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I am sure that somebody did tell me why this wasn't starting till 1700 hours but I have forgotten. I am not entirely convinced that I will bother to trek up into the hills to support the Colts but I should make the effort really. I suppose it all depends on whether Buxton can scrape together a credible team. Nobody wants to watch a massacre. Connor Coles and Corban Pavitt may still be on the sick. Ben Wilson had a bit of a sore neck after last week's frivolities so who knows if he will be added to the list of casualties. And then there is David Wallinger who may be still be under the weather or may be looking to chase fame and fortune elsewhere. If things get any more desperate then it may be necessary to measure the Bod in the Box up for a sheepskin race suit. He'll probably spoil the look though by wearing his hand-knitted cardigan over the top.

Sorry to quote my own post but apparently William O'Keefe's time has come to an end and he has been replaced by new cannon fodder in the form of Josh Embleton. Sorry Josh. Hope you don't end up on Gloomy Road's ever growing slag heap. Further exciting developments at the Theatre of Darkness include the fact that Adam Isherwood now seems to be billed as team manager rather than just side-kick and the two deceased officials continue to be listed on the website so perhaps there is reincarnation after all. At least now I'm an ex speedway supporter I won't have to endure any more trips to this dismal dive. Be seeing you.

I have done my best to be a speedway supporter and first supported Belle Vue in 1966. More recently, I have tried to support the Colts and have attended all the home meetings and as many away meetings as possible. I see that Smith, Bickley, Perry and Bowen are all absent from tonight's team to face our friends at Plymouth and a collection of riders who have nothing to do with Belle Vue have been brought in to replace them. Well, that's the final straw for me - how can I pretend to support a team that mostly comprises of journeymen? This is just a farce and the thought of going to Buxton on Sunday to watch their hotchpotch crew seems totally pointless. How has speedway become such a disjointed mess where supporters are expected to pitch up and watch whichever motley crew is pretending to be their team? Be seeing you.

Or perhaps he could replace Wallinger if he has jumped ship.

I'm not entirely sure that a Buxton supporter is particularly well placed to level any form of criticism at the organization at the National Speedway Stadium in the light of recent farcical episodes at the High Edge arena, Sometimes one does detect perhaps a tad of jealousy and Buxton Tiger keeping your own counsel may be the appropriate course of action. Obviously, we look forward to joining you next Sunday when you can show us how a professional speedway meeting should be conducted.

At least when Buxton had the likes of Rutherford and Geary on the team sheet, you could be confident that they would turn up and give it 100%, sometimes without reaping the rewards that perhaps they should have. Obviously, surely not the case here but sometimes riders get a pumped up opinion of themselves and expect the team manager to slip them free tyres or some other incentive and all that does is cause bad feeling amongst the less favoured riders. I feel confident that Mr Wallinger will arise from his sick bed in time for next week's clash with the pride of Manchester. But then he seems to make more comebacks than Frank Sinatra so I perhaps won't rush down to Corbetts to place a bet on it.

Apparently ill? Mr Wallinger doesn't seem to enjoy the best of health. Perhaps he is allergic to shale? Hope you didn't give him a free programme.

Buxton had Sam Woolley as a guest for Pavitt who was missing for some reason, David Wallinger was a no show and rider replacement was used for Coles. Whitmore fell off in his first ride and that was his day finished. It's all a bit depressing really.

I'm in a bit of a quandary here because I really want to support the Colts on their visit to Gloomy Road. But I'm not sure that I can bring myself to hand over a handful of dosh to the cheerful chappies on the gate. I vowed I would never go to Gloomy Road again after some of my dreadful experiences there but my willpower seems to be waning and I am feeling myself being dragged over to the dark side. I know if I go I will hate myself the morning after but do I owe it to the Colts to endure the pain and suffering that visiting the home of the Gloomy Roadsters will surely cause me? Perhaps the weather Gods will make the decision for me........

Well Dean speaks from experience and to a limited extent you can retune a motor to give you more torque and less peak power but NL riders can't afoord to have an array of motors for different tracks But if the material is spread thinly over a base surface rutted by double-decker banger action then you are probably going to bite the dust however little power you might have at your disposal. Do riders have the problem of too much power at any other track apart from Stoke? If Dean's argument is correct then you would think somewhere like Buxton would also see both experienced and inexperienced riders binning it in equal measure but I'm not sure you do. Without doubt bangers and stock cars will ensure that preparation of a fit for purpose speedway racing surface is nigh impossible.

Well, I look forward to seeing an apology on Stoke's website and an explanation of how they intend to compensate paying customers for taking their money and not providing what they had paid for i.e. genuine speedway racing on a track that was fit for purpose and something that could be described as entertainment rather than an ordeal. And people say why is speedway on the decline. Even the staunchest Potters' fan would be hard pressed to argue that less than 10 minutes rubbish racing represents good value for £13 + parking + programme + travel expenses. Good value? I think not.

Well, I did warn you that you would have an experience! I don't know how Stoke manage it but they have the rare ability to turn anything into a shambles. So 10 heats of rubbish racing and then you are shown the door. And they wonder why they can't encourage people to turn up and watch. Sorry it was a bad experience for you, Bruno...................................................but we did warn you!!!

Well, that is partly true but all suppliers of goods and services including speedway operators should have at the very least 3rd party liability insurance. The extract from the Speedway Regulations posted below states that promoters must have insurance in place to cover accident and third party liability. The sensible rider, such as Dean, will put in place their own personal accident insurance but this will be on top of the cover provided by the promotion. Clearly, some riders who are struggling for funds or perhaps where a promoter has failed to pay them for a period of time may mistakenly regard the additional insurance as a luxury which they cannot afford. So, I stick by my original argument that promoters must ensure that there are no grounds for an insurer voiding cover on the grounds of negligence by the policy holder and failing to rectify a frequent and serious defect that may endanger life or limb may be considered to be negligent. Speedway Regulations Promotions must have effective Insurance cover for Personal Accident, Employers Liability and Public and Product liability and be responsible for the timely payment of all premiums. It is preferred that such Insurance cover is arranged through the approved BSPA Brokers, but should that not be so then prior approval must be sought from the SCB. Insurance cover for Referees and Officials officially appointed to the meeting by the SCB and SCB Members and Officers attending a meeting/training session will be provided by the ACU. Riders may be required to contribute towards the cost of Personal Accident insurance. Personal Accident insurance shall cover all riders and all non-SCB appointed Officials (both licensed and non-licensed) against the risk of Personal Accident. Insurance to a “Limit of Indemnity” of £10,000,000 for any one claim or series of claims must be held for Public and Product Liability and Employers Liability. SCB registered riders, declared in a Premiership, Championship or National Development League team, taking part in a meeting are covered by Personal Accident Insurance.

Here is a scenario for you. As a result of some kind of defect at a track which the promoter, the referee the clerk of the course and the governing body are fully aware of, a rider suffers severe life-changing injures. So everybody looks to the event insurance company to sort the situation out and ensure that the injured rider receives the support to which they are surely entitled. But hey ho, the insurers turn round and say that because the promoters and the governing body were perfectly aware of the defect but chose to do nothing about it then they were surely negligent and the insurers would not be paying out a single penny. The rider's only chance of securing the funding that they may need for their ongoing care is to bring legal action against the promoter, the clerk of the course, the referee and the governing body and that will take substantial funding and could drag on for years. So, anybody who is involved with any enterprise whether it be a bouncy castle or a motor sport venue which may be a touch on the iffy side but who thinks that someone else will carry the can if it all goes pear-shaped might be best advised to flag up their concerns before the excrement hits the fan.

I'm sure Roy Smallwood was a great guy and as you say the work he did for charity has to be applauded. But to have him still listed on the Stoke website as an active official is pretty shoddy. I see that Gary Towers is listed on the website as being a member of the track staff. I am hopeful that this must be a different Gary Towers to the one who passed away early in 2017 after battling cancer. Even the Gloomy Road mob can't be so insensitive to keep listing a man as being on duty over a year after he departed this world so somebody please tell me that the guy that is listed is his brother or his son and restore my faith in the management at the Theatre of Light.

Funny thing is before proceedings got under way last week, the bod in the box was banging on to the assembled masses that if anyone parked on the back straight and left while racing was still going on, then under no circumstances must they apply the brakes until they were through the stadium gates. The bod then droned on that if riders saw a red light out of the corner of their eye then they might think that the race had been stopped and this could cause a very nasty accident! I'm not entirely sure that the bod will be pontificating in the same vein before tapes up at this week's jamboree because they might be quite grateful if some of the spectators can provide red lights as well as headlights when the Prince of Darkness flips the off switch again.

Well, you'll certainly have an experience but I'm not sure I'd classify it as pleasant. I've just had it on good authority that the management at Gloomy Road are asking all spectators to bring a torch with them and then when the lights go out, they can all shine them on the track. It'll be a bit like a Barry Manilow concert but without the singing. If you survive, Bruno, do please report back.

I don't think there is local council in the whole country that would be that foolish! You may perhaps be suggesting that Belle Vue have been given a free stadium but that would be a very inaccurate suggestion. If in doubt about that, ask Chris Morton.

.......and that could well be the understatement of the year, methinks.

As I am sure my learned friend Halifaxtiger suspects, Dean is on a wind-up mission here and is having a bit of a jolly jape! Either that or Mrs T has been slipping him some extra chips at the den of iniquity. Only somebody with significant mental health issues would seriously suggest that Loomer Road could be considered a superior venue to the NSS (or indeed any other speedway stadium). Halifaxtiger quite rightly sings the praises of the NSS and in particular yesterday's great meeting. It was bloody fantastic! I'm pleased to hear that Adrian Smith found time to come and see you over in the south stand HT. That would be after he had come to chat with those of us who had paid full price and were sitting in the posh seats. And what HT failed to mention when he suggests that the NSS is a rather superior venue to Gloomy Road is that at Belle Vue we have a rather excellent mascot in the form of Chase the Ace who whoops the crowd up into a frenzy. Sorry I can't reveal Chase's real identity. I have been told by someone in the know that they are going to introduce a mascot down at Loomer Road to try to get a bit of enthusiasm going. I believe that the mascot is going to be called Sparky and it will be some poor sod dancing round in a suit made out of old air fence rubber with a flashing light bulb on their head. But seeing as finances are a little tight at Gloomy Road, they can't actually afford to pay anyone to take on the job so to get the idea off the ground, the clerk of the course has been persuaded to slip into the rubber suit in his spare time and lead the Potters' faithful in rousing chants and gyrations. What's not to like?

Yes bellevueace when the Aces weren't racing at Hyde Road on a Saturday night, we would all troll off down to Loomer Road and it was great. A super little stadium, good crowds and bazzing racing. It breaks my heart to see the state of the place now. I have seen demolition sites in better condition and the way spectators and riders are treated leaves a lot to be desired. It's like one of those places that urban explorers go into. Something like a lunatic asylum that has been boarded up for 30 years and one of the inmates' sandwiches and a copy of the News of the World are lying on the table just where they had been put down back in the mists of time. What amazes me most is that the people who run the gaff just can't see or don't want to see how dreadful the place has become. Either they are extremely deluded or they simply don't care. Come on Stoke get your act together before it's too late and tumble weeds are the only things inhabiting the once crowded terraces. Personally, I would be embarrassed standing on the gate taking people's money.

Thank you for that information, that is most enlightening. But seeing as some riders were already at the starting gate when the shout went out for the C of C to ring the referee, was it not a tad challenging to find and speak to the managers and allow them time to tell their riders that the lights had failed before the tapes went up? It is a little surprising that the start of the heat wasn't delayed to allow sufficient time for the information to be conveyed and assurances provided to the referee that all riders and flag marshals were aware of the defect. And if you could help me just a little more with this, how would the race stoppage be communicated to the flag marshals? Would a signal be made from the referees box or would it rely on the commentator shouting out instructions, assuming that there was still enough electricity left to operate the public address system?

Seeing as I had admitted defeat by this stage and buggered off, why didn't the MDL riders get an outing?

I would like the governing body to carry out a safety audit at Loomer Road to ensure that the facility is fit for purpose. This would include testing of all electrical installations by a correctly qualified and registered electrician. The eventual outcome would be that the necessary work is carried out and the venue can be brought up to an acceptable standard whereby nobody's health, safety or well-being is detrimented by any factor which might be reasonably foreseen to cause such detriment. That's pretty reasonable don't you think, Adonis?

........and as Halifaxtiger says Chase the Ace is brill.