mikebv

They had only booked the stadium till Tuesday....

As I was sat there today, my life ebbing away watching "World Championship Tyre Packing"... I thought to myself... As we seem to have doubled track maintenance time, why could we not have halved the 2 minute warning to at least get some of that waiting time back... And also sent the riders back to the tapes for every re run, rather than them all sit there waiting at the pits, getting all the set up adjustments done that they wished they had had before the race began... Listening to Sweet "4kin" Caroline on a continuous loop would have been the only thing worse than watching this heap of mis managed "Barry White" today..

I think Jan Kvech would agree... Sure he rode for Exeter in the 70's....

That's the fella...

I have booked time off till Wednesday.. But even I was getting worried I might have to extend it. Does Phil get extra money every time he appears on screen..? I seen to remember Jacob Olsen doing the same job for several years, but not sure what he looks like...

Too low for me.. Putting those there in the middle tier would fill that more too.. Lasted till Ht 17 re run,/re run today then decided the boozers of Cardiff were more of pull than waiting till possibly Monday to see the final...

Thanks, as always R and R .. I am actually going to the event but will sit in the stadium and watch via the stream to see if the racing is any good, before deciding to watch it "live"... Come on Tom and Leon....!!! Best of luck lads....

Indeed.. It was interesting to read the comments on here when I got back to the hotel re the racing... In the stadium itself, when Lebedevs won a race by half a straight the racing was "crap"... When Dan won his first two races by the same margin it brought "the house down"... If Lambert and Woffy had been in consideration for a semi then most races would have had something riding on them from the majority of the fans' perspective, and I can guarantee that less focus would have been on the racing,, (if), they had crossed the line in front. (Robert's last race a case in point).. If the racing is great then that is an added bonus to Cardiff.. As we always say on here, the atmosphere will live longer in the memory than any particular level of racing, hence so many "great meetings" of the past, when rewatched, were more about the night itself than what got produced, and all those "many great races" we remembered were actually usually only "one or two", at most... Good admission prices, decent crowd (excellent crowd for UK Speedway), great fan zone, excellent presentation that kept the momentum going through the lulls in between races, excellent facilities, and a home favourite winner... What's not to like..? If you could deliver all that most evenings domestically then I would suggest the sport in the UK would be a lot more successful as that ticks a lot of boxes..

But what about the racing? The racing? The racing? Because.. If it had good racing like the NSS, and some other tracks, UK Speedway would have no room left in stadiums each week given the tens of thousands who, after watching the British GP, would be instantly attracted to the domestic product.... It must be an irresistible force that will take over them and suddenly make them part with money each week to watch a sport that they have only ever seen once on TV.... As has been described by many riders over the years, Cardiff is "Speedway's "Monaco"... And as all know who watch F1, the racing in Monaco is often poor, usually close, but follow the car in front for the whole spectacle... The "event" is why people are there and for Cardiff it is similar for many who go... Loads of groups of people (families in the main), I got talking to yesterday were there with only one of their contingent being someone who attends UK Speedway... With the rest "knowing" about the sport obviously but just going along for the "special event" rather than having any opinion on the racing standard.. Thousands left the stadium last night very happy which was the icing on the Cardiff cake... Booking by ticket for next year as soon as they announce the date tomorrow.. Great venue and should be embraced by the UK promoters to "piggy back" onto given probably double the amount of fans will attend Cardiff that attend UK Speedway each week in total. Cardiff. .

The NSS has been on TV dozens of times.. Great racing almost guaranteed.. Yet offen when on TV they have rows and rows of empty seats.. And when not on TV a crowd of maybe half capacity.. And I didint see the "house full" signs anywhere after the SON last year.. UK Speedways ills run far deeper than "a great GB GP"... It really wont make any difference as has been proven the years when they have been "quite good"..

Based my guesstimate on a 74,500 capacity.. About a third full I would think, similar to the first one they ran 20 years ago.. As for the racing? Poor wasnt it? But neither poor, nor great racing at a GP will bring tens of thousands more fans to the sport.. Enjoyed the day... And will be back next year... Just need another 34 degree heatwave..

Just got back to the hotel... Buzzing... Still amazes me that this is the same sport I watch now and again domestically when you see it in the arena of the Principality... Decent crowd (25 to 30k maybe?) Who made loads of noise and atmosphere.. Especially on first two turns.. Having watched young Dan go from an Aces Colt to a GP winner in such a short time is incredible, and hopefully now the springboard for him to become a true GB Speedway legend A great day. Fan zone 100% entertainment, (well done Monster) and I am looking forward to the GP2 tomorrow... And didnt Phil Morris get handed a proper "get out of jail free" card with Dan's victory..???

Me and my lad... Decent hotel, for two nights each B and B was £240.. Can't wait.. Like a kid waiting for Xmas.

What an opportunity to show the people of Peterborough that the sport is worth keeping in the area... What better than to get a chance to massively promote a BHM so they can deliver themselves a huge crowd...?

Bet 365... Still a few "bankers" to be found too if you know your stuff... Especially given Speedways RR rules, who likes which track, home track advantage, who is guesting where, etc..

Plus the damper colder nights will being grippier tracks... Many of the races I have seen either live or on TV this year have seen the opposition in front down the back straight, lap one, only to get picked off later in the race . When the track is a bit more "inside line, plenty of grip" it might not be so easy to pass.. The track staff have certainly nailed the track prep for "summer nights" which sometimes proves the most difficult to achieve when you look around all the tracks... Play offs will be a lot closer for me given the change in track, and obviously, no one knows who will have Bomber in their team ..

Spot on.. Certainly the best of both worlds.. Without going "all our yesterdays" I remember a fair few 50-28's at Hyde Rd over 10 years or so, with Mauger, Collins and Morton in particular, providing the "worth the admission money alone" rides, even though the opposition got hammered..

Extremely simple... It really doesn't matter who wins or loses, as pretty much every team will beg steal or borrow from each other.. Therefore.. Just enjoy the racing.. Peterborough in particular is one of the better tracks which must be a bonus.. The sport is slowly dying with the current operating model in use but there seems to be no alternative, (and has already died in at least one part of the UK each season for a fair few of the recent past years now)... So just be grateful there is Speedway to watch in the UK.. I went to the PCMM this year and a couple of Aces meetings and they were all value for money... Who won? If think Jason Doyle, (although that may have been last year?), and the Aces won both the matches I went to but I dont remember who they rode against to be honest.. Three very good value for money nights out though with some fantastic racing featuring Woffy, Bewley, Lambert, Doyle, Fricke, Kurtz, Zagar et al.... Off to Cardiff for the two GP's this weekend to watch some "proper speedway" but the racing probably wont be as good as the NSS and Peterborough (as well as others), can provide... With the threat of development for housing, and the cost of living challenges ahead, tracks need as many "die hards" to stick with them I would think... If your team wins then great, if not, then there is always next week..

100%... The worst ever team in Peterborough's history ever, ever, ever.. (It appears according to some)... Yet. They scored just two points less than many peoples' favourites for the title at the NSS.. And Bomber must have been good to watch getting so many...? Winning the league last year hardly raised a ripple of recognition outside a few followers of a very small (but very expensive to run), minority sport, therefore it makes perfect sense to save yourself a few quid when you have zero chance of doing anything other than finishing bottom... No promotion, nor relegation, usually means often a lot of "dead rubbers" from halfway/two thirds into the season, with play off places already secured early on many occasions, so saving money/looking to next year has to be a consideration for those at the bottom.. Not read any reports, but presume the crowd was "ok"? If so, the home team won at home so their fans went home happy, (so important to maintain a crowd level), and the away team didnt spend a fortune on wages, also so important in the overall scheme of things.....

Personally I think good weather will still attract a very decent crowd.. Gone are the days of too many within any clubs' support taking it "too seriously", which helps maintain crowd levels on evenings like this I would suggest... If you are still attending regularly nowadays then you have become pretty much "immune" to what tries to be passed off as a "proper team sport", so will be there come hell or high water.. And a good night weather wise will 100% guaranteed bring out some of the many thousands who dont attend regularly, but still follow the sport at a local and national level.. My lad has a game tonight or I would have been at the NSS given it's going to be a nice evening and Jason Doyle is always worth watching.. The teams put together, and the result, will both be what they will be, but the racing will I am sure be great to watch.. And with Bomber and Basso at Monmore tonight then I am sure several races there will be more than decent enough to pay in to watch...

Come on Dean.... Don't let everyone know next year's plan until they have had the AGM and officially announced it...

Another cracker from Poland... Wroclaw will be very frustrated....

Young Kowalski appears to be one of those riders who you would prefer to ride wiith rather than against.. But even riding with him, you will probably keep one eye on him, just in case..... Certainly one for the future...

Some cracking juniors in Poland.. Quite a few seem to be able to lower the colours of GP stars..

The sort of place for me that could have held regular (monthly?) decent level racing on Saturday or Sunday afternoons... Individuals, made up teams (who just said like is usual?), Buxton v Cradley etc.. And should have been used by the BSP to provide plenty of laps to juniors during the week...