BlitzkriegBop

Thanks! I was planning to drive up but fate decreed otherwise, so I thought I'd settle for watching it on the TV. Guess I'll have to settle for watching progress on Speedway Updates.

I thought I read somewhere that there was a stream for this meeting, but I can't find any details. Did I dream it?

Why can't Kelvin and um-er, Scott just tell it like it is instead of trying to convince people that the meeting is fantastic? It is an absolute embarrassment!

Lots of fans have great memories of Shane, and he was undoubtedly the star of the show for Middlesbrough Bears in 1995 and 1996. Dependable, loyal, immaculately turned out and a great showman, Shane put over a 1.5 points on his previous highest average, for Ipswich, and it was on Teesside that he established himself a genuine number 1 in the sport. And what made this even more remarkable was that those two seasons were in the ‘one big league’. Anyone who knows Shane will tell you that he was hard as nails, so this health scare should be just a minor blip. Best wishes to you, my old friend!!

I agree wholeheartedly, Uluru, and I have to admit that I am embarassed and totally mystified as to why he has been cut after his simply stunning contribution to the cause in 2017. Has someone at the top forgotten how, particularly at the beginning of the campaign, Ellis was weighing in with huge double-figure scores almost everywhere he went and, along with Barker and Garrity, was the backbone of the team. Without those contributions we would surely have not gone on to enjoy such a successful season. For me the first two names on the list for 2018 should have been Ben and Ellis but what do we know about what goes on behind the scenes? I would expect Ellis to be furious at being overlooked - I would too - but I hope that someone will pick him up and allow him to consolidate on 2017 and go on to enjoy a bright future in our leagues.

The Redcar track was fantastic when you were preparing it, Glyn, so wouldn't it be great if now that you've been ousted from Leicester your expertise could once again be put to good use at the Media Prima Arena. There is already a renewed enthusiasm and feelgood factor around the place so the perfect racing strip would provide the icing on the cake.

In terms of publicity for the event has no-one thought about putting this on the Bears Forum? The main Bears website is so far out of date and out of touch that few fans refer to it for information so for some it may be the only place they'll see that this event is on. It would make a good thread I reckon.

I've plagiarised this from a posting on Redcar Bears Forum by doctorclitterhouse, which I think sums up nicely the problem with some of our tracks. 'If this were any normal industry a trades union would be insisting on improvements or recommending employees stage a walk-out (before the fans do!). In actual fact, I am baffled as to how speedway seems to retain some sort of divine right to operate without the need to meet any sort of standard. It seems to me that any individual can lay down a race track, open the gates and get on with it without anyone seemingly raising an eyebrow. Yes, there are clerks of the course and referees with the authority to decide whether or not a track is safe to race on, but precisely what are the roles of the Speedway Control Board’s track inspectors Colin Meredith and Alan Bridgett? Do they, for example, periodically visit every track unannounced to ensure that each venue and selected meetings achieve a minimum standard? If so they are clearly selling us all short (if the comments I read on various websites across the country are anything to go by) and if not then perhaps they should to put a stop the sort of nonsense we witnessed on Thursday [bears v Berwick, where there were 7 falls due to the state of the track]. An absolute must-have standard should be that all track curators are fully trained by some suitably accredited authority on the subject of track preparation, made to sit and pass a stringent exam and then licensed with the SCB. At the moment it appears that the only essential attributes required on a job application to prepare some of our speedway tracks are the ability to hold a shovel; that the candidate knows what a tractor is, even if that means he or she only previously saw one up close at their local agricultural show; and one feels comfortable in wellies or hob nail boots'. It is within the power of every promoter/consortium to influence their crowd levels. Treat spectators well and keep them entertained and the turnstiles will click along nicely. However, serve up processional racing week in and week out at venues lacking atmosphere, and even worse, dismissing fans' concerns, will drive them away in their droves (as evidenced at South Tees Motorsports Park and no doubt other UK venues). Speedway is fast-becoming an entertainment industry without the entertainment. And unless promoters understand that they have an obligation to the paying public they will continue to hemorrhage money when they don't really need to.