New Zealand Gp.

[RPNY]

 

True - but I was just putting another point of view (mine)......................................... I was offering a Debate not trying to cause a fight..

 

Oh - and are the Rules RIGHT about this sort of thing?

 

:rofl:

 

No sir they are not, he was penalized for avoiding a pile up - but they are the rules unfortunately.

Edited March 25, 2013 by Tex

[george.m]

Butter it up Phil, Track was awful and you know it. Very little racing or passing which we do see on other tracks. Travel half way round the world to watch that ? I think not. I think the general veiw is the track did not produce a good meeting.

 

Inside line around 1 and 2 looked pretty rough.

[Trees]

APART from the start positions all the boys thought the track was great.

Iris123

[PHILIPRISING]

WHY always blame the track if there is a lack of passing? The better the track the less mistakes riders, especially of this ability, are likely to make.

 

And live speedway is always better than on the box. I recall from my own speedway viewing days at Wimbledon that it was so much better watching from outside the grandstand rather than behind glass there.

 

Western Springs is a big, fast track, not easy to make up ground once a rider has got away.

 

Greg Hancock was live on radio on Sunday. Asked what he thought of Western Springs? "My favourite track in the world," he replied. That's a rider's perspective, of course, and not necessarily what the spectators will agree with.

[waiheke1]

Referee getting the two decision he had to make wrong (although I admit that neither was clear cut).

 

We were pretty close to both incidents, and both in real time, and after seeing the replays, I thought the ref had made the right call with both. I seem to be in the minority though, and as you say, they weren’t clear cut.

 

Sort it out Mr Buckley or the people won't come back ............... need more passing!

The track must always have the same problem unless they don't water it at all? I'm surprised Bill Buckley built it that way . . .

 

Mr Buckley was interviewed for the Herlad on the Saturday of the event, and in it he was complaining about the job the guy who had been flown over by IMG to do the track prep was doing – Bill of course though he could do it better himself - so I’m not sure the fault is entirely his.

Ward god he was exciting, didn't realise how poor a gater he was was worth watching him alone.

 

Ward isn’t the world’s best gater, but he’s far from poor. I think he’s perhaps like a young Mike Lee, to Emil’s Peter Collins.

On Saturday Ward made great gates in his first two rides – off the favoured inside gates, and then had gate 4 for his next two, and no one gated off those allnight. In his fith heat he was outgated by the two riders inside him, and in the senmi he gated second , but Pedersen clamped down on him, allowing Hampel to blast by round the outside. So, I think its harsh to say he gated poorly.

Agree, he was bloody exciting though.

I love the look of this track. I recon if it was used every week it would have amazing races. Big, wide and huge banking. 2 SGPs now and how many actual crashes? they just don't happen due to the space, even on an inconsistent track as it was yesterday/today. OK it wasn't prep'd that well today but I think the potential if it was used for speedway all the time is huge, shame it won't ever happen really.

 

It is a real shame SCB, but it’s used for car speedway for most of the summer, so can’t see it ever being a full time “proper” speedway track. Of course Auckland Council in its infinite wisdom (backed by the NIMBYs) want to get rid of motor racing at the springs and move it to industrial south Auckland, and move the Auckland warriors from the south to western springs (city fringe). If they do that, both sports will instantly lose I’d guess 50% of their regular fan base – madness. Speedway in some form has been at the Springs since the 20s I believe, it would be a sad,sad day if t has to move – it’s a lovely stadium, good location and with a lot of heritage.

 

Not the best GP ever but then again not the worst.

Two or three good races and a few passes sprinkled throughout the meeting.

A pretty good synopsis. Though I’d add that heat 20 was much better than good, it was bloody brilliant.

 

http://www.stuff.co....Western-Springs

 

Sunday News gives a more balanced view, the Herald seems more anti-motorsport

 

Tbh, I think the Herald review was pretty much on the money.

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10873281

[Lord Skid]

Seems like the track was perfect, then IMG took over and cocked it up, sounds more like the truth.

[waiheke1]

Ok, the GP was another excellent afternoon/evening’s entertainment, can’t wait for next year, a few thoughts on the day.

 

Whereas last year I was absolutely buzzing after the event, this year I was a little disappointed.

1. The crowd was clearly a few thousand down on last year, which makes me concerned that next year could be the last, and I would be gutted if it was. There were some mitigating factors – another motorcycle event which Buckley reckons drew away a couple of thousand fans, the test match and a beer festival would also have drawn away some of the casusal sports fans who may have othersise turned up. We really need a bumper crowd next year – aliied with some council backing – to make sure Bill is willing to keep going with the series.
   
2. The racing was not as good as last year – in fact it was probably about in line with what I expected last year, which overdelivered. It may have been the track, but perhaps it was just a result of
   
3. The gate positions were unbelievably unequal. The fact that red had such an advantage, and yellow such a disadvantage I think must have contributed to the lack of passing – try catching Hancock or Gollob when they have a 10m head start by the first corner. Red picked up 54 points out of a possible 60 in the heats (including a zero from Bunyan), while yellow delivered jsu 11 (3 of which came from Jonssons win, 2 from beating Bunyan, and two from beating excluded riders). While gate advantage is not unheard of in world finals (Odsal 85 saw red score 32 out of a possible 36 points by the interbal, while Gothenburg in 80 saw gate three score only 18 points all meeting)- to have two gates with such a massive difference had a definite bearing on things.
   

And a couple of things that made me smile:

1. I know the grid girls aren’t selected (entirely) for their brains, but seeing them line up in the wrong order (red on the outside, yellow the inside) for the first heat was pretty special.
   
2. Hearing the explanation for the 4pm start time as being “because of the global television viewing audience.” Yes, that was it, nothing to do with the NIMBY’s forcing restriction on racing after dark, everythijng to do with how much better it was for you guys in the UK and Europe to get up at 3 or 4 am to watch it rather than having it start at 6 or 7 am your time!
   

[SteveLyric2]

WHY always blame the track if there is a lack of passing? The better the track the less mistakes riders, especially of this ability, are likely to make.

 

And live speedway is always better than on the box. I recall from my own speedway viewing days at Wimbledon that it was so much better watching from outside the grandstand rather than behind glass there.

 

Western Springs is a big, fast track, not easy to make up ground once a rider has got away.

 

Greg Hancock was live on radio on Sunday. Asked what he thought of Western Springs? "My favourite track in the world," he replied. That's a rider's perspective, of course, and not necessarily what the spectators will agree with.

 

PR I think your comment above sums up a lot of what is wrong with Speedway's popularity unfortunately. What riders think is a good race track is not what spectators believe!!!!

 

We know - especially at GP level - that all riders just want the best equipment to make them go faster. Tracks are prepared (ie, usually with very little dirt) to suit the new, current machinery and from a spectator point of view we get many more processional races in a conventional meeting and less entertainment. Of course there will be those long standing fans who will continue to attend just to see the likes of heat 20, but many more 'first-timers' who may not bother to go/watch again!!

 

I know its 'speed'way, but throughout the sport there has to be some sensible control of engine revs/speed/noise which reduces speed slightly and allows for better track prep - for the spectator!

 

Just my view....!

[Trees]

WHY always blame the track if there is a lack of passing? The better the track the less mistakes riders, especially of this ability, are likely to make.

So you're saying a rider can only pass when the other makes a mistake then?

Greg Hancock was live on radio on Sunday. Asked what he thought of Western Springs? "My favourite track in the world," he replied. That's a rider's perspective, of course, and not necessarily what the spectators will agree with.

If it is his favourite but provides very few chances for passing then he wants to have a rethink, his sport and job will not survive without providing what the fans want to see!

Mr Buckley was interviewed for the Herlad on the Saturday of the event, and in it he was complaining about the job the guy who had been flown over by IMG to do the track prep was doing – Bill of course though he could do it better himself - so I’m not sure the fault is entirely his.

In that case he needs to be allowed to do it because IMG are losing him money!

[Fourentee]

Greg Hancock was live on radio on Sunday. Asked what he thought of Western Springs? "My favourite track in the world," he replied.

Which station?

[5 FURROW]

 

So you're saying a rider can only pass when the other makes a mistake then?

 

If it is his favourite but provides very few chances for passing then he wants to have a rethink, his sport and job will not survive without providing what the fans want to see!

 

In that case he needs to be allowed to do it because IMG are losing him money!

Its 2013 and your still moaning get a life and waddle of to some other sport

[Man in black]

I thought that was a disappointing GP. Huge disparity betweeen the gate positions and a lifeless track making it very difficult to even catch up, never mind make a pass. I don't think it will be much of a guide to the season overall.

 

Best performers for me in the heats were Holder and especially Ward as the only riders to reach the semis with three starts off the white & yellow gates. Pedersen started with two zeros, looked slow all night but still made the final, which is why he'll be in the mix come the end of the season. Hampel? His heats went with gate position, he had a great ride in the semi then Gollob inexplicably gifted him the inside gate in the final. All credit to Jarek, he won the races when it mattered. Nice to see Woffinden well on the pace. Biggest disappointment was Sayfutdinov, who didn't get near the semis despite having three starts off the inside gates. NKI had an unlucky exclusion but also failed to make the most of his gate positions.

 

Out of curiosity over the gate statistics, I filled in a scoresheet with each race finishing R,B,W,Y. OK, this can only place riders into groups but the results were distressingly similar to the actual meeting, correctly predicting six of the eight semi-finalists, three of the finalists and three of the the bottom four.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Man in black

[Fourentee]

Out of curiosity over the gate statistics, I filled in a scoresheet with each race finishing R,B,W,Y. OK, this can only place riders into groups but the results were distressingly similar to the actual meeting, correctly predicting six of the eight semi-finalists, three of the finalists and three of the the bottom four.

That's simultaneously interesting and worrying! Might be one to bear in mind next year for the betting fraternity.

[PHILIPRISING]

Which station?

 

NEWSTALK ZB with Murray Deaker

 

CERTAINLY didn't say that riders can only pass when one makes a mistake but it does make it more likely.

 

SKIDDER ... fully agree with you. Speedway riders are racers, they like to go fast, the faster the better. I am no fan of F1, find it very boring even on TV, but on the odd occasion I have been cannot help but be impressed by the pure speed of the cars. Got that same impression at Western Springs standing by the pit gate as the boys roared past. Great skill, great speed but not that exciting overall.

 

I always found longtrack a little boring for the same reasons. Boy, they go fast but like any big track the riders tend to get spread out. Generally I think speedway is better on smaller tracks although of course there have been exceptions ... the old Hyde Road was a perfect example. But it was almost a freak, that's just the way it was.

 

I know there are some who don't accept this but there is no pre-determined policy to make tracks for the GPs that will not generate good racing, especially in the Tony Olsson era. Great effort was made at Western Springs over the three days but, in fact, the track was at its best on Friday when practice didn't start until 5pm and there was quite a lot of cloud cover. It generated a lot more grip than it did on Saturday.

 

The sun is so strong in NZ that water put on the track evaporates even before it has time to sink in. But the people there did their best and will no doubt feel that it didn't work out as well as they would have liked but it wasn't for the lack of trying.

[waiheke1]

does anyone who knows about such matters know if the incredible summer (hot and dry) we are having will potentially impact upon track preparations if it continues?

Don't think your summer weather (hope it lasts until third week in March!) will impact on track.

 

IF only it was that easy. It just isn't. It takes time for the moisture to do its job but with the heat of the sun here water evaporates very quickly. People do try their best but it isn't an exact science.

Great effort was made at Western Springs over the three days but, in fact, the track was at its best on Friday when practice didn't start until 5pm and there was quite a lot of cloud cover. It generated a lot more grip than it did on Saturday.

The sun is so strong in NZ that water put on the track evaporates even before it has time to sink in. But the people there did their best and will no doubt feel that it didn't work out as well as they would have liked but it wasn't for the lack of trying.

I'm confused...

So just to confirm, hot, dry summer weather doesn't impact upon track preparation, but hot summer sun does?

Edited March 27, 2013 by waihekeaces1

[Humphrey Appleby]

Great effort was made at Western Springs over the three days but, in fact, the track was at its best on Friday when practice didn't start until 5pm and there was quite a lot of cloud cover. It generated a lot more grip than it did on Saturday.

 

Sounds like cricket. Did the track start reverse swinging after a few heats...?

[ytsejam]

WHY always blame the track if there is a lack of passing? The better the track the less mistakes riders, especially of this ability, are likely to make.

 

And live speedway is always better than on the box. I recall from my own speedway viewing days at Wimbledon that it was so much better watching from outside the grandstand rather than behind glass there.

 

Western Springs is a big, fast track, not easy to make up ground once a rider has got away.

 

Greg Hancock was live on radio on Sunday. Asked what he thought of Western Springs? "My favourite track in the world," he replied. That's a rider's perspective, of course, and not necessarily what the spectators will agree with.

 

Of course he's going to say that because he is a "gater" and it was a "gaters" track, with virtually no chance of passing after the first bend (unless a rider made a big mistake). The meeting was very very poor, virtually totally devoid of any passing or real excitement. I know in your position that you have to "big up" the sport, but PLEASE try to keep a bit of perspective and reality into your comments, every now and then. It won't hurt to admit that not every speedway GP is always great and this one was about as far away from being great as (hopefully!) we will get all season.

[Gavan]

Thought it was a good not great gp.

 

Darcy best rider on show. But because he is inclined to miss the odd gate plus his over eagerness ( see semi final) means he has still a bit to learn about the gp's. However i can not really see him having a shocker and he will be bang there at the end of the season.

 

Did Holder look hungry for it? Maybe but he doesnt like the track and i think he to will be there or thereabouts.

Hampel for me sort of passed under the radar a bit but got a win and pleased he is in.

 

Tai was fantastic proved me totally wrong and just hope he keeps it up.

 

Emil was disappointing but reckon we could see a different rider in Poland next time up.

 

Someone said it was disappointing to see the old guard Gollob, Hancock and Nicki in the final but to me just shows how great these 3 guys are. In particular Nicki, who i dont have much time for, basically looked the slowest rider all night. either last or looking likely to be passed yet still made the final. Thats what Ward needs to learn.

 

In my view Darcy can win this world title just needs to curb his enthusiasm. im sure he would have been second in the semi if he had picked his moment to pass rather than just charge but hey its good to watch

[PHILIPRISING]

Of course he's going to say that because he is a "gater" and it was a "gaters" track, with virtually no chance of passing after the first bend (unless a rider made a big mistake). The meeting was very very poor, virtually totally devoid of any passing or real excitement. I know in your position that you have to "big up" the sport, but PLEASE try to keep a bit of perspective and reality into your comments, every now and then. It won't hurt to admit that not every speedway GP is always great and this one was about as far away from being great as (hopefully!) we will get all season.

 

I DIDN'T say it was great, simply that when there isn't plenty of passing some people rush to blame the track. Ward and Sayfutdinov, Pedersen and Iversen showed what could be done. Sometimes it is just because the riders are either too good or not good enough.

 

With regard to earlier comment about 'summer weather' ... initial comment was that hopefully the fine weather in NZ would continue for track preparation (ie laying of the actual surface).

[The Know]

I DIDN'T say it was great, simply that when there isn't plenty of passing some people rush to blame the track. Ward and Sayfutdinov, Pedersen and Iversen showed what could be done. Sometimes it is just because the riders are either too good or not good enough.

 

With regard to earlier comment about 'summer weather' ... initial comment was that hopefully the fine weather in NZ would continue for track preparation (ie laying of the actual surface).

 

To sum up them, not really a good gp best maybe not go back for a third year