exciting afternoon of racing is ahead. DON’T MISS IT! Admission prices for Bank Holiday Monday: Adult: £17.00 Student/OAP: £15.00 Child (10 – 17): £5.00 Child (0 – 9) Free (accompanied by paying adult) Family Ticket £39 (2 adults, 2 Children 16-17) Match Programme: £1.00 Expected teams for Bank Holiday Monday: Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Michael Palm Toft (captain), 2. Carl Wilkinson, 3. Lewis Kerr, 4. Ryan Douglas, 5. Rider replacement for Josh Auty, 6. Tero Aarnio, 7. David Wallinger (guest). Newcastle Diamonds: 1. Robert Lambert, 2. Ashley Morris, 3. Lewis Rose, 4. Ludvig Lindgren, 5. Steve Worrall, 6. Ben Hopwood, 7. Connor Coles. British Youth Championship (500cc class): Charlie Brooks, Kean Dicken, Elliot Bloxsome, Liam Little, James Laker, Drew Kemp, Daniel Gilkes. British Youth Championship (250cc class): Jordan Palin, Jacob Clayton, Dan Thompson, Jake Mulford, Nathan Ablitt, Leon Flint, Joe Thompson, Danny Curl, Jason Edwards.

Sad news, as a Scorpions' legend retires: http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=7215 All the best Rob

To me, Buxton are the archetypal third-tier club. If they are struggling to compete in the NL then something has gone wrong. I know how passionate you are about this level of speedway. I feel for you mate. All the best Rob

Just to confirm that Josh Bailey has also quit Scunthorpe. All the best Rob

It's Mildenhall 2008. A team with a rather unfortunate record. All the best Rob

Not sure if I'm unbiased, but I was stood in front of the ref's box - right by the starting tapes. It was Garrity who caused the mayhem at the tapes in Heat 1, by moving early. I'm unsure how he missed out on a warning, given that the referee was later handing them out like confetti. Garrity moved, both MPT and Garcia went through the tapes. All the best Rob

Frigbo, you'll know better than me. Wasn't there a big pile-up involving Jimmy in 1988? He was a changed rider around that point - the slightly scary version disappeared. All the best Rob

Jimmy Nilsen wasn't that dull to watch to begin with. I think he had a couple of injuries (in 1988?) and he changed a bit after that. To begin with, he was a bit harum-scarum, from what I recall. He had two years at Oxford. 2000 was nothing to write home about, but 1995 was a bit different. He started that year under a cloud, following the injury to Per Jonsson the previous year, but rediscovered his 'mojo' in a Oxford v Swindon meeting, when he started really attacking and picking off the Robins riders for fun. He was a different man for the rest of the year. The following year he went back to Blunsdon and within a couple of years, he was World No 2. All the best Rob

Oh, Lars (or to give him the slightly unkind nickname he gained, 'Last'! ) would definitely be in my list of embarrassing Oxford riders, but not in my dull list. I think Teurnberg's mechanic once went on the warpath, looking for Chris Brown at Reading one night. All the best Rob

Teurnberg was a dull-as-ditchwater white liner, who was simply embarrassing when the Cheetahs went to Exeter. He rode the inside and nearly got lapped!! I wouldn't include Munkedal. He didn't have a great time (to say the least) at Cowley, but he wasn't dull to watch. In particular, before he signed for us, I remember a double-header at Hyde Road in 1987. Wolves were on both Oxford, and Lars got double-figures with some fairly spectacular riding for Wolves. All the best Rob

I mainly saw Kelvin when he was riding for Coventry. He was a good gater who scored a lot of points, but lacked any ‘wow’ factor, which is why he’s one of my choices for riders who failed to grab my imagination. I’ve never really had a chance to speak to him, but dear old Bryn told me Kelvin is a likeable and personable chap. But on track, he just didn’t do anything for me. All the best Rob

OK, here's my list: Kelvin Tatum, Jan Andersson, Daz Sumner, Mikael Teurnberg and Edward Kennett. All the best Rob

BCD, since you're on here, please could you advise when the Peterborough v Scunthorpe KOC fixture will take place. I realise you've probably known since Tuesday. Ta! All the best Rob

TEAM NEWS: Sadly MPT is absent due to a sickness bug today, but we're delighted to have secured the services of Kyle Howarth as a guest.

Always tricky to judge riders who had a full career against those with an interrupted one, so it comes down to judgement. Crump senior and Adams were consistently great riders, but never quite got to World Champion. On the other hand, I feel Wiltshire would have been one of the outstanding riders of the mid 90s period, without his injury. It's not out of the question to imagine him winning one or two or even more World titles. He had an edge on the world stage that Crump snr and Adams lacked - he could raise his game on the big stage. He demonstrated that when he was the best rider on show in the 1990 World Pairs (Leigh Adams had a decent meeting, but nowhere as good as Todd's) and then finished third in the World Final at Bradford. Just imagine if he'd been in a position to build on that. All the best Rob

How about: 1. Vic Duggan 2. Jason Crump 3. Jack Young 4. Bluey Wilkinson 5. Graham Warren 6. Vic Huxley 7. Billy Sanders 8. Todd Wiltshire 9. Phil Crump 10. Leigh Adams Chris Holder is still just bubbling under for me, until he has another good year in the GP. I also thought about including Lionel Van Praag and Aub Lawson - maybe Van Praag should replace Leigh Adams at No 10? All the best Rob

Wiltshire? Wash out your mouth Sid, and expect grief from both Reading and Oxford fans. Great rider, and far more than just a gater. Tremendous track craft. All the best Rob

SCORPIONS SEEK TO RETURN TO WINNING WAYS SCUNTHORPE owner Rob Godfrey is hoping for a change in the fortunes of the club – starting with the clash between Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions and Ipswich Witches at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday (5.30pm), when club asset Tero Aarnio is set to make his first appearance in Scorpions’ colours since 2012. Finnish star Aarnio, aged 33, is initially a temporary replacement for Stefan Nielsen, who is due to be out for around four-to-six weeks with the broken collarbone he sustained at Ipswich last week. “We’ve had plenty of luck this season”, comments Godfrey, “but unfortunately it’s all been bad! “We lost Fritz Wallner early in the season, and then the moment we replace him with Stefan and get back to full strength, both Carl Wilkinson and Ryan Douglas pick up knocks, and Stefan does his collarbone. “I couldn’t believe it when we had riders going down like flies at Ipswich with Stefan getting injured in his just his second meeting for us. I really don’t know what we’ve done to deserve such bad luck, I really don’t. But all we can do is rise above it, dust ourselves down and go again. “I didn’t waste any time getting hold of our old friend Tero Aarnio and agreeing a deal for him to re-join us. “I was surprised he was still on the sidelines looking for a club, since he’s a quality rider. We know he can do the business for us – and he certainly knows the best way around the Eddie Wright Raceway. “He’s a club asset, a fans’ favourite and slots straight into the team at reserve at No 6 in place of Stefan, so I’m really pleased we’ve managed to solve that problem so quickly.” Ryan Douglas returns to action on Sunday - after an enforced spell out due to concussion due to a crash at Ipswich - and Scorpions are set to track seven riders of their own for only the fourth time in 13 meetings this season. Nielsen is definitely part of Scorpions’ plans for the rest of the season and will return once fit, while Aarnio has a chance to stake his claim for a team place for the remainder of the year. Godfrey was as disappointed as anyone with the 40-50 home reverse to Sheffield last week and wants to see a reaction against Witches. Witches’ line-up is led by British Champion Danny King and Australian international Rory Schlein. “We need to get back to winning matches very quickly and that starts with this meeting”, he stresses. “We need to get the team spirit back and we need to get people working as a team, not as individuals. I think that is a key ingredient that can be worked on. “I hope it’s a cracking meeting with the usual top class racing we have grown accustomed to around the Eddie Wright Raceway. But more than anything I want the three points and no more injures, please”, he concludes. There are 21 heats of action in total on Sunday, including a six-heat second half Midland Development League match between Scunthorpe Stags and Milton Keynes Knights. Admission prices for Sunday: 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 Sunday: Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Michael Palm Toft (captain), 2. Carl Wilkinson, 3. Lewis Kerr, 4. Ryan Douglas, 5. Josh Auty, 6. Tero Aarnio, 7. Josh Bailey. Ipswich Witches: 1. Danny King, 2. Cameron Heeps, 3. Justin Sedgmen, 4. Kyle Newman, 5. Rory Schlein, 6. Connor Mountain, 7. Nathan Greaves. Midland Development League teams: Scunthorpe Stags: 1. Chris Bambury, 2. Lloyd Ditchburn, 3. Luke Whitehead, 4. Sam Chapman. Milton Keynes Knights: 1. Rob Watts, 2. Lewis Austen, 3. Chris Watts, 4. Connor King.

I realised after I asked the question that it had a fairly simple answer: “When the Australians came over and did what they'd already been doing!”. As you say, this was High Beech meeting No 2 (April 1928). I guess some of the more off-the-beaten-track venues in 1928, without any 'names', still had meetings similar to the first High Beech meeting, with people just on standard road motorbikes and no broadsiding. All the best Rob

Norbold, out of interest, when did 'broadsiding' start in the UK? At what point in 1928? All the best Rob

Seems they deserved more than 2 points from last night given the professional foul that allegedly happened in Heat 13, eh? All the best Rob

Blobmeister, As a neutral observer, I have a question. If the track is so easy to ride, then how come Mr Wells was unable to stay on his bike in Heat 13? All the best Rob

But the rider behind (Danny King) ended up in front of Lewis Kerr, so why stop the race? It made no sense. And the rules aren't clear. Please show me where the word 'impair' is in the rulebook? Just who is the 'primary cause' in such a case? The rider who locks up? Or the rider who clatters into the back of another? It made absolutely no difference to the result of the meeting, but the ref ruined what was shaping up to be a cracking race. All the best Rob

Sid, I think I would disagree. PC had one hell of a 1980 season. Top of the BL averages; carried (along with Chris Morton) a two-man BV team to third in the BL table; also to KOC final, where they surely would have won but for his shoulder injury; World Pairs Champion (barely dropping a point); World Team Cup Champion; one of the favourites at Gothenburg, and fell away only after the interval. It seems to me that he was still a major force to be reckoned with, prior to the aforementioned shoulder injury at Cradley, which led to his absence from British Speedway for the majority of 1981. That's where he started to slip. Meanwhile, I'm not convinced Autrey would have been World Champion at Katowice in 1979. No-one was going to stop Mauger winning the title that day. All the best Rob

TSO certainly isn't me He's my special BSF stalker, after I upset him a few years ago All the best Rob