*JJ

Everything I have seen says 'Devon Demons'. The MDL is certainly NL riders under 4.0; SDL probably the same. Teams are only squad members, squads of six riders. Riders should not ride for other teams, but I don't know how long that will last! I know that some teams are trying to play fair, but some are using NL riders. Riders can be in both Southern and Midland DLs. Brits only.

There are Facebook pages for both MDL and SDL, and also for individual DL teams. Meanwhile, is there a fixture list for MDL yet?

Looked like it - the chain can whip the rider.

Those few who can afford £5,000 for an engine. Most buy second hand (complete) bikes for about £1,000!

It was in his workshop, with material from which he was making suits. Personally, I see no reason to disbelieve him. The 'part nylon' suits are now banned; all race suits have to have a label stating that they conform to modern ACU standards and this is checked by the machine examiner before racing.

Nonsense - riders go enormous distances, paying themselves: no expenses or sponsorship for amateurs. We will be going down to Plymouth for SDL matches this year.

They will sack half the team and introduce an Elite League rider again.

All I can say is, that I watched the suit maker apply a hot soldering iron to nylon (melted, of course), then to the kevlar material. No melting. Why should I admit to being wrong?

In amateur racing, the riders are waiting at the pit gates with their engines running as the previous heat finishes, and go out on to the track when the previous riders exit it. If amateurs can do this, why not the professionals?

This is what I was told; I may have got some of it wrong, of course. I don't want to name names on a public forum, but as I understand it, it was from the right person.

Scunthorpe Stags are, at least, in MDL, I gather but when and against whom I haven't heard yet ... Pleeeasee?

Not me - I am about 50 years too old! As for Tom; he deserves to succeed IMO.

The matches I mentioned is what we were offered. In any case, travel to places like (saving your presence!) Kent is just not on for us: most of the diesel cost comes out of my pension. I don't mind this, within reason, but NL riders receive travel costs so it would not be a problem then. Yes, although this year NL riders are no longer allowed, as some MDL clubs last year were taking the mickey by filling their teams with NL riders to make sure of winning the play offs!

In each team ... actually, the teams will have a squad of more than four, because the riders are purely amateur and can't necessarily go to all matches. I am helping a rider (from Birmingham) who will ride for a south coast SDL team, but only for home matches at Plymouth, and at Somerset; Eastbourne etc. are too far so other squad members will do these.

A bit out of date - all of the British girls seem have given it up, except Skye Adams, who does motocross and flat track.

Not true. As I said, the maker demonstrated this. It is the old nylon type which melts.

They're all different; everybody's guessing!

I am told that the MDL (and SDL) will be going ahead with four 500cc riders this year.

I was told, by the suit maker, that it was an 11 year old girl. He illustrated the point by demonstrating that a hot soldering iron didn't melt or burn kevlar like nylon. Probably the ACU were more exercised about a young girl than an adult male rider!

Support class equates to MDL; however, they were only a second or so slower than the Open class, which contained some good NL riders. The point is, that Kean could only be replaced by an unattached 3 point rider anyway, which would generally be an MDL rider. These will only improve if they are given a chance in the NL.

Kevlar suits mostly protect against abrasion and burning - riders wear an 'armour suit' underneath to protect against impacts. I was told that the reason why the full kevlar suit was mandatory a couple of years ago was that a young girl crashed (in grassrack, I think) and was burned when the exhaust melted the nylon part of the suit into her skin.

No. I met a lad at an amateur race meeting yesterday though who would suit, Luke Whitehead.

As long as it's not the rider whose average is a big fat zero, but who Drury keeps encouraging ...

The post-2010 silencers have slowed them down a bit. No-one, not even top EL 'stars', have got near Jason Lyons' track record at Birmingham.

Scotchmans Hill IIRC!