Ben Fund Meeting

[HBKPCNBob]

It seems that a lot of folk attended yesterdays meeting didn't expect to be entertained, and are quite happy with a couple of passes out of 22 heats of racing. Not me. I would quite happily put my £15 quid in an envelope and sent it to the fund managers, if I'd known what we were going to get. I must have imagined the adverts in the Star that got our juices flowing about the class field. What they should have said was; " first meeting of the year teething problems, riders a bit rusty and still to dial their bikes in after a long winter, track my be a little devoid of dirt, but come along anyway, give us your £15 quid, it is for a good cause after all, but don't expect anything special".

No, the fans were properly mugged yesterday, and if they wheel out the same excuses each year, then hold it in the middle of the season, so we get the best entertainment possible.

I agree 100% with this. If it hadnt been for the fact i'd met up with mates, that I havent seen since last season, it would of been a wasted day travelling from Poole. I paid over £100 for the day out, after all the costs on travel etc. At the very least I expected to see more than just 3 passes all meeting. You could just see the shock on the peoples faces around me after the 1st heat, on how bad the track was prepared. Someone told me a while back in this topic that Len is one of the best Promoter around, maybe for loyalty to the sport yes but certainly not about putting on a good show for the public. He can forget about having my hard earned money when the Stars are in town and when the Buccaneers are there. If he cant even lay a decent track for some of the best in the world, then what sort of drivel will be laided for the Rocket meetings. Its about time we protested about these overly slick tracks, as that sort of racing will just drive more people away from the sport. Hell they might as well have been riding on concrete as that would of had the same effect.

[marko]

I was not there so can't comment on the track although to hear of dust flyng in March does sound very strange indeed.

Just wondering is the Rye track still laid on the old tarmac stock car track?

[Shadders]

I was not there so can't comment on the track although to hear of dust flyng in March does sound very strange indeed.

Just wondering is the Rye track still laid on the old tarmac stock car track?

I can't remember reading anything about it being ripped up any time over the last ten years.

[Glenn]

Just out of interest, does anyone know why Topinka had such a shocker. He's usually pretty sharp round Rye. Was it just a case of first meeting Gremlins???????

 

Perhaps the TRACK was too slick for him !! seriosly he was second in one race

and had ef - Tomas is a Rye specialist and against the oppo yesterday he needed to make the

gate - which he did'nt.

 

Can I just say having attended Rye for more years than I care to remember yesterday came as

no surprise - the track was always going to be slick considering the weather we have had.

Len could quite easily called the whole thing off knowing that the track was not going to produce

racing befiting the riders present.

No - on with the show because the net result was for the benefit fund and the lads in wheelchairs

whose grace and dignity put's alot of people to shame with some of the dross commented on this forum.

[Ron]

Awlroit,

 

I enjoyed the afternoon.

 

Good banter and I know there wasnt much overtaking but stop moaning please.

 

It is for a fantastic cause and all about enjoying the day.

 

Good to meet Peter Manley as well.

 

Only gripe is I couldnt eat when I arrived as my guts were playing up so I thought i would avoid the queues and eat the famous fish and chips later.

 

I was somewhat disappointed to be told that they had stopped serving food, very strange!

 

Still, a good day out.

 

Ron

[Ben91]

Topinka is no way a Rye speciallist. He is an all round class act, he rides all tracks well. A track speciallist IMO is someone who is poor/average at most tracks bar the one/few he is brilliant at.

 

People stop moaning, it is really boring to see all this negativity and if someone such as Paul Ackroyd reads some of the comments he'll think twice before considering another ben fund meeting and if that was the case I wouldn't blame him, some people should take a step back and look at the bigger picture for once.

[Pinny]

Dont be daft.

 

Any rider who rides any track exceptionally well is a track specialist.

 

You will find a rider who is exceptionally good at one track is called a one track pony.

[Ben91]

Dont be daft.

 

Any rider who rides any track exceptionally well is a track specialist.

 

You will find a rider who is exceptionally good at one track is called a one track pony.

 

nah, one track pony is used for a rider who can only ride one track, hence the name

 

Pedersen rode Rye exceptionally well yesterday despite never having ridden there before, nothing to do with being a track speciallist, everything to do with being a class act.

[HBKPCNBob]

People stop moaning, it is really boring to see all this negativity and if someone such as Paul Ackroyd reads some of the comments he'll think twice before considering another ben fund meeting and if that was the case I wouldn't blame him, some people should take a step back and look at the bigger picture for once.

We aint moaning about the reason for the meeting Ben. I am all for raising money for injured riders, after all ive suffered an injury riding one of the bikes, so know what so of pain these guys go through and I dont get paid for it. We are moaning about the Rye track, which had nothing to do with the Ben Fund organisers but all to do with Len Silver. He has no excuse for laying a track with lack of shale. The risk of rain was slim yesterday and I cant believe so many were happy to accept the lack of entertainment. Like SRB said, i'd of happierly added £50+ to the fund direct if I knew the track was gonna be that bad. Hopefully the event will be held at a track like Scunthorpe/Redcar/Glasgow next season, were passing will be seen almost every heat.

[Chris]

Calm down dears. Some going way ott about the track. Yes dust in heat one, but no dust at all thereafter due to constant watering and grading. A touch more dirt would have been nice, but we all know what Len is like plus weather has been crap all winter.

 

Main problem which was clear as usual was complete lack of atmosphere all due to Lens terrible presentation skills. The sound system is useless and should be ripped out and replaced. Crowd could heardly hear on a thing on bends 1 and 2 and waiting around in silence with no music is a complete no no. You can hardly hear the music at Rye anyway. Craig Saul very good as usual if he could be heard, but Bryn in the box was making everyone nod off. We're in 2010 and I'm afraid Announcers like Bryn and the presentation of the meeting yesterday belonged in the 70's. Not good enough and summed up when we had the trackstaff march out in silence when the music wouldn't play. Comical.

 

Presentation of a meeting at Rye House is one area that has to be improved on dramatically.

[em1500uk]

Yes dust in heat one, but no dust at all thereafter due to constant watering and grading. A touch more dirt would have been nice, but we all know what Len is like plus weather has been crap all winter.

Don't know what meeting you were at, but over on the 1st/2nd bend there was dust on and off for the whole meeting! Instead of sitting on the chairs, I decided to stand right on the top step and I was getting a face full of it Alright, the dust after heat 1 was worse than the rest of it, but still... Anyway, can't complain really. It was a day out for a very good cause and I enjoyed myself none-the-less. I must admit I wasn't overly enthralled by all of the racing, but it's not often I get to see the likes of Nicki Pedersen, Jason Crump, Leigh Adams etc on a weekly basis, so going was worth while, for me personally. Nice to catch up with pcnorwood for a bit No doubt our paths will cross again somewhere this season.

 

[Blazeaway]

Calm down dears. Some going way ott about the track. Yes dust in heat one, but no dust at all thereafter due to constant watering and grading. A touch more dirt would have been nice, but we all know what Len is like plus weather has been crap all winter.

 

Main problem which was clear as usual was complete lack of atmosphere all due to Lens terrible presentation skills. The sound system is useless and should be ripped out and replaced. Crowd could heardly hear on a thing on bends 1 and 2 and waiting around in silence with no music is a complete no no. You can hardly hear the music at Rye anyway. Craig Saul very good as usual if he could be heard, but Bryn in the box was making everyone nod off. We're in 2010 and I'm afraid Announcers like Bryn and the presentation of the meeting yesterday belonged in the 70's. Not good enough and summed up when we had the trackstaff march out in silence when the music wouldn't play. Comical.

 

Presentation of a meeting at Rye House is one area that has to be improved on dramatically.

 

Agree 100%. Wise words as ever young Chris.

[iris123]

Presentation of a meeting at Rye House is one area that has to be improved on dramatically.

Sadly you could say that for speedway as a whole imo.Certainly here in Germany(and Denmark to a slightly lesser extent)speedway presentation hasn't moved on with the rest of the world.Even some of the riders have crticised the old boys who "present" the meetings to the public.Look at the way other sports like MotoX and Ice Hockey are presented and it is a million miles away from speedway.

 

My name and address will be supplied on demand

[Shadders]

Main problem which was clear as usual was complete lack of atmosphere all due to Lens terrible presentation skills. The sound system is useless and should be ripped out and replaced. Crowd could heardly hear on a thing on bends 1 and 2 and waiting around in silence with no music is a complete no no. You can hardly hear the music at Rye anyway. Craig Saul very good as usual if he could be heard, but Bryn in the box was making everyone nod off. We're in 2010 and I'm afraid Announcers like Bryn and the presentation of the meeting yesterday belonged in the 70's. Not good enough and summed up when we had the trackstaff march out in silence when the music wouldn't play. Comical.

 

Presentation of a meeting at Rye House is one area that has to be improved on dramatically.

He may not post much, but as usual Chris is spot on.

The presentation at Rye House (Craig Saul excepted) is a joke and needs to be sorted.

[Shortcrust]

Calm down dears. Some going way ott about the track. Yes dust in heat one, but no dust at all thereafter due to constant watering and grading. A touch more dirt would have been nice, but we all know what Len is like plus weather has been crap all winter.

 

Main problem which was clear as usual was complete lack of atmosphere all due to Lens terrible presentation skills. The sound system is useless and should be ripped out and replaced. Crowd could heardly hear on a thing on bends 1 and 2 and waiting around in silence with no music is a complete no no. You can hardly hear the music at Rye anyway. Craig Saul very good as usual if he could be heard, but Bryn in the box was making everyone nod off. We're in 2010 and I'm afraid Announcers like Bryn and the presentation of the meeting yesterday belonged in the 70's. Not good enough and summed up when we had the trackstaff march out in silence when the music wouldn't play. Comical.

 

Presentation of a meeting at Rye House is one area that has to be improved on dramatically.

 

Very rarely agree with you Chris, but have to this time, your comments are indeed spot on!

 

I was stood on bend 2 and the PA system was virtually non existant! Len needs to hit the fast forward button rather swiftish and get his speedway club back into the present instead of lingering in the seventies too!

 

[stevehone]

my pictures from the meeting HERE

[Sandie]

my pictures from the meeting HERE

excellent piccies Steve - all 294 of the bloomin things!!!

 

Best one for me was near the beginning and was Scott Nicholls, head back laughing. Dont think I have seen him so relaxed for years.

 

 

[stevehone]

excellent piccies Steve - all 294 of the bloomin things!!!

 

Best one for me was near the beginning and was Scott Nicholls, head back laughing. Dont think I have seen him so relaxed for years.

 

if you only saw 294 you missed one .. best go through them all again

[BossMan]

He may not post much, but as usual Chris is spot on.

The presentation at Rye House (Craig Saul excepted) is a joke and needs to be sorted.

 

Totally agree about the presentation at Rye! Very Poor

 

My only problem with Craig Saul is do we have to listen to all the same information EVERY time a rider appears during the meeting.

[Shadders]

Totally agree about the presentation at Rye! Very Poor

 

My only problem with Craig Saul is do we have to listen to all the same information EVERY time a rider appears during the meeting.

At least you can see he puts some effort into it. The rest of the "presentation" I can imagine has changed very little since the early 70's. To be honest it's rather embarrassing.