Could Rain Cancellations Become A Thing Of The Past In Speedway

[shalefan]

Heard about this on the radio today and now found it online. Surely if this comes about could it by implemented by our tracks. Costs no doubt will come into it;

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2017/10/03/mcc-explores-plan-cover-lords-mesh-netting-end-rain-delays/

[foamfence]

It might catch on in Poland and the GPs but the problems here are cost and access to the stadium, it certainly is worth looking at though.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

Or we could just tell the riders to change their attitudes and get on with it

[steve roberts]

Or we could just tell the riders to change their attitudes and get on with it

Dean I would be interested to know from an ex-rider what was the biggest problem experienced by a rider with a wet track.

 

Is visibility the biggest issue or the fact that bikes sliding on a wet surface causing the problems?

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

Dean I would be interested to know from an ex-rider what was the biggest problem experienced by a rider with a wet track.

 

Is visibility the biggest issue or the fact that bikes sliding on a wet surface causing the problems?

vision but I just think riders today are too fussy , the.bikes do skid around a bit but riders are skilfull enough to adapt they just dont seem to want to , my attitude was if Im there we start the meeting and if we start we finish no matter how much it rained , I.never got a meeting called off but as a captain I sometimes had to go with the other 6 even if I did disagree with them Edited October 4, 2017 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[PHILIPRISING]

vision but I just think riders today are too fussy , the.bikes do skid around a bit but riders are skilfull enough to adapt they just dont seem to want to , my attitude was if Im there we start the meeting and if we start we finish no matter how much it rained , I.never got a meeting called off but as a captain I sometimes had to go with the other 6 even if I did disagree with them

WOULD different tyres help?

[Fromafar]

WOULD different tyres help?

Think it would help if there was more dirt on track but modern day riders + Machinary can't seen to handle it.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

WOULD different tyres help?

maybe but you witnessed the fiasco of the solid block tyre , the riders will kick up a stink to anything that changes the ride of the bike in some cases justifiably , if you were to fit the 80s Carlisle tyre to the modern bike nobody would get round the first bend , the bikes need to change with the tyre but thats not going to happen , at the end of the day the riders are not interested in getting a wet meeting on if it means they will have to change the way the bike rides which is what a different tyre would do ,mitas or whoever could bring out a wet tyre but I just think it will end in the same farce as most ideas like silencers, tyres etc , one rider cant win a race then they all gang up and next thing you know the use is suspended

[Vince]

Do we actually want more meetings to run or continue in the wet?

 

Generally they are poor for spectators because the riders get very strung out trying to keep some visibility.

 

Not saying that is always the case but it's worth a thought.

[foamfence]

Do we actually want more meetings to run or continue in the wet?

 

Generally they are poor for spectators because the riders get very strung out trying to keep some visibility.

 

Not saying that is always the case but it's worth a thought.

Cancellations drive more people away I would think.

[steve roberts]

Cancellations drive more people away I would think.

I did take in Milton Keynes's very first meeting that was run in very wet conditions.

 

It has been suggested many times that it should have been cancelled but it was felt at the time that it would have turned many people off in the future. However it has also been suggested that running the meeting also put people off in returning...a no win situation really.

[PHILIPRISING]

I HAVE spoken to several riders who believe that there are tyres available that could be only used in wet conditions and that could save some meetings from being called off.

[foamfence]

I did take in Milton Keynes's very first meeting that was run in very wet conditions.

 

It has been suggested many times that it should have been cancelled but it was felt at the time that it would have turned many people off in the future. However it has also been suggested that running the meeting also put people off in returning...a no win situation really.

Well I suppose it varies from one person to another.

I HAVE spoken to several riders who believe that there are tyres available that could be only used in wet conditions and that could save some meetings from being called off.

Yes but it only takes one with a loud enough voice to halt proceedings.

[shalefan]

Surely the idea of our sport is for it to be run in the best conditions possible for everyone sake. That has to be in the dry! I remember watching years ago the fiasco at Reading for the World team cup round in the wet, not very appealing at all. For the spectator and only my opinion it’s not fun watching riders trying to race in wet conditions, as it is the sport suffers from people who say first out the gate wins, in the wet that seems to happen a lot more. For years the sport seems to have been looking for ways to beat the rain whether some riders want to ride in the wet or not. This idea could pave the way forward but as I said costs would be a factor but I would have thought that if you had this sort of cover spectators would not be put off of travelling knowing the match would be on and riders travelling around Europe would not have wasted journeys whatever the weather was doing outside. Time will tell

[brianbuck]

The bottom line, and still the biggest reason why track covers are not widely used is the indisputable fact that people will not venture out if the weather is bad. Promoters will say with justification that there is little point in covering a track at huge expense, if they are only to get a fraction of their normal attendance, and lose money as a consequence.

 

At Perry Barr for example, there is room to accomodate 1,500 people in a comfortable, air conditioned inside area with excellent viewing, but still, on a wet night the crowds won't turn out.

[The Cheese]

Might stop rain-offs but wind-offs would soon become a problem! If this ever happened I would imagine the cost wouldn't be cheap and with the reluctance of most tracks to even invest in covers I can't see it being a solution for speedway.

[iris123]

As i posted on another thread,i won't even bother to get in the car if the weather isn't great....i.e perfect.Had enough trips to see crap speedway or a meeting called off.Things are only getting worse with riders attitudes for whatever reason,and it might be that modern bikes are unsafe.Fair enough,but count me out of the equation.So i have missed a few meetings this year that i would probably have attended because of this,including the Bundesliga Final last weekend at my local track

[mike1944]

I wonder how the speedway riders of the past (1950s -- early1960s) coped with visibility, no dirt deflectors or tear-offs and they managed with these http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/Speedway-Gas-Goggles.jpg over conventional goggles. I have seen riders and bikes coming back to the pits after a race completely covered in wet shale you could not even see the colour of their helmets or leathers, in conditions that no rider today would race in

[Gresham]

I HAVE spoken to several riders who believe that there are tyres available that could be only used in wet conditions and that could save some meetings from being called off.

Then write about it in the SS...no point putting it on a forum...get it out there in print.

 

With respect...I like the way SS has been writing of late, but there comes a point where talking openly and ruffling feathers needs to be done.

 

I get that certain things have to be kept in hand, otherwise no one will speak to you....however, I think there comes a time when you have to say, enough is enough.

 

Get it out there and off your chest....say what the fans feel.

 

If not....soon SS will become what Backtrack is....a magazine about the past.

[Aces51]

I wonder how the speedway riders of the past (1950s -- early1960s) coped with visibility, no dirt deflectors or tear-offs and they managed with these http://www.national-speedway-museum.co.uk/Speedway-Gas-Goggles.jpg over conventional goggles. I have seen riders and bikes coming back to the pits after a race completely covered in wet shale you could not even see the colour of their helmets or leathers, in conditions that no rider today would race in

Check out @kenneth_bjerres Tweet: https://twitter.com/kenneth_bjerre/status/911483017092370433?s=09

 

We've had a few decent meetings in very wet conditions at the NSS this year involving both the Aces and the Colts. Riders seem prepared to give it a go and race, maybe because of the wide open spaces.

Edited October 5, 2017 by Aces51