SPEEDY69

No

Baffles me and I see other on here how a rider can be disqualified for touching the tapes when at the same time another rider was also disqualified for delaying the start - surely one comes before the other????? Put it this way, if two riders touch the tapes once the green light is on, one after the other, are they both disqualified - don't think so, only the first one. What a poor performance from the ref, which ultimately gained Swindon a point.

If Andersen is riding then hope he turns up and gets away with a few rollers to help give Coventry the 4 points I don't really mind if Lynn win as long as Coventry beat Swindon 3 times so that they don't make the play-offs as having seen them this year and from reports out of Belle Vue last night they are a team of rollers, never mind Andersen & Cook! On a serious point then I think they should change the rules for next year in that rolling at the start is not deemed unsatisfactory but actually warrants a penalty the same as tape touching. It's becoming much more common and is really frustrating given the delays and more so when it happens and is not picked up.

Postponement seems a bit early as having looked at the forecast it only mentions possible thunderstorms not continuous heavy rain - are Swindon hoping Coventry will be easier to beat on a slick bald track later on when it's been decided if they'll be top or second in the table? Should've been on TV then it wouldn't have happened

Thought Doyle was lucky in the GP as well when he turned left sharply in front of a rider (can't remember who) going into bend 3 - think it got a "whoa" from Tatum. He's lucky not to have been seriously hurt riding like that this year.

It would make it more dangerous. Being able to turn effectively around the bend, the back wheel needs to keep skidding and the more it does the sharper the turn. Having brakes would counter this and although someone could use a rear wheel brake to give them more grip on a slick track, it would risk the bike straightening violently and endangering that riders and others. A front wheel brake would make turning more difficult as when the front wheel skids, which it would, the bike goes away from the rider and they're more likley to fall off on the low side. Down the straight then the impact of a rear wheel brake could be to make the bike gain traction and lift if applied with any force to stop colliding with a rider directly in front but is not necessary because simply closing the throttle really knocks off the speed due to them being four stroke single cylinder engines. They used to have front brakes in grasstrack where you have different types of machines but they were largely ineffective. Of course another component which can come adrfit and maybe jam a wheel or hit a rider is also not something they need. Hope this answers your query in a not too techincal a way. p.s. Zengota did well on Monday, shame for Belle Vue he was worse than poor at Lakeside the previous Friday!

Ahh, then I should surely bow to the powers of clairevoyance held by the promoters. The fact at Coventry was that the track was fine for the majority of the 10 heats run. I think they should also be allowed to call off fixtures when they feel their team is weak or they might not attract a good crowd, or they'd rather be somewhere else beacuse if they are able to accurately predict the weather then they possess skills even the Met Office cannot match - they said it wouldn't rain where I am today and it's pi&&ing it down.

Have to grin at all the talk about loyalty. Rosco is only the team manager at Swindon and this decision is all about money, not loyalty. From a business perspective the moves are seen as the best ones for Swindon financially.

And that is absolutely right in my view - the decision to call of a meeting should be one for the referee, as it was at Belle Vue on Monday.

Does he ride in poland? Genuine question.

As i see it and said on the Coventry thread previously, there is no rule about calling off 48hrs beforehand. What the gospeed statement said to me was that if it's not called off with at least 48hrs notice, then Sky incur costs which in some way are recovered from gospeed/bspa. This is nothing to do with postponing meetings, which is in the hands of scb etc, as with any other meeting. As we all know cov vs poole, the track was absolutely fine at the start whereas the belle vue one was not. Completely different scenario. I'm always a bit suspicious off call-offs based on the oh so reliable weather forecasts!

Don't know abpout last night but was on a GM on Friday. The result was pretty much as expected - Coventry are top of the league for a reason and this is not their first away win. They have riders who do well at Wolves so no need for Wolves fans to be too despondent as others get beat by them as well. Let's hope the match report which said both Bees were moving at the start was not happening all evening - we know Hans likes a roller!

Now now, some will get upset if we go over that one again!

Shame it's 10 months late! (And no wasted journey for us this time either!)

Probably because the "flak" is from Coventry fans and he doesn't ride for them! Worrying for Bees fans because he didn't even look like he was trying beyond the first bend - that's a trait I really can't abide in any rider. If they try their best and get beat well never mind there's next time but not bothering deserves some action by the promotion.

The two usual suspects cost belle vue again on the road - how many more times?

Very interesting statement on Greg's website: www.greghancock.com

Just watched this. Utter nonsense all those saying Greg should get a bigger punishment than Nicki - he didn't endanger his life by wrestling with him! This sort of thing used to happen more often than now and given some of the idiot riding I've witnessed over the last few weeks may well increase again (Sundstrom, in the race off and final, Pawlicki and others). Pedersen knew he was there and could have passed Greg without squeezing him up but that's him and what so many riders dislike about him. I agree with an earlier poster, would be good advertising for future GPs to build interest.

Key point for me is would there be less protestation had Coventry won?

They are allowed to postpone a meeting within 48 hrs, it's just that Sky will want to recoup their expenses, which GSI/BSPA will have to stump up for - that's why they were keen for it to be on, money.

That's how it's always been - anyone remember the rain soaked British Final that Kenny Carter won? Majority of riders wanted it off but officials stood firm and Carter went and won it despite being seriously injured - and there weren't any serious accidents as far as I remember. As I said before it's the Ht 10 cut off that's caused all the mullarky and not the actual state of the track.

For me it confirms that the meeting could be postponed on the day but that there would be a financial penalty for GSI/BSPA - Sky did not force the meeting to go ahead, GSI/BSPA did.

Too true.

It's clear that the 48 hrs bit is all about money. Within 48hrs then Sky will incur expense todevote resource to cover the meeting, which wil be recovered from GSI/BSPA if meeting does not go ahead - hence the reason for it actually going ahead. However, in agreement with Orion, the track was actually fine at the start and as we all know, weather forecasting is an imprecise business so at that time it may well have stayed fine all night. The thing that sticks with me is the lack of integrity of the meeting steward in promising an inspection which he then failed to do and then the automatic calling off once Heat 10 was completed - this is nothing to do with the Sky money, unless they withold payment if an official result is not declared. Isn't there also no obligation to offer refunds to fans if it's cancelled after heat 10? Whatever, it was a right royal mess.

Peter Clarke I believe is a qualified ACU referee, so not a Sky employee. I wasn't there in person but that makes no difference to my view. I'm afraid we'll have to disagree on the 'dangerous' point - wet and slimy but consistent is not dangerous to me and I have ridden in those conditions several times as well as witnessed other meetings like that. To be fair the track looked good at the start of the meeting but if it was not on TV would have been cancelled before Ht 10.