BIRMINGHAM v REDCAR WEDS JUNE 2ND

[kitten2502 262]

1 hour ago, Tapeworm said:

I've got a ticket for Zone B1 for Glasgow Tigers' visit next week. I'm too old to stand for the entire duration of the match. Is there any seating in this area? If not, can I bring in my own folding seat?

 

 

You should be fine taking your own folding chair, plenty did that on Wednesday (as long as you don’t pinch my B1 spot )

Edited June 4, 2021 by kitten2502

[MartinBSN 617]

What a lot of people replying on this thread don't seem to understand is that the dry/dusty track was NOT the issue.

Riders from both sides were not happy at the patchy track around 6/6:30. Some areas of the track were solid and dry. Others were very soft and wet.

Once the top had been scraped off the track was always going to be dry, water wouldn't have helped as it would have become an ice rink with no dirt for it to soak in to!

Stewarts crash was 100% the tracks fault. Grobauer couldn't turn his bike (something every rider struggled with on most bends) and ploughed into the back/side of Stewart.

Birmingham's press release is an insult to Redcar and the paying public. 

[East End Fan 426]

15 hours ago, mikebv said:

You mean running it like a 'business', rather than an affordable hobby/plaything?

Spot on, if livelihoods were on the line I would suggest the minds would be a lot sharper and less nonsense would be allowed to fester...

There is no deterrent for not running things 'properly' because the sport is built on finding promoters willing to lose money..

Which then means there can't be financial penalties as the promoters may then just walk away..

 Even more so when those who may want to deliver such penalties will themselves invariably one day be in the same boat, or maybe have already been there....

Speedway (in the UK) is what it is...

ie. Somewhat contrived,, lacking in credibility, and perceived by many ex fans as pretty amateurish on the operational and presentation sides....

With the ultimate irony being that a sport with such an amatuer infrastructure to it, probably has too many full time professional competitors which it struggles to afford...

Best just accept it for what it is and either pay your money or don't...

Either way, it won't change...

I have been reading all the severe comments about the match at Birmingham (v. Redcar). Many fans suggesting that the promotions do not care for their

fans and do not care how they run their businesses.  Personally, I think this is far too harsh a judgement.  I may have led a charmed life in Speedway,

starting with supporting West Ham at the old Custom House track ( great days !), then to Hackney when it closed and moving to Arena Essex when they became

the new "Hammers". ( my 1st love). Now, with Arena no longer in action I drive a bit further down the M2 and have become a Kent fan.  In all those years, and

through many different promoters and managers ( one of whom at West Ham was a good friend of mine), I have never witnessed or suffered the kind of

disaster which occurred at Perry Bar. For decades of regular attendance at those clubs, all run in different ways by the various managers, I could not

criticise any of them.  So those that make general comments of lousy management everywhere are not being accurate or fair.

[Deano 1,318]

1 hour ago, Marshall07 said:

 

Stewarts crash was 100% the tracks fault. Grobauer couldn't turn his bike (something every rider struggled with on most bends) and ploughed into the back/side of Stewart

There was so much dust I couldn’t see how the accident happened. And I had a good view. It wasn’t obvious to me Grobauer couldn’t turn.

[MartinBSN 617]

2 hours ago, Deano said:

There was so much dust I couldn’t see how the accident happened. And I had a good view. It wasn’t obvious to me Grobauer couldn’t turn.

I have it on video and have watched it plenty.

[uk_martin 1,606]

1 hour ago, Marshall07 said:

I have it on video and have watched it plenty.

Why not upload it on here then for everyone else to see...I'm sure that they are bound to agree with you if the video is that conclusive.

[brianbuck 928]

14 hours ago, speedwaysliders said:

Brian in know way am i having a go at you but suerly the owners of the stadium can apply for an evening race night at the stadium if its not being used!! Ive only just recovered from the evening getting in and out of the stadium was a nightmare what with the traffic and building projects going on for big events in the area that seem to be being pushed through regardless of any common sense regarding road useage.It just seems amazing to me that you have a stadium that cant operate without stupid restrictions  7 days a week in a large city thats alive and kicking .

The stadium's planning consent allows them to stage Greyhound Racing on any day of any week apart from Good Friday (which I believe was a condition laid down by Lord Alexander who donated the site to the City in 1877). All other motor sport except speedway is not allowed, and speedway is confined to one specific night of the week which is currently Wednesday. An alternative week night (Thursday) is allowed in exceptional circumstances and at the Planning Officer's sole discretion.

[speedwaysliders 176]

3 minutes ago, brianbuck said:

The stadium's planning consent allows them to stage Greyhound Racing on any day of any week apart from Good Friday (which I believe was a condition laid down by Lord Alexander who donated the site to the City in 1877). All other motor sport except speedway is not allowed, and speedway is confined to one specific night of the week which is currently Wednesday. An alternative week night (Thursday) is allowed in exceptional circumstances and at the Planning Officer's sole discretion.

THANKS for info ,just thought ARC Racing took over the leece of the stadium in 2019,and what with the commonwealth games coming to the city next summer,the crazy things they are pushing through at break neck speed to allow it to take place,you would have thought the new leaseholder would want to max the stadium out.Also this stupid one night a week rule if its a not a bank holiday,you have to admit is kinda stupid and outdated considering the mess the stadium finds itself in outside the stadium.You would have thought like at Monmore people would bend over backwards to help the speedway out.

[Deano 1,318]

10 minutes ago, speedwaysliders said:

THANKS for info ,just thought ARC Racing took over the leece of the stadium in 2019,and what with the commonwealth games coming to the city next summer,the crazy things they are pushing through at break neck speed to allow it to take place,you would have thought the new leaseholder would want to max the stadium out.Also this stupid one night a week rule if its a not a bank holiday,you have to admit is kinda stupid and outdated considering the mess the stadium finds itself in outside the stadium.You would have thought like at Monmore people would bend over backwards to help the speedway out.

From our point of view yes it does seem petty. Having been part of the group which included UkMartin, Brian Buck, Brian Bott, Chris Browne, Gerry Taylor, Kitten, Sue connop (bless) , little leddy  et all, it was touch an go speedway would get full permission just to race one night per week. With the flats appearing close by do we want to ruffle more feathers going forwards.

Edited June 4, 2021 by Deano

[mikebv 10,273]

5 hours ago, East End Fan said:

I have been reading all the severe comments about the match at Birmingham (v. Redcar). Many fans suggesting that the promotions do not care for their

fans and do not care how they run their businesses.  Personally, I think this is far too harsh a judgement.  I may have led a charmed life in Speedway,

starting with supporting West Ham at the old Custom House track ( great days !), then to Hackney when it closed and moving to Arena Essex when they became

the new "Hammers". ( my 1st love). Now, with Arena no longer in action I drive a bit further down the M2 and have become a Kent fan.  In all those years, and

through many different promoters and managers ( one of whom at West Ham was a good friend of mine), I have never witnessed or suffered the kind of

disaster which occurred at Perry Bar. For decades of regular attendance at those clubs, all run in different ways by the various managers, I could not

criticise any of them.  So those that make general comments of lousy management everywhere are not being accurate or fair.

I think the feedback is so vociferous and angry because unfortunately Speedway Promoters dont have much "credit in the bank" when it comes issues like this..

When you have so many self inflicted 'own goals' such as actively letting riders miss meetings here to prioritise Poland, or even planning meetings in the first place knowing riders will be elsewhere. I would suggest it leaves many supporters, quite understandably, interperating this as "they dont care for their fans"..

Hence when we get a "biggie" all hell seems to break loose as it compounds other frustrating issues..

I think if they stopped a lot of the self inflicted, poorly planned fixtures, being subservient to Poland nonsense, then they would have a much healthier level of support and appreciation from the supporters.. 

Given the levels of support that Speedway has I think most of the fans are on the same side as the Promoters and just want to see the sport move forward through an operating model which has each team turning up each week with the riders that they should do (injuries permitting)...

Maybe starting to make that their fundamental priority would help the fans react a bit more calmly to issues like Wednesday's?

And let's be honest, why would you actively plan in to make your customers cheesed off? You wouldn't would you?

Yet Speedway seems to sadly make it some kind of 'hari kari' policy at times..

[speedwaysliders 176]

1 hour ago, Deano said:

From our point of view yes it does seem petty. Having been part of the group which included UkMartin, Brian Buck, Brian Bott, Chris Browne, Gerry Taylor, Kitten, Sue connop (bless) , little leddy  et all, it was touch an go speedway would get full permission just to race one night per week. With the flats appearing close by do we want to ruffle more feathers going forwards.

Good point with all the flats going up.Ill shut up!!

[Fromafar 10,361]

1 hour ago, mikebv said:

I think the feedback is so vociferous and angry because unfortunately Speedway Promoters dont have much "credit in the bank" when it comes issues like this..

When you have so many self inflicted 'own goals' such as actively letting riders miss meetings here to prioritise Poland, or even planning meetings in the first place knowing riders will be elsewhere. I would suggest it leaves many supporters, quite understandably, interperating this as "they dont care for their fans"..

Hence when we get a "biggie" all hell seems to break loose as it compounds other frustrating issues..

I think if they stopped a lot of the self inflicted, poorly planned fixtures, being subservient to Poland nonsense, then they would have a much healthier level of support and appreciation from the supporters.. 

Given the levels of support that Speedway has I think most of the fans are on the same side as the Promoters and just want to see the sport move forward through an operating model which has each team turning up each week with the riders that they should do (injuries permitting)...

Maybe starting to make that their fundamental priority would help the fans react a bit more calmly to issues like Wednesday's?

And let's be honest, why would you actively plan in to make your customers cheesed off? You wouldn't would you?

Yet Speedway seems to sadly make it some kind of 'hari kari' policy at times..

We fall into the same rider availability trap every year.Give them the ultimatum,fully commit to Uk or forget it.Declare line ups by end of year.Then you will know where you stand and what format the league (1 league) should run.These riders that are mucking us about are no superstars,junior riders replacing them would give just as much entertainment and would progress quicker.The standard MIGHT rise again given the standard we have fallen too.Is there really as big a shortage of riders.Entertainment is the name of the game.The riders that give us the biggest headache are the guys taking the money out of UK speedway.

Edited June 4, 2021 by Fromafar
Missed information

[The Dog 413]

A lots been said on this subject, most out of frustration at the way the evening played out, and rightly so, but I think every track in the world has probably experienced the sort of problems that Birmingham suffered on Wednesday. I arrived just after 5pm and the track was being watered tho I gathered there was some last minute issues with the segregation of fans that had been previously Ok'd. The fans started to arrive and were queuing outside patiently and at a safe distant. All appeared to be well organised.

Around 5.45 - 6pm the tractor dropped a lot of water on bends 1 and 2 which subsequently ran to the kerb on a hard track. The shale it picked up on the way turned a bit sloppy and probably looked worse than it actually was. Why the trackman did this instead of sprinkling as usual, I don't know. Maybe a more experienced trackman wouldn't have done this. Water gathered in the one or two low places that most tracks have and made it soft, hence the patchiness  that every rider hates. On track walk, both sets of riders agreed it needed blading and this isn't a quick fix especially when your short of equipment due to the well publicised vandalism recently. I'm sure a lot of the riders have ridden in a lot worse conditions but given that they've not been on a bike for a long time, understandably don't want any accidents early in the season. The top surface was taken off which left a slick and dusty track which if watered would have turned into an ice-rink. To the credit of all the fans they waited patiently with little information tho it was obvious what was going on tbh. The riders gave it their best in the circumstances and I don't think the accident had anything to do with the track, more of just a first bend coming together. I didn't see any riders having any difficulty in turning after the first set of heats and I'm sure the meeting would have been called off if they were struggling to turn by race 9 or 10.

The Masons have gained a lot of plaudits since taking over and have worked hard on the entertainment for fans, especially families, and having a team that wants to race and entertain.It would be a shame if all this was overlooked just because they had one bad night. Lessons will have been learnt and the sport and Birmingham in particular would be a poorer place without people like the Masons and Laurence Rogers and I hope they continue the good work they do.

For the record, I do think that Redcar should be awarded the tie but that's down to the authorities. 

 

 

[Yearbyred 1,103]

On 6/3/2021 at 7:37 PM, Biffa said:

Redcar had better have a really well prepared track for Friday or a lot of crap Will be coming our way. Pressures on track staff now I think. 

Well the track was great at Redcar on Friday, after many days of hot dry weather.

No dust and produced some fantastic racing.

(not a dig at Birmingham btw, just a response to saying the pressure was on Redcar to produce a good racing track)

Edited June 5, 2021 by Yearbyred

[SSL84 541]

2 hours ago, Yearbyred said:

Well the track was great at Redcar on Friday, after many days of hot dry weather.

No dust and produced some fantastic racing.

(not a dig at Birmingham btw, just a response to saying the pressure was on Redcar to produce a good racing track)

The last few years the track at redcar as always been well prepared and always will be to produce good racing.