Bream 29 Posted May 11, 2014 FSP, can you give any parking tips? Is there places near Ratina where to park a car? Heard from my friend who was at Red Hot Chili Peppers gig at Ratina that parking was a bit of a nightmare. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted May 11, 2014 Suvantokatu is probably closed from Koskikeskus downwards. I would probably check if it's possible to park at either P-Hämppi or at the railwaysation park house. They are not far... But if the meeting drags to a fourth hour, they might be closed? There's a big car park about 500 meters from the stadion. You drive along (outwards from city) Hatanpään Valtatie and turn right from the third lights towards Hatanpään sairaala. The crossroads is next to the big metso factory. Then continue about 300 meters and there's a big car park for Metso people on your right. Leave your car there and if there's a ticket when you come back, it was your call... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MagicOctopus 1 Posted May 12, 2014 Really looking forward to Saturday's GP. Got the tickets however long ago, finally the wait is almost over! For people visiting Tampere and who like quality beer I offer some pub recommendations. Quality has a cost, so pints will be probably 7€+ at these places. Number one place for anyone visiting Tampere for the first time is Plevna. They brew their own beer, and they a varied selection (check out the beer list!). Their food menu is designed to work with beer, and comes with beer recommendations. It is located on the northern edge of the central market. http://www.plevna.fi/?page_id=178 Oluthuone is another place that serves Plevna's beers: http://www.oluthuone.org/ Another way to go is Soho, an English style pub. Their kitchen makes stereotypical English bar food, and I really like their burgers. http://www.gastropub.net/soho/index_en.php Close to Soho is O'Connell's, an Irish pub. It is fairly large, but very popular. http://www.oconnells.fi/ All these are within a reasonable walking distance from the stadium. There are also Czech style and Nordic fancy alternatives: http://www.gastropub.net/praha/ http://www.gastropub.net/nordic/ Or the oldest pub in Finland ("janonsammuttajat" means "thirst quenchers"): http://www.sqc.fi/salhis/new/index.php?sivu=nesteet.php Just in case you are cash strapped, there are lower cost alternatives. (The Finnish word "Ale" means "Sale".) Here are some addresses: Ale Pupi is at Rautatienkatu 14 Ale Pub is at Hämeenkatu 25 Wanha Monttu is at Hämeenkatu 17 Ale Bar is at Hämeenkatu 5 Price of lager at those places is probably around 3-4€. They are all along the same street, so you could easily do a pub crawl! Please drink responsibly. Welcome to Tampere! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
james1234 49 Posted May 12, 2014 Eurosport have made a scheduling mistake for this GP? The GP starts at 19.00 local time, Finland is 2 hours ahead of UK but doesn't start on Eurosport till 17.45 Eurosport TV schedule is now saying 16:45 so won't miss any heats!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rob B 1,245 Posted May 12, 2014 Eurosport TV schedule is now saying 16:45 so won't miss any heats!! They must have seen my post and realised their mistake Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pugwash 3,208 Posted May 13, 2014 (edited) Please drink responsibly. Please Note!! Statement does not apply to f-s-p. Edited May 13, 2014 by pugwash 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wadey 3 Posted May 14, 2014 Anybody on the Gatwick - Helsinki flight tomorrow morning?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PHILIPRISING 7,298 Posted May 14, 2014 HAD a txt from Tony Briggs (younger son of Barry who is now part of the BSI team at SGP events) saying how dazzled he is by the stadium in Tampere. Tony is helping to install one of his air-fences in readiness for Friday's practice and added that advance ticket sales now over 9,000 so doesn't look as we will get a repeat of Bydgoszcz and a poorly populated stadium. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted May 14, 2014 I know there's some colour in the reports on certain riders fitness, but with Jonsson, Bjerre, Kasrpzak and Ward coming to Tampere to "test" their fitness... There are only two reserves in the meeting and the actual and only series reserve is in Daugavpils trying to qualify for SEC... Regarding the post above, how dazzled Tony Briggs is. I've driven past the bloody place at least 200 times every year for the past 16 years. It's not that dazzling! But at least Tony got his wish, the first airfence in Finland is his. Even though he takes it with him after the meeting... Ticket sales over 10k this afternoon, thats what the computer said when a friend was selecting his seats. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PHILIPRISING 7,298 Posted May 14, 2014 (edited) HAD a chat (while losing to him at golf) with Kelvin Tatum yesterday who was in Landshut last weekend as a casual visitor and he was telling me and Briggo senior (my partner) that Darcy Ward is risking serious long term damage by not having a much-needed operation on his injured knee. The cruciate ligament is significantly damaged and the only remedy is an operation. Ligaments do not repair themselves. The same applies to Kaspzrak who sustained a similar injury during the Pairs meeting. Would be very surprised if any of the aforementioned injured riders do not start on Saturday but any further damage could seriously affect their future participation in the series, immediate or long term. Petteri: no doubt those of us visiting the stadium in Tampere for the first time will see it with somewhat fresher eyes than yours which have focused on it over 3000 times by your own reckoning! Having missed the opening two rounds this year, am really looking forward to this one and my first visit to Finland. Current medication determines that I must give alcohol a wide berth (a temporary condition hopefully) but at least my bank balance won't suffer a major catastrophy! Edited May 14, 2014 by PHILIPRISING Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted May 14, 2014 HAD a chat (while losing to him at golf) with Kelvin Tatum yesterday who was in Landshut last weekend as a casual visitor and he was telling me and Briggo senior (my partner) that Darcy Ward is risking serious long term damage by not having a much-needed operation on his injured knee. The cruciate ligament is significantly damaged and the only remedy is an operation. Ligaments do not repair themselves. The same applies to Kaspzrak who sustained a similar injury during the Pairs meeting. Would be very surprised if any of the aforementioned injured riders do not start on Saturday but any further damage Petteri: no doubt those of us visiting the stadium in Tampere for the first time will see it with somewhat fresher eyes than yours which have focused on it over 3000 times by your own reckoning! Having missed the opening two rounds this year, am really looking forward to this one and my first visit to Finland. Current medication determines that I must give alcohol a wide berth (a temporary condition hopefully) but at least my bank balance won't suffer a major catastrophy! Yes, but you got my point about the dazzle. I thought Cardiff was quite dazzling when went the first time. Dont think the bartenders at Wetherspoons accross the road feel same anymore either... = ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PHILIPRISING 7,298 Posted May 15, 2014 HAD my first look at the stadium here in Tampere this afternoon and was very impressed. Track bit like Ullevi with long straights and tight corners. Promoters now confident of a sell-out 16,000 crowd. Great location, too, very central, alongside the river. Apparently there will be five live bands on Saturday, so plenty of pre-meeting entertainment. Weather forecast is excellent as well so all the omens are good... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark 1,497 Posted May 15, 2014 from SGP website Thursday 15th May 2014, 14:00 Mitas Finnish SGP promoter Jarno Kosonen is over the moon with the reaction to Finland’s first FIM Speedway Grand Prix and declared “the whole of Tampere is buzzing.” World Championship speedway comes to the Ratina Stadium on Saturday night and ticket sales have been strong as fans flock to see the sport’s biggest names race in the country for the first time. Kosonen is working hard along with fellow promoter Kai Laukkanen to put on a “carnival” to celebrate the SGP series coming to the city. "This is a great sport and we want to bring it back to the people from the forests where they normally put motorsport." - Jarno Kosonen He said: “The whole of Tampere is buzzing about it. The media is really, really interested in the whole thing. It’s the first Grand Prix in Finland ever and we’ve tried to make this a little bit extra special for everybody. “We’ve got a really, really good fan zone. There’s live music from Friday to Saturday night. We’ve booked something like 12 different bands. “There’s also entertainment for children, bouncy castles and stuff like that. We’ve tried to make it a family show. “It’s certainly the biggest meeting we’ve ever had here in Finland. Me and Kai are hoping to get a boost out of this for the youngsters. This is a great sport and we want to bring it back to the people from the forests where they normally put motorsport. “This is a big, big thing for Tampere as a city and for the sport generally. We couldn’t be in the position we are without the support of the city. They’ve done a lot for us and obviously we’ve done a lot for them as well. “When everybody gets here on Friday and Saturday, they’ll think ‘what is going on here!?’ It’ll be like a carnival going on. It’s going to be a really good GP.” Kosonen is confident the huge, circa 400-metre track will produce some great action as the SGP stars race it for the first time. He said: “The track is really big and it’s really fast. We got a radar gun out during a practice session and we clocked a rider going into the corner at about 122kph. There are only two running tracks in Europe as big as this. “The material works really nicely and I think there will be three or four different racing lines. I think it will be a wicked Grand Prix. I want to thank the City of Tampere, BSI Speedway and everyone who has played their part in making this happen.” Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
New Science 1,059 Posted May 15, 2014 HAD a txt from Tony Briggs (younger son of Barry who is now part of the BSI team at SGP events) saying how dazzled he is by the stadium in Tampere. Tony is helping to install one of his air-fences in readiness for Friday's practice and added that advance ticket sales now over 9,000 so doesn't look as we will get a repeat of Bydgoszcz and a poorly populated stadium.Thankfully no basketball match in Tampere this weekend ! apologies : sorry Phil I couldn't resist 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted May 16, 2014 Thankfully no basketball match in Tampere this weekend !apologies : sorry Phil I couldn't resist Do your homework first, then jokes. I'll let Phil answer... LOL Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
