Stoke Potter

I'll tell you: 1. Blade the whole lot off kerb to boards, not just the first 2 metres or whatever was done last winter, and get the whole base fixed. Yes, big job. 2. Put some decent material back on and more of it than you usually do so there are no blue groove/slick patches during the meeting. 3. Water it during the meeting so it's not a dust bowl, as it is far too often. Where are the ruts on the Belle Vue bends?

How does Plymouth compare to the last version of Weymouth in your opinion? How you can compare Belle Vue with Scunthorpe, Somerset and Plymouth is just bizarre in my view. Interesting that many people on here are advocating more tracks to be like BV - please point me towards the thread where people are requesting more tracks like Plymouth. The IoW is based on an old athletics track I believe, which makes it the wrong shape for Speedway. I've been several times, never seen anything remotely close to what I've seen at BV on various occasions. The IoW promotion are spoken about in very positive terms these days. The true measure of them as a promotion is whether they invest in the track and get it remodelled to be a proper track. Yes a copy of Belle Vue will do fine. I actually think a BV track could be fitted in there. Time will tell. I regard Poole as one of the better shaped tracks in the country - it has been let down in recent years by having an extremely rough surface. So bad last year that Hans Andersen had an off in the first bend which in my view was down to a rut that actually broke his rear spindle! I'm surprised he didn't make more of it but perhaps he knew which side his bread was buttered so to speak. Matt Ford has gone down in my estimation by not keeping his track up to a decent standard then playing at fixing it last winter by getting, if I recall right, Glyn Taylor on the case.

For me this cannot be said enough. If British Speedway survives then those 2 should be regarded as the saviours. They've shown everyone what a proper Speedway track looks like. The BSPA should now go off and do the right thing and get a few more tracks the same as BV. And yes, that Heat 13 is truly one of the best I've races I've seen in 30+ years watching the sport. Massive credit to all the riders. I think Fricke especially will be something special.

I go regular but not often. They aren't BV width was my point. Poole would benefit from more width all round but I heard the Southerners do tend to lack girth I always get the impression that the back straight is narrower then the home straight, is it?

That is a great race but last night's was better in my view. Rempala had some big balls to ride the relatively narrow Poole bends like that, but Havelock knew what he was doing and knew he would be in front at the finish line. Wily old fox versus youthful exuberance! What happened to Rempala? Was that the last time the Poole track was any good? ;-)

Yes really. We've both discussed this before on here more than once. It's about attracting the layman. I defy anybody not to be at least slightly impressed with that Heat 13 last night, the spectacle of the sheer speed combined with the close proximity of the riders is a sight to behold. Fricke must've been nudging 70+mph at times in that race. It's not quite the same watching 4 riders pootle round the Plymouth merry-go-round at 40-50mph tops, whether the lead changes several times or not. You are a seasoned fan and can appreciate it, fair enough but no way can you say what you saw at Plymouth bettered or even matched that at Belle Vue last night. Lakeside is an utterly dire trick-track, the same as Wolves and the rules should be changed so that no new track can be made like that.

Add Redcar, Plymouth and probably Eastbourne to that list as well. Pathetic excuses for Speedway tracks. You'll never get a race like last night's Heat 13 at tracks like that. Can't get anywhere near the speed for a start.

And that begs the question: How do these people get so relatively wealthy that they can own a Speedway team but still show such base stupidity? Death by a thousand cuts. It's not just prep though, as has been said, size, shape, etc, etc. are equally important.

It should be THE priority! The track should be the biggest "asset" of every promotion, regardless of whether they actually own it. I still think there's a majority that are in denial of how poor some tracks actually are.

It was all "tongue in cheek". But you could use your magazine to seriously campaign for nationwide track improvements. Baby steps, keep chipping away at it, slowly open people's eyes up to the reality of the situation. It is, after all, the fundamental problem the sport faces in this country.

The British GP is in Wales; hold the ENGLISH GP at Belle Vue! I'd buy my tickets the day it was announced.

You were doing well tonight until that. Still the jealousy/hate flows. Lynn's a dire track, can understand why you'd be jealous.

Your mates at the BSPA should make Morton National track Consultant and go round the country fixing the circuits. First one they should do is Stoke, Belle Vue would easily fit in Loomer Rd. Don't worry I'll keep taking the tablets. Reality used to be a friend of mine.

You will not get better Speedway than that Heat 13 anywhere! And still you get people saying the likes of the Wolves track is a good race track. No Comparison. You want to save the sport in this country then you need more tracks like Belle Vue!

They should also go round and acknowledge the fans on a wind-down lap. it's entertainment, acknowledge the fans for god's sake!

Heat 9! What a truly superb race track Belle Vue is!

I have similar misgivings. I was down Poole when Chris Harris was presented with £500 (from memory. It may have been more.) from some riders equipment fund. Does Harris really need it? They would be better off investing it in improving the Speedway infrastructure, i.e. the Poole track, it certainly needs it! Similarly, you can bet Workington Speedway have a far greater need for the money than Bewley actually does. Maybe even Belle Vue's finances are such that it would be a benefit to them. Of course the money would have to be invested in improving the product, something promoters are not particularly known for.

There have been rule changes to deliberately reduce the smell?

With the state of some the tracks I've seen this year, it would actually be difficult to do it worse, even if you only had a knife and fork!

Considering how wet the track was, it stood up well and produced some decent racing. Fricke & Berge pulling some good passes. No track in the country can cope with the rain like B.V. Shame they now all have to trek down the M6 to have a go on the Monmore trick-track!

I sincerely hope they succeed, goes without saying time is running out. I look forward to seeing what comes out. Shame "my" team will be Div3 (or none existent) regardless of structure...

Actually your response implied there were negotiations regarding the situation of Swindon and that is what I was seeking to clarify! As ever, your attitude is awful to potential paying customers and speaks volumes. Fixture chaos? Is that the same fixture chaos caused by your chums at the BSPA I wonder? They'll be struggling to finalise next year's structure if Swindon end up not having anywhere to race.....

What negotiations are taking place and how many years has this been going on? The public are being taken for fools, not for the first time in this sport.

Why can't I comment on another track if, what you assume to be my closest track, currently has a reputation for being poor? You won't find me defending Stoke. However, from the evidence I've seen Somerset is over-rated. It my well be one of the better ones in the country but that is only because most of the rest are so bad. Tatum was raving about it last night and said Somerset is a great track, it has 2 lines! Oh, so just the 2 lines then, round the kerb or round the fence? A decent track has multiple lines, not just the 2, which it didn't actually have last night anyway. The Poole meeting the week before was more entertaining for the neutral and, despite Poole's recent reputation for having tracks problems, Wimborne Rd. was on a par with that surface last night. I went to Somerset way back in the 2000's to watch Stoke for a Division 2 match and came away utterly unimpressed, my opinion was the place was over-rated. Nothing I've seen since has changed my view. Unlike many others it does have the potential to be a top class track but is currently a long way short of Belle Vue, which is THE best track in the country. Add to that we have also the Team Manager essentially admitting to the fact that the track had been doctored! And people wonder why the sport doesn't get a bigger following...

One of the best tracks in the country? Slick, bumpy, and not a lot of passing...