Belle Vue v Somerset PL 5th September, 2018

[foreverblue]

6 minutes ago, Steve0 said:

I’m still trying to work out how Fricke managed to win heat 13.  Absolutely brilliant race.  That is what speedway should be serving up in the majority of races across the country and you would see crowds increase as a result.Fantastic .

Good luck to KL (who I predicted would be bottom) and Somerset - neither have won the top league.  I now think both BV and Poole won’t make the final (Assuming KL aren’t stupid enough to pick the Rebels) but in the playoffs - anything can happen so nothing is certain.  My pick for league champions are Somerset!

KL have already picked BV

[Steve0]

2 minutes ago, foreverblue said:

KL have already picked BV

Hadn’t noticed - thanks.  I will still go for KL v Somerset final 

[foreverblue]

3 minutes ago, Steve0 said:

Hadn’t noticed - thanks.  I will still go for KL v Somerset final 

So would i but it is a year when there is no strong favourite so there is hope for all the teams. 

[Halifaxtiger]

2 hours ago, Stoke Potter said:

Add Redcar, Plymouth and probably Eastbourne to that list as well.  Pathetic excuses for Speedway tracks.

You'll never get a race like last night's Heat 13 at tracks like that.  Can't get anywhere near the speed for a start.

Really ?

I only commented today that the best race I had seen this season until last night was heat 13, Plymouth v Mildenhall. 

Taken from the thread :

'Heat 13 was absolutely top drawer. Whatever level you enjoy our sport, this race was right up there with the very best. Pearson and Tatum would have exploded with compliments. Three riders side by side for  two and a half laps, with all combinations of results happening on every turn. 3-3 to 2-4 to 1-5 to 2-4 to 3-3 and back again. It is probably the best ever race at the SBA. Extraordinary stuff'.

To suggest that high speed is necessary for good racing is nonsense.  

Redcar has been better than it is but it is still decent enough, and Lakeside is the most underrated and over-criticised track in British Speedway - I have seen some brilliant stuff there in my time.

[Stoke Potter]

12 minutes ago, Halifaxtiger said:

Really ?

I only commented today that the best race I had seen this season until last night was heat 13, Plymouth v Mildenhall. 

Taken from the thread :

'Heat 13 was absolutely top drawer. Whatever level you enjoy our sport, this race was right up there with the very best. Pearson and Tatum would have exploded with compliments. Three riders side by side for  two and a half laps, with all combinations of results happening on every turn. 3-3 to 2-4 to 1-5 to 2-4 to 3-3 and back again. It is probably the best ever race at the SBA. Extraordinary stuff'.

To suggest that high speed is necessary for good racing is nonsense.  

Redcar has been better than it is but it is still decent enough, and Lakeside is the most underrated and over-criticised track in British Speedway - I have seen some brilliant stuff there in my time.

Yes really.  We've both discussed this before on here more than once.  It's about attracting the layman. 
I defy anybody not to be at least slightly impressed with that Heat 13 last night, the spectacle of the sheer speed combined with the close proximity of the riders is a sight to behold.  Fricke must've been nudging 70+mph at times in that race.
It's not quite the same watching 4 riders pootle round the Plymouth merry-go-round at 40-50mph tops, whether the lead changes several times or not.

You are a seasoned fan and can appreciate it, fair enough but no way can you say what you saw at Plymouth bettered or even matched that at Belle Vue last night.

Lakeside is an utterly dire trick-track, the same as Wolves and the rules should be changed so that no new track can be made like that.

[Steve Shovlar]

Heat 13 yesterday was excellent. But this was better.

 

[Stoke Potter]

That is a great race but last night's was better in my view.

Rempala had some big balls to ride the relatively narrow Poole bends like that, but Havelock knew what he was doing and knew he would be in front at the finish line.

Wily old fox versus youthful exuberance!  What happened to Rempala?  Was that the last time the Poole track was any good? ;-) 

[Steve Shovlar]

3 minutes ago, Stoke Potter said:

That is a great race but last night's was better in my view.

Rempala had some big balls to ride the relatively narrow Poole bends like that, but Havelock knew what he was doing and knew he would be in front at the finish line.

Wily old fox versus youthful exuberance!  What happened to Rempala?  Was that the last time the Poole track was any good? ;-) 

Poole bends are not narrow. FIM width.  Poole track nearly always produces good racing. Don’t listen to the haters.  Plenty of passing last night! 

I admit the track isn’t as good as NSS but what tracks are?

Edited September 6, 2018 by Steve Shovlar

[Stoke Potter]

1 minute ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Poole bends are not narrow. FIM width.  Poole track nearly always produces good racing. Don’t listen to the haters.  Plenty of passing last night!

I go regular but not often.  They aren't BV width was my point. 
Poole would benefit from more width all round but I heard the Southerners do tend to lack girth 

I always get the impression that the back straight is narrower then the home straight, is it?

[nw42]

7 minutes ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Heat 13 yesterday was excellent. But this was better.

 

I've dug that race out on you tube loads of times, it was incredibly exciting at the time, reminds me what a racer Havvy was, Keith Millard's (RIP) pronunciation of "darncing" still gets me.  Thanks for posting, evokes a great memory.

As for being better than last night's heat 13, definitely close but the way Fricke built up the speed and clawed them back was a sight to behold, both great races and sum up why we all keep watching our beloved sport.

[Steve Shovlar]

SP both straights are minimum 10 metres wide, with the bends minimum 15 metres.

NW42, last nights race was thrilling, but I feel if Doyle hadn’t made a mistake on bend 2 when he lost a lot of speed, Fricke wouldn’t have caught him. But I enjoyed it nevertheless.

[fatface]

Just caught up with this and have to say that heat 13 is the best race I have ever seen on TV or in person in 38 years of watching the sport.

Bar falls, exclusions and engine failures I have never, ever in all that time seen a rider go from last to first in the last half lap of a race. Absolutely superb.

Edited September 7, 2018 by falcace

[Bald Bloke]

I was out and only caught the last 7 races, but what a race track.

[Gavan]

Good to watch back when Poole was a decent track but 2 riders passing was nowhere near as good as heat 13 typical shovlar response and also not as good as the Loram v Louis run off for the British Final in 1997

[nw42]

58 minutes ago, Gavan said:

Good to watch back when Poole was a decent track but 2 riders passing was nowhere near as good as heat 13 typical shovlar response and also not as good as the Loram v Louis run off for the British Final in 1997

Is it not possible for you to post without having a dig?  Loram v Louis was also good but "it was just 2 riders passing" after all. 

[ouch]

He typed into google “good race Poole” and got something from 14 years ago. 

Very amusing that he tries to make out how good his gate & go track is but ends up showing it up for what it is. 

The gift that keeps on giving. 

[Steve Shovlar]

7 hours ago, ouch said:

He typed into google “good race Poole” and got something from 14 years ago. 

Very amusing that he tries to make out how good his gate & go track is but ends up showing it up for what it is. 

The gift that keeps on giving. 

Perhaps you will like this one better.  NSS is the best track in the country but you should accept the Poole track produces excellent racing as well.

 

[hyderd]

29 minutes ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Perhaps you will like this one better.  NSS is the best track in the country but you should accept the Poole track produces excellent racing as well.

 

It certainly did SS, but the sport needs those races now.

[Steve Shovlar]

30 minutes ago, hyderd said:

It certainly did SS, but the sport needs those races now.

It doesn’t help when two of the 4 semi finalists are doctoring their track to give extra home advantage. Somerset are making it one line for their riders, proved by the last two meetings, and Kings Lynn are making the track ultra grippy, proved by the meetings against Poole and Leicester.

While there is nothing illegal about doing this, it takes away exciting racing. A grippy track makes racing very fast and spread out. A one line track means if you don’t get bullied off the inside line you win. Neither are conducive to exciting, thrilling racing the fans and BT demand.

Fans could argue that if Somerset make the track an inside line only, then Poole should gate and sit on the inside. Easier said than done. The Somerset riders will have their setups sorted out of the gate.

Same goes for Lynn. Whilst Iversen doesn’t like grippy tracks, making it grippy helps their riders at the bottom end.  Simon Lambert said he wished it was ultra grippy every week.

Edited September 7, 2018 by Steve Shovlar

[Bagpuss]

It’s a difficult one, teams will always want their home track prepared ow their own riders like it best because to a point home wins mean bigger crowds, particularly when it could be the difference between a Play Off final and therefore a bumper crowd and big gate receipts. But we don’t want it to be to the detriment of the racing too much. But then what would Lynn punters demand for example, great racing with a 46-44 win or a mega grippy track which provides two or three good races and a 55-35 score line? Same with Somerset and their inside line or Poole and their uneven surface?

Belle Vue are in a great position as their riders seem to prefer their track to be prepared so there are multiple racing lines, same with Scunthorpe in the second division. But I’d have thought at this stage of the season a winning team leading to big crowds and a good atmosphere would be the most important thing, however short sighted that may be for some.