King's Lynn Stars 2017

[Bunce]

There are probably a combination of factors that have had an effect on the track, but I'm sure its not been the same since Huggy left.

[DWP]

From my knowledge, the track hasn't changed shape for many years now. Actually Lynn riders don't ask for it to be slick, they ask for grip. Generally the starts are very grippy, due to the clay. You can see that when Buster breaks it up before adding fresh shale just before start of the meeting. I don't know why, but the track does seem to go slick after only a few races. The dirt gets pushed out and coming into bend 1 and 3 the track is soon back to a rock hard base shale and very slick. The one thing I and others noticed walking the track before the last meeting 2016, was the amount of gravel in the shale. Something I hadn't seen before especially to this extent. Whether it's a new source of shale I'm not certain. Nick tells me, the stones at Lynn destroy bikes ( wheels and helmets etc) and are bloody painful if you get sprayed by it. He wears a cricket thigh pad to help this, only track he ever wears it. Possibly today's bikes and engines have made Lynn, more gate and go. But I've still seen plenty of overtaking, when the dirt line builds and is not too wet. It could be this new Gerhard engine might help, time will tell.

[g13webb]

Where have all the rackers gone ??? Back in the years when the sport was run on cinders, after every race there were a posse of rackers pulling all the muck back from the boards. I know a thankless task, that I wouldn't be prepared to do, but we always had better race tracks.

 

I think the bigger issue now is that the bikes rev far higher and any shale is quickly moved to the edge of the track....

[Clive Ward]

From my knowledge, the track hasn't changed shape for many years now. Actually Lynn riders don't ask for it to be slick, they ask for grip. Generally the starts are very grippy, due to the clay. You can see that when Buster breaks it up before adding fresh shale just before start of the meeting. I don't know why, but the track does seem to go slick after only a few races. The dirt gets pushed out and coming into bend 1 and 3 the track is soon back to a rock hard base shale and very slick. The one thing I and others noticed walking the track before the last meeting 2016, was the amount of gravel in the shale. Something I hadn't seen before especially to this extent. Whether it's a new source of shale I'm not certain. Nick tells me, the stones at Lynn destroy bikes ( wheels and helmets etc) and are bloody painful if you get sprayed by it. He wears a cricket thigh pad to help this, only track he ever wears it. Possibly today's bikes and engines have made Lynn, more gate and go. But I've still seen plenty of overtaking, when the dirt line builds and is not too wet. It could be this new Gerhard engine might help, time will tell.

I read an article by Johnsy in the speedway star regarding costs of the gm engine where he said a rev limiter could easily be fitted at the factory and this would have the same effect as the gerhard engine.

[Starman2006]

I read an article by Johnsy in the speedway star regarding costs of the gm engine where he said a rev limiter could easily be fitted at the factory and this would have the same effect as the gerhard engine.

Yeh but didn't i read somewhere the Gerhard engine is a closed unit ?

[Bald Bloke]

I read an article by Johnsy in the speedway star regarding costs of the gm engine where he said a rev limiter could easily be fitted at the factory and this would have the same effect as the gerhard engine.

 

Can easily be removed as well,unless the engines are sealed.I believe the Gerhard engine has a much longer service life.The lubrication system is superior as well.But just lowering the revs 500-1000 rpm won't make the GM go 3x the service interval that it does now imho.What ever happens down the line the engines must be sealed.

[Col]

Good idea Col. What is your view on the Lynn track over the past couple of season. Gaters paradise now ?

 

Never visited Kings Lynn, from what I have seen on Sky, it is better than average track but I wouldn't take that as a true reflection of racing. As much as riders need a track to be prepared in a manner so racing is good the attitude of the riders is just as important. The Stars team has been blessed with Lambert & Iversen for all most all of the Sky EL matches I've ever watched, two never say die racers. Other than that they hosted an SWC event, when most riders generally perform at their optimum.

[g13webb]

It would be wrong of anybody to run GM down. Over the years they have been the mainstay of our sport. But in saying that, we have to believe that making racing cheaper has to be the prioritive of any league. It has been well herald the costs the riders need to pay to be competitive, so any chance of a big saving has to be considered.

 

If the performances of Freddie Lindgren was attained from a sealed unit, one has to be impressed. I hate to think of the tuning costs over the years that riders pay, money that is lost to the sport forever. Listening to Holder opinion when asked he replied, It was important to be confident of his machinery when competing in big meetings. Going there with a used engine wouldn't install the same feelings he got from a specially prepared one...... That was a fair comment..... So obviously a mental factor is there to be considered as well.

 

Probably we have reached the time when the machinery used in the leagues to those used in the SGP have to be different. If a rider could use these sealed units for a whole season, for a one off cost of £4000, then they have to be considered...,..

 

 

. Maybe some will change their Christmas present list. . Merry Xmas to you all.......

[EnglishRoundabout]

Where have all the rackers gone ??? Back in the years when the sport was run on cinders, after every race there were a posse of rackers pulling all the muck back from the boards. I know a thankless task, that I wouldn't be prepared to do, but we always had better race tracks.

 

I think the bigger issue now is that the bikes rev far higher and any shale is quickly moved to the edge of the track....

 

Rackers? They still have rakers as Somerset.

[Fourentee]

Nick tells me, the stones at Lynn destroy bikes ( wheels and helmets etc) and are bloody painful if you get sprayed by it.

There was much hilarity in the visitors' pits a year or two back when Freddie Lindgren pulled in after a somewhat ineffectual effort and was seen to be walking like the late John Wayne, having taken a sizeable one amidships. He was crimson from the neck up (and, doubtless, purple from the waist down although nobody offered to check).

[stevehone]

Not just stones ....

 

 

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_womble/6820466524/in/album-72157629545751849/

[semion]

New balls please. Oppps wrong sport.😉

[tellboy]

Not just stones ....

 

 

 

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/the_womble/6820466524/in/album-72157629545751849/

Did Pedersen sack his mechanic for losing that spanner

[Shale Searcher]

Did Pedersen sack his mechanic for losing that spanner

 

That could easily be off the rear wheel adjuster, not definitely already embedded in the track surface..... Seen them left on by spannermen before.....

[Starboy118]

Any news/thoughts on who is likely to be the last member of the magnificent seven?

[mrss]

Is James Cockles average to high to be number seven?

[g13webb]

That could easily be off the rear wheel adjuster, not definitely already embedded in the track surface..... Seen them left on by spannermen before.....

 

The spanner in question could have belonged to any Danish rider who was using Saddlebow Road that day. I was fortunate to also attend the official practice session the Danish had pre-arranged to use the track for a pre-season practise day back in 2013. The offending spanner lay on the track for some time and glistened in the morning sunlight while a number of riders were giving it go. I remembered thinking it was a mirror, such was the reflection in the sun. eventually it was collected by one of three mechanics who went to the trouble of looking for something during the break..... Nicky Pedersen was the lucky person photographed on the day, but it could easily have been Niels, Andersen or Mads all out on the track at that particular time.....

[foreverblue]

Did Pedersen sack his mechanic for losing that spanner

Pedersen is a spanner!!

[tellboy]

 

The spanner in question could have belonged to any Danish rider who was using Saddlebow Road that day. I was fortunate to also attend the official practice session the Danish had pre-arranged to use the track for a pre-season practise day back in 2013. The offending spanner lay on the track for some time and glistened in the morning sunlight while a number of riders were giving it go. I remembered thinking it was a mirror, such was the reflection in the sun. eventually it was collected by one of three mechanics who went to the trouble of looking for something during the break..... Nicky Pedersen was the lucky person photographed on the day, but it could easily have been Niels, Andersen or Mads all out on the track at that particular time.....

2012 was the year.If you see it on the track for some time,didn't you think of telling someone about it.

Pedersen is a spanner!!

Now then.

[g13webb]

2012 was the year.If you see it on the track for some time,didn't you think of telling someone about it.

Now then.

 

To be more precise it was 8th March 2012, In my first posting on the subject I visualised the event as a few years back. Sorry about that. I didn't realise the date was that important.....

 

Why didn't I tell someone about it ?

 

In events like this, the track is graded periodically . Once graded the riders go out in groups of 3 and 4's to do a few laps, when they return to the pits and then another group come out. This carries on for half an hour or so before the track is again regarded. I pointed out in that first post I saw something reflecting in the sunlight not knowing what it was . Was it a stone, was it a piece of silver paper, could it be a nut or bolt, I had no idea until it was retrieved by the mechanics during the next grading break. I see them pick something up from the track, and it was only when SteveHone posted the pictures the following day I realised it was indeed a spanner.

 

I don't know the reason for your comment making out I should have done something, I am a responsible person and can assure you had I seen anything that contributed danger in any way I would have jumped over the fence myself. In this instance there was nothing seen to be reported...... Is that ok with you.......

Edited December 30, 2016 by GRW123