A Short Break From The Shale

Sammi Tasker on a 125cc Aprilia
350cc F2 Sidsecar Outfit (Mick Finnie & Joe Shardlow)
Late 70's TZ 350 (Craig Douglas)
Mid sixties 250cc Suzuki. Not sure exactly what model it is. Rider is Jonathan Cutts
600cc Supersport Machine ridden by Richard Stanbury

(I don't have the programme to hand, so you'll have to make do with my slightly vague photo descriptions.......)

Normally it takes something approaching a natural disaster to keep me away from the speedway, but every so often, something comes along to prevent me turning up. Last year it was the Connect Festival in Inverary, this year it was the promise of a weekend in East Lothian and a day out at East Fortune to watch the road racing. The racing itself was nothing to write home about, though I was almost witness to an enormous accident in the sidecar race. Whatever you say about speedway riders, they tend to have their wits about them most of the time, they can't afford not to. Watching a sidecar outfit, minus the passenger, do a U-turn across the track into oncoming machinery does nothing for the old ticker, I can tell you. If the guy had stalled, there would have been carnage.

On the up-side, I enjoyed the 125cc races immensely. A couple of good battles ensued, mainly involving young Sammi Tasker. She finished 2nd in both races on the Saturday, but could easily have taken a win in the 1st one. There were a couple of very quick and stylish looking youngsters out there and I hope to see their names crop up in the future. I once branded this class 'The Feotus Race' and it has to be said, they're getting younger all the time. The oldest rider is about seventeen.................

Anyway, I'll be back this weekend for the visit of Reading to Ashfield. Great to hear Shane is back on the mend, but I really hope he takes his time in getting back on a bike. We're pretty well covered at the moment, what with various guests doing the needful, Robert and Trent taking turns at top scoring and the rest of the team all pulling the slack. I guess he'll know himself when he's ready and we'll see him when we see him................ =D