PHILIPRISING Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) I haven't really been paying attention at other GPs but I thought they usually graded after the semi finals. I noted they didn't last night which undoubtably helped Hancock as there was still a small but useful berm to compliment his excellent start. Had it been graded the line Woofinden took may have seen him pass on the first bend but we'll never know. Booey's testimonial was my first ever away meeting. HAVEN'T done that for some time after the riders requested no grading after the semi-finals other than in exceptional circumstances. Yet another GP not won by the rider having first choice of gate positions. Less than 50 per cent go that way. Greg had third choice of course. Edited July 13, 2014 by PHILIPRISING Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman2006 Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 I also met Reg Fearman and bought his book. I don't know about or really care about any indiscretions during his career, Did ya, im sure he'l be thrilled with you !!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racers and royals Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) First visit to Cardiff unaware of the restrictions of taking your own drink in so having 4 bottles of pop confiscated and having to buy overpriced drinks inside in stupid cups which someone kicked over as they squeezed past (not impressed) good job it wasn't beer. Atmosphere amazing, pity Woffy couldn't have won it but taking the lead in the Championship more impotent. Think that might be the last Cardiff GP for a couple of riders, Bjerre still in the GP Challenge but could struggle in that, Hampel may struggle to keep hold of a top 8 place, Harris just not consistent enough anymore same as AJ but he could put in a late challenge for the top 8 always seems to be better after the WC, cant see Batch challenging for a top 8 position. Amazed how smooth it ran not one re-run no controversy was there any need for a ref. Greg must have thought he won the lottery when Darcy picked G1 never saw that coming. For a temporary track thought it held up well. Looking forward to next year now aware of the pop police wonder if they'll confiscate oranges or opal fruits. IMPOTENT OR IMPORTANT Edited July 13, 2014 by racers and royals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman2006 Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 not if you do your homework .you could have stopped at the university or the youth hostel for less than £20 and they are clean and tidy rooms if a little basic. This year we stopped in travelodge in caerphilly (8miles from cardiff) got a family room for £58 and we only booked it last week. Those prices are hardly a rip off Well done you, tell that to the thousands that got taken for a ride... Got the Uni No ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreverblue Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 Wow what a great day out, racing has been better, Ward overtake on Tai was terrific, nicki,s hand to ear when he won his only race became funny when he left kk no room so kk had to take avoiding action the he hit a rut and kk passed him, enjoyed that one, What can you say about greg fantastic wonderful performance and if Tai couldnt win I believe most would want it to be greg, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DukesGreg Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) Lucky enough to go for the fifth year in succession.... and as an event, it was up there with the rest. Racing, as always with Cardiff, was CLOSE enough and fast and furious... always tight, if not big on overtaking. Great to see Wuffy take the points... gutted to see him not take the win, but if anyone is going to gatecrash the Tai-to-win show, I would say, hand on heart, that it may as well be Grin. As at least you go away with a smile on your face for the winner. Cardiff IS a great speedway venue, track issues aside last year, you know that you are going to turn up and see a speedway meeting with the roof being on! It is a great spectacle, is a pumped up and exciting event with a noisy crowd, and it is great how Cardiff embraces the sport on this weekend. Interesting points Philip Rising, I know that you are absolutely a true speedway fan, however, you genuinely (and of course understandably) see the weekend through the eyes of somebody who visits the GP in a 'journalistic bubble.' No offence meant by that, but of course your weekend is more than likely 'expense free,' within reason. You travel at your leisure, get time off work (as your work IS speedway), no doubt have the hotel bill etc. covered within the parameters of your job, free entry, deductable travel expenses etc. so for you it is simply a matter of turning up and 'enjoying' the event. Again, I appreciate that fact, not your fault, is how it is. As a paying punter who travels down every year from Leeds with my young daughter, it is NOT so simple. Cardiff has always been known to be a bit of a shambles regarding the hotel / crowd ratio for ANY major sporting event, harking back to early days when they hosted the FA Cup Final etc. What this does is gives them, carte blanche, the opportunity to extract as much money as possible from personal pockets of the average fan who travels. I don't blame the hotels, it is how it is. Capitalism has brought the variable hotel tariff: 40k people descending on a city not much bigger than Wakefield gives them a huge possibility to line their pockets. The fact is though.. your average fan DOES pay with their own cash. It is not a business / work trip for all. I wouldn't swap Cardiff with London for any other reason than this. I have to drive down, watch the meeting without having a pint, and drive back to Leeds (500 miles approx) in a day due to being 'priced out' of the opportunity to stop over. I set off at 0815 yesterday, and got back at 0100. Tired. It is a lot of driving and a huge effort. Worth it? Absolutely, but I still have to do the whole 'hit-it-in-a-day' experience.. or wouldn't be able to go. London would offer more. It, AND surrounding areas, such as Harrow and all sorts of places wouldn't see hotels and B & B's extorting money due to it being sold out to saturation point... whereas Cardiff DOES. London also has the wonderful transport system. So the whole thing IS difficult for the fan who pays for every step of the way. LOVE the venue, but always wished that it could be that LITTLE bit easier on somebody like me, travelling without the money to hand over a small fortune to stay over. If I lived in Bristol or Gloucester, perhaps wouldn't be so bad! Greg. PS I think that the Fanzone should move back to the street. The street felt a little sad this year, with the whole thing being moved to near the train station. Bit of an odd one too for Cardiff as a city. People could come down on the train, see the Fanzone, go to the stadium, watch the meeting, leave, get on the train and go home WITHOUT actually seeing anything of the city. Not really a good tourism angle, keeping the Station / Fanzone / Stadium all within 300 yards of each other. Edited July 13, 2014 by DukesGreg 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mothorsen Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 Is Hancock a legend? It depends how you define a legend I guess, is it in titles or longevity at the highest standard. If the latter then maybe Hancock is worthy of the legend status. I think his merrits speak on his behalf: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Hancock#World_Final_Appearances . You simply are world class when attending every GP in history, plus the two World Championships before the GP's. He has a 25 years long career in Europe, and is currently world #2 and in battle for #1 at an age of 44. He might not be the most cut-throat rider in the world, but his name will be remembered for a long, long time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Smith Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 The only spoiler yesterday was the Fanzone. Didn't even bother going into the mixer as there were far too many people in such a small area. When I met up with my sis a bit later she said that Monster tent stopped handing out drinks due to the over crowding. Everything else was perfection. Why anyone would suggest that the British GP should move to Wembley or anywhere else in fact need to visit the doctor. Cardiff is simply the Monaco of speedway and is perfectly suited to any weather conditions thrown at it. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hodgy Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 Thanks for sharing. No bottles left either by the time I got to the front of the queue! With counseling I'm sure I can get through the pain of this trauma and come out the other side but for now it's a bit raw. On the bright side, bet you felt a tad more lively than Bro and I this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFCB Wildcat Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 On the bright side, bet you felt a tad more lively than Bro and I this morning.Well at one point there was a real danger of me sobering up but thanks to there being no delays in the meeting and a thoroughly bloody nice taxi driver I managed to get back to the pub in time to down 4 pints of Thatchers gold and take a bottle of Magners back to our room but yeah I probably would have felt a lot worse this morning if things had gone to plan! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve9 Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 anyone had any experience of the vip packages and if sowould you recommend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCB Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 Well at one point there was a real danger of me sobering up but thanks to there being no delays in the meeting and a thoroughly bloody nice taxi driver I managed to get back to the pub in time to down 4 pints of Thatchers gold and take a bottle of Magners back to our room but yeah I probably would have felt a lot worse this morning if things had gone to plan! Looking on the bright side, you were saved form spending the best part of a fiver on a pint! Sadly I was too drunk to realise it was a bad idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humphrey Appleby Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 When you think that this very same event was held years ago at Odsal, a fairly ramshackle stadium and with little in the way of presentation. Or being held in the Munich Olympic Stadium the year before, compared to Riga this year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phillipsr Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 anyone had any experience of the vip packages and if sowould you recommend I did last year and no. Its ok but not worth the money and the pit walk is very very average Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman2006 Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 Anothert big highlight for me was meeting Reg Fearman. Had a long conversation with him, what a character!! I bet you were thrilled to bits, shame middlo wasnt their... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scunny1 Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 Fanzone on Wood Street a massive mistake, too small, no atmosphere- move it back to usual place next year please. Stunter was great, just been out on my Beemer trying some moves-pillion not impressed! Whole presentation was super slick and very impressive- early ish finish meant half hour wait for local train back to car 6 miles out of Cardiff , But back home just outside Scunthorpe for 01.15 hrs and never broke speed limits. The other Scunny lad is turning out to be a very worthy World Champ and fantastic ambassador for our beloved sport- Well done Tai on and off track!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PHILIPRISING Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 THE fanzine will have to move next year as this year's location will not be available. I am certainly not defending the cost of hotel rooms, etc, but genuinely do not believe that any other stadium in the UK is comparable to the Millennium as far as staging a speedway event of this magnitude is concerned. Or being held in the Munich Olympic Stadium the year before, compared to Riga this year? YET another unnecessary comment Humphrey. Not every GP can be held in a Millennium stadium. There has to be a balance, a mix of stadia and venues, and while the stadium in Riga may not (initially) be the best the city has plenty to offer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starman2006 Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) THE fanzine will have to move next year as this year's location will not be available. I am certainly not defending the cost of hotel rooms, etc, but genuinely do not believe that any other stadium in the UK is comparable to the Millennium as far as staging a speedway event of this magnitude is concerned. I think i would agree with you Phil. But you have to keep investing, especially on the track, as that is the main stage so to speak. Speculate to accumulate and all that. Sadly, in this day and age given the hotels would make limited money over the year if they get a captive Audience they are going to take advantage.But end of the day its down to the fans, if they want to stay friday and or saturday they are going to have to pay. That said, as far as tickets are concerned , i do feel that BSI should dangle the odd carrot. I don't know what the official attendance was, but it looked fairly good, but we really need to get the National papers more involved, and if Tai becomes World Champion again, what a good place to start... Edited July 13, 2014 by Starman2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Blobby Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 (edited) Had a fantastic day yesterday sitting outside under the umbrellas having a few the fanzone got given a big build up this year but i wasn't that impressed. it's better where it was before. Onto the meeting thought it was okay the atmosphere was phenomenal as always. you wouldn't get a noise like that any where else IMO. Anyone know what the official attendance was? Edited July 13, 2014 by Mr Blobby Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R87 Posted July 13, 2014 Report Share Posted July 13, 2014 The only spoiler yesterday was the Fanzone. Didn't even bother going into the mixer as there were far too many people in such a small area. When I met up with my sis a bit later she said that Monster tent stopped handing out drinks due to the over crowding. Everything else was perfection. Why anyone would suggest that the British GP should move to Wembley or anywhere else in fact need to visit the doctor. Cardiff is simply the Monaco of speedway and is perfectly suited to any weather conditions thrown at it. Wembley may be better in the sense of the nationals being more interested, but if you think Cardiff is expensive, then Wembley would be ridiculous Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.