Meeting Reports

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Sheffield (A) 23rd March

A great place to get our league title defence underway, the exact venue we clinched the title in. Forecast was bleak for the afternoon but that never materialised as it was a pleasant afternoon in S6. That wasn't to last as small spots of rain started to fall from just after 7pm. A decision was made to cancel the parade and get straight on with the racing which was rushed through and completed by just after 8.30pm. Track wasn't great but prepared as best as it could be for the forecast given although at least one track grade on the night may have improved the racing. We really could do with at least 1 consistent gater, just not off Gate 3 which was a graveyard all night. Track was heavy which led to riders getting really filled in when chasing the rider in front.

As it's the first meeting of the season there isn't much point in rating the riders as they all did their best given the conditions. To only lose by 6 to the team strongly tipped, though they also were in 2022 and we all know how that worked out, to win the title isn't a bad result. Sets it up nicely for Monday when the Bonus Point is up for grabs.

Kurtz easily the Aces rider of the night but special mention to Jake Mulford on getting his first heat win in the Premiership.

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Sheffield (H) 27th March.

Waited a day to write this rather than overreact as soon as getting home. Always going to be a tough ask against the league favourites but one, beforehand at least, which could be achieved.

Weather was fine all day but turned rather chilly around 6:30pm. Track looked in great condition from my vantage point on the third bend. That was as good as it got really. Not once did we take the lead and we were constantly chasing a result. A fair few very, very good races but with one or two not so good. It was as simple as Sheffield winning it by consistently outgating us. Far too many times we left ourselves too much to do against a team full of riders who love the NSS.

Bewley - Poor night for Dan. Never made one gate and consistently looked to the outside to make passes. When this clearly wasn't working he never changed line.
Blodorn - Solid night for Norick. Unlucky not to get by Howarth, who rode a great race, in Heat 1. Looked sharp all night, gating needs working on.
Lidsey - Good on the night but again a lack of consistent gating left him chasing points all night.
Wright - Up and down night for Charles. Looked quick all night but, again, couldn't put two starts together. Always chasing.
Kurtz - Rider of the night and not just for the score. Ruthless, at times, and determined to hit the front in every race. Unlucky, IMO, to be given gate 4 in Heat 15.
Brennan - Good score from Tom. Chipped in when it counted and never stopped battling.
Mulford - Score just doesn't reflect the effort. Never gated once, had speed but would stick to the outside line, round Bends 3&4 anyway, when it was clear there was nothing out there.

A disappointing result but look what happened at the start of the season in 2022. Sheffield scored home and away victories over us. Look how that season ended.

Really isn't time to hit the panic buttons just yet.

[miggy]

Summed up perfectly

[Admin]

Peterborough (H) 24th April

A cold evening in Manchester as we look to take our first bonus point of the season with the visit of the Panthers. A month or so ago this was one we were all looking forward to as we'd have got to witness Nicki Pedersen finally take to the NSS Shale in anger rather than the one and only time he did which was on parade during the ill-fated opening night meeting. Alas, it wasn't meant to be with Nicki managing not even a lap on his home debut and then subsequently quitting the UK. Panthers took the option of booking Chris Harris as a guest for Nicki whilst Rider Replacement was in operation for Richie Worral who opted to go from Germany straight to Italy for the SEC Qualifier. It's worth noting that our own Tom Brennan also rode in the German meeting, alongside Worrall, and was ALSO in the line up, again alongside Worrall, in Italy. Tom opted to come back to the UK and took his place in the line to ensure we were at full strength. With 20 points in hand after defeating the Panthers 55-35 on their own shale the bonus point was never seriously in doubt but it took until the latter stages of the meeting before the Aces pulled away.

Wasn't the best meeting, racing wise, at the NSS but the Aces were the ones providing the entertainment as whenever they missed the gate they seemed to be able to come from the back easily. If we gated we weren't getting caught. Even with RR in operation and a few times riders having 2 on the trot meeting was still wrapped up in good time. I was in my car on my way home, and that included walking from South Stand via the car park onto Kirky Lane and down to the social club, by 9.30pm. Credit again goes to Andy and his staff for producing an excellent racing surface.

Bewley - Score speaks for itself. Gated in 4 of his rides and then pulled off a superb Heat 15 to squeeze past Iversen.
Blodorn - Pointless in his first 2, including one retirement, but flawless in his last 2 rides. More than holding his own riding at 2.
Brennan - Solid from Tom. Just goes about his business and I like how you can see the disappointment in him when he doesn't score. I like that attitude in him, always wants to do better.
Wright - Fantastic from Charles and showing how much of a better rider he is fully fit.
Kurtz - Flawless in his opening 3. Missed the gate in his 4th ride and got a little penned in going into the third bend. Battled hard and did pass Iversen at one point but couldn't hold it. Looks really settled at the NSS now.
Lidsey - Trump reserve. Not many teams can boast an ex World U21 Champ at reserve. Showed how good he can be on his home track.
Mulford - Four rides. Four Zeros. Good to see Lemo giving him his full quota of rides but I'm not sure what all these last places are doing for his confidence. Jake tries hard all 4 laps but his gating, at this level, is his achilles heel. Sharpen that up and, I feel, the points will come.