Bandits v Tigers, BSN Series, 18/04/26

[Weeyin]

Berwick deserved the win and I don't think they will lose at home. For Glasgow to get the bonus with only 3 riders performing, was a feat in itself. Bomber had probably his worst meeting in a long time. Jury is out on Mario,not sure how much time he will be given. Leon , Kevin and Kyle were the main stay and deserve applaud. Disappointed with Freddie and Sam, thought they would have done better. Reid Battye take a bow, he was exceptional,  r/r strengthened the bandits. They look like play off contenders this season.

[MD]

Ht11 looked a very good gate from Morris off the smooth gate 1, exceptionally good. Other than that we were worked hard and beaten by the better team. An interesting season ahead.

[Mgas]

17 minutes ago, Weeyin said:

Berwick deserved the win and I don't think they will lose at home. For Glasgow to get the bonus with only 3 riders performing, was a feat in itself. Bomber had probably his worst meeting in a long time. Jury is out on Mario,not sure how much time he will be given. Leon , Kevin and Kyle were the main stay and deserve applaud. Disappointed with Freddie and Sam, thought they would have done better. Reid Battye take a bow, he was exceptional,  r/r strengthened the bandits. They look like play off contenders this season.

Flint  and Battye were the stars of the meeting. Really impressed with Battye especially I said at p+p he looked the real deal. Not sure what Bombers issue was but he looked less than average tonight which was most strange. Exciting season ahead at Berwick I think, with a team that should be capable of away wins aswell. 

[Gazc]

15 minutes ago, Mgas said:

Flint  and Battye were the stars of the meeting. Really impressed with Battye especially I said at p+p he looked the real deal. Not sure what Bombers issue was but he looked less than average tonight which was most strange. Exciting season ahead at Berwick I think, with a team that should be capable of away wins aswell. 

Bad day at the office for Bomber happens to the best of them.

There ware others that we should be more concerned about, but Bomber will bounce back.

[Fromafar]

3 hours ago, Bagpuss said:

Reid Battye 👀

Brilliant Debut .certainly a talent on bike.Fast and smooth and stylish.

[Fromafar]

1 hour ago, Weeyin said:

Berwick deserved the win and I don't think they will lose at home. For Glasgow to get the bonus with only 3 riders performing, was a feat in itself. Bomber had probably his worst meeting in a long time. Jury is out on Mario,not sure how much time he will be given. Leon , Kevin and Kyle were the main stay and deserve applaud. Disappointed with Freddie and Sam, thought they would have done better. Reid Battye take a bow, he was exceptional,  r/r strengthened the bandits. They look like play off contenders this season.

Hodder would be a worry especially if Hagon does improve on last season.I good reserve is a must.

[Bandit59]

Well that was a good season opener for us, not much passing but plenty exciting races, what a home debut by Reid outstanding,Mario in heat one for 99.9 % of the race,and a good night for Leon,not so much for Bomber,I thought in heat 13 Peter and Nick forgot they in the same team for the first couple of laps 😂 onwards and upwards hopefully, mention also the great support the Tigers always bring to Berwick 

[TheWellBehavedWorrall]

You win some, you lose some. Well done to the Bandits who were deserved winners.

I’m a bit lost for words for Battye. That’s the best debut I’ve ever seen. That assertiveness to shut the door on Howarth in heat four was of established heat leader calibre; not a young man making his debut.

Bitterly disappointing from Hagon and Hausl. Hodder’s 3+1 exceeds what’s expected of him, IMO, and holding off Morris in heat four was a point we had no right accounting for. Harris has more than earned ann off day, but the other three desperately need to contribute.

Patience is key, but after three meetings, alarm bells are ringing for Hausl. Of course, I hope he comes good, but he’s so far off it; spectacularly poor, heat one aside. My heart says he’ll come good, but my head says he’ll be gone by mid-May.

[KEITH M]

3 hours ago, kerry said:

Some decisions blow my mind. Leon should have been given the T/S ride. Would argue Leon should be out in 15 too, and I'd bet my money now that he's not!

Maybe he wasn’t put in as a tac sub because that would of meant he was out in heats 10,11 and 12

[bringbackHalifax]

For tac subs and ht 15 Cammy thinks he is only allowed to use Bomber and Kyle

[Mgas]

5 minutes ago, bringbackHalifax said:

For tac subs and ht 15 Cammy thinks he is only allowed to use Bomber and Kyle

Flint was in heat 15

[TracksideView]

1 hour ago, TheWellBehavedWorrall said:

You win some, you lose some. Well done to the Bandits who were deserved winners.

I’m a bit lost for words for Battye. That’s the best debut I’ve ever seen. That assertiveness to shut the door on Howarth in heat four was of established heat leader calibre; not a young man making his debut.

Bitterly disappointing from Hagon and Hausl. Hodder’s 3+1 exceeds what’s expected of him, IMO, and holding off Morris in heat four was a point we had no right accounting for. Harris has more than earned ann off day, but the other three desperately need to contribute.

Patience is key, but after three meetings, alarm bells are ringing for Hausl. Of course, I hope he comes good, but he’s so far off it; spectacularly poor, heat one aside. My heart says he’ll come good, but my head says he’ll be gone by mid-May.

Along with learning UK tracks ,the lad is adjusting to also being over here on his own at a young age. Considering 1st race was Armadale, second was a wet Ashfield and third an extremely slick gate and go Shieldield he has still managed to score points, but time will tell if he can add to those points each meeting as he settles both on and off track.

[kerry]

7 hours ago, KEITH M said:

Maybe he wasn’t put in as a tac sub because that would of meant he was out in heats 10,11 and 12

He wouldn't be the first nor last time do 2 or 3 on the bounce. He had good pace & energy, I think he's the type of rider to thrive in those circumstances. There was an interval between 11 & 12 too.

[TheWellBehavedWorrall]

6 hours ago, TracksideView said:

Along with learning UK tracks ,the lad is adjusting to also being over here on his own at a young age. Considering 1st race was Armadale, second was a wet Ashfield and third an extremely slick gate and go Shieldield he has still managed to score points, but time will tell if he can add to those points each meeting as he settles both on and off track.

I’m not disputing any of this - you’ve quoted me saying ”patience is key” and ”I hope he comes good” - but the fact of the matter is, we’re talking about someone whose arrived a gold medalist at the SON2 and victor of the Gold Ribbon, ahead of several big names. It cannot be argued that the pre-season excitement has been extinguished somewhat.

It’s difficult not to compare him to our most immediate similarity; Villads Nagel who was younger and arrived mid-season, but who hit the ground running.

As I said, I hope he comes good.

[TheWellBehavedWorrall]

11 hours ago, kerry said:

Some decisions blow my mind. Leon should have been given the T/S ride. Would argue Leon should be out in 15 too, and I'd bet my money now that he's not!

On a similar note, should Hagon have replaced Hodder in heat fourteen?

Neither rode well, but Hagon had just relegated Battye to last in heat twelve, so in my opinion, the obvious strategy was to do a reserve replacement.

Forgive me if I’ve missed a rule.

Edited Sunday at 06:59 AM by TheWellBehavedWorrall

[kerry]

3 minutes ago, TheWellBehavedWorrall said:

On a similar note, should Hagon have replaced Hodder in heat fourteen?

Neither rode well, but Hagon had just relegated Battye to last in heat twelve, so in my opinion, the obvious strategy was to replace him.

Forgive me if I’ve missed a rule.

I'm not sure it would have changed much. The points don't reflect, but I do think Hagon looked more competitive than Hodder last night.

Edit -

I also think Howarth should have gone off 15m than replace with Hodder in H9.

Edited Sunday at 07:03 AM by kerry

[TheWellBehavedWorrall]

Just now, kerry said:

I'm not sure it would have changed much. The points don't reflect, but I do think Hagon looked more competitive than Hodder last night.

Agreed, but I always feel six is due more leniency than seven as they’re in more difficult races.

I think that’s why Hodder was retained over Perry.

Quite worrying how poor our reigning British U21 champion looked in addition to our former Bandit who appeared to be shutting off entering bends. I really like Hodder, but slowing down to hit the corner raises big concerns.

[Gazc]

9 hours ago, Fromafar said:

Brilliant Debut .certainly a talent on bike.Fast and smooth and stylish.

He was very impressive looks like you have uncovered a gem.

Would like to see Berwick have a better season with some success it has been long overdue.

[Noelinho]

7 hours ago, TracksideView said:

Along with learning UK tracks ,the lad is adjusting to also being over here on his own at a young age. Considering 1st race was Armadale, second was a wet Ashfield and third an extremely slick gate and go Shieldield he has still managed to score points, but time will tell if he can add to those points each meeting as he settles both on and off track.

This is the realistic view.

Anyone looking for Mario to be another Villads will be disappointed. He's not. Villads is an elite prospect, an established SGP2 rider and an SGP3 medallist. Mario is not. Yes, he has a team medal, but that's from one meeting where yes, he did really well, but you also need to keep it in perspective.

If you compare Villads to Mario in the Polish league last year, there's a big difference. In the second tier, Villads was 7th in the averages, Mario was 35th. Converting to British style averages, Mario averaged 4, Villads averaged 7.4. Villads also comes from Denmark, and their tracks and climate is a much more natural transition for a rider coming to Britain.

None of this is to say Mario is a bad signing. I always saw it as a risk, and a much bigger risk than Kevin Juhl Pedersen, but one well worth making. What matters is his progression come August/September. He will struggle at some tracks, but the hope is that he learns and comes back stronger next time he sees them. I'm sure he'll be fine at home once he's had a few race meetings too, which is always different to practice.

Give the guy a chance, but don't build him up to be something he was never going to be either.

[Beirao]

1 hour ago, TheWellBehavedWorrall said:

On a similar note, should Hagon have replaced Hodder in heat fourteen?

Neither rode well, but Hagon had just relegated Battye to last in heat twelve, so in my opinion, the obvious strategy was to do a reserve replacement.

Forgive me if I’ve missed a rule.

Same  situation arose in Friday night's meeting where Hodder kept his place in heat 14 despite being pointless. While it seems Cami Brown is reluctant to make changes, it was the right call.