An Open Letter To The Riders At The Elrc

[AndyM]

I wonder what the terms and conditions of a rider's contract with the meeting organisers, and their insurance too for that matter, about riding in tricky conditions. There seems to be no enforcement available if the ref and track staff believe it's safe to ride but the riders choose to pull out, where in some sports the dissenting voices might be penalised by a proportion of their earnings. Astonishing that there's no clear and consistent guidance for handling these situations - always seems to catch everyone by surprise, each time.

[Guest cheetahhawk]

bigest problem here is the bikes ... the laydowns are made to be at full throttle for 4 laps on a smooth, slick surface, and any deviation from that causes the meeting to be postponed.

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I think you have hit the nail right on the head Steve.

 

Modern machinery doesn't mean better racing and modern EL riders don't either.

 

I have seen far better meetings in both the Premier and Conference leagues than the Elite league over the last few years.

[greyhoundp]

I have not read the previous 22 pages on this thread only the first two, and also will say never saw the Sky coverage dont have it, but i was up at Buxton Sunday afternoon.

 

May i suggest that the referees get some B******s because if as most of you are saying the Track was raceable, and the Ref thinks its raceable then he/she should put them on 2 minutes those that want to will race, those that dont want to wont end of story surely.??. At least this way will get to sort out the men from the boys,and we will know who is who.

 

Did not something similar happen in Australia over the winter ie rider power,had the meeting called off.

Edited April 18, 2006 by greyhoundp

[stevehone]

May i suggest that the referees get some B******s because if as most of you are saying the Track was raceable, and the Ref thinks its raceable then he/she should put them on 2 minutes those that want to will race, those that dont want to wont end of story surely.??. At least this way will get to sort out the men from the boys,and we will know who is who.

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yes it would sort the riders out but surely it's just going from one complete farce straight into another?

[Ron Butler]

I wonder what the terms and conditions of a rider's contract with the meeting organisers, and their insurance too for that matter, about riding in tricky conditions.  There seems to be no enforcement available if the ref and track staff believe it's safe to ride but the riders choose to pull out, where in some sports the dissenting voices might be penalised by a proportion of their earnings.  Astonishing that there's no clear and consistent guidance for handling these situations - always seems to catch everyone by surprise, each time.

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Alas, Andy, there appears to be little that is 'clear and consistent' in modern speedway. Sometimes it seems to this old codger that the rulers of the sport regard it as a toy to played with at will. The tragedy is that the Fat Controller continually shunts Thomas the Tank Engine* into an ever increasingly bewildering variety of sidings.

 

I do NOT jest.

 

Ron.

 

*I do not refer to Mr Ian Thomas for whom I have the highest regard!

[Hansfan]

We too were at Poole on Sunday, I have never been so angry!! For how much longer do we have to bow down to these GP riders? Do they know it is us the public who help pay there wages?? I know its been said many times about how' burnt out' they are after the season and I appreciate the logistics of it all must be a nightmare but for gods sake act as if you give a damn about us over here!!! If it is too much at the end of the year and they are worried about racing just before a GP then do away with the challenge matches at the beginning of the season and hold it then, that way Mr 'whingy' Crump and his mates won't have to worry about anything!!

 

We watched the 'meeting' when we got home it actually equated to about £30 per race when you take into account money to get in, hotel accommodation, fuel etc... (perhaps even more than that) and if you listen to what Ronnie Russell said I couldn't have agreed more I think he spoke for all of us there!! I hate to say it but I think that 'Mr' Postlethwaite will indeed get his own way eventually, he stated a few years ago that he would like the GP's run like Formula One, the riders ONLY race in those events and not the League, I think you can safely say that we will see that in the not too distant future, and mark my words that will be the death knell for our beloved sport. While we are talking about the GP's I am dying to see if we have any rain you watch them then they will move heaven and earth to race!!! Don't get me wrong I couldn't bare to see anything happen to ANY rider but I think they could have raced on Sunday!!

 

Also while on the subject of Sunday all you Hans knockers LEAVE HIM ALONE, I watched the race involving David Howe and he DID NOT 'have him off' deliberately you can see him shut off and try to pull away (and before any clever dick comes on about him shutting off again I have heard it all before, speak to the hand!!)

 

Well I feel better getting that off my chest!!

Edited April 18, 2006 by Hansfan

[KevH]

bigest problem here is the bikes ... the laydowns are made to be at full throttle for 4 laps on a smooth, slick surface, and any deviation from that causes the meeting to be postponed.

Then that should be a good enough reason to change the spec of the bikes Steve. What changes (I sound like Sophie now lol) would allow riders to ride in conditions such as we witnessed at Poole on Monday as well as the smooth slick surfaces you refer to?

[stevehone]

well people talk about the number of meetings that used to get called off compared to now ... think about the changes that have been made in recent years and maybe you'll get the answer ..

use uprights?

go back to the Pirelli and Dunlop tyres?

make the frames a little more rigid? (how many times do you see riders lock-up mid turn only for the chain to fly off?)

 

could be a number of things ... best person on here to say would probably be Jan Staechmann, he's ridden all i've mentioned as well as newer equipment

[shazzybird]

yes it is me Shazz!! Long time since I've been on here - but I'm back !!!

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Glad to see you back again Rainbow, kidz send their love

 

Ut oh!!!  Look out one and all - Rainbow, Shazzy & Tabby - the fearsome threesome!

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You know it Bryn

[21st century heathen]

Here, Here Chris - well said!!! 

 

Must be the first time we've been in full agreement.

 

Having read only the first few posts of this forum i find its the same people over and over again wanting.. no "DEMANDING" that riders carry on a meeting for their pleasure just because they travelled x amount of miles and paid x to get into a meeting. WHAT A SELFISH ATTITUDE TO HAVE!

IF one of your clubs riders had been injured for the season you'd have all been moaning that it should have been called off.

 

Well I didn't go and I didn't have any of my riders on show, well except Greg, so I can speak from a neutral point of view.

 

dont you think the riders lost out too?

 

No!

 

I have said it a million times before and will say it again.. the slightest doubt over the state of the track and weather and the meeting is called off.. hey I'd rather that than someone injured.

 

If that were the case there would be no speedway. On Fri the Coventry track was very heavy, and the riders (most) were struggling to turn as they would normally. They all adapted to the conditions (well apart from Martin ), and as far as I know there were no complaints about the track. There was no delay while work was carried out etc. They just got on with it.

 

On Monday Wolves produced a dry track that quickly went pretty slick on the inside. There were three incidents that almost resulted in potentially big crashes due entirely to the fact that it was slick going in on the inside. Scott couldn't hold the bike any tighter when he almost hit Billy, and is seen to apologise going down the back straight, after the race, and in the interview on Sky. Freddie did pretty much the same thing to Scott, and there was slight contact. Scott is happy it's just racing. Then Ronnie almost fell right in front of Scott, who somehow managed to react and lock the bike up to miss Ronnie. Scott a bit upset the way it worked out, but accepts his was on the worng end of a bit of bad luck. Ronnie admits he almost lost it, and appreciated Scott reacted quickly.

 

We all sat back and enjoyed a cracking match.

 

Are you suggesting this match should have been called off because there may have been a next time when the riders ran out of luck (as there was certianly an element of luck mixed in with their skill on a motocycle in those incidents)?

 

You may say but no one would have been hurt etc.. how do you know?

 

Yet you, and others, suggest that riders will have been injured, and only when tracks aren't perfect.

 

 

After all I may be wrong and the meeting gone ahead and there be no injuries

 

Acknowledged.

 

BUT if YOU were riding would YOU be prepared to take the same risk?

 

In those conditions? Yes, without question.

[Gemini]

Well done Steve in taking the trouble to write to the Speedway Star with the views you have posted on the forum, ensuring a much bigger audience. Perhaps a rider might now respond...but somehow I doubt it.

[Steve Shovlar]

Well I posted it off on Sunday evening and didn't expect them to print it word for word. Matt Ford has said the meeting should have gone ahead, so I have some backing even if the riders are sticking together as a single voice.

 

The editor must also agree otherwise he would have hit the delete key!

[Ace no.5]

The editor would print something that would make good reading, and a good argument...! Not necessarily something he agrees with.

And Matt Ford would say that, wouldn't he... At the end of the day, he pretty much pays the guy's wages that told the ref to call it off! He's trying to save face.

Edited April 20, 2006 by Ace no.5

[Starman2006]

That meeting could have been run to its conclusion. If they had hung on for another half an hour, then something could have been done with the track. Then the ref could have sent two riders out on bikes, and under there own steem did several laps to push the dirt wide, giving a racing line, then the meeting could have been run to its conclusion. I feel the meeting, like several in the past have been called off far to soon. And feel very sorry for the fans who travelled the lengh and breath of the country to follow their riders, which would have cost them a hell of a lot of money. I also feel sorry for the meeting sponsors, SHARP RETAIL SYSTEMS, who put a lot of time and probably a lot of money into sponsoring the meeting.

I sympathise with Matt, he wanted the meeting ran to its conclusion, and with a little bit of patience, it could have been.

 

Mod Note;- Personal Remark removed

[rabbit]

And Matt Ford would say that, wouldn't he...  At the end of the day, he pretty much pays the guy's wages that told the ref to call it off!  He's trying to save face.

 

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Isn't the clerk of the Course an SCB official though and not a Poole employee?

[dave69]

Hope it chucks it down at the GP.Then see if teddys fly out of cots.

[comebackkings]

bigest problem here is the bikes ... the laydowns are made to be at full throttle for 4 laps on a smooth, slick surface, and any deviation from that causes the meeting to be postponed.

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I have been waiting to see if anyone would think that the bikes are the cause of a lot of the problems. I remember Jan Staechmann posting on the forum about the laydowns having on/off power while the uprights were more controllable.

 

Maybe thats why riders don't want to be out on a very slippery track, and we all hark back to the good old days of black and white, where meetings went on regardless.

 

The ELRC was the same as the PLRC of a few years ago and the Swindon Test match, riders decide if they will ride or not and the officials follow their lead, Speedway referees should all be ex riders, and their word should be final.

 

The track looked ok on SKY, but I wasn't there so I can not comment on that, but the organisation looked shambolic with the riders (or some of the riders) badgering the referee ON CAMERA.

 

If we are to see speedway grow through SKY, these scenes shouldn't be seen on the TV. That is the fault of the organisers and the ruling body of the sport.

[Addy]

The editor would print something that would make good reading, and a good argument...!  Not necessarily something he agrees with.

And Matt Ford would say that, wouldn't he...  At the end of the day, he pretty much pays the guy's wages that told the ref to call it off!  He's trying to save face.

 

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All good editors have a sense of humour

 

Meanwhile my mate is writing a letter of complaint about the picture at the bottom of page 13

[rabbit]

Hear what you're saying Addy. Nearly put me off me brekkie that one!

[Addy]

Hear what you're saying Addy. Nearly put me off me brekkie that one!   

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lol

 

Just as well he doesn't come on here anymore ...