Elite Riders Championship - 25/09/2014

[semion]

Good spot Poirot.

[Crump99]

Are you going to pay them?

 

Excellent! You've got an idea, how you going to pay for it.

[greytiger]

I'm still trying to understand why the accountant was the representative for Coventry Stadium? WTF!!

 

 

 

Thing's just don't add up.............

At least he had the presence of mind to call Horton the track curator hadn't. I still can;t understand why after the farce the night before not one of the promotion team.......Horton,Watson,Rodgers,Scroggin.......couldn't make the effort to check out the track the the following day. Do they all live hundreds of miles away.

Why ever the promoter was allowed to run a Nation League meeting 2 days before say's a lot for the BSPA.

It use to be a good feeling to walk into the Stadium but over the last couple of seasons a good clean profression......seem's to have died. Very tattie looking bunch even before the dust start's to fly.

Thank goodness the likes of Buster Chapman,Len Silver,They know how to work on their track's themselves.

[Halifaxtiger]

 

Of course I'm not going to pay them. Perhaps they would do it for a nominal fee if it is for the good of the sport in which they all hold a stake? I'm talking about one person per meeting being on hand to oversee things and make sure there is no cock up, not large salaries for half a dozen people. How much do you think catastrophes like last night cost speedway? Thousands I would say, would cost far less to make sure track cock ups don't happen.

 

Seems daft to have so much expertise at hand and not use it.

 

Quite, Better to stump up a big fee for a track curator than allow this to happen again.

 

I have to say I think most of the blame lies with Mick Horton. While it seems quite clear that he very much has a case about the inability of the stadium management to prepare a track that is largely irrelevant in the creation of the situation that followed.

 

Apparently, it was clear that the track would be in no condition for speedway as early as Saturday morning. Horton then doesn't turn up for a meeting, he then doesn't call it off on Sunday morning- despite being told that the meeting should not go ahead - and he then allows people to pay to go in. You have to ask why he chose to take (or not take) these actions.

 

Had he called it off on Saturday and let everyone know that the reason for that he would have been utterly blameless.

Edited March 25, 2014 by Halifaxtiger

[speedybee]

I still can;t understand why after the farce the night before not one of the promotion team.......Horton,Watson,Rodgers,Scroggin.......couldn't make the effort to check out the track the the following day. Do they all live hundreds of miles away.

Maybe something to do with their third team, Peterborough, riding at Leicester on Saturday. Hang on, that's just down the road...

[Big Al]

So whoever makes the next 'official' statement is the one we are all expected to believe?!

 

Mick Horton makes a statement and many (not all) have sympathy with him. Sandhu's man then issues a Stadium statement and 'everybody' suddenly sides with that overview of events!!

 

This is just the expected 'sabre-rattling' over a situation where there is clearly some blame on all sides!! The main question for me is with 3 weeks of the new track man already passed and with no apparent improvements to the speedway track, how much longer is the expert track man going to need to get a raceable track before MH will allow his teams to ride again??

When they've all finished spitting out their dummies!

[g13webb]

In regards to track preparation, am I right in thinking, Kings Lynn is the only club setup to do it right in all situations

We have Track that drains the water away from the corners,

We have a concrete infield, enabling wet shale to be spread out too dry,

We have loads of shale ready to be used and/or reused on site

We have all the machinery necessary to lay / or relay a track,

But more importantly we have BUSTER, who knows everything about preparing a track, and he makes it look so easy.

 

We read so much about the failings at Brandon and of the meeting held on the previous Friday, as if it was a big issue. Last weekend at Lynn, we had the P&P day on Friday, Stock-car meeting on a wet Saturday night followed by Mads Testimonial on the Sunday. everything wet off without a hitch. thanks to Buster's hard work and expertise.

 

Why cant other clubs do the same....

[E I Addio]

In regards to track preparation, am I right in thinking, Kings Lynn is the only club setup to do it right in all situations

We have Track that drains the water away from the corners,

We have a concrete infield, enabling wet shale to be spread out too dry,

We have loads of shale ready to be used and/or reused on site

We have all the machinery necessary to lay / or relay a track,

But more importantly we have BUSTER, who knows everything about preparing a track, and he makes it look so easy.

 

 

 

 

Yep, good ol' Buster, who had to postpone a meeting last year because he reckoned he couldn't get a fuse changed in three days.

 

Even Horton could manage that.

Edited March 25, 2014 by E I Addio

[arthur cross]

In regards to track preparation, am I right in thinking, Kings Lynn is the only club setup to do it right in all situations

 

Why cant other clubs do the same....

Don't forget that at King's Lynn you have the huge advantage of the speedway promotion being able to work on the track without needing to liaise with the stadium owners because the promotion and ownership are all rolled up in the family business.

 

Around the rest of the Elite League only Eastbourne and newcomers Leicester have a similar luxury ... Belle Vue, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Poole and Swindon all have to fit in with greyhound landlords ... Lakeside need to fit in with Arena Essex stock cars ... and then there's what's clearly disintegrated as a working relationship between the Coventry Bees and Coventry Stadium.

 

In the Premier League only Plymouth, Somerset, Rye House, Scunthorpe and Redcar have speedway freedom ... Edinburgh, Newcastle and Sheffield all have greyhound landlords ... Glasgow, Workington and Berwick race around football or rugby pitches ... Ipswich have stock car landlords ... and then there's the unique case of Peterborough having loads of access to their track but dependent instead on fitting their home dates for the crowd's car-parking around the other events staged within the various chunks of the East of England Showground.

 

In plenty of cases there's a really good relationship between another sport as landlord and the speedway tenants because the speedway clearly enhances the landlord's profits (Wolverhampton certainly springs to mind) while Berwick's Dennis McCleary is both the football secretary and a speedway co-promoter so the Bandits are probably the nearest thing to a tenant having speedway freedom.

 

But elsewhere there are a few speedway officials who don't respect the landlord/tenant relationship enough, maybe because they think their club's long history should be enough to give them the freedom to do what they want.

 

It's also easy for fans of a speedway tenant to misjudge where their club fits into their stadium's overall business plan if those fans only attend the speedway there ... for example, at any of the greyhound tracks featured at least 3 times a week in betting shops (Wolves, Swindon, Newcastle and Sheffield), I doubt the annual speedway rent even reaches just a few weeks' worth of the greyhound rights-fees paid by the bookies even allowing for Wolves and Cradley (ex-Dudley) both renting Monmore (and, remember, the greyhounds are shown by the bookies all 12 months of the year).

[semion]

Did Buster also do the P'Boro track for shared event one year ? I seem to remember all were quite impressed with the race track that day. Buster is good, but Huggy was the King, for me. I wonder what happened to him.

[g13webb]

 

 

Yep, good ol' Buster, who had to postpone a meeting last year because he reckoned he couldn't get a fuse changed in three days.

 

Even Horton could manage that.

 

Yeah...... a fuse about right....... I think you'll find it was a transformer that went down, repairs were courtesy of Eastern Electricity..... A big Fuse......

[crazyb]

In regards to track preparation, am I right in thinking, Kings Lynn is the only club setup to do it right in all situations

We have Track that drains the water away from the corners,

We have a concrete infield, enabling wet shale to be spread out too dry,

We have loads of shale ready to be used and/or reused on site

We have all the machinery necessary to lay / or relay a track,

But more importantly we have BUSTER, who knows everything about preparing a track, and he makes it look so easy.

 

We read so much about the failings at Brandon and of the meeting held on the previous Friday, as if it was a big issue. Last weekend at Lynn, we had the P&P day on Friday, Stock-car meeting on a wet Saturday night followed by Mads Testimonial on the Sunday. everything wet off without a hitch. thanks to Buster's hard work and expertise.

 

Why cant other clubs do the same....

Most are not as lucky as Lynn, they don't own their stadia, although this is not excusing Horton et al.

[BWitcher]

 

How so, the BSPA gave the meeting to Coventry, it is them and in particular the new track guy that are to blame.

Alex Harkess was told on Saturday morning that the track would be ok, who told him.

 

What do you mean How so?

 

It's a BSPA event. The buck from the fans point of view stops with them. That's how business works.

[teddy2706]

What is the point in all this agonising?

It's happened, we the fans cannot influence it and certainly cannot influence it on this forum or by moaning down the pub.

Send snotty letters to the BSPA by all means and complain face to face with whoever you hold to blame if you get the chance, that is a good start for either the ELRC or Storm match debacles.

 

What should concern everyone in the speedway community who is British, is why was it necessary to employ a foreign track curator at all?

Why is it in anyone's interests except well paid expert track curators, to keep this black art to themselves, instead of training competent people who are already skilled with tractors and grading machinery i.e. farm and highways workers.

The plain, simple answer is money and it is a nasty vicious circle:

Rubbish track

Poor racing

Dwindling spectator base

Poor receipts

Little money to re-invest

Poor track preparation conducted by inappropriate persons

Poor promoting

Expensive machinery hamstringing ordinary working class riders.

Less disposable income for many spectators due to the stupidity and greed of bankers and politicians.

 

What did the much loved and sadly missed Wiggy say when interviewed in Speedway Star many years ago when asked what his ideal track surface was; "Dirt up to the wheel spindles", no doubt spoken with his trademark grin?

Edited March 25, 2014 by oldsparky

[Steve Shovlar]

In regards to track preparation, am I right in thinking, Kings Lynn is the only club setup to do it right in all situations

But more importantly we have BUSTER, who knows everything about preparing a track, and he makes it look so easy.

 

Why cant other clubs do the same....

 

I went to Kings Lynn, for a Poole meeting several years ago. We arrived at lunchtime, walked around the town, had a bite to eat in the Wimpey, before making our way to the stadium at 6.30. There was a very light shower around 4 pm but nothing to worry about.

 

Entering the stadium,new watched Buster on his tractor going around and around, with football sized clips of shale all over the track. At 7.30 it was announced that the meeting was off. Buster had to hide in his shack on the forth bend as he refused to refund the dozens of Poole fans that had made the very long trip. Angry scenes indeed.

 

He completely ballsed the track up.

[Fromafar]

What is the point in all this agonising?

It's happened, we the fans cannot influence it and certainly cannot influence it on this forum or by moaning down the pub.

Send snotty letters to the BSPA by all means and complain face to face with whoever you hold to blame if you get the chance, that is a good start for either the ELRC or Storm match debacles.

 

What should concern everyone in the speedway community who is British, is why was it necessary to employ a foreign track curator at all?

Why is it in anyone's interests except well paid expert track curators, to keep this black art to themselves, instead of training competent people who are already skilled with tractors and grading machinery i.e. farm and highways workers.

The plain, simple answer is money and it is a nasty vicious circle:

Rubbish track

Poor racing

Dwindling spectator base

Poor receipts

Little money to re-invest

Poor track preparation conducted by inappropriate persons

Poor promoting

Expensive machinery hamstringing ordinary working class riders.

Less disposable income for many spectators due to the stupidity and greed of bankers and politicians.

 

What did the much loved and sadly missed Wiggy say when interviewed in Speedway Star many years ago when asked what his ideal track surface was; "Dirt up to the wheel spindles", no doubt spoken with his trademark grin?

What is your point? You are just agonising on a different subject.!!!! Hold on it is a FORUM is that not the point.

[Gavan]

I went to Kings Lynn, for a Poole meeting several years ago. We arrived at lunchtime, walked around the town, had a bite to eat in the Wimpey, before making our way to the stadium at 6.30. There was a very light shower around 4 pm but nothing to worry about.Entering the stadium,new watched Buster on his tractor going around and around, with football sized clips of shale all over the track. At 7.30 it was announced that the meeting was off. Buster had to hide in his shack on the forth bend as he refused to refund the dozens of Poole fans that had made the very long trip. Angry scenes indeed.He completely ballsed the track up.

if Buster is that bad he must be doing Pooles track as it is along with Belle Vue the worst prepared track in the country unless you are on a motocross bike! Shame as it used to be good but it's now awful

[westhamboy66]

I went to Kings Lynn, for a Poole meeting several years ago. We arrived at lunchtime, walked around the town, had a bite to eat in the Wimpey, before making our way to the stadium at 6.30. There was a very light shower around 4 pm but nothing to worry about.

Entering the stadium,new watched Buster on his tractor going around and around, with football sized clips of shale all over the track. At 7.30 it was announced that the meeting was off. Buster had to hide in his shack on the forth bend as he refused to refund the dozens of Poole fans that had made the very long trip. Angry scenes indeed.

He completely ballsed the track up.

Totally agree i was at that "meeting" and a wasted half a tank of fuel so the readmission ticket is little compensation. I had a similar experience at Peterborough around the same time. Many would say Bob Dugard is the best around yet everyone will remember the debacle for a TV meeting at eastbourne. Not a new thing in the 70's 350 mile round trip to radipole lane found me looking at potholes on the Weymouth track and Len Silver not allowing his team to ride. You would have thought lessons would be learned. Len Silver takes a lot of flack at Rye House for early call offs and yes i get miffed when it turns out to be sunny day but at least i waste no money and if i feel like it there is generally somewhere else to go. Wasting my breathe i suppose but it's about time they wondered why the fans numbers are dwindling and went some way to stopping the rot

[Haza]

I went to Kings Lynn, for a Poole meeting several years ago. We arrived at lunchtime, walked around the town, had a bite to eat in the Wimpey, before making our way to the stadium at 6.30. There was a very light shower around 4 pm but nothing to worry about.

 

Entering the stadium,new watched Buster on his tractor going around and around, with football sized clips of shale all over the track. At 7.30 it was announced that the meeting was off. Buster had to hide in his shack on the forth bend as he refused to refund the dozens of Poole fans that had made the very long trip. Angry scenes indeed.

 

He completely ballsed the track up.

it takes a very clever man one that's very clever like your good self to get it right everytime ok Buster didn't that time but then again he's not as clever as your good self

Totally agree i was at that "meeting" and a wasted half a tank of fuel so the readmission ticket is little compensation. I had a similar experience at Peterborough around the same time. Many would say Bob Dugard is the best around yet everyone will remember the debacle for a TV meeting at eastbourne. Not a new thing in the 70's 350 mile round trip to radipole lane found me looking at potholes on the Weymouth track and Len Silver not allowing his team to ride. You would have thought lessons would be learned. Len Silver takes a lot of flack at Rye House for early call offs and yes i get miffed when it turns out to be sunny day but at least i waste no money and if i feel like it there is generally somewhere else to go. Wasting my breathe i suppose but it's about time they wondered why the fans numbers are dwindling and went some way to stopping the rot

do you no I had the same happen to me think it was Easter weekend we went to either the EL pairs or the ElrC can't remember which it was now we paid to get into the Poole stadium we spent money on petrol and a hotel that weekend did we get a refund ?

[FTM]

In regards to track preparation, am I right in thinking, Kings Lynn is the only club setup to do it right in all situations

We have Track that drains the water away from the corners,

We have a concrete infield, enabling wet shale to be spread out too dry,

We have loads of shale ready to be used and/or reused on site

We have all the machinery necessary to lay / or relay a track,

But more importantly we have BUSTER, who knows everything about preparing a track, and he makes it look so easy.

 

We read so much about the failings at Brandon and of the meeting held on the previous Friday, as if it was a big issue. Last weekend at Lynn, we had the P&P day on Friday, Stock-car meeting on a wet Saturday night followed by Mads Testimonial on the Sunday. everything wet off without a hitch. thanks to Buster's hard work and expertise.

 

Why cant other clubs do the same....

Coventry used to do the same until the end of the 2013 season since then ?