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MY colleague Peter Oakes texted ... Went to King's Lynn last night and have to say there was not a speck of dust despite being only 27 miles from the warmest spot in Britain yesterday. Buster was telling me he was on the track at 3.45am putting down water so despite what people will say you can run a meeting in this weather without sending the public off to have a shower!

But it's not crap is it, and you know it .No way can you cover up what has happened . Meetings have been cancelled to aid Scunthorpe to be able to secure a better choice of guests . That is the real reason and it is out of order to cancel fixtures just to give you a better choice of guests or to give you more time for your injured riders to recover.

Happiness is 46-44 ........ or, indeed, any score where Poole lose.

I've just been on their website to check if you'd snipped it, so no apology to anybody; not the broadcaster, the riders, the viewers or the paying customer who got covered in 5hite whilst being bored out of their minds. You'd be forgiven for thinking they did it on purpose, utter contempt for everyone except each other.

Don't take it personally, Scunthorpe declined proposed fixtures until Worral was fit. Sheffield for other reasons and whilst you've got both those clubs and Leicester on the management committee there is no reasoning beyond their immediate wishes. Why oh why have they not come out with an explanation to allay any fears or allegations?????????

View from outside the abbey http://

Fred's just warming up folks and getting himself into shape.. we're edging nearer to the Play-offs and he needs to be in peak fitness for the annual bombardment of pokc bollox.

Whatever you say Daniel.You are never going to enjoy it at Lynn again are you.You forgot about heat 7 of course when S.Lambert got by both Woryna and Worrall and then got excited and fell to the back again(his words).Ht 14 he was involved again but Klindt then Worrall got through.And although no overtaking in ht 4,didn't you think it was good to see R.Lambert and Harris tussling for the whole 4 laps. You have fell out with speedway and thats your choice,that is probably why you think it was abysmal last night,when in truth it wasn't as bad as you are making out.

While not a classic I thought it was a good meeting and am surprised at all the negative comments looking back though my program from memory there was passing after the first bend in heats 4,6,7,9,13,14 and 15 plus a couple of heats had close racing without an overtake IE heat 3 add in a close score all match with a home win in the last heat and Jasons acrobatics I went home certainly happy that I had my monies worth of entertainment for the evening and will be back tomorrow night.

Well done "Give us a T" on your Eggheads victory. Let's hope that's not all we win this season!

...... and "'Brum" takes the bait..... everytime. It makes looking at any Wolves topic not worth the effort. Well done lads. Sad times.'

It would have to be a fan of over 20 years ago I would say... Since circa 2000 many fans have predicted the current situation as simply it was the ONLY outcome if British Speedway followed the same path of destruction... Too many Mickey Mouse meetings which by definition then led to Mickey Mouse Championships eventually eroded the patience (and interest) of even the most ardent of fans.... Quantity of Speedway meetings became the mantra rather than the Quality of them... All to pay for the far too many riders over this time who became full time professionals meaning they needed shed loads of meetings to earn a decent living after paying out 'daft money' on machinery and tuning, all to keep up with those with true genuine talent who would, by natural selection, inevitably rise to the top of the Sport. (Like has happened ongoing since 1928)... The only way of paying for this 'professionalism' was to run more and more meetings of less and less credibility, and charge inflation busting admission fees year on year to desperately try and compensate for the ever growing annual reduction in income, all due to dissilusioned fans leaving the Sport in double digit % numbers each season.. Sky must have pumped in circa £20M to British Speedway over this time with the net result of diddly squat in positive impact to the Sport today... Riders, bike and engine manufacturers, and tuners will all have earned a staggering amount of money in this time (an even more staggering amount given the actual size of the Sport I would suggest)... If only half of that £20M had been invested in proper marketing and advertising of the Sport, maybe used as 'Prize Money' rather than 'wages' to give Championships some credibilty and kudos, or even used to subsidise admission costs, I would suggest the Sport in Britain would be a million miles better off than it is today..... Sadly, when fans the length and breadth of the Country gave the Promoters some excellent constructive feedback in Speedway publications and social media, no one actually listened... Maybe they were genuinely deaf? Or maybe they were just simply arrogant...? One thing is for sure... They need to start listening now, and do something about it immediately... Before it truly is too late...

To be fair he almost certainly has 24 hour availability to the track(if wanted or needed) which other tracks haven`t.

What do BT Sport think? I suspect they must scratch their collective heads and try to work out how what they show on Saturday nights from various parts of the World, can be in any way, shape or form related to what they show on Mondays from tracks around Great Britain.... The last three nights have shown us in one meeting exactly the HUGE potential the Sport has, but in the other, completely why it can never fulfill that potential in British domestic racing.... With such 'raw materials' with which to work, it really is a disgrace, and in equal measure, a travesty, the way the Sport is ran in Britain... It can never change though if the same people, who have 100% brought British Speedway to exactly where it is today, remain in sole charge of the future of the Sport too... Its a crying shame.... It really is..

After the crap you’ve seen at the Poole track the last few seasons in sun, wind, rain & much more Steve you’re certainly a good judge.

I will go to Landshut and provide live updates: https://live.baansportfansite.nl/event/311/speedway-grand-prix-challenge-landshut.html

Yes at Newcastle. We opened Newcastle in 1997 and had a local Aluminium smelter, Alcan, on the coast at Newbiggin. We trialled 'furnace bottoms' on a path in Northumberland during the winter and it looked Ok to do the job. The new track and the fence were put in, and the track compacted like shale tracks. A difficulty was found on P % P day, when a hole appeared which caused Andre Compton to fall and he receive a spiral fracture on the leg bone. More work was carried out and during our first opening meeting, the track broke up badly and the riders were not happy, but with intervention from my 'friend' Ian Thomas he helped us to get thought the meeting with the riders agreeing to see the meeting out with a new inside line down to avoid the holes. The problem was that the furnace bottoms doesn't bind like shale. despite any amount of compaction. In fact compaction only toughened up the top surface, but it you spun the rear wheel it went through the toughened surface, and dropped into a new hole created by the spinning. During the following week this material was dug out and scattered around the car park and interior areas to get rid of it whilst the then closed Cleveland Park was opened up and all it's shale transported to Brough by lorries. This was compacted in layers, and meant we are fit enough to open up with our second meeting the following week with massive praise from all the riders at such good track. Later on in 1999, Newport had a similar problem with compaction of their 'oatmeal' looking shale, and Tim Stone had to stop riders warming their tyres on the home straight. The main issue with a material is compaction, and the materials ability to bind under pressure. Old engine oil from 'loss' engine systems, and some later on, helped this sticky problem, but that is now not allowed under the H % S environment rules. The test of any track is to squeeze a handful of shale to see it is sucks together, and hope that the pinky/red shale is dark during a meeting as a change to pink means it is now too dry and needs some water.

Just a couple days ago you said Poole wouldn’t make the playoffs!

Tell me about it business not booming at the moment! Whatever Poole's shortcomings I think Lynn deserve credit for battling away under pressure and having the character to dig in for the win. Team spirit and fitness were part of the marginal gains approach before the season began, perhaps they played a part in nicking the win last night. Two more wins over the next week and we'll be sitting pretty.

I'm not sure his wife will agree with that statement

Hooray !!! Thank you...someone from another team who can see exactly what happened with the Fixtures too.

Spot on. That was clearly the problem with the Brit reserves draft system too. If the current league formats continue, NL riders should be eligible for the CL only when they have achieved a 7 point NL average and CL riders for the PL when they have achieved a 5 point CL average. There should be a clear progression. Any less makes them a hazard and risks ruining their confidence.

Given the proximity now of housing at Swindon Id imagine any work involving heavy plant and/or possible noise couldnt start til a more reasonable hour than 3.45.....

Racing so poor. I stopped watching it! Virtually no over-taking, blame it on the track it was terrible. I suggest Swindon Manager have words with Mr Godfrey as; Considering it was a very, very hot afternoon last Sunday at 5pm. Scunny had a double header which ran without problems and us fans enjoyed one of the best meetings ever! Scunthorpe v Glasgow.

Isn't that one of speedways biggest problems...all excuses and never solutions.

While the dogs ar running no they cannot water the speedway track

Totally agree the sport has to act last night seriously made me think that speedway wont be at the Abbey in 2019 i pray that i am wrong.Even if it is there next year who will keep going to watch the dire entertainment dished up.

Come on. He is making fair comment. Everyone who watched last night's meeting is saying the track was poor. Troy got stick and was sacke for saying things about King's Lynn last year, but I bet if that meeting had been televised people on here would have made the same criticisms as they are about this one. At least he still raced and rode in heat 15. He is entitled to comment after seeing two of his team mates hurt.

Have i ever watched a worst meeting than that last night i can't remember one the track was an absolute disgrace.The racing over the past three years has been really dire and i don't know what others think but i have got to the stage of do i really want to go everyweek.The tractor was the star of the show and i ended up going home looking like Michael Jackson the dust was horrendous on bend two.The track now is unrecognisable to the one that hosted England v USA test matches a bad day for the sport last night and god knows what BT Sport think.

Thats what people on this forum love about Poole fans, how humble they are.

Great to see the Robins being innovative again. This time trialling ‘desert speedway’ in an attempt to lure in a big spending Arab. Lots of sandstorms with the track drier than a nun’s chuff. I think its fair to say this meeting will have gone down well with the first time viewers on Al Jazeera television tonight. In truth, a very poor meeting and this was like watching a faster version of The Tour de France. The French Foreign legion revelling in the sandy conditions led from the front with Berge particularly impressive. If there isn’t a 2019 contract in the offing for the lad after this then ‘je ne comprends pas’. If only the French had shown this much effort in fighting the Germans... The hole, or rut, that I pointed out in my last missive showed it’s face again tonight and something seriously needs to be done. It’s been there for several weeks now so there are no excuses. Finally, on my way through the car park I noticed the club had rewarded those loyal patrons that parked their vehicle close to the action with more than liberal helping of the shale, which I thought was a really nice touch from the club. PS. I look forward to my forum buddy STR report on Josh 002Y’s performance this evening.

In weather like this, moisture needs to be delivered overnight, between the hours of midnight and 5am, otherwise its got no chance to get into the track.. Then its just top-ups during the day.... Bet anyone that hasn't been done.

Like SharpenRake said take that rule away and it wouldn't be classed as cheating as you say.I think there should only be one rule on this if you touch the tapes you are out.This should be much easier for the referee to.You have only got to see the balls up made at the GP at the weekend regarding unsatisfactory starts.If you are a rider and want to try and anticipate the start fair enough in my eyes,he will only penalise himself if he gets it wrong.

DOUBT whether you would get 20,000. Can get 10,000 into NSS with temporary stands etc and you don't have the expense of putting in a track (estimated at £250,000)... the perfect one is already there.

Don't give up your day job

The key words should be Entertainment and Value For Money. No point marketing and advertising if the product isn't good.

Thanks . so "it's in the glove box " was a pack of lies ,

after Swindon last night we're better off keeping it a secret

I see that Blueharb 777 reckons that "Speedway is going to the dogs" because the Kent v Brummies match was the 2nd leg of the original Easter Cup. Has he forgotten the torrential rain we suffered at Easter time ? Where is this guy's brain ? Personally, I think it was highly commendable that this fixture was staged to keep faith. Very sorry to learn of Bowen's injury. The boy must be gutted as he was riding so well. Kent will miss him for sure. Will they use guest riders for the rest of the season ?

Did you have a Catholic priest as teacher?

Who exactly are the 40,00 who attend Cardiff? Probably only around half that figure regularly attend normal speedway in a week so that leaves a sizeable chunk who apparently only support this one meeting. Factor in also that not everyone of the regular speedway crowd will visit Cardiff and the mystery 'one meeting only attendees' crowd is even bigger. Just puzzled, that's all! Despite what doom merchants say it is clear that the Cardiff crowds have held firm over 15 years with little sign (thankfully), of the bubble bursting in direct contrast to the dwindling domestic attendance. Cardiff truly is a dream event for a sport that is otherwise on it's knees. For as long as we have this glorious showpiece event, there will always be hope.

Precisely It was steaming hot at Scunny on Sunday - I can't recall being at a meeting when it was hotter - and yet the meeting was just brilliant. Rob Godfrey doesn't have a magic wand - if he can do it, so can everyone else.

You've clearly never been to one of Swindon's famous 24-hour dog races.

Some very poor shale - affecting several clubs - plus the very hot weather make it a nightmare for most track curators. At least it seems that a new supplier of decent shale has been sourced and TR has some on order.

What a pity Rosco doesn't put as much interest with his track as he does his hair. Cant remember seeing a track as bad as this. This meeting was a disgrace,. proving a health hazard to the riders and the fans. Never seen so much dust and the spectacle of bike racing was a joke.. Every race was over by the second bend. When Rosco was interviewed he seemed oblivious of the appalling track and conditions... The biggest problem of all was that it was being televised. There could never have been a bigger turnoff of British Speedway then this. If fans had witnessed the programme last night, they would be put off for life. Its all very well saying the television can advertise the sport to millions of new fans, but in the same light it can have a damaging effect too. For all the good the SGP did when showing the meeting at Cardiff, Last night was the biggest turn-off I have ever seen. Had the truth be known probably the BSPA should've paid BT sport to stay away...… Least that way would have preventing such an horrendous advert gong live....

Except Willie that is lol

Exactly... Should have been 'drowned' overnight.... I know the lads at the NSS do this if it's expected to be sunny and hot on the day of the meeting... Then gets another good soaking during the afternoon and finally about 30 mins to tapes up... Result? A grippy first half dozen races then the dirt gets turned over and 'proper racing' takes place...

Think you might upset Newcastle if you signed Kus.

They definitely won't want one for the Speedway. .. In just 48 short hours you go from Cardiff, which delivered exactly why so many of us fell in love with this Sport... To Swindon, and why so many of us are now totally pissed off with it..... A true microcosm of how to run exactly the same Sport, but with a world of difference in terms of capability and execution.... Maybe it is now time to just be kind and put Speedway (British Speedway) out of its misery? Let's face it, it's not really going to get any better than this is it?

It is only 'cheating' because there is a rule. Take away the rule and it wouldnt be cheating. Over the years the sport has brought in various rules to try and make things as equal or fair as possible but the one thing they haven't done is try and equalise the bikes. How is it fair to have Jason Doyle on top notch highly sponsored equipment sitting next to Jack Smith who is just starting out on hopefully a long career. Wouldn't it be good for the sport if Jack made the start and Jason had to overtake him. Curently most refs would call it back as they would think Jack must have cheated to outgate the World Champ. Other attempts to equalise the sport include points limits, averages to two decimal places, differing scoring systems - a bonus point for winning on aggregate, but then it was pointed out that that system favours teams with a big home advantage so we change again to reward teams that do well away without winning. Now its starting offences. All these changes were made to make tings more equal and surprise surprise we still have winners and losers. The one thing all these changes haven't done is stop falling crowds. I say go back to basics touch or break tapes and you are out everything else is ok. You might even generate some atmosphere as the crowd gets wound up by the so called cheats. And as a good many have said on here the racing isn't better or worse than before but the atmosphere due to falling crowds is.