British GP 2013

[deanozoff]

Family of 4 ticket £117, 2 nights in the premier inn in Barry £120, spent close to £300 on food and drink and stuff and I'll do it all again next year.

 

Yes the track was poor, very slick, but do you honestly turn up to a one off track expecting world class racing? If you do you are deluded, it just doesn't happen. I've been 9 times now and, Bomber winning apart, I've always left pretty underwhelmed racing wise. The track has always cut up by the end of the meeting (Remember the Bomber final but no one complained as they had a British winner), the track has always been slick. Yes this year was bad but nothing I didn't expect.

 

It's the whole package that we go for, the Saturday is brilliant, meeting the riders, live music and loads of other stuff. I don't think £30 per ticket for great seats is a lot in the whole scheme of things.

[Blazeaway]

People say "BSI still can't get it right" in regards of temporary tracks are talking rubbish.

 

Copenhagen and Cardiff have produced some fantastic meetings over the years.

 

There was no one more annoyed with the condition of yesterday's track than Paul Bellamy but the buck ultimately rests with him and it will be interesting to hear what he says publicly.

[ytsejam]

Family of 4 ticket £117, 2 nights in the premier inn in Barry £120, spent close to £300 on food and drink and stuff and I'll do it all again next year.

 

Yes the track was poor, very slick, but do you honestly turn up to a one off track expecting world class racing? If you do you are deluded, it just doesn't happen. I've been 9 times now and, Bomber winning apart, I've always left pretty underwhelmed racing wise. The track has always cut up by the end of the meeting (Remember the Bomber final but no one complained as they had a British winner), the track has always been slick. Yes this year was bad but nothing I didn't expect.

 

It's the whole package that we go for, the Saturday is brilliant, meeting the riders, live music and loads of other stuff. I don't think £30 per ticket for great seats is a lot in the whole scheme of things.

 

Maybe not, but you don't expect a track where World class riders are having to act like rodeo riders just to stay on their bikes and I can't recall ANY GP before having a track so bad that a rider like Freddie just gets catapaulted from his machine when he hasnt made even 1% of a mistake!!! If thats what you want to see, then I fear that you are also deluded!! Most Speedway fans don't give a stuff about all the dancing girls, loud music and flashing lights, they want to see good, passing racing and even when that isn't always possible 'cos of a slick track, at least they want the riders to have a chance to stay on their bikes!!

[stratton]

A terrible meeting the racing was very poor, but as an occasion the atmosphere was electric.For me the presentation on Eurosport was superb Sophie Blake/ Scott Nicholls outstanding far superior to Sky.I know some people will be disappointed but it did come across very well on the tv which is encouraging.If i am being honest the times i went to Wembley one off finals were they great meeting,s? No (1981(overrated?).Were they great occasions Yes, so i believe alot of people will have come home having had a great weekend the overall experience so it is not all doom and gloom in my opinion.

[ruckerroo]

It wasn't an enthralling watch tbh, I found Scott Nicholls the shining light on the viewing front.

[Vince]

More luck than judgement that there was only one broken bone during that GP, could have easily been far worse. There has been enough time to learn how to put down a temporary track by now and if not give Ian Barclay a ring and get him in to do the job properly. He won't be expensive, his methods might but it would be worth it to have a good track every year at what is supposed to be Speedways premier event.

[Blazeaway]

More luck than judgement that there was only one broken bone during that GP, could have easily been far worse. There has been enough time to learn how to put down a temporary track by now and if not give Ian Barclay a ring and get him in to do the job properly. He won't be expensive, his methods might but it would be worth it to have a good track every year at what is supposed to be Speedways premier event.

.

 

But by and large the track at Cardiff has been good.

[Humphrey Appleby]

People say "BSI still can't get it right" in regards of temporary tracks are talking rubbish.

Copenhagen and Cardiff have produced some fantastic meetings over the years.

 

Yes, but there have been some dreadful ones too. It's not just about getting it right occasionally, but putting in place methods to ensure consistency from year-to-year, especially for the showcase event.

 

BSI always seem to have their apologists, but could you imagine turning up to the FA Cup Final and finding a bumpy pitch full of potholes? The FA would be rightly slated for it.

 

From the sound of things, it looks like BSI probably did the best job they could to get the meeting on, but it doesn't change the fact that someone took their eye off the ball (again).

[g13webb]

A terrible meeting the racing was very poor, but as an occasion the atmosphere was electric.For me the presentation on Eurosport was superb Sophie Blake/ Scott Nicholls outstanding far superior to Sky.I know some people will be disappointed but it did come across very well on the tv which is encouraging.If i am being honest the times i went to Wembley one off finals were they great meeting,s? No (1981(overrated?).Were they great occasions Yes, so i believe alot of people will have come home having had a great weekend the overall experience so it is not all doom and gloom in my opinion.

 

Sidney, 1981 was a great meeting. Like you I went to many Wembley finals and yes some were poor meetings with little racing. But 1981 was special. Bruce Penhall, Ole Olsen, Knutsen, Gundersen, Jessup Carter all figured in exciting races, far better then we saw last night. I think that final will be the one that I will always remember......... 90,000 people ( Full House) watching speedway as it should be ....brilliant, unforgetable meeting.... The Buzz from the crowd when Penhal went by Olsen will live with me forever.....

[RobMcCaffery]

Family of 4 ticket £117, 2 nights in the premier inn in Barry £120, spent close to £300 on food and drink and stuff and I'll do it all again next year.

 

Yes the track was poor, very slick, but do you honestly turn up to a one off track expecting world class racing? If you do you are deluded, it just doesn't happen. I've been 9 times now and, Bomber winning apart, I've always left pretty underwhelmed racing wise. The track has always cut up by the end of the meeting (Remember the Bomber final but no one complained as they had a British winner), the track has always been slick. Yes this year was bad but nothing I didn't expect.

 

It's the whole package that we go for, the Saturday is brilliant, meeting the riders, live music and loads of other stuff. I don't think £30 per ticket for great seats is a lot in the whole scheme of things.

 

I expected an adequate track that would give me £45-worth of entertainment. It is most certainly not a delusion to expect value for money. You go for 'the occasion'. I pay to watch good speedway. Each to their own and you are perfectly free to spend yours how you wish. I did not consider I got value for money last night and am very unlikely to return. If you're happy with what you had, fine.

 

I've seen plenty of tracks over my 43 years of involvement with speedway. Last night's was below acceptable standards for a temporary track. It's happened too often for what is an expensive night out.

 

BSI expect me to pay good money. I expect good service in return. No matter who the finger points at it's BSI's business. I am sure they are equally upset, but how often are we to be expected to put up with situations like last night?

Edited June 2, 2013 by rmc

[pandorum]

Christ Almighty people here would whine if they won a million on the lottery.

'A lousy million the X,Y or Z lottery is much more organised and this makes me feel cheated and will probably be the last lottery ticket I ever buy'.

 

Yes the track was bad but it wasn't the worst GP track by any means.

The racing was processional except for the times when somebody passed somebody.

Like all speedway meetings good races and not so good races.

Yes the organisers deserve a blast for allowing such a situation to emerge and yes somebody wants a rocket up their arce.

 

But it was a pretty decent GP and was absorbing to the last race.

 

Tai's injury could be blamed on the track but also could be blamed on Freddie riding a bit to hard.

Freddie's subsequent fall completely due to the track.

But I have seen such things in may places over the last 4 decades.

Was it dangerous? Not being a rider I like many here have no real idea of that.

 

For all the moaning the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves and the presentation at trackside and by Eurosport was excellent and for once I would say better than SKYs.

Sophie and Scott added a very welcome element and hopefully will both be involved again this year.

The attendance looked up on recent years and if the 38000 figure is right then the recent attendances have been a lot less than the figures bandied about by SKY and the organisers.

But then I once went to Knebworth to see Led Zeppelin and the 'official' attendance was 80,000 but in reality was at least 3 times that so these things must be taken with a large pinch of salt.

 

I enjoyed the meeting. Of course I did not fork out a lot of money to go to Wales so I defer to those who went who have the right to criticise what they paid to see.

I am a huge fan of Emil and was glad he won but being English I also wanted to see Woofy triumph so am sad he had such misfortune.

He is very fit so should recover quickly so don't rule out the lad for the next GP.

He would not be the first rider with that injury to brave the pain barrier.

 

Of course the organisers deserve to be questioned and someone needs to answer for that. But that folks is speedway and I have seen bad tracks at normally good venues and good tracks at normally awful venues.

Cardiff should have done better but somebody miscalculated and they didn't.

The least they should do is give everybody who bought a ticket a big discount for next year as a sign of good faith.

But they probably won't.

Again that's speedway.

 

I stopped going as the team I love is no more and the price too much of a barrier.

But I never stopped loving the sport and I enjoyed the hell out of watching yesterday.

I hope Emil goes all the way and that Woofy is right there giving him a run for his money.

[Humphrey Appleby]

The social media network, which ran riot with a lot of mis-information yesterday, could now be used as a force for good to spread the word that the meeting will go ahead as planned and on schedule.

 

In years gone by, rumours would still have spread and at least can be more quickly addressed with instant communication.

 

It's totally unrealistic to expect in an era where everyone has a smartphone, that stuff isn't going to get out. Perhaps rather than lamenting social media, the powers-that-be should embrace it rather than expecting the fans to handle their corporate communications.

[RobMcCaffery]

Christ Almighty people here would whine if they won a million on the lottery.

'A lousy million the X,Y or Z lottery is much more organised and this makes me feel cheated and will probably be the last lottery ticket I ever buy'.

 

Yes the track was bad but it wasn't the worst GP track by any means.

The racing was processional except for the times when somebody passed somebody.

Like all speedway meetings good races and not so good races.

Yes the organisers deserve a blast for allowing such a situation to emerge and yes somebody wants a rocket up their arce.

 

But it was a pretty decent GP and was absorbing to the last race.

 

Tai's injury could be blamed on the track but also could be blamed on Freddie riding a bit to hard.

Freddie's subsequent fall completely due to the track.

But I have seen such things in may places over the last 4 decades.

Was it dangerous? Not being a rider I like many here have no real idea of that.

 

For all the moaning the crowd seemed to enjoy themselves and the presentation at trackside and by Eurosport was excellent and for once I would say better than SKYs.

Sophie and Scott added a very welcome element and hopefully will both be involved again this year.

The attendance looked up on recent years and if the 38000 figure is right then the recent attendances have been a lot less than the figures bandied about by SKY and the organisers.

But then I once went to Knebworth to see Led Zeppelin and the 'official' attendance was 80,000 but in reality was at least 3 times that so these things must be taken with a large pinch of salt.

 

I enjoyed the meeting. Of course I did not fork out a lot of money to go to Wales so I defer to those who went who have the right to criticise what they paid to see.

I am a huge fan of Emil and was glad he won but being English I also wanted to see Woofy triumph so am sad he had such misfortune.

He is very fit so should recover quickly so don't rule out the lad for the next GP.

He would not be the first rider with that injury to brave the pain barrier.

 

Of course the organisers deserve to be questioned and someone needs to answer for that. But that folks is speedway and I have seen bad tracks at normally good venues and good tracks at normally awful venues.

Cardiff should have done better but somebody miscalculated and they didn't.

The least they should do is give everybody who bought a ticket a big discount for next year as a sign of good faith.

But they probably won't.

Again that's speedway.

 

I stopped going as the team I love is no more and the price too much of a barrier.

But I never stopped loving the sport and I enjoyed the hell out of watching yesterday.

I hope Emil goes all the way and that Woofy is right there giving him a run for his money.

 

The lottery comparison is truly absurd. I'm not dictating to you how you should enjoy a meeting, I'm stating why I didn't. Winning a million would be wonderful. Paying out for a poor night's entertainment isn't exactly a sane comparison.

 

You have the right to enjoy what you saw. I didn't. Can you understand that?

Edited June 2, 2013 by rmc

[pugwash]

Shame about the track as the promoters have got the one day tracks pretty much sorted these days and I'm sure that if there's a lesson to be learned from it they will learn it.

 

Scotty and Sophie were very good in their presentation roles hope to see more of them on eurosport and possibly TV in general. Very good indeed.

Not sure about the other guy though, waving his arms about like a muppet.

 

btw Suprised that no one has blamed Matt Ford for the track condition. maybe the trolls are have not come out from under the bridge yet.

Edited June 2, 2013 by pugwash

[PHILIPRISING]

Having appreciated your two previous posts, explaining the track situation, But you now lose all that credibility by the comments made in the post above. You come across as a BSI spokesperson rather then the editor of the SS. You say ask Emil for his comment on the track, but lets ask everyone else for their opinion. and the cencus will tell you it was rubbish. Their were a lot of plus factors, the Occasion, the atmoshpere, the quality of the crowd, But don't lets kid ourselves, the track was dire, elliminating any chance of good racing. The BSI messed up big time, and you trying to put some justification to it, belittles any contribution you may give.........

 

HAVE posted this countless times ... I am not the Editor of Speedway Star.

[Agrotron]

How anyone can say they enjoyed the meeting is beyond me what a load of horse dung.

[Fromafar]

Though Lingren was unlucky to get excluded for Tia crash,dont think he made Tai changed his line that much,when you see what KK did on Emil .still wish Tai Speedy recovery.

[Snyper1010]

Ok i know no one will agree as Tai is the peoples sweetheart. But what the hell was the ref thinking excluding Freddie lastnight. Tai was clearly the cause of the incident and has now wiped Nicki out twice this season. Im thinking Tai maybe doesnt like Nicki much.

[Blazeaway]

 

 

Yes, but there have been some dreadful ones too. It's not just about getting it right occasionally, but putting in place methods to ensure consistency from year-to-year, especially for the showcase event.

 

BSI always seem to have their apologists, but could you imagine turning up to the FA Cup Final and finding a bumpy pitch full of potholes? The FA would be rightly slated for it.

 

From the sound of things, it looks like BSI probably did the best job they could to get the meeting on, but it doesn't change the fact that someone took their eye off the ball (again).

.

 

United Villa a few years back took place on an awful pitch at Wembley and there have been more than a few complaints over the years about the surface. Especially following NFL games etc.

 

There has also been some shockingly bad permanent tracks served up over the years.

 

It was also interesting to hear that as late as ten yesterday morning the meeting was not going ahead.

[Kester]

 

 

Maybe not, but you don't expect a track where World class riders are having to act like rodeo riders just to stay on their bikes and I can't recall ANY GP before having a track so bad that a rider like Freddie just gets catapaulted from his machine when he hasnt made even 1% of a mistake!!!

 

Cardiff has been worse before, and so has Gothenburg. I'm not defending it, it clearly wasn't good, but those on here claiming it was the worst ever are forgetting a few others. The track at Cardiff has broken up late on in the meeting pretty much every year, it's only in the last couple of years they've got it right. It was much worse in 2009 or 10 (can't remember which), when it broke up pretty much from the start, and there were falls aplenty.