TonyE

I am deeply shocked. Sincere condolences to his loved ones.

First of all, my compliments to all the riders for giving it a go. As a spectacle it was a horror show both if you were there in person or watching on TV. I understand, to a degree, why it went ahead but it must be so disappointing for Wolves fans in particular, to see a seasons' work effectively decided on a track which would have declared unfit under any other circumstances. Agree, the camera angles were really weird and show no understanding of how races should be portrayed. Parts of the track looked really dark, unusual where TV cameras normally compensate well for poor illumination. I don't recall that being an issue in other Wolves televised meetings (bend 2 was really dark last night). I suppose the one saving grace, if there is one, is that only speedway fans would have been watching and any supporter of a few years standing would not have been surprised by last night's events.

Lakeside had banking and a 'big kerb' - stock cars could still use the straights as a run off area. It can be done but obviously needs the consent of the other party.

Congratulations to Ipswich - always good to see the 'under dog' triumph. TV just emphasised how dark the track is in places as modern cameras usually make light (pun intended) of poor visibility.

Watching him at Arena when he missed the gate was a joy to behold. Enjoy your retirement AJ - you have left me with many great memories.

I don't agree - the third and fourth bends always seem much darker and, on the back straight approaching bend three, there is a bit of track quite well lit.

Speedway shoots itself in the leg again (the foot went a long time ago) - the Panthers line-up for this meeting fell far short of the standard/quality expected. On the plus side, Panthers' five man team put up a decent show and there were some decent races - Heat 9 in particular. My biggest gripe with Ipswich is the standard of track illumination which is capable of significant improvement in most areas.

Must have been a difficult one for Jon Cook (always thought he had a soft spot for Ben) - it was much the same for Ben at Lakeside, probably better in respect of home averages (6.00 excl. BPs and only 3.67 away). Not sure what it is about the bigger tracks though as he rides IoW on a regular basis!

Didn't look more than a couple of thousands.

First visit in many years to Eastie. The prospect of a decent evening weather wise was more of an influence than the opposition being under-strength. As others have said, Scorpions didn't INicol apart) really turn up until the last third of the meeting. All was well organised and the track well prepared with little to no dust evident during races. A couple of tape malfunctions plus riders anticipating the start extended things a bit but all finished well within two hours. Very impressed with Broc Nicol, looked as if he had been riding the track for years.

Given that a company was sponsoring the meeting, presumably at a rate the promotion were happy with, I don't think the promotion lost out. It was a win win situation for them as some of the newbies may have returned.

I have no axe to grind - just saying how it comes over on tv. The cameras seem to do their best not to show the overall crowd with any close-up focused on the 'densely packed' areas when it is fairly obvious that there were whole sections with hardly anybody there at all.

I don't think the promotion could afford it - attendance last night looked to be a couple of hundred.

Not a bad meeting for early season and object lesson in how to run an efficient 15 heats - 7.45 start and all over by 9.05 - impressive. Very good view from well up in the back straight grandstand but I do wish the track lighting was better - difficult to determine who is who around the bends (particularly bends 3 and 4) and, again from the same standpoint, the start area is rather dim. Really good race between Cam and Max.

Lakeside 2018.

Hasn't Stuart retired?

In what way did they do that?

Totally agree - we are all 'internet warrior's and I have no issues with opinions and suggestions. The point I was trying to make was to highlight the fact that it is the promotion that takes the financial risk on new initiatives.

No one seems to know the answer unfortunately. Plenty of 'internet warriors' come up with suggestions but it isn't their money at risk. I certainly do not know the solution - Lakeside had Mark sexton as a community officer and I know he specifically tried to get the younger element interested in the sport (school liaison etc) . The one time Arena Essex as then was, offered free entry (in a meeting against Belle Vue and sponsored by a company), it certainly produced a good crowd. There were certainly first timers there but whether or not they were hooked is another issue.

The is that it the newbies don't come the promoters lose even more money when discounted admission is available. Just how do you differentiate between a newcomer and a die-hard regular. The Hammers tried it a few seasons back and quickly had to drop it.

The planned second Thames crossing must afford some opportunities and, above all else, will maintain (ultimately) ease of access to Kent based supporters.

Lots of Friday's - that will not go down well in certain quarters!

As I understand it, there were, potentially, two dates that we could have run. The problem was that we had two league matches, a Championship Shield and likely Play-Off meetings to fit in.

I still fail to see the logic applied by the BSPA in making Lakeside race ALL their outstanding fixtures at Rye House rather than only those they were unable to stage at Arena.

The aim should be to keep any new facility as close to the river crossing (or the new one) as possible to maximise the catchment area.