Halifaxtiger

Weather updates would be appreciated.

I have no doubt that it was idiots from both sides yesterday. The problem is that Mildenhall are just another club who have an issue with the behaviour of Dudley fans - Rye House have commented here, I have heard a lot of adverse remarks at Plymouth and the least said about Buxton the better. I wonder why the idiots from other clubs only show up when Dudley are the visitors ?

I couldn't believe the match was on after the downpour I went through to get there or that we would see 15 heats. In the end, the only thing that threatened to stop the meeting was a strange and unexpected wall of fog that advanced rapidly after heat 13 towards the track. Cue Stoke fans urging the referee to get on with heat 15 Buxton has never been one of my favourite tracks but it definitely improves after receiving the benefit of some rain, and this was quite possibly the best meeting I have seen there with some close racing and a last heat decider (which, to be fair, was never in doubt). Couple of very impressive performances from Blacklock (easily the best I have seen him ride) and Carr.

I am sure you are wrong on this one - the problem with Plymouth is not its finances but the man in control of them. My suspicion is that when the Devils were making a huge amount of money a big chunk went into that gemtleman's pockets, now they are making less he still expects to take the same wedge. The gate against (admittedly) Workington was around 1,200, and that's enough to keep every PL team in the country reasonably in the black. Word is that get rid of Mr Bowden, putting a winning team out and the already decent gates will at least double and I don't think that is in the least bit over optimistic. Alan Dick says in Speedy Star that the problem is the money they owe due tp the track improvements, not the losses they are making on a weekly basis. It surprises me that they are not losing money on the gates that I have seen there but, accepting his statement, that does make a purchase more likely.

Can't argue with any of that ............but that hasn't been raised by either promotion as an issue

They don't. Its sod all to do with them what time a meeting is run. I suspect no-one actually knows, that's why they haven't responded. Quite I have helped prepare the stadium for racing many times (most often with Robert Huggins on the tractor, one of the best track curators in the business) and there's absolutely no doubt that it could be ready by 3pm. I doubt if that is a factor at all. In any other week, maybe, but here there's no question in my mind that running the meeting at 3pm would result in a substantially bigger gate than running at 4.30. For a start, there would be one guest as opposed to two guests and two lots of rider replacement. No doubt which the floating supporters would prefer to see. Secondly, many Dudley supporters won't travel (some out of sheer bloody mindedness, some because their team is significantly weakened).

As someone trying to be objective here, one of the clubs clearly isn't telling the truth (or there has been a major misunderstanding). Dudley say there was an agreement to move the fixture forwards, Mildenhall say there wasn't. I am not sure if it is Dudley fans or Mildenhall fans being gullible here, as both seem to swallowing whole what their respective promotions are saying. What I do know is that the 3pm start time suits everyone except Mildenhall (perhaps the Stoke gate was down because everyone thought the match would be off due to the weather).In addition, I have no doubt (and I have helped prepare Mildenhall Stadium for racing on more occasions than any of the current promotion) that the meeting could be held at that time. With the exception of yourself and taking into account the comments on facebook, the silence of Mildenhall fans on those two points is nothing less than deafening. My real issue is that the decision not to have 3pm is one promotion almost certainly putting its own needs above those of speedway and its fans in general. Mildenhall certainly aren't alone in that, but it is that kind of selfishness that creates many of the problems and difficulties that the sport has. I can help but wonder what time the match would start if Heeps was fit and if it was Leicester v Ipswich............

The only thing is if the promotion can do it for the Stoke match (advertised to start at 3pm) why can't they do it for the Dudley one ? What circumstances are there that would make the difference ? Personally, and based upon considerable experience, I'd say there's no reason at all why you can't get the stadium ready for 3pm. The fact that Mildenhall are not willing to do so on this occasion when they have done so before simply adds credence to the Dudley fans suggestion that the Mildenhall promotion are running scared of them and even that there was an agreement to run at the earlier time that has been reneged upon. I am convinced this issue isn't just about Dudley wanting what suits them best - its about Mildenhall doing exactly the same thing, with speedway and its fans, as always, being the losers.

Sadly, Kev, where the Dudley fans are right is that this meeting would unquestionably be better if it was run at 3pm (although I have little doubt that that is not their motivation for raising the issue). The meeting would be deprived of the hugely entertaining talents of Heeps & Perry anyway, but there's nothing anyone can do about that. There's no question though, that a meeting with one guest would be infinitely preferable to one with two guests and two lots of rider replacement. If the match could be held at 3pm, it should be regardless of who gains and who loses and whether a promise was made to run at that time or not. I fear that the decision to run at 4.30 will severely affect what should be easily Mildenhall's biggest gate of the league season, because the Dudley lot and many neutrals simply won't come (to put it into perspective, 3pm I would be choosing where I go for my speedway this weekend, 4.30 the wife can ). Given that consensus was on Saturday night that Mildenhall won't top the NL prior to the play offs anyway, the possible result of this match shouldn't really come into any decision on the start time.

Spot on, Adz. I can't help but wonder whether all the squawking from Dudley fans on here regarding a 3pm start is motivated by a desire to have all the riders there and have a better meeting or the fact that they have a much better chance of winning if that is the case. I suspect it is very much the latter. The home team chooses the start time for their meetings, not the BSPA or another club. If it suits them to start at another time (for whatever reason) they can do precisely that.

Pretty much spot on, Adz. I too was very surprised at just how easily the Fen Tigers won this match because I also thought it would be close. Then again, my prediction skills never were up to much. For all Nielsen's brilliance (aside from coming off, he never looked like being beaten), a fantastic ride from Kerr and Jacobs performance, Bates was man of the match for sure. I thought he was pretty good when I saw him at Lynn last time but he has stepped up big time from then, beating riders with greater experience of the NA track and racing in general comfortably and not doing it all from the gate either. Very impressive indeed.

He was straight up and won the re-run, beating Fisher in the process. Barker's move was reckless and as far as I could see the exclusion decision was correct. Gathercole's superb last to first in heat 9 was upstaged by Reade's win in heat 14, only to upstaged itself by Barker's brilliant ride in heat 15. He and Fisher were outgated by Roynon, Barker going past on the outside on lap two. He then pinned Roynon to the inside and slowed the race down, allowing Fisher to get round the outside. Team riding of the highest quality.

Certainly the Mildenhall promotion will lose out in terms of the attendance due to the unavailbility of several riders given the Dudley away support and the attractiveness of this fixture to neutrals. I was really looking forward to the match but, like many others, I doubt very much that I will attend given who is missing. That's not Mildenhall's fault, but whether or not it was advertised at 3pm in the first place it seems to me that moving the start time forward would resolve the situation to a significant degree, so why not do it now?

I am surprised by that, Bryn. I was stood by the railing on the first bend just below the banking and there was no difficulty in seeing round those corners (21CH makes fair point above, though). I must admit I could hardly see the 3rd/4th corner, and certainly couldn't make out the riders. For that reason alone, the match could have been called off. Good to meet you (at last).

I was on the beach in blazing sun at 3pm but soon after a sea mist came in and it was freezing. Same thing happened at Smallbrook - red hot, then a fog came down. I was on the first bend and by about 8.15pm you could scarcely see the 3rd/4th corners. I can understand if the meeting was abandoned because the referee couldn't see the whole track - that was entirely likely. However, I don't think there was a question of rider safety - from the entry to the first bend you could clearly see the exit to the second (to be fair, I couldn't see what it was like on the last two corners). This is my second fog off, I had one at Somerset a few years ago.

At £10 entry, Dudley must be one of the best value speedway tracks in the country. This was a very entertaining meeting with several cracking races (usually involving young Mr Perry) and I have to say that having an interval aside the presentation is very good as well. I am wondering just how Stoke managed to built Mildenhall. Back in two weeks.

Priest and Branford were on a 5-1 when Nielsen fell.........and then the thunder, lightning & hailstones descended. Mr M is right; heat 15 should not have taken place, draw fair result. Credit to all the riders for carrying on on the day.

Thanks again

Thanks Jayne, much appreciated.

Can anyone give weather updates, please ?

Mildenhall. Its why I am in heated negotiations with my boss for time off to take in both matches, because with two excellent racing strips thrown in they should be something very special indeed.

All of the staff at Mildenhall (with rare exceptions) are unpaid volunteers. Even allowing for the (in my view) extortionate rent that Mildenhall pay and the cost of ambulance cover, this was a very profitable meeting - certainly profitable enough to pay about £40 for four trophies. As GC has accurately pointed out, I am sure that a sponsor could have been arranged if the BSPA had made it clear that they would not be handing out rewards to the first three pairs. Whichever way you look at it, the decision not to give recognition to the riders who finished second and third is a pretty poor show.

Complete nonsense. As I have said, about £40 for four trophies, equivalent to three and a bit entrance fees or around 0.5% of the gate receipts. Given the attendances that they attract, I would be very surprised if Mildenhall are losing money.

Having had a look on the internet, you can get a cheap trophy for less than £5. With engraving, less than £10. For second and third, that's about £40 or just over three entrance fees at a meeting that probably had a four figure gate. I am with Bw double on this one. Not having a trophy for second and third is cheapskate penny pinching.

Best pair won on the day but there was some excellent racing in front of a big crowd on a sunny day. Of the four meetings I saw this weekend, yet again the NL version proved to be far more entertaining than its bigger brothers.