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Coming up to support him, Lewy? All the best Rob

Stefan Nielsen in for Scorpions: http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=5501 All the best Rob

Simmo at Barrow is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TGlesVS8dc Rob Grant passed him from behind in his trademark forceful fashion! All the best Rob

NEW-LOOK Henderson Insurance Scunthorpe Scorpions face a tough test at the Eddie Wright Raceway on Sunday (6.30pm) – the visit of local rivals Sheffield Tigers in Premier League action. Sheffield contain a number of Scunthorpe track specialists in their side. In fact, four of the top eight in last week’s scintillating British Semi-Final - Simon Stead, Kyle Howarth, Jason Garrity and Josh Bates - will be in Tigers’ colours on Sunday early evening. “Sunday’s meeting is as going to be as tough as they come for us”, admits Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey. “Every single one of Sheffield’s top four was superb in the British Semi-Final. But let’s remember that Josh Auty also had a great meeting that night, and Carl Wilkinson was mixing it as well. “We are capable enough of winning the meeting. And if we beat Sheffield around our place, then we can beat anyone. “One thing that almost seems certain is that there will be some cracking racing. I hope the fans come along on Sunday and really get behind our boys. We really want those three points.” A plus for Scunthorpe is that Richard Hall (another EWR track specialist) has been recently dropped by the Tigers and replaced at reserve by Arthur Sissis. With Scunthorpe’s team changes pushing Carl Wilkinson to reserve, Scorpions will be looking to outscore Tigers in that area. Much of the focus of attention for Sunday’s meeting will surround the re-introduction of Danes Michael Palm Toft and Andreas Lyager to Scorpions’ line-up. Palm Toft previously rode for Scunthorpe between 2011 and 2013 and won the league championship with the club in 2012, while Lyager made four appearances for Scorpions at the conclusion of the 2015 season. Godfrey says: “Andreas gave us a brief glimpse of what he’s capable of last season and I really do think he can hit the ground running. “The kid’s only 18 years old, he’s desperate to ride for us and he’s been riding in Denmark and on the continent so far this season and had some good scores. He’s invested in his machinery, he’s our asset and one for the future. “Meanwhile, we know what Michael can do. He was certainly knocking up the scores for us at the end of 2012 and one of the key figures in our championship-winning team. He’s a class act around our place. “We feel we’ve now regained the strength in depth that this team was built around, and we’ve got back a big hitter in the No. 6 berth in the shape of Carl Wilkinson.” There are 24 heats of action in total on Sunday, with a nine-race second half including a six-heat Midland Development League match between Scunthorpe & Belle Vue. 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. Josh Auty, 2. Andreas Lyager, 3. Alex Davies, 4. Michael Palm Toft, 5. Ryan Douglas, 6. Carl Wilkinson, 7. Josh Bailey. Sheffield Tigers: 1. Simon Stead, 2. Dimitri Berge, 3. Kyle Howarth, 4. Josh Bates, 5. Jason Garrity, 6. Arthur Sissis, 7. Nathan Greaves. Midland Development League teams: Scunthorpe Stags: 1. TBA, 2. Lloyd Ditchburn, 3. Luke Whitehead, 4. Sam Chapman. Belle Vue Colts: 1. TBA, 2. Ollie Rutter, 3. Stephen Whitehouse, 4. George Rothery. Sheffield Tigers at EWR Ave Ave Name Lge M R Pts BP (no BP) (w BP) Best Performance Josh Bates PL 11 44 42 3 3.82 4.09 11 + 1 from 5 rides (2015) Dimitri Berge PL 3 16 25 2 6.25 6.75 14 from 7 rides (2015) Jason Garrity PL 4 19 35 0 7.37 7.37 12 from 5 rides (2015) Nathan Greaves PL 3 12 2 2 0.67 1.33 2 + 2 from 4 rides (2014) Kyle Howarth PL 8 42 51 4 4.86 5.24 12 + 1 from 5 rides (inc 4 pts T/R (2015)) Arthur Sissis PL 1 4 3 2 3.00 5.00 3 + 2 from 4 rides (2015) Simon Stead PL 6 26 55 2 8.46 8.77 15 + 1 from 5 rides (inc 6 pts T/R (2014)) Other Notes Josh Bates Former Scunthorpe Scorpion. Twice British Under-21 Champion (2014 and 2016). 2015 British Under-19 Champion. Member of Mildenhall's National League Championship, KO Cup and Trophy Winning Teams in 2012. Member of Mildenhall's National League Trophy Winning Team in 2014. Dimitri Berge 2012 World Longtrack Champion (250cc) Has ridden in 1 World Cup meeting for his country. Jason Garrity 2008 British Under-15 Champion. 2011 British Under-19 and National League Riders' Champion. Member of Buxton's National League Championship, Trophy and KO Cup Winning Teams in 2010. Premier Challenge Trophy Winner with Rye House in 2012. Nathan Greaves Twice British Youth 250cc Champion (2011 and 2012). Twice British Youth 500cc Champion (2012 and 2013). Member of Dudley's National League Championship, KO Cup and National Shield Winning Teams in 2013. Member of Cradley's National League Championship, KO Cup and Four-Team Championship Winning Teams in 2014. Kyle Howarth 2015 British Under-21 Champion. Rode for the Scunthorpe Saints in 2009 National League. Member of Poole's Elite League KO Cup Winning Team in 2012. Arthur Sissis Recently signed following injury which ended his debut Premier League season. 2008/2009 Australian Under-16 Champion. Simon Stead 2014 Premier League Riders' Champion. Three times British Under-21 Champion (2001 to 2003). Youth Development League Riders Champion 1998. Has ridden in 4 Grand Prixs and 11 Speedway World Cup meetings. Member of Peterborough's Premier League Championship Winning Team in 1998. Member of Sheffield's Premier League Championship and Young Shield Winning Teams in 1999 and 2002. Member of Sheffield's Premier Trophy Winning Team in 2001 and KO Cup Winning Team in 2002. Three times Premier League Fours Winner (1999/2000 with Sheffield and 2004 with Workington). Member of Workington's Premier League Pairs Winning Duo in 2003. Member of Belle Vue's Elite League Pairs Winning Duo in 2006. Member of Belle Vue's Elite League KO Cup Winning Team in 2005. Member of Coventry's Elite League Craven Shield Winning Team in 2008. Member of Swindon's Elite League Winning Team in 2012. Sheffield Tigers' Record at EWR Meetings Ridden: 20 Won: 9 Drawn: 0 Lost: 11 Biggest Win: 53 - 40 (6 April 2015) Heaviest Defeat: 63 - 31 (21 June 2013) Last Visit: 50 - 43 (W - 27 March 2016) (stats by John Eyre)

That also explains why Etheridge is allowed to ride. I don't think he'd be allowed to ride if it was deemed a NL level meeting. All the best Rob

Quibell Park (1971-1978) Ashby Ville (1979-1985) All the best Rob

Not even Scunny for the pie and peas, Shads? All the best Rob

Najjer, just to clarify this point from the other day. Holub could not be dropped until he had done 4 home and 4 away. Scorpions had to wait until then. Scorps management wanted Wilko back at reserve. The only way to achieve that was to take out Ash Morris and Zdenek Holub, who were both below Wilko in the averages. Scorpions should now be stronger since: 1. MPT will score more points than Holub, 2. Wilko is now back at reserve, so overall team shape is better. All the best Rob PS I thought you were sh*t hot on the rulebook, Najjer. Have you take your eye off the ball in the last couple of years.

Just think about it for a few seconds... Just a few. There you go, got it now? If not, read Vince's post. Pretty huge clue there. All the best Rob

http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=5481 All the best Rob

http://scunthorpescorpions.co/?p=5457 All the best Rob

Rob Hollingworth? British Speedway was its height, in terms of number of tracks, in the mid 70s. Hollingworth doubled up between both leagues, Boston (NL) and Wolverhampton (BL). Then he came back between 2000 and 2005, and rode at a totally different level for Boston. I wouldn't be surprised to see him pushing 60 tracks. All the best Rob

Surely concrete starting gates are a huge safety hazard. Why on earth bring back something very dangerous? All the best Rob

No, that was different. There was a draft list known by the Monday, which I saw for the first time after that meeting. BUT that list had two changes from the finalised list that was sent out on Tuesday morning. If that list had been announced, people made plans to watch their favourite rider, only for the next day to be told that they were actually in the other semi, then they'd have every right to be annoyed. The riders were announced as soon as the list was finalised. All the best Rob

Never quite understood the secret squirrel approach at certain tracks - I find it bizarre. If you want people through the door, then you need to tell them what they can look forward to. I'll add the 1-16 to twitter at around lunchtime, and also point out the key clashes. All the best Rob

Around tomorrow (Thursday) lunchtime. All the best Rob

Terrible waste of potential whatever happened to him? Meanwhile, what about Steve Hone, No 7 / second half rider at Canterbury? Did he fulfil his full potential? All the best Rob

Steve, Joe was making great progress at Hull, but suffered life-threatening injuries in a crash in 1978. At the time, he was a 9.00+ man in the BL. Otherwise, who knows? I can't remember Hull being that unconventional, when we went up there in 1980. Viewing was tricky, because you were too low and were bombarded with granite (therefore it was Nan's first and last experience of a speedway meeting!!). But otherwise I just remember a narrow but fast track. All the best Rob That's true, but at least it meant we had a World Final, rather than a British/American/Danish/Swedish Final. And the continentals didn't always simply make up the numbers, as Szczakiel and Muller proved. And it certainly added to the drama of the ICF, which claimed a number of World Champions during its lifetime. All the best Rob

With Crumpie, Steve Gresham (his team-mate at Newport, Bristol and Swindon) thought the turning point was Crump's injury at Sheffield in 1977. Until that happened, he thought Crumpie was nailed on to become World Champion. All the best Rob

I think there might have been an injury while rode for Bradford. Of course, later on, while he was riding for King's Lynn, he was involved in the horrific pile-up at Odsal in the 1989 WTC Final. Lance had his head in a neck brace on that afternoon, was essentially physically OK, but the psychological effect of that accident was a factor in his subsequent retirement. But it was that missing British year in 1985 which really affected him and changed the whole course of his career. When I interviewed him, he certainly thought that was the big game changer. If you look at 1984, his performance in the final was no fluke. It's already been mentioned that he won the Overseas Final with a maximum, but he also breezed through one of the toughest-ever Inter-Continental Finals (which claimed the stricken Carter and nearly Nielsen too), with a third place. All the best Rob

I see you point, although I would question if a rider who won both the Speedway World Championship and was also three-time World Longtrack Champion could de deemed as not fulfilling potential. I somehow doubt if Muller would have exchanged the above with a successful BL career! All the best Rob

Not really. For example, Nigel De'ath led Erik Gundersen for three laps at Cradley in the opening meeting of 1987. His career seemed to be taking off, then he started to find out how much speedway can hurt. Sadly, that's probably the case with hundreds of riders. All the best Rob

Sid, it wasn't an injury as such. Lance King didn't return to the UK in 1985, because Cradley could only afford him or Erik Gundersen, and perhaps not surprisingly, they went for the World Champ. It killed the momentum of King's career - until then he looked like a future champion. All the best Rob

Eh? They had two riders injured on Saturday night. Which allows two choices: 1. IOW book guests. 2. IOW send weak team, and instead of last night's enthralling encounter, we get a one-sided drubbing. Before you point it out, I realise they didn't have any guests in the immediate post-war period. But I would also point out thanks to unbalanced teams and massive drubbings, amongst other factors, that speedway went from a massive boom (1946-1949) to the point of extinction (1957-1959) in just a decade. Anyway, getting back to the point, terrific meeting last night and great advert for speedway. All the best Rob

Shads, to be fair, both teams had high-scoring guests - it was an inspired race from Ben Morley in Heat 10 that kept Cradley level at that point. Good racing, and a meeting that both teams deserved to take something from. All the best Rob