topsoil

Saw flat track races as part of kevin doolans testimonial. They did nothing for me. Same with grasstrack racing on shale. For me it's team racing. I follow a team. Even individual meetings i can take or leave.

How can four team events save costs and rider availability when you are using more riders? That's why the 4TT was dropped in the first place.

Would you like to expand on this? Curious.

Decent meeting. Some good racing, if not a lot of passing. Some heats with two races in one. For a challenge / friendly it was what you expected. The riders had fun and you could tell there is a bond between them all, as witnessed by the number of times cut out chains were pulled after the races finished. It could have been easy for the promotion to say 'tough' after the Eastbourne matches were called off and the season tickets holders would have lost out on two matches. But credit where it is due, they looked after their customers. New format for the racing, where you could give four of your team an extra ride somewhere. It was different. Gives team managers something to think about. Only positives came out of last night.

Although the season that the covers were used, saved more than half a dozen meetings. I remember speaking to one of the promoters at the time, who said it had basically saved the club from going under. The covers would be very handy to have again, but there seems to be a problem getting volunteers.

What part of 'not allowed' is hardly insurmountable?

Time will tell. It's certainly going to do a lot of damage to other leagues in my opinion. I thought the point of a youth policy was to supply yourself with riders. Where's the benefit to teams if riders disappear. British clubs incur the costs, Polish clubs get the benefits. Seems fair.

Nearly spat my coffee out at that one

Imagine if were left to the forum members to "promote" speedway

It just adds to the thought I've had for a while now, that Polish speedway will wipe out speedway in other countries. What is the point of having a youth policy if any decent riders coming through will be off to ride in another country and you are left with nothing to show for it?

Just back from a morning run. Only one winner tonight I reckon, and it won't be Berwick or Kent

The forum is no place for optimism

Picked 7 out of the 8 Dennis chose, the only change for me would be Bruce Cribb for Mark Courtney, only because I never saw that era. Otherwise couldn't argue with the selection, based on loyalty and what they gave to the cause. Could spark an endless debate as to who each fan would choose. Would love to hear about some of the riders before I started going in 1977, the likes of Dougie Wyer, how good they were.

In a word no. And I have to laugh at how moving from National League to grasstrack on shale / amateurs / Pee Wee / beginners is "brighter better more innovative speedway".

So that means that 12 races were from the gate?

Very impressed with the two lads in the 250cc races after the meeting, both good styles and times very similar to the 500cc races. All in all a good night, crowd was better than I expected, given that you don't expect many to travel up from Plymouth. Maybe Crump and Pedersen drew a few in? Probably the most passing I've seen in any meeting this season. Second half meeting a bit one sided but definitely the way to go, giving all age ranges and machine sizes a go. From the 125's through the National League into the Championship, impressed with the way Berwick have a pathway for any young riders now.

Very impressed with Tom Brennan laat night, not just his on track performance, but his interview after the meeting, spoke very well about the way he had been welcomed and treated by the club. Got to feel for Spud this morning, waking up to a blown engine and sore after the crash. Great to see the team able to mix with the crowd again after the meeting. Interacting with the younger fans will create great memories for them.

All under 16s free at Berwick

Pools panel have gone for a no score draw

There always is a good atmosphere between Berwick and Glasgow fans. For what it's worth, from where I was standing on the back straight, it looked like there was contact between Wells and Andersen's front wheel. In the grand scheme of things it's irrelevant, Glasgow were going through anyway. Better effort from Berwick last night, maybe it took two riders having to pull out the meeting with injury to galvanise them? But nobody was getting close to Craig Cook last night. The racing was poor last night, very one line. There were a couple of races where Andersen and Hume were clearly faster than Sedgeman, but because he rode the correct line there was no way through. I thought the afternoon rain might have helped the track but obviously not. Maybe I'm being silly here, as I have no experience of track preparation, but I can't see the point of seemingly taking dirt from the corners with the grader and dumping it on the back straight. Obviously I'm missing something.

More importantly, are you going to be a man of your word?

Drizzle for the last hour in Berwick

Was going to come down to this match, but as I've still never had a refund for my tickets for the postponed Plymouth match, despite contacting the ticket agency and club (without reply from either), going to give it a miss now.

Excellent idea, if you can get somebody to look after the social media side of things. Anything which gives clubs more exposure I'm all for. Maybe I'm different from a lot of supporters, but the tractor racing doesn't bother me, mainly because I'm too busy talking to friends between races. I never really seem to notice it.

First of all I respect your reply, my pet hate is posters who just flat out moan but don't offer any solutions themselves. That said, this is where I disagree with a lot of your post. I would be heavily against any reduction in the length of a meeting. I certainly wouldn't be happy with a meeting which finished after 45 minutes. Would riders be happy to turn up for a meeting knowing they would only be getting two rides? "Open up bars and snack bars". Good idea if you get the proceeds from these. A lot of clubs run at stadiums who keep all this money. The big screen would be a great idea, to replay incidents, show interviews, give sponsors more exposure. But i) these would be very expensive and ii) would stadium owners allow a club to bring a big screen in? If you had to remove it where would you put it? I know Berwick had a couple of promotions in 2019 where they gave away a free drink / programme with each entry. There wasn't a noticeable increase in attendance. I honestly think speedway promoters have a near impossible job . Facilities are sparse, very few actually own their own ground, costs are escalating all the time. This is where Poland has a huge advantage. Facilities are council owned and those authorities are willing to spend to improve these. Any clubs in trouble are often assisted financially by local authorities. Compare that with the attitude towards clubs in this country. I really wouldn't knock promoters over here.