Willowman Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 Do you have any motorcycling experience? End of the day it was maybe rideable but it probably wasn't raceable. Riders safety is the key and I am sure you wouldn't have wanted to race if you could ride a speedway bike. A little but only for pleasure. If the track was not safe then riders have raced on many more more hazardous tracks in their careers. Not to try and sort it out earlier and before any racing was in my book, totally inept, is there any reason why that wasn't done? The only announcement I heard was that they were valid for the Newcastle meeting which by then there was a fair few walking out of the stadium! I would suggest that they thought the conditions were such that the water would evaporate more quickly than it did. Normally it does, but today it clouded over and the wind dropped. The track was rectified in the end! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanzi Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 140 mile round trip for this ,agree manigement should explain what went wrong as should the head trackman 650 mile round trip for some! Count yourself lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowman Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP, 1st leg Somerset 5 Workington 1 Match abandoned because riders could not be ar$ed to give the track a go. From a supporters perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaramanga Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 I totally agree with you. But the track was sorted. Blame the riders. why blame the riders the ref has more power than the riders and if the ref says its raceable then it carrys on if the ref says no then its offi wasnt there and i dont know if its raceable or not but on a dry day and the track has to be bladed to even attempt to race then theres a problem somewhere so if your wanting to blame the riders then it must be the home riders as the away riders wouldnt have contacted the track staff to ask for the track to be prepaired a certain way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowman Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 650 mile round trip for some! Count yourself lucky. I really do sympathise with you. The meeting should have continued. Shame on the riders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeanzi Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 (edited) PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP, 1st leg Somerset 5 Workington 1 Match abandoned because riders could not be ar$ed to give the track a go. From a supporters perspective. Were you the guy that was driving the water truck or something? Maybe you should of gone out with your hairdryer and give that a try to help it 'evaporate'. It may be dry for when we are next there in 3 weeks! Edited June 18, 2013 by Jeanzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowman Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 why blame the riders the ref has more power than the riders and if the ref says its raceable then it carrys on if the ref says no then its off i wasnt there and i dont know if its raceable or not but on a dry day and the track has to be bladed to even attempt to race then theres a problem somewhere so if your wanting to blame the riders then it must be the home riders as the away riders wouldnt have contacted the track staff to ask for the track to be prepaired a certain way Okay then, blame the ref. The track was bladed to correct for a watering error due to a change in conditions. Were you the guy that was driving the water truck or something? Maybe you should of gone out with your hairdryer and give that a try to help it 'evaporate'. It may be dry for when we are next there in 3 weeks! Well thanks a bunch. Enjoy your 325 mile return trip in the dark. Not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
771neil Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 Well the tractor had a blade on it but it wasn t blading the track if you ever seen a track been bladed then you ll know you end up with pile of dirt on the inside, did you see a pile ??? NO all tractor did was make it look pretty I can tell you as I was on track that the blade even ripped wholes in the track, the main problem was it was very patchy and wet so would you like to ride a bike were you can t see and don t know how the bike will react from one second to another ?? so willowman I think you should not be blaming riders or ref the track was unsafe a view shared by all bar track man 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadders Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 (edited) I can sympathise with the Workington fans that travelled down, because I've had a similar situation myself a couple of years back. A 325 mile drive to Berwick for a rain off when the Bandits had a weakened side due to injury and other riders not being available. There was some rain, but by 7pm the sun was blazing down out of a near cloudless sky. I went to the track, scaled a wall and took photo's of the track, which looked wet, but no worse than some I've seen at Berwick in the past. Definitely not as wet as the track at Somerset tonight looking at the photo's. Edited June 18, 2013 by Shadders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topaz325 Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 PREMIER LEAGUE KO CUP, 1st leg Somerset 5 Workington 1 Match abandoned because riders could not be ar$ed to give the track a go. From a supporters perspective. Its only the first leg so all to play for . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenga Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 (edited) darcy ward has tweeted.. the track is in first class condition. think Doyle will get the track record tonight, as long as he gets a flyer may have to wear the shorts as its quite hot at zummerzet.. Edited June 18, 2013 by jenga Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Najjer Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 (edited) Well the tractor had a blade on it but it wasn t blading the track if you ever seen a track been bladed then you ll know you end up with pile of dirt on the inside, did you see a pile ??? NO all tractor did was make it look pretty I can tell you as I was on track that the blade even ripped wholes in the track, the main problem was it was very patchy and wet so would you like to ride a bike were you can t see and don t know how the bike will react from one second to another ?? so willowman I think you should not be blaming riders or ref the track was unsafe a view shared by all bar track man There was a pile on the inside of the track. Edited June 18, 2013 by Najjer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squibby Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 Sadly, I was there tonight, up from Exeter. The forecast was for ongoing sunshine, but this was wrong, as a layer of cloud came over the the whole area around the OTA and prevented the track from drying out as much as no doubt the promotion had expected. It looked to me that more dirt than usual had been put on the track, and so presumably more water than usual as well - maybe the home riders had requested this extra material after what happened in the home defeat last time out ?? Anyway, it took quite a while for the blade to actually appear, I guess because it had to be attached to one of the two tractors instead of the grader. It was little more than a cosmetic exercise, and the referee called the meeting off before the blading had finished. By this time the bends didn't look too bad, but the start/finish 'straight' was still looking a bit like a ploughed field. Whether or not the riders ' wimped out ' is a matter of conjecture. What really annoyed me was the total lack of tannoy announcements from the promotion. No explanation of the reasons for the cancellation ( weather change, no chance of competitive racing, curfew approaching fast etc ) and no advice as to re-entry or cash refund availability. Not everyone present was aware of the rules in such cases. Quite a few folk were milling about trying to find someone to clarify the situation for them. As has been said, a total PR nightmare, I'm afraid. In the end, there was a sizeable queue for cash refunds. Will any of these folk return ? Couldn't blame them if they don't ! Total frustration ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willowman Posted June 18, 2013 Report Share Posted June 18, 2013 Well the tractor had a blade on it but it wasn t blading the track if you ever seen a track been bladed then you ll know you end up with pile of dirt on the inside, did you see a pile ??? NO all tractor did was make it look pretty I can tell you as I was on track that the blade even ripped wholes in the track, the main problem was it was very patchy and wet so would you like to ride a bike were you can t see and don t know how the bike will react from one second to another ?? so willowman I think you should not be blaming riders or ref the track was unsafe a view shared by all bar track man I find it remarkable that the riders and the ref can make a judgement on the track after it has been partly bladed without actually stepping out on the track at all. Yes I did see a pile of dirt on the inside because I questioned others about how it would be dealt with. As it happened it was distributed over the track after the blade was used on the outside by using the blade on the inside but in the same direction as the outside. Whether that is the right thing to do or not, I am not qualified to comment. If the track had been inspected after rectification and then it had been announced it was not fit for racing due to damage post blading, then I would have accepted that. The truth is that the riders had decided long before the blading had got near being finished that they were not prepared to race on. If it had been announced that it was too late to complete the meeting then I would have also accepted that. If it was already decided that blading the track would be futile and the track was already unsalvageable and the situation was announced, then I would also have accepted that too. Instead, the track was prepared, looked good, not re-inspected or tested and the meeting abandoned before the rectification was complete. Not acceptable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Lucan Posted June 19, 2013 Report Share Posted June 19, 2013 Considering the enormous amount of head scratching that went into organising this meeting in the first place seems a bit of a shame that some, lets say, "over generous" watering then a bit of bad luck weather wise has conspired to go and ruin it all? Cant see Somerset being thrown out of the comp for this so, when will the re-run be taking place? Would seem logical to do a dbl header with the league match in July rather than just, try again soon, with said league match not being that far off, possibility perhaps!!! Think Somerset's management just need to stand up and apologise though for tonight, it cant be seen as fair to the paying spectator when information is not divulged as to ongoing events, an occassional update should have been the order of the day, and, especially when it was not looking likely that the meeting would continue? Never been a fan of this, on the day "one off" dumping method of track watering, if physically possible why not do several small waterings instead and build up gradually, after all, manufacturer's dont advise you to put one big thick coat of paint on your wall to do a nice job do they!! Now, in the words of Samuel Pepys, "and so to bed" Goodnight everyone!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orderly Posted June 19, 2013 Report Share Posted June 19, 2013 I find it remarkable that the riders and the ref can make a judgement on the track after it has been partly bladed without actually stepping out on the track at all. Yes I did see a pile of dirt on the inside because I questioned others about how it would be dealt with. As it happened it was distributed over the track after the blade was used on the outside by using the blade on the inside but in the same direction as the outside. Whether that is the right thing to do or not, I am not qualified to comment. If the track had been inspected after rectification and then it had been announced it was not fit for racing due to damage post blading, then I would have accepted that. The truth is that the riders had decided long before the blading had got near being finished that they were not prepared to race on. If it had been announced that it was too late to complete the meeting then I would have also accepted that. If it was already decided that blading the track would be futile and the track was already unsalvageable and the situation was announced, then I would also have accepted that too. Instead, the track was prepared, looked good, not re-inspected or tested and the meeting abandoned before the rectification was complete. Not acceptable. I feel that you made this post while still wearing your blinkers. Let’s face it at the end of the day it’s the riders that put life & limb on the line for our entertainment, speedway is dangerous enough at the best of times. If, at your place of work, you were asked to perform a duty where you stood a good chance of being injured you would create merry hell and refuse to do it, so why ask these lads to do it remember that they too have families who worry about them and we have had enough bad injuries and fatalities over the last few years. If anybody should be taken to task then it’s the management and/or the track curator but they were acting on information received about weather conditions – catch 22 situation 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rustyre bel1 Posted June 19, 2013 Report Share Posted June 19, 2013 at last Starshooter someone with there head screwed on best post of the night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
771neil Posted June 19, 2013 Report Share Posted June 19, 2013 So Isn t the point of blading to take the wet stuff of the track ??? And by your own post he bladed it back on ??? And do you think riders who don t get enough pence per mile to cover travel cost and all now have to clean bikes and kits ( go 5 hrs work ) plus the time travelled all for wot just the mileage money yeah riders were really happy to call it off and lose money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Skid Posted June 19, 2013 Report Share Posted June 19, 2013 Would love to hear the Track guys version of events, he prepares one of the best tracks in the Country, when he's allowed to do it his way, but I have a feeling that lately he's not been allowed to do it his way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bagpuss Posted June 19, 2013 Report Share Posted June 19, 2013 Somerset aren't the first track to be caught out by the weather and I'm sure they won't be the last. Very unfortunate of course for Worky fans who travelled but probably best to not make mountains out of molehills. The apology by the club draws a line under things IMO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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