GoldenGauntlet

I don't blame the riders at all. I'm sure they all have ambitions of making the Premiership, let alone the Championship, so they're going to take the opportunity when offered, but I doubt that any of these riders are making enough money from speedway to give up their day jobs. If they have NL rides as well then they at least have regular racing at a level where they can score good points and build up their confidence.

Maybe become top NL riders rather than 7-point NL riders before they step up to the Championship?

I'm not convinced putting 2 point riders in a SGBC team does anybody any good, least of all the riders, for whom it's too big a step up.

I was really looking forward to this meeting as I used to regularly go to Panthers meetings and the racing was always excellent, with inside and outside lines both working. There seems to be only one line that works round the bends now - the racing's better at Leicester these days, which is something I never thought I would say.

I didn't say it did. It's common to have a half hour break for the low sun at Leicester, though, which also puts people off going.

Thanks. Ballpark figure is good enough. Lions have a medical room, so don't need 2 ambulances, just two paramedics, so one can stay with a rider while the other is out on the infield So if a few dozen people are put off by long breaks it might be cost effective to pay for an additional paramedic if a better experience gets more people through the gate. Shelling out for something to block the sun going into turn 3 would be even cheaper.

To quote exactly what you said: "At Peterborough the Supporters Club looked into providing a second paramedic for Peterborough meetings but the cost is quite high (several hundred pounds per meeting) with the extra of additional insurance as well", so I asked how that cost compares to losses from fewer people attending (because they are put off by long waits for riders to be looked at by the paramedic). So how much would a second paramedic cost? I thought it was a simple enough question.

How does the cost of an additional paramedic compare to the loss from 50-100 fewer spectators paying to watch?

Why do people in speedway continue to use the term 'county ambulance'? There hasn't been a county ambulance service round here for 20 years. Just call it an NHS ambulance. And yes, the clubs CAN pay for extra cover so that injuries don't cause delays, but obviously they don't want to or can't afford to. An apology from the club to fans for the huge delay wouldn't have gone amiss. A lot of people left before the racing resumed, having only seen two races completed. Sending tractors round to make it look like something was happening didn't fool anyone, especially the bloke towing the bowser for lap after lap without turning it on.

Meeting now postponed (and it's still raining whatever anybody else says)

Still raining

Heavy rain right now a couple of miles from the track. After rain for most of the last 24 hours, even if it stops before this evening, is the track going to be in a good enough state for decent racing?

SGP wins for me. I was really pleased when Lions announced they would be running a NL team, but I'm unlikely to see them at all this season due to staging the meetings on the worst dates possible for a speedway fan.

That's why the Lions are not riding on those Saturdays, but I don't see why they couldn't have run the Lions Cubs meetings on a different day. Most fans who would go and watch the Lions Cubs meetings would also, I imagine, want to watch the SGPs live.

Disappointing to see that nearly all the Lions Cubs home meetings clash with SGPs - not going to help attendances.