Jump to content
British Speedway Forum

Aces51

Members
  • Posts

    2,947
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    11

Everything posted by Aces51

  1. It wasn't long ago that you were telling us that Poole didn't have all of the equipment necessary for track preparation. Has that changed? At the beginning of the season Chris Holder said how pleased he was that work had at last been done to improve the track. If I remember correctly, he said that the track had been neglected for a number of years because Matt Ford had not considered it a priority. Are the current problems related to neglect and/or a lack of investment, to the lateness of the remedial work, the quality of the work or to some other reason?
  2. Well done to Speedway GB Team and Allied Mobility. It certainly looks as if those now in charge of the national teams are putting in place what is needed. The future could be successful with Woffinden, Cook, Lambert, Bewley the Worrall's, Ellis and some youngsters showing good potential. We are in a better position with riders than we have been for many years and with more professional people in charge might be able again to challenge the Poles in a few years time.
  3. I'm sure the racing will be better on Tuesday. Yes there are riders who are much below the standard of others but there are enough quality riders to ensure some and maybe, a lot, of entertainment and excitement. Like others I thought the racing was dire last night and the format was over complicated. However, I've seen some dire GP's and meetings in all sorts of domestic and international competitions so, not a good start but I am prepared to wait until after the final before forming an opinion on this competition. For what it's worth I like Nigel and Kelvin's commentary. Yes they get things wrong sometimes but don't we all.
  4. Bewley has so far this season averaged 7.85 at the NSS and 7.05 away, so it's not just at the NSS where he is doing well and particularly so for a rider who is only at the start of his third season in the sport. You can understand therefore why he is rated so highly. He is definitely not a rider just doing well at a specialist home track. However, I agree that we shouldn't put too much pressure on him and accept that he may welll lack consistency and have the occasional nightmare meetings at this very early stage of his development.
  5. This idea that you only need to be a throttle jockey with a fast bike to excel on the big tracks is utter rubbish. Those who have watched Dan at the NSS not just beating good riders but beating them from the back, have seen that he has done it not by having the fastest bike but through using his skill and ability to choose the right racing lines and waiting for the best opportunity. So far this year he has, amongst others, passed and beaten Batchelor, Andersen, Masters and Kasprzak and I'm not talking about passes on the first two bends. All of the those are very good riders who have bikes just as fast as Bewley and who are more than capable of getting the right set ups. Tracks like Lakeside and Wolverhampton do require different but also important skills but they are tracks that by their nature give riders who race there regularly a big advantage.
  6. We have to see that as a golden opportunity for the rebirth of the sport as an exciting, dangerous, extreme sport. We have then to hope that new fans can overcome the initial reaction as they enter the mostly dilapidated stadia and enthrall them with the yet to be developed dynamic, modern, thrill filled experience that will by then be speedway. I say that tongue in cheek but with the right people in charge it could be done. We could start by allowing riders to react to referees and other riders as they did in the 70's and for teams to be able to say disparaging things about the opposition to build up rivalries and enthuse the fans. It was all pantomime but brought an extra element to the overall experience that is now lacking.
  7. I don't think the number of riders choosing Poland would be anything like the numbers some are suggesting. For many of the current riders, who race mainly for Polish league 1 and 2 teams, a guaranteed 30 plus meetings in the UK in one big league would be more attractive than being part of a Polish league 1 squad with no guarantee of being a regular pick. They may not like having their opportunity to race abroad curtailed but I think many would accept it. The UK has got to find a way to operate that initially makes the sport here sustainable and then able to grow. Staying as we are is not an option.
  8. So hopefully that answers any questions. Increasing the fee to £5 seems a bit steep but I suppose BSI want to maximise any profit and would argue that it is a World Championship semi final. I never park on the street, it's not the best of areas.
  9. The bottom line will be whether any increase in ticket sales is sustained and importantly, whether profits increase. Although, as you and others have said, the overall picture will be distorted by food, confectionery and drink sales so it may be difficult to draw direct comparisons. I've never understood those who refer to speedway as 15 minutes of entertainment. To me it's the whole package. The build up to the race, the race and then often discussing the result. At the NSS we have Chase the Ace, a good announcer and centre green presenter and the post meeting press conference so I rarely find that I'm not being entertained in some shape or form throughout the meeting. The only exception is if there are long delays between races but there is nearly always a good reason and an explanation and apology.
  10. There's no reason for confusion or concern about parking. The parking permit application form made clear that it does not apply to FIM or BSPA events so permit holders should be aware of the situation. If they want to check and can't find their application form copies can still be downloaded from the Belle Vue website. Unless the situation changes over the next couple of days I also doubt there's any need to worry about whether there will be sufficient parking spaces overall. Looking at the current grandstand ticket sales there should more than enough between the 3 official speedway car parks, even if there are fewer or no spaces in the North car park.
  11. That's what many said about Belle Vue when it was first announced that they were negotiating with the council. If more promotions were prepared to do their homework, have the vision and come up with a good business case and then spend the many hours that David Gordon and Chris Morton did in countless meetings with the council and overcoming the many obstacles then who knows what might be achieved. I find it hard to believe that Manchester are the only council in the country that can be persuaded. We just need can do people with the necessary ability.
  12. The agreement with the FIM is that we have priority on Monday and Thursday and Denmark has priority on Wednesday. The fact that the BSPA decide to run on Wednesday, Swindon excepted, doesn't change that agreement. Denmark still has priority on a Wednesday and we have it on Thursday.
  13. The parking permits don't cover this meeting or the British Final as they are FIM and BSPA events. In any event, I don't know if the car park on the 3rd and 4th bends will be open as I don't know how they are arranging the standing area on those bends. Might I suggest a call to the stadium is the best way to find out.
  14. After the criticism yesterday it's good to see that Rob Painter from GB Speedway Team took the time and trouble to travel up to Cumbria today to see Craig Cook. That's the proper and professional way to deal with things.
  15. Thank you for the explanation. Apologies, I get it now it just never occurred to me that there are people in Wolverhampton with a sense of humour. Although I suppose it does help if you have to live there.
  16. I don't know for sure but like OveFundinFan I can't imagine that the £19 will include the car park fee. It's also worth remembering that the £19 includes an advance booking discount. We'll have a better idea how entertaining the format is after seeing the first semi final on Saturday. Who knows, if it's a good meeting it may attract more to attend on Tuesday.
  17. I've followed the sport since the mid 50's and I prefer team suits. They present a more professional image and a team identity. It's not by any means the most important issue facing speedway now but if you were starting afresh and intending to present a modern image team suits would be a part of it.
  18. Thank you. That clarifies that the position is not as simple as the calendar suggests. Interesting that the Swedish second division has priority, after our PL, on Thursday, after our PL but it seems that our CL has no priority at all. Probably, because of the problems of the multi race nights but nonetheless they cannot claim priority on any night.
  19. I'd just edited my post above to say the same.
  20. And that the three Polish league have priority on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Effectively we have agreed to accept the crumbs. I certainly hadn't realised that the agreement gives whichever country has priority on a day priority for all of its "professional" leagues over all of the professional leagues in other countries. That leaves those Championship teams who have no choice but to race on nights other than Monday or Thursday in a potentially calamitous position.
  21. I watch NL racing and agree that those mentioned are outstanding prospects and the future could look bright for GB. I hope that they all eventually go to clubs who will take the time and make the effort to help them develop their talent and not just have their heads turned by the best financial offers. Plenty of time to think about money when they have reached a good standard. You are also correct about Dan Bewley not being as advanced as Kemp at his age because Dan didn't have his first ride on a speedway bike until he was 16 and his first competitive race until 2016. It will be brilliant if some of the others could match Dan and get to the level he has currently reached in their third season.
  22. It will certainly be a significant contributory factor but the event seems not to have captured the imagination of fans or the public and holding it on a Tuesday at 7pm doesn't help either. If it is price alone then the minimum £19 standing area will probably be proportionately fuller than other parts of the stadium.
  23. I think the post was intended to be funny. At least I hope it was. However, there's no doubt that Craven, Collins and Morton all progressed from novices to world class at Belle Vue and during the late 60's and early 70's Dent Oliver produced a stream of very good riders. Many Poole fans may remember Eric Broadbelt. World Class riders obviously have to possess the talent, it's the advice and guidance they receive at whichever team they are attached to that can help that talent develop to its potential.
  24. He was apparently suffering from exhaustion and dehydration for the reasons I have explained. The Belle Vue website referred to it as fatigue. On that basis I can't see any reason whatsoever to think that he wouldn't be 100% recovered long before the SON meeting.
  25. If you're referring to the events on Monday it was nothing to do with pulling out without notice. What happened was that Craig's flight from Prague was delayed. Determined to get to the NSS for the 12 noon start on Monday he drove into Germany to catch a flight to Stansted, where his van had been left following the meeting at Somerset. He landed and then drove to Manchester, arriving about an hour or so before start time. He had no sleep but took his first ride and then took ill in the pits. He was seen by the paramedic and was apparently suffering from exhaustion and dehydration and withdrew from the meeting. I suspect that most of us wouldn't even have contemplated going to work after such a journey.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy