1 valve

The blade did its job perfectly well smoothing out the base to the desired objective. Problem was that the material had been put down in unequal amounts meaning the riders were in & out of grippy areas but relatively easy matter to fix especially if good/dry weather remains.

Nevertheless, despite heavy rain disrupting the track refurbishment this week meaning more than usual tractor work needed between races, the meeting was completed by 8.45 & Nick Morris set a new track record!

Transponders do not relay speeds, They relay the time taken between each time it passes the receiving device. Similarly, speedway bikes do not follow an exact route each lap so the speed cannot be calculated as it is not known how far the bike has travelled (speed = distance/time) On MotoGP bikes (as an example) speed and other similar types of data are recorded "on bike" and downloaded/extracted when the rider returns to the pit as "live" telemetry is not allowed in MotoGp (it is in F1 and the cost of such equipment would furnish the speedway GP paddock with a new bike for each meeting) To get that data collected and sorted into quick to read format for each bike the following is the approx numbers required for the "on bike tech" Number of sensors = 50 Number of channels circa 1000, 600 managed by the ECU & 400 managed by the software. Amount of data managed 60GB Length of cables on a bike 150m Just put a camera on the line - then the winner is there for all to see - as per Moto GP & F1 A

Moto GP and World Superbikes use transponders to determine lap times not race results. This means that a transponder can be placed in different places on bikes but still provide accurate lap times. in the event of a "dead heat" the result is determined by "photo finish" technology because as per speedway the winner is the rider who's front wheel crosses the line first.

Is it correct that the winner of a race is the rider who's front wheel crosses the line first (not his body or some other part of the bike)? If it is, then this would mean when the leading edge of the front tyre crosses the finishing line. In which case how do you fit a transponder to rotating object? An alternative suggestion would be for referees to have their own (approved) field monitor equipment (digital camera tech plus application kit) set up on the finishing line to provide a sufficient photo-finish type of "scan" for any close finishes that may come along. The reason the referee should provide it is because by doing so the kit would be used each and every time he/she referees a match as opposed to a club providing it for a maximum of 1 meeting per week. Cost would be circa £300.00

Your assumption is incorrect. The local authority allocated an area of land for the speedway stadium which is clearly not large enough to accommodate a BV or Bydgoszcz size of track. However, instead of fitting a compact track into the available space the promoter went for total length of track resulting in straights too long for the size of bends which were possible to fit into the area. FYI the area that remains outside of the stadium were earmarked for BMX & football but were never developed.

No.

No. There’s room (& time) for sufficient improvement.

Your observations are out of date. The changes made to both shape & size since it was laid out now produce comparable racing to almost every other uk track (a few exceptions) The issue now is the inconsistency of surface - too many bumps and holes in key areas which need to be addressed.

The whole team performed below what is expected. Twins & Rowe 12 points from 13 rides meant the “top four” (who apart from RW were pathetic) needed to score 33 points to get a draw. No excuses & no hiding place very poor performance and SD will no doubt react accordingly, even if behind closed doors.

Nigel’s love of the sport, his enthusiasm and overall personality made him a lovely man & a great speedway commentator. RIP Nigel & my condolences to his family & close friends. You will be missed.

Saw Kenny Carter blast underneath Bruce Penhall coming out of bend four - brilliant piece of riding - think it was a match race thing (silver/golden helmet - not sure of the metal)

What was it all about - seems like the Lions disappeared after it. Talk about not being up for a fight!

The team that wins the battle for minor places will come out on top. Home advantage to swing it. However, will be well worth a visit (even for neutrals) to watch two teams who will be well motivated to perform on a night when good weather is being predicted.

Looks like the Lions will struggle this year then...they only have one div one heat leader...and he's not even a number one! Presumably the Lions faithful are hoping the boss has managed to garner a team where the other 6 riders manage to do enough during the season to scrape the occasional win or two

Afraid your looking back at speedway promoting history through rose tinted glasses.

Why do you ask?

Leicester may not have the best race track in the UK (there can only be one of them) but a more accurate statement would be "people always use to say it is the shape that causes the problems" - Given the changes made over the past few years to the shape, length and banking of the track , the only folk who now continue to cite the track as "poor" or "wrong" are those who have not attended a Leicester meeting in recent times or expect something which frankly speedway never deliver's anywhere - ever - i.e. 4 laps of racing with many multiple passes in all races. Meanwhile those who have attended meetings at Leicester will have seen comparable racing/passes to that seen at most UK tracks and not just for the front two places but also for the minor (but just as important) third place.

In speedway, if the best riders gates first (which is a contributory factor as to why they are “good” in the first place) then the “not so good” riders will finish behind them. On Saturday there were very few times the “not so good “ riders got out of the gate first & when they did, the good riders passed them. Hence why 4 of the Lions team achieved paid maximums.

Plenty of footballers having signed for new clubs are injured during pre-season and miss the first (few) fixtures. In the case of Adam, he was signed with the full knowledge that he would be unavailable for the Lions leg, but this is hardly a reason not to have signed him at all is it?

All being well, the Lions will progress to the next round & the Leicester fans will have another home meeting.

Whoops. I meant to type “inclusion of Russian teams” rather than “Russians”

Speedway supporters almost certainly agree that the two Russians involved in the GP series are innocent of any political views v the Ukraine. However, they are Russian and as per FIFA’s actions & that of F1 the speedway authorities must ensure there is zero inclusion of Russians on the global stage until Putin and his cronies are put firmly in the box they need to be sentenced too.

“Will people be able to afford to go” in short “yes” if they regard going to speedway meetings as something they want to do. Those promoters who do the right things to make people want to go have nothing to worry about. As for those who don’t do “the right thing” history shows they will find someone else to blame.