Premier League Best Pairs

[SCB]

You were saying about M5 the M4 can be just as bad on a friday so Cardiff to OTA about 2 hours and not back in a pub in Cardiff untill after 11 30 not though out at all

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I live 45 miles from Somerset Speedway, it takes me an hour to get from my house to Somerset on a Friday night. I have infact gone to Somerset on a GP Friday and it was no worse than any other time of the year, an hour. Add in 30 minutes to get from Cardiff (on a bad day) and it's less than an hour and 30 minutes.

 

Then coming back, the road is always clear and I can do it in 40 minutes at legal speeds, add in the 10 minutes extra to Cardiff and assuming the meeting is over by 9.30, people can be back in Cardiff by 10.30 easily.

 

Thats just the people in Cardiff and Newport area, now this amaze some Newport fans but Newports not the centre of the universe. People live all over the country and it might suit them to go to Somerset, what about the hundreds of Somerset fans for a start? What about people coming Newport down the M4 who can now go down the M5 on the way and add an extra 20 miles to the journey they're doing anyway?

 

As someone who lives in Newport and looks forwards to this weekend it's annoying but try looking at the bigger picture, it annoys a few hundred Newport and Glasgow fans but how many neutrals really don't care? and the Glasgow fans will have travelled hundreds of miles, I can't see another 80-100 miles round trip being an issue.

[seanisnumber1]

I live 45 miles from Somerset Speedway, it takes me an hour to get from my house to Somerset on a Friday night.  I have infact gone to Somerset on a GP Friday and it was no worse than any other time of the year, an hour.  Add in 30 minutes to get from Cardiff (on a bad day) and it's less than an hour and 30 minutes.

 

Then coming back, the road is always clear and I can do it in 40 minutes at legal speeds, add in the 10 minutes extra to Cardiff and assuming the meeting is over by 9.30, people can be back in Cardiff by 10.30 easily. 

 

Thats just the people in Cardiff and Newport area, now this amaze some Newport fans but Newports not the centre of the universe.  People live all over the country and it might suit them to go to Somerset, what about the hundreds of Somerset fans for a start?  What about people coming Newport down the M4 who can now go down the M5 on the way and add an extra 20 miles to the journey they're doing anyway?

 

As someone who lives in Newport and looks forwards to this weekend it's annoying but try looking at the bigger picture, it annoys a few hundred Newport and Glasgow fans but how many neutrals really don't care?  and the Glasgow fans will have travelled hundreds of miles, I can't see another 80-100 miles round trip being an issue.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for a fair post.

I live in Halifax and will come down for the pairs - it makes the weekend more enjoyable, I can see the pairs, go to Cardiff and call at Newport on the Sunday. I think we need to put a more positive slant on things and look at the bigger picture.

[Drew]

I live 45 miles from Somerset Speedway, it takes me an hour to get from my house to Somerset on a Friday night.  I have infact gone to Somerset on a GP Friday and it was no worse than any other time of the year, an hour.  Add in 30 minutes to get from Cardiff (on a bad day) and it's less than an hour and 30 minutes.

 

Then coming back, the road is always clear and I can do it in 40 minutes at legal speeds, add in the 10 minutes extra to Cardiff and assuming the meeting is over by 9.30, people can be back in Cardiff by 10.30 easily. 

 

Thats just the people in Cardiff and Newport area, now this amaze some Newport fans but Newports not the centre of the universe.  People live all over the country and it might suit them to go to Somerset, what about the hundreds of Somerset fans for a start?  What about people coming Newport down the M4 who can now go down the M5 on the way and add an extra 20 miles to the journey they're doing anyway?

 

As someone who lives in Newport and looks forwards to this weekend it's annoying but try looking at the bigger picture, it annoys a few hundred Newport and Glasgow fans but how many neutrals really don't care?  and the Glasgow fans will have travelled hundreds of miles, I can't see another 80-100 miles round trip being an issue.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Got to agree with SCB on his comments. I am a Somerset fan and don't have a problem with the 10 minutes of travelling required for me to get to the OTA!

Anyway why can't people stay in the Somerset area on the Friday or even Bristol and then travel onto Cardiff on the Saturday like us Somerset fans will be doing. The M5 north on a Saturday can be just as bad as it is south on the Friday.

The one thing you can guarantee at the OTA is that the racing will be worth the extra effort it might take to get there.

 

p.s. How did this PAIRS meeting get onto the Individual meetings thread??

[Highlander]

The Oak Tree Arena is not capable of holding all of the supporters that attended both meetings in the past, it is not physically big enough. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

I think it's big enough but the main problem with Somerset is it's poor facilities and in my opinion processional racing(Tin hat now on).

 

Last year I took someone along to the OTA to view their first ever meeting. He came away that night in a real foul mood saying that speedway was a complete waste of time and money and he couldn't understand how I could travel around the country following the sport. OK it was a bad meeting but after reading all the good comments from others I started think about the three metings I've seen there and to be honest I haven't seen a decent one.

 

Maybe I've been unlucky but the idea of Glasgow having to ride there three times this season has really hacked me off. The team have to be represented in three but I don't so it's bye bye pairs.

[The Little Un]

Thanks for a fair post.

I live in Halifax and will come down for the pairs - it makes the weekend more enjoyable, I can see the pairs, go to Cardiff and call at Newport on the Sunday. I think we need to put a more positive slant on things and look at the bigger picture.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

We are looking at the bigger picture and Tim Stone relies on the income from the two meetings either side of the GP to keep Newport afloat, so if you think risking the future of a speedway club is good for speedway, I must differ from your reasoning.

 

Best wishes,

Judy

[The Third Man]

We are looking at the bigger picture and Tim Stone relies on the income from the two meetings either side of the GP to keep Newport afloat, so if you think risking the future of a speedway club is good for speedway, I must differ from your reasoning.

 

Best wishes,

Judy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

agree i also think that an extra meeting in a GP weekend for a family including and extra night in a hotel could be too much for many people, so they will give the pairs a miss, where as on an other weekend they might well have attended.

 

hope im wrong but we will have to see.

 

i wont be going because it would mean taking a days holiday, and i dont have enough of those to spend going to the pairs and then paying for a hotel in order to see the GP the next day

[seanisnumber1]

We are looking at the bigger picture and Tim Stone relies on the income from the two meetings either side of the GP to keep Newport afloat, so if you think risking the future of a speedway club is good for speedway, I must differ from your reasoning.

 

Best wishes,

Judy

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have every sympathy with Newport and wish them all the best, but things don't always stay the same - I think Somerset have an equal right to additional revenue from the Grand Prix.

After all, if it wasn't for the GP, Newport wouldn't get any additional fans on the Sunday, as they wouldn't travel specially for the meeting.

 

All the best

 

[Speedwaystevemk2]

At the end of the day Somerset and the Oak tree have the pairs , and if Newport had wanted to they could have bid for the meeting !!!! .

 

I am sure the Somerset speedway will have the arena looking good and not the track in field as many feel on here with lots of improvements to the lighting and next year a full club house and a promoter who has had world class events at his other track think its in safe and professional hands somehow .

 

The track will be to its normal high standard to give fast and execting racing to many fans from around the world and hope they won,t find Cardiff boring the next night .

 

The fact is that Newport may get an extra big crowd on the Sunday as no ELRC taking place at Swindon , so hopefully Tim will have his bag of gold as well and a win win for speedway

 

lets enjoy a feast of speedway and hope the weather is warm and sunny down highbridge way

[The Little Un]

I wonder how much the financial implications of having the PL Pairs at Somerset on a night that Newport relies on for revenue to keep it afloat have come into Tim Stone's decision to withdraw the loss making Mavericks from the CL this year? Is this the beginning of the end for Newport and speedway in Wales?

 

Best wishes,

Judy

[SCB]

If it is the case, I'd say we need to look more at Tim Stone and his actions than the BSPA's decision to hold the pairs on GP weekend. If Tim Stone had no continually put out rubbish teams, banned people and generally pissed people off, he may not need to rely so heavily on the two GP weekend meetings.

 

As I said, look at the bigger picture.

[Chris]

Go and look at my post in the CL section on Stone in the Mavericks thread.

 

If he has to rely on 3 meetings all year for his money then he is not doing his job properly.

 

His club is a mess and he has no right whatsoever to have a guaranteed meeting on the Friday before Cardiff.

 

Perhaps he will now go and promote his club and get it into some sort of shape now he has had a pay day taken from him?

 

Wouldn't bet on it mind.

[wallbanger]

And this taking place has put a stop to newports usual bumper crowd the night before the gp bet they are chuffed to bits.......

[The Third Man]

And this taking place has put a stop to newports usual bumper crowd the night before the gp bet they are chuffed to bits.......

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

but according to Chris (see above post) this is for good of British Speedway if not for newport,

 

why? i dont know

[spin king]

Feel sorry for Newport, but to be honest I feel they don't have a leg to stand on, and Somerset are perfectly entitled to run the pairs on the friday before the Grand Prix.

If they do rely on the bumper crowd to keep them running then you really have to question whether or not they should be in business.

[RichardJTyrrell]

For what its worth a lot of inconvenience has been caused to many supporters by the comparative late announcement of this particular Super 7 meeting. The hotel rooms in Cardiff were sold out long ago before Christmas to supporters who were no doubt looking forward to a nice relaxing speedway weekend in the Cardiff/Newport area taking in Newport Speedway on Friday night. This includes me and my travelling companion. I have nothing against Somerset, indeed I like the racing there, but I'm not going all the way to Newport to book in and then turn round and go back to Somerset. So we'll go to Somerset and chance getting into the guest house room very late on Friday night. As I said, a bit of pressure and a bit inconvenient.

Looking at it from a different point of view, I recall a few years ago at a Cardiff memorabilia fair in the Angel Hotel, talking to Mr Meakins from the then Carmarthen Speedway. I asked why he did not run on the Sunday after Cardiff as I felt that quite a few might take the opportunity to venture westwards and visit his very brave attempts to run speedway so west in Wales. His reply was that Mr Stone at Newport would not agree to him running at the same time. Seems like the wheel has turned the fuill circle.

Regards

[The Third Man]

and where are Carmarthen now? do we want the outcome to be the same?

[Dixie the rev]

and where are Carmarthen now? do we want the outcome to be the same?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well do all want that it would be a sad day if it is

[Graham]

I asked why he did not run on the Sunday after Cardiff as I felt that quite a few might take the opportunity to venture westwards and visit his very brave attempts to run speedway so west in Wales. His reply was that Mr Stone at Newport would not agree to him running at the same time.

Carmarthen ran a meeting the day after the British GP in 2004, in direct opposition to the one at Newport.

 

I can't imagine that Stone backed down on this matter (Turkeys, Christmas and all that) so I can only assume that Meakins went ahead and ran the meeting anyway. If so then good on him.

 

Not surprisingly Newport's promoter is bleating about this matter in this week's Speedway Star. The Friday meeting v Glasgow was described as "attractive" and also something which "everybody looked forward to." I beg to differ. It was nearly always a bad meeting, marred by reckless riding and a nasty atmosphere. A video of last season's meeting was shown at last week's social, including a close up of two goons having a go at one of our riders after the last race. Disgraceful.

 

Personally I'm glad that, this year, the GP weekend pounds won't be going directly to Newport (although presumably they'll still get a slice of the PL Pairs financial pie). Besides, the thought of a visit to Somerset is much more palatable than having to go to Newport.

 

Graham.

Edited February 9, 2007 by Graham

[Paulco]

Carmarthen ran a meeting the day after the British GP in 2004, in direct opposition to the one at Newport.

 

I can't imagine that Stone backed down on this matter (Turkeys, Christmas and all that) so I can only assume that Meakins went ahead and ran the meeting anyway.  If so then good on him.

 

Not surprisingly Newport's promoter is bleating about this matter in this week's Speedway Star.  The Friday meeting v Glasgow was described as "attractive" and also something which "everybody looked forward to."  I beg to differ.  It was nearly always a bad meeting, marred by reckless riding and a nasty atmosphere.  A video of last season's meeting was shown at last week's social, including a close up of two goons having a go at one of our riders after the last race.  Disgraceful.

 

Personally I'm glad that, this year, the GP weekend pounds won't be going directly to Newport (although presumably they'll still get a slice of the PL Pairs financial pie).  Besides, the thought of a visit to Somerset is much more palatable than having to go to Newport.

 

Graham.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I think it's well known that was Berwick goons having a go at the messiah in that meeting Graham .

[Pinstripe]

Carmarthen ran a meeting the day after the British GP in 2004, in direct opposition to the one at Newport.

 

I can't imagine that Stone backed down on this matter (Turkeys, Christmas and all that) so I can only assume that Meakins went ahead and ran the meeting anyway.  If so then good on him.

 

Not surprisingly Newport's promoter is bleating about this matter in this week's Speedway Star.  The Friday meeting v Glasgow was described as "attractive" and also something which "everybody looked forward to."  I beg to differ.  It was nearly always a bad meeting, marred by reckless riding and a nasty atmosphere.  A video of last season's meeting was shown at last week's social, including a close up of two goons having a go at one of our riders after the last race.  Disgraceful.

 

Personally I'm glad that, this year, the GP weekend pounds won't be going directly to Newport (although presumably they'll still get a slice of the PL Pairs financial pie).  Besides, the thought of a visit to Somerset is much more palatable than having to go to Newport.

 

Graham.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Your just a grumpy so and so, near enough every post you contribute to this forum you are moaning and whinging about something.