Leicester vs Birmingham 26/03/2022 KoC 1st Round 1st Leg

[Berry9]

3 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

Your fast becoming an embarrassment to Redcar with your silly posts. 

Leicester was built by the same man who built Redcar, although it has been tinkered with a number of times. A lot of tracks have there own racing line, some because they are around football or rugby pitches, some because of the angle of the bends, no two tracks are the same. Does that mean they are all ‘ cheating ‘ ? No it doesn’t !

As a famous world champion said “ They are all there to be ridden “.

#removed#

[Teromaafan]

On 3/28/2022 at 3:32 PM, Berry9 said:

Teams like Leicester make a mockery of speedway,  the track looks fantastic but it is prepared in a way that only produces one racing line,  God help any visiting rider who tries to go wide on the bends because they siink faster than the Bismark.  Lion's fans would call it "home advantage" whereas I prefer the word "cheating".  All it produces is a guaranteed boring follow the leader  home win

Just hope that not too many riders read Berry9’s post. If they do, they will looking for excuses not to show up for their team. Love the reference to cheating. The club have picked up on this and have agreed to remove the sign post on the first bend which reads ‘riders in white and yellow helmet colours please turn right and allow for the safe passage of those in red and blue helmet colours’. The management will also apologise for the strong team they have assembled and will discourage them from making good starts to give opposing teams a chance to win races and promise not to pass opposing riders in front of them.

I’ve made this point several times on this forum and the quality of racing is down to the quality of riders on track and their willingness to compete. I’ve had the privilege of watching GP level riders giving it their all head to head on this track (when it was worse tan it is now!) and the racing was superb.

The only team to beat the Lions at home last season were Poole. Nobody seems to like the Pirates (and I can understand why), but they won because their riders attacked the track and were the better team and deservedly won on the night.

In the first couple of seasons after Leicester returned to the sport, I don’t recall too many negative comments from opposing teams regarding the track. The Lions were consistently beaten at home and the track was far worse than what it is now. 

Hope this hasn’t discouraged Berry9 from future posts. For future posts though the spelling of ‘sink’ and also ‘Bears’ (check user name reference) need to be noted for the adult checking and posting comments on their behalf.

 

 

 

 

 

[Teromaafan]

4 hours ago, Triple.H. said:

Blank Canvas and cocked it up.

No doubt the track builder/Layer had plenty of suggestions for improvements at that stage but They fell on deaf ears.

Edit

Redcar  Somerset and Scunthorpe 

3 examples of what can be done with a blank canvas

Wouldn’t disagree with you but the personnel involved at the initial design and construction stage are no longer around. The people now on board are doing the best that they can with what they have. If people don’t like it they won’t go. Do the tracks you refer to attract bigger crowds than Leicester? Unfortunately money not entertainment keeps clubs afloat. There are plenty of fans around the country that would love to still be watching their defunct team on a crap track.

[LisaColette]

7 hours ago, Teromaafan said:

Just hope that not too many riders read Berry9’s post. If they do, they will looking for excuses not to show up for their team. Love the reference to cheating. The club have picked up on this and have agreed to remove the sign post on the first bend which reads ‘riders in white and yellow helmet colours please turn right and allow for the safe passage of those in red and blue helmet colours’. The management will also apologise for the strong team they have assembled and will discourage them from making good starts to give opposing teams a chance to win races and promise not to pass opposing riders in front of them.

I’ve made this point several times on this forum and the quality of racing is down to the quality of riders on track and their willingness to compete. I’ve had the privilege of watching GP level riders giving it their all head to head on this track (when it was worse tan it is now!) and the racing was superb.

The only team to beat the Lions at home last season were Poole. Nobody seems to like the Pirates (and I can understand why), but they won because their riders attacked the track and were the better team and deservedly won on the night.

In the first couple of seasons after Leicester returned to the sport, I don’t recall too many negative comments from opposing teams regarding the track. The Lions were consistently beaten at home and the track was far worse than what it is now. 

Hope this hasn’t discouraged Berry9 from future posts. For future posts though the spelling of ‘sink’ and also ‘Bears’ (check user name reference) need to be noted for the adult checking and posting comments on their behalf.

 

 

 

 

 

And prob gated better too! 

[HGould]

There can be processional races everywhere however good or bad the track is.

The only thing they are doing at Leicester is trying and innovating.

The original track shape and banking has been altered several times and the camber on the first turn has been improved and may be improved further.

The fact that the track is extensively used for practice must hamper preparation on occasions but without practice there would be no conveyor belt of new talent.

Swindon was massively improved by shortening the straights are rounding off the corners and a few tracks may benefit from that as the issue it seems are bikes and modern engines and set up's as much as tracks, even though Leicester is a relative new build.

Give the Promotion there credit where it's due and as someone else has said, better a track where racing is ocasionally boring than no racing at all, you only have to look down the road at Coventry and Cradley to realise that. 

[GiveusaB]

26 minutes ago, HGould said:

There can be processional races everywhere however good or bad the track is.

The only thing they are doing at Leicester is trying and innovating.

The original track shape and banking has been altered several times and the camber on the first turn has been improved and may be improved further.

The fact that the track is extensively used for practice must hamper preparation on occasions but without practice there would be no conveyor belt of new talent.

Swindon was massively improved by shortening the straights are rounding off the corners and a few tracks may benefit from that as the issue it seems are bikes and modern engines and set up's as much as tracks, even though Leicester is a relative new build.

Give the Promotion there credit where it's due and as someone else has said, better a track where racing is ocasionally boring than no racing at all, you only have to look down the road at Coventry and Cradley to realise that. 

  you mean 'weekly' !

It's awful value for money.....

 

[phillipsr]

Poole and Birmingham fans criticising anyone else's track is just laughable really...

Its also no one else fault other than there own that Birmingham's team is awful 

[1 valve]

On 3/28/2022 at 4:45 PM, Berry9 said:

A Speedway heat is meant to be a race over 4 laps not a race to the first corner

In speedway, if the best riders gates first (which is a contributory factor as to why they are “good” in the first place) then the “not so good” riders will finish behind them. 
On Saturday there were very few times the “not so good “ riders got out of the gate first & when they did, the good riders passed them. Hence why 4 of the Lions team achieved paid maximums. 
 

[LisaColette]

34 minutes ago, phillipsr said:

Poole and Birmingham fans criticising anyone else's track is just laughable really...

Its also no one else fault other than there own that Birmingham's team is awful 

Hmm, not sure I criticised it. I just said we gated. However seeing as you brought up Poole, all the riders were impressed with the track on p+p day and said 'you can tell they have worked on it in the winter.' Even Steve Hone said it is the best it has been for years.

Anyway back to Leicester, people always say it is the shape that causes the problems and not much you can really do about that is there.

[IainB]

It's good to see that the discussion of the Leicester track has only taken until the first match of the season to appear again 

[1 valve]

On 3/30/2022 at 10:16 AM, lisa-colette said:

Anyway back to Leicester, people always say it is the shape that causes the problems and not much you can really do about that is there.

Leicester may not have the best race track in the UK (there can only be one of them) but a more accurate statement would be "people always use to say it is the shape that causes the problems" - Given the changes made over the past few years to the shape, length and banking of the track , the only folk who now continue to cite the track as "poor" or "wrong" are those who have not attended a Leicester meeting in recent times or expect something which frankly speedway never deliver's anywhere - ever - i.e. 4 laps of racing with many multiple passes in all races.
Meanwhile those who have attended meetings at Leicester will have seen comparable racing/passes to that seen at most UK tracks and not just for the front two places but also for the minor (but just as important) third place.
 

Edited March 31, 2022 by 1 valve

[LionsFan]

I think a different type of shale has been used in the last season or two which has also improved racing.

[PowerfulPierre]

3 hours ago, LionsFan said:

I think a different type of shale has been used in the last season or two which has also improved racing.

You're absolutely right LionsFan. The shale that is now used has been sourced in Edinburgh and brought down at great expense by the lorry load. (don't start me off on the cost of diesel)!!!  I was speaking to Hugh (Stewart's friend and right hand man) on Saturday night, and he was saying that it combines better with the clay that gives a much better race surface.  This promotion have thrown a shed load of money at the track, what with altering the shape and banking and experimenting with different types of shale until, they now appear to have found the best material for the job, and had it brought down to Leicester at goodness knows what expense. Anyone who is still involved in knocking the track and the racing has clearly missed some excellent meetings last year and I suspect if they bother to turn up this weekend will witness a close fought contest with some good racing.  No disrespect to Birmingham, but sadly because of circumstances during the winter, they were precluded from forming a highly competitive side which therefore made for lack lustre racing last week!  It had nothing to do with the track or it's shape!

[mac101]

2 hours ago, PowerfulPierre said:

You're absolutely right LionsFan. The shale that is now used has been sourced in Edinburgh and brought down at great expense by the lorry load. (don't start me off on the cost of diesel)!!!  I was speaking to Hugh (Stewart's friend and right hand man) on Saturday night, and he was saying that it combines better with the clay that gives a much better race surface.  This promotion have thrown a shed load of money at the track, what with altering the shape and banking and experimenting with different types of shale until, they now appear to have found the best material for the job, and had it brought down to Leicester at goodness knows what expense. Anyone who is still involved in knocking the track and the racing has clearly missed some excellent meetings last year and I suspect if they bother to turn up this weekend will witness a close fought contest with some good racing.  No disrespect to Birmingham, but sadly because of circumstances during the winter, they were precluded from forming a highly competitive side which therefore made for lack lustre racing last week!  It had nothing to do with the track or it's shape!

it would have cost more for transport than the shale itself 

[Big Al]

It was the outrageously bogus claims the former promoter (and track designer) used to make, which probably did most to annoy and drove many away although the strung out processions of course did so too. But even then an away rider with brains could figure out how to pass, including using an outside line (Joe Screen). Same now

[Diamonds85]

On 3/28/2022 at 10:17 AM, Col said:

I'm not saying Ellis riding would have made any difference to the result on the night, merely suggesting it may have made the second leg more interesting.

But what I'm trying to say is that even if Ellis rode, the second leg would have still been too far gone imo. Leicester are so much stronger

[The Third Man]

22 hours ago, mac101 said:

it would have cost more for transport than the shale itself 

If its the same shale as Sheffield, it also cost a fortune

[Col]

5 hours ago, Diamonds85 said:

But what I'm trying to say is that even if Ellis rode, the second leg would have still been too far gone imo. Leicester are so much stronger

Probably. Cancel the KO cup!!! Leicester v Poole v Glasgow. Round Robin competition.

[edmon]

12 hours ago, The Third Man said:

If its the same shale as Sheffield, it also cost a fortune

Don't know if its shale from the Niddry Bing, Winchburgh, west of Edinburgh, which many tracks are now using. If it is I suspect the shale cost isn't too bad its most likely the transpost costs.  

[IainB]

Has the admission cost increased at Leicester this year?