Gresham78

Many congratulations to all involved with putting on yesterday's grand prix. I thought the presentation was excellent; light show, rider introductions and centre green announcements and the slickness of getting through the heats was first class. I also acknowledge all the work done on the track this year after last year's fiasco to make it the best surface possible. All this led to a great atmosphere with everybody enjoying themselves. Given the excellence of the presentation it was always going to be a challenge for the racing to match it and I have to say i thought it fairly average but there's only so much you can do with a temporary track. For pure racing the bench mark, I feel, this year has to be Malilla which served up terrific racing and was a great advert for the sport . Many congratulations to Greg - to win an event of this nature at 44 is some achievement. However I have to agree with those who aren't totally enamored with his riding style. Whilst acknowledging his technical excellence from the gate and ability at picking and defending a line, he's dull to watch and I can't really recall him passing too often when ever I've seen him. At the end of the day the sport needs people who can come from the back as well as trap so well done Tai, Darcy and anyone else capable of passing; they are the entertainers of our sport. Its a bit like the late 80s and early 90s in Formula 1; Alain Prost " the little professor" versus the late great Ayrton Senna. Anyway all in all I enjoyed the day and hope that the Cardiff experience continues to be the showpiece in the GP calendar for many years to come. Oh yes one more comment: didn't think the fanzone worked in its new location, far too cramped plus same old format.

Could you tell me the name of the show it was on so i can listen to it on i player? Thanks

Fingers crossed for you Steve and all Eastie fans that somebody comes forward to rescue the Eagles. It's bad enough with the Brummies struggling to stay afloat let alone a second track finding itself in trouble..

Somebody mentioned that Swindon were subdued which was a very apt description. Their performance was very flat and at no stage did they ever look like mounting any sort of challenge. When your 3 heat leaders can only manage one win between them the defeat is inevitable. Kildemand looked off his game and Nick Morris again looked uncomfortable. I watched the Robins away from the Abbey quite a lot last season and have seen them 4 or 5 times on theit travels this year and have to say this was one of the most lacklustre performances I've seen in that time. I think Rosco has work to do if the Robins season is not going to peter out to nothing.

Anybody got a weather update to report? Forecast looks grim for this evening..

Very sad to see the Brummies in this situation. Despite being given a winning team last year and a top manager, the Birmingham public don't seem to want to support Elite League Speedway. Surely the best option would be a return to the Premier League which hopefully will prove more sustainable. As many others have said the sport over here needs to change and a re branding/ re marketing exercise seems long overdue. If the sport is to have any long term future they need to get youngsters coming back through the turnstiles and they could make a start by making the presentation a lot more slick. Very best of luck to Brummie supporters and the club in general - hope a rescue package is forthcoming soon.

Grachan you are the sole voice of reason on this thread! As you say the meeting was abandoned because of poor visibility not track conditions. Having ridden a motorcycle myself rain/mist can have a significant impact on visibility and that's just riding on the road let alone on a bike doing 60mph with no brakes on a 360 metre oval track in poor light. I know some people feel cheated they only saw 12 heats instead of 15 and for any Belle Vue fans who made the trip it must have been particularly frustrating but surely rider safety is paramount? The sport is dangerous enough in good conditions let alone throwing in an additional hazard. For those who seem to think Rosco and Batchelor got it called off the official announcement was along the lines of " the referee has abandoned the meeting with the agreement of the two captains in the interest of rider safety owing to the deteriorating conditions" If Swindon have tried to influence the referee's decision then surely Belle Vue have grounds for appeal? Given the conditions I think both teams served up some pretty good racing and thankfully everybody went home in one piece.

Sad to hear of the passing of 'Super Simmo' one of the speedway greats of the 70s/80s. A great stylist to watch and a top bloke too. RIP Malcolm.

does anybody know if the re-admission tickets from the abandoned meeting against Birmingham are valid for tonight's meeting?

I blame the BSPA

Don't wish to 'rain' on anybody's parade but there's some of the damp stuff forecast for tomorrow in the Swindon area. Will we ever see a rain free meeting at Blunsdon this year....!

I agree with a lot of what has been said on this thread. It will be a tragedy if Brandon is redeveloped. I got round all the Elite League tracks last season (bar Peterborough)and in my opinion Brandon is head and shoulders above anywhere else. The stadium has more facilities than most others and as a Swindon fan I'm very envious as the Abbey is a dump in comparison (sorry fellow Robins fans but it is). I don't know Mr Sandhu but as others have said I very much doubt he's doing anything about locating another site and let's face it you're unlikely to get anywhere with the permissions that Brandon enjoys. I started watching speedway at Eastville in Bristol and when the Bulldogs were thrown out I remember the empty promises made by the council about doing 'everything possible to help the team find an alternative site'. I wish Colin Mills, Speedibee and all other Bees fans the very best of luck with whatever plan they may employ to save the Stadium. I don't think this is just about Coventry either; it will be a great loss to the sport in general if Brandon closes.

This was certainly a meeting of two halves with the Robins coping better with a very damp track early on winning 5 of the first 6 heats, however as the surface dried out and the track staff carried out extensive grading Wolves took control and finished very strongly with Swindon ending up a well beaten team. For the Robins Dakota North really excelled being fast out the gate and ready to mix it on the first and second bends. He was abley supported by Steve Worrall who contributed another decent haul of points and is staring to look an inspired choice by Rosco. As for the others Batch had a total off night and was abysmal.PK never really looked comfortable and Nick had a mixed night with a win and a fall. Its unfair to judge Nathan as it was his first meeting but Simon's confidence looks shot and is riding as if he knows his neck is on the block awaiting the axe. Well done Wolves with Woffy leading the fightback with the impressive Pawlicki.

Agree with Hagon S, do we really want Eddie back? Granted he started last season like a train but faded badly in the second half and he seems to have continued in that form with the Brummies. I think Simon will come good; had he settled for 2nd in his final ride at Coventry on Friday he would have finished on paid 7 which is fine for a 2nd string rider. Similarly Dak has come into the side at very short notice with little time to prepare so he should be given some time. Too many changes and you disrupt team morale

I may be a bit biased being a Robins fan but I didn't think the meeting was as bad as some people are making it out to be. I do acknowledge though the Bees riders seemed to be struggling with the track and if its not consistent week in week out the home team loses the advantage. Summers, Garrity and Bomber all managed passes on Swindon riders and the Bees went in to heat 15 with a chance of salvaging a draw following the the fight back in the previous 3 heats. I did expect Hans to get a bit more support from Bomber and Hansen but it just didn't happen on the night. Great effort by the Bobbins especially Steve Worrall who's come in for some unjustified flak from some Swindon fans. Finally, just a word about Brandon; its a great place to watch speedway, by far the best stadium for the sport in the UK. Its a travesty that its being sold off.

Glad I didn't make the 300 mile round trip to see this lack lustre Swindon performance, watched it on Bet365. To be fair we missed Batch and Stevie W and with them I'm sure it would have been closer. Another frustrating night for Gustaffson - he's so much better than he's recent scores. Unfortunately its looking like Rosco's gamble on Nikolai and Simon has failed and with limited room to of make changes its looking like a season of mediocrity for the Robins. Congratulations to killer tho for a top performance on a notoriously tricky track and also a sound effort from young Morra. Well done Hammers and to the evergreen Peter Karlsson.

First of all congratulations to the Pirates on their victory in tonight's meeting, Shamek's ride in Heat 15 was a real match winning performance and outstanding speedway. As for the Robins I really feel this team's been put together very much on a budget. I'm convinced Rosco's anxious that we don't have a repeat of last season's financial melt-down and is trying to operate within the means of the club. No disrespect to Nikolai and Simon but they must have been acquired on the cheap; nobody wanted Klindt after last season and Gustafsson was surplus to requirements at Eastbourne. These two will blow hot and cold all season and consequently I feel Swindon will come up short quite a lot this year. In comparison although Poole had Janwoski having an off night, Milik struggling and Shamek suffering the after effects from a heavy fall this morning, they all managed to win at least one race. Coupled with this an outstanding shift from a 2nd string rider in Grajczonek. They're the most balanced team in the league. Its early days yet but as others have said its already looking like Kings Lynn and Poole will make up the play off final.

I don't know much about Graham Drury other than what's been said on this forum but losing somebody of his experience would be a bitter blow for any club let alone one in the Brummie's predicament. At the moment the team look likely candidates for the wooden spoon this season and are left with an inexperienced owner at the helm. I speak as a speedway fan and I'm always concerned when a team runs into trouble. Given the great effort made by individuals in bringing the sport back to the city and the success of last year its very sad to see the club in this situation. Good luck Brummies and to Alan Phillips - hope things pick up for you this year and that you're around for next season and many more in the future.

I think the only winner last night was the weather. I've got no issues with Coventry winning but it was a miserable night. Can't imagine it was very nice to ride in those conditions and it certainly wasn't much fun watching even I should imagine for the Bees fans. When the weather's like it was the Abbey's a pretty desolate place. Just to cap it off poor Daryl has a horror accident and my best wishes go to him for a speedy recovery. Just one further point; did anyone have a tea from the burger van on bend 2? It was revolting, tasted like disinfectant. I guess they could have used it to clean the back straight bogs! Come to think it of it perhaps that's where they got the water from to make it....

Whilst I applaud the attempt made to provide opportunities for young British riders to progress I'm not convinced they've gone about it in the best way, only time will tell. At the end of the day I still feel the big problem is that the sport needs to be governed by an independent body. With the current set up I can't see how promoters can make decisions for the good of the sport when at the end of the day they want to further the interests of their own team illustrated by Matt Ford's comment in the local press before the AGM; “ we'll try to help other clubs by accepting the rules they bring to the table” but insists he will “never accept anything which will truly damage Poole”. I don't know who would make up the independent body but I can't see how the sport will ever move forward with the existing set up. I don't think there's anybody currently in the BSPA with the vision to give the sport the much needed revamp it needs to secure its future in this country.

Very saddened to hear of the Panthers withdrawal from the EL especially after the substantial investment made by Rick Frost and his team. I truly hope that new buyers can be found ASAP and the Panthers can take to the track once more, hopefully sooner rather than later.

I remember in the 80s when this event was the British League Riders Championship it was really was something to look forward to and given that at that time most of the the best riders riders in the world were riding in the BL often the field assembled was better than that for the World Final. It was held at a venue befitting its status, that being Belle Vue's old Hyde Road home which was a purpose built speedway stadium. A prestigious meeting that its participants really wanted to win. Sadly last night's shambles showed that its only a pale imitation of its former self. Let's face it shouldn't of gone ahead. Following the downpour at 4pm the track was left saturated with numerous puddles on the surface and despite the efforts of the track staff the first 4 heats showed it wasn't fit to race on. We then had what must have been about an hour's delay whilst further work was carried out to try and produce a vaguely raceable surface. While this was going on the poor old fans, many who already had a good soaking, had to to endure standing on muddy grass banks in a breezy old relic of a 'stadium' ( and I say that as a Swindon fan). Great credit to Rory Schlein who I thought was outstanding on the night along with NKI, Jason Doyle and one or two others but I don't blame any rider either who didn't fancy it on the night; it's the end of the season and a track in a treacherous condition so why risk having a serious crash? At the end of the day riders and fans lost out along with the sport itself. Just imagine if you'd brought somebody along for their first visit to a speedway meeting - how would you have sold the sport to them on that showing? As A Orlov says perhaps the meeting should be moved to earlier in the season and at a venue with better facilities, Brandon for instance. Which ever way you look at it, it was a sorry end to the season and did little to enhance the sport's reputation.

Many congratulations to SGP 2013 World Champion Tai Woffinden! Unfancied at the start, broke his collarbone twice and still comes out on top, an outstanding achievement. Hopefully this will give British speedway a boost when it most needs it.

Thoughts of the 2013 season; Too many serious injuries missing riders leading to r/r fixture list with too many gaps tactical rides with double points virtually zero coverage of the sport in the national press the threat of Sky pulling the plug on their sponsorship ...but to end on a positive note a BRITISH WORLD CHAMPION - WELL DONE TAI WOFFINDEN!