King's Lynn Young Stars Vs. Dudley Heathens

[Bagpuss]

will definately visit the arena again but only for nl racing not the overpriced wtc.

 

Surely thats got to be a wind up?

 

Fifteen quid (if you bought tickets before July 1st) for 25 SWC races is a bargain in my book. Its a fiver for over 60's!

[hardtobeat]

It really is time though that air fences are made compulsory at every track in the country - What price on riders safety?

 

Even if there was an air fence at KL last night, Franklin's crash occured after where the air fence would have been - very similar place to where Chris Johnson also came off a few years ago.

[castrolargh]

what a great night! again!!great determination from the lads to keep going.the top two were obviously important but they all did there bit with ashleys heat 14 win the catalyst to get the 4 points.great racing on i think my first visit to kings lynn.all the best to richard after a nasty crash and to lewis kerr as well.what a fantastic away support again.didnt get back till 1.20 then in work for 6.15 but could av been worse one of our group went straight to work then hes got hes kids till this evening!!will definately visit the arena again but only for nl racing not the overpriced wtc.besides the nl racing is much better thats fact by the way not a joke

All joking aside, it cost me less to buy a family ticket for the world cup than it did to buy a family ticket for peterboro on friday!4 quid less actually .

[heathen79]

What a great finish to last nights match. 38-34 down with three to go and a 45 minute delay. Had to wonder whether to go home and Kings Lynn wanted the meeting abandoned with the result to stand. Thanks to Jon Armstrong we waited it out and then - Bang Bang Bang - three 5-1s to turn the meeting completely on its head and take four points in one of the most dramatic turnarounds I've seen.

 

Some great racing but I have to agree about the poor safety aspect. It's an absolute disgrace that the Norfolk Arena track doesn't have an air fence. Richard might have missed the end of it, but there were at least two other nasty looking accidents to Lewis Kerr and Simon Lambert which would have been totally different scenarios with an air fence.

 

The Dudley riders can't gate for toffee and that generally means we get fantastic racing because they're all battlers and earn the points the hard way. I could have completely forgiven the boys for not wanting to risk the big moves after what they had seen their fellow riders go through though. As soon as we arrived many of us were daunted by the very solid looking fence. Perhaps we're spoilt by seeing so much action with air fences in place now, but for me that means our safety standards have been raised and everyone needs to step up to that.

 

If Richard Knight wants to continue complaining to the BSPA as he did recently about standards in the National League being poor for letting in young Aussies, then I suggest he starts complaining about the safety aspect too.

 

As for the admission comparisons to the World Cup, I would agree again. I paid £8 to sit in the Grandstand last night (it must have been reserved for away fans, because I don't think there were any Kings Lynn fans in) - the programme advertised the same seats for £35 next Monday. Neither the racing nor the atmosphere will be as good next week as it was last night!

 

Once again, to finish, absolutely superb effort from the Heathens riders and fans. We didn't double that crowd, we totally outnumbered the home support and the riders' response was brilliant. They had to badger their way into getting a victory parade and then lapped it up waving the Heathens flag as they went (nice one Jake ). What a fantastic bunch of lads.

[salty]

Nice post - it gladdens the heart to see the Dudley project being such a success. Counting off the hours until I get over to Monmore on the 27th - can't wait.

 

Regarding the air fence, presumably there will be one in place for the SWC round next week?

[MrMungo]

Some great racing but I have to agree about the poor safety aspect. It's an absolute disgrace that the Norfolk Arena track doesn't have an air fence. Richard might have missed the end of it, but there were at least two other nasty looking accidents to Lewis Kerr and Simon Lambert which would have been totally different scenarios with an air fence.

 

The fence did its job last night.

I'm not going to harp on about it, because the fence subject has been discussed time and time again, but...

3 crashes, Lambert was able to take part again (although sore, I'm sure), Kerr concussed after that horror crash, and Franklin judging on Sandie's post this morning came out of it reasonably unscathed, aswell.

The fact that there's no lasting injuries there is somewhat amazing!

Out of the 3, Lewis Kerr's crash was without the worst to witness - a crash that was almost a carbon copy of the Mallett/Sanchez crash a few years back. How on earth he got up so quickly from that I'll never know. I hope Jake Anderson thanked him after that race. It was a completly selfless deed to avoid the stricken Anderson which unfortunately seems to have gone unthanked from the Heathens supporters.

[shad176]

sorry mr mungo have to differ on that one,...jake was the first one to go to him and the guy on the mike said how sporting it was, and all the heathens fans applauded him when he came past

[whippy]

The fence did its job last night.

I'm not going to harp on about it, because the fence subject has been discussed time and time again, but...

3 crashes, Lambert was able to take part again (although sore, I'm sure), Kerr concussed after that horror crash, and Franklin judging on Sandie's post this morning came out of it reasonably unscathed, aswell.

The fact that there's no lasting injuries there is somewhat amazing!

Out of the 3, Lewis Kerr's crash was without the worst to witness - a crash that was almost a carbon copy of the Mallett/Sanchez crash a few years back. How on earth he got up so quickly from that I'll never know. I hope Jake Anderson thanked him after that race. It was a completly selfless deed to avoid the stricken Anderson which unfortunately seems to have gone unthanked from the Heathens supporters.

 

Were you at the same meeting as us?? Jake went to Lewis immediately to see if he was okay and the announcer said how sporting of Jake to be concerned and both sets of supporters applauded him.

[Richard Knight]

If Richard Knight wants to continue complaining to the BSPA as he did recently about standards in the National League being poor for letting in young Aussies, then I suggest he starts complaining about the safety aspect too.

 

Hi Heathen 79

 

Just a short note in response to you comment above.

 

I have no problem with young Aussies coming over and racing in the UK, in fact quite the opposite, non Brits racing over here is what speedway is all about and makes for exciting racing.

 

My point and concern is the fact that we don't seem to have a clear forward development track for our young Brits, we have a NL which is a ideal foundation block to start building a career a speedway rider. The fact that we are letting non brits into the NL at the expense of young Brits will only accelerate the non existence of any Brits at elite or GP level.

 

Speedway is a numbers game, lets say for every 8 Brits starting out in the NL only 1 might make it to the elite league and beyond. Take last nights SKY meeting at Peterborough, 2 teames, 14 riders, No Brits. Filling the NL full of Brits will help to preserve the future of the sport at international level.

 

I am aware that not all clubs have the same agenda, but surely we must have a league that has a development agenda.

 

On the subject of Safety, i am all for making the sport as safe as possible, the introduction of the air fence has been a major step forward in rider safety.

 

Good to see the Heathens back racing, even if it is without you own track. I have some great memories racing at Dudley Wood, Phil C, Eric G, Lance K, Jan O, Greg H, Billy H, the list goes on. Lets hope you can get your own track again in the not to distant future.

 

Regards

 

Richard

Edited July 20, 2010 by Knight Racing

[Mimmo]

If Richard Knight wants to continue complaining to the BSPA as he did recently about standards in the National League being poor for letting in young Aussies, then I suggest he starts complaining about the safety aspect too.

 

Hi Heathen 79

 

Just a short note in response to you comment above.

 

I have no problem with young Aussies coming over and racing in the UK, in fact quite the opposite, non Brits racing over here is what speedway is all about and makes for exciting racing.

 

My point and concern is the fact that we don't seem to have a clear forward development track for our young Brits, we have a NL which is a ideal foundation block to start building a career a speedway rider. The fact that we are letting non brits into the NL at the expense of young Brits will only accelerate the non existence of any Brits at elite or GP level.

 

Speedway is a numbers game, lets say for every 8 Brits starting out in the NL only 1 might make it to the elite league and beyond. Take last nights SKY meeting at Peterborough, 2 teames, 14 riders, No Brits. Filling the NL full of Brits will help to preserve the future of the sport at international level.

 

I am aware that not all clubs have the same agenda, but surely we must have a league that has a development agenda.

 

On the subject of Safety, i am all for making the sport as safe as possible, the introduction of the air fence has been a major step forward in rider safety.

 

Good to see the Heathens back racing, even if it is without you own track. I have some great memories racing at Dudley Wood, Phil C, Eric G, Lance K, Jan O, Greg H, Billy H, the list goes on. Lets hope you can get your own track again in the not to distant future.

 

Regards

 

Richard

 

 

Excellent post Richard, and one that I agree with wholeheartedly.

 

I've been banging the drum on this forum for some years now about the importance of the third tier of racing, and for the public to support it. Back in your racing days, and even more recently, the general public has been moaning about us not producing a World Champion (Mark Loram apart) for an eternity. A great many envious comments were also made about the wonderful training facilities that were available for the kids in Sweden, and why didn't we follow suit in this country. Well we did bring in the Academy League, followed by the now fairly well established National Development League, and youngsters with enormous potential are emerging, your own son being one of them, and many of them will reach heat-leader status at the minimum in the Premier League.......if the public support them, but sadly for some reason they won't.

 

The last two meetings we've seen at the Norfolk Arena (Bournemouth & Dudley) have produced some of the finest racing that I've seen in any stadium at any level in recent years, and I attend approximately a hundred meetings a season, and it's such a shame that supporters are missing out by staying away.

 

I know someone will come on here and say they can't afford to go to speedway twice a week, and I do fully understand that, because everyone's financial responsibilities are different, but on the other side of the coin, there are equally as many that can afford it, but choose to criticise the level of racing and treat it with contempt, when I know for a fact that some of them have never attended a meeting.

 

Sorry if I've gone on a bit here, and maybe lost the plot a little bit about your posting. I care passionately about the future of the sport in this country, and the success of home grown riders, and it scares me to think that in a very short space of time, speedway could find itself in the same position it was back in the sixties, back in the doldrums with just a handful of clubs operating.

 

Okay, it's time for me to run for cover, and for you to get back to selling some cars

 

Mike

[Allitt Racing]

Hi Heathen

 

May I firstly start by saying what fantastic support Dudley has and as I said in the interview I very much hope you get your own track very soon you all deserve it. One point I must disagree with you on however is what happened after heat 12. Myself, Will, Jon and Simon were all invited to discuss the future of the meeting, we ALL agreed we wanted it to continue and the only point open to debate was the fact the paramedics were only paid up until 10pm. However that was quickly sorted and it was agreed as long as we could continue in a reasonable amount of time we would do so. I also spoke to the Referee at about 9.45 and we both agreed that everybody had been waiting about 40 minutes so we may as well make sure we finished the meeting.

 

Dudley deserved the win on the night and your riders were superb in the last 3 heats, we were also very happy to see the Dudley riders have a victory parade it is something we always do at Kings Lynn win loose or draw.

 

As for Richard I don't know where you have got your information from but as many are he is as committed to finding the next British world champ as any of us are and hopefully the national league will produce one sooner rather than later. Chris Harris and many others started out this way and we just need to produce more that's all. I don't think anybody has a major issue with Aussies in the league in fact as I said again on Sunday had it not been for Jake Anderson we would probably not be in the Semi final of the KOC.

 

Anyway I hope you enjoyed your visit and hopefully we will see you all next year with maybe the news we all want to hear and that is Dudley will have it's very own track.

 

Dale Allitt

Kings Lynn Team Manager

[heathen79]

Hi there & thanks for the replies. Yes, I very much enjoyed the visit aside from the lengthy delays.

 

Also all for British youth development in the NL. Great to see the Heathens team featuring youngsters Tom Perry (what a find), Rich Franklin and Ashley Morris, plus seemingly giving Lee Smart a chance to get himself back on the right track when no-one else was giving him a chance. I notice a very strong Heathens presence in the British Under 18 Championship coming up soon. No problem with us throwing in a bit of experience either in Jon Armstrong to guide them along and a couple of Aussies in Jake & Micky.

 

As stated, there can be no complaints about the likes of Jake as he did such a sterling job guesting for the Young Stars and it would be hypocritical of any team to critise the use of the Aussies and then book them as a guest.

 

As we're all also in agreement about riders safety, I hope that Kings Lynn will prioritise the purchase of an air fence very soon. The stadium improvements are superb, so perhaps future funds can be funnelled in the direction of the track perimeter.

 

Would also echo the comments about how sporting Jake Anderson was after the crash mentioned earlier in the thread and the mutual applause from both sets of riders and fans throughout the meeting was much appreciated and certainly noted.

 

Regarding the decision over abandoning or continuing the meeting, the version of events I heard was slightly different. And regarding the victory parade, it was clear that the six Dudley riders came towards the gate ready to go on track, but were held back while many Heathens fans filtered out of the stadium unaware that a victory parade was imminent. Eventually the two juniors were called back in from the track and the gate was opened to allow the Dudley riders out.

 

Some minor points which didn't detract from some good racing, great team spirit, fantastic atmosphere from the fans and from our point of view a brilliant result.

[whippy]

Hi there & thanks for the replies. Yes, I very much enjoyed the visit aside from the lengthy delays.

 

Also all for British youth development in the NL. Great to see the Heathens team featuring youngsters Tom Perry (what a find), Rich Franklin and Ashley Morris, plus seemingly giving Lee Smart a chance to get himself back on the right track when no-one else was giving him a chance. I notice a very strong Heathens presence in the British Under 18 Championship coming up soon. No problem with us throwing in a bit of experience either in Jon Armstrong to guide them along and a couple of Aussies in Jake & Micky.

 

As stated, there can be no complaints about the likes of Jake as he did such a sterling job guesting for the Young Stars and it would be hypocritical of any team to critise the use of the Aussies and then book them as a guest.

 

As we're all also in agreement about riders safety, I hope that Kings Lynn will prioritise the purchase of an air fence very soon. The stadium improvements are superb, so perhaps future funds can be funnelled in the direction of the track perimeter.

 

Would also echo the comments about how sporting Jake Anderson was after the crash mentioned earlier in the thread and the mutual applause from both sets of riders and fans throughout the meeting was much appreciated and certainly noted.

 

Regarding the decision over abandoning or continuing the meeting, the version of events I heard was slightly different. And regarding the victory parade, it was clear that the six Dudley riders came towards the gate ready to go on track, but were held back while many Heathens fans filtered out of the stadium unaware that a victory parade was imminent. Eventually the two juniors were called back in from the track and the gate was opened to allow the Dudley riders out.

 

Some minor points which didn't detract from some good racing, great team spirit, fantastic atmosphere from the fans and from our point of view a brilliant result.

 

whoops !!!! Ithink one of the 'juniors' as you put it was Simon Lambert testing his bike !!!!!! I may be wrong but I am sure Lynn have a air fence tucked away somewhere.

[shad176]

thought he looked a bit quick...

[BigFatDave]

 

 

I have no problem with young Aussies coming over and racing in the UK, in fact quite the opposite, non Brits racing over here is what speedway is all about and makes for exciting racing.

 

The fact that we are letting non brits into the NL at the expense of young Brits will only accelerate the non existence of any Brits at elite or GP level.

 

 

 

 

Regards

 

Richard

G'day Richard, hope you're well?

 

Just like to say that while I've got the utmost respect for you both as a rider and manager I have to take exception to your joining the "too many Aussies in the NL" brigade. If you compare the number of over-30s riders to the number of Aussies in the NL it might make some interesting reading.

[whippy]

well at least the meeting between these two teams has stirred up some interesting banter between supporters. :D