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Coventry Track


canalman

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Colin Pratt is in charge of the track.

 

It changes every time we have a meeting on it. Produced some great racing in our EL meetings this year though.

They seem to struggle after stock car meetings

 

According to the NL 4's thread, the stock cars were a week ago.

 

About three weeks ago, I went to Scunthorpe for a meeting when they had had stocks the day before. The track wasn't as excellent as usual, but it was miles better than yesterday's.

 

If Mr Godfrey can do it, why can't Coventry ?

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Colin Pratt is in charge of the track.

 

Where was he yesterday then because there was no sign of him. Surely if he was in charge of the track he would have been out there sorting it out.

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According to the NL 4's thread, the stock cars were a week ago.

 

About three weeks ago, I went to Scunthorpe for a meeting when they had had stocks the day before. The track wasn't as excellent as usual, but it was miles better than yesterday's.

 

If Mr Godfrey can do it, why can't Coventry ?

i Have followed up your comment on Scunny Stock Cars by going on their site but what you don,t realise they are basically street cars with a few reinforced poles inside for driver protection and they are running on road tyres .Go to Coventry site and look at the big formula 1 cars on there and you will see a much heavier and stronger race car capable of tearing the circuit to c**p when you have 6 races per meeting and also bangers and mini stox etc etc as support events usually up to 30 + cars a race over 16 to 25 laps it is a nightmare for any trackman .But having said that they bring in much bigger crowds than Speedway so Promoters are not going to kill the Golden Goose

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i Have followed up your comment on Scunny Stock Cars by going on their site but what you don,t realise they are basically street cars with a few reinforced poles inside for driver protection and they are running on road tyres .Go to Coventry site and look at the big formula 1 cars on there and you will see a much heavier and stronger race car capable of tearing the circuit to c**p when you have 6 races per meeting and also bangers and mini stox etc etc as support events usually up to 30 + cars a race over 16 to 25 laps it is a nightmare for any trackman .But having said that they bring in much bigger crowds than Speedway so Promoters are not going to kill the Golden Goose

 

yes , the stocks do a lot of damage to the track , sometimes its that bad that the stock cars get stuck in the mud ,

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i Have followed up your comment on Scunny Stock Cars by going on their site but what you don,t realise they are basically street cars with a few reinforced poles inside for driver protection and they are running on road tyres .Go to Coventry site and look at the big formula 1 cars on there and you will see a much heavier and stronger race car capable of tearing the circuit to c**p when you have 6 races per meeting and also bangers and mini stox etc etc as support events usually up to 30 + cars a race over 16 to 25 laps it is a nightmare for any trackman .But having said that they bring in much bigger crowds than Speedway so Promoters are not going to kill the Golden Goose

 

............and I followed up yours on the Coventry website and found out that the last stock car meeting at Brandon was on 5 October, three weeks before Sunday's 4TT.

 

It beggars belief that you can use as an excuse for poor track preparation a meeting that took place three weeks before hand.

 

The simple truth is that that track on Sunday was dangerous, and whoever prepared it either knew that or is unfit to do the job. The Coventry track has been dreadful all year, and all the excuses in the world simply won't wash with speedway fans when others that hold F1 stocks (and both Belle Vue and King's Lynn do) can produce decent racing surfaces week after week.

 

Crap tracks are an absolute disaster for speedway, and at the moment Coventry are at (or near) the top of the list for that.

 

The person who I have most sympathy for is Mick Horton. Track preparation is completely out of his control, yet he takes most of the flak about it and it is his business that is damaged by it.

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............and I followed up yours on the Coventry website and found out that the last stock car meeting at Brandon was on 5 October, three weeks before Sunday's 4TT.

 

It beggars belief that you can use as an excuse for poor track preparation a meeting that took place three weeks before hand.

 

The simple truth is that that track on Sunday was dangerous, and whoever prepared it either knew that or is unfit to do the job. The Coventry track has been dreadful all year, and all the excuses in the world simply won't wash with speedway fans when others that hold F1 stocks (and both Belle Vue and King's Lynn do) can produce decent racing surfaces week after week.

 

Crap tracks are an absolute disaster for speedway, and at the moment Coventry are at (or near) the top of the list for that.

 

The person who I have most sympathy for is Mick Horton. Track preparation is completely out of his control, yet he takes most of the flak about it and it is his business that is damaged by it.

 

The coventrystox.com website only lists the meetings run by Jeremy Heaver.

 

Steve Rees' Startrax promotion ran a meeting there on the 19th October 2014.

 

http://www.startrax.info/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=285

Edited by ballinger
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One point I would like to make on this topic, is that Coventry have had stock car racing for as long as I can remember. They have always managed to run the two sports very well in the past .The equipment to prepare the track is all there,indeed I expect everyone attending Brandon will have seen the big blade ( one serious piece of equipment). So why are we suddenly seeing such poor track preparation I wonder? Is it the staff, or is it the attitude of the stadium management?

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............and I followed up yours on the Coventry website and found out that the last stock car meeting at Brandon was on 5 October, three weeks before Sunday's 4TT.

 

It beggars belief that you can use as an excuse for poor track preparation a meeting that took place three weeks before hand.

 

The simple truth is that that track on Sunday was dangerous, and whoever prepared it either knew that or is unfit to do the job. The Coventry track has been dreadful all year, and all the excuses in the world simply won't wash with speedway fans when others that hold F1 stocks (and both Belle Vue and King's Lynn do) can produce decent racing surfaces week after week.

 

Crap tracks are an absolute disaster for speedway, and at the moment Coventry are at (or near) the top of the list for that.

 

The person who I have most sympathy for is Mick Horton. Track preparation is completely out of his control, yet he takes most of the flak about it and it is his business that is damaged by it.

I wasn,t using a three week old meeting as an excuse I had already posted about the meeting on the 19th oct which had 22 races of various stox, bangers, modifieds,and the old style stox from the 50,s which is a new thing this year but I am not or have never said the track has been any where near where it should be this year for Speedway .The main damage was done at the start of the season with the man appointed as Curator but he was in over his head as he had never experienced English conditions .A lot of damage was done as a result and with speedway stox twice a month and Greyhounds running again you don,t get as much time as you would like for prep .I have read most posts to do with the Cov track since I have worked there as Raker, Pits Pusher, Tractor Driver, assistant to Colin Meredith , Curator Myself x Twice ( 5years then additional 2 years ) and helping on Race days when I,m not Trucking which I do now .You seem to think that my posts are protecting Bees Track Staff from any criticism but I am just giving an inside view on most problems that an awful lot of Trackmen are confronted with .I quite agree Sunday,s problem on 3 rd bend caught us out at a late stage as the track had been put in since Friday but as soon as Referee asked for it to be rectified we did do so with the help of Adam Roynon and his cement and Len Silver thanks to them for their help.There were a number of falls but not many on the 3rd bend but more on bend 2 why I don,t know .I appreciate yourself and other posters are the paying customers and ask questions which they would like answered .I have always been honest in my reply,s which I think most Bees fans have appreciated .

Cheers F.T.M.

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I wasn,t using a three week old meeting as an excuse I had already posted about the meeting on the 19th oct which had 22 races of various stox, bangers, modifieds,and the old style stox from the 50,s which is a new thing this year but I am not or have never said the track has been any where near where it should be this year for Speedway .The main damage was done at the start of the season with the man appointed as Curator but he was in over his head as he had never experienced English conditions .A lot of damage was done as a result and with speedway stox twice a month and Greyhounds running again you don,t get as much time as you would like for prep .I have read most posts to do with the Cov track since I have worked there as Raker, Pits Pusher, Tractor Driver, assistant to Colin Meredith , Curator Myself x Twice ( 5years then additional 2 years ) and helping on Race days when I,m not Trucking which I do now .You seem to think that my posts are protecting Bees Track Staff from any criticism but I am just giving an inside view on most problems that an awful lot of Trackmen are confronted with .I quite agree Sunday,s problem on 3 rd bend caught us out at a late stage as the track had been put in since Friday but as soon as Referee asked for it to be rectified we did do so with the help of Adam Roynon and his cement and Len Silver thanks to them for their help.There were a number of falls but not many on the 3rd bend but more on bend 2 why I don,t know .I appreciate yourself and other posters are the paying customers and ask questions which they would like answered .I have always been honest in my reply,s which I think most Bees fans have appreciated .

Cheers F.T.M.

 

I hear what you are saying and thank you for your honesty.

 

The problem is it doesn't wash for one second with me and, I suspect, almost everyone else.

Edited by Halifaxtiger
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Supposed to be Colin Pratt but who knows? If it is him I can't believe, with all the experience he has, that he would prepare the track how it has been recently. But as he is presumably employed by Sandhu perhaps there is an ulterior motive. I've got very cynical in my old age. ;)

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I hear what you are saying and thank you for your honesty.

 

The problem is it doesn't wash for one second with me and, I suspect, almost everyone else.

you thank me for my honesty then say it doesn,t wash with you and probably in your opinion with everyone else .Just what doesn,t wash with you can you explain what you would like to see written in my post .I agree with you and other fans the track wasn,t good and we worked hard at it to get it raceable to the Referees agreed standard .Never mind perhaps I would be better off ignoring posts instead of trying to explain what a lot of people don,t see in preparing tracks.

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Can you just answer one question please FTM. Has Colin Pratt been in charge of the track preparation for the past two/three months or not?

Actually I've thought of another now, which of course no one answered on another thread. What exactly has to happen to prepare the track for Stock Cars being as the Storm match had to be cancelled? What would take 2 days preparation because all I can think of is removing the air fence?

Edited by Gemini
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