Steve Shovlar

The Poole promotion have a full set of track equipment, from heavy duty track graders through to two tractors with various attachments. The track was in excellent condition when the meeting was called off. As Paul Aplin said, there was nothing more he could do, because the track was there ready to race! The fact that not one rider even came out to "test" whether it was suitable or not shows that they had made their mind up that they were not going to race regardless of whether the track was OK or not. Catching the flights to Poland were far more important than the fans in the stadium or watching on Sky.

Sorry to tell you Bjarne's bike was packing up on him a lap earlier and he slowed enough for Loram to pass. Sullivan would have more than likely have been passed by Bjarne onif his bike was working properly. It was the slowest ride of the night, 3 seconds off other races.

Taken from the Poole website: http://www.poolespeedway.net Poole promoter Matt Ford was disappointed that the ELRC was abandoned on Easter Sunday after just 6 heats. Rain had begun to fall intermittently about 3.30pm and track conditions were less than favourable but after a pit-side visit from the referee after the Poole's Bjarne Pedersen had won heat 6 a further spell of track preparation was called with bag loads of dry sawdust being spread over the circuit. With seemingly the agreement of the riders to continue, just moments before racing was due to resume the referee announced the abandonment of the meeting, a decision that incensed staging promoter Matt Ford. "I had spoken to a number of riders and the general opinion was that the meeting could continue but unfortunately it seems that once again the voice of a few spoke louder than most. I would like to stress that Sky Television had absolutely no say in the decision. I have heard a number of stories that suggest otherwise but that is categorically not the case. The decision was made by the referee after he had listened to the riders. I am very disappointed that the meeting was called off today and feel sorry for all the fans that turned out today. We will be re-staging the event at some point in the future and all patrons are urged to retain their re-admission tickets as we will be allowing Free admission on presentation of the appropriate tickets when the meeting is re-arranged. Of course that is going to be a headache to find a suitable date but we will announce it as soon as possible.

I can't believe any Poole official said the track was not fit to ride.

The riders should have been taken aside one by one and asked if they were prepared to ride for the crowd and sky. If they said no, then they should be told to collect their gear and leave the stadium immediately. The appearance money from these riders is then devided up evenly amoungst those prepared to ride. If it meant that some heats only had two riders and Bridger (and any other rider in the stadium prepared to give it a go) I am sure the crowds would have given tham all a rousing reception. This stinks of the same reak as to what happened in Australia in the winter when one of the rounds of the Aussie Championships was cancelled with the track in a reasonable state. A few riders not willing to ride caused the meeting to be abandoned without a wheel turning. Looks like a few riders full of self importance decided the meeting was not going to go ahead, regardless of what the track was like.

No sorry what I meant was he said todays track was completely raceable, and they raced on Friday in far worse track conditions.

I have no idea how much water was put on the track. Looking at it the same as usual. At Poole we do have a very well prepared track, with dust never showing up unless its an afternoon meeting in the height of summer when Eastbourne visit! In fact on Friday conditions were fantastic all morning with no dust at all. Today at 3.30 the track looked like it would give a fantastic meeting with a bit of dirt on the track for the racers and slicker on the inside line for the curb crawlers. The shower we had was not the cause of the stoppage. It was certain riders influencing others.

I spoke to Rob Peasley at the stdium this afternoon and he said that the track at Cowley on Friday was far, far worse than the track at Poole today, which he said was completely raceable. When he gets home he is bound to post his thoughts.

It had been a dry day with no threat of rain on the radar when I looked at lunchtime. When I entered the sradium the track had been watered. but no excessively and it looked really great with a smooth inside line on the bends and deeper and grippier further out. No watering took place that I noticed after 3.30 pm. The problem was that the shower was extremely localised. We could see it coming, and either side of the shower the shys were cloudy but it wasn't raining. The wind was virtually no existant, so the clouds were hardly moving. It looked like the shower formed about a mile from the stadium and rained on us, while half a mile either side it would have stayed dry. In fact I drove all the way home in dry conditions with no showers about at all. The track staff should not be blamed in any way for watering the track. If the riders had bothered to make the effort to put a leg over their bikes we would have had superb racing in the second half of the meeting.

NO I don't see why it should be loat in 30 pages of insults and counterclaims. I posted this as a seperate thread for a reason. I want the riders to see it if any dare venture on here.

Not sure if you posted this as a windup but I will respond. The meeting at Poole yeaterday was the best one so far this season with a ton of action. Loads of passing from both teams and everyone left well happy. Last night at Eastbourne there wasn't as much passing as in the morning, but the controvesy made the encounter pretty good (thogh not for us Poole fans) Expect top notch racing and action tomorrow.

I would say don't wste your money on Nicki Pedersen or Adams. NP yesterday was passed by both BP and KK in the same race. Not fast enough. Adams rides the track well but his current form is slightly down and I don't think he will make the final. PK is great odds at 25. he is excellent on the track and is a good outside bet. I reckon the final could be Crump, Bjarne, Nicholls and KK.

Why do you say Bjarne Pedersen can't win it elsewhere. He is doing great this year and is more than capable number one. yes he is probably favourite tomorrow with home advantage but it has to be somewhere. the BSPA share the profits, and Poole is likely to give them the biggest return per club.

Whats with all these unregistered people? Mod note - They're not unregistered people, just unregistered Forum members. No need to panic. Forecast is for a warm overcast day. So the meeting is 100% guarenteed to go ahead. I think we will see some great racing tomorrow with Bjarne Pedersen the slight favourite, with Crump, Nicholls and PK also in the mix. NP could be a spoiler.

Forecast for Sunday is good. Sunny periods and warmer. Should be a great meeting.

Todays Echo Former Pirates skipper Ryan Sullivan would like a Poole team to ride in his testimonial on the 2nd April. The 31 year old returned to Peterborough during the winter after an enery draining blood disorder ended his 2005 season in August. Of his 12 years in British speedway, nine have been spent at Peterborough and this is the venue for the tesimonial. But Sillivan is keen to celebrate his three years in the PIrates coours in 1996, 2004 and 2005. And he wants Poole to ride in a four team tournament an=gainst Panthers, UK and Rest Of The World. "The testimonial is coming together well. Its looking really good. I am trying to get hold of a few riders but the problem is most of them are waiting to see what the fixture list looks like. Hopefully I will get some top liners and especially ones the fans don't get to see too often in Britain. I have got a few names at the moment. Holta is one which will be quite a draw for the crowd. We are good friends and he is coming over to help me out. "I have a lot of great memories of Poole and I hope their fans come to my testimonial. My meeting is not just speedway. It will be an afternoon of fn for everyone. As well as a stunt show, I am going to have a speed trap setup. It will measure the speed of the riders down the straight. This si a quick track so it will be great to see what it clocks." Middlo said "I don't see a problem with the boys riding. I am sure they would be happy for the exra day of racing. Unfortunately, Ryan had a bad year of racing in 2005 and was obviously disappointed. The Poole fans were disappointed in him at the time but then we found out about his illness, his illness was of no fault of his own. "He made a lot of friends and sponsors at the club and it was obviously sad how his time here ended. I can only wish him the best of luck in the future. I hope the Poole fans support him because he's been a great servant to british speedway over the years.

Considering the look of the field the price is a very fair one, and only £3 more than usual.

How many there today?

Not sure what you mean, big detour? Sheffield is only about 45 mins further on from Nottngham, and as I didn't go up there I didn't make any detour!

Well I had a business trip up t Nottingham today and driving up the M5 I was wondering where all this snow was. Arriving at Nottingham at 1 pm I ythought I would get the business out of the way and pop up to Sheffield for the meeting. The roads were dry, I hadn't seen a single snow flake and had my wooly hat with me as it was so cold. However just before leaving nottingham I phoned a mate who told me the meeting was off. To say I was suprised was an understatement. However lookig at those pics taken it seems the band of snow was just up the road. Glad I didn't go up there withought checking. Obviously I can't go next week as I am not in the area, though I hope the crowds come along to support this meeting.

To be honest they are not worth a great deal. I had a good look at the old program stand at Brighton, featuring meetings back to the 30's, and was suprised to see them not in the high tens.

I'll give you £3 for the lot.

Trying to get Gollob to ride is very difficult. Zorro rides in the same team and tried desperately to get him over for his testimonial. BUt he said no in the end. The reasoning is that if he said yes to one, he would feel obligated to say yes to all, and he would rather be at home than elsewhere not making any money.

So everyone (except me I can't make the 22nd July) will be at Reading on the Saturday, then head down to Poole on the Sunday for the TRick farewell to speedway meeting. What a week of speedway! (for some!)

Who wants speedway back at Wembley? Not me for starters. What has Wembley got to offer that Cardiff hasn't? No bars, shops, restaurants at wembley. Noting there but a stadium, stick out on a limb away from the centre of London. Cardiff is smack bang in the middle of the city, parking is easy, and its far far better than Wembley ever was, albeit the crowd was bigger back then. But for me, I I should imagine, the majority of fans who attend Cardiff, it's a no brainer.