"the Truth Behind The Gosford Fiasco"

[Maddas69]

I think its a brilliant tactic and should be used more often.

 

Obviously tensions were running high and when I listened to that radio clip a couple of weeks ago just after it was called off, you could tell by the tone of the reporter that there were unpleasantrys.

 

By the sound of it the track was rideable. It wasn't like the fiasco in Swden where the track was a complete and utter mess and all riders spoke as one. The best thing to have done was to say, the rider who want to ride will, and the pot will be plit between those. Riders who do not ride will receive nothing, and will score zero points. That way a few of the desenters might have backed down.

 

Of course if the track was that bad, Adams et al would have agreed and the meeting would have been abandoned without any of this hoofla.

 

By the look of this report though and the strong words by Mick Poole, backed up by Rod Colquhoun who went a step further, shows how disgruntled they were with the riders shamed in this report.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

There is one important point about Sweden that is worth mentioning; the riders went out and TRIED the track, only to find it completely unraceable. Schlein, Watt; Lyons and Dooland (and a few others) wouldn`t even let Leigh Adams and Todd Wiltshire have a try to see if the track was raceable.

BUT, the referee had the final call..........but no-one is talking about him. And where were MA? They have the power to withdram licenses if riders refuse to ride.....

[tape2tapevideo]

Not trying to play devils advocate or anything but lets reverse the situation for a minute.

 

Lets say the few that wanted to ride had convinced the "pansies" to ride on a track they weren't comfortable with. Then there was a crash and we get another Ashley Jones incident.

 

Who would take responsibility for pushing the riders into taking part when they clearly weren't interested?

 

Who would be the first to moan when insurance for the next meeting was either double what it was or they were unable to get any insurance ?(rising insurance has been an ongoing issue in Oz during recent seasons, or so the promoters there keep telling us)

 

Who would be the one to tell somebodys wife / parents / kids one of their family had been pressured into riding and were now dead?

 

I know its a dangerous sport and if you ain't got the balls you should pack up and go home etc etc...........!

But on the other hand its already dangerous enough without taking any extra risks.

 

If these riders were such pansies, why did they fly halfway round the world to take part in a series which was hardly likely to pay for their airfares/ bikes/ expenses?

 

I'm not supporting what the riders did, just looking at it from a different point of view.

I guess I expected a little more consideration to safety since Ashleys death, but some people don't seem too bothered! or maybe the track was fine and they are just a bunch of pansies.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think so may questions from this excellent post need to be answered at the end of the day, we all want top racing, we all like to have our say and why not, we pay good hard earned money to watch it, but we dont ride the bikes.

[coma]

Schlein, Watt; Lyons and Dooland (and a few others) wouldn`t even let Leigh Adams and Todd Wiltshire have a try to see if the track was raceable.

BUT, the referee had the final call..........but no-one is talking about him. And where were MA? They have the power to withdram licenses if riders refuse to ride.....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The chances of Schlein or Watt having enough sway to convince Wiltshire or Adams of ANYTHING is pretty much nil.

Todd and Leigh would do what they pleased given their standing in the sport, so either they weren't too fussed about riding either but kept quiet so as not to rock the boat or the ref must have told them not to go out to test the track!

[Eastie]

Well Bob Dugard certainly didn't think that as he continued to show contempt for the riders decision by continuing to prepare the track after the meeting was called off.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I went to the meeting and because it wasnt to Andersen's liking he made the decision himself.

It would have got better if the meeting had carried on but after the transmission it started to rain and wouldnt have finished anyway , but Andersen didn't know that.

problem is if only 2 riders refuse to race what do you do , they hold the meeting to ransom

[Lioness]

I kinda tend to agree partly with both sides of this arguement in bits tbh

 

I am FULLY in favour of the ringleaders being named. I have been following it on Aussie sites and it could have pretty serious implications for solo speedway down under and at Gosford in particular. AS was stated...

Leigh Adams, Adam Shields, Travis McGowan, Todd Wiltshire, Craig

Watson, Chris Holder, Mark Jones and Jason Doyle as well as some others were

willing to try

so why should they be under suspicion of being one of four riders who caused the meeting to be called off.

 

Some of the posts on Aussie sites have also stated that a rider actually threatened to sue an official for everything he had if the meeting went ahead and anyone had a fall that they perceived to be down to the conditions. In my book thats pretty serious stuff and its something that you dont want to see happening in speedway - it would become an easy way to get every meeting called off These guys ride in the UK so it has implications over hear

 

Where I don't agree is the personal stuff creeping in. Had that been avoided then perhaps the likes of the speedway star might not have been so lilly livered and might have printed the names in this country too. Whatever personal feelings about individuals, they should have been left out of it as should their families.

[Scunny Stag]

How about everyone takes a look at the picture in the Speedway Star. There is an 18 inch high pile of dirt which must have been 3-4 foot wide clearly showing. Now imagine it all the way around the outside of the track and a pile about two-thirds the size on the inside.

 

Who has seen a meeting run in those conditions?

 

Where do people think all those tonnes of dirt would have gone?

 

Now, as someone who went to Australia for the first and possibly the only time specifically to watch the Aussie championships and the U-16 championships you would think that I’d have more reason to be aggrieved than most. However, despite watching someone (Mr. Poole?) push the shale around for several hours I never thought the track was ever going to be up to racing that night. Sure someone could ride the track but could four of them race? I don’t think so.

 

The magazine publisher’s key comments for me were:

 

"A handful of riders, each full-time professionals.......said a

winrow (pile) of dirt that had been left by the track curator (the

promoter) up against the fence was too dangerous. As was another

winrow graded about one metre in from the infield. Apparently they

created an inherent risk. Furthermore, at the exit to turn two was a

wet, patchy part of the track that may have posed a risk to riders”

 

I’m sorry but the damn piles were enormous and if the writer isn’t clever enough to see that they were an ‘inherrent risk’ (blooming understatement if ever I’ve heard one) then he shouldn’t be writing about speedway. I felt the only chance the meeting had and that was looking from the stands and not being able to see how patchy the rest was (or wasn’t) was for the dirt to be removed by truck (which probably would have been needed earlier in the day) Is there a quantity surveyor who can estimate how many tonnes there was? Once the massive amounts of excess dirt had been removed then maybe a rider could have seen how the track rode.

 

However the publisher’s key quote was “Poole attempted this, but his efforts to stockpile so much wet earth proved in vein”. Exactly!! And that should have been the end of it but Messrs Poole had to try and lay the blame elsewhere. Maybe if the more vocal riders had just kept their head down the meeting would have been cancelled anyhow, maybe if the track had been scraped and tyre-packed before the rains the meeting could have gone ahead and maybe if a reserve day had been programmed in by MA it would have been okay. Maybe if Adam Allott hadn’t lost his spleen last year on the self same track because of a large pile of dirt being left on it the riders wouldn’t have foreseen doom quite so quickly. Life is full of maybes.

 

However, considering the massive amounts of rain they had had the night before I would have been impressed if anyone could have got the track ready on a day with little breeze or sunshine. From what I can see the car speedway in Australia can run in allsorts of weather and track conditions but the Parramatta Speedway was called off because of the rain the night before.

 

Certainly speedway is run differently in Australia to over here. More worrying to me than the Gosford meeting were the following gems:

 

- U16 Pairs Championship was restarted after 4-5 heats had been run. I’m sure Mr.Poole’s views on that would have been interesting as his son was possibly denied the title because of it.

 

- The inside gate which was awful in round 4 at Newcastle was abandoned after heat 4 and the gates were re-drawn over gates 2-4. The riders who had gate 1 in heats 1-4 were understandably aggrieved and the cynic in me wondered if the change had anything to do with Adams and Wiltshire being of gate 1 in the second set of heats. It could be argued that the decision had a big influence on the destination of the Jawa prize for second place. It seems the referee was actually over ruled by the race director on that decision.

 

- It was interesting to have the motorway blades out after every four heats at most rounds of the Aussie Champs and anything up to a 30 minute break for this track prep. Thankfully the weather meant 3+ hour speedway meetings weren’t too bad but presentation was hardly slick.

[Trackman]

Hi gorgeous I,m sitting in the wings watching over you fairies just give me a call and I will jump in my car and come and give you a big hug xx

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

G/Day FTM

Can you give MF a big hug from me too please. My petrol tank ain't big enough for the Pacific and the Atlantic crossing

Regards.

PS.

mmmmmmmmm?... or I could stow away in Nobbys suitcase on his return

[Sandie]

G/Day FTM 

Can you give MF a big hug from me too please. My petrol tank ain't big enough for the Pacific and the Atlantic crossing 

Regards.

PS.

mmmmmmmmm?... or I could stow away in Nobbys suitcase on his return

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Please stow away as I already get lots of wonderful hugs of FTM so to then have lots more off you would be just brilliant

[stevehone]

Cainy you old devil you

[The Wizard Of SHADWELL]

I'm surprised that two Kings Lynn riders were among those unwilling to ride on a wet slippery track, seeing as that's how it's prepared at the NA everytime Rye House are there.

Edited January 27, 2006 by The Wizard Of SHADWELL

[stevehone]

not still bitter are you WoS

Edited January 27, 2006 by stevehone

[BritPete]

There are always two sides to a story, and a certain Lynette Schlein has put forward a different slant on the sad affair via Yahoo.

[chopper]

Would be interested to read that, do you have a link.

Cheers Darrell

[HenryW]

I hope that Lynette doesn't mind me posting this here...obviously I will delete this post if I hear that she was unhappy with the copying of it, but as BritPete says, "There are always two sides..." and the forum was clearly missing one side...

 

From here on, it's all Lynette :

 

Well, it has taken a lot of restraint so far on my behalf to restrain myself

from actually blowing a gasket after reading the most slanderous, one-eyed

fact-less piece of written verbal garbage in my entire life.

- and will firstly clear it with you that Im Rory's mother.

 

As Rory is still in Australia at the present and no doubt he will read this

utter tosh, he will certainly be responding personally to this so called

pathetic pencil scriber who obviously trying to portray his skills as a

professional journalist in this comic strip, after quitting the sport.

 

He certainly has tainted Rory and other riders with such colourful

distinguished language in what can only be regarded as bringing the world of

professional journalists into disrepute which has obviously been written by

a compete amateur with no guts or credentials to actually come face to face

with these riders to ascertain factual information.

 

I'm not going to get into a slanging match here with anyone, especially the

likes of the 3 people with whom have made such derogatory remarks of such

magnitude to bring down and taint our sport of speedway, and in doing so,

clearly demonstrating a smear campaign against Rory and others to destroy

their careers and credibility.

 

To you RC, out of 16 riders in the field, only one rider was dressed and

ready to practice at Gosford - I think his name was RORY SCHLEIN.

 

To you RC, Rory was looking forward to Gosford, a small, wet, muddy and

heavy track (Rory's favourites) and where he has had most of his successes

having ridden in Scotland most of his British career, so coming up against

Todd was a very poor excuse for cancellation. Grow Up!

 

To you RC, if you had the common decency to actually find the time to talk

to Rory, something you have been relunctant to do over the years, you might

actually get some truth and an honest answer. There are two sides to every

story and it is clear this article is full of huge holes at your convenience

to sensationalise a very weak excuse for a story.

 

To DT, MP and RC, let me say that it was Mr Ivan Golding, Race Director of

the series who in fact CANCELLED the meeting in a "DUTY OF CARE" to the

riders. It was not the riders who cancelled the meeting and if the

conditions were safe for racing, the meeting would have certainly gone

ahead. This was not the case!

 

Also, factual information received that racing could have been done on the

Friday after 4pm (after the dogs) but Management declined, so who let who

down. I see a very different picture which Im not about to go into.

 

Rain offs are a fact of life, so get on with it. Rory had about 18 rain

offs at Belle vue in 2004. We know what it's like, it called weather

conditions and not the fault of the riders. I could elaborate further and

paint a very different picture of events but will not stoop to the levels

you have, to do so. It happened, get a life and get on with it.

 

And yes!, one of Australia's finest cricketers Steve Waugh was in attendance

and he actually took time out last year and this year to spend time with

Rory chatting over the disappointment to everybody concerned but hey, when

it comes down to the facts, he understands, rain, bad light, they walk, in

front of many more thousands of paying fans. Dont use Steve Waugh and his

family in your piss poor argument for the sympathy vote. It wont work!

 

Just may be someone in the Management area used some "skills" to make a

decision in the first place and the predicament wouldnt have occurred but

then the riders wouldnt have got the blame and no story.

 

This meeting was called off long before the crowd was advised, so once again

the management failed the public in advising the situation, not the riders

but they continued to allow the public through the gates.

 

On a final note Mr RC, it has always been a saying in this world, that

today's news is tomorrows fish & chip paper but in your case -

TODAY'S NEWS IS TOMORROWS RECYCLED TOILET PAPER

 

but rest assured, I wont be wiping my a-----

with it because I only use the best!

 

I said before I started to write this reply, that I would never stoop so low

to your level of expression but hey, you deserve it and please dont respond

to me as you utterly disgust me as a human being for your total lack of

respect and wish nothing more to do with you.

 

The riders were right and have nothing hide. There is more to this story

than is being portrayed in this callous article. To justify my comments,

you only have to ask those spectators in attendance. Ive had phone calls

from Brits who followed the series and cant believe the bullrubbish that has

been written and are totally disgusted to how someone can write and slander

riders in such a way without cause.

 

Finally, to those people who know Rory, what he is about, his dedication,

his love for the sport, your colourful descriptive and alleged actions DO

NOT ADD UP Rodney!

 

You need to put into place immediately DAMAGE CONTROL what you have done in

placing non-factual rubbish throughout the world about Australian speedway

and its riders in SRN and you can take full responsibility for that.

CONGRATULATIONS, ON A JOB WELL DONE. NOT!

[lupus]

Interesting readingHenry but I'm sure, as always, the truth of the matter lies somewhere in between the two versions!

[Ironside]

a small, wet, muddy and

heavy track (Rory's favourites) and where he has had most of his successes

having ridden in Scotland most of his British career

 

^

|

on a slick track though.

 

what a load of tosh, go RC.

[Bobbin' Along]

Interesting readingHenry but I'm sure, as always, the truth of the matter lies somewhere in between the two versions!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Couldn't agree more hon!

 

I've only just caught up on this thread after the best beloved described it to me. Firstly I thought it was a joke, then I thought "well, at least Leigh was willing to give it a go" and now I'm all confused.

 

I suppose the only people who can give the definitive answer on what happened, to whom, and why, are the people involved. As they all see things from different points of view, we'll probably never really know exactly what went on.

 

I have to say there is a part of me that rubbed my hands in salacious glee at reading some hot and juicy goss to warm up my evening in the middle of winter, but there is also another part of me that felt it was unfair to name and shame when the riders involved cannot defend themselves - this is the bit that feels dead guilty now. Loved the comment from Rory's Ma about toilet paper though!

 

Anyway - I'm gonna lie down until all the fuss has subsided and it's closer to spring....

[Addy]

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

You took the words right out of my mouth, Steve, lol

[Tsunami]

Can't really comment on the rights and wrongs of this case but when Davey Watt is amongst the desenters you do get a bit of a bias.

I remember the days when he rode for us in 2002 and he would say before the meeting the track is s**t and he would not be performing. Exeter and Stoke come to mind.

 

[HenryW]

Interesting readingHenry but I'm sure, as always, the truth of the matter lies somewhere in between the two versions!

I think that you are probably spot on with that statement...but so far this forum has only had one side, so it seemed worthwhile providing the other side so that people could decide where the middle ground was

 

As for Ironside's comments....not sure what track you were watching Roo race on when he was with the Monarchs, but I didn't think it was slick!!!