King's Lynn vs Hackney Hawks

[Mimmo]

Re the programme Len Silver also said that the new London Olympic Stadium?? is built on the site of the old Hackney stadium not 2 miles away as it says in the programme ............

 

I actually think the same as both you and Parsloes about where the Olympic Stadium is located, it's just that I put both the former Hackney Stadium and the Olympic Stadium addresses into the RAC route finder, and it told me they were either 1.7 or 1.9 miles apart. With that in mind, I wrote what I did in case my initial thoughts were wrong.

[Speedball]

First off, best wishes to Adam Lowe for a full and speedy recovery

 

I don't think last night's meeting was a classic by any stretch of the imagination but still enjoyable. I've seen some absolutely belting NL meetings over the past couple of seasons.

 

Especially pleasing to see Jake Knight on the gas. I don't think there has ever been any doubt about his speed when in fresh air, but his gating and overtaking were the areas he needed to improve on. He looked very sharp from the tapes and not afraid not to mix when behind (though correctly excluded for bringing down Ben Morley).

 

Impressed with Tom Stokes as well. Another who looks like he has come on leaps and bounds through the winter STRA sessions. Has a slightly awkward style on the bike which I'm sure will improve with more experience but you can't fault his bravery when passing Magic Mason in Heat 7. Credit also to David for leaving Tom with enough room to race fairly. I've seen a few NL "older heads" close the door quite hard on some of the young whipper-snappers and they end up in all sorts of trouble.

 

It was great to see the famous Hawks race jacket back on track and well worth their point on the night. A tough debut for Brandon Freemantle and it looked like being the same for Marc Owen after his first ride. After that though, I was really impressed. All over Mallett in his 2nd ride and then his final two rides, brilliant from the back. There is an air of Mark Loram about him and he's a real pleasure to watch

 

Overall, considering the loss of Adam and the slow starts from Lewis and Olly, it was a pretty good result for the Young Stars. And the best thing is, we know there is plenty more to come from them all

[Bryn]

Easy on the blood pressure, Mike

 

One has to wonder which meeting would have been better for Sky to cover - I am trying not to imagine the screaming pitch that Messrs Pearson and Tatum would have got to watching Marc Owen & Barrie Evans challenging James Cockle & Dennis Mallett in that last race.

 

Some prefer one sided massacres with the home side doing all the passing; I prefer close meetings with both teams getting stuck in.

 

Still, each to his own, eh ?

 

My mate Scoop would have been having kittens had Dennis Mallett been involved out there on track in that race HT - so would Mike, myself and you I'll wager!

Edited April 14, 2011 by Bryn

[semion]

My mate Scoop would have been having kittens had Dennis Mallett been involved out there on track in that race HT - so would Mike, myself and you I'll wager!

He could partner Dave Allen or Richard Knight

[Halifaxtiger]

My mate Scoop would have been having kittens had Dennis Mallett been involved out there on track in that race HT - so would Mike, myself and you I'll wager!

 

[SLIGHTLY ROUND THE BEND]

Heres wishing Adam Lowe a full and speedy recovery. In the opinion of those there last night, is Jake Knight ready for Premier League racing ? From the outside looking in, it would appear so.

 

As I recall in the few meetings he had in the Premier league last seasons he was on the pace, but maybe a little hesitant mixing it at the first bend. I assume he is a Kings Lynn asset.

Will reserve judgement till he's done an away meeting or two but if he does anywhere like last night away from home then P.L. promoters would be mad not to sign him up P.D.Q.His time in winning heat nine was only a couple of tenths slower than T.T's time on monday for heat 8 when it was grippier......

[Roger MARTIN]

I'm glad that I've waited until this morning to post my comments, especially as there are some good postings with positive views on last nights meeting.

 

Had I posted last night, I dare say I'd have said some things in the heat of the moment, which isn't what I'd have wanted.

 

However, I'm still seething over the attitude of a number of KING'S LYNN fans that passed comments to me such as "That's rubbish, I'm not paying good money to come and watch that again" (stupid remark anyway, as I know for a fact that they got in for free last night, then had the audacity to complain about having to pay £1 for what they called a rubbish programme!!). Other comments were "How can you compare that to Elite League racing, nah you bleedin' can't".

 

Although I don't know you people personally, you know me, and I find your disgraceful remarks an insult to those young men (yes I know there were a few not so young) who put on what I thought as do people who travelled from afar to watch this meeting, an excellent evenings entertainment.

 

To those who made the remark about how can you compare that to Elite League racing, my answer is you don't and shouldn't have to compare it, it's a completely different level for goodness sake. Yes of course the racing is slower, but speed doesn't make for a better race, and as Bryn has said, some of the times recorded last night were faster than what we've seen from some Elite League riders thus far this year anyway.

 

Last night we saw a fifteen-year old, two 16-year olds, two 17-year olds, two 18-year olds, one 20-year old, one 21-year old amongst the field all learning their trade, in the hope that one day they might become not just a World Champion, but a BRITISH WORLD CHAMPION. All lads serving their apprenticeship whilst at the same time putting their health on the line to entertain us, as we sadly saw with Adam Lowe (and he's only twenty-two). How many of you people, whatever line of work you were/are in, had advanced any higher in your chosen profession at that age, so why expect it of these young riders.

 

As Len Silver said in his excellent interview with Kevin Moore, how are we ever going to produce another British World Champion if you don't show your support at the turnstiles for these National League meetings, something some of you seem to have already decided you're not going to do!

 

I'm not going to say that it was the best meeting I've seen this season, but it was most certainly equal to the best, however, the performance of Tom Stokes in Heat 7 was head and shoulders better than anything else I've seen in 2011. Mildenhall are in town next Wednesday, and I'm sure that the true speedway fans will once again be entertained, as they were last night.

 

I do hope that the injury to Adam Lowe heals quickly, and that he's soon up and about on his feet again.

 

Mike Moseley

 

Mike it must have been a better meeting than mondays meeting on sky at Kings Lynn, that meeting was won after four heats, very boring.

[Parsloes 1928 nearly]

His time in winning heat nine was only a couple of tenths slower than T.T's time on monday for heat 8 when it was grippier......

 

His (ie Jake's) fastest time was in winning heat two though...

[Bagpuss]

To be fair I can see both sides of the argument. While the races which contained passing last night were excellent, there were also several 'FTG's', but they were always interesting as seeing the likes of Lewis Kerr, Oliver Ryason and Marc Owen busting a gut to grab the odd point is so refreshing. Some people will judge what they see purely on overtaking and that is their right as paying customers. I think the score on Monday v Lakeside was to an extent irrelevant as there was an abundance of passing, although I'm sure no more or less effort than we saw from the NL lads last night.

 

I don't think the racing necessraily matched anything that the EL meetings have produced so far but I felt entertained and that I got my money's worth. And seeing riders like Owen and Jake Knight barely recognisable from when I first saw them race less than two years ago is so satisfying. Both look ready for the PL now, its just a shame that there isn't a compulsory spot in every PL side for lads like these to graduate into. Hats off to the likes of Sheffield, Newcastle, Scunthorpe and Edinburgh fore employing young NL trained Brits.

 

Looking forward to getting along to as many Young Stars meetings as I possibly can

Edited April 14, 2011 by Bagpuss

[CrystalCastles]

To be fair I can see both sides of the argument. While the races which contained passing last night were excellent, there were also several 'FTG's', but they were always interesting as seeing the likes of Lewis Kerr, Oliver Ryason and Marc Owen busting a gut to grab the odd point is so refreshing. Some people will judge what they see purely on overtaking and that is their right as paying customers. I think the score on Monday v Lakeside was to an extent irrelevant as there was an abundance of passing, although I'm sure no more or less effort than we saw from the NL lads last night.

 

I don't think the racing necessraily matched anything that the EL meetings have produced so far but I felt entertained and that I got my money's worth. And seeing riders like Owen and Jake Knight barely recognisable from when I first saw them race less than two years ago is so satisfying. Both look ready for the PL now, its just a shame that there isn't a compulsory spot in every PL side for lads like these to graduate into. Hats off to the likes of Sheffield, Newcastle, Scunthorpe and Edinburgh fore employing young NL trained Brits.

 

Looking forward to getting along to as many Young Stars meetings as I possibly can

 

Top post

[SLIGHTLY ROUND THE BEND]

His (ie Jake's) fastest time was in winning heat two though...

I was aware of that but was trying to illustrate my point with like for like races ie both at a similar point in the meetings and therefore similar track conditions.I think he may encounter more difficult opponents this wednesday as I was somewhat surprised at how badly some of the hyped up young Hawks performed.Wether it was the presence of shale on the track which threw them who knows but I think one or two of the Tigers may give Jake a better run for his money.I'm sure he's up to the task though based on last weeks performance he just needs to remember there is four laps in a race when behind instead of trying to overtake in a desperate way

[Paul]

Be out of touch since Wednesday, firstly best wishes to Adam Lowe on a speedy recovery. I thought it was a cracking meeting. I have to say it puts many Sky Elite League matches to shame that I’ve seen on the box.

Okay Olympic Stadium debate, where is it compared to Hackney Stadium. Both the programme notes and Len Silver both got it slightly wrong. The old 1st and 2nd bend at The Wick are now under the massive Media Centre. So how to get to the Olympic Stadium from the old Hackney Stadium? Turn right out of the old stadium, down Waterden Road turn left into Carpenters Road and there it is, on your right hand side, the new massive Olympic Stadium. The railway on the left runs from Hackney Wick to Stratford and used to run parallel with Carpenters Road when it was there. If you remember going down Carpenters Road towards Stratford, you went underneath a railway bridge, that’s the main Liverpool Street to Twipswich line. So the new stadium uses these railway lines as its borders. You get a excellent view of the new stadium from Stratford Station.