Bruiser McHuge Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Seems logical to me that riders should not be allowed to partake in the preparation of (any part of) the racetrack - they are required to ride to the start line to race and then ride back to the pits As a matter of interest, just how long has the "gardening" at the start been going on for? Somehow I can't recall very much of it in the "good old days" Certainly a 2 minute clock at every meeting would be a good idea, so that everyone knows the exact situation My brother in law rode in Britain in the mid 80's to early 90's and he was off his bike at the tapes virtually every race at the tapes !....so it's been going on a while...not really a big issue for me although Tai getting a spade out was a bit too far ! When I started watching speedway in the 70's I can't really remember riders off their bikes gardening but I used to love the big races where the riders were at the tapea and another one pulled away or rode off and came back....I used to think it added to the tension but there were bigger crowds and more atmosphere anyway...used to love all that back then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dontforgetthefueltapsbruv Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I can see a few instances of sharp practices on the horizon with certain posirions getting attention from track staff depending on where the home team are due to start the next heat . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barrow boy Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I can see a few instances of sharp practices on the horizon with certain posirions getting attention from track staff depending on where the home team are due to start the next heat . I don't think I've ever seen anyone rake over the starting gate area at Leicester in between races. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I can see a few instances of sharp practices on the horizon with certain posirions getting attention from track staff depending on where the home team are due to start the next heat . Shame Eastbourne decided to drop down isn't it? They could have been champions this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I for one think its a good step, a positive one to help the meetings flow. After Woffy put on the gardening show at the British Final, it was obvious something had to be done...... Why was it? Of course it would have been far better for the crowd to just watch an empty track..... Seems logical to me that riders should not be allowed to partake in the preparation of (any part of) the racetrack - they are required to ride to the start line to race and then ride back to the pits As a matter of interest, just how long has the "gardening" at the start been going on for? Somehow I can't recall very much of it in the "good old days" Certainly a 2 minute clock at every meeting would be a good idea, so that everyone knows the exact situation In the 'good old days' races used to take longer to start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 valve Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 How about going back in time and allowing riders to nudge the tapes - even push them to breaking point....only for another rider to apply the final straw and be excluded for being "the cause"...it was great to watch though caused loads of arguments between riders and supporters, and Olsen & Mauger were the very best at it.....It wont happen...just saying it might be better/entertaining than the current methodology/rules of today and almost certainly would remove the vast majority of the so called false starts. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R87 Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Tai didn't break any rules in the British Final. OK it may not have been in the spirit of competition or whatever you want to call it, but there was nothing in the rule book to say he was doing something illegal. There was nothing to stop the other 3 riders going out and doing the same, but they chose not to. That said, I don't think you'll find anyone complaining if meetings become slicker, rather than standing around waiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.N.T. Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Personally I think the only thing that was possibly wrong when Tai Woffinden did his shovelling during the British Final was that the referee's allowed it to happen in a meeting where there were more officials than normal including one on the center green. After a crash, one rider was back in the pits to do work on his bike so Tai used that time to run from the pits and prepare his gate. If the officials on duty didn't deem it wrong then he did not break any rules and as it wasn't during a race time but a break for mechanical repairs then that shouldn't be an issue really. I can see there being a few arguments at certain times on this, maybe only a few but excluding a rider who dismounts his bike when the two minute time allowance isn't even on or the other riders at the tapes will cause managers to phone the ref to complain, then time spent getting a replacement ready and then a fresh two minutes. Hardly stopping the time wasting is it ? There is one thing that I do feel could be done at all tracks is the track preparation at the starting gates. Apart from when the tractor goies over it, the gates are hardly touched but along the kickboard on the home straight there will be a massive amount of loose shale piled up to it. With at least three people on the starting gates, sometimes more, why can't this be raked back into the ruts after every heat or every other heat ? At the end of the meeting the starting grids are terribly rutted and it only means in the later heats riders have to dig to try and get a decent position by either filling in a rut or trying to find a decent patch to start from. Raking on the start grid every now and then would help stop this and riders can come to the gate each time to an evenly prepared starting position. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 How about going back in time and allowing riders to nudge the tapes - even push them to breaking point....only for another rider to apply the final straw and be excluded for being "the cause"...it was great to watch though caused loads of arguments between riders and supporters, and Olsen & Mauger were the very best at it.....It wont happen...just saying it might be better/entertaining than the current methodology/rules of today and almost certainly would remove the vast majority of the so called false starts. I remember a race at a Swindon v Cradley match. I had it on video. Jimmy Nilsen and John Davis, riding for Swindon, both went forward at the same time and nudged the tapes. Alan Grahame promplty released the clutch and rode straight through them. Grahame excluded. Crowd went wild. Nisen and Davis both moved back and smugly put their back wheels up in the air. Great stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TesarRacing Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Blimey, some of you guys are hard to please aren't you? I think it's a step in the right direction so why don't we wait till the season starts and see how it pans out. On the rider anticipating starts - I don't see a problem with that. Sometimes a rider will get it right, sometimes not. In any case I don't see how referees can possibly distinguish between someone anticipating the start and another getting it right! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbee Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Bring back concrete starting areas this happened in the 50s I think 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midland Red Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Also, in the good old days, the four bikes would be wheeled out onto the track, the riders would go their bike, and when all four where ready, they would be pushed off to go round to the tapes Nowadays the riders seem to appear on track at varying times, so the first one out has a long wait for the other three, which is usually spent gardening Perhaps they should get back to sending off all four riders to the tapes when all four are ready to go? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Blobby Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) I don't see what the problem is with getting off the bike to do a bit of gardening as long as by the end of the 2 minutes they are back on and ready to go! At the end of the day they have 2 minutes to be at the tapes and ready to race what they do at the gate before then I couldn't care less! Edited January 16, 2015 by Mr Blobby 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I don't see what the problem is with getting off the bike to do a bit of gardening as long as by the end of the 2 minutes they are back on and ready to go! At the end of the day they have 2 minutes to be at the tapes and ready to race what they do at the gate before then I couldn't care less! Exactly,they never seem to do anything simple regarding rule changes.A clock on the centre green you have to be ready to race before it gets to Zero end off. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Folk need to remember, most speedway fans aren't the brightest. Many have got it into their heads that speedway meetings run hours longer than in years gone by because riders are gardening, so this change is done to appease them. A simple solution such as a promptly applied and enforced 2 minutes wouldn't register with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E I Addio Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 . Not so, - Its the duty of the Starting marshall and his team, - which used to be one per gate, and as the track was racked so was the gate evened out and levelled. Riders are not responsible for track preparation/condition ! No, the rules say nothing about the start Marshall preparing the gate , let alone track staff. Of course we all know what went on at Eastbourne, there seem to be a number of tracks, such as Coventry and Rye House that don't seem to even have enough marshals to pull the dirt back on the bends, without having to find four more to prepare the gates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingbee Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 No, the rules say nothing about the start Marshall preparing the gate , let alone track staff. Of course we all know what went on at Eastbourne, there seem to be a number of tracks, such as Coventry and Rye House that don't seem to even have enough marshals to pull the dirt back on the bends, without having to find four more to prepare the gates.the rakers disappeared at Cov after the CO retired they used to be on four bends and at the gate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 valve Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 I remember a race at a Swindon v Cradley match. I had it on video. Jimmy Nilsen and John Davis, riding for Swindon, both went forward at the same time and nudged the tapes. Alan Grahame promplty released the clutch and rode straight through them. Grahame excluded. Crowd went wild. Nisen and Davis both moved back and smugly put their back wheels up in the air. Great stuff. Brilliant...bring it back....last heat decider and tape pushing, and give up on punishing flying starts with a restart, more often than not the riders reactions are just so much better than the refs eysight and being a tad older than the rider they cant believe he can be so quick getting out of the gate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barrycuda Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Post removed Edited June 2, 2015 by Barrycuda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g13webb Posted January 16, 2015 Report Share Posted January 16, 2015 Folk need to remember, most speedway fans aren't the brightest. Many have got it into their heads that speedway meetings run hours longer than in years gone by because riders are gardening, so this change is done to appease them. A simple solution such as a promptly applied and enforced 2 minutes wouldn't register with them. You speak for yourself. !! The time of speedway meetings vary considerably, There are many races run when the 2 mins warning is not given. The Starting Marshals appear too weak to enforce any strict time scheduling and although they stand there trying to bring riders under orders, without the authority the riders show no effort to hurry. If , when this rule is introduced, it will save a few minutes on the meeting timetable then that has to be a good thing. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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