Coventry V Poole 1/6/15

[mrss]

How many more nails can be driven into british speedways coffin. Top is nearly fixed solid then there is no escape .after last nights shambles speedway is doomed.

[weatherwatcher]

At every Sky meeting, the home team should have an army buggler on the terraces playing the last post, and all the fans should take their hats off and then have a 2 minutes silence. For what happened last night could well have put an far swifter end to EL racing and the end of telivised British Speedway. Which in one way won't be that bad for the sport. Let them bring in BT sport to do I am sure they can't make a worse hash of things.

Call an end to the heat 10 rule unless it reaches the final heat no results, simple as the mongose says.

[Woz01]

It seems crazy to me that the Bees promotion had no say whatsoever over anything yesterday. From not allowed to call it off early to not even allowed to prepare the track and now because of it the promotion has lost thousands of pounds and the manager and riders fined. It's just a ridiculous situation.

[Steve0]

Chris Harris missus has just said as well as Havvy the RIDERS were also fined. Absolute joke.

I can't see how anyone would be surprised - the referee and officials said race and the riders didn't so it was inevitable that they would be punished.

 

As has been said several times - the meeting shouldn't have started because we all knew we wouldn't get 15 heats in.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Steve0

[mdmc82]

In heat 10 the track was that bad that the Poole riders out on the track on their own couldn't even control the bike (thank god there hadn't been 4 in the race or we would have been looking at a crash) yet the track had been the same since the early heats so why not call it off then.

 

The rain became heavy at 7pm and hit the track hard, they were still trying to get the track rideable at 7.20pm so they knew it had deteriorated before the meeting started.

[r8gdp]

The farce that is elite speedway ? Continues let's fine the riders for what refusing to race in what was clearly an unfit track someone should have asked the ref and peter Clarke to go out on a bike and try to ride round

Yet again as with the belle vue Poole meeting the paying public suffer it's no wonder the crowds are down

If I was a casual viewer last night that I wouldn't t be tempted to go to my local track

[Star Lady]

What a farce. I could say many things but what riles me the most is the fact the riders were fined and too quote Kylamakorpi "it's my f**king LIFE" yet the meeting steward Peter Clarke aka Sky poodle promised to have a track inspection and didn't will walk away without one.

 

Unless speedway somehow manages to get officials with some balls who make decisions without "fear or prejudice" speedway will continue on the road of Blatterism.

 

RIP Speedway

[thecoombdog]

To me the problem is the heat 10 rule. Using Swindon as an example, last season we had the meeting against Cov when it was peeing down by heat 9. We had no way of winning so we wanted it off and Cov wanted it on. That's understandable. Then look at the Swindon BV meeting which was on sky. We were winning and again it was peeing down. The roles were suddenly reversed. If there was no heat 10 rule then these situations wouldn't happen. Last night would probably have been called off before it started because it was obvious 15 heats wouldn't be finished. Instead there was probably a discussion saying let's get through 10 which is just wrong and robs the paying public. That's not Poole's fault. They just benefited from it last night.

 

I also think team managers and riders need to be a bit more consistent. If it's dangerous then it's dangerous whether you are winning or losing. You can't be happy to race in the rain one week and then complain the next.

[Woz01]

I can't see how anyone would be surprised - the referee and officials said race and the riders didn't so it was inevitable that they would be punished.

 

As has been said several times - the meeting shouldn't have started because we all knew we wouldn't get 15 heats in.

But they were promised an inspection after heat 9 and that didn't happen so had every right not to go out on the grounds of safety. They didn't give a toss what the riders thoughts were the only thing in the officials mind was "get to heat 10" Edited June 2, 2015 by woz01

[Midland Red]

It seems crazy to me that the Bees promotion had no say whatsoever over anything yesterday. From not allowed to call it off early to not even allowed to prepare the track and now because of it the promotion has lost thousands of pounds and the manager and riders fined. It's just a ridiculous situation.

I said earlier the 10 heat rule should be abolished

In addition, I would say, for the sake of British speedway, let's do away with live televised meetings

Perhaps a weekly " highlights" programme - there still are highlights in this wonderful sport

Get the remains of the speedway public back in the stadia instead of their armchairs

[Woz01]

I said earlier the 10 heat rule should be abolished

In addition, I would say, for the sake of British speedway, let's do away with live televised meetings

Perhaps a weekly " highlights" programme - there still are highlights in this wonderful sport

Get the remains of the speedway public back in the stadia instead of their armchairs

A year ago I'd have disagreed with that but now I'm all for it.

[gary moore]

Of course mate, 22 Trophies in the last 15 years. we keep getting lucky i guess

 

as long as your happy with how you get them,then thats fine?

Clearly someone who does not know what they are talking about................

 

Personally I think it should have been pulled when Garrity decided to take out King and Newman................Garrity is a liability on a bike............and at times downright dangerous not just to others but to himself....................

 

Harris did want to ride the last heat you could tell by his body language and the gestures he made at the cameras after it was run............Havvy really needs to stop throwing his toys out of the pram..............its not going to do him or the team any good..............

 

Overall as others have said it may have been a victory for Poole but it certainly did not taste sweet.............

 

RP

Spot on.................

 

 

Thats why you have so many Poole haters isnt it? The manipulate and have to win at any cost.

 

Ive probably been going to speedway longer than youve been alive?

[oldace]

In addition, I would say, for the sake of British speedway, let's do away with live televised meetings

Perhaps a weekly " highlights" programme - there still are highlights in this wonderful sport

Get the remains of the speedway public back in the stadia instead of their armchairs

 

Nonsense.

 

It is not the remains of the speedway public you need to chase, it is a whole new audience.

 

Have you any idea how much advertising on SKY would cost. Speedway should have been treating these nights as virtually free advertising and showing the sport as a vibrant, must attend night out. It cannot look like that when no one is actually there. Admission of a fiver, or less, and fill the venues gives it an air of a good night out. All you do with events like last night is convince the casual observer that here is a sport in its death throes best left alone.

 

Of course that's only half the problem. First rule of marketing is do not advertise a product that is flawed. Anyone with a modicum of nouse can attract a crowd once, even if its just the free admission route, but to get them back a second time they have to be enamoured with the product. Fail to deliver and that potential customer is lost forever, you do not get second chances. The truth, in most occasions, is the old "bring a friend" trotted out by most promotions simply costs you potential fans in the long term because you will have bored them to tears

[Midland Red]

Not total nonsense! Look at the sparse attendance last night, compared with the same fixture a few weeks ago, not televised

So many chose to stay in front of the TV last night - yes, the weather played its part, but that's the point - more would have taken a chance and attended in the terrible weather had it not been on TV

[pugwash]

Didn't see havelock moaning when King, Harris and Kylmakorpi were banging in wins. When did the track actually become 'dangerous'?

[g13webb]

Nobody loves this sport more than I, but over the years this love has been tested to the full. Last night was the most self destructive display I've ever witnessed. All common sense of every issue has disappeared and been replaced by Sky Television demands. All these demands are for their benefit only, because Sky doesn't give a damn for the sport and sees it as just a 'fill-in' for the available slots they have. The people of the BSPA appear powerless to regain control they should have, and continue to bow, to all Sky wishes. Last night was a typical example of SKY rules......

 

The importance of safety should be paramount. I'm not a disciple of 'Rider Power', but at times like this, when tracks are bad, it is the riders that should be considered first and foremost. Last night, from the off, the weather was a problem and any decision to race was going to be in adverse conditions, so the riders had to be concerned.

The fiasco that followed really took the sport into the gutter. The spectacle of team racing was a non-starter. The conditions saw to that. Each manager should have had a finger on the pulse and as soon as the rain persisted and the track deteriorated, then the proceedings should have stopped. If it was done in a professional manner, the fans and sport would have excepted

 

The shambles that followed was painful, Havvy, acting more like school kid, did nobody any favours. Had he been more professional, he would not have waited until their defeat was imminent, before complaining about the track. He had 4 top riders who were coping well with the conditions and this should have been enough to at least got some reward, instead of which, his other riders were dropping points, hands over fist, each time they rode, and he seem oblivious to this fact. Each mistake your riders make, gives the points to the opposition. Havvy's final act of not letting his riders in the last race was too little too late.

Have never been a Poole lover, and hate the way they sometimes work, but last night they acted in proper professional manner. They rode to the conditions and were amply rewarded. Can't moan about.......They did nothing wrong..

[thecoombdog]

Does anyone know how to search for threads from 2014? Should make some interesting reading looking back at the Swindon v Cov match at the start of the season last year.

http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=75995&page=7

 

Here it is mate. You can search on the desktop version.

 

Funny how a Coventry fan who claims they were at this meeting on this thread was clearly not there when you read through the replies on the old thread!

Edited June 2, 2015 by thecoombdog

[Phil The Ace]

You abolish the heat 10 rule then clubs will loose tonnes of money throughout the season.

 

Yes the heat 10 rule must go but what happens when rain falls at heat 14 and it's abandoned???? Re run whole meeting meaning clubs will have to pay rent and riders wages for a extra meeting. Not forgetting the fans paying extra.

 

There is no good solution to mother nature

[chris4gillian]

I heard that as well but didn't someone from Coventry say something like 'you might as well run heat 10 if you run heat 9' then there were some ironic 'yeh!' noises. I'm guessing the 'inspector' agreed and cracked on with heat 10.

 

Havelock should have been asking for the inspection at heat 5 or 6 but there was only 2 points in it then, it only became dangerous for the riders when Coventry were 9 behind.

 

 

Absolutely spot on. I will say it again...the fact that it was Poole that were winning after heat 10 was completely irrelevant. Would Havvy & Co. still been screaming for things to come to a halt before heat 10 if the scores had been reversed? I think not.

 

All Poole were guilty of doing was keeping quiet and getting on with things and that is following the rules to the letter. Anyone who thinks otherwise has a screw lose!

 

Folk on here should be questioning whether the heat 10 rule should exist...instead of hammering Poole who (for once) did absolutely NOTHING underhand or wrong.

 

May I suggest all posters read and absorb the above and then think before they post.

[spanner47]

I didn't even feel sympathy for those few who did attend because my thought was 'are you mad?'

 

Spot on. But how many paid? Take away the freeloaders and season ticket holders, surely not many were stupid enough to part with their cash.

For years I've always considered Speedway fans to have short memories and be very gullible, but it was good to see this is changing, well it certainly is going by the crowd at Brandon last night. As HT mentioned earlier, we used to get ripped off after heat 6, but it never seemed to rain that much in the olden days. But it appears once fans have been ripped off by this heat 10 rule, they say never again if the forecast is dodgy.