Buster Chapman and the not so magnificent seven

It's been a while, so I'm back. Not having Havelock/Horton to whinge about has left me at a loose end so I'll try and dissect Buster Chapman's one man war against the whinging Australians with minimal bias and with a helping of gin and tonic.

If you were to ask pretty much every speedway fan in the UK 2/3 years ago which clubs were the best run and least shambolic I imagine King's Lynn wouldn't have been far off the top of anyone's list. So why has it gone so badly wrong?

Since Buster Chapman became chairman of the BSPA and launched his self proclaimed 'era of transparency', BSPA towers has become further shrouded in mystery rather than more transparent. To be fair, this isn't solely because they are deliberately operating in the shadows, some of the decisions openly made and discussed have been so ridiculous that a Poirot, Morse, Sherlock and Luther collaboration of minds could not come up with how certain decisions have been taken.

This season of transparency alone has seen us begin the season with no clear rules set as to what will happen with averages until a mid-season meeting, despite the logical 20% average conversions/changes taking someone (me) with no more than GCSE maths little more than 2 minutes to come up with.  That said, I suppose they can't be accused of hiding the truth from us concerning the rules when they don't know themselves.

The latest 2 huge shambolic events have taken place around our new signings cut off. Ipswich and their 0 changes, and King's Lynn and their 3. I'll talk about Lynn, because I already feel Justin Sedgeman has had enough air time on social media over the last few days. What I will say, quickly, though, is that:
A) If he was riding well enough this season in either league he wouldn't keep being dropped. He's been given 3 chances to do the business and hasn't taken any of them. 
B) He's called, jokingly, for a strike. Surely his issue is that he keeps being left out of work and striking won't help, and also if Batchelor and Holder strike, who cares? It's very easy to strike from something they aren't a part of. I, myself, am currently on strike from nights with Cheryl Cole, playing as number 9 for Newcastle and as squadron leader for the red arrows. 

Lynn have, seemingly, been falling to bits over the last 2 seasons, beginning with the best prepared race track in the country ™  producing no exciting racing. It's now come to our attention that there isn't even a guarantee that Buster can produce a safe race track, let alone a haven of speedway action. I wasn't at Lynn that night, but I've spoken to enough people who were. The night became a shambles. 

Holder refused to ride on it, even after the track work (despite one of his heats following the track work making its way onto the BSPA site), Lambert and Huckenbeck refused to go out which forced the track work, and Batchelor was forced to pull out with an 'injury' - an injury that would have seemed a lot more believable had it not been for his willingness to then go and take additional bookings for Swindon over the next few days. 

Holder was, in my opinion, rightly banned. I think 28 days was too much, 14 days seemed fair, but not punishing Holder would have set a dangerous precedent for allowing riders to walk out of meetings. Batchelor made himself untouchable by pulling out of the meeting on medical grounds rather than withdrawing, which is arguably worse IF there was nothing wrong with him (and the evidence certainly points in that direction). Lambert and Huckenbreck served their 2 minute exclusions, but I actually think those were wrong. The referee has essentially agreed with the riders and allowed the track work to take place, and I believe they should have been reinstated in that race. They shouldn't have had to go to those lengths to have the track work agreed. 

Onto the changes. Chapman has now sacked Holder and Batchelor in such a way that it means they cannot sign for another club and this is the real debate. It's a Marmite decision, lots of people finding the sackings of our favourite whinging Aussies hilarious and just, and others thinking Chapman has been a colossal tit which there is no excuse for. Which side you fall tends to fall on your opinion of a black and green branded energy drink. 

On the one hand, these were riders who have screwed Buster over. There are plenty of fans who have been unwilling to return to Lynn based on the events of that evening, and I can't say I really blame them but I will just say they'll miss it when it's gone, trust me! Buster has got to protect the running of KL speedway and he's taken a stand against the riders who refused to stand by him that night. Yes it's screwed their season, but it's screwed their business. 

On the other hand, these are professionals trying to earn a living and they have now been robbed of that opportunity by Chapman as they can no longer sign for anyone else because of the way Buster has done it. Buster is chairman of the BSPA and has a responsibility to look after British Speedway. We already don't have enough riders in the country, which has created the doubling up problem with a ridiculous amount of fixture clashes due to riders in this country now riding in 2 or 3 leagues. Australians have always been loyal to British Speedway and, whatever people might tell you, we do need them. I might make choice jibes at some of them, largely featuring comments such as 'if they don't like it, they could always go and ride in the Australian league. Oh wait...'. 

Despite my initial reaction of struggling to contain my laughter on the train when I heard the KL team changes, some of that laughter aimed at the Aussies and some at the fact that KL team is now dreadful, it was a ridiculous thing for Buster to do. Batchelor and Holder don't have champ clubs so we've frozen them out until next season. It's mean and spiteful and clear retaliation. Whilst I'm very much of the opinion we shouldn't be held to ransom by any rider, in taking out 2 of the top Australians, he hasn't acted with his chairman's hat on, and that is poor judgement at best. 

On a more general note, we all probably need to stop being a bit more hypocritical. This week has never highlighted it more. I've seen the same people moan that there are too many team changes and then the same people moan when team changes are blocked. I've seen people moan about KK going to reserve think it's a disgrace the place isn't going to a young Brit, but have no problem with Sedgman keeping his place there. I've seen the people who have moaned for years about the leagues being weakened talking about how brilliant it is that Buster has done what he has to Batchelor and Holder. 

We all want change, we all know British Speedway is being run into the ground, and not just Team GB, yet we all absolutely hammer Woffinden about what he wants to change about it. Maybe, just maybe, he might be right. 

We are all bad with British Speedway. We all know it's shit, but we'll all be damned if we let anyone else tell us it's shit. It's time we stopped laughing about and did something about it or it really will be gone before we know it. 

MY Coventry Speedway...

Since everyone else has posted their Coventry Speedway thoughts and memories, and I haven't blogged since the end of last season, I thought a quick one before I head down to Poole might be in order.

Those of you who know me will know I used to be a staunch Oxford supporter, home, away and anywhere Todd Wiltshere might have been riding that week. I went to Oxford for about 6 years, from when I first fell in love with speedway (and Mark Loram) including 3 years where I didn't miss a single meeting home and away, so i'm not going to claim I am the longest serving Bees fan by any stretch of the imagination, but in the 10 years I've watched the Bees, you wouldn't make it to double digits for the amount of meetings I've missed home and away during that period.

Everyone who has posted so far has posted their idealised memories of Coventry and Brandon. Treating it like a mecca of speedway, where every race had 10 passes, only legends raced and where Coventry won every meeting.

During the 10 years I've been at Brandon, I've been left heartbroken, ripped off, angry and frustrated just as many times as I've gone home elated and happy. For every Greg Hancock, Emil Sayfutdinov and Andreas Jonsson, there's an Andreas Messing, a Jacob Jamrog or a Filip Sitera. For every 2010 play off final, there's a 2015 play off final. For every Coventry 46-44 Poole, there's being 5-1d by Swindon and Reading in heat 15 twice in consecutive meetings to throw the points away. For every King's Lynn at home with one reserve a great atmosphere and stunning racing, there's a Coventry storm meeting cut short with no passing in front of a handful of people. We've all got just as many naff memories following the Bees as we have good ones, from a purely sporting perspective.

But isn't that why we love sport? Marilyn Monroe (the great philosopher....) is often misattributed to saying "If you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best", and that's the way I feel about the Bees. We've got so many fans who turn up for the big meetings, the play-offs or when we're winning, but aren't there when things are tough. For me, I wouldn't be able to appreciate the good times anywhere near as much if I hadn't had to go through all the naff times first. I feel like I've deserved the success we have had by sticking with it and not knocking it on the head because we've had some naff meetings.

That's why, for me, picking one memory, one moment, one race or one meeting is too difficult. 2010 final second leg at Poole is almost certainly the best night I've had supporting the Bees and I'll never forget the Bomber heroics that night, but if the winter and rule changes following 2010 and the abdication of Sandhu hadn't happened would we still have Coventry Speedway? It might well be a different situation, that's for sure. That same year we would never have got there were it not for stunning away wins in the second half of the season to sneak us into the play-offs, and after 11 heats at home in the semi final we were up against it, only to come out and blitz Peterborough in the last few and cope with the 'special' track Peterborough had come up with for us in the second leg. In supporting a sports club, everything follows on from the other, and I just couldn't narrow it down.

Since visiting Coventry both as an away supporter and as a die hard Bee, I've met friends for life, had more laughs under the scoreboard than some people have in a lifetime, I've cheered and got angry, been elated and disappointed and nearly had Danny Ayres jumping over the barrier at me on more than one occasion (if you're going to keep knocking the hero that is Martin Knuckey off his bike then you have to expect the abuse that's due!).

Now we are in full swing of the season, I'm missing it more than ever. I miss texting updates and upsetting Richie Worrall and Joel Parsons in the process (although hopefully I made at least 1 of you laugh!), I miss abusing Hans Andersen as he rode passed whether he was in a Bees jacket or not, I miss being laughed at by my friends for celebrating a last bend win like Newcastle had just won the FA Cup. I am desperate for us to come back and continue my love/hate affair with Coventry Speedway. After 10 years, speedway elsewhere as a neutral just doesn't seem the same.

I must pay huge thanks to Jeff, Dave and co who are all fighting so hard to keep us on track this season. I will enjoy Poole tonight the same way I enjoyed Peterborough and Wolves and will enjoy Leicester and Rye House too. The only thing I ask is that the riders involved understand this is all we've got, and put the effort in that our strong but currently distraught fan base deserves. An away win at Poole would do that nicely!

Coventry Season Review - Away Away Woes, oh oh

Points: 33

League Position: 7th

Home Wins: 9

Away Wins: 1

Times it looked like we might make the play-offs: 0

Going into 2016 on the back of 2 excellent seasons where we made the play-offs with ease, to many it may have looked like we had returned to being genuine consistent players at the top of the Elite League. Clearly the management knew how to build a successful side. Or did they? With the 'new' format meaning fast track reserves play a massive part in any success, having good fast track reserves were the key, with having at least 1 class rider at reserve absolutely imperative. Due to our poor team building in 2013 leading us to the bottom of the Elite League, we were able to have first pick of reserve in 2014, giving us Jason Garrity (who we were then able to protect for 2015, too) - the key to success in both seasons. With Garrity's insistence he wanted to ride in the 1-5 at the start of the season, and our inability to convince him otherwise, we had minimised our chances at bagging a class reserve. Garrity could have started at reserve and after 4 meetings could have not only been in the 1-5, but possibly been at heat leader for us, however instead of properly addressing this issue for our team, our manager instead claimed that Garrity was being ambitious and took a swipe at South Coast reserves for not being. (The same unambitious south coast reserve who would then go on to beat the reigning world champion on more than one occasion during the play-offs. Hmm.) Instead of choosing available riders such as Paul Starke at reserve, we went for Josh Bates and James Sarjeant which saved us some points with draft riders now taking up part of your teams averages. How did we use those points in the top 5? Well, we didn't, instead building a team comfortably under the points limit and without much at reserve. Arguably, though, our top 2 was as good on paper as any in the league and that could bail us out if needs be, with Kasprzak and Harris having the potential to get us out of trouble like Andersen and Harris did many times in 2014. The team felt like the whole budget had been spent on the top 2, with concerns over King at heat leader from scores in the position the previous season and Woryna feeling very similar to the signing of Jamrog last season there were lots of reasons to feel apprehensive going into what, at the time, was due to be the last season at Brandon. 

The team was never realistically going to challenge without Woryna becoming a 7 point man from meeting number 1, or a mid season change, neither of which were forthcoming. It was diabolical away from home, with our 1 win coming at Kings Lynn which was completely negated by the fact Lynn won at Brandon twice. It didn't stop the home season from being thoroughly entertaining though, with many close meetings, some fantastic meetings, and more often than not, home victories. I genuinely believe this seasons aw some of the best meetings at Coventry over the last decade, with a lot of the home fixtures being ones I'll remember for years to come. I'm part of a small breed these days who still travel to watch their club away from home, so in reality what you need to do is send your home fans home happy. Whilst a team that can win home and away is vital if you are to challenge for honours, keeping your home fans entertained is vital for the business, and that's something I believe we did achieve this year. 

Onto the riders: 

Krzysztof Kasprzak

It'll be difficult to be unbiased on this one given the utter excitement the day we re-signed him but I'll do my best. In the main he had a great season. He doesn't often let us down and was pivotal in a lot of meetings. He threw in the odd duff meeting, but there are very few riders who don't now since the likes of Adams and Crump have disappeared. I think a lot of people are quick to jump on heat leaders for their performances as they are who you look to for the big points, but in the new format it's easy to forget how much harder they have it now than they did in 2013. 

There's little doubt that his commitment waned towards the end of the season, but I very much doubt it would have if we were challenging for honours as a club, but if the club has given up I can see why riders want to, too. We have to ride 2 clubs on Saturdays throughout the season, lakeside and Leicester, and we somehow managed to agree to riding both of these clubs when we always knew that, in reality, KK would be unavailable for these meetings but they were arranged anyway. He missed Wolves away due to being a Polish function for winning the world cup, which was ludicrous, but gave up riding in GP practice for his 1 GP of this season to ride for the Bees. Enigmatic. Infuriating. Often a joy to watch. A Standard KK season. 

Meeting of the season: Tough one this as was excellent at both Lynn meetings away but for me it was Poole away. Wow was he on it that evening! He took Poole apart with absolute ease after he sat with Barker in heat 1. Gated stone cold last in heat 15, lead by the end of lap 1. 

Disaster of the season: Swindon away. Rarely have I seen a more inept performance from a 3 point junior, let alone a former world number 2. 

Ride of the season: Heat 13 at Home against Poole in the B fixture. To line up Holder and pass him up the inside the way he did was utter class at a vital point in a close meeting. 

Chris Harris

Difficult to think of his season as anything other than a disappointment. I was expecting Harris and KK to dominate this league but it just didn't happen. Bomber frequently looked down on power and confidence during a season that started appallingly after wrecking new bikes in the opening weeks of the season. He rode injured numerous times, which he has my full respect for but it probably didn't always do us, or him, any favours. 

He failed in the GP qualifiers, failed in the British final, failed to make the world cup team, failed in the GPs and put his average down in the league. I can't really think of a positive for him this season other than how happy he seems to be in his personal life. He's a proud man, and to suggest he should be happy with the way his season has gone would be doing him a disservice. He's in a unique position as a Brit who can't double up and also struggles to get rides abroad and I'm sympathetic towards him for that. He hasn't had anywhere near the meetings he's needed to keep on top of his game. 

I'm gutted his time at Brandon is over, for now at least, and that we gave him such a poor track to try and entertain us on one last time in our final league fixture. I will never get bored of watching Harris with the throttle open scraping the boards at Brandon, but maybe it's something he's bored of. There hasn't been a better servant of Coventry Speedway since I've been at Brandon every week and I wish him all the best in everything he does next. 

Meeting of the season: Kings Lynn away (B) after only scoring 5 when we went down 46-44 in the A, Bomber was superb when we went back, with excellent rides in heats 11 and 15. 

Disaster of the season: A few of these, Lakeside away is normally up there but the B fixture at Belle Vue the worst. He clearly doesn't get on with the place, he didn't score many and took a horrible trip to the air fence after a crash with Steve Worrall. It won't be number 1 on his list of tracks for next season. 

Ride of the season: No question for me, heat 15 against Poole at home in the A fixture. we needed a second place and got it on the run to the line on the last corner. I celebrated that 2nd place like Newcastle winning the FA cup on the day Cheryl Cole finally returned my calls. 

Danny King

A shining light in our season, after being concerned about King riding at heat leader, he rode at heat leader in every single EL meeting for us and upped his average. He won the British title, and won heats in both the British Grand Prix and the World Cup final. I will happily admit I was completely wrong about him signing as a heat leader. A brilliant season and massive congratulations. 

My one complaint is him in heat 14s. Whilst he did have a great year, we could have had a much better one if he had turned up in the heat 14's in close meetings. It's so strange for someone who bailed us out in those heats in 2015, but he just didn't do it when it mattered very often this season. He lost crucial heat 14s at Kings Lynn away, Leicester away, Kings Lynn at home and Belle Vue at home, all of which we could have won if he'd popped out and done the business. A relatively minor complaint amongst all the good, but how different our season could have been if he'd managed those rides. 

Meeting of the season: Wolves away. 17+1 against one of, if not the, strongest top 4's in the league, Sensational.

Disaster of the season: King's Lynn away. 3,1,0,0. We went down 46-44, but lost to Wilkinson in heat 14. Disappointing. 

Ride of the season: Difficult to overlook his win at Cardiff, but since that wasn't for Coventry I think his bravery and muscles deserve credit for the way he shoved Scott out the way in heat 14 at home to Belle Vue to help us win that one.

Jason Garrity

After so much fuss was, rightly, made about Garrity signing in the 1-5, the right way to go about dealing with the issue was to score a hat full of points. It didn't really happen as Garrity started the season slowly (literally and metaphorically) as he appeared plagued by bike issues, often appearing on Josh's kit. After finally hitting form, he got himself injured, but came back in sensational form, almost as if the time away had done enough to clear his system and go again. He finished the season injured again, aggravating the previous injury and missing Sheffield's play-off campaign. As always, he was entertaining and gave us 100%. The right signing in the wrong place in the team.

Meeting of the season: Belle Vue away both times. Took to the place brilliantly and was a superstar both times.

Disaster of the season: Leicester at home. Just 2 points and looked horribly slow all night. Luckily our top 3 saved us from an embarrassing result.

Ride of the season: Genuinely difficult to call as there were 2 that really stand out. The stunning ride at Belle Vue to carve Nicholls and Cook apart from the back was one thing, but the brilliantly audacious last lap away at Wolves on a tactical to go into the last lap nearly relegated to last place, only to dive bomb Masters to perfection and have him off the final turn for a 7-1 was something else. Probably my highlight of the season as Masters whinged to the refs box. Bravo.

Kacper Woryna

A dreadful signing given the points we had left to play with, but from the 1st meeting away at Poole it was clear he had more about him than Jamrog. He was utterly infuriating all season. Not because he was completely terrible, but because we saw what he can do in such small glimpses.

I think my biggest issue with Woryna was away from home, we were going back to tracks for the 2nd time and he wasn't improving round them. I was hopeful he'd get the hang of it by the 2nd time he was riding the tracks but it so infrequently happened. Finding out from the Swindon terraces he was laughing and dancing in the pits whilst we were getting stuffed, and doing laps of honour away at Poole after beating just 1 Poole rider all night were personal low lights for me, but I can understand why the Brandon terraces took to him as he really did turn it on at home and put on a show where he could. It looks like he loves the Bees and this day in age, that's a massive positive.

He has my utter respect for riding for us at Belle Vue after the terrible incident with Rempala, it must have been very difficult and watching him during the silence was heartbreaking. Personally, I can't say I'm bothered one way or another if he returns to Brandon or not next season, but I think the majority would like him to return. He does pull a good wheelie after all!

Meeting of the season: Lakeside at home. He was fabulous that day, including a brilliant ride to lead into the last bend in heat 14 to cap off a great night, before binning it moments later. Everyone laughed, including Woryna and Bridger. The best and worst of Woryna all in 1 heat!

Disaster of the season: Lakeside away. I've seen loads of Poles do all sorts of things on their first visits to Lakeside but poodling round slow and steady miles behind isn't often one of those things. He did it in every race. Awful.

Ride of the season: Both came at Wolves, passing Peter Karlsson twice in 1 race round Monmore was great but heat 13 in the B fixture was another level. He'd been awful all night, then comes out in 13 to pass and repass Masters for the 5-1 was superb. 

Josh Bates

Another who has had their season defined by their inconsistency. Brilliant one meeting, looking like he's never sat on a bike before in the next. Largely enjoyable to watch and seems to thrive on a slicker track towards the end of a meeting but needs to stop the really bad meetings before he kicks on. I still think he's got a big future, for a lad who feels like he's been around ages, he's still very young, won the British Under 21s again, qualified for the world under 21 final and did a brilliant job in the Kings Lynn round, where on another day he could have made the podium.

A special mention for 'JBTV', who provided much entertainment during the Leicester 'track walk' on the Easter meeting which was never going to be on.

Meeting of the season: Swindon at home on SKY. 13+1. Sensational.

Disaster of the season: Difficult to single one out, he had some poor nights but that's to be expected given his relative inexperience at this level.

Ride of the season: Beating Doyle in heat 15 of that Swindon meeting. The worlds best have struggled with that this year. Not Josh though.

James Sargeant

Sarj needed to step up and be our number 1 reserve this year after 2 years already in the Elite League. Whilst a lot of the classic Sarj starts disappeared this year, so did his form. He didn't kick on the way we'd have hoped and struggled when he was expected to lead us at reserve. He's turned his season around for Ipswich, but we never saw it for the Bees. I don't think he's done himself enough to earn a place for the Bees next season.

Meeting of the season/disaster of the season/ride of the season: This is going to sound harsh, but it's genuinely difficult to think of these for Sarj. It's been such a 'meh' year for him. Hopefully someone can correct me and remind me or something I'm forgetting. He no doubt had some decent meetings, otherwise we would surely have dropped him, but I'd genuinely have to go and start looking through scores as nothing memorable comes to mind. Genuine apologies.

Ben Barker and Adam Roynon 

Neither of them are what they were following some horrific injuries. both did a decent job when called upon. Barker was a better option than RR for Garrity, which is all he needed to be and a special shout out to Royno who was fantastic against Kings Lynn and Lakeside at home.

The management

It's hard to judge this given the current rumours flowing around Coventry Speedway, but surely our main objective this season was to ensure the continuation of speedway. That looks like it's been achieved and for that I have nothing but praise.

Ignoring that and basing it on their promotion this season, the team building was wrong, we are the only Elite League club to not offer an OAP rate, we annoyed students, we went back on offers promised to fans, gave Chris Harris the most low key send off for a man who offered the club years of service and treated the children at the last league match appallingly after promising there would be a kids race at the meeting. We made no team changes during the season to try and change our fortunes around and it felt like mediocrity was accepted pretty early on. Our management are often patronising to fans on social media, quick enough to pipe up and shoot people down for saying anything critical of the club, but go missing and ignore fans looking for genuine reasonable information.

I'm often critical and get upset at goings on at Brandon. That's because I love the club and want us to win and do a good job. It's often said that speedway needs less fans like me, but in reality it needs more of people who care like I do. The quicker the management realise that, the better. Fans aren't the enemy. Embrace us. We don't bite.

I don't feel so in touch with the club as I did under previous ownership, and I'm sure other fans feel the same. That's how people end up walking away from their sports clubs.

Home meeting of the season

It's genuinely tough to narrow this down as we have had such classics, but Poole in the A fixture was sensational. It had everything, a close meeting, an amazing comeback, controversy and some quality racing. Other notable mentions go to both the Poole (B), Wolves (B) and Belle Vue (A), which all produced similar levels of entertainment. None of those had me dancing down the terraces in quite the way that heat 15 against Poole did, though.

Away meeting of the season

Belle Vue away. A new stadium, amazing weather, a packed crowd and the best racing I've seen in any meeting anywhere this season. It's meetings like that that make you fall in love with speedway (and KK) time and time again.

Performance of the season

It's only fair I give out a performance of the season for the man who went above and beyond their call of duty to ensure the Bees secured a victory. That accolade goes to none other than Hans Andersen, who put in his greatest Brandon performance for the Bees in the Poole B fixture. His 0,1,0 was a sight to behold. I'm used to a Hans Andersen apology after a dreadful meeting, but when he tweeted his apology after this one he couldn't have been wider off the mark. He deserves all the credit he got that day, and had no reason whatsoever to apologise. Well done.


Overall, there's no way this season can be considered anything other than disappointing. The racing and drama in meetings at Brandon, though, has largely been out of the top drawer. If we can provide a play-off side and keep the entertainment at Brandon, next year will be a brilliant year.

For 'speedway' follow signs for 'shambles'

I haven't written one of these since 'Worrallgate' as I wasn't keen on a torrent of further abuse from oversensitive speedway fans but I've decided to resurrect it for the next few weeks to write about the end of the season. The end of a season which has become such an embarrassment that if it was a family member they'd be discussing flying it to Switzerland.

Lindbacks's decreasing talent 

Anyone who knows me will know how excited I am about the opportunity to watch Antonio Lindback race. I find him thoroughly entertaining whenever he's on a bike and for that reason I am happy Poole have made that signing.

There has been some doubt about Hans' injury with many expecting him to be riding in the SEC this weekend (he has since confirmed he won't take part in the SEC)  but he has suggested that he could be back on a bike within a week and has written that he will ride again this season.

The rule that allows Poole to sign a replacement is as follows:

16.3.4.1 A 7-day window, prior to the scheduled date of the first EL Play-Offs will enable EL Clubs only to replace long-term Injured riders, but not with riders in other EL Team Declarations.

So what consists a long term injury? What happens if Andersen rides again prior to the completion of the play offs? There's no contingency for such a situation (shocking I know given the usually excellent foresight of the BSPA) and it's only going to cause further controversy if it happens.

So how does Lindback fit for Andersen I hear you ask? Well, no one really knows. He's been reassessed at 7, despite his last league average being above Hans' current average.

The argument is that other established riders would also come in on a 7 in this country and he has been absent from British Speedway for some time but so what? There are plenty of arguments against a Lindback reassessment.

- The BSPA blocked Richard Hall riding from Birmingham due to a 12 year old average, so clearly they are willing to use historical averages when it suits.

- When Piotr Pawlicki signed for Wolves in 2014 he was assessed at 7, this was in the same heat format (with the heat leaders having tougher heats) but in a tougher Elite League in terms of quality. At the time Pawlicki was not a GP rider and had ultimately achieved nothing. He was only 19 at the time of the signing. Pawlicki finished that season on 7.32, meaning 7 was slightly conservative despite it seeming high at the time he initially signed but he didn't have the quality then Lindback had now.

- Poole fans seem excited by his signing and that this signing isn't just an adequate replacement for Hans but is of better quality. This seems strange, as according to the BSPA's assessment he's a worse rider than Andersen.

- Lindback is 8th in the world and has been assessed at 7. Iversen is 11th in the world and has an average of 8.99. Lindgren is 10th in the world and has an average of 7.54. Lindback is bang smack in the middle of the GP series, and the average average of GP riders currently in the EL is 7.80. Lindbacks last EL average is 7.94, so about right given the current performances of GP riders in the EL. Why does it need changing at all?

The BSPA must believe that Lindback is a declining talent and for that reason I would urge all of you thinking about going to watch him whilst he is here to not bother as he is clearly on the way out.

For a Coventry fan, I'm really not a Poole 'hater', I generally enjoy racing there and it's one of my favourite and friendliest tracks to visit (despite it being the meeting I want to win more than any other) but I just don't understand how so many decisions made by the management committee go in Poole's favour year after year. I  I don't know the seedy goings on at BSPA towers but if Ford does have no hold over other promoters, why do they so often get the rub of the green? It's utterly infuriating for me as a neutral in this years play-offs, so I dread to think how it must feel to be a Belle Vue fan in all of this, who had the same 1-7 all year. Well, maybe 1-6 given Fricke's attendance record!

The only positives to come out of this are an opportunity for me to get further use out of my Antonio Lindback flag and that for the 1st year in a long long time, there are 3 teams who could genuinely win the EL going into them.

For the 1st time in EL history there is going to be a rider racing for a club in the play-offs that hasn't ridden a single match for that club throughout the regular season (guests excluded). Maybe this is the genius way the BSPA will save speedway? Or then again, maybe not...


'They won't win there anyway' 

Hopefully some of you, as I have, will have enjoyed Peterborough's hilarious 'throw enough mud at the wall and some if it will stick' approach to their team building this season, but it doesn't stop what's happening to them concerning the cut-off being wrong.

Peterborough have pointed out correctly that the play-off cut off has already been put back once, and if that was stuck to they'd have qualified. There is now only 1 remaining meeting that could affect the play-off line up, and it's only right this is given priority to run before the cut-off. I appreciate the cut-off can't keep being put back time and time again otherwise the play-offs won't get run, but when you consider this is a matter of 1 meeting the common sense approach is surely to allow it to be run.

As a former Oxford fan, one of the memories that sticks with me above nearly any other is beating Peterborough at Arena Essex as the Showground had no dates to complete their fixtures prior to the cut off and they had to run. Why aren't Edinburgh being forced to do this to get the match in prior to the cut off if Armadale has no dates?

The general opinion seems to be 'does it matter, they wouldn't win there anyway?' but they should definitely be given the opportunity. It's typical speedway and the sort of attitude that has seen plenty of fans walk away. If we are going to start going down the route of meetings not being run if we think we know the result prior to them we should just cancel all Lakeside away matches going forward.

PLRZZZZZZZZZZ

The PLRC was an utter bore fest this year except for the semi final and the final (which is hard to appreciate when you've watched 20 heats of dross). Sheffield is a pretty unique track but has a fair few track specialists but none more so over the last 10 years than Simon Stead.

There are so few tracks these days that wouldn't give any rider an advantage but there aren't many that have the ability to turn David Bellego into a potential PLRC champion. I really think it's time we get the PLRC away from Sheffield. It's getting boring going to the same place every year anyway, but with Stead in the premier league you might as well write his name on the trophy before you start every year.

Track grading took place after every 4 heats. Except after heat 10, when unusually track grading was completed out of sync, right before Simon Stead was off the worst gate. No doubt the attitude will be 'does it really matter? He'd have won anyway'. As per my previous segment, if that's the case let's just declare the PLRC as Stead for the next 5 years and not bother spending £20 watching it.

Belle Vue'd It 

I think this might need to be a regular segment going forward as so rarely is there a week where Belle Vue haven't done something so Belle Vue that only Belle Vue could have done it.

Following a racist comment from their track announcer, he has resigned with immediate effect. There are plenty of Belle Vue fans who are defending it as a slip of the tongue or PC gone made, but to use the word nigger in front of a crowd of people is not acceptable. It's also not something that can just slip out, calling someone the 'nigger in the woodpile' is really not an every day phrase that just slips out. It's clearly not been meant to attack Tungate's race, but it's not acceptable and it's right he's gone. I just feel sorry for Belle Vue who are now stuck with Yorkey for their biggest meeting in years.

Whilst this didn't happen this week, there have been many rumblings from the NSS all year about ex riders having to pay at Belle Vue. It's been handled so poorly this year, that it's even lead to Peter Collins having to make a comment about it in the speedway star this week. Whilst it's only right that ex riders shouldn't take the mick and arrive with an entourage, it's only right club legends should be given entry to the club. If nothing else, fans like to see their club heroes when they can so it adds to the experience for them too. It's just another example of poor PR from a club that trips itself up time and time again in that area.

Bomber Bomber Bomber

This weeks blog has a focus around the many stories following Chris Harris around this week (no, not Laurence Rogers) and various other petulant goings on throughout the week.

GP qualifiers -Any point?

It seems we can't get through a GP qualifying campaign without it becoming a disorganised mess these days. It should be simple, riders should be put forward by their nations, then the top 8 from each of the 4 quarter finals go through to the semi finals, and then the top 8 from each of those go through to the final and the top 3 from there make the GP series. If any rider drops out they are then replaced by the next riders in line from the previous rounds. Why then, do we have wild cards at all? All it does it cause controversy and ultimately seems utterly unfair.

This weeks decision to offer Robert Lambert a wild card has raised more than a few eyebrows, considering that Craig Cook was in line ahead of Lambert after winning a run off against Lambert in the quarter final at his home track. Cook has taken a mature attitude to being snubbed, stating that it's his own fault he didn't qualify, rather than having a bitter swipe at the decision, which should be applauded. In theory, Cook is more deserving of that place, but if they were going to give it to the next people in line, there would be no point in having the wild cards.

Wildcards in the qualifiers give the organisers a couple of options, either to offer the place to people who are going to sell more tickets at that venue or to give a helping hand to those that are wanted permanently in the series. With their willingness to do this though, why do they bother with the qualifying process at all?

In other motor sports such as Moto GP, Formula One, World Superbikes etc the riders have to be signed by a team that wants them and this isn't solely down to ability and other factors such as how marketable that person might be are taken into consideration. Fans often complain that without a qualifying system in the speedway world championship that it couldn't be considered the world championship as not everyone could enter but would that be the end of the world? A case could be made that a 'closed shop' would actually improve the quality of the GP line up, as the top riders in the world would still be in the competition, but it takes away the possibility of anomalies like Chris Harris qualifying. From the top 8 downwards, the next batch of riders are inconsistent enough that it makes it nigh on impossible to justify with any certainty who is next in line so do we not want the most exciting mix to fill the rest of the series? Allowing the people marketing the series would probably guarantee that was the case.

It's a suggestion worth discussion, although I personally don't see any problem with having qualifiers (although I mind rather more so when KK is missing for the Bees because of them!). At the moment, though, they aren't one thing or the other. Either the riders should all have to get through all the qualifying rounds on merit or wait and see if they get a permanent GP wild card.

Harris is probably the rider that's caused more discussion than any other concerning GP qualifying in recent but it seems this year is a case of 'come in number 37 your time is up'. His comments concerning being eliminated are nothing short of ridiculous. As our senior rider, he shouldn't be given the round he wants at Lynn, we should be helping the less experienced riders to get through the qualifiers by offering them the home round. If Harris, a GP rider for many years, can't make the top 8 of that field in Denmark, what exactly is the point of him being in the GP's anyway? Not all World Championship rounds are held at King's Lynn! He also states that he doesn't think he's ever done a round in the UK, even though he's previously ridden in qualifiers at Poole and berwick. It's not as if we host them regularly enough for him to have been ignored every year.

There isn't a rider who has entertained me more in British speedway over the last 10 years than Bomber, but to hit out at Britain for him not being able to choose where he goes is petulant in the extreme. I'm sorry, Chris, but when you're having to blame riding in Denmark for not being able to finish in the top 8 of a quarter final of the qualifiers, it's time to give the World Championship dream up.

NB It's also worth saying that harris scored 5 points at Kings Lynn earlier this season and was beaten by Lambert 3 times. There's a good chance he wouldn't have got through lynn, either.

British Semi Finals - The latest cock up    

The next Chris Harris incident of the week is the British semi finals. Danny King was forced to miss his British semi final due to his commitment to GP qualifying the day after the Glasgow semi final, whilst Chris Harris had to miss GP practice to race at Scunthorpe, a situation easily avoided by swapping the 2 riders around, or so you would think.

Interestingly, in Harris' comments on the GP website, he states that 'we decided Scunthorpe would be the better option'. That, to me, suggests that he was given the option of where to compete in his semi final. You wonder whether all riders got the option in which semi final to compete, despite Harris' claims that he isn't given preferential treatment. Hmm.

What Bomber also says, is that he thinks the top riders should be seeded and shouldn't have to compete in the semi final. This is something I agree with. 2 semi finals are overkill. 1 semi final would be fine with the top 5/6 (depending on Woffinden riding) or so in the EL averages seeded straight to the final. 

On the flip side, Harris has ridden for Coventry on numerous occaisions on the Friday before a GP and never really cared about missing practice, which could have been part of the reason the BSPA were happy to put him in the semi finals over a GP weekend but they shouldn't be putting Harris in a position where he has to choose. Chris had well documented clutch problems in Poland, and these may well have been sorted if he'd ridden in practice prior to the meeting. Chris has done a lot for British Speedway and will always go out of his way to compete in events in this country which is probably why he rode in the meeting rather than point blank saying no like Danny King did, but it's just another avodiable cock up.

Now I don't know how any conversations between Chris and the BSPA went, but with King's clashed fixture meaning he missed the semi and was offered a wildcard to the final, Harris should really have been offered the sam.

The only other point I will make about it is that Bomber also complains about his lack of meetings so far this season, yet him missing the semi finals would mean another meeting off the calender.

In the latest of what will no doubt become a feature of the season, Rob Godfrey was forced to put out another press release to try and explain the failings of the BSPA after Danny King had to pull out of his semi. Well, I say explain. What I really mean is he came out and said 'it's realllllllllly hard'. I look forward to the next one.

The double up debate 

In the third Harris complaint, he states that all British riders should be allowed to double up, as the Swedes are in Sweden, due to the lack of available meetings for them on the continent. I agree. They shouldn't be given dispensation on their averages and they should have to sign on 12's, but if clubs want to sign the likes of him and Nicholls (and they would, even on those averages) they should be allowed.

We don't do enough to help our own, and whilst there's a danger that it encourages our riders to pick up an easy buck rather than push themselves, it's a chicken and egg situation. They need to earn money to improve kit, and meetings to stay sharp so they can cement a place abroad.

Double Standards

In an incredible match report on the BSPA website from Ipswich Vs Edinburgh, it seems criticsm of refereeing is now allowed. Sam Masters received a ban previously for slagging off a ref on social media, but it now seems it's allowed via official BSPA press releases.

In one of the most bitter comments post meeting I've ever read (and I watch a team managed by gary Havelock!) John Campbell from Edinburgh has a go at 2 of the refereeing decisions in heat 15, says that they'd have won easily without RR for Riss, that most teams will win at Ipswich and that Danny King isn't the rider he used to be.

Riss has been poor when he's visited Ipswich previously, so it was hardly a given, and Edinburgh had had to use a tactical ride to get them back to the point where they were in with a chance to win the meeting regardless. How embarrassing to need to use a double at a track where most teams will win!

Fans are constantly moaned at for criticing riders when there's no need and they are doing it for our entertainment (yawn) - however it seems it's ok for speedway promoters to have random digs at Great Britain internationals.

I've watched King both the last 2 nights for Coventry and rest assured Mr Campbell that there's no one in your Monarchs side I'd rather have in place of King!



This blog is dedicated to Matt Davis and was sponsored by 4 Seasons Landscaping & Garden maitenence.

In our best interests....

As per usual, British Speedway has failed to make it through a week without further descending itself into farce. So here to discuss it is your friendly neighbourhood blogger....

What a cook up 

As everyone likely to be reading this will be aware, Craig Cook's proposed move to Peterborough was blocked by the BSPA, citing rule 16.3.5 which states that the BSPA management committee monitors all proposed moves and has the sole responsibility to approve all (re-)declared team line-ups having been satisfied they are in the best interests of the sport.

Essentially a rule that trumps all other teambuilding rules, and allows the BSPA to block any move they see fit at the drop of a hat without having to make any justification other than these moves not being in the best interests of the sport. But what is in the best interests of the sport? Foreigners scoring big points in protected reserve races, a heatleader list that has actually achieved teams not being able to build to the points limit and Elite League riders having their average decided by converting their premier league averages are just 3 of the decisions they believe are in the interests of the sport in this country from this year alone. Logical? Nope.

There are issues on both sides of this and I'll try to give a balanced view looking at it from both sides.

Fixture clashes are listed as the main reason the signing was blocked in the press release from Rob Godfrey, in which he explains how both Belle Vue and Peterborough are officially listed as Friday night race tracks. Despite this, there would only be 3 home clashes due to Belle Vue's changeable race night and Peterborough riding so many Sundays. There would also be 5 clashes when Peterborough are away, too which doesn't seem to have been brought up, including in Peterborough's official statement. I don't think is an unreasonable amount for any double upper signed mid way through a season and these numbers could either increase or decrease during the season. However the likely hood of future clashes is slightly increased by the race night issue. It's hard to have too much sympathy with Peterborough on this front, though, as since they ride less than 50% of their meetings on a Friday, why did they submit Friday as their official night? Foot well and truly shot. At the same time it's very petty on the BSPA's side to not look at at it in enough detail to see that Peterborough aren't really riding Fridays.

Peterborough were clearly told the move was unlikely to go ahead so why did they go ahead and announce the signings and sack riders before it had been approved? You also have to question the BSPA's 'news' policy, as they posted the signing via the official speedway GB website prior to approval. If this hadn't happened then it would have been a lot easier to deal with the consequences of it being blocked.

Godfrey makes a bizarre claim in his statement explaining the decision, as he says that if this was allowed everyone would be doing the same thing. What? Teams would want to sign riders who were never riding for them, costing the rider money and leaving the teams without their own riders? It's quite clear this wouldn't be a regular occurrence.

The suggestion seems to be that you cannot sign a double up rider doubling up who rides on the same 'official' race night as the other. If that's the case, why isn't it a rule? This controversy wouldn't exist if that rule was in the rule book rather than the deliberately ambiguous 'interests of speedway' rule. And since this ambiguous rule exists, and no actual rule to stop Cook from riding Peterborough, why couldn't they allow it based on the lack of Friday clashes? They have also allowed Daniel Bewley to sign for both Edinburgh and Belle Vue, which are both officially Friday night tracks. As per usual a massive lack of consistency from those in charge.

Cook should also really look at his decision to want to move to a track that rides on so many Sundays though. It would mean he wouldn't be able to pick up a Polish team place during the season if his form dictated there would be one available for him, which is where he wants to be riding. An odd decision.

My conclusion is that since Peterborough are breaking no actual team building rules by signing Cook, the move should really be allowed. Peterborough have handled it badly, though. If they want to stop this from happening, put it in the rule book. Now they have declined it though, they shouldn't be swayed by a petition. They need to have a backbone and back their own decision, even though I don't believe that decision is correct. 2 wrongs and all that...

GP Qualifiers


Like most seasons, we're in a situation where we are unlikely to have any Brits through to the next round of the GP qualifiers. Lambert and Cook were both unlucky to miss out, with Lambert having bike problems and Cook having an exclusion where they both missed out by 1 point. Harris went out in a meeting he really should have qualified in, though.

You do have to question the lack of preparation our riders get for meetings like this though. The qualifiers are individual meetings of a high international standard which the likes of Cook and Lambert get no opportunity to ride in. The perfect opportunity for them to test themselves at that level lies in the European Championship, a series that we fail to recognise as an international event, and subsequently refuse to grant facilities for it, and also refuse to enter. It's time we stopped being stubborn and gave ourselves every opportunity to succeed in the future by entering everything we can to give our own riders the same opportunities those from other countries get. It would no doubt also benefit us by the time it came to the world cup.

Harris is rather different and has ridden in the GP series a number of years. When people have slagged Harris off for reclaiming his GP status via the qualifiers every year, I've always suggested that Harris is probably around the 15th best rider in the world and that's why he continues to qualify but ultimately do poorly in the series itself. I can't do that anymore though, with riders like THJ, Karpov, Lebedevs, Kurtz, Ljung, Huckenbeck and Covatti all qualifying through. He's just an average Joe these days. Very entertaining at league level and always a pleasure to watch but it's no longer possible to justify his place amongst the world's top riders.


TV admission

It's no longer possible to get good crowds for sky meetings except for the play-offs and so most clubs now offer reduced admission to try and bump the crowd up. Swindons £5 in advance offer last year was the pick of the bunch, the place was packed and looked great on cameras. Potentially £5 for the SKY meetings are a better option than £10. It might cost the club a little bit of money short term (although based on how many were there for Swindon last year it probably wasn't much) but if a potential sponsor is watching the meeting surely they are far more likely to be impressed and get involved when seeing a busy stadium rather than an empty one? Perhaps it's time to look at the bigger picture.

This week, Coventry stated on their website that people attending the National League meeting against Cradley would gain £10 admission on Monday on the production of their ticket. This has since been changed to allow everyone entry for a tenner, with Neil Watson stating this was because of the large take up of the offer on Friday.

Whilst hard to believe, I don't actually like complaining and the fact it's £10 for everyone is much better promotion than the original offer as it doesn't rule out Wolves fans from claiming the same offer. However, I do feel like the promotion have been slightly dishonest and used the offer they were probably always going to make open to everyone anyway to try and sell more National League tickets. Neil Watson's comments make little sense, since at this point, no one has taken Coventry up on their offer as the Elite League meeting hasn't happened. How many people took them up on their offer can only be worked out after the EL meeting has happened. What he must mean is that there was a healthier NL crowd on Friday than previously. That was always going to be the case with Cradley in town as it's a local derby and Cradley provide a lot of travelling support (I would estimate they were around 70-80% of the crowd on Friday).

I was 50/50 whether to go on Friday and the offer for both meetings swung me into going. If I had known the SKY meeting was going to be £10 anyway I may well have only gone to that, so they've got £12 more from me (and others) they might not have got if they'd announced £10 to everyone. That's why I feel lied to, despite the fact both meetings will still cost me £22, the same as it was before the offer was changed. I commend the promotion for making the offer open to everyone, but it's just been poorly handled yet again by the club. We never do things the easy way, do we?!

Belle Vue'd it

Belle Vue are finally up and running and the track looks great, one thing that they haven't managed to 'do a Belle Vue' to! Too often new tracks are built where the shape really could be a lot lot better (Kent and Leicester 2 obvious examples) but Belle Vue have got it spot on and it looks like it'll produce fabulous racing going forward. They did still manage to do a bit of classic Belle Vue with the car park fiasco but if that's the biggest of their worries this week then it's a massive improvement for the promotion so far this season.

What a find Daniel Bewley is, with such a small amount of racing experience the lad is winning races for fun and I can't wait to watch him ride in the flesh. It's riders like him that get fans excited about National League racing, it's just a shame we don't seem to be able to find any for the Storm!

I find it odd that I've been able to watch 5 or 6 heats from the meeting since the filing ban though, maybe the Belle Vue Rebels would be a better name than the Colts?! 

The fast track daft and other musings....

This blog post has been severely delayed due to a mixture of poor forecasts, waterlogged keyboards and maintenance to the blog site after poor work by the contractors. If you are all sitting comfortable then I'll begin...

The Fast Track Daft

And so it begins...

The ridiculous rules concerning FTR riders gaining averages after 4 meetings has kicked in and it has seen a string of riders moving in to the main body of the team, all of whom are struggling to score a point. Anyone with half an ounce of common sense predicted this would happen after the race format wasn't changed this winter, but surely we had to put trust in our glorious governing body. Surely they wouldn't get it this badly wrong?

Whilst the young Brits the FTD was designed to help (obviously the costs this cut was just a happy aside....) struggle to score, it will allow the likes of Klindt, Kurtz, Tungate etc to score easy points against riders low down the fast track list. Some might think it harsh to state these riders are stealing sweets from kids, and to those people I say this: you're wrong. Riders on proper second string money cleaning up with massive points every week does nothing to help anyone, except their own bank balances. It doesn't improve the product and it will hurt the promoters wallets.

This years 'fixes' to the draft have caused way more issues. The BSPA being entrusted to try and solve any of the problems which require a bit of thought is similar to allowing Joey Essex to be in charge of our country's fiscal policy. Utter carnage.

Davey What? 

People can't seem to grasp why Poole win the league so often. If they ever wanted a text book example, it's reasons like this. Poole are battering sides at home and will still win the majority of fixtures away, so they could easily have allowed Davey Watt to ride himself back into form before play-off time. Matt Ford chooses not to though. If he waited, he might not have got a replacement as ready made as Bjarne, and with other clubs sniffing round Bjarne while looking to strengthen up it's a double blow as now other teams aren't left with the Bjarne option.

Watt is clearly having personal issues but many people go to work with personal issues every day and still have to perform at their jobs. It's important to not forget that riders don't 'do it for our entertainment' - they do it because they get paid to do it. It's a job, and if someone is not performing at their job there are consequences.

It's hard to have sympathy with Davey Watt. He's been at Poole long enough to know how Matt Ford operates and it has to be one of the considerations when signing there. Perhaps if he had more respect for the other clubs he rides for the years Poole aren't interested he might get a bit more sympathy. He frequently looks disinterested, often whinges about nothing and is Australian. If he never rode over here again, I don't believe I'd lose any sleep.

The Storm, or the damp squib? 

Just what is the National league these days? A training and development league? Or a win at all costs professional league? It's quickly morphing into the latter with Birmingham and Eastbourne creating sides that the others can't compete with, and for that reason it's unlikely that the Storm Even Cradley fans are complaining about how uncompetitive the league now is. For fans of irony, that one's for you!

As a Coventry fan I can only really comment on what the fans want at Brandon, but with it being a second side it's got to be one of 2 things: competitive or exciting. Ours isn't either. We haven't found any potential Bees through the NL project since the introduction of the Storm, with the most exciting prospect in this years side Liam Carr, who isn't even a Coventry asset.

I do go to the majority of National League meetings, including travelling away to a lot of them, too but even I didn't go to the Buxton meeting on Friday. Watching a side with nothing in it to get excited about, against Buxton, in front of twenty people is not my idea of  Friday night. Especially when the Coventry promotion expect you to pay 20% more to watch the side than it has done in the previous 3 seasons!

Coventry should have knocked NL on the head at the end of last season when the crowds were appalling and each meeting seemed to descend into further farce. So what does our promotion do? Build another side that no one has any interest in and charge people more money to watch it. Classic.

Return of the GP's 

The GP's are back! Yes the first one was a bit naff, but it's Slovenia and it often is, but we've got one of the most exciting line-ups for years. A full year for Kildemand, the inclusions of Pawlicki, Zmarzlik and Lindback should give us some top action this year. There's not much that can be said about the meeting as it offered us so little and the first round is rarely indicative of how the rest of the season will shape up, except for Harris struggling to even look like he has a change of the semi finals. 

The biggest change this year for us viewers though was the switch the BT sport, and what a breath of fresh air it was. Keeping Nicholls on board was a great decision. He is knowledgeable, concise, and doesn't go over the top. Except maybe in his comments after the Ward incident at the Latvian GP, which were fully deserved. The best thing about the coverage though was our new host Natalie Quirk. She was excellent all round, anchoring her first GP brilliantly whilst asking insightful questions to Scott. It felt so much more professional than Eurosport have offered us over the last few years and long may it continue. The only disappointment was Nigel Pearson not shouting 'get out of the way I'm coming through' after Kildemand's move of the meeting. Great work. 

I would like to see some changes made to the series though by the introduction of penalties for pathetic behaviour. Any rider on the podium taking a selfie should have their trophy taken away immediately. Enjoy the moment, it's not like there won't be photo evidence of the podium, given the podium faces a harem of photographers! Other penalties should also include anyone wearing an ill fitting baseball cap, any rider whose kevlars don't match their bike covers, and any rider seen talking to Monster Joe during the meeting. 

Kenni Larsen

And finally....

After one of the most bizarre and disturbing speedway stories for some time, it seems Kenni Larsen is on the mend. The lad has become a real talent since he left Britain, scoring big points on the continent regularly. I really hope he is able to continue riding speedway following this as there's still a lot of unlocked potential in him. 

He's an incredibly likeable young man and it's fantastic news that it looks like he's going to pull through. The circumstances of the accident are irrelevant to me, but the news he will be ok isn't. Get well soon Kenni!