hammer1969

What a result Well done ROCKETS, a similar score tomorrow at Newcastle would be good

Couldn't have put it better myself. as for Maassen "He's trying" yes 'very trying' for us fans but the team don't need 'trying' they need points. Luke Bowen - well I've said it before if he wanted to 'take a break from racing' he should have said so before the start of the season instead of leaving us in the lurch 5 meetings in but to have him back now, especially as he really isn't making much of an addition to the points tally is plain daft, they should have stuck with Dan Greenwood and just looked for a replacement for Steve Boxall, at least I could have cheered for that person, win or lose but I just cannot bring myself to cheer anymore for Luke. On saying all that I did enjoy last nights meeting even though we lost. Hurry on back Kasper we desperately need you.

Just wondering did Greg Hancock receive a fine etc?

From the Scunthorpe website "The referee said he didn’t see it. The clerk of the course, who wasn’t our normal clerk of the course, also said he didn’t see it." So apparently the referee must have made his decisions on what other people saw - what a farce. Apart from footage taken by fans was there someone there who videos the meetings for DVD's as there are at some other tracks? Send all the footage to the SCB, and on other point perhaps in future Referees should be instructed to watch the track from the time riders come out of the pits for a race and until they have returned to the pits at the end of the race, surely there is someone else in the box who can write down the scores, times etc.

Just seen the following on the Scunthorpe website "The Scunthorpe speedway club would be interested in hearing from anyone with video footage of the incident following Heat 10, so that the footage can be passed onto the SCB, so that they can independently look at the evidence and make any judgement they feel necessary after this unsavoury incident." In my opinion you and anyone else who has footage of the incident should send it directly to the SCB and let them sort out this sorry mess.

I wasn't at the meeting I've only read various comments etc. plus the match report on the Ipswich website, Scunthorpe haven't posted a full report yet but I will read that as well. My opinion is the same as the one I made a few days ago on a different forum, whether he/she is a good or bad Referee they are in charge and they should have the final say at the meeting, we supporters may well disagree quite a lot with what they say but they are there to make the decisions. When it comes to riders and promoters disagreeing with the referee for the sake of the sport DONT go and stage a sit in on the start line, or fight with fellow riders/mechanics in the pits put in a written complaint to the SCB, I dont know if there is anything in the rules about putting in appeals etc. but if there's not there should be. Any promoter who does what the Scunthorpe promoter did last night should at the very least be fined and perhaps banned from the next couple of meetings - similar to punishments that are sometimes handed out to football managers, they are setting a really bad example to their team. As for the fans who joined him on the track I can understand you were probably very irrate about what had occured but Speedway is advertised as a family friendly sport, supporters should in no circumstances be on the track. Yes Speedway does need more media coverage but not this type of coverage it reflects really badly on the sport, the promoters, the riders and the fans who on the whole are only there to participate in or watch a speedway meeting not to get involved in a 'punch up'.

That's where there is a problem as well, once the Referee is in attendance to make the decisions it should be their decision alone with no interference from anyone, if they feel they want to speak to riders and ask their opinions that is their perogative but the Referee should make the decision as to whether a meeting goes ahead or gets called off at any point. Sky might be televising a match but they should have no say whatsoever in staging, rules etc. Sky or any other TV company should only be there to televise and commentate at meetings nothing more.

I agree, there will be a lot of pressure on Luke I am keeping my fingers crossed that he can handle it and score some points and hopefully not decide to take another 'break from racing' before the end of the season.

Apart from all the in's and out's of the weather, officials, sky, riders, managers etc. one of the big problems in speedway is the heat 10 rule. A meeting has 15 heats and in my mind 15 heats should be completed before a result is declared if not the meeting should be re-run, the possible exception to this rule perhaps could be from heat 12 onwards if one of the teams competing has absolutely no chance whatsoever of getting a win or a draw then perhaps a result could be declared. To allow any meeting to be called off after heat 10 with in some cases as many as 5 races still remaining and maybe everything to race for re points for winning or drawing is a farce and is depriving speedway fans of seeing a meeting for which most have paid a full admission price and some have travelled miles to watch. I don't know all the finer details of what went on in this match as I don't have Sky and wasn't at the meeting but after reading various reports and comments I am of the opinion that if the referee/track official who said he would inspect the track after heat 9 didn't then he is definitely in the wrong and contributed to what is now happening and he should be fined and not be allowed to officiate at any further meetings.

I totally agree with you about stopping if your head isn't in it, safety must always come first and I don't like seeing any rider have an accident but for the sake of the sport as a whole I feel that if any rider packs up a couple of weeks after the start of the season with the reason being 'taking a break from racing' for the sake of the whole team and the supporters when a replacement is found they should be kept in place if possible for the rest of the year as it must be unsettling for other team members having to see changes other than those caused by injuries.

I just hope Luke can get a respectable score at meetings for the rest of the season for the sake of his fellow team members and the supporters. I still can't get my head around Len taking him back after his 'break from speedway' and leaving his team in the lurch. I was at Rye on Sunday but I couldn't bring myself to cheer for him and I don't think I ever will again even though he has in the past given many years service to Rye House. Perhaps it's time he considers riding in the National League if he wants to continue in the sport.

As a Speedway supporter I also don't want to see any more tracks/teams lost, I personally think Tendering is a bit out of the way to retain the support of current Lakeside supporters. What is needed is somewhere more accessible by public transport, we could do with some Speedway returning to the east London area if it is possible, surely there must be some disused brownfield sites somewhere along the A13 where it might be feasible. I personally would like to see a track somewhere in the Olympic Park as it seems to cover most other sports, it has good transport links and plenty of neighbourhoods nearby to attract new supporters but I don't suppose that will ever happen.

The nearest track to me is Lakeside but getting there is a nightmare, my only means of accessing it is by car and I don't think that helps with getting supporters through the gates especially the youngsters who may not even have a car yet. When I first discovered Speedway I was still at school and travelled every week to West Ham by bus, get people interested in the sport young and hopefully they will stay with it for the rest of their lives. There is a bus station at Lakeside would it be possible for Lakeside promoters to perhaps think about running a shuttle bus to and from the bus station on match nights? I know the clock can't be turned back but in the 60's there was more local rivalry giving supporters more incentive to travel to away matches i.e. West Ham, Wimbledon, Hackney to name but a few all within travelling distance of each other and also all fairly easy to reach by public transport, with today's petrol prices etc. and a number of tracks being difficult to reach other than by car I doubt many supporters are able to travel to away matches on a regular basis. There 8 teams in the Elite league playing each other twice and also how can it be called 'Elite' when most of the riders also double up for a Premier Club - where's the competition in that, sort out the leagues, Elite should mean ELITE, bring back the competition even if it means joining the Elite and Premier League together. Also Speedway tracks shutting because of lack of support is a major problem and needs to be urgently addressed and although people need houses local Councils and Planning Departments need to understand they also need places to go for entertainment and football isn't the only sport on the planet people want to watch, the bikes may make some noise but so what many houses in this country are built next to major road/motorways that generate more noise permanently than a speedway meeting. I for one would rather watch a speedway meeting any day at least when riders fall off they usually get up dust themselves off and carry on unlike a lot of footballers who roll around on the ground because they have banged their big toe.

Oh well perhaps Rye can go to Berwick and surprise them like they surprised us today. At least Eddie didn't come last in heat 15 and I know why because in my programme there wasn't a heat 15 as I changed it to heat 14 and a half just like I did at Ipswich last Thursday when he came first.

We all know Darcy can score points and gets supporters through turnstiles but this is making Speedway more of a joke than ever. Ear!ier in the year Immigration officials were trying to stop Australians riding in the UK as they were taking jobs that should go to Europeans, Darcy is now eligible to ride again so he flies back to Australia to apply for his Visa as apparently they are issued quicker there, duly gets it to ride for Swindon and then puts an Englishman out of his riding place at Swindon - what a joke. Swindon promotion should be ashamed of themselves Kyle Howarth deserves better than that and the people who run - or should it be ruin - this sport that I have been watching since the 1960's need to take a good look at how they are contributing to the demise of speedway which at one time was second only to football in terms of support in this country. Promoters should name their team at the start of the season then obviously apart from a rider suffering a long term injury, win, lose or draw that is the team they should stick with for the season and not be able to just draft in a rider who becomes available who might score more points than a rider already in the team. I don't want to see Darcy get injured but if he does will Swindon turn back to Kyle for help?

Apologies before I start I know I will probably upset quite a few people on here. Just read Luke Bowen is back, I know he has been a loyal rider for Rye House for many years but honestly no wonder Speedway is losing supporters by the droves. Luke rode 3 home and 2 away matches for us this year and then decided to 'take a break' now Rye have him back. If a footballer decided to take a break a few weeks into the season, then 3 months later declare I think I'll come back now, would their management and supporters welcome him back with open arms - sorry but NO I dont think so - it could only happen in Speedway no wonder we are in a state. I have nothing against Luke but if he wanted to take a break he should have made the decision before the start of the season and stayed out for the whole of the season. Dan Greenwood may not be scoring many points and I am no expert but to me he at least he seems to be trying. Also if the Rye management have accepted Luke back surely they must have known about it before signing Maassen, who rode for us last night, they should have stuck by Dan who scored 3 at Ipswich and stayed on his bike, Maassen scored 1 and in the race where he fell off and was excluded he managed to take 2 other riders out with him. I am open to giving Maassen a fair chance and hopefully see some improvement but after watching him ride I shan't be holding my breath, but somebody needs to sort out these diabolical rules that seem to allow riders to come and go as they please and promoters to do as they please. I will be at Rye on Sunday mainly to watch the speedway but if I see our new promoter walking around he may get a few of my thoughts on this subject as well. Also just to stir other things up 'Darcy Ward' at Swindon, I know he scores points but at the beginning of the year we get the debacle re visas and the immigration department declaring Australian riders are taking work away from Europeans then what happens Darcy's suspension ends and Swindon take him on and get rid of an English rider to make way for him and presumably the immigration department agreed it !

We are going, still mad with Len but it's not the riders fault. Let's hope for a good meeting as the first half of last Monday was enjoyable, just a shame about the farce in the second meeting. Weather forecast is good although it's cloudy at present, perhaps the weather gods will shine on us and we will get a light shower this afternoon, enough to damp the dust down but not enough to call off the meeting.

Let's hope for a good meeting with no referee issues, as we all froze last week and the delay while she sorted her computer problems didn't help my cold toes. I'm going for a Rye win by 8 points - ever the optimist me!

Re my post (635) I have sent a few emails today to various people but with no clear answers forthcoming, Rye haven't even replied yet, but one reply was interesting it basically said as Eddie was a full asset of Elite side Coventry when he signed for Lakeside that is why they get priority. My answer to that is rule 16.1.4 says "a transfer during the season does not change this priority", and anyway I though the transfer was done before the season started.

I always read the forum but this is my first post as I to am upset re Eddie riding for Lakeside on Friday. I have re-read the SCB rules and my understanding of them is he should be riding for us as he is our asset. I have emailed Rye to ask for an explanation, hopefully I will get one and if I do and am still unhappy I will be emailing the SCB. If people on this thread also think he should be at Peterborough please email Rye as well, its about time us fans are listened to we have been taken for granted for too long its no wonder supporters are turning away in their droves from this brilliant family friendly sport.