IainB

I've got to say the promotion for this event is absolutely shocking, non existent... BSPA Website: "The page you have requested is currently unavailable. Please try again later.." Belle Vue Website: 1 Line header, top of screen SpeedwayGB Twitter: Nothing It's only because Shouty B's mentioned it on BT Sport on Monday that I'm even aware it's on... and this is the future of British Speedway... perhaps they realise there is no future. Anyway, I'm planning on coming along to support the Lions, traffic permitting!

How long you been going to Lynn?

SEC is on Eurosport this weekend, Saturday... but not live by the looks of it

Not strictly true... I used to go to KL quite often over the last 30 years, to follow Coventry and as a neutral, and I live in Leicester, as it was generally always good value with the quality of racing... these days I vowed never to return after the Leicester match last season, but would struggle to muster the enthusiasm to attend if I lived a mile away. While the facilities have improved (the sand pit on the back straight!) the racing certainly hasn't. Anyway doesn't the track sit on a hard base? Wasn't this more due to the "new stadium" For how long though? He's hanging on until he can off load it for a reasonable price A lot less!

The racing at Kings Lynn these days is a shadow of what it used to be back in the 80's and early 90's... It's really living on past glories

The age of some of those that are there... Looks like some of them won't see the meeting out!

Why is nobody there?

Yeah quite a few more came in the 10 minutes before the start and what a corker of a match it was (despite the sun delay), some great racing and any number of incidents that could have decided the match one way or the other... Dougy's 2 unforced errors, Kerr's fall, Mountain's fall, the ref's shocking double decision in heat 11, the manager's decision not to use Harris in heat 15...

Jesus! I don't know if it's a reaction to last Saturday... But there's nobody here! It's a practice day crowd!

I think you should, nice sunny night with the prospect of a long delay, you may even get to see some tractor racing! No Josh Bates, Bomber Harris, big Lions victory and progression in the cup! What's not to like?

You going Gemini?

Looks like they blew the budget on CGI to add a crowd in at Arlington... I wonder if BT Sport could do the same with their coverage?

In all my years of following Coventry (1984 - 2016) I can't remember any occasion where a meeting was held up due to inadequate medical cover, yet the same old tracks are unable to provide adequate medical cover, Poole, KL, Peterborough and now Leicester

to try and hang on to the support you've got and maybe just maybe attract new fans... It was the best night of weather this year on Saturday night and there were some new fans in attendance, do you honestly think they'll be back?

It's probably past the point of no return now... but yes, or they'll be playing in front of crowds who don't mind hanging around for over an hour watching a tractor go around the track... and there can't be many of them

I class medical cover as enough cover to keep a meeting running should there be an incident, i.e. an ambulance or medic required to visit the hospital... motorsports are dangerous after all

Yeah, I don't dispute that, but the point is there was still inadequate cover to keep the meeting running

The trouble is you just don't know which tracks have adequate medical cover these days... until it's too late. I was at the KL v Leicester match last year where there was inadequate medical cover and despite Buster saying it wouldn't happen again I vowed never to return to KL. Poole don't even have adequate medical cover for TV matches, so there's no chance of them having it when the cameras aren't there. At least, generally with a bit of research, you can find out when teams are under strength or there is going to be a sun delay. What makes things worse is the complete lack of thought of what to do when there is a delay due to inadequate medical cover, the best promotions can do seems to be send a tractor out, is this really good enough?

Maybe... I'd had enough of watching a tractor go around the track to last me a season at Leicester on Saturday night though

Time to resurrect this topic almost a year to the day from my original post... in the space of the last week 3 tracks have yet again proven to have inadequate medical cover to properly run a meeting. Poole (again) last week, which ended due to a curfew and fortunately I wasn't at. Leicester on Saturday, which I stuck out to the bitter end and tonight at Peterborough, I left as soon as I heard the paramedic was accompanying Hans Andersen to the hospital.

A few dozen people is quite a large percentage of the crowd these days It has been an hour break in the past

Yes, that's the other thing, a complete lack of thought about how to fill the time, you would have thought the mic man would have been interviewing EVERY rider there to sill the space but no, long periods of nothing with a tractor going round the track

But the delay was because the paramedic was with the rider(s) and not the wait for the ambulance, all tracks should have adequate cover, not only to attend injured people but to also ensure there are no delays like last night... tracks are to blame

It doesn't matter how many leagues next year, if tracks are still going to run with inadequate medical cover, nights like last night will continue to happen and fans will steadily stream away from the sport, the only saving grace about last night was that it was quite a pleasant evening. And for what it's worth I thought Bates move on Nicol was a kamikazee move

See you next Friday