Mr Ore

Not seen such huge skid marks for years. Will have to look at the video again though as I didn't notice the state of the track.

Ask Jason Garrity as a recent victim. He nearly lost an eye hitting a stray bit of wire in the mesh at Sheffield. I also remember John Louis pointing out how safe the Ipswich fence was and he couldn't remember any serious injuries being caused by it. Alzheimer’s at such a young age JL. OK it referred to the fence prior to Mark Loram's crash and a different part of the track but Brett Saunders had to have his spleen removed after a collision with “the safe bit” during JL's tenure, which is pretty severe in my book. Irrespective if one injury is avoided it is worth it. Let me throw one of my usual curve balls in here and suggest that if everyone posting on this forum paid £10 every track could have an air / foam fence. No doubt we will have refusals owing to other tracks already putting them in so how about we all put in £20 and pay back those who already have air fences. Allegedly everyone on here claims to have an interest in the continuation of the sport but when something positive could be done for a pittance very few would contribute. My preference would be that they charge £1 per post towards a fence fund which would definitely shut some up

There were more retards sat in the row behind me in Cardiff on Saturday than I saw in the whole of the last football season combined. At least I now know that Chris Harris is a Firkin Count as we were all advised every time he raced. Must be some reference to him owning a brewery I suppose.

I was at a bunfight the day before the Cardiff GP speaking with a load of guys I had met at the groom's stag do. When I said I wasn't staying in the hotel overnight as I needed to be home for an early departure to Cardiff. I was surprised when they all seemed to know about speedway and watch it live on Sky every Monday. When asked what they thought they said it was a load of young blokes with tattoos racing in poor stadia with nobody watching. None could believe that it was being held in the Millennium Stadium, which made it a whole lot more attractive in their eyes. Would they go? Yes but only if there was a decent facility and crowd. A potential dozen new fans there who all live within an easy drive of Lakeside. Just get a decent stadium and this lot may attend. They also couldn't believe it was so cheap to get in.

Depends on what they have been doing to make them go to Specsavers!!! I hear that Richard has Metrosexual appeal but that would be out of order to do that while reading my posts about him .

Please let me start by saying that this response is not intended to have a go, as I find your posts try to be very positive and appreciate this one is intended to be. My slight amendment to your comment would be that the crowd appeared to be a healthy one not bearing in mind the start time but because of it. It seems that the majority of negative posts about the earlier start came from people who would never be going to the track or at the most once a season, when all they would need to do would be to take an extra hour from work to get there. As you say there were loads of cars in the car park when you arrived 40 minutes before the start. It is a speedway thing to resist change, whilst the rest of the world moves on. Proof of the pudding seems to be that the locals are actually attending. Whilst speedway crowds in GB are absolutely appalling throughout the ones at Central Park are no worse and indeed better than most. It won't happen but it would be good to see what the crowd would be for a 7.45 start. My feeling is that it would be lower as locals will go home first and get settled in to an evening of Alexander Armstrong and his Pointless chum, Richard before deciding not to go out again. At least Mr Cearns seems to know his fan base and appears to be keeping loads of newcomers with this initiative. I live nowhere near the track but with a bit of determination can easily make the start time, without missing any work, and don’t have to sit through hours of loony tunes before the first race.

Is it Somerset, because all their fans have the same surname!!!!

Disabled toilet facilities on the mezzanine level which divides the stand and sufficient space for wheelchairs there at the rear of the lower seating area. This has ramped access from the car park, via the pay area, and is all under cover. I believe there are lifts too from entrance level to the glass fronted facility at the rear of he upper seating. It seems very DDA compliant.

Agree with this. The stadium is excellent with great views all around and there clearly are quite a few new fans there who they should be aiming to keep. Two starting gates too are so sensible, yet basics are still messed up. I know the Leicester promotion get it in the neck all the time but, other than the Magnus testimonial which was a shambles, they do seem to know how to multi task to keep things moving. I also think the 6.30 start time is a brilliant idea as it should attract far more locals straight from work / school, but this lack of urgency when something happens could ruin this initiative. Not that it ruined things but why could they not have sorted out the speaker before the start of the meeting instead of during the interval? It would take seconds to do a sound check before the stadium opened. No readmission tickets either. Basic error and unacceptable after the IoW match. "We'll sort something out if there is a rain off", was the answer I got but if they had nothing at start time where would they get it from should the meeting have been abandoned? One single door to get out initially. Hopefully no fire safety officers were there as there was a very serious safety breach. I too feel that the referee was short changed by some on here and the slowness of the promotion. From where I was sat she was 100% correct with the Brandford / Morley incident so why should she be asked to explain her decision just because someone disagrees with her on the forum. In my opinion she screwed up big time in heat 14 but wasn't it a similar decision which gave Chris Holder the world title last year? Maybe that is the precedent to follow for all such incidents now. In spite of the pleadings some on here can't hack women having the vote. I don't want to hear her reasons for excluding Kirby, although I disagree with it. When is she going to do the pots if she has to defend every decision taken? Ignoring the kids thing, again like Leicester (who I must stress I don't support or have any allegiance with) there were a goodly number of late teen/ early 20 types in the crowd and these are the sorts who tracks need to encourage. With the cash taken on the day they must be able to buy a couple of Now CDs to play music to entertain these newcomers with some more up to date stuff. Unlike children who may have been dragged along they chose to be there so should be encouraged to choose to attend again. There are only so many hearings of Popcorn by Hot Butter (1973) that a man can take during two hours speedway. (OK Rye House joke but the same principle applies at most tracks) Yes I will be going back for the 6.30 starts but please try to keep those newbies returning who may not have made the same decision owing to the lack of urgency / plan B.

Good luck with it all. Whilst I don't like the middleman situation it is good to hear that other companies are actually providing a good level of service for their fees. Hope you enjoy the big day.

It's not just you and it's not just speedway which suffers from their greed and incompetence. They are the ultimate shower of brown stuff. I went to the football playoff finals a couple of years ago. Didn't get my ticket by the Friday before the Sunday match and phoned them to see why. They couldn't have been more unhelpful blaming the football club for all the problems even though Wembley had made them the sole agency and no tickets at all were sold through the club. Around 2,000 fans had similar problems and one poor sole at the club worked through the night, before leaving to get to Wembley at 6 a.m. to make sure everyone was given access. Top man; the type they should actually employ. The good news is that I ultimately got my ticket. The bad news is that the person sitting next to me, who I had never seen in my life, had it with him as he had received it, although hadn't got the other 4 he had paid for. Charged an extra £6 a ticket handling for American Football too, although tickets arrived fine. I also know of someone who was charged £20 handling per ticket for a Robbie Williams concert. They are total leeches with zero customer care. Am getting tickets from one of the competitors this year but otherwise would have paid on the day. I don't mind paying extra for a service but they definitely don't have that word in their dictionaries.

Was at this meeting and one important element which has not really been commented upon is the fact that it actually went ahead. I have zero respect usually for Uncle Len but feel he did the moral right thing in getting the meeting up and running. Credit to the ref too, who I felt had it totally wrong in calling for a 15 minute delay yet had it spot on as the rain stopped and saw us to the end. No rider parade (excellent idea) or interval (other than the imposed 15 minute rain delay, even better idea) meant it was all over and done within a sensible time too. Crowd was terrible but I have seen far worse ones referred to as "bumper” and feel that it could have in part been as a result of too many matches being cancelled at the drop of a hat previously. Hopefully if it was known promoters would try everything to get a match on maybe people would travel more often in such conditions. Having turned up at bone dry tracks to see meeting off signs owing to rain means many just don't try when it is actually wet. Regarding the Nelson situation there are too many theories and I don't know any more than any other poster but I admit that I don't. Maybe sight of a dated receipt for the visa application would prove whether or not a genuine attempt had been made to get one. I know it's a different country but it took a week to get a visa for Russia when I last went. With a personal visit and a serious supplement charged to have it done so quickly I got mine in 48 hours. Assuming an application was made in a reasonable time a dated copy of the response should have verified a rejection reason, which should also be admissible. If these two documents are shown case proved. If not possibility of a fast one being pulled supports the SCB action. The viewing public, yes including me, would only have suffered if it was proved an application was made in time and rejection received less than 24 hours before. Nelson's sighting at the stadium on Friday should have suggested he was never going so sufficient time to get a handle on matters in advance and get a guest for Jason Bunyan. There have been worse meetings in Hoddesden too but potentially no worse team managers than for Sheffield. Whilst it was obvious before the start that Joe Haines only chance of a r/r ride was in heat 14 it was equally obvious that he was having an appalling night. With a 3-3 guaranteed why bring Steady out in heat 10 to partner him when a reserve would have got at least a point. The Tigers were blatantly going to concede a 5-1 in the penultimate race with Joe as r/r whereas Steady could have won it. Nothing is guaranteed as was proved by Stead having no wins on the night but it would have shown more awareness by the (mis)management team. Thankfully Wells turned up and pity for Koppe who made two excellent gates only for the races to be called back. Felt so sorry for the guy as he must feel he is due for the chop and in a better team would be more able to ride out of a bad spell. Final comment is that Olly Allen was also programmed to race at Eastbourne on the same night. Is there a more stupid rule than doubling up / down creating such situations? On a positive level this rule at least puts more riders out of work so should be applauded.

Agree it is certainly impressive and so big. I had real difficulty hiding it under my coat before sneaking past security at the Littlehampton Tescos. Well worth the fine and criminal record IMHO.

My pleasure. Sorry I can't be more specific re dates but hope this will fit in with others' tenures you may know more about. His football book(s) are about Ipswich Town but, although supporting the Witches to a degree, he was more of a Wimbledon follower, if not fan, owing to him moving to that area when he started work. I don't believe, other than a few references to them in his main ITFC book, he has actually reported on the Witches at any stage.

Thanks to one and all on this thread for all the excellent info throughout the winter season. It is always a pleasure to read this although I reckon Conkers never goes to bed owing to the regularity of updates; great stuff. For the first time in eons I didn't attend a live meeting, owing mainly to the thawing off of the St Johann qualifier, but saw my first ever live bobsleighing/skeleton event instead to compensate including seeing one of my sporting pin ups, Amy Williams, in the flesh. Drool. Enjoy the summer. I'm off to see my first match of the season tomorrow night, Sheffield v Birmingham (Ch). Although it will be good seeing the likes of Josh Auty, Ricky Ashworth and Ben Barker in action at Owlerton I would rather have seen a PL 4 team tournament with maybe Berwick, Scunthorpe and Ipswich in opposition. It would have been great to see the likes of Josh Auty, Ricky Ashworth and Ben Barker, but you can't have everything. Roll on next winter and cheers again guys.

Hope it catches on and we are given free cooling beer on very hot days too.

He left as Phil Lanning took over and started around the time of the Havvy victory so that would be his time period; clearly not a very long one. Although he did Wimbledon match reports for the local free papers and, I believe, still lives in that area, I am unsure that he was actually a reporter at the Mail prior to this. He always praised the regularity of Russell Lanning's press releases for the free paper so again that could identify his work period there, coinciding with his tenure at Plough Lane.

Seem to remember Tony Moyse was editor around the time of Gary Havelock's World Final victory. One of his first actions was to alter the heading as previously MAIL dominated. He amended this so that SPEEDWAY was the dominant word, which seemed a fairly sensible move. He also added a pic of Jacob Olsen wheelying to personalise this, as opposed to the group rider logo shot . As editor of one of the finest football history books ever produced (him not me) I have met Tony on several football related occasions and he is still a regular visitor at various tracks and GPs even though his local track no longer exists. He always enjoys a decent ale and chat about speedway and I will be seeing him at Cardiff this year for that beer and chat.

Getting rid of the parades and interval would be a great start. If the team managers won't get the riders on the track then the referees should get on the button more swiftly. I always recall many years ago at Arena Essex when Frank Ebdon was on the button. As soon as the announcements from a heat were over he put the two minutes on, keeping the show moving. Upon realising this and for no productive reason, the then home announcer delayed giving out the heat details to slow matters down. After a couple of delays for this Frank started putting the two minutes allowance on before the heat result was announced. Up yours Mr Announcer. It can be done. I was fortunate enough to take in a league match at Daugavpils last year where the whole gambit was finished in just over an hour and there was a brilliant buzz around the stadium all match as a result. You had a far younger crowd profile and I don't just mean kids, a modern stadium and tremendous atmosphere, plus they still had a parade, if that's what floats your boat. I had another beer while this was going on. The attendance was about 4 times higher than a "bumper" crowd is in GB too. Grading every third race was done swiftly and efficiently by a fleet of tractors and fans were regularly topping up their beers during these minor gaps and even then maybe missing some racing owing to queues. The thing was everyone was buzzing even the flask and blanket brigade were partying and looking forward to the next match. American tracks just go bang, bang, bang with races and again it is a party atmosphere and the action continues. Try filling in a programme before the next heat starts and it is not easy but the continuity adds to the entertainment. Compare this with British tracks in all leagues. I can't be alone in running out of digits to count the number of matches I have attended where 15 heats haven't been completed owing to the weather, yet they have still had a 20 minute break with only a few heats remaining. Why? Surely it is not beyond the ability of someone to ensure that those who need to be fed and watered on the centre green could have the stuff brought to them, instead of having to leave en mass. Again other than the doctor, I am sure that a "comfort" break can be fitted in too should it be needed, without delaying the races to accommodate. That said I'm bursting but my staff can easily cover this temporary absence from my post.

B****r. Just got a mail from them. Already have tickets for ice hockey in Salzburg on Friday. Bayern Munich may get our euros on Saturday now with bobsleigh World Cup on Sunday at Igls. No sense in sulking, life's too short.

Some excellent help here as usual. Just to expand a little and say that 3 years ago we stayed in a hotel in the old East with no railway of any sort walkable from it. Bus services were brilliant though and travel via bus,U and S bahns took no more than 30 minutes to the track and there were railworks diverting trains at the time. I'd go for the cheap hotel option wherever you can find it and the nightlife is also never that far away either. Some excellent micro breweries around Alexanderplatz and Friedrichstrasse stations (apologies for spelling) to sort out all food and drink issues after the racing. Pedant moment; I think you actually mean the 3rd / 4th bends with the view down the hill and not 2nd. You are actually outside the stadium fence there. We used to stand on the straight at the exit from the 4th bend which had a very good view. It now seems to be more popular and crowded, no doubt owing to the viewing, and on our last visit the slopes at the rear started subsiding onto the terrace owing to people standing under trees to keep dry. A lot of falling by fans, taking others with them so not the safest of areas. Other than my ex mother in law being from Berlin there is nothing else regarding attending ice spedway here to moan about. Love everything about the place.

Spot on. Looking back when then points limit started teams seemed to look at getting heat leaders in place quickly, followed by the reserves. This left most teams looking for 4 point riders who, knowing the demand to fill team places, were asking for and ultimately getting silly money. The heat leaders, who initialy were happy with contracts, then found they were on less than poorer riders. Even asking for parity put up costs again. At the end of the day too, in spite of all teams allegedly starting equal one finishes top and one at the bottom so they can't be that equal otherwsie they should all finish level.

When I went they had some of the qualifying races on the previous day to help out. The riders were split into 6 groups of 6 and there are 6 riders in each heat. The same group of 6 riders meet in each of their qualifying heats. As an example heat 1 (in gate position order) had riders A,B,C,D, E and F and heat 2 riders G,H,I,J,K and L. Heat 7 had riders D, E, F, A, B and C and heat 8 J, K, L, G, H and I. usw. After, I think 4 rounds of the identical six qualifying heats the top points scorer in each group went to the A final and the second top scorer to the B (or maybe there were semi finals but I had lost the will to live by then) . It could happen under this format that the best two riders in the tournament are in the same group so the second best rider on the day would not necessarily qualify for the final. Using BSF criteria Buzz Burrows is rider A and Dean Felton rider B. Buzz has 4 wins @ 5 points each and Dean 4 x 4 point second places. Buzz would go into the A final but Dean’s 16 would see him fail although rider G (Tai Woffinden)’s 11 points in his qualifying group against other BSF no hopers like Nicki Pedersen, Greg Hancock and Michael Jepser Jensen would see him through. Not fair I know but Dean should walk the B final. If all this is still too confusing a beer in the quaintly named Bum Bum bar behind the main stand will always bring out the schoolboy in all of us. Talks of Botticelli and Arsenal FC never fail to produce a guffaw or two there.

Just to prove I'm right, even more excellent information. Looking forward to next season already. Enjoy the summer.

Not as easy as you would imagine. His final three races on Saturday , to give him the ful 21 points, were simply sensational. Ivanov and Khometsivich riding shoulder to shoulder into the 3rd bend and yet he still had the nerve to go between the 2 of them and get by coming out of the 4th. Superb. Have to feel sorry for Danil Ivanov though as he may not have a better chance of taking the title. Credit to him and Khometsevich on Sunday as, disappointing as it must have been, they rode to Krasnikov to advise him that he could not be caught, after their equally sensational 4th race together, so he could do the victory laps and take things a little easier. (No chance). Danil's shoulders visibly dropped and he failed to make the final but second in such company is pretty good again. Two talking points for me were firstly what a spectacular style Edward Krysov has, going foot forward into the bend at speed before allowing his leg to slide below the bike in more traditional style. Secondly, and I'm not going to be popular, but I reckon Posa should retire immediately. For several years he has been rather a dirty rider but seems to have gotten away with things as he has "just" been battering the Russians with his actions. When he did the same to Robert Henderson on Sunday though he could have caused serious injury to the future of his countries ice racing for no positive gain to himself. OK he got a point which Robert needed more than him for a possible semi final appearance. I applauded Robert's fist waving exploits as I felt it well warranted. In spite of Posa's universal popularity the locals were equally split regarding whether to support an old favourite or side with the victim in this affair. Much debate ensued. Anyway an excellent couple of days racing so well done to MC Funbo for their organisational skills. The one negative which maybe I shouldn't throw in, but I will, was the FIM film crew seemingly being directed to follow the leader when there were some fantasic races going on only a few metres behind which would have made better TV. Finally a warm thank you to the regular correspondents on this thread (Conkers and others). As in previous years this has been a totally constructive and informative thread with no egos, pedants or blatantly rude offerings from the posters as in many others. Well done and thanks to you all.