Somerset v Redcar 15th May

[parkendlass]

Second leg of KO cup.

Bears holding. 17 point lead from the first leg.

Will it be enough for the Bears to progress ?. I reckon it will. Reserves hold the key . Charles will be ...Charles, reliable, and a terrific rider to boot.

Lets hope MPT keeps his form and Bens machinery holds good. 

UTB !!

 

[Cliffeboy]

Big performances req from all of the Rebels top 5 or we are out. The Germans bike has had major surgery apparently so hoping he can have a goodun tonight. Fancy a Rebels win but not by enough, double figure score coming from Wrighty who is in great nick atm.

[comet49]

Well done Redcar and Wrighty!

[parkendlass]

Great result for the Bears. Neck and neck all meeting, Rebels nicked it by two points at the death.

Charles his usual classy self, great to see Ben back to his best, good support from all the team. Well done Bears UTB !!

[idh]

Photos from last night

https://zenfolio.page.link/fQxc

Slideshow

https://zenfolio.page.link/BcxF

 

Awesome Ht 15 

[speedybee]

Fantastic to see Charles Wright back at OTA and in full flight - Heat 15 (and 13) both amazing to watch 

[Fortythirtyeight]

Good match on a very pleasant evening. Some real ding dong racing going on from both sides with Harris and Wright spectacular particularly considering Wright wrote his no.1 bike off early on. Rebels simply not strong enough in depth with poor returns lower down and Kurtz his usual inconsistent self.

Bears solid throughout, although Palm-Toft didn't get a no.1's score his heat win from the back was spectacular. Bacon, Stewart and Greaves were very good considering their lack of laps around the place. Heat 15 was a race to be remembered.

crowd looked very sparse and the general look of the place was very neglected. Large Weeds at the turnstiles to greet you, nettles growing through the seating areas on the back straight and the tannoy was inaudible .

whilst there was very little atmosphere around the place met some very pleasant and knowledgable Rebels fans who's main gripe was the fact that the ' concession ' price had been done away with so they had to pay more than last season when they were in the Premiership.

strange but true!

[RebelDan]

21 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

Good match on a very pleasant evening. Some real ding dong racing going on from both sides with Harris and Wright spectacular particularly considering Wright wrote his no.1 bike off early on. Rebels simply not strong enough in depth with poor returns lower down and Kurtz his usual inconsistent self.

Bears solid throughout, although Palm-Toft didn't get a no.1's score his heat win from the back was spectacular. Bacon, Stewart and Greaves were very good considering their lack of laps around the place. Heat 15 was a race to be remembered.

crowd looked very sparse and the general look of the place was very neglected. Large Weeds at the turnstiles to greet you, nettles growing through the seating areas on the back straight and the tannoy was inaudible .

whilst there was very little atmosphere around the place met some very pleasant and knowledgable Rebels fans who's main gripe was the fact that the ' concession ' price had been done away with so they had to pay more than last season when they were in the Premiership.

strange but true!

Thanks for the update. The crowds seem quite a bit down on last year. I think it’s a combination of the wrong race night (they should have reverted back to Fridays in the lower league it kick started the weekend and had a feel good factor) and the wrong team - no crowd favourites - Wright Allen or BWD . I understand they have also removed or capped the OAP concession (there were always a lot of seniors at Somerset)  and this may have turned away quite a few away who are now maybe picking their meetings. Add in the woeful presentation and it’s no surprise the crowds are down. The only thing constant is it’s still a cracking race track and regularly produced excellent speedway races. I had been a regular for 6 years up to the change in race nights to Weds which due to work commitments now means I can’t attend (we used to go as a family of 5) we can now only attend the odd meeting when I’m on leave. It’s also very quiet on the forum from Rebels fans this season - where has everyone gone ??? 

[Fortythirtyeight]

Too many Friday night tracks as it is although I know what you're getting at. If you're not putting on a ' show ' what's to attract new fans? 

The locals said the change of night is not going down well and wondered why the club did away with concessions putting many off attending. They suggested a bus service from the town would bring people in as the stadium is not easily reached without transport but that would cost someone a few quid I expect.

Somerset promotion are always moaning about costs but you have to cater for the fans you have and hope to attract new ones by good presentation but this doesn't appear to be the case here. Small things like having to walk half way around the stadium to go to the toilet or get a drink , if you're on the back straight, does not help attract people.

The size of the crowd would not cover the wages of your top three so hope the club have very good sponsors.

[oldtimer]

Very sad to read last few comments, no OAP concession is just one reason I have not returned, don't want to pay more for less, also the presentation has not been good for many years, when I used to attend. There used to be an atmosphere in the early days, but fun things like the jingles and rider music when they won, I asked Deb about it once but was told you are the only one that wants it changed. Also the interval, sometimes 15 minutes or more just when things were close and exciting with 3 heats to go, you were left standing around, not everyone wants more chips.  The music is rubbish at all the speedway tracks I have been to, must be something about paying royalties for anything that's not 20 years old. The loudspeaker system needs to be better but that costs money and there may be a problem about neighbours complaining, however appropriate music creates an atmosphere that's why you get music in cinema films and TV programs, and playing old Elvis and country music adds nothing. Somerset obviously don't want to lose money, but other tracks who don't own there own stadium seem to manage somehow, so assume Somerset better off than some. No excuse for the weeds other than you have to pay someone to maintain the place.

[Fred5]

4 hours ago, RebelDan said:

Thanks for the update. The crowds seem quite a bit down on last year. I think it’s a combination of the wrong race night (they should have reverted back to Fridays in the lower league it kick started the weekend and had a feel good factor) and the wrong team - no crowd favourites - Wright Allen or BWD . I understand they have also removed or capped the OAP concession (there were always a lot of seniors at Somerset)  and this may have turned away quite a few away who are now maybe picking their meetings. Add in the woeful presentation and it’s no surprise the crowds are down. The only thing constant is it’s still a cracking race track and regularly produced excellent speedway races. I had been a regular for 6 years up to the change in race nights to Weds which due to work commitments now means I can’t attend (we used to go as a family of 5) we can now only attend the odd meeting when I’m on leave. It’s also very quiet on the forum from Rebels fans this season - where has everyone gone ??? 

You forgot to mention the massive hike in food prices.

[Najjer]

4 hours ago, RebelDan said:

 It’s also very quiet on the forum from Rebels fans this season - where has everyone gone ??? 

I still post as I still follow the Rebels, albeit from the comfort of my own home nowadays. There used to be a great following on the forum from Somerset which has slowly dwindled away year on year to almost non-existent now. It only feels like yesterday when we used to have the Somerset forum which was brilliant back in its hey-day until that closed. 

Over priced is what has killed it for me too. For basically the same price we could of watched Jason Doyle, Jack Holder, Robert Lambert etc. Now you get a host of National League riders - plus as has been posted before, a team which isn’t ‘Somerset’ and no fans favourites from previous so there is no association to the team anymore.

[drew2]

I can't get there every week now due to work and family commitments but try to get there as much as I can. Yes it is more expensive than it use to be but what isn't nowadays??

People say there aren't any fans favourites this season then they need to get along and add to that list of favourites by supporting the team trackside whenever they can. I reckon Henry and Valentin could easily fill that void this season though. How did Charles, Jake and BWD become the crowd favourites in the first place? Do you also think riders might use that 'fans favourite' tag to their advantage when negotiating deals knowing that they might get a better deal out of it. At the end of the day it is a business to them and they need to earn money like we all do so fair play to them if they can get a better deal out of it.

I know it is Championship speedway this year but I personally don't care. I go to watch 7 Rebels do their best against the opposition on track whatever level of racing it is dressed up or down as. 

Presentation wise it must be difficult to create an atmosphere in what is effectively a field as the sound just disperses. I think they do an ok job with it but I am sure the team are always trying to improve and vary it each week. From the times I have spoken on the PA from the centre green to promote the annual Golf Day (which is my way of trying to help the club) it is a strange experience as you cannot see the crowd or really get much idea of feedback from them either. I attended both Swindon and Poole last year and whilst one I felt was better the other was far worse in terms of presentation. I hope it is better on Bank Holiday Monday at Wimborne Road. I actually bumped into the Blunsdon mic man at Cardiff a couple of days later and complimented his presentation which he said he appreciated.

Not sure I can make it this week but I will certainly be back supporting the Rebels on the 29th with the wife and kids in tow. Hope to see some of you there!