Mike.Butler

the future is as an amateur sport for most tracks.

well done to ref and riders for getting through very quickly and not worrying about the rain.. It made my 5.5 hour drive home a little more reasonable. Also admission charge of £15 with free prog appreciated.

a sport attracting crowds in 100's can have a future.. it's amateur

at end of day it will be his crowd figures that determine his approach. All the time they are winning easily at home and they stay healthy why change? If fans start to get bored of runaway wins and vote with their feet that will be the moment he will have to think of other clubs. Of course if the EL drops to 7 that will be another matter altogeteher. I can't see a PL club coming up under the same terms as the last amalgamation when they were screwed. Leicester's folly all to obvious...can't see them having many local derbies next season!

for this meeting did anyone expect many more? I didn't and I would be dismayed if the promotion expected many more.. We all know increased attendances are seasonal. Based on when the Islsnders last ran i'd say this was decent given the nature of the meeting and time of year..National league sides have survived on less..

probably their best chance of an away win all season

there should not be any changes in rules across competitions. bloody ridiculous and what on earth is there to be gained?

They heard it was follow-the-leader stuff

What is the curfew time for this meeting anyone?

I was there tonight. Reasonable crowd in but silent from the off as if they knew what was coming. A number of people left well before the end. I cannot see that a team this weak is doing the EL as a whole any favours at all. It would seem to me that it is only the false averages that are now being used due to the race format that prevents us from easily comparing the real strength of this side against the other sides in the top tier. I recall when clubs were thrown out of leagues unless they reached a certain minimum strength, and Leicester on this showing will do well to win a single match the whole season with the current line-up. Having been to Wimborne Road already this year I can't quite decide whether any Lion would actually beat any Pirate round there, so conceding 70 points on their travels seems highly likely to me. I agree the track was better than on my last visit but to keep the crowd coming they will surely need a No.1. Btw it was 5 years to the day since they re-opened against Sheffield. Perhaps the PL is where they naturally belong..... The two reserves contesting heat 15 says it all really..

seems the weather forecast BV are seeing isn't the one I'm looking at.

saturdays are better for long distance travellers who work (rather obviously)..but as I would probably only get down once or twice a season on a sat compared to never on a fri that's not really a good enough reason in itself..

Trying to find a glimmer of hope after this debacle of a week...Anyone around when the no. of tracks operating was fewer and/or the profile of the sport was lower? guess you'd have to be of a certain age..

the only solution if squads are introduced is rider control to prevent the rich from stockpiling the best..(oh hang on we don't have an independent body to oversee it)

fancy having this as the first event..a low key start would always be my choice letting patrons in for nowt so that they understand it's a test meeting.

I have always thought that there's a big enough risk on the opening night of any new track without introducing extra PR risk by making the opening meeting a high profile event..? The fact that it is opening night will in itself attract a decent crowd and if it features locally based BL riders and at normal prices then it is easier to call off with less embarrassment and if/when there are problems on the night the damage caused to the promotion/image would be less, and more easily explained away. (The fact that non-GP stars might also have given it a go being an extra bonus) It's not as though a 'national stadium' isn't going to have big meetings in time once up and running ... Prior to the GPs I understood all tracks staging FIM events had to have a previous trial meeting to iron out these issues..but perhaps that is no longer the case. Standing at Rye House last night when these events unfolded there was a collective OMG but tbh not a lot of surprise since word had gone round that the track was already known to be unfit last week..

I think a much better questions is : If you won the lottery and best wanted to help secure British speedway over the next 30 years (about the amount of time I have left being fit enough to attend hopefully), how would you spend/invest £30milllion? Objective being to see the sport thrive...

long shot I guess but anyone happen to be there and who is willing to scan their copy for me I'd be very grateful...thanx in advance.mike

all that leaves then is handicapping. if a team is behind they can nominate one of the oppo to start 15m back.

saturdays are better for me..with the odd sunday thrown in..thats me quite happy..after this year i will be attending more often than not..what an improvement in racing/atmosphere/enjoyment it has been...i've been a regular at perry barr too and think NL is on balance the best vfm

doable for those retired i guess

so somebody wants even more foreign calls on our riders..incredible!

Fridays only that will mean i will do virtually nil EL meets then..

Manchester - England's 2nd city

congrats to ref and all riders and track officials.. you did all that you could to put fans first..i feared a heat 10 call-off which would have robbed us of a thrilling finale...i really appreciated your efforts..more of the same please. thank you