00000 1,279 Posted July 17, 2019 2 hours ago, HGould said: what's happened to Connor Dugard? seems to have vanished off the scene apart from making Kevlars? was very outspoken on some issues but a bright young mind that sport could ill afford to lose. He is in the pits At Arlington with Alfie Bowtell each week Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
00000 1,279 Posted July 17, 2019 4 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said: At least we are all agreed then...definitely Stokes fault 3 hours ago, porkypotter said: exactly sings. I blame Stoke. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Falcons50 12 Posted July 18, 2019 On 7/16/2019 at 5:26 PM, HGould said: oh the irony. Kent fans will roundly slag off just about any track they go to e.g Plymouth and Stoke in recent weeks, used to be Mildenhall and Eastbourne. Then you have the "Cradley tribe" just about the most "up themselves" bunch in Speedway with the possible exception of Belle Vue. Thankfully us Brummies are friendly middle of the road types but to see Kent fans slagging off everyone else's track and then getting some back and then the Cradley mob involved in a cheating storm is just hilarious. Not sure what the irony is to my post really as I'm a Plymouth supporter who is fed up with reading negative posts about our track, am saying that tracks all round the country and in every league have issues. Poole, Swindon, Peterborough, in the higher leagues just to name a couple. Dust is always another issue, I loved the photos on Facebook of the Birmingham meeting last night, very atmospheric (said tongue in cheek) as to me it all is part of watching speedway :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teaboy279 1,038 Posted July 18, 2019 Luke Harris Cradley rider and ex Kent rider has today posted on facebook saying the central park track was the best and smoothest it has ever been when he has ridden it, Monday night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
old bob at herne bay 828 Posted July 18, 2019 Well there we have it .... best and smoothest track according to Luke Harris. So it isn't the track. One thing is for sure ... it isn't the supporters fault either.... they are the mugs who pay to turn up and hang around and are short changed of action. So 2 hours to run 15 heats of 1 minute 4 lap races clearly isn't enough time. Not just at Kent but all over the country, meetings drag on, with repeated false starts , accidents, and numerous other delays for reasons that our railway companies would be proud of. Even televised league matches are cut short by BT sports for over running their 2 hour slot. The promotions are incapable of running a professional show. What is being done about it ... NOTHING. I blame BREXIT. Must be ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted July 19, 2019 9 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said: Well there we have it .... best and smoothest track according to Luke Harris. So it isn't the track. One thing is for sure ... it isn't the supporters fault either.... they are the mugs who pay to turn up and hang around and are short changed of action. So 2 hours to run 15 heats of 1 minute 4 lap races clearly isn't enough time. Not just at Kent but all over the country, meetings drag on, with repeated false starts , accidents, and numerous other delays for reasons that our railway companies would be proud of. Even televised league matches are cut short by BT sports for over running their 2 hour slot. The promotions are incapable of running a professional show. What is being done about it ... NOTHING. I blame BREXIT. Must be ? I was at Poole last night. Parade 7.30, first race 7.40, no interval. All done and dusted just after 9. It shows what can be done. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BobC 664 Posted July 19, 2019 I was at the Somerset v Plymouth meeting earlier this season. It was announced that due to incoming rain, the meeting would start at 7.25pm,no parade and no interval. Bizarrely, the riders came out for Ht1 at 7.20pm and by 7.30pm, we had already had 3 races! I was home in Torquay before 10pm. Some fans were still coming in and asking what was happening.They thought it was a few demonstration races. They were not so happy when we told them they had missed 3 races. This to me is far worse than a meeting being abandoned due to curfew. Accidents etc happen, not intentionally. Sadly, for whatever reason, Kent do seem to suffer more than most. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
East End Fan 426 Posted July 19, 2019 12 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said: Well there we have it .... best and smoothest track according to Luke Harris. So it isn't the track. One thing is for sure ... it isn't the supporters fault either.... they are the mugs who pay to turn up and hang around and are short changed of action. So 2 hours to run 15 heats of 1 minute 4 lap races clearly isn't enough time. Not just at Kent but all over the country, meetings drag on, with repeated false starts , accidents, and numerous other delays for reasons that our railway companies would be proud of. Even televised league matches are cut short by BT sports for over running their 2 hour slot. The promotions are incapable of running a professional show. What is being done about it ... NOTHING. I blame BREXIT. Must be ? Well, Old Bob. How would YOU deal with accidents ? Just decide not to attend to injured riders, let them lie where they fall and continue the meeting ? Actually, when I go to Kent, which is almost every week now that Lakeside are shut, most weeks I am leaving the stadium just after 8 O'Clock following a 6.30 start. Accidents are the only hold up. Personally I can't think of a solution to that. I will be pleased to learn something from Old Bob of Herne Bay. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halifaxtiger 5,318 Posted July 19, 2019 1 hour ago, East End Fan said: Well, Old Bob. How would YOU deal with accidents ? Just decide not to attend to injured riders, let them lie where they fall and continue the meeting ? Actually, when I go to Kent, which is almost every week now that Lakeside are shut, most weeks I am leaving the stadium just after 8 O'Clock following a 6.30 start. Accidents are the only hold up. Personally I can't think of a solution to that. I will be pleased to learn something from Old Bob of Herne Bay. When Ashley Birks broke his back at Plymouth ( an injury that ended his career) the delay was around 15 minutes while they fixed the fence. They had two ambulances and two paramedics. I stand to be corrected but I believe that Newcastle still do. Injury needn't cause major delay. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flipper11 134 Posted July 19, 2019 9 hours ago, BobC said: I was at the Somerset v Plymouth meeting earlier this season. It was announced that due to incoming rain, the meeting would start at 7.25pm,no parade and no interval. Bizarrely, the riders came out for Ht1 at 7.20pm and by 7.30pm, we had already had 3 races! I was home in Torquay before 10pm. Some fans were still coming in and asking what was happening.They thought it was a few demonstration races. They were not so happy when we told them they had missed 3 races. This to me is far worse than a meeting being abandoned due to curfew. Accidents etc happen, not intentionally. Sadly, for whatever reason, Kent do seem to suffer more than most. BobC. I think you will find that Kent suffer more than most because they are the only track (cant think of another) that has to finish heat 15 & have the bikes back in the pits within 2 hours. I doubt any club in the league finishes EVERY match EVERY week within 2 hours. If by running heat 15 the race would finish 1 minute after 8.30 it means at Kent heat 15 could not be run. The meeting against Cradley is a case in point, if Kent were able to have carried on until 8.35pm the meeting would have finished. At Poole do you leave the stadium EVERY week at or before 9.30, i doubt that very much. Hopefully in time the council will grant Kent an extension of maybe 15mins to the planning permission for exceptional circumstances (say ambulance on track) & we can join in with the rest of the leagues & finish every match! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GWC 495 Posted July 20, 2019 HSE would dictate the medical cover required for the racing and spectators attending. The cost is unknown to me for paramedic and an ambulance but I guess it’s a fair proportion of the promotion costs. If Len Silver actually explained the expense involved then I’m sure spectators would have more sympathy (or not). He came out very quick to ask for an increase in admission when citing Drew Kemp’s £1000 kevlars! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NeilWatson 1,988 Posted July 20, 2019 13 minutes ago, GWC said: HSE would dictate the medical cover required for the racing and spectators attending. The cost is unknown to me for paramedic and an ambulance but I guess it’s a fair proportion of the promotion costs. If Len Silver actually explained the expense involved then I’m sure spectators would have more sympathy (or not). He came out very quick to ask for an increase in admission when citing Drew Kemp’s £1000 kevlars! The Speedway Regulations lay down the minimum medical cover requirements. A medical crew will cost around £500 per meeting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chris116 754 Posted July 20, 2019 (edited) I am a great believer that all tracks should have good medical cover for the safety of both riders and spectators. What I have never understood is why the track paramedic has to go with the NHS ambulance to hand their patient over to the hospital. Surely they could hand the patient over to the paramedic in the ambulance who could then hand them over to the hospital staff while the track paramedic was then able to stay at the track and be available for any further incidents. EDIT I understand that if the track ambulance is used to carry the patient to the hospital then the track paramedic would have to accompany them. But over the years have been at meetings where an NHS ambulance has arrived and the track paramedic has gone with it to the hospital which is the bit I don't understand. Edited July 20, 2019 by Chris116 Explanation to make my point clearer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Doctor... 1,478 Posted July 20, 2019 32 minutes ago, Chris116 said: EDIT I understand that if the track ambulance is used to carry the patient to the hospital then the track paramedic would have to accompany them. But over the years have been at meetings where an NHS ambulance has arrived and the track paramedic has gone with it to the hospital which is the bit I don't understand. This would be related to whether the ambulance arriving was equipped with a double technician crew or if a paramedic was on board . If the patient needs possible drugs en route whether it be pain relief or otherwise, then the paramedic would travel also. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waco 1,026 Posted July 20, 2019 Things are not like they used to be,,nowdays every thing revolves round costs that are far more expensive than they used to be,,,,,hence longer delays with injuries 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites