Stoke

[arnieg]

The reason people don't go to Stoke Speedway is crap racing, dreadful tracks, an awful, rundown stadium, poor 'Dad's Army' teams and, in particular, a surly, hostile - even abusive - promotion. People have walked away in their dozens for that last reason alone.

 

 

Not to mention the random postponements, mystery generator failures and missing medical cover....

[Gunner85]

According to updates ,,,, both meetings will be 10 heats due to lack of time.

 

Is it any wonder that Stoke is on my banned list and has been for a long time.

 

Give me new promoters and I will go back

[ruckerroo]

Dear oh dear. Is there a place in any form of speedway for stoke ?

[bruno]

I.O.W 5 guests and r/r and no one mentions it because let's face it it's just normal practice now. How much to get in Stoke tonight for 20 heats

[KIRKYLANE]

Dear oh dear. Is there a place in any form of speedway for stoke ?

 

Yes if the present promoters get out and let someone else in !!!!!!

[Islander15]

or the paramedic or ambulance won't turn up.

Nearly! There was a rider turn up late instead.

 

I.O.W 5 guests and r/r and no one mentions it because let's face it it's just normal practice now. How much to get in Stoke tonight for 20 heats

4 guests. Updates were wrong.

[roguetrader]

What always concerns me , especially with clubs that are teetering on the brink , sanctions could tip the balance . I know if i was a promoter who was struggling to keep going and the BSPA sanctioned me in any way . that would be it for me , people baying for promoters to quit etc ,need to wake up and smell the coffee . you may not like your promotion but most of the time they are the only ones who are going to keep the club running . I have seen many posters on here claiming to be Stoke supporters who wont go until the current promotion are gone , well don't be surprised if you don't go after Tattum has gone ,because there more and likely will be no Stoke to go to . the current state of speedway the BSPA should never sanction anyone .offer them help by all means but speedway is no goldmine and handing out silly fines is no help to anybody , and you stoke fans do the same ,get to your end of season do and offer your help to tidy the place up instead of sitting at home running the place down ,one things for sure the BSPA have closed down more tracks with their silly sanctions than they have ever assisted to keep going ..

This is a public relations message from the Stoke speedway promotion. Thankyou for your support in 2017. Happy Christmas. Hohoho. David and Nigel.

[RS50]

So what happened? Stoke preview on their website said there would be 36 races including 6 MDL races. If the match started at 6pm would have assumed plenty of time.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I.O.W 5 guests and r/r and no one mentions it because let's face it it's just normal practice now. How much to get in Stoke tonight for 20 heats

£20, although the power did fail twice the main delay was waiting for the county ambulance after Shelby Rutherford crashed Edited October 28, 2017 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[rocket007]

Did the MDL meeting get completed, and considering the earlier start time on a Friday, what sort of crowd was there?

[WalterPlinge]

So what happened? Stoke preview on their website said there would be 36 races including 6 MDL races. If the match started at 6pm would have assumed plenty of time.

Started just before 6.30pm. Late start I think was caused by some riders arriving late.

Track very bad. Holes and bad spongy bits on both ends, especially the 3rd bend on the inside. No one could ride the inside.

Plenty of problems and falls. Worst came in heat 8. Spooner had already been excluded for a fall. In the rerun Rutherford took a heavy fall (for which Burnett was excluded to the disbelief of the Stoke fans). Ambulance was needed which caused another delay, but I would never moan at delays if they're due to riders getting medical attention.

 

In a bizarre way, the Rutherford accident may have been a blessing, because within seconds of him hitting the deck the generator failed and everything was plunged into darkness. Had the race not stopped we'd have had the riders heading into the next bend in total darkness and someone could have been killed.

The medics had to treat Rutherford in total darkness although some cars on the backstraight put headlights on to shed some light.

Quite a wait for the county ambulance during which time the stadium lights came back on again, went off again, came back partly on, and eventually fully on.

When power was restored the announcer said we'd be running just 10 heats and then 10 heats of the IOW match.

 

A few delays before we started the second match. Someone taken ill in the crowd needed the medics, and also Stoke had to pick a new reserve, as their No.7 from the first match (Joe Alcock) was riding for IOW in the second match. So Stoke used Alex Spooner who had ridden for Buxton against Stoke in the first match.

No idea where Shaun Tedham (who should have been Stoke No.7 in both matches) was.

 

Most tracks re-use rain-off programmes, but if there are more than 2-or-so changes from the original line-ups they usually produce an updated photocopy insert. Stoke didn't...even though all 7 of the IOW team were in a different line-up to the original programme (and 2 for Stoke). It would have been easier to have a blank sheet of paper.

The lack of a proper programme line-up confused the announcer more than most.

 

Match No.2 - Heat 1.

Stoke using R/R and the announcer announces Paul Burnett will take the R/R. The 2 minutes go on.... Then less than 1 minute remaining. The announcer then says it's not Burnett coming out, it's Alex Spooner. He doesn't come out either and gets disqualified on 2 mins. Then he comes out. As he's riding to the tapes, the other three are riding back to the pits. Spooner looks confused, but takes his place at the tapes. The other three come back and line up at the tapes. The referee puts the red lights on. Spooner has to go on 15 metres.

This confuses the start line staff who are clearly officiating at their first speedway meeting ever.

Somehow we inform Spooner what is happening, and Mitchell Davey seems to be the one who realises that he has to swap to gate 1 to allow Spooner to go off 15 metres from gate 3.

The clueless Start Marshall also swaps Ben Hopwood and Chris Widman on gates 2 and 4 for reasons best known to himself. The crowd start to sing the Laurel and Hardy Cuckoo song. This is the most fun they've had all season.

The announcer is barking instructions that Stan & Ollie can't hear, but eventually it gets sorted.

The messed up programme also continues to cause problems for the hopeless announcer. At one point he announces that Connor Coles will be taking an R/R ride in place of Connor Coles.

Somehow, with plenty more falls we get through 10 heats. Track hasn't been graded or watered once in 20 heats plus restarts. The riders are riding the 4th bend with the back wheel touching the airfence.

 

Then they announce we'll do 4 heats of the MDL.

There are more programme changes, but the announcer doesn't seem to think there's any point in telling the crowd. He's probably right. James Chattin comes out for all 4 of the races...presumably riding for the same team in each race, but who knows/cares.

 

So then at 10pm, we're just left with the usual final match traditions. The victory parade, flour bombs, the farewell speeches from the riders and management, and the fireworks...... OK, I made this last bit up. Everyone trudged off into the darkness.

 

 

[cityrebel]

A Normal evening at loomer road then!

[griffo]

Started just before 6.30pm. Late start I think was caused by some riders arriving late.

Track very bad. Holes and bad spongy bits on both ends, especially the 3rd bend on the inside. No one could ride the inside.

Plenty of problems and falls. Worst came in heat 8. Spooner had already been excluded for a fall. In the rerun Rutherford took a heavy fall (for which Burnett was excluded to the disbelief of the Stoke fans). Ambulance was needed which caused another delay, but I would never moan at delays if they're due to riders getting medical attention.

 

In a bizarre way, the Rutherford accident may have been a blessing, because within seconds of him hitting the deck the generator failed and everything was plunged into darkness. Had the race not stopped we'd have had the riders heading into the next bend in total darkness and someone could have been killed.

The medics had to treat Rutherford in total darkness although some cars on the backstraight put headlights on to shed some light.

Quite a wait for the county ambulance during which time the stadium lights came back on again, went off again, came back partly on, and eventually fully on.

When power was restored the announcer said we'd be running just 10 heats and then 10 heats of the IOW match.

 

A few delays before we started the second match. Someone taken ill in the crowd needed the medics, and also Stoke had to pick a new reserve, as their No.7 from the first match (Joe Alcock) was riding for IOW in the second match. So Stoke used Alex Spooner who had ridden for Buxton against Stoke in the first match.

No idea where Shaun Tedham (who should have been Stoke No.7 in both matches) was.

 

Most tracks re-use rain-off programmes, but if there are more than 2-or-so changes from the original line-ups they usually produce an updated photocopy insert. Stoke didn't...even though all 7 of the IOW team were in a different line-up to the original programme (and 2 for Stoke). It would have been easier to have a blank sheet of paper.

The lack of a proper programme line-up confused the announcer more than most.

 

Match No.2 - Heat 1.

Stoke using R/R and the announcer announces Paul Burnett will take the R/R. The 2 minutes go on.... Then less than 1 minute remaining. The announcer then says it's not Burnett coming out, it's Alex Spooner. He doesn't come out either and gets disqualified on 2 mins. Then he comes out. As he's riding to the tapes, the other three are riding back to the pits. Spooner looks confused, but takes his place at the tapes. The other three come back and line up at the tapes. The referee puts the red lights on. Spooner has to go on 15 metres.

This confuses the start line staff who are clearly officiating at their first speedway meeting ever.

Somehow we inform Spooner what is happening, and Mitchell Davey seems to be the one who realises that he has to swap to gate 1 to allow Spooner to go off 15 metres from gate 3.

The clueless Start Marshall also swaps Ben Hopwood and Chris Widman on gates 2 and 4 for reasons best known to himself. The crowd start to sing the Laurel and Hardy Cuckoo song. This is the most fun they've had all season.

The announcer is barking instructions that Stan & Ollie can't hear, but eventually it gets sorted.

The messed up programme also continues to cause problems for the hopeless announcer. At one point he announces that Connor Coles will be taking an R/R ride in place of Connor Coles.

Somehow, with plenty more falls we get through 10 heats. Track hasn't been graded or watered once in 20 heats plus restarts. The riders are riding the 4th bend with the back wheel touching the airfence.

 

Then they announce we'll do 4 heats of the MDL.

There are more programme changes, but the announcer doesn't seem to think there's any point in telling the crowd. He's probably right. James Chattin comes out for all 4 of the races...presumably riding for the same team in each race, but who knows/cares.

 

So then at 10pm, we're just left with the usual final match traditions. The victory parade, flour bombs, the farewell speeches from the riders and management, and the fireworks...... OK, I made this last bit up. Everyone trudged off into the darkness.

 

 

The announcement that Connor Coles was Rider Replacement was correct it was just coincidental that Connor Coles was in that Race in the Programme when the original Meeting was to take place I was a bit confused when the IOW team manager gave me the info for the change.

[woofers]

It does sound as though there are major problems here, bordering on the promoters / Organisers bringing "the sport into disrepute".

Wouldn't the referees report outline the various inadequacies and be brought to the attention of the relevant authorities ? Surely some action / advice is needed to prevent innocent members of the paying public having to experience such a shambles.

 

I usually use the mantra "some speedway is better than no speedway" but I'm not sure it applies here.

 

As much as I would hate to see tracks close, there's no point in running if it can't be done competently. (And there does appear to be too many tracks and not enough riders in the UK, otherwise we wouldn't have so much doubling up / down - would we ?)

[uk_martin]

Where's that Speedway Shambles thread?

I usually use the mantra "some speedway is better than no speedway" but I'm not sure it applies here.

 

I put forward the argument once that sometimes, "some" speedway is not better than nothing. On the basis that if you saw speedway for your first time at this meeting, would you ever be tempted to see it again, say if you are on holiday in the vicinity of Poole, Somerset or Eastbourne? Or would you be tempted if your job took you to Manchester, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, etc etc???

 

First impressions count, and anyone getting their first impression at Stoke are a lost cause to the sport, by the sounds of it.

Edited October 30, 2017 by uk martin

[happy potter]

As I have said before, it's a joke!

 

Feel sorry for people like Griffo who has been down there from the start and has put his heart and soul into his job, it's a pity those who run the place can't be arsed.

 

Programmes being wrong doesn't surprise me, lights going out doesn't surprise me, 10 heats a meeting doesn't surprise me, track in poor shape doesn't surprise me, in fact nothing surprises down there anymore.

 

Glad I spend my hard earned elsewhere than fill those pockets of the people who don't give a toss about the fans.

 

Will the last person out turn the lights off please, if they are still on that is!!!!

[Halifaxtiger]

 

I usually use the mantra "some speedway is better than no speedway" but I'm not sure it applies here.

 

 

The problem with that is that it allows a promotion to make no effort whatsoever but hide behind the words that 'if it wasn't for us you wouldn't have speedway'. They can then basically serve up rubbish and, if the track closes down, blame the fans who don't go.

 

That cuts no ice with me. There simply must be a duty on those that run tracks - in the same way as every business - to ensure that the product and the atmosphere is as good as it can be.

[uk_martin]

There simply must be a duty on those that run tracks - in the same way as every business - to ensure that the product and the atmosphere is as good as it can be.

Can't wait for the BSPA to charge one of their own for bringing the sport into disrepute for putting on a bad show.

 

Who'd blow the whistle? the Ref?

[Halifaxtiger]

Can't wait for the BSPA to charge one of their own for bringing the sport into disrepute for putting on a bad show.

 

Who'd blow the whistle? the Ref?

 

Can't see that happening

[roguetrader]

I am not the greatest fan of health and safety but surely there is now a case for the Health and Safety Executive to step in in relation to the lighting and generator issue before someone is seriously injured or worse. There must be change.