catinthehat

Do we know if there is practice at Eastbourne this weekend as we have had some of the worst weather going the last couple of night with wind and rain?

Thanks but it does not really give you time scales for the fans and if they need any help?

when is Press day or the network thing they did last year anybody got any idea or update on it please, i think i heard that the fans were invited to the late night pratice?

I didnt get to the practice as i went for the day out at the castle with the kids which was freezing, I was happy to hear the reports that Jake Knight was impressive and Tom Brennan was hitting the laps our little secret weapon half way during the season. big question was someone said Rob Mear was there doing laps? is there a team change already? Charlie Powell i hear is going well and Nick is looking better, really looking forward to the season now. Also Captain Rich was turning in a few laps with the boys any updates on how everyone was really doing from anyone there?

Weather looks cold for sunday but i guess i can put my hat on for practice and gloves, anyone can tell me if there is anything open at the track for a drink or anything like that?

Weather looks ok for the weekend even though its mothers day i have asked the kids to take me to watch, cant wait to see the team thats if there is going to be a practice again? can any body update me if anything is on as its a hours drive for me, if not i have to spend the afternoon in the pub at the white dog in at bodiam castle if anyone wants to join us.

I think the wheels have come of the train at Rye House when Andrew Silver was made an escape goat, As for Hughes Bowtell Hume must have also thought the same thats why they jumped ship before it started to go under, With Rye having a new shaped track this year all home advantage has gone and then with out the Stanford as team manager opps did i hear that right another one at the top has gone also. Well i love to give you a race Ben(! you can use your trike and i can have a ride on my barbie bike first one to the pit gate wins. xxxx I think George will make a big step forward this year and any mechanical issuse he had last year that killed his average will help, Also another thing with Jake him on BWDs bikes which were perfect for Eastbourne set up around the so called Trick track will put him a few wheels ahead of most riders that only come to the Arlington Bowl a few times a year. mmmm no practice a Rye House due to the new saftey fence and pits and work being carried out. Thats good for the sport but no good for your team if you cant get on and have a few important laps.

Knight had never been to Eastbourne until the weekend and from whats been said about him from the internet and the photos i have to say he looks impressive, also from the photos it looks like he was on BWD bikes from last year so we all no how quick that goes. I think he is going to be the dark horse in the side or even the dark Knight , with some good bikes under him a big home track advantage i can see his average going up a point or more, Its east to get a good average when you start the season with a bang.

Damm missed it as it was not up on the internet, next week the kids are taking me out as its mothers day so wont be able to make it Photos of the new guys look good seems again the Eastbourne management have found another star in the team with Jake Knight. Dissapointed i missed it but they keep that one quite about training, but i guess they wanted the boys to have a few laps with out any pressure of the public watching dont really blame them for that. Hope to see them there in a few weeks time.

yes but its not a neutral track? or have Birmingham pulled out the NL League

I think its not just the case of a neutral track i also think its a case of a track that is more central to make more money to share among the clubs at the end of the season.

Fixture list does not flow very well for Eastbourne but if you look at Cradley and Birmingham who Peter Morrish seems to be very close too both clubs seem to have a perfect fixture list for 2016, Buxton and Eastbourne seem to have been given a poor fixture list, but i guess it wont matter when it come to the finals as Eastbourne should be in them.

I agree with what your saying but someone will have to stand up and stop the rolling stone of cost increasing, i can see the problems with standard engines and i think its a great idea, i think let them all roll up and bolt and engine in a meeting. Let jawa supply the engines and carbs and call it the jawa league, money from the club towards this project. riders turn up and the away team have first pick of engines then the home team. it could work if they really wanted it too but they cant even sort out a fixture list let along engines and services lol.

100% correct but try buying and engine from lets say Han Andersson who is having a good run on that engine and he wants £2000 for an engine then he says to you its due a service? then you find its worn out, a rebuild cost of £600. The only person who make money again is the top boys, they earn it they sell the equipment on the spin of the name and so on. if Jawa came up with a deal for 14 engines per club at a sensible cost and the riders can put the engines into there original bikes but the engines are sealed i am sure it would follow suit with other leagues, make the NL a break away league from the rest of British Speedway and see how long it last, i am sure it will be there longer then the EL as they cant even fill the full teams. If they cant do that then no Tv money and bingo another pop the big bubble has gone. Roll on NL speedway and Roll on the season at Eastbourne it was the best season we have seen for many a year.

The problem is at some stage someone is going to have to break away from the run of the mill, either if the top boy wont change then why should anyone else, but the problem is that somone needs too, why should the NL boys have to ride the same equipment as lets say Chris Holder, if speedway is going to survive then it need to lower the price at the gate, but its not the riders fault if they need more money to maintain equipment. I think if it was a £10 or less sport even if the boys were all on 570cc engines i think it would be great, but from what i have heard that they will be going to make some sort of standard engine / bike. At the moment they need a very big step towards a change somewhere. going back to a pre owned engine Richard Andrews blew an engine up at the last meeting last year at coventry and was reported to have been a new replacement motor, so the money he spent on the engine and it was not due a service cost him, Also i do remember seeing an engine that george wood blew up was also another one for the dustbin, seems that the NL boys think they are buying the best from others but they will only do a season, so the pre owned engine life is very limited.

Well the way i look at it as i have just done a little bit of investigation the last few days, an Engine from a good tuner is approx £4500 (Engine 1) but some are more expensive but i used that a example, Tatums Engine is £5000. so £500 more. Engine 1 will do 40 races or 160 laps before a rebuild at a cost of £400 a rebuild (spring, rings, big end ). so looking at 4 to 5 rebuilds a year. Tatums engine is ment to do a full season. so a service at the end of the year £500. Jawas new engine is ment to be £2000 ( Sudden Sams Engine) so to run engine 1 for a season and a purchase is £6500 Tatums Engine is £5500 Sams Engine is £2000 says £300 a rebuild and 3 rebuilds a year round it up to £3000 total so a cost saving of £3500 so far per rider, then times that by 7 thats £24,500 for the team. now lets look at it another way, £24,500 divide that by £5 as thats what you like to take of the gate price, 4900 people could come in at £8 for NL price, which then divide that by 9 meetings means 544 people a meeting which is about right for NL lower crowds. Trying to get people back in the gates i guess is the main thing and its money i think thats is the real crunch. family of 4 could whats speedway for £20 max £32 which is cheaper then going to the cinema. I would like to see that happen standard bikes, they do it in other motor sports and gokarting. why not try it. stand alone and do a deal with Jawa or Tatum or Even GM, or just go back to 2 valve engines. If more tracks drop out then speedway will really be in the brown sticky stuff, bums on seats is needed.

2017 will be the year of the standard bikes for the UK, I think sudden sam is on to it or even the engine that Tattum is involved with will be a standard, why would Kelvin be involved with lakeside if he wasnt going to push the engine into the sport? Seems i might be right also it was talked about at Rugby the other day so not too far away i think. Hey nice and sunny up here too so maybe time to get out on a bike or 2 at the weekend and smell the fuel and oil in the air, (thats from the bikes not a fire)

I have to say speedway looks like in a bit of a mess the only league that looks like its got somthing going for it is the NL. I have a friend in Poland who has told me that they have already have next year 2017, So with the GP as well speedway really needs to start again from Grass Roots, Standard bikes / Engines lets go back to no silencers and bring the noise back like it used to be at Wimbeldon and Hackney. Formular 1 cars are so loud and they run in city centres so why cant we. Bring back the old speedway as we all loved it.

Yep another wet day in the South, but i am sure that someone from the Eastbourne management has their eye on the practice problems, but there is nothing to stop them doing the whole weekend when its dry, i think there is only so many laps someone can do before they are back in the swing of things, i always remember Alan Moggride saying one day at training school when i was at Hackney, Practice does not make it perfect, if you practice the wrong thing time and time again you end up getting it getting it wrong. Practice is there to make sure bikes run ok and get them set up, all the boys can ride but i guess just setting up the bikes and finding the correct lines around the Arlington track wont take long with the right help from riders in the team maybe Niall Studwick will be able to help the boys as he must have done more laps then any other member of the team.

I have had a few freinds txt me this afternoon and it appears that we are wrong and Al3xx200 is right, Dugard as the staduim owners get a rent from all parties involved form the food outlets, the speedway parnership of Martin and Connor have also got to pay rent the same as stockcars. Unlike Rye House where money in the Bar and food goes back in to the staduim i feel that this is not going on at Arlington. A lick of paint in the entrance when you come in and a nice welcome people goes a long way even if your at this level of speedway.

who would be stupid enough not to have the takings for the bar and the food outlets, I know len Silver used to get it at Rye House and i think he gets a percentage at Sittingbourne, but not to have any takings from an event that you bring in the gate that day is Crazy are you sure your not blow hot air out the lower part of your body xxxx

I guess this is the reason why they have no fixtures in August as the stock cars have most of the dates, as i love my stock cars so i am happy with the fixture list. Not much room for the bikes this month but as the cars make the money more then the bikes so you can see which one is more important, plus the governing body sorts out the fixture list not the promoters as i remember Kent having the same problem. http://www.spedeworth.co.uk/venue.php?name=Eastbourne

Damm they changed the press day and i cant make that now as me and the kids are away on that Wednesday but we be there for the home match, which one is first home or away to Kent on the friday.

lol now thats a good guess but the wrong sex for starters, Lets try Len Silver next or even Jon Cook or Chris Louis pie in the sky

I see that some fixtures are missing from the fixture list, Nothing to do with the Club but also seems the guy that put it together cant count as not enough fixtures on the table, but i am sure that someone from the club will sort it out. I bet he didnt want his season to end again before it started lol with a fight with Brandon Freemantle