Aces51

To grow the sport needs to attract new fans and they haven't got a clue who the top stars are. It made no noticeable difference to the crowds at Belle Vue when Zagar was in the team and when he wasn't. What we need is competitive racing, sensible rules applied consistently, professional presentation with no unavoidable delays and more latitude shown to allow riders to react, within reason, to on track situations and referees decisions. Not violence but gesticulating, handbags and a bit of theatre.

I certainly want Robert to do well but I won't complain if he has a couple of off nights on the 24/9 and 1/10. He deserves to take things easy after such a busy season.

I understand and can sympathize with why you feel as you do. I just think that speedway needs as much help as it can get to survive. The plays offs are a showcase opportunity to show how good it can be to a wider audience and shooting ourselves in the foot by deliberately producing boring racing would be madness. Let's hope that no team does go that far, that we have some fantastic racing and that in the end the the best team wins.

I agree with you and would add that it was good to see Craig Cook scoring points. He got 5 and would have had a very respectable 8 but for the snapped chain. It's a bit too late in the season but domestically and now in the GP's Craig is getting back to his best and showing that he can compete at the highest level.

Another indication of the crowd size is that the collection for Dan Bewley raised £4,000.. If Starman's crowd of 300 or 600 was correct and if every person there contributed then to reach that total it that would mean an average contribution of either a little over £13 or just under £7 each. Now I know that we northerners are generous folk but an average contribution of that amount from every man, woman and child is obviously ridiculous. If there were 1700 there every person would have to give an average of £2.35. Now that would still be generous because we know that quite a few people will not have contributed but at least it begins to look realistic.

If we don't win and it will be against the odds if we do, then I would like to see King's Lynn do it. Partly because you finished top of the league but also because you have waited so long.

For what it matters Emil rides for the opposition and Max also beat Kołodziej.

Both good races, particularly the first, which was excellent but still didn't match heat 13. I've seen many brilliant races, particularly involving Collins and Morton at Hyde Road and including the Collins and Michanek KO Cup run off, which was regarded by many, including me, as the best race they had seen. It's a matter of opinion but for me heat 13 is now the best. Three riders you could throw a blanket over for four laps, passing and repassing and then the fourth rider coming from last to first on the last two bends to win.

They'll have to be snappy then.

It's not about doctoring tracks. It's about doctoring them so that they produce gate and go processional racing. We all agree the sport is in a perilous position and are quick to criticise promoters for looking after their interests and not seeing the bigger picture. Now we have a few fans doing exactly the same. In the play offs in particular, because we hope to get the biggest TV and live audiences, we need to show how exciting the sport can be, not provide boring racing like last night's GP. Nobody is going to be attracted by that type of racing.

Speedway is about survival.

And this is what you said about last night's GP in Slovenia You seem to have different opinions dependent upon whether it affects your team. Doctor the track so that we have processional racing in a televised meeting that will attract lots of casual viewers and people to the track with the risk that they will probably never bother again to view or attend at any track but King's Lynn gain an advantage, or, produce entertainment where the best team on the night will win. Selfish self interest or the good of the sport at large?

I agree with you about the race. I have been following the Aces since the mid 50's and can't recall a better race. I also agree with what you say about Chris Morton and let's not forget that David Gordon also played his part. As I understand the position, the current management have invited him to attend and would make him very welcome, as would the fans. He did attend the 90th anniversary meeting and received the biggest cheer of the night when the former riders were introduced but for whatever personal reasons, which I can understand, hasn't felt able to attend since. Despite what happened in 2016 and there are very different sides to that story, Belle Vue owe a huge debt to Chris and David for keeping the club alive during their time at the dog track, when they were losing money year after year and for having the vision and determination to get the NSS built. They have left us with a tremendous legacy.

You could use the same argument for Wednesdays as that is potentially unfair on clubs that have Danish riders.

With a capacity of less than 12,000. Edit. I've just looked it up and City and United average 54,000 and 75,000 respectively. We also have other top football, rugby and cricket teams plus more theatres, restaurants, clubs and music venues than in the Poole catchment area. What we don't have is lots of tourists looking for something to do in the holiday season.

These two teams have had some close tussles this year and I can see this being just as close. Both teams are still in with a chance of doing the double and will be determined to get one over the other. We might struggle to beat them again in this leg but need to keep any loss to single figures, preferably no more than 6. If we can do that , we have already shown when we met at the NSS without Bewley that we can beat them in the return leg and hopefully get through to the final. Should be an entertaining tie, two decent teams and two good race tracks.

Wasn't at least one Poole fan telling us, after the original 7 were announced, how they were going to smash certain teams on their travels?

But didn't it have to be redone?

Or the bumps and certainly no holes. Chris Holder said before the season started that the Poole track had been neglected for years. That was before the winter patch and mend operation which didn't turn out too well.

He can't help himself. My only surprise was that he didn't claim we were stronger without Dan.

I think there is a difference between a home advantage, most tracks have that and don't prepare the track differently for a particular meeting. My objection is to prepare the track differently to normal with the intention of catching out the opposition and in so doing to create a track that will result in processional racing, by making it too grippy or reducing it to one racing line. The play offs are attend and viewed by more people than other domestic meetings and the last thing we need if we are to attract new fans is to deliberately create boring racing.

He is doing a more than decent job for us and can and does pass riders. He passed Covatti on Wednesday and made passes in a couple of races against both Wolves and a Leicester. Obviously, it depends on the opposition and any rider with his sort of average is going to be inconsistent.

If we are slight outsiders we must have been overwhelming favourites before Bewley was injured. It will be a remarkable performance if we win and I obviously hope we do. If we don't ,I think it will be a King's Lynn, Somerset final and that King's Lynn will win it. That would be brilliant for their fans who have waited so long.

Unlike Poole who relied for a number of years on their riders knowing where the holes were to give them an advantage.

You mean this extract from the Advertiser. "Swindon team manager Rossiter felt it was the right decision to call off the fixture as neither team was comfortable on the track. “I’m bitterly disappointed. The rain came down and it was very hard,” said Rossiter “While the meeting didn’t mean anything, I didn’t want to call it off but both sets of riders didn’t want to ride."