marko

Dry albiet very gloomy, oh for a bit of sunshine, think some warm clothes for tonight won't go amiss as it feels nippy out there this morning and with all these races to get through it promises to be longish but action packed evening, can't wait to see the King of Lakeside back.

Can't believe it was nearly three years ago we lost Rico, still feels like only yesterday. Weather looks ok the moment and praying it will stay that way, this meeting deserves a great crowd.

Bruce Penhall

Coventry will be a good fit for Lewis, their track can be a bit rutted and we have all seen how riders like Bomber can take advantage of that, Lewis is not afraid to put it on the edge which is a plus on that track but on others where it tends to be on the slick side sometimes his agressive riding can actually end up making him slower, on a track such as Lakeside sometimes you have to ride a little bit smart instead of just gasing it as you could end up just spinning yourself backwards, not every week! but there are race days when for whatever reason the dirt on the outside just does not produce enough grip to offset the longer way around.

As an EL/NL rider could Adam take advantage of guest bookings in the PL? I think though, sooner rather than later Adam will be given a team place at that level.

Entertainment first and results second is what counts so I like this team, the nature of modern day speedway and the play offs mean it's often more about the destination than the journey though :-(

I have never been a fan of Jon Cook for what he tried to do to us (Arena Essex) when he was at Eastbourne and whilst he seems to have turned over a new leaf i doubt i will ever forgive him, however for others to suggest something is going on at Lakeside could not be further from the truth, we often bend over backwards to play fair even though a lot of the time we are making life harder for ourselves in the process.

Hopefully the Sunday slot can replace the existing training on a Friday meaning the track can be at the best it possibly can for the important EL meetings, I know Gerald and his crew can work wonders but the track in my own opinion will never be as good as it could if you have riders practicing all day before an evening meeting, especially in the warm summer months where constant watering is crucial. Ultimately though a NL setup at Lakeside will always be limited because of the gulf between the EL and NL, a PL/NL setup is much better in terms of natural progression, that said though there is nothing to stop Lakeside loaning riders out once ready and building an asset base of youngsters, I have always said that is what the club should be doing, does not matter who and where they ride so long as they remain assets which could be used or sold in the long term. The more tracks there are offering rides the better.

I get what you are saying completely CHK but Lewis also had a reputation before he came to Lakeside but he won the majority of the fans over, not all of them mind as i knew of one or two that simply did not like him and stuck to that belief out of principle. Putting aside past events for a minute it would make good business sense for him to be at Lakeside as it may attract some cross over support from Rye House.

Poole fans now getting worried that Davey will be back with them in 2015? Having AJ back is a massive gain and WILL put bums on seats (or rather deckchairs in the case of Arena Essex) for all the negatives that surround our sport and put me off going, he is one rider who could tempt me away from the comfort of my armchair. Mikkel i was worried would end up elsewhere but pleased to see maybe some pride was swallowed by one party or both? Richard Lawson will almost certainly be back, so that leaves two slots, Kim would seem a safe bet so who will be the final man? would not be unhappy with Ben Barker although our track at times will not suit his close to the fence style but he is a battler and provides entertainment. As for the FTR i think we can be pretty happy, Adam Ellis has lots of potential and i suspect we protected him for the B rider slot and took a chance with the main pick but Ashley Birks is a good pick, i was worried we would get Boxall who i have never rated.

Revising the FTR riders should mean the standard of riders at 6 and 7 will be improved and i can only see this benefiting the product, however the issue false averages was not addressed and will lead to potentially some very unbalanced team strengths. The one tactical ride thing i can live with, it will make team managers have to think a bit to rather than just throwing it in for the sake of it. Biggest concern is the guest situation which was totally out of control last season, if they can use this "category 1" list to include some riders outside the EL who want maybe the odd extra booking then it will be slightly better but ultimately its going to need very good fixture planning so the need for a guest is not required in the first place.

I would get shot of Batchelor, the way he celebrated helping Poole win the league not too mention having a go on wet tracks when he shys away from them normally was insulting to Robins fans, I certainly would have felt that way.

you misunderstood Tony as what i meant was had we finished the season without making a change and with the averages i go off the combined ones as printed in the speedway star and in years gone by bonus points counted, they don't now but that's a different story. Much of my disappointment with Davey and PK has been on the basis i still believe they are better riders than their averages suggest, however that is possibly not the case and my expectations of them are now too great at this point in their careers. I think every team should have one rider who is a safe eight point plus man, bordering on nine and that's a concern i have with the Hammers, AJ would filled that void instantly then its perfectly setup to have the initial back up riders around the six/seven point mark, whether that's using a safe pair of hands experienced rider or a younger hare um scare um type rider will down the clubs choice but i know what i would rather see.

With respect Addio i think you are possibly being a bit harsh on PK, I don't think you can blame him directly for Davey Watts scoring, looking at the averages from meetings rode for Lakeside there is only 0.11 difference between the two, they both equally under performed. In my opinion Lakeside took a chance having two elder statesmen in the team and it backfired, of course the new format played its part but its quite damning that both PK and Davey started out as our top two and would have finished 4th and 5th respectively had they both seen out the season as Hammers. Regarding Davey, he is still a very reasonable rider on his day, in fact he can be as entertaining as any but its that flip side of him that appears more often than many would like is the reason i would not have him back, for whatever reason, sometimes he just does not seem to have his heart in it. The club has made good strides in the last season or two of bringing down the average age of the side, hopefully this will continue.

I fear this will be a bit of a Poole Pirates love in from Sky tonight, it wont be billed as can Bees turn it around, more likely we are here to crown the Pirates as new champions. For all the build up this has been yet another season which each play off match has more or less been over after the first leg. I wont be watching tonight so will pass my congratulations to Poole now, they have been the best team over the season as the league table proves and but for a silly mistake by one of their riders would have finished even stronger. Sympathy for Lynn who started like a train and looked untouchable at stages, nice also to see the top two teams keep almost same declared one to seven for the entire season.

Exactly! can anyone honestly say that last night made up financially for the 6/7 months of poor attendances before?

The difference between speedway and having teeth being pulled is at least you have an injection to numb any pain when a tooth is extracted where as speedway you get nothing to numb the pain, maybe the tracks are missing a trick here and should be selling some sort of legal drug to fans who come so their experience is artificially raised. Most thankfully have found a cure for this condition, its called walking away!

Sky TV have robbed Bees of the chance to get 15 heats done in reasonable conditions on their own track, they knew rain was coming yet still wasted time.

If they had got on with it from the start they would have been done by now, just P*ss off Sky

I told you the rain was coming!!! cue more farce and time wasting.

Clearly Sky have no interest in pushing this through, probably be happy to get ten heats, Poor Poor Poor, rain is not far away on the radar.

I agree whole so strongly with the letter in the star and discussed above i would like to copy it here Verbatim (I hope this is allowed because i feel that it is something all fans should see regardless of whether they subscribe to the Star or not) Having taken on the role of sponsor and manager of Niklas Porsing, this season has been an eye opener to me, seeing the sport from more than a fans point of view. I have looked after Niklas’ affairs in the UK and Europe this year and driven him to each Elite track and from this experience, my belief is that British speedway is attempting suicide. The debacle at Poole last week has only confirmed this belief further. Having arrived at Poole, myself, Niklas and Robert Lambert walked the track at 5pm Monday. Yes, rain had fallen throughout the day but at this time it was dry with no more rain forecast. The track was soaked and the track staff were attempting to blade off some water and some shale or, at this time, liquid slurry. It was on the first bend that Niklas, as all riders do, toed the track for grip. The track immediately broke up creating a four inch deep hole, down to a base of loose gravel. As other riders inspected the hole, it was obvious this hole would continue opening up and so would other areas leading into bend two. The whole area of loose track could have been repaired by filling the holes with fresh shale and compacting it. The rest of the track was not perfect due to the rain, but would have been made satisfactory to race. Sadly, it was found that Poole do not have a supply of shale, so the holes were filled with unsuitable gravel. Track staff then attempted to pack it with a small van running over the area, I’m sorry, but i thought speedway was a professional sport? This was so amateurish. It is meant to be the ‘Elite’ League. As we know, all the riders deemed the track unsafe and the meeting was postponed until Wednesday. The forecast for the week including Wednesday, was dreadful. However, Niklas and I set off for Poole at 11am from Norfolk and drove through torrential rain on the M25 and M3 with dark clouds ahead of us towards Poole. The weather radar was showing heavy rain at Poole at this time and continuing into the afternoon. We drove on, expecting a call to say the meeting was off, but none came. We arrived at the track at 3pm, where we was told all was in order and the track would be fit. Then we saw the track, with the inside of the third bend flooded. Even without more expected rain, it was obvious the track would not be ready. To have it ready (without further rain), all the track surface, down to the base, would have had to have been bladed off and then new, dry shale laid and prepared. One saviour may well have been track covers, but you also need good drainage to enable the water to flow off. As a fan, having seen the forecast, I would not have travelled. But Niklas does not have that choice. In my view, the Poole management, knowing the situation of the track and the weather forecast, and with riders and fans from kings Lynn having a 200 mile journey, should have made the call off decision before lunch, not at 4pm. Some say Sky TV are to blame but what influence Sky have, I do not know. But whether it is Sky or the tracks management, decisions have to be made earlier going on the known facts. British Speedway is dying! And i think I know why. If you re-call a couple of decades back, the Bradford football disaster, Hillsborough, Heysel and hooliganism. Football was dying then, fans didn’t want to go to be poorly entertained, possibly attacked and stand in run down stadiums. But football woke up and business people invested in the sport. Facilities were improved and football knew it had to entertain. Look at where football is now, It’s not perfect, but the facilities for fans are excellent and speedway would love even a tenth of the money thrown at it. Without fans, either paying to attend a meeting, buying TV subscriptions, buying food/drink/merchandise at stadiums, you don’t have a sport. I could go through my thoughts on each Elite track I have visited but here are just a few comments which spring to mind. Swindon hasn’t had a coat of paint since electricity was connected to replace the gas lamps; Coventry, I have never seen such disgusting toilets and changing rooms; Belle Vue, track preparation was a man standing on the back of an old harrow to weigh it down. I could go on. Promoters wonder why crowds are so low but perhaps they are because of poor racing as no effort is put into creating fair, safe, race tracks for good, exciting and competitive racing and offering fans run down, poor facilities. Set race nights would help, so fans can plan in advance. Get rid of the ridiculous guest rider system and have squads. I want to see the best, not the also-rans. It would be easy to go on and on. Speedway needs to be marketed to bring in the fans, kids love it. It used to be a great family sport but you cannot market the dross we have at the moment. Take someone new to a speedway meeting and they will probably enjoy the racing but won’t come back! Why? They don’t want to go to a dump! The sport needs to look forward. With insight and investment, we could have some stadiums like Poland and fill these with 5,000 plus fans each week. But sadly promoters and management will only look after their own interests, seeing no further than the end of their noses. I’m sorry but in a few years time, without change, people will be saying, “do you remember that motorcycle sport, what was it called?”

Ok, what are the fans getting tonight for this extra cost that they wont get on any other Friday night meeting. Its just another meeting with one set of riders vs another, no extra costs for the promoter who is simply trying to cash in on the situation and i still say its in bad taste. Its one of the reasons why the play offs are now in the PL and they will never go away, its a license for those in charge to print money in trying to mitigate the fact not many bother to show up for the league matches that went before because they have by their own doing become worthless.

Regarding the price hike i think that is a complete insult and yet another case of a promoter taking the P*ss out of the fans, i would stay at home if i was a Bees fan, its not even like you would be lifting the trophy if you win tonight as only the first leg, things like this just leave me shaking my head and questioning just how out of touch are the people who try somewhat badly to run our sport.

The difference was Sky was not there last night, well......only loosely. Tonight will be a different kettle of fish with the same old line trotted out of "we are expecting rain, so we are going to get on with it" cue pointless interviews after each race, and commercial breaks at every opportunity. When rain is around the last thing you want is for the sky cameras to be around, all they care about is trying to pad the thing out to two hours or pad it out long enough to get ten heats done.