An Open Letter To The Riders At The Elrc

[Steve Shovlar]

Dear riders, I was one of many fans who paid £17 to watch what, outside of the British GP, is regarded as the biggest individual meeting to take place in the uk, The ELRC.

 

Arriving at the stadium at 3.30 pm, it was overcast, but the long queues of excited and expectant fans knew, or thought, they were in for a teat of a speedway meeting. Looking along the queue I could see fans from Belle Vue, Eastbourne, Peterborouogh, Swindon, Ipswich, Oxford and even some Arena fans who had made the trip from the east of London to cheer on Steve Johnston. In fact, I saw fans from all elite league clubs this afternoon, who had given up their day to support you, the riders, and enjoy some exciting speedway racing. many of them knew that their rider ws not likely to win it, but they travelled the length and breadth of the UK to be in Poole for this prestigious meeting.

 

Settling in my place 30 minutes before the first race, it had clouded over considerably, buut was still dry. the track looked superb. Plenty of dirt on it out wide, and nice and smooth. I thought, as everyone else did, that we would be in for a speedway treat, and those with Sky TV would see just how good racing is at Poole speedway every week.

 

20 minues before the start, there was a short shower. Nothing torrential. Just a shower, which soon passed over and it had stopped before the parade had ended. It did make the track a bit wetter than hoped, but everyone who goes to Poole knew the track wouold soon settle after a few heats. And so it proved. After a couple of races the dry shale could clearly be seen on the inside, and track times were as per usual.

 

Heat 6 finished and there seemed to be a bit of a delay. I said it must be a commercial break on Sky, but if it was, then it was a long one. A few more minutes passed. It suddenly dawned on us that all was not well in the pits, though the track was getting into a good shape and racing had by and large been OK, with the best obviously yet to come.

 

It was then announced that a few of the riders were unhappy with the conditions and further grading needed to take place. Well, I looked at the track and it looked OK to me. A touch wetter than normal but far better than the rain off against Coventry 3 weeks ago. So the tractors came out and graded the track. And went back in again. It was not raining. More delays. The ref went across, though the fans in the stand had no idea why. He should have had his finger on the 2 mnute button.

 

A few minutes later and the sawdust came out. this was soon evening spread and the track looked excellent. Great, we all thought. NO excuses now, they have to race. But no. Some of you were still not happy. It was raining so lightly it made no difference to the track conditions. Again there was another meeting, and this time it was announced the racing would continue. Thanks god for that we all thought. noting wrong with the track, just a few troublemakers, of whom I had no idea who they were.

 

Hansd Andersen was then brifly interviewed, and we settled back in our places for what we thought would be the continuation of the event.

 

But no. You riders needed an excuse. And fast. And at that moment, for 1 minute, it rained. Lightly. Just enough to see it in the air against a dark background. And that was all you needed. Meeting off. Six heats run, fans ripped off.

 

I would like to personally ask the reason you riders whinged and moaned and made utter fools of our sport, live on Sky TV. I would like to ask the reason you didn't want to ride, when track conditions were good, and the rain had been in such a small amount that is deemed the track dangerous to ride? I would like to ask what you would tell all those fans that travelled from Manchester, Ipswich, Peterborough, Areans, Oxford, Swindon, Eastbourne, Wolverhampton, Reading and Poole why you wouldn't ride on a track in good shape after the work had been carried out on it, and the forecast for the shower to move away to leave a dry evening?

 

You riders are meant to be the best riders in the UK, representing your club and their fans. Today you let the sport of speedway down in front of these supporters, as well as the many thousands watching on Sky TV. It was an utter disgrace. I hope the riders who instigated this decision are named and shamed.

 

Please feel free to come on here and tell me what I have written above is wrong.

 

In all the years I have been going to speedway I have attended thousands of meetings, and dozens of rainoffs. I have seen meetings called of in wet conditions, I have seen meetings run in conditions where the meeting should have been called off. But today, for the very forst time, I saw a meeting called off when conditions were absolutely fine for racing.

 

I am disgusted with the attitude of the riders who managed to get this meeting abandoned. If they didn't want to ride, pack up their bikes and the fans would have been happy to watch Lewis Bridger get some races in, and if it meant two or three riders only in some heats so be it. For these riders to ruin an afternoons entertainment for all because they would rather save themselves for next weeks GP stinks to high heaven.

 

I am sorry for the length of this post but I am a very angry fan, probably one of many, who was totally ripped off today at Poole Speedway by so called speedway superstars.

[stevehone]

or thought, they were in for a teat of a speedway meeting

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

exactly what they got

[tony159]

Great post Steve Shovlar .

 

Hope the riders read your post and realise what they are doing to the great sport of Speedway before it is too late.

Edited April 16, 2006 by tony159

[lupus]

Dear riders, I was one of many fans who paid £17 to watch what, outside of the British GP, is regarded as the biggest individual meeting to take place in the uk, The ELRC.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Anyone watching on SKY would have been well aware of this Steve as we had a great close up of your good self at one point!!!!!!

 

BTW - I agree with every word you said! I actually said to my other half at one point - I f this is what having GP riders does to the EL then the sooner we tell the GP riders to sod off, we'll manage without them, the better!!!!

Edited April 16, 2006 by lupus

[Guest schumifan]

Having settled to watch this on sky I thought we should be in for some good racing. Nope, sorry, another meeting where the riders whinged and complained as much as some of the posters on here.

 

Okay, of course riders have to be safe, but no-one had fallen (except for the coming together with Howe) and the rain was light. If they'd just got on with it instead of taking so long to debate whether the meeting should go ahead we could have seen some racing.

 

I have to note that after Nicholls was caught complaining the other day about riding in the rain he refused to be drawn into the "should we ride" debate, albeit publicly.

 

I do feel Johnno was more interested in "getting down the pub" as he put it, than riding in a meeting people had travelled a long way to support him in.

 

Perhaps my comments are fuelled by the recent rain offs and lack of decent speedway, but I don't think any one of the riders there was going to give 100% so close to the GPs.

[sian01]

can we transfer this to the elrc thread where it should be

[Steve Shovlar]

can we transfer this to the elrc thread where it should be

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

NO I don't see why it should be loat in 30 pages of insults and counterclaims.

 

I posted this as a seperate thread for a reason. I want the riders to see it if any dare venture on here.

[Scott0311]

Cheers Steve for summing up this afternoons "proceedings" perfectly. I had a friend come down for the weekend from Ipswich to watch the meeting and some friends of his travelled down from Coventry and were even on the internet at 11.30 last night to book a hotel room so they could make a weekend of it. How much money has been spent by your average speedway fan to travel down to Poole - petrol money, hotel money, food money etc. It's all very well and good giving free re-admission to the restaging, whenever that may be, but how many supporters will be able to travel down from Manchester again? How many of the riders will be able (I was going to say willing) to ride in the rearranged meeting? I can foresee a rerun of the 2004 ELRC when we had the likes of, and this is not being disrespectful to the riders, Sebastian Tressarieu representing Eastbourne and Josh Larsen representing Arena - as I stated previously this is not meant to be disrespectful to these riders but the ELRC should be made up of the TOP riders from each club. If, as I expect, this meeting is restaged at the end of the season how many riders will have travelled back to their home nations or will be unavailable?

 

In the age of modern technology did no-one think of checking out the short-term weather forecast? I checked out 2 popular weather websites this morning and they both said showers between 3 and 6pm followed by a dry clear evening. Hardly rocket science is it to delay the meeting for an hour or so and restart at 7.30 (which is a true speedway starting time anyway). Getting home I turned on Sky Sports to see Jonathan Green and Kelvin Tatum talking from a dry and clear evening at Poole!!

 

I love the sport of Speedway and I will defend it with a passion but my god why do we always end up shooting ourselves in the foot and making, in my opinion the greatest sport in the world, a laughing stock?

 

Thanks for your time.

Scott in a perfectly dry Bournemouth.

[Jay]

You didn't look too unhappy when the camera spotted you Steve!

[sian01]

Steve

 

it was stated that the track was watered. if as already stated the weather forecast stated showers why did this happen. what is your view on this

[scoobie15]

I sat down in fornt of the tv to watch what i thought would be a great meeting, But then a certain rider (the same rider that always spits his dummy out) started to moan after his 2nd race.

In fairness alot of the other riders seemed to be up for it

But as they say there is always one!!

 

I feel sorry for the good people that attended this meeting and paid out hard earned cash to be let down

 

Hope you guys had a refund???

[BeefUnit]

completely agree !!! absolute discrace...looking at the riders walk on the track it seemed perfect, nice amount of dirt, a bit damp but nothing even close to a rain-off.

 

when are these riders going to accept the british weather and adapt to odd conditions, thats wat off-road racing is about..getting a bit dirty!!

you cant expect to have perfect tracks week in week out...they are supose to be professionals!

[sian01]

this will be the same rider that was actually wining the meeting and has time for his fans not like the prima donner who has graced the poole race jacket before trick

[Subedei]

Hardly rocket science is it to delay the meeting for an hour or so and restart at 7.30 (which is a true speedway starting time anyway). Getting home I turned on Sky Sports to see Jonathan Green and Kelvin Tatum talking from a dry and clear evening at Poole!!

 

Presumably a few riders had already made travel arrangements to get them to Poland for tomorrow's fixtures there.

[BritPete]

As I said after the Swindon match was abandoned last week, modern riders are big girls blouses. There was no rain after about 6:00 pm that night, PK seemed happy to continue, then Nicholls said something to him, and the meeting was finished. If they had carried on, then after a few heats the track was bound to improve.

 

And now we have this nonsense tonight. Once again they gave up far too easily. Nothing to do with the GP coming up by any chance? Rider power has gone too far, and it's time these guys started thinking about the paying customers.

 

If the Oxford track was as bad as it was reported to be, how on earth did they get the riders to take part?

[Trees]

Hmmmmm the travel arrangements seem to be the bugbear here, oh dear.

 

Kelv and Jonathan did say, during the British GP coverage which SKY put on instead, that it had been dry for 45 mins after they called it off, how disappointing.

 

Put the riders in a very difficult position but of course it was the fans that missed out ala Shovlar's posting above.

[scoobie15]

Yes he was ahead and i agree he has alot more time for fans than a certain rider.

But he is normally the first to protest

Maybe if his kevlars get dirty his wife beats him for clogging the washing machine up with shale Lmao

[Steve Shovlar]

Steve

 

it was stated that the track was watered. if as already stated the weather forecast stated showers why did this happen.  what is your view on this

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

It had been a dry day with no threat of rain on the radar when I looked at lunchtime. When I entered the sradium the track had been watered. but no excessively and it looked really great with a smooth inside line on the bends and deeper and grippier further out. No watering took place that I noticed after 3.30 pm.

 

The problem was that the shower was extremely localised. We could see it coming, and either side of the shower the shys were cloudy but it wasn't raining. The wind was virtually no existant, so the clouds were hardly moving. It looked like the shower formed about a mile from the stadium and rained on us, while half a mile either side it would have stayed dry. In fact I drove all the way home in dry conditions with no showers about at all.

 

The track staff should not be blamed in any way for watering the track. If the riders had bothered to make the effort to put a leg over their bikes we would have had superb racing in the second half of the meeting.

[Steve Shovlar]

If the Oxford track was as bad as it was reported to be, how on earth did they get the riders to take part?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I spoke to Rob Peasley at the stdium this afternoon and he said that the track at Cowley on Friday was far, far worse than the track at Poole today, which he said was completely raceable.

 

When he gets home he is bound to post his thoughts.

[rabbit]

this will be the same rider that was actually wining the meeting and has time for his fans not like the prima donner who has graced the poole race jacket before trick

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

What's a prima donner? Top of the range kebab? Are you on the funny juice tonight? Your main man was one of the main protagonists for wanting to call it off. Fact. It was he who called the referee over for the first meeting and was talking round the rest of the riders. For whatever reason he didn't want it to continue I know not! He had a lot of time for the paying public today didn't he? Still found time to plug his bloody book though. And to be honest i'm as disappointed in KK and the speed at which he was happy to give in before heat 7 as anyone else.

 

Great post by the way Steve. I'm still totally gobsmacked at what I witnessed today. I've seen meetings carry on at Poole after torrential downpours - following remedial trackwork. I look forward to the statements that come out from the various sources after this.