ruffdiamond 6,115 Posted April 4, 2022 7 minutes ago, Lord Skid said: BWD has probably had one too many bad crashes, some riders are mentally strong enough to put them firmly behind them, but many lose the edge they used to have, Robbo definitely didn't let them affect his performances. Only problem with hype is, you have to live up to it, or the knives quickly come out. Aye, doesn't seem to be having a great welcome to the North East. Having beef with other riders and now the fans is getting on his case, give him a chance,,, he's only been here a fortnight or summit on an inflated average. Look at Crump last year, come in on a 12 and left on about a 6!!! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KEITH M 850 Posted April 4, 2022 39 minutes ago, ruffdiamond said: Look at Crump last year, come in on a 12 and left on about a 6!!! Aye but he had Bjarne to help pull him out the sh*t Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NJC71 388 Posted April 4, 2022 Didn’t attend many meetings last year but went yesterday. Observations: Shame there is no outside line on the track; racing wasn’t great. Team obviously lacks any real top end strength. Completely appreciate that we can only spend what we have but its catch-22 and many may be reluctant to watch a team that is clearly going to struggle. Three riders who haven’t ridden at this level either before or not for x years feels like a gamble too many. BWD is clearly not a number 1 and in reality nowhere near it with his assessed 8+ average 2 points plus higher than anything he’s achieved at this level. That assessed average is far too high given he’s not raced for more than 12 months either. Starke, Wethers, Wright & Clegg are all reliable solid second strings with Clegg still on the up but none are heat leaders let alone a number 1 which one them will be before long. Complin looked decent considering how long he’s been out and will hold his own in time. He doesn’t have the physique for a speedway rider but at this level he’ll score points before long. Congreve is obviously very raw but did ok. In a strong team he would be fine but he may get exposed a bit in this side. Facilities at the stadium (food and drink) are better than they ever have been and the pits looked neat. Hope the team can be competitive in time but suspect it will need some changes if possible. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Diamonds85 688 Posted April 4, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, NJC71 said: Didn’t attend many meetings last year but went yesterday. Observations: Shame there is no outside line on the track; racing wasn’t great. Team obviously lacks any real top end strength. Completely appreciate that we can only spend what we have but its catch-22 and many may be reluctant to watch a team that is clearly going to struggle. Three riders who haven’t ridden at this level either before or not for x years feels like a gamble too many. BWD is clearly not a number 1 and in reality nowhere near it with his assessed 8+ average 2 points plus higher than anything he’s achieved at this level. That assessed average is far too high given he’s not raced for more than 12 months either. Starke, Wethers, Wright & Clegg are all reliable solid second strings with Clegg still on the up but none are heat leaders let alone a number 1 which one them will be before long. Complin looked decent considering how long he’s been out and will hold his own in time. He doesn’t have the physique for a speedway rider but at this level he’ll score points before long. Congreve is obviously very raw but did ok. In a strong team he would be fine but he may get exposed a bit in this side. Facilities at the stadium (food and drink) are better than they ever have been and the pits looked neat. Hope the team can be competitive in time but suspect it will need some changes if possible. Completely agree with most of what you said. However I will disagree on calling Matty and Paul second strings, they have been proven heatleaders for years. Also Max is basically a heat leader now and by the end of the year will probably be our number 1 Other than that, great round up of how the meeting panned out. I believe we are not short on money, however the winter situation meant we lost a few of the big hitters we could have gone in for to other teams as there was so much uncertainty surrounding the club. Hopefully next winter will be better and we can tempt the likes of Steve back??? Edited April 4, 2022 by Diamonds85 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
geoff100 1,404 Posted April 4, 2022 Anyone got a copy of this years rule book?was the ref correct in not allowing wright in ht 15 after starkes bike failed speaking to an ex ref today he said wright should have been allowed " unless the rule has changed this year". Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevePark 2,740 Posted April 4, 2022 10 minutes ago, geoff100 said: Anyone got a copy of this years rule book?was the ref correct in not allowing wright in ht 15 after starkes bike failed speaking to an ex ref today he said wright should have been allowed " unless the rule has changed this year". James could have gone in ht 15 had Paul not been disqualified. But, because Starkey had been DQ'd, a reserve had to come in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oggyNZ 16 Posted April 4, 2022 Was this the lowest crowd ever for the start of a new season ? It seems ironic that we seem to have more sponsors advertising at the track this season, and that could be the reason the car park was full. The track had dirt on but seemed to be left dry in case of rain which arrived at 7.15. This left it as an ideal gaters paradise and once in the lead just sit on the 1 line to win. Unfortunatley Diamonds are not the best gaters. I would like other peoples comments on the state of the 3rd bend as it seemed the bikes were hitting a hole there. The good point was that we started on time at 4.00. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
geoff100 1,404 Posted April 4, 2022 2 hours ago, StevePark said: James could have gone in ht 15 had Paul not been disqualified. But, because Starkey had been DQ'd, a reserve had to come in. Yea i get that the point am making was does it have to be a reserve after paul was disqualified for a 2 minute offence? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
geoff100 1,404 Posted April 4, 2022 1 hour ago, oggyNZ said: Was this the lowest crowd ever for the start of a new season ? It seems ironic that we seem to have more sponsors advertising at the track this season, and that could be the reason the car park was full. The track had dirt on but seemed to be left dry in case of rain which arrived at 7.15. This left it as an ideal gaters paradise and once in the lead just sit on the 1 line to win. Unfortunatley Diamonds are not the best gaters. I would like other peoples comments on the state of the 3rd bend as it seemed the bikes were hitting a hole there. The good point was that we started on time at 4.00. I thought the crowd was low and yes seemed to be a bump as riders turning for bend 3,big miss was honest john hope we see him there soon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roger Martins 7 Posted April 4, 2022 2 hours ago, oggyNZ said: Was this the lowest crowd ever for the start of a new season ? It seems ironic that we seem to have more sponsors advertising at the track this season, and that could be the reason the car park was full. The track had dirt on but seemed to be left dry in case of rain which arrived at 7.15. This left it as an ideal gaters paradise and once in the lead just sit on the 1 line to win. Unfortunatley Diamonds are not the best gaters. I would like other peoples comments on the state of the 3rd bend as it seemed the bikes were hitting a hole there. The good point was that we started on time at 4.00. It was not a shock to see the crowd was low for the first meeting when it was up against Newcastle United playing football at the same time, I know the game was in London but there is always a huge following to support them, and it was on Sky Sports, and that could have been the reason for the crowd being as low as it was, Start of a new season and you are wanting as many new supporters to attend as well, and to return for the rest of the season. I know its hard to arrange meetings but just seems crazy to have the opening meeting to be on at the same time as the football, Hopefully next week will see a much improved attendance against Redcar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wee Eck 698 Posted April 4, 2022 1 hour ago, geoff100 said: Yea i get that the point am making was does it have to be a reserve after paul was disqualified for a 2 minute offence? Rule 11.1.27 - a rider disqualified for a starting offence can either go off 15mtr or be replaced by a reserve. It’s only if a “qualified” is withdrawn can he be replaced by another qualified rider. It’s been that way for a considerable time Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
geoff100 1,404 Posted April 4, 2022 2 hours ago, Wee Eck said: Rule 11.1.27 - a rider disqualified for a starting offence can either go off 15mtr or be replaced by a reserve. It’s only if a “qualified” is withdrawn can he be replaced by another qualified rider. It’s been that way for a considerable time Thanks but it wasnt a starting offence it was the 2 minute rule ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wee Eck 698 Posted April 4, 2022 53 minutes ago, geoff100 said: Thanks but it wasnt a starting offence it was the 2 minute rule ! That counts as a starting offence as defined in 11.1.6 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites