Najjer 2,855 Posted April 29, 2018 Great viewing over on FreeSports at the moment, with coverage of Torun's meeting in Poland this afternoon. Jack Holder absolutely flying with some fast starts and some big wins, and even replaced Iversen in one race. Doyle also riding for Torun too, let's hope they bring that form to Belle Vue tomorrow night. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tellboy 3,653 Posted April 29, 2018 19 minutes ago, Najjer said: Great viewing over on FreeSports at the moment, with coverage of Torun's meeting in Poland this afternoon. Jack Holder absolutely flying with some fast starts and some big wins, and even replaced Iversen in one race. Doyle also riding for Torun too, let's hope they bring that form to Belle Vue tomorrow night. Form can be totally different from Poland to the UK.Some riders seem intent on saving their best for Poland at the moment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Najjer 2,855 Posted April 29, 2018 7 minutes ago, tellboy said: Form can be totally different from Poland to the UK.Some riders seem intent on saving their best for Poland at the moment. Oh yeah absolutely, completely different tracks and equipment, but it can and must still do wonders for your confidence. Banging in double figures in front of 13,000 on a Sunday must make Somerset feel very small fry when he comes back to the 'track in a field' on Wednesday. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harry The Goat 23 Posted April 29, 2018 I was watching too and thinking similar things. Some great riding from JH. Interesting that he holds the current track record at Torun. That must be no mean feat. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Najjer 2,855 Posted April 29, 2018 11 minutes ago, Harry The Goat said: I was watching too and thinking similar things. Some great riding from JH. Interesting that he holds the current track record at Torun. That must be no mean feat. Judging by the reactions from the other Holder too, you can see why he was desperate to be at Somerset with Jack too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harry The Goat 23 Posted April 30, 2018 7 hours ago, Najjer said: Judging by the reactions from the other Holder too, you can see why he was desperate to be at Somerset with Jack too. Yes indeed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harry The Goat 23 Posted May 4, 2018 From time to time the subject of crowd size crops up. Here's a bit of Unofficial Oaktree Arena Research which may (or may not) be of interest. During all the tractor racing and hanging about at the 2nd May Somerset-Poole meeting, I did a quick visual head count in different areas of the OTA. Here are the results: Home straight = 168 people First bend (between the exit gates and the clubhouse) = 132 Outside the clubhouse & takeaway = 64 Back straight = 279 Third bend round to the illuminated score display = 60 TOTAL = 703 people If you add in a number of uncounted people moving around / inside the clubhouse / in the toilets or the track shop etc then the real figure will be a bit higher. Is this more or less than you'd have thought? I was expecting to reach four figures myself, but on reflection I don't think I'm very good at estimating. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghosty 496 Posted May 5, 2018 On 5/4/2018 at 11:34 AM, Harry The Goat said: From time to time the subject of crowd size crops up. Here's a bit of Unofficial Oaktree Arena Research which may (or may not) be of interest. During all the tractor racing and hanging about at the 2nd May Somerset-Poole meeting, I did a quick visual head count in different areas of the OTA. Here are the results: Home straight = 168 people First bend (between the exit gates and the clubhouse) = 132 Outside the clubhouse & takeaway = 64 Back straight = 279 Third bend round to the illuminated score display = 60 TOTAL = 703 people If you add in a number of uncounted people moving around / inside the clubhouse / in the toilets or the track shop etc then the real figure will be a bit higher. Is this more or less than you'd have thought? I was expecting to reach four figures myself, but on reflection I don't think I'm very good at estimating. I think the crowds (so far) are better than last season, if it's enough to pay the extras of employing the current world champion I don't know? one thing for sure the M5 traffic is so much better on a Wednesday. Unlike most other tracks all revenue goes to one source - the Hancocks, who work very hard to make the Oaktree a success. I would like to see some form of grandstand built, this I think it would generate noise & atmosphere which is missing with the crowd spread out in the large arena with a typically average crowd. Another secondary benefit of a grandstand would be spectator protection from the coastal winds! It may be a planning issue that that a grandstand cannot be built (along with the restriction of the floodlight height) does anyone know? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Najjer 2,855 Posted May 5, 2018 53 minutes ago, Ghosty said: I think the crowds (so far) are better than last season, if it's enough to pay the extras of employing the current world champion I don't know? one thing for sure the M5 traffic is so much better on a Wednesday. Unlike most other tracks all revenue goes to one source - the Hancocks, who work very hard to make the Oaktree a success. I would like to see some form of grandstand built, this I think it would generate noise & atmosphere which is missing with the crowd spread out in the large arena with a typically average crowd. Another secondary benefit of a grandstand would be spectator protection from the coastal winds! It may be a planning issue that that a grandstand cannot be built (along with the restriction of the floodlight height) does anyone know? I don't know the answer to what you're asking, but the floodlights are a right pain since I've been wearing glasses. They're at such an awkward height that they create a terrible sheen off of them. I often wonder if that effects the riders with their goggles on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Najjer 2,855 Posted May 5, 2018 On 04/05/2018 at 11:34 AM, Harry The Goat said: From time to time the subject of crowd size crops up. Here's a bit of Unofficial Oaktree Arena Research which may (or may not) be of interest. During all the tractor racing and hanging about at the 2nd May Somerset-Poole meeting, I did a quick visual head count in different areas of the OTA. Here are the results: Home straight = 168 people First bend (between the exit gates and the clubhouse) = 132 Outside the clubhouse & takeaway = 64 Back straight = 279 Third bend round to the illuminated score display = 60 TOTAL = 703 people If you add in a number of uncounted people moving around / inside the clubhouse / in the toilets or the track shop etc then the real figure will be a bit higher. Is this more or less than you'd have thought? I was expecting to reach four figures myself, but on reflection I don't think I'm very good at estimating. I'm sure somebody said before as a rough guide with some theory involved, that when they're parked in the second car park it means the crowd is around the 1000 mark - obviously depending on how many people came in each car. One thing is for sure that at the tail end of our stay in the 2nd division we were never in the 2nd car park but we have been for both our home meetings this season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Catalan 710 Posted May 5, 2018 Have tried to get new LED floodlights installed but initial costs have frightened promotion. The amount saved in running costs would repay quite quickly. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldtimer 340 Posted May 6, 2018 On 05/05/2018 at 3:28 PM, Najjer said: I'm sure somebody said before as a rough guide with some theory involved, that when they're parked in the second car park it means the crowd is around the 1000 mark - obviously depending on how many people came in each car. One thing is for sure that at the tail end of our stay in the 2nd division we were never in the 2nd car park but we have been for both our home meetings this season. Unless my memory fails me when we were in the Conference League, or whatever it was called, the second field was often full. Question, do you need top class riders or a cheaper version. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Starman2006 2,353 Posted May 6, 2018 3 minutes ago, oldtimer said: Unless my memory fails me when we were in the Conference League, or whatever it was called, the second field was often full. Question, do you need top class riders or a cheaper version. Najjer cant remermber that far back mate, he was still cracking his teeth on Rusks... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Najjer 2,855 Posted May 6, 2018 3 hours ago, Starman2006 said: Najjer cant remermber that far back mate, he was still cracking his teeth on Rusks... More nonsense posts from you. You post on another thread about not wanting grief to create stress for yourself, then you make yourself look an absolute moron yet again. And to prove that, I've been going to Somerset since 2000 in our first season FYI. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harry The Goat 23 Posted May 7, 2018 On 5/5/2018 at 2:31 PM, Ghosty said: I would like to see some form of grandstand built, this I think it would generate noise & atmosphere which is missing with the crowd spread out in the large arena with a typically average crowd. Another secondary benefit of a grandstand would be spectator protection from the coastal winds! Good points. And I see they've removed the entire grassy bank by the 1st/2nd bends and made the ground level. Anyone know if there's a plan to build something here? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites