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Just got back and thoroughly enjoyed the whole day. Lots going on in the fans zone with all 16 riders signing autographs. Sure the racing wasn’t great and the crowd was down, in part to a lack of Poles, not able to get over so easily due to much higher plane fares and Brexit grief. Their numbers were massively down. Bewley bought the roof off the stadium which hasn’t been that noisy sing Chris Harris in 07. So many moaners on here. Perhaps they should have made the effort to attend, soak up the atmosphere and celebrate with Dan his win. As for Belle Vue. Do me a favour! Track is good but that’s where it stops. In a crap hole area of an industrial city which can’t hold a candle to Cardiff.

When Woffinden was being interviewed with Ronnie O'Sullivan had to pause the picture to determine if he was wearing a dress or a top and matching shorts

I wouldn't go back there if you paid me. Dreadful place, astronomical prices, nothing to do in the city. Manchester is a modern, vibrant city with a superb race track. Cardiff belongs in the 70s. Speedway fans couldn't care less about atmosphere, flashing lights and prematch "entertainment" They go for the racing - which year after year after year is garbage. The place is utter embarrassment to British Speedway. The sooner someone grows a pair and sticks the Cardiff contract in the shredder, the better.

Good point from Greg Hancock in the interview with Scott Nichols " I always used a bike that I had set aside for temporary tracks like this" It meybe had a slightly longer rear end and heavier flywheels for better control of the rough patchy track, unlike the light ones used that rev harder and take off if they hit a patch of dirt. At the end of the day good throttle control helps in conditions like Cardiff yesterday, but not all riders have it.

I want to say “well done” to Tom Brennan and Leon Flint as meeting reserves. They got rides, both of them, and were not disgraced, and am sure they gained loads by the experience. And although it was not Robert Lamberts best meeting, his time will come, and soon. He is gaining experience, which Dan is still short off much more than Robert, obviously due to Robert having been at the upper level a couple more years than Dan. And whilst Tai had his own problems last night, how chuffed he must feel. He wanted to develop British riders in the Uk, his proposals turned down, so he has took the youngsters to Poland (Robert and Dan) and made racers of them. Can see Tom Brennan and others doing the same. another 18 months and perhaps Tom will be in Poland learning skills under the watchful eye of Tai.

Bet your fun at parties

Just got back to the hotel... Buzzing... Still amazes me that this is the same sport I watch now and again domestically when you see it in the arena of the Principality... Decent crowd (25 to 30k maybe?) Who made loads of noise and atmosphere.. Especially on first two turns.. Having watched young Dan go from an Aces Colt to a GP winner in such a short time is incredible, and hopefully now the springboard for him to become a true GB Speedway legend A great day. Fan zone 100% entertainment, (well done Monster) and I am looking forward to the GP2 tomorrow... And didnt Phil Morris get handed a proper "get out of jail free" card with Dan's victory..???

They've closed gate 4 because of all the ruts & gate 3 is under investigation because a tractor fell down a hole! Gates 1 & 2 ain't looking too clever either!

This is laughable.

Tend to agree.. I went to 4 Wembley Finals...90,000+ at each great occasions 1972 - awful racing 1975 - awful racing 1978 - poor racing only enlivened by Kennett and Jessup doing so well 1981 - great racing and great spectacle. Everyone remembers 1981, conveniently forgets how bad the racing was in the previous 3 (and before that) yet it's lauded as a "great venue"

The British Speedway Site does not even have Leon Flint in the scores,that interested it’s just aCopy and Paste job.Poor Show.

But what about the racing? The racing? The racing? Because.. If it had good racing like the NSS, and some other tracks, UK Speedway would have no room left in stadiums each week given the tens of thousands who, after watching the British GP, would be instantly attracted to the domestic product.... It must be an irresistible force that will take over them and suddenly make them part with money each week to watch a sport that they have only ever seen once on TV.... As has been described by many riders over the years, Cardiff is "Speedway's "Monaco"... And as all know who watch F1, the racing in Monaco is often poor, usually close, but follow the car in front for the whole spectacle... The "event" is why people are there and for Cardiff it is similar for many who go... Loads of groups of people (families in the main), I got talking to yesterday were there with only one of their contingent being someone who attends UK Speedway... With the rest "knowing" about the sport obviously but just going along for the "special event" rather than having any opinion on the racing standard.. Thousands left the stadium last night very happy which was the icing on the Cardiff cake... Booking by ticket for next year as soon as they announce the date tomorrow.. Great venue and should be embraced by the UK promoters to "piggy back" onto given probably double the amount of fans will attend Cardiff that attend UK Speedway each week in total. Cardiff. .

If only I could find a time machine I would head straight back to the 70's and see world finals which also featured hardly any overtaking...

Manchester City Council funded the BV track. That part of Manchester, east, has the ManCity football ground (built specifically for some athletic championships maybe 20 years ago) , and close to that the National Velodrome, plus lots of other sporting venues. Chris Morton and Dave Gordon worked hard for many years to get a speedway track that matched the original Hyde Road track…….the site is just a few hundred yards away (now a car auction site). The council came up with the land, it’s area to build on was already determined by a road, housing, school, other sports facilities. The stadium is the biggest it could be. I know how the term National a speedway Stadium was born, I suspect as the council was stumping up the £6 million to build it, and considering the area is a sports area of Manchester they may well have dictated it gets called National Speedway stadium. Whether he SCB or anything high up in speedway had anything to do with that I havnt a clue. The track, as we know, quickly became renowned as one of the best racing tracks in the world, which it is, no doubt or arguing about it……. In the top 5 if not the top 3. The track organisers knew this weekend the Cardiff track was going to take some heavy usage with SGP1 and SGP2 taking place Sat/Sun plus practice/qualifying. They surely would have thrown everything at the preparation of the base upwards to ensure it would cope. It didn’t. We saw that Vojens stood up to 5 meetings and practices….a permanent track. Personally, for me, last night sounded a death bell for temporary tracks. Apart from the probability of poor race surface, the tracks are too small for frequent opportunities to overtake. How long the Cardiff contract is for I don’t know, but I want to see the British GP on a permanent track, so no to Olympic stadium (London), no football stadium (Newcastle), just a permanent track where good racing can be achieved. If, at the moment, that means BV with its limited spectator space, so be it. There are now no speedway tracks in city centres, so stop “making tracks” fit what some spectators want (pubs) and give what ardent speedway racing fans want….. world class racing “out of top draw".

No one knows exactly what he has taken, either in excess from off a banned list of legal prescription drugs (e.g painkiller overdose) or something that is illegal and not pain relief but something classed as a social drug (soft or hard) or even alcohol related, other than Ben himself. It would seem very unlikely to be a steroid or performance enhaning in terms of muscle / strength building, more likely to be either a social drug (in which case he deserves 2 years minimum ban) or an over-dose in terms of amount of a prescription or off the shelf drug that is on a list of medicines he should not have taken OR and probably most importantly, have self-decared he had taken. If you were to test and ban every rider who in extreme pain and under pressure to ride has taken a prescription drug he shouldn't then there would be very few left. That doesn't excuse what he's done , it means he got caught and has to deal with the consequences. May the first person who in pain has not swallowed may be more than they should for relief cast the first stone (accepting there are degrees of difficulty or risk you are then putting workmates under - a bus driver may put 60 lives at risk, a train driver hundreds, a Speedway rider you have to balance against that kind of risk factor) Past reputation, good or bad counts for a lot and on that score it's about as bad as it gets. Had he been someone with a better reputation no doubt many would be calling a different tune. It's Ben Barker so in many eyes its hard to have any degree of compassion. Until the actual results are published (if there are ever published) and a hearing takes place, no one knows do they? The Hearing btw is standard practice and is his chase to explain with representation if he wants it what his side of the story is. His CL Club have been very clear to set out the defence from day 1, not excusing it but in mitigation. IF the findings back what they are saying the punishment may be relatively short, possibly to 31 October, if what was found refutes and contradicts that defence then I think it'll be 2 years at least and he will have fooled them and all the rest of us. Whatever the outcome the Sport needs MORE tests and more education and not just gloat that they have caught one and then sit back and do naff all for another 3-4 years.

That was the worst Gp since Harrold Shipman

I’m pretty sure he had the intentions of stepping down but then If I’m right you can’t ride for 28 days after. You don’t know what goes on behind the scenes anyway so would of been a good reason why he didn’t ride as he had been loyal for years.

Are you suggesting that speedway fans are fickle? Seriously though, that is so true. When I look at videos from the "good old days" the racing was mostly crap. However, when our team got a 5-1, nobody gave a toss, did we?

To be fair not many of the other riders could turn on that track last night either

Not quite; there were TWO races that people remember. 1976 actually had several good races.

In amidst all of the delays and issues hats off to the Stadium / Tannoy Presenter / Announcer Not sure who it was; as you don't really see them in the setting at Cardiff, but worked overtime and can't have been an easy gig.

12.55pm

Yeah, weird he celebrated winning his first GP. You’d have thought he would have just left the track as soon as the final finished, and packed his bikes away. Maybe just treated himself to a little smile on the way home, if that’s not too much?

He’s got the Speedway GP out a hole there WELL DONE DAN BEWLEY!!!!!

Louis - 'a great nights racing' - stop sugar coating this pish!