Stokielee

Thanks for the answer.

Congrats to everyone involved! Does anyone know when the first spade goes in the ground?

Massive clouds of dust from the very first bend of Heat 1. Again! And they eventually come out and water the straights?!! I'm running out of words to describe that shambles!

Not wanting to hijack this thread talking about other tracks so I'll be brief. I sincerely hope Belle Vue get an excellent racing strip, a club of that stature deserve a brilliant track. Admittedly I miss-remembered Buxton being narrow but it's still an awful track. Incidentally, there's currently a debate on FB about the track being poor. As you say I forgot the Isle of Wight, Kent and also Hull. Most tracks wouldn't fit in their current stadia if they had to be 300m. That's why I think they are shoe-horned into places they don't really fit. Best of luck to Belle Vue.

There is no passing at Leicester beyond the second bend. The track has fundamental flaws in terms of the relationship between the length, width and shape. It's big but somehow has no space! I've not been to Redcar but it's small and I'm told that the banking on the third/forth bends cannot be used effectively due to the small nature of the track. Buxton is too small, narrow, rough and not even level. Weymouth was too small and narrow. I never saw Trelawny but it was small. The same goes for Plymouth. Somerset is an interesting one. I've been once (Somerset v Stoke) and considering how people talked it up I was totally unimpressed. I remember one race, Cunningham v Staechmann. The best Staechmann could manage was to get his front wheel level with Cunningham's back wheel. There were some close races but precious little passing. I also saw a Somerset match on Sky, that was good admittedly. I would say Somerset is one of the better tracks in the country but most others are pretty poor so it's not saying much. I think it could be better still. Scunthorpe I've not seen, it's talked up like Somerset is but I think it's smaller? Wimbledon was narrow and had a poor surface I understand. Birmingham isn't particularly conducive to passing from what I've seen on the TV, I don't know the reason for that, whether it's size, shape, width, surface or a combination of all those. Also viewing is poor at the stadium, how bizarre. Have I missed any? Probably. The rules in regards to track size need changing, min length should be 300m. The minimum widths on straights and bends need to be increased. The common thread running through this is that most modern tracks have been short. Proper speedway tracks are big, wide and fast with multiple lines. The Polish and Swedish tracks I've seen on TV are far better than most British tracks, length, width and surface. I'd guess you'd disagree with most of what I say above as you think they are all "fine".

That should be the absolute priority of any new promoter/anyone building a new track. Most of them talk it up but very, very few actually manage to produce a decent track (size & shape). Time will tell on this one...

This is by far the most important thing stated on the whole 13 pages of this thread. DO NOT balls-up or compromise the size, shape, or surface of the track under ANY circumstances!

Explained by the fact that I was on an entrance to a bend and you were on an exit from a bend Dek.

I wouldn't describe a dissenter as someone who has requested an explanation to an entirely valid point, would you? Incidentally, it's a point that is still without an answer and, no doubt, will continue to go without a reasonable answer.

Funny, I never noticed you standing on my shoulder with your ipad so you got the same view as me! In later heats the dust was damped down slightly by what little watering there was, perhaps you recorded one of those heats.

Yes it was. I was standing on the first bend and I couldn't see the riders on the first bend in heat 1.

Well lets wait for the answer of Mr Vasey shall we?

Perhaps Mr Vasey would be so good to give an explanation as to why there was considerable dust from the instant the tapes went up in Heat 1 and in most other heats thereafter?

Fair points. You say things have improved and I hope that is the case. However you did also say there wasn't much passing so it still sounds there is some way to go. Also a point that seems to be missed is that many people have issues with the attitude of the promotion, not just the team or the track. I've yet to see any improvement in that regard so lets hope the improvements extend to that area as well...

For the avoidance of doubt, perhaps you could list the members of this forum you are referring to?

Well I am completely at a loss to explain why a representative of a speedway promotion would comment in such a fashion on a forum that will be seen by hundreds of potential customers. Malcolm, your comments have done absolutely nothing to convince me to attend again at Stoke, in fact the reverse is true. A very sad situation.

I agree totally with Boozer's statement. I have tried to enjoy NL at Stoke but I just cannot get into it. The NL racing I have seen when I have visited Loomer Rd has been poor to say the least. The attitude of the promotion also continues to grate with me. Within the last month we have had the great Malcolm Vasey employing bully-boy tactics, coming on here threatening people with legal action! Evidence enough that there are still considerable issues with the attitude of the promotion. You really could not make it up! As a direct result of Malcolm's attitude on here I deliberately missed the opening meeting at Stoke. I would've gone but that attitude made sure that I didn't. I will attend Stoke sometime this year (unless Malcolm's attitude persists), and if the racing is any good I will gladly come on here and say so.

Boozer, good to hear both you and Bill are still alive and kicking!!!

Malcolm, history tells us that for the majority of years that speedway has been running in Stoke they have been a Division 2, or middle league side. That should be proof enough that it was sustainable at the level. If you measure success by the number of trophies a team wins, then the Stoke fans have also been success starved for pretty much most of that time. However they still turned up to support the team. In my opinion the reasons they turned up were down to the fact that the racing at Loomer Rd was amongst the best seen in the country and that there were some of the league's best riders in the team (Pickering, Stekker, Moggo, etc.). Towards the end of the PL years those elements were missing and they are still missing now. For whatever reason I cannot get excited about NL racing; I think that goes for most other speedway fans in Stoke. If you genuinely care about the future of the sport in Stoke then I'd respectfully request that you get together with your promotional colleagues and attempt to come up with some ideas about how to get the fans back on side. I will refrain from using the term "plan" as that has also been ridiculed to death previously. Also the attitude from the promotional team, club officials, etc. needs to change and the "abuse" of fans that has occurred on various forms of social media in the past needs to stop. The paying customer is always right and they know what they want. I appreciate the fact that you come on here and engage in the debate.

Malcolm, the Stoke fans will come to see decent racing at PL level. I have to disagree with you, the NL racing at Loomer Road has not been particularly good. Give the Stoke fans what they want; Good racing at PL level. The fact that the place is not packed should tell you something...

Seems that Malcolm has gone quiet. Perhaps the water table has now risen to such an extent that his keyboard has become submerged and he is unable to type...

So there's your answer, the stocks have been on it again this weekend! What chance of the next Speedway meeting being cancelled too?!!

Altogether now: "You don't know what you're doing!"

Thanks very much for that; the first bend is where I like to stand anyway, cheers.

That's an excellent response from the Workington promotion, well done to them. Nobody saying go to Stoke yet... How surprising! Could somebody tell me if Workington's stadium is suitable to visit with a 2 year-old in a pram?