Stoke Potter

I seem to recall the guy who created Somerset was, in more recent times, trying to get Bristol back. Wasn't there some suggestion of a track being put in near some railway sidings or something - sorry for the vagueness I'm not familiar with the area at all.

This is exactly what should happen, I said the same on the Swindon 2019 thread back in September. It should be the case not just with Swindon, but any new or modified track.

Proper sized, shaped, prepared tracks would do more to address the amount of injuries than slowing the bikes down.

You're a bit late with that, at least one other person said the same. You obviously missed the response. I look at tracks, and the sport, objectively. Do you? You won't find me defending Stoke as a track but there are a plenty of others not much better. The IoW could be so much better, they have the space for a proper sized track. Time will tell as to whether the present promoters realise the true potential of their facility. As my response to them on here went unanswered, I suspect any track "improvements" they will make will turn out to be sub-optimal in terms of what could actually be achieved.

The only person they should be calling about the design of the track is Chris Morton. Goes without saying they won't. 300m is too short to be a genuine top class circuit and there will need to be considerable additional width added to the straights and bends, not to mention the correct amount of banking on the bends. 2 miracles required at Swindon it seems: 1. They actually get a new track in place. 2. They manage to get the design right. Hope it all works out for the Swindon fans.

I think you are probably right but if that's what needs to happen to get a proper track in there then they should do it. Goes without saying that they won't do what's required and will basically keep wasting money playing at it. Plenty of space around Beaumont park for a proper sized/shaped track.

So the obvious conclusion, staring the sport in the face: Fix the tracks, more tracks like B.V. Leicester are apparently improving their track during the close season, are they making it more like B.V.? Of course they aren't!

I can't recall a single track that is prepared, on a consistent basis, to give proper racing from the off. Although I have seen decent racing from Heat 1 at the NSS. There are 2 possible answers. 1) Research methods to give proper racing from heat 1. 2) Run 5 heats of junior racing prior to the main match. Another amazing heat 13, brace yourself for all those people that see races like that all the time at every other track in the country...

The last Weymouth track was awful, the fact that you say otherwise tells me a lot. I've not been to Plymouth but I can predict what it's like - not real Speedway. Scunthorpe and Somerset had a reputation as good tracks because most of the rest are so bad, both have been surpassed by Belle Vue. Your insistence that every track produces decent racing is just plain wrong to be frank. As regards the IoW investing in their track, you have answered your own question: They are getting 5 times the gate money according to you and have a massive increase in sponsorship revenue. Invest it in the track. If the sport doesn't invest in improving the tracks then it will carry on being in dire straits and the long slow death will continue.

Did you actually read what I wrote? Did I say that Stoke was better? If your local track is poor does that prevent you from having an objective opinion about other tracks, and the problems of the sport in general? First of all Barry, can I commend you on your response to my somewhat flippant remark. You appear to have an excellent attitude to the (potentially) paying customer which is something that is all too rare in this sport of ours. Well done on getting the blade back in operation and sorting out the problem of the poor shale, these were not the issues I was referring to though. In my opinion the problems with the track are down to shape, banking and width. I would usually add in material and preparation but, as a promotion with foresight, you appear to be already on top of this. The overall size at 385m is very good so it would be a shame if you significantly shortened the track during any changes you plan to make. The best track in the country is, undoubtedly, Belle Vue. My thoughts for the IoW are simple, make your track like B.V., you are already in the fortunate position of having a large track and also appearing to have space around the circuit to add width to the straights and bends. I would urge you to do exactly that. Of course it may not be possible to do that all in one go but with careful planning the changes could be introduced over a period of time. Every speedway promotion should know that their track is their biggest asset! Invest in it!!! I wish you the best of luck with your efforts and I will certainly attend the speedway next time I am down on the island. My visit will be all the more pleasing if i turn up and see a track similar to Belle Vue!

Shame their track is pants and needs improvement.

If you go by the number of meetings attended at various tracks this season then I am more of a Poole and Belle Vue than a Stoke fan... As I've said on other threads, you won't find me defending the state of Stoke, it is generally poor. Unfortunately for the sport there are too many tracks that are poorly prepared or badly shaped. Stoke at it's best (mid 80's) was considerably better than Poole. I remember going Poole in the 80's and there was a massive mound on the 4th bend. From memory, Marvyn Cox tried to draw the Ref's attention to it but the ref made them get on with it and I think David Biles ended up coming off and breaking his leg...

I seem to remember it was said on here that they only did part of the bends because I asked how wide the bends were and nobody answered.

I'll tell you: 1. Blade the whole lot off kerb to boards, not just the first 2 metres or whatever was done last winter, and get the whole base fixed. Yes, big job. 2. Put some decent material back on and more of it than you usually do so there are no blue groove/slick patches during the meeting. 3. Water it during the meeting so it's not a dust bowl, as it is far too often. Where are the ruts on the Belle Vue bends?

How does Plymouth compare to the last version of Weymouth in your opinion? How you can compare Belle Vue with Scunthorpe, Somerset and Plymouth is just bizarre in my view. Interesting that many people on here are advocating more tracks to be like BV - please point me towards the thread where people are requesting more tracks like Plymouth. The IoW is based on an old athletics track I believe, which makes it the wrong shape for Speedway. I've been several times, never seen anything remotely close to what I've seen at BV on various occasions. The IoW promotion are spoken about in very positive terms these days. The true measure of them as a promotion is whether they invest in the track and get it remodelled to be a proper track. Yes a copy of Belle Vue will do fine. I actually think a BV track could be fitted in there. Time will tell. I regard Poole as one of the better shaped tracks in the country - it has been let down in recent years by having an extremely rough surface. So bad last year that Hans Andersen had an off in the first bend which in my view was down to a rut that actually broke his rear spindle! I'm surprised he didn't make more of it but perhaps he knew which side his bread was buttered so to speak. Matt Ford has gone down in my estimation by not keeping his track up to a decent standard then playing at fixing it last winter by getting, if I recall right, Glyn Taylor on the case.

For me this cannot be said enough. If British Speedway survives then those 2 should be regarded as the saviours. They've shown everyone what a proper Speedway track looks like. The BSPA should now go off and do the right thing and get a few more tracks the same as BV. And yes, that Heat 13 is truly one of the best I've races I've seen in 30+ years watching the sport. Massive credit to all the riders. I think Fricke especially will be something special.

I go regular but not often. They aren't BV width was my point. Poole would benefit from more width all round but I heard the Southerners do tend to lack girth I always get the impression that the back straight is narrower then the home straight, is it?

That is a great race but last night's was better in my view. Rempala had some big balls to ride the relatively narrow Poole bends like that, but Havelock knew what he was doing and knew he would be in front at the finish line. Wily old fox versus youthful exuberance! What happened to Rempala? Was that the last time the Poole track was any good? ;-)

Yes really. We've both discussed this before on here more than once. It's about attracting the layman. I defy anybody not to be at least slightly impressed with that Heat 13 last night, the spectacle of the sheer speed combined with the close proximity of the riders is a sight to behold. Fricke must've been nudging 70+mph at times in that race. It's not quite the same watching 4 riders pootle round the Plymouth merry-go-round at 40-50mph tops, whether the lead changes several times or not. You are a seasoned fan and can appreciate it, fair enough but no way can you say what you saw at Plymouth bettered or even matched that at Belle Vue last night. Lakeside is an utterly dire trick-track, the same as Wolves and the rules should be changed so that no new track can be made like that.

Add Redcar, Plymouth and probably Eastbourne to that list as well. Pathetic excuses for Speedway tracks. You'll never get a race like last night's Heat 13 at tracks like that. Can't get anywhere near the speed for a start.

And that begs the question: How do these people get so relatively wealthy that they can own a Speedway team but still show such base stupidity? Death by a thousand cuts. It's not just prep though, as has been said, size, shape, etc, etc. are equally important.

It should be THE priority! The track should be the biggest "asset" of every promotion, regardless of whether they actually own it. I still think there's a majority that are in denial of how poor some tracks actually are.

It was all "tongue in cheek". But you could use your magazine to seriously campaign for nationwide track improvements. Baby steps, keep chipping away at it, slowly open people's eyes up to the reality of the situation. It is, after all, the fundamental problem the sport faces in this country.

The British GP is in Wales; hold the ENGLISH GP at Belle Vue! I'd buy my tickets the day it was announced.

You were doing well tonight until that. Still the jealousy/hate flows. Lynn's a dire track, can understand why you'd be jealous.