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Purely by chance due to work and getting stuck behind an accident on the m6 I ended up at Belle Vue last night, so I thought I would share my fan experience, I brought a ticket in the grandstand which was £21, now to me that is way over priced for league speedway, so I took to my seat a read the programme, around 7pm the crowd which was a good size crowd filled the stadium, the announcer said we will interview the team managers around 7.10 however belle vues team manager was working on the first bend with a rake while we were treated to 40 mins of tractor racing, no interviews, there were a family next to me with 2 very young lads who had never been to speedway before but thought they would try it, around 7.20 there was an announcement that the meeting would be delayed to let the que’s that were still outside in, however that turned out to be a bit of a lie as some rides equipment hadn’t turned up,think they were caught in the same motorway problem as me ,but by 7.40 the kids next to me had got a bit bored and quite frankly so had I, chase the ace works very well in raising some excitement in the crowd, finally what felt like forever we get what I thought was a very well thought out parade and then the racing started, 2 heats and then the tractor is back out, apparently the track was to grippy, another 2 heats then more tractor racing, at around 8.30 i had seen 4 heats and 50 mins of tractor racing, the first half the meeting was pretty much gate and go stuff with nothing happening after the first corner, the match being close kept the interest up ,we had a couple of jumped starts and riders going back to pit gate to fiddle with their bikes, more delays (make it so no mechanic allowed on track in between restarts ) then the racing livened up so they had an interval,the second half the meeting was excellent and Kings Lynn deserved their win but I just felt like a few little things added up to spoil the entertainment, the racing, chase the ace and the presentation was all great but it’s just those little things that drag it down and kill the buzz and as I said it’s too expensive, the family next to me didn’t seem that taken in by it left before the end, this is not just about Belle Vue but speedway in general

Something else not helping is that every time you see a video on youtube from speedway portal or speedway gb the tracks are dry, they are already down to the base on the inside even after just a couple of heats, you cant expect the track to soak up and store water when there is nothing to soak it up, in the summer you get dust as we have seen a lot recently, but at least the meeting can go on, and providing the vision of the riders isn't overly impacted its safe, but if tracks continue like this, when we start getting the wetter whether in September and October, meetings will be rained off left, right and centre because the rain will just sit there, nothing to soak it up and therefore you cant scrub the wet shale off because there isn't anything of substance to scrape off. What on earth is going on? are promoters en bloc refusing to buy any more shale in the hope that some miracle will present itself as a cheaper alternative?

Or even late march when the season starts

...Interesting views and I have watched speedway via you-tube and/or DVDs from the so-called Pioneer Years and it seemed so much rawer back then and less refined. Perhaps modern speedway is too clinical and less 'dirty' but I guess that would be a backward step in this modern age? I'm just glad that I followed the sport during it's last "Golden Era' which is commonly accepted as being the seventies but even then one could see changes taking place as the decade advanced towards the eighties and beyond.

Could speedway star get for a future edition an in-depth interview with frank ebdon assuming he is still alive and at least watches speedway on tv and his views on modern speedway and his views on today’s starts ,excessive gardening and jumping the starts, he was the master of strict and slick meetings, something we don’t either of today

No surprise to me. Boxall was like a second son to Silver at Rye. He thought the sun shone out of his a*se. Whenever he needed equipment (often), Uncle Len was there. Promising as a teenager, but thoroughly unprofessional

He has been riding for a decent club all season - Glasgow!

Or April ☺

I think this has the potential to be a mauling if I am honest, apart from heat 2 and 8 Brum will have at least 1 heat leader in every race. Thomas should be good for around 12-15 points, The engine room of Rowe and Hampshire have performed above and beyond this season, but 6 rides against tougher riders away from home is a big ask, something I have every faith they can do but don't want to put any pressure of expectation on them for this. The reserves match up quite well, Spooner has been great and picked up points not expected of him and Couzins looked far better then many reserves in his appearance for Kent Monday. That leaves Perks who on Monday looked sensational and dare I say too good for the league. He interacted with the Kent fans well Monday as all his wins were applauded generously, so hopefully he will be 100 percent committed tonight. Kent have had very limited luck with guest number 1s over the years. Not seen a forecast but hope weather is set fair for the number of fans travelling up. With so much talent on either side a bit of rub of the green either way could swing this. The Kent boys have risen to everything thrown at them recently, and with so many young heads, Jack Thomas himself no veteran has galvanised the team unit and the composure of everyone has been a joy to watch. Gutted I can't go myself as whatever the score, with the riders on show there will be some entertaining racing pretty much garunteed. As a Kent fan if you offered me a league point now, I would take that and stick it in the bank.

You would think all the years he has been riding he might have been able to bring that forward a bit to say...................June?!!

So fortunes really went in the Stars favours. They say 'small drops of water, little grains of sand' can always make a big difference. the answer to this problems is to be on top of everything and keep these problems to a minimum... The main reason you lost was because you top riders didn't score enough points...

Connor Mountain was dropped due to the numbers for three changes. He has a brilliant attitude. Good equipment and always gave his all but he really struggled to get to grips with foxhall and rode much better away from home.

Every time a Scorpions rider gets injured the rest of the clubs start to wonder if their fixture list is safe.

Looking at Sundstrom's ave (with bonus) 7.48, only half a point behind Kurtz & Harris, doesn't seem that bad!

Yes it is a s**t hole but its our s**t hole, if I had Belle Vue or Poole on my doorstep I would go there but I don't, and unlike a lot of football fans, us speedway supporters follow our local teams.

An interesting account by an ex-rider who has experienced both sides of the fence. The family of new attendees will not be back in a hurry. Seriously, I find it insulting when there's a delay to prepare the track when they've had enough time to do it before the event. What was the problem, a sinkhole just appeared at 7.25? Even older fans become bored by the constant breaks between heats, as work that really should have been already done is now crucial for the match to take place. The speedway may be fine, but such things wear you down... like the false starts and re-starts. It should be a slick show. And to keep the new people through the gate that actually give it a try, have a way to show them how speedway scoring works. Riders going round and round does get boring if you don't know what's happening. Not as boring as track grading, but boring non-the-less. Even in a brand new stadium with brilliant racing, speedway doesn't half seem shoddy at times.

It has always been like that League racing was and is very popular as people identify with their teams and most fans care a bit less about individual meeting when you cheer on individual riders.

It was an exciting race. So was the race from the NSS ( saw it on fb) and that was brilliant. It isn’t a competition.

Too young to have any significant memories of him but one of the long list of local riders that made the club at ipswich what it was as it established itself Perhaps overshadowed by those higher profile stars but still every bit a part of a team - the type of rider that was (and still is) vital to making speedway work

Laker came out for the ReRun and struggled, subsequently he went to the hospital with a suspected broken wrist. Not sure if that's been confirmed.

But you wasn't there. Or was you??

I may have said this before but I don't think the racing is actually the most important thing - a few more passes in a meeting won't make people flood through the turnstiles. It needs a more conducive environment for fans within the stadium. If the place itself is somewhere people fancy going to socialise with friends and see a bit of racing as well then people other than us purists may want to attend. Kids go free is a good incentive but what do they do when they get there? Maybe trampolines or bungees, maybe video games, food/drink for kids with seating, soft play area or sandpit/pillow. These things will attract them. Now, for older folks then somewhere warm, covered and seating are important. Motorcycle themed activities maybe - a speedway simulator or bikes to sit on/view, you could have motorcycle rider allowed to park together and encourage club meet ups, provide a room/venue for parties/events within the stadium with catering facilities. I'm just throwing these things out there but reducing the large payouts to some riders would give the money to be able to offer some of these things as attractions - when at a dull meeting what else is there to keep you entertained? So will you come back?

Haha!!! I will not be getting banned for saying what everyone thinks.

It is no Swindon fan!

Yes, they certainly should. I hope that rule is brought back in next year.