cityrebel Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 A big well done to the kent track staff last night. The speed in which they repaired the extensive fence damage in heat 7 was remarkable. The crash involving Gilkes and Spencer was horrific, one of the worst I've seen for many years. It was a minor miracle that they both walked away unscathed. Despite all of the dramas, it was a decent meeting last night with incidents galore and some very good racing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teaboy279 Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 Can only echo that, it was a herculean task they performed! After a near 40 min delay after the unfortunate Alex Spooner shed a chain in heat 1 and suffered what looks to be another nasty injury the time was already stack against us. So when Jack Smith took out the backstraight boards at an alarming speed it looked to be a cursed evening, amazingly Smith got up straight away and the fence was repaired within ten minutes. Then the Spencer and Gilkes crash, quite frankly was as scary a looking crash as I ve seen in nearly 40 years, so once both riders were again unbelievably up and ok, I surveyed the scene and it was pandemonium. Airfence panels scattered everywhere, mesh fencing ripped down for metres and metres, speedway bikes wrapped around the greyhound track railings, and shattered kick boards laid everywhere. The fact the meeting ever restarted was amazing, and in all honesty I doubt there are many track teams that could of saved that meeting last night with the tight curfew we have. Not often do the track staff get much praise, so I think it should we wisely noted what a great job they did last night!! I think the way the meeting ended was unfortunate, as a kent fan whether Cradley got a point or not had no bearing to me once we secured our 3 league points. BUT they way the appeared to have secured that league point isn't the greatest advert for themselves. So 2 points on this firstly I m not a bitter loser as my side scored the maximum points available to us, and secondly many Cradley fans in attendance have said as much on facebook themselves. They only people that have disputed the gamesmanship are people who werent there. How many time have both sides used a Tactical Substitute in meeting, I dont recall too many. Looking at the visitors Luke Harris was like a rocket ship from the tapes and is so far improved during the race, it's great to see. Tbf most the Heathens seemed dynamite from the tapes. Clegg and Halsey both as good as I ve seen them at CP. Smith looked very quick at times and Spencer looks a solid rider too. Davies gets all the points available to him, and a month a reserve should build his confidence further. First time I ve seen McGurk and it's probably a year too early at this level for him BUT he stays injury free it will at least be valuable experience for the lad. Kent's misfortunes continue, but it's all doom and gloom with Gilkes returning and instantly banging in 3 heats wins, Kemp got faster as the night went on, Anders was not phased by the number 1 berth, and Jake Mulford continues to impress with some astoundingly brave outside passes on far more experienced riders. And Jason Edward's not his best night but always a welcome guest with an honest attitude to the sport he has many fans at central park. Take away the injury to Spooner and it was a cracking night of action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueherb777 Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 Thats it for me watching speedway at Central Park. There is something/s really wrong with the track.I do not know all the problems but whether it is the shape,lack of dirt,camber,too narrow etc etc. These are novice riders expected to race,when most of the time they are trying to stay on bike or get round the bends,so many offs on the 2nd and 4th bends when riders have built up speed but cannot negotiate the bends that just seem to pull them into the fence(like last night). If Kent want to charge top dollar,they should produce a decent RACING track and not a surface that has a blue groove very early and is so poor. Do not know whether the Gilkes/Spencer crash was racing error/track related but I was at top of stand near the bend and the incident was horrific....how they walked away was the partly due to the air bag and a miracle! If you enjoy sitting around for two hours with nothing much happening most of the time....good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Meldrew Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 A massive thank you to the track staff last night. Where would we be without these dedicated volunteers? An eventful and entertaining evening even with Jack Smith doing his party trick again of taking out the fence boards on the first bend. Slightly disappointed at Cradley's gamesmanship in preventing the running of heat 14 to ensure that they earned a point from the meeting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Meldrew Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 Well goodbye blueherb777 - I am sure that speedway at Sittingbourne can do without supporters like you! There is nothing wrong with the track - plenty of work goes into its preparation during a limited timeframe and Len regularly ensures deliveries of new top surfaces etc. Let us know how you get on with criticising other tracks, in your travels. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TurnTwo Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 4 minutes ago, Vic Meldrew said: Well goodbye blueherb777 - I am sure that speedway at Sittingbourne can do without supporters like you! There is nothing wrong with the track - plenty of work goes into its preparation during a limited timeframe and Len regularly ensures deliveries of new top surfaces etc. Let us know how you get on with criticising other tracks, in your travels. To say there is nothing wrong with the track is quite a bold statement.. since day one there has always been an issue with the track at Kent. There are many issues mainly with shape and size. They definitely did not use the potential of the site to its fullest which is a shame as no curfew and you have a championship team waiting to go. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 The curfew at this track is outrageous ..the council are a disgrace!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sings4Speedway Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 2 minutes ago, waco said: The curfew at this track is outrageous ..the council are a disgrace!!!!!!!! The curfew is stupid i agree however the planning attempts have been questionable at best with repeated requests being made that ultimately have tested the patience of the council and allowed the meetings to digress into whether Speedway should run full stop which is obviously a huge risk to even allow. Its not the first or last time dirty tricks will be used to the benefit of a team by abusing the curfew all the while it remains in place. I suspect Tom Spencer was likely under some level of instruction to be the villain this time as he had already made friends at Kent by spearing Dan Gilkes into the fence writing off both bikes (fortunately a whip round was held for Spencer afterwards and the full £4.50 was raised to replace his machinery) there is no doubting that the NL is a place for riders to enhance their skills but i do question the basic levels that should be required other than just speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueherb777 Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Vic Meldrew said: Well goodbye blueherb777 - I am sure that speedway at Sittingbourne can do without supporters like you! There is nothing wrong with the track - plenty of work goes into its preparation during a limited timeframe and Len regularly ensures deliveries of new top surfaces etc. Let us know how you get on with criticising other tracks, in your travels. Nothing wrong with track??? You had better go to the meeting sponsors.....SPECSAVERS! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East End Fan Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 10 minutes ago, blueherb777 said: Nothing wrong with track??? You had better go to the meeting sponsors.....SPECSAVERS! I watched last night's meeting with astonishment at the quality of the racing, the young riders showing skill beyond their years. When the two crashes occurred that demolished the fence, it clearly was not the fault of the track. The vast majority of the riders of both teams were doing 4 laps at full throttle. I have never been a rider, but I doubt if you could do that on any track that was below standard. Sour taste left by the delaying actions of Cradley to stop heat 14 with the curfew. They should be ashamed of themselves, but I doubt if they are. Shame. By the way, is blueherb777 a track prep' expert ? Or NOT a client of Specsavers ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waco Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) The track needs more banking on the exits of bends 2 and 4 to allow better overtaking possibilities and enable riders to hold the wide line more easily to avoid drifting in to the fence ....I have great respect for Len Silver but this is not the best track he has ever built....and changes are badly needed to reduce crashes and improve the racing lines..... Edited July 16, 2019 by waco spelling 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vic Meldrew Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 Well blueherb77 perhaps you could enlighten us with specific details as to what you think are the problems with the Kent track and how they should be resolved. Would you care for a track inspection with Len Silver and the track curators to specify your track improvements? The accidents at last night's meeting were simply racing incidents and not as a result of poor track conditions, shape etc. I am sure that you will appreciate that unfortunate accidents do occur at all tracks and at all levels of the sport and that only in a very minority of incidents is the cause due to track conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueherb777 Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 13 minutes ago, waco said: The track needs more banking on the exits of bends 2 and 4 to allow better overtaking possibilities and enable riders to hold the wide line more easily to avoid drifting in to the fence ....I have great respect for Len Silver but this is not the best track he has ever built....and changes are badly needed to reduce crashes and improve the racing lines..... Hi Waco....somebody who talks sense.I am sure Ben has told you what he thinks of track.Also I am certain someone who used to work on track said the camber at the second bend takes riders into fence...I may be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueherb777 Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 (edited) 42 minutes ago, East End Fan said: I watched last night's meeting with astonishment at the quality of the racing, the young riders showing skill beyond their years. When the two crashes occurred that demolished the fence, it clearly was not the fault of the track. The vast majority of the riders of both teams were doing 4 laps at full throttle. I have never been a rider, but I doubt if you could do that on any track that was below standard. Sour taste left by the delaying actions of Cradley to stop heat 14 with the curfew. They should be ashamed of themselves, but I doubt if they are. Shame. By the way, is blueherb777 a track prep' expert ? Or NOT a client of Specsavers ! No......and no! Just seen too many crashes and delays over time. Edited July 16, 2019 by blueherb777 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GWC Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 Supposing that was a play off final! The lack of speedway in the south east means we don’t have a lot of choice but it is becoming an issue I’m afraid with the curfew. The track is tricky but only because the riders are not equipped with the full skills and knowledge to avoid problems. Jake Mulford is a novice but his ability to ride and overtake no less proves that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueherb777 Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 41 minutes ago, GWC said: Supposing that was a play off final! The lack of speedway in the south east means we don’t have a lot of choice but it is becoming an issue I’m afraid with the curfew. The track is tricky but only because the riders are not equipped with the full skills and knowledge to avoid problems. Jake Mulford is a novice but his ability to ride and overtake no less proves that. Exactly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigred Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 2 hours ago, East End Fan said: I watched last night's meeting with astonishment at the quality of the racing, the young riders showing skill beyond their years. When the two crashes occurred that demolished the fence, it clearly was not the fault of the track. The vast majority of the riders of both teams were doing 4 laps at full throttle. I have never been a rider, but I doubt if you could do that on any track that was below standard. Sour taste left by the delaying actions of Cradley to stop heat 14 with the curfew. They should be ashamed of themselves, but I doubt if they are. Shame. By the way, is blueherb777 a track prep' expert ? Or NOT a client of Specsavers ! Pretty sure if the scores were the other way round Kent would have wanted to stop it short !!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sings4Speedway Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 3 minutes ago, bigred said: Pretty sure if the scores were the other way round Kent would have wanted to stop it short !!!!! Its yet to happen where Kent have been in that situation but there would be far greater uproar if that were the case (possibly not as much as when Charley Powell did it) however with the curfew in place the odds are that at some point Kent may be faced with the conundrum..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cityrebel Posted July 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 Someone from the council planners should attend a meeting at kent, and see what the promotion are up against. Trying to rush a meeting through with inexperienced riders is madness. It would be difficult enough with a higher standard of racing. Surely an extra 30 minutes wouldn't have much of an impact upon any local residents. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Falcons50 Posted July 16, 2019 Report Share Posted July 16, 2019 So pleased to read that Plymouth is not the only track that "supporters" criticise. Makes a real change to see. At least our curfew is reasonable 9-45. :-) Trying to be sensible about tracks and issues with them it does seem to be a nation wide problem. I watched Peterborough v Belle Vue on BT Sport last night. After 3 heats two riders injured, ambulances on track both times and three riders out of the meeting. Riders were picking up grip on the bends and straights and having to struggle to keep control at times. Scott Nicholls said there was a hole or rut that had appeared on the first / second bend and track work had to be done. So some longish delays. I think there are problems all round with the sport and the rules governing it. However the main issue for me is lack of supporters. Speedway is a great night out for all the family, in todays world though it is all about winning and having a successful side, not the old Olympic idea of just taking part. WE have some brilliant young riders, full of courage who give us tremendous entertainment. The promoters, most of them have to have very thick skins with the flack they take, some of it very personal. If it wasn't for them putting their money on the line we wouldn't have our speedway fix. Personally I really enjoy my Friday night at Plymouth, " issues " and all. Long may it and speedway continue but it does need us to get behind it :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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