The Doctor...

I was there. He's snookered unless there is some dodgy goings on behind the scenes.

He's been on here already i'm sure. Loads of "guests" are here all the time. If he's had the gall to go on twitter, he will have been here one way or the other. If he's reading this post tho, can you stop the noncing and just update the speedway stats website sharpish please.

No probs. I think a fair few of those perhaps not there are imagining things a tad differently, and staunch haters of Cook are revelling. My loyalties lay far from Eastbourne and not gonna lie, i wanted them to get battered as my trips to Arlington with Reading ended in defeat every time and i hold senseless grudges like that! I had a good view, i wasn't there watching everyone on the parade like some forensics guy , but it was very clear what happened and any claims to say otherwise is daft from anyone. Shame really, as it cost glasgow a fighting chance at making the final and keeping the tie close to the end.

Hold on a sec mate, who else is pushing riders off these days ? Certainly not randoms doing it off their own back is it ? And what hell relevance is that anyway. I've never seen a rider pushed off without wanting to be, have you ? I get that you're defending all this madness, and i couldn't give two tosses about Eastbourne or Glasgow myself, but desperately trying to deflect things is bonkers. edited as it was a tad aggressive: but my point still stands, they aren't pushed off under duress, so even if it was a raker, what difference does it make ?

The guy with the large red flag waving it half way down the back straight as the riders passed him may be able to comment if he is on here. I love how there is aggro aimed at those who were actually there and how possibly there was some kind of ambiguity in what happened. As for who pushed them off, well who do you think did it then ? The little mascots ? I was close, there is no conspiracy here. Cook is out of shot on the left being marched across the centre green in the pic.

Lots of backroom staff were on the track while the intros were being done so i would imagine mechanics did the pushing off.

Any idea what the rules are re taking to the track before you're supposed to then ? The staff were on track before the bikes last night and at least 3 were started under red flags. Where's Scb and the rulebook when i need him ? !

Me neither - quick search brings him up tho sadly.

I'd love to see that vid as the person with me was videoing it all but put the phone down when it all kicked off so the juicy bits are only audio. I would take exception with the "none of this would have happened" bit. They weren't supposed to be riding round anyway at that point, so surely that was the trigger for it all. The marshalls i'm sure were angling for whichever rider got round first and were gonna confront them, but still, the riders shouldnt have been out at that point should they.

Yeh and getting some abuse aswell.

Loving it. First meeting i go to in years and finally i can take part in a decent discussion that doesn't involve me calling starman a pillock!

Their mechanics ? Also, i assumed it was just me that often ignored large chunks of threads but it seems not. The trackstaff were on the track because the introductions were happening and there was people all over the track. It was the bikes who shouldnt have been riding round at that point.

A bit of extra shale was dumped on a tiny part of it.

Same here. It rode fine tho surely you saw that ?

Exactly. When I saw the bit that were whining about i couldn’t get it because it was so close that it would barely be touched in normal racing.

Exactly. There were no problems at all with the track during the meeting. And no issue "re-appeared quickly".

Why no complaints or issues then after the meeting started ?

I believe a few forum members were in the visiting Glasgow fans last night near us by the pits - if they were, the whole incident was directly in front of them. I'm sure once they are back home we may see a balanced view, or i hope so anyway.

1 - Cook was riding on the track when he shouldn't have been, so its not quite as black and white as that. The flag guy was on the track stopping the riders from going before the introductions were completed but Cook and the other 2 started up and rode out regardless. So flag man didn't encroach as he was already there. Cook if anything encroached onto the track before allowed to do so. 2 - Vissing had a hissy fit as he pulled his cut-out out at the tapes and couldn't get re-started in time before the 2mins was up. He then went thru the tapes and was in semi heated discussion with Dugard who was removing the busted tapes from around the bike by the pits. I guess he perhaps got a few verbals from the crowd on back straight and couldn't deal with them.

Exactly - can't remember.. but it was wind-up material definitely.. "moaning about the track by supposed gp riders" "riders with same surnames as me moaning about a perfectly good track" etc.. Was put across in a lighthearted that got plenty of laughs in the crowd, but very clearly aimed at winding him up. A well written version of my efforts last nite. I too was there as a neutral. In isolation, it was all a bit pantomime with people piling in from all corners and plenty of kicks and things flying around. But there was still absolutely shedloads of people, young and old close-by and what he did was reckless to say the least, even before the headbutt etc. No idea where the rumour about track staff being ejected comes from. The rumble was right in front of me and the pits just to the side of me and i cant say i saw anything like ejections happening, nor any talk of it. I'd be fuming if i had traipsed down from Glasgow to see all that tho - he basically cost them the tie with his petulance and the antics by Vissing winding himself into a frenzy over pretty much nothing was embarrassing. Oh and i'm sure i saw a message about Eddie Kennett falling being used as a comment against the track - he didn't fall. He went wide and clipped the air fence and burst a section from what i could see. That's what caused the race to be stopped a lap later.

Just back after a thoroughly enjoyable night down there as a neutral. Others have described the events well, and it was directly in front of us so we had a ringside seat of it all. Cook pathetic frankly and should get a ban, although there were a few swings and a few kicks aimed by others. I thought one of the boot swingers was Martin Dugard but it happened so quick it might have been someone else similarly dressed. The comments made pre-meeting over the mic by Jon Cook, Dugard and the announcer wound things up definitely tho and i even said to the person i was with, that Craig Cook is unstable at the best of times and i forecast some kind of kick off with him at some point. That some point was about a minute later tho which was a bit quicker than i figured tho. No idea what went on with Cook and his 2 mins exclusion but instead of perhaps winning his first and shutting the crowd up for a bit, by the time he came out the meeting was pretty much gone. it was as if the whole team had lost their nerve and the tie was a dead duck very early really. Lovely day in general tho - fish and chips, ice cream, few lagers and the speedway all made for a good day out. Kudos to the glasgow fans who travelled - and also very sane words from their promoter chap who spoke and spoke well after the meeting. I was a neutral tonight and loved every minute of it tho.

Thanks Richard - looking forward to it. Not been there since 92 ish i think to see the Racers get a whooping.

Lovely thanks.

Planning to pop down at the weekend for the Glasgow match - not been there since i was kid and gonna have a few hours in town beforehand. Quick question about the parking at the the track - can't say i remember how big it is... is it ok to turn up anytime or does it get filled up quick..? Cheers Tom edit - oh, also decent chippy recommendations welcome. Thanks

As one who broke my ankle in a speedway related injury (drunk in Bydgoszcz) i would think he would need a tad more than a month off.