Cliv Clav Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 (edited) Good performance by the Hammers, with only Barker taking any points off our top 5! An engine failure for Newman a fall for Zach whilst on a 5-1 stopped us hitting 60. Alfie faced 2 international riders at reserve last night, as both Pijper and Busch have represented their respective countries, so wasn't really expected to beat anyone. I expected more from Mikkel B Andersen as he has scored well at U21 level and the Danes usually go well at Arena. Nice to see Ben and Newman get a heat 15 run-out. I can understand the meeting starting a little late as some people were affected by the Police cordon on the A1306 following the murder along that road. Edited April 21, 2018 by Cliv Clav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 Agree with previous comments: - yes, there was an outside line and Nick Morris, in particular, seemed to love it. - again, a late start but one of the junior races did do some serious, and time consuming, damage to the airfence - our top five were very good - the post Heat 12 grading/watering caused problems (bends 1 and 2), particularly in the next heat where riders seemed more concerned about getting round than racing plus, I believe, it was the cause of Zach's mishap. - Redcar's 'strength in depth' team meant our reserves faced better calibre opposition - Alfie, a 'low' after his heroics in the U21 but his time will come. With the team performing as it is, there will be little to no room for replacing him when the averages come out - so I say persevere and encourage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryce Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 We seem to have a concesus of opinions from those who attended last night. This team is going to be very very hard to beat at the Arena, and will be a threat on the road too. The top six are as solid as any in the league. I hope that Alfie is given the time to find his feet as this could be a breakout season for him if he can make that step up from NL heat leader to CL reserve. Presentation wise the meetings are running noticeably more quickly once they're going, but I agree that before and after the racing it's a bit haphazard still. The track has been pretty good for the main part, but was somewhat messed up by that last watering break last night. All in all it's so much more encouraging a situation than we had 12 months ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marko Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 It was a struggle for Alfie but in the main he is on the pace, sometimes his downfall is that he gets carried away and tries harder than maybe his ability and leads to falls, What the boy really needs is a place in the NL, I find it so hard to believe no one wants to have him. Nick, Richard, Adam and Kyle do look very sharp because the number of very competitive rides (often 5 or 6) they are getting with their other clubs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFTGNigel Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 (edited) I really missed the back straight enclosure on the stock car track as it’s the best place to watch the racing at Lakeside, though I’m told it was due to track access issues (from the police activity, one presumes) and will be back next meeting. Not much interesting racing for the neutral last night unfortunately. In the interviews between heats the Hammers management and riders made much of the difficulty predominately second tier riders are going to have with their trick track and it certainly seemed that way for Redcar with only Barker (who I wish had stayed at Rye House) making any inroads. Very good to see the meeting zip along so quickly (until the long gap prior to the final heat, at least) and a decemt crowd there. Edited April 21, 2018 by SFTGNigel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted April 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 Why is Lakeside constantly described as a trick track...It is a tight track you just need to be able to turn the bike hard and maintain drive this seems to be beyond some riders capability,,,That is not the fault of the track ,,all tracks are different and you have to be able to adapt .both riding wise and bike set up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foamfence Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 2 minutes ago, waco said: Why is Lakeside constantly described as a trick track...It is a tight track you just need to be able to turn the bike hard and maintain drive this seems to be beyond some riders capability,,,That is not the fault of the track ,,all tracks are different and you have to be able to adapt .both riding wise and bike set up... There is also the question of set-up, that often contributes to the 'trick' description. It's also down to what you like, personally I like Belle Vue and not much else these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted April 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 And Belle Vue requires a specially set up engine to be sucessfull there ,,,But that is not a trick track either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gavan Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 Nothing wrong with the Lakeside track, riders just need to learn to adapt better, not every track should be fast flat out racing. Watching Mark Loram wind it on on the big Polish tracks and Peterborough and Exeter but then also proving to be a master of Eastbourne and Arena shows riders can adapt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foamfence Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 19 minutes ago, waco said: And Belle Vue requires a specially set up engine to be sucessfull there ,,,But that is not a trick track either You see riders safely three and four abreast entering the bends at Belle Vue, you'll never see that at Arena. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foamfence Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 21 minutes ago, Gavan said: Nothing wrong with the Lakeside track, riders just need to learn to adapt better, not every track should be fast flat out racing. Watching Mark Loram wind it on on the big Polish tracks and Peterborough and Exeter but then also proving to be a master of Eastbourne and Arena shows riders can adapt 99% Of riders will never compare with Mark....Whatever the track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sommelier Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 41 minutes ago, Gavan said: Nothing wrong with the Lakeside track, riders just need to learn to adapt better, not every track should be fast flat out racing. Watching Mark Loram wind it on on the big Polish tracks and Peterborough and Exeter but then also proving to be a master of Eastbourne and Arena shows riders can adapt The VERY best opposing rider ive ever seen around AE was Ward 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyE Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 (edited) I can recall a couple of riders at least who scored very well on their first ever visits (Pavlic and Miscoviak) and there are probably others, who, on subsequent visits found it hard to come to terms with the track. If the track was ridden like it was by Nick Morris last night, the shape of the inside has no relevance. Agree re Darcy Ward. Edited April 21, 2018 by TonyE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daytripper Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 With regard to the speculation about overwatering just before heat 12 , I think, judging by how shiny it was , that there was a slick of fuel spillage when Matej Kuss fell off in heat 12, right on the apex of bends 1&2. Nick Morris on his present form is, I would say pretty much as good as anyone else in the country right now, especially round Lakeside. The way he passed Ben Barker in heat 1 was absolutely out of the top drawer. Adam seems to be remarkably fast on the Godden. Alfie's problem seems to be lack of speed down the straights . Possiblly needs some expert help with set ups. kyle seems much improved now he has AJ's former mechanic working for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliv Clav Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 4 hours ago, foamfence said: You see riders safely three and four abreast entering the bends at Belle Vue, you'll never see that at Arena. Yes you do! Very wide and smooth track that enables riders with skill to race safely by attacking the circuit. Those riders who don't feel fully in control of their bikes are generally the ones that struggle, just as Andrew Silver was saying last night actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted April 21, 2018 Report Share Posted April 21, 2018 6 hours ago, Gavan said: Nothing wrong with the Lakeside track, riders just need to learn to adapt better, not every track should be fast flat out racing. Watching Mark Loram wind it on on the big Polish tracks and Peterborough and Exeter but then also proving to be a master of Eastbourne and Arena shows riders can adapt The best rider I ever saw at Lakeside was Joonas Klymakorpi who rode incredible race lines which others had never thought of or couldn't get away with. Lakeside can produce some great meetings when riders don't thrash the throttle. Is coming out of the second bend still a lottery for some ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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