In his weekly column, Ipswich Witches skipper Danny King takes a look at a week of rain-offs, why a clock is the answer to the ‘gardening’ issue and why it’s great to see Tiger back.
Well, have you ever known a speedway season start like this?
I certainly can’t remember the last time there were so many meetings called off over Easter. It was a complete Easter washout – well, almost.
As much as I know you fans missed your fix of the sport, us riders missed it to.
We are raring to go but nothing is happening.
Luckily, I had a couple of meetings two weeks ago and I know most of the boys have had a skid at a few places.
Still, same for everyone right now.
The wife has got me cleaning the garage out!
Apparently as I seem to have a ‘bit of time on my hands’, I can clean out the garage, which is a double one and has taken me all weekend to do.
I’ve had to put shelves up, hang bike racks up to hang bits of the bike from.
I’ll be glad to get back racing, I can’t stand too much of this.
As a team the Witches have been trying to get a practice together since early March, but even then our trip to France was called off because of the weather.
Since then we have had cancellation after cancellation, but fingers crossed our meeting with Peterborough will go ahead tonight.
As I write this, on Tuesday, the forecast doesn’t look terrible and I know the Foxhall track drains well.
Here’s hoping.
MORE: Listen to Danny, Rory, Cam, Loobie and the rest of the Witches here on The Speedway Podcast
I see Rory Schlein won the Cumberland Open up at Workington at the weekend.
In what was one of the only meetings to take place over Easter it was quite a good field Rory was up against.
It’s good news he has hit the ground running up there at Workington and it will be good news for the Witches – as well as his Premier League club, Wolverhampton.
I had never ridden with Rory until last season, but he has been great for the team and I enjoy his company. He had a big injury a few seasons ago, but he’s back on it again, as he proved last year.
Tonight then, it’s Peterborough at home in the Championship Shield.
Will we race our first meeting of the season?
If so, we will go into it pretty cold, although quite honestly the newly-shaped track shouldn’t worry us too much. It hasn’t changed so much to not still give us a good home advantage.
Peterborough this season have Scott Nicholls as their No.1.
It’s good to have Scott in the Championship as it looked at one stage as though he wouldn’t be able to race, due to a ruling.
Still, that’s been sorted now and although it certainly makes my life more difficult as I’ll no doubt face him twice, maybe three times, that’s what the fans pay to see.
Apparently the new rule about ‘gardening’ at the starting gate has already been changed – just a week into the season!
A rule had been brought in this year to stop riders getting off their bikes at the starting line and do what they call ‘gardening’, stepping off their bikes to dig at the dirt.
But after one meeting where a number of riders were excluded for doing so, it’s been quashed!
Why don’t British promoters just buy two minute clocks that, once they are activated, means riders have two minutes to be at the tapes, head over the handlebars, ready to go?
It couldn’t be more simple and is used all around the world... except Britain.
When that two minutes goes on, riders know the score. They can get up to the tapes and ‘garden’, or sit in the pits and have a cup of tea. Nothing matters until that two minutes is up... And if you are not ready, you’re out.
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I’m looking forward to the Masters golf.
As regular readers of my column will know, golf is a bit of a passion of mine.
Me and Ritche Hawkins have regular games against each other. I think I’m well ahead in the victory stakes, although when he was doing this column, it was him who was miles ahead! Strange, that!
And Tiger Woods is back.
That’s great news and his golf swing looks just as ferocious as it always has done. Tiger has come back from the dead after a host of issues off-course, as well as some bad injuries, mainly to his back.
He’s the golf equivalent of Nicki Pedersen in speedway. He’s a bit the pantomime villain, but we miss him when he’s not about.
What a story it would be if Tiger did win.
I don’t have any meetings at the moment over the weekend, so - after I’ve cleaned the garage out of course - I’ll be sitting, watching all the action.
MORE: Why the Witches will win the Championship!
So, see you tonight at Foxhall.
Let’s blow those rain clouds – and Panthers – away.
Danny
AS TOLD TO MIKE BACON
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