Leicester V Redcar 20th April

[jim the whipper]

bear in mind there are only 5 or 6 fans post on here that are not happy the other 1,000 or so that go dont seem to mind.david mingles with the fans every meeting so i would say he has the balls its some of the so called fans that dont have the balls to face him.

There are only 5 or 6 who post on here who are still interested enough to bother even thinking about it . there are far more who no longer post or in fact no longer go to speedway at BP , It does make a change though to see someone actually post a realistic crowd figure , If Dave Hemsleys offer is genuine that he would be prepared to lease the speedway promotion out and that offer will be made including reasonable rent and usage terms , then I don't imagine it will be long before a new promoter takes over the running of the Lions , don't hold your breath though because i dont think for one second that the offer is anything more than posturing from him .

[barrow boy]

 

 

and what you've got to work with is the worst track shape i've ever witnessed.

I agree in that it is the actual shape that is the problem. The distance across the track between the straights is too narrow but and as a result the bends are too tight for a track of 317m. I understand that when it was built the rest of the land was earmarked by the planners for non speedway use therefore the actual stadium was built on the bit that was left. Subsequently however I further understand that the council then decided not to use the rest of the land and asked Leicester Speedway if they could make use of it themselves but by then of course it was too late. What can be done now I do not know but it would be nice if a small committee of say some senior riders and track guru's such as Colin Meredith and maybe someone like Tony Steele could be formed to discuss the problem.

[wandersome]

1. Why are there certain posters on here determined to give Leicester speedway a bad time?? I understand that DH has upset people along the way to bring the Lions back, although I only have the word of the posters on here that that is the case? I have never seen anything in the local press that anyone feels hard done to by DH.

 

2.The track , certain posters on here keep saying the track is crap!! Changes need to be made, but I have not seen 1 post from these people to exactly what they would do?? I have never ridden a speedway bike so have no idea what shape or size or surface it would need to be to create the perfect racing track, with 2 or more racing lines. I have seen where people have said rip it up and start again, but I can not see that happening, So please explain what is needed?? If it is to cost a lot of money to get it up to the standard the the negative posters require then may I suggest you put forward you plans for the new shape? Size and surface, Then lets get a costing, if need be, raise the money one way or another and get it done. Lets be honest it would not take long with the generosity shown by Lions fans when bucket collections have been made at BP.

 

3.This one is for DH or AJ. I have to say your comments in the programme about the attendance the other week has annoyed my a little!! From my point a view, like I have said I only live 5 mins walk away, the weather was not good at all !! I normally get to the stadium about 6.15, but that night I was sure the meeting would be cancelled!! I kept looking on the website, on face book etc. many people were of the same opinion as me that if the meeting had started then it would more than likely be stopped soon after, as the rain was still falling hard. I did come to the meeting about 7.10 with waterproofs, hat etc. Went home pleased we won but freezing cold and wet!! I would like to know just how many people you really expected to travel to a meeting that was really a nothing event after the teams poor performance away from home ?? I also think the statement that if the crowd levels drop to that extent then you would not be able to sustain speedway at Leicester in the future, ok fine I understand that but do not be so vague, tells us a figure, how many people do you need??

I unlike many will continue to go every week, I can afford it at the moment, but if things change and i find myself struggling for money, then being honest I would think twice? But if things were better from a racing point of view I would make a sacrifice elsewhere to be able to go.

Sorry if I have bored anyone with my questions!!

 

I'll give it a go - though if you read all the threads i think most of this has been covered at length by many people.

 

1) if you've read the many threads on here then you really should know who David Hemsley has upset, why he has upset them and which people who post on here feel aggrieved from personal experience with David Hemsley. Although i wouldn't exactly class myself as one of these people i only read these forums and i know the issues inside out so the information is clearly out there on the BSF. It's up to you what bits you think are right or wrong. I've disagreed with some elements of what is said but not others elements but it's clear that Mr Hemsley is a very polarising figure. Although i accept it's all relative I have, however, personally spent a lot of money supporting Leicester speedway since it's inception and some of that support has been based on assurances that measures were being taken with the track that then haven't happened. On one occasion i was told changes had actually been made that hadn't.

 

2) Re: track. I'm not sure what you've been reading because i and others have made it clear on numerous occasions what we think is wrong with the track and therefore it's obvious then what the solutions would hopefully be. My take is as follows. The straights are too long and fast and the bends are too sharp. the solution, IMO, is to shorten the straights considerably and the apexs less so therefore lessening the angle into the bends and the speed riders enter them at. This would hopefully allow riders to enter the bends using different lines and at different angles of attack and give them the chance to actually overtake. It's only a couple of pages ago that Glyn Taylor was pointing out that the problem Leicester has is that the there is one very fast line around Leicester that is much faster than any other (it's the inside one that every rider uses). The bends are too sharp to carry any more speed into the bends than riders can currently take by using that line, therefore there are no more racing lines and no overtaking without a rider making a mistake. That's my take anyway..

It's also common knowledge that many track experts and curators (I mean proper people working in that field, not us fans) have said things along the same lines and at various times over the last 3 years these alterations were going to be made. Why they haven't is still anybodies guess but the best guesses appear to be that Mr Hemsley will not accept he got it wrong when he laid the track originally. Re: the costings and timeframe. That's has also been widely covered on here by people who would have been involved. Generally the figure is put at 6-8K and the timeframe is a week.

 

Finally, you may want to go back a few pages and re-read the post from 40-38. He's not someone who is on here constantly 'having a dig' at Mr Hemsley (as you would probably accuse me of doing) but i think he encapsulates all my frustrations with the David Hemsleys management to perfection. I'm only guessing but i'd say others too.

[LionsDen]

I agree in that it is the actual shape that is the problem. The distance across the track between the straights is too narrow but and as a result the bends are too tight for a track of 317m. I understand that when it was built the rest of the land was earmarked by the planners for non speedway use therefore the actual stadium was built on the bit that was left. Subsequently however I further understand that the council then decided not to use the rest of the land and asked Leicester Speedway if they could make use of it themselves but by then of course it was too late. What can be done now I do not know but it would be nice if a small committee of say some senior riders and track guru's such as Colin Meredith and maybe someone like Tony Steele could be formed to discuss the problem.

 

 

Sorry but this "understanding" is incorrect.

 

The planners were and are Beaumont Sports Complex Ltd which is run by one person - the same one who runs Leicester Speedway Ltd. It was his call how to split the land up and designate the areas required for the football pitches and velodrome that never were, not the councils. They simply lease him the whole site, which is why he is allowed to tip all that muck over the areas he isn't developing! The design of the site was down to him.

[Leicester Lion]

They simply lease him the whole site, which is why he is allowed to tip all that muck over the areas he isn't developing!

This is a rhetorical question, but I wonder how this tipping is allowed to continue. It's adding nothing to the aesthetics of the site, and doesn't appear to be for any development purpose.

[racers and royals]

The missing rider in post 90 was Roman Matousek

[Vulcan62]

£6k-£8k to alter the track. Say £10k at the most and with approx 20 meetings left this season that means £10k divided by 20 = £500 per meeting needed to pay for it. £500 would be generated by 33 extra paying adults or 33 people going that have stopped. And that doesn't include programmes and refreshments.

[LionsDen]

This is a rhetorical question, but I wonder how this tipping is allowed to continue. It's adding nothing to the aesthetics of the site, and doesn't appear to be for any development purpose.

 

It keeps happening because it brings in much needed revenue. But, as has been pointed out previously on this forum, the council aren't overly happy about it because as you say, it doesn't add a great deal to the aesthetics, particularly when compared to what the original approved plans looked like. That park must be several feet more above sea level than it was when the lorries first came in. Don't know about 5-side football but he could always open a dry ski slope if he keeps this up!

Edited April 22, 2013 by LionsDen