Star Lady

Excellent idea. Maybe it would be easier in the first instance to start with tracks that have access at all times as no one knows how long putting on and off the covers would take and storage of the covers has to be taken into consideration. IMO it would probably be easier if tracks with solid fences were used at first as they could take the weight of covers fixed to the top more than the flimsier mesh fences. The concept if it works could them be fine tuned to cover the tracks that have the less permanent fences which may require something akin to cricket covers raised higher on the outside of the track. Further on from this maybe some thought could be given to some kind of guttering/drain (covered by metal grids) inside the white line that the covers would drain into so large puddles do not appear just on the white line of tracks, this obviously would only be put in when work is being done anyway to avoid excess expense. It would cost a fair amount in the first instance but surely tracks could share the covers to some extent. e.g. Lynn ride Weds, the covers could be taken to Peteborough for use on Thursday and Friday. Wolves and Coventry could share, Belle Vue and Stoke etc.

Was this the meeting that had a thunderstorm included in the price? I remember being at Wembley for some international when a massive sheet of lightening lit up the sky just as the Brits crossed the line but never being a great one for stats I can't be sure if this is the one. I do remember Bettsy and Simmo being there tho. I also remember being at Wembley seated on the start of the home straight when a bomb scare was announced. The seating was that tight that each row had to stand in unison to be able to check under the seats as requested.

My vote would go to Stekkers too for the reasons given above. I always find Chris Louis informative, clear and concise and altho I'm not the greatest of his fans, Kelvin Tatum does have some good meetings, he is one of the few to actually try to correct Millard. At the risk of upsetting a few people my biggest dislike is Sam Ermolenko he tries so hard to sit on the fence and not actually venture an opinion it's painful to watch.

If riders renaged on their contracts it would

Looking at it from a slightly different angle, maybe riders (especially GP riders) should have a clause in their contract that they will ride in a minimum number of meetings. A proportion of their "salary" could be lodged in a central fund and not paid out until they have managed that minimum number of meetings. Missing meetings because of injury would have to be authorised by a BSPA approved doctor, based in the UK. How many times have riders missed league encounters but still been fit enough to ride in individual meetings of various kinds. Riders are all too keen to take the financial help from promoters in terms of fares to the UK, rent, vans etc and they need to give in return.

Like Chris Brown I think this competition could well have some merit but only if the rules are set out at the start to provide both EL and PL clubs with reasonably equal chances and more importantly those rules must be stuck to. Unfortunately the whole comp has been brought into disrepute this season with the constant dispensations and bias towards some EL clubs. I know I'm not the only fan who treats the whole Bloody Loopy Cup with contempt for this reason.

I read that article at work and was absolutely livid. 5 hours later and I'm still fuming, it seems to me Posselthing, Olsen et al are far more interested in TV schedules running to time than the well being of the GP riders. Still that's not really a surprise is it :-(

I tend to agree with squatswithducks and kiddy kestrel. Seize the opportunity to give the youngsters valuable experience just leave Nicholls, Richardson and Havelock or Screen in to give the lads someone as a mentor and then let the kids enjoy themselves and get a feel for top class meetings. I wouldn't take Loram in a riding capacity, he clearly doesn't feel happy with it. Let's face it Team GB or whatever they call themselves this season have no chance of winning the comp.

Begs the question who is braver, Mark for standing up and saying it's dangerous or the rest for being willing to ride in 5 man races My view is Mark is the bravest, especially knowing that it could well have a knock on effect on his future in the GPs as he is unlikely to qualify by right but I'm sure others will disagree.

It knocked spots of the angling progs

I've just watched it and horrific tho it was, it was no where near as bad as the Daniel Giffard crash last night. Get well soon and best wishes to both riders.

To be totally honest I'm not overly worried about Sullivan or any other rider worsening their own injuries, they have only theirselves to blame or come to terms with but as some people have said would Sullivan have been fit enough to lay his bike down if necessary to avoid injuring another? So my verdict is STUPID simply for putting other riders at risk.

How refreshing to see a rider concerned enough about safety to stand up and be counted and not just make noises about it. Let's just hope that Mark sticks to his guns cos I can see an awful lot of pressure being put on him by those whose necks are not on the line.

Interesting concept .....an anorak with brains

It's decided on the following criteria 1 Is one of them Danish? 2 Is he in the top 10? 3 Is he one of Skys favourites? 4 Is he a character and good for TV? 5 Does Ole like him? First rider to get 3 yeses goes thro :evil: ;-) Now I will hand over to the serious lot cos I don't really have a clue

Steve from one who has been there, done that and got the ruddy t-shirt, I'll take the PL any day I agree that the EL has to exist to fuel BSIs demand for GP riders etc but just because you can see no further than Trick, Crumpy, Pedersen et al do not tell us what we should want. IMO the PL is a far superior product, riders who actually want to ride in a league for its own sake and not as a glorified training league for the GPs, variety as you say, fixtures that are not messed about with just to suit the TV schedules and probably most of all far friendlier fans. Sorry to bite, I've resisted for a long, long while but having probably as much experience of EL as yourself and a helluva lot more of PL than you, I just had to say it

I've always thought Tony Steele to be one of the better referees but Saturday he had a mare :!: I'm of the opinion tho that he was under pressure from the race director to get the timetable back on schedule which meant no re-runs, just allow them to roll and exclusions that were not strictly fair. For instance I did not think Ronni Pedersen was at fault but as he was clearly not going to be fit, why allow extra time just in case, simply exc him and save a few seconds. Let's face it what do a few thousand fans matter, let alone a couple of dozen riders when there is money to be made :twisted:

And just who are you calling cows Dekker :evil:

It's not often these days that customer service is praised so I would just like to thank the staff of the Millenium Stadium. I rang the ticket office on the day before the GP asking for 4 seats and with very specific requests due to restricted mobility of one of the party. The young lady said she would ring me back which she did within 10 minutes offering me a choice of 5 different lots of seats. I gave my card details and arranged to pick them up on the Sat morning. This I duly did and while in the ticket office, which was quite busy at the time, my daughter remarked she thought the advertising posters were rather good and could we purchase one. Unfortunately there wer none for sale. In the afternoon like many we were on the waterfront plaza eating sandwiches waiting for the gates to open when a steward spotting the wheelchair came and asked if we would like to go into the stadium early to avoid the rush. He escorted us to our seats and said if the view was not good to let him know and he would organise other seats for us. It's quite an eerie feeling being the only fans in an otherwise empty stadium The same caring attitude was also in evidence on leaving the stadium and I cannot praise all the stewards enough. All of this is maybe normal customer service and is what over the 3 years I have come to expect from the staff at the Millenium Stadium but it was not the end.... This morning I was woken by the postman with an enormous envelope for me. The young lady in the ticket office had remembered that we liked the posters and had taken the trouble to seek out my name and address and post one off to us. Now that is true customer service.

And if everyone had that attitude any company promoting such events would go bust in double quick time :!:

I'm a simple sort of person ;-)

Sounds much like life in general then, some can hack it and some can't

Now as I recall you were dressed in Blue and despite what Phil might tell you I do remember some things

I thought the track was one-lined and only Rune Holta really managed to show any true speedway skill in overtaking, the rest were as a result of ruts and mistakes. The atmosphere was not the same, probably a collection of things. The roof was open (bad move) Music was poor, Announcer very bland, no trying to excite the crowd, no interaction with the crowd. If anyone was trying to actually fill in progs and needed a prompt heaven help them cos I was going purely on looks, colours of leathers etc. The pre meet band were mediocre (I'm being kind here ), no interval entertainment. Over priced food and drink, but I beat them I took my own in Programme was a disgrace, overpriced and full of errors. All in all it was an event staged solely for television, the timing was to fit in with commercial breaks, the riders were interviewed just for TV, why couldn't we have seen and heard some? I get goosebumps every time I hear the Welsh anthem sung in the Millenium Stadium and it seems to me more people are joining in, pity God save the Queen is such a dirge. Apart from that it was a ruddy fantastic weekend, I even met the infamous Dekker and yes I'll be back but purely for the social aspect and the fact it's an event. I will not return just for the speedway racing cos to all intents and purposed it doesn't exist in Cardiff. Just a thought for next years pre meeting entertainment. Let's have a Welsh Male Voice Choir. They sing LIVE, they can belt out the national anthems, they appeal to many, satisfy the cultural element, look good on TV and above all save our eardrums from screeching sopranos :evil:

It was great to meet up with so many people and as soon as I get time I will send the pictorial evidence I have of some of you to the appropriate people There is one great shot of the floor in the Gatekeeper :!: BTW Mr Shovlar I missed you this year and I think it was my turn to get the drinks....ah well some you win, some you lose next year hey? I did manage to shake hands with a very handsome green alien tho :?