Stoke Potter

You're seriously comparing King's Lynn to Vastervik? May I recommend Specsavers.

Good meeting on great speedway track, King's Lynn is a joke when compared.

This is so true! If you want more people to go then fix the damn tracks. (Message to Naysayers, yes I will keep banging this drum about crap tracks because it's the fundamental problem.) The racing tonight at Vastervik was light years ahead of what you got at Lynn the other night. King's Lynn needs reshaping, a one-line wonder.

I can't understand why a promoter wouldn't want to improve a poor track anyway. The reality is there is only 1 world class track in the country - Belle Vue. That is the benchmark for all the others.

I didn't go last night and I'm very glad I didn't. The racing was very poor. Chapman's a great track man is he? Not on the evidence of that.

The problem with TV avoiding tracks that don't produce decent racing is there would be very few on the list and most weeks you'd be at Belle Vue! King's Lynn last night was dire again. Very little passing with poor track conditions catching out world class riders, Fricke, Morris, Harris if I remember correctly. Back to Belle vue with it next year.

I see no point in reducing the admission, or even making it free, and then putting down a poor track that produces no decent racing. All you're doing in effect is driving potential custom away. As regards the camera work from Sky, towards the end they seemed less interested and you got the view from the crane most of the time. BT seems better. Now all we needs is starts shown from the 1st bend. Riders at the gate, camera side on to get the close ups, as soon as the bikes have gone 6 feet cut to the view from the 1st bend. That way you get a better view of Gate 4 cutting across and the banging elbows, etc. that goes on on the run to the bend.

Track was absolutely dire last night. Poole is generally under-watered in my experience but now they've managed to make it slick and rutted, quite an achievement. I counted 3 passes all night, not a great advert for the first match on BT Sport. An excellent way to kill the sport. Time to dig up the track and start again!

So I'm thinking of going to Round1 at king's Lynn. I've never been to Lynn and I like big tracks but when I've seen it on the tele it hasn't been the best. Can anyone give me the lowdown on what it's like, stadium, facilities, sutiable for kids, etc.???? Thanks...

Yet again your analysis is flawed. You're the one who said Brough was tight not me! Are you disputing that it was changed to be like Loomer? Of course, it could've been changed many time since! By quoting NP, your confusing 2 completely different concepts. Track rules need changing to create more entertaining tracks. Pedersen went to Wolves to improve himself as a rider on smaller circuits, it's a completely different thing. You also quote me as saying " bit like Loomer Rd". You should quote things more accurately, and give your own head a shake! One thing we do appear to agree on, Pedersen is an excellent rider, a proper entertainer and the GPs will be far poorer when he packs it in. I suspect it's the only thing we'll ever agree on when it come to Speedway.

It is impossible on here to describe all the dimensions required. Radius of bends, banking etc. also come into it. Suffice to say the width of Belle Vue and a minimum of 300m. So no, not long straights and tight bends! Leicester is still a considerable way from anything approaching ideal and if the rules were tightened up in the first place it would never have been built that way. You're essentially admitting that the rules allow people to create fundamentally flawed tracks. That's stupid even by the standards of the BSPA! I do not know how tight Brough Park is but I didn't think it was of the Lakeside, Old BV style. No wonder you protest so much about increased sizes if it is! I seem to recall it was re-modelled slightly in the mid-late 80's to be more like old Loomer Rd, if so it wouldn't be that tight. Modify the rules just for new tracks then, if you're of the opinion that the existing fundamentally flawed ones will stay open forever. Which they won't by playing to crowds of 100s!

It's incorrect to describe it as an obsession. It is my opinion, formed by analysing the sport over a number of years. I've not seen your ideas on how to improve our sport however? Another correction: All tracks would not be the same, they'd just all be bigger than 300m. Just because a track is inside a dog track does not mean it could not be expanded. My local track used to have a dog track around the outside but still could've been developed in the way described. Do you think speedway tracks inside dog stadia are sustainable into the future? I don't. I've been saying for ages about expanding tracks, way before Belle Vue was built. Lo and behold some genius creates a proper sized track and you get racing like I witnessed a couple of weeks back at the Peter Craven memorial. I will guarantee you've not had racing like that at Byker in the modern era. Open your eyes, do the analysis, and get the old boys on the BSPA to do the same. Otherwise, do like Sheffield, throw your doors open free to everyone and bore the pants of them all with a processional meeting, turning them off the sport even more. Yeah, excellent plan.

Some good points but not much to address the fundamentals. The majority of tracks in this country are not conducive to good racing and passing. Fix them. Minimum track sizes should be changed, nothing less than 300m. Wider straights and bends are also required, difficult to quote a dimension as current widths aren't widely published. Existing tracks should be given a time limit to improve their track, 3, 5 years whatever it may be. Plenty of people will bleat that some tracks will shut. The same was said when compulsory air fences were introduced, how many actually shut? Bigger tracks also have the advantage of having longer races thus eradicating 50 odd second races which basically short changes the fans.

Flawed logic if ever I heard it. How can "free" be good value for money? There is no money! I agree with Mr Snackette, I'd be worried by the fact that I can only get 5000, 6000, 7000 to show when it's free! Top league speedway in this country should be looking to attract that regularly. People won't flock to speedway even when it's free, address the reason why.

Surely the point you're missing is how many thought the product was of sufficient quality to go back again and pay?

No I mean could a Belle Vue type track fit within the confines of those stadia. It would never happen of course but it should.

Sunshine Speedway is only any good if the people preparing the track know how to do it properly without producing dust at some point. All too often that's not the case. The point about Sheffield is an interesting one. If the meeting was actually a boring procession, then letting people in for free is likely to have a negative impact rather than the hoped for positive one! When will everyone realise the truth, people don't go because it's (generally) boring! Prior to going to Belle Vue on Saturday night, my 7 year old son told me he didn't like Speedway any more and didn't really want to go. If you can't attract an 7 year old with bikes and dirt then something is seriously wrong. Fortunately after what he saw at Belle Vue, he says he definitely wants to go again so the sport hasn't lost him (yet).

Modern bikes do produce poor quality racing on the vast majority of British tracks. They make it more obvious how poor British tracks generally are. Modern bikes do not respond well to being locked up to go round a bend, i.e. Wolves, Lakeside, countless others. The answer is to fix the tracks, you won't stop progress with the bikes. I do wonder if the new Belle Vue would fit in the likes of Sheffield, Peterborough, King's Lynn, Swindon (currrent circuit).

They are often praised as good racing but that's only when compared to the dire rubbish served up most weeks at most tracks. No track comes close to the new Belle Vue, it's what British Speedway has been crying out for and it might just lead a revival in the sport's fortunes, if allowed to. All hail Gordon & Morton! Imagine if last night's meeting had been last year, how would the Aces fortunes have been different?

Excellent meeting on a truly superb sized/shaped track. Any promoter that's built a track in the last 25 years that isn't shaped like that should hang their heads in shame. i.e. all of them! It can be done! Big, wide, fast, dirt and banking. Anything else is just an excuse.

Thank you for the replies, much appreciated. I do have photos of the tickets. I sent my mail to info@bellevueaces.co, I'll try Adrian Smith's email and see what happens. I'm not local to Belle Vue so it's not really practical for me to go there just to collect tickets beforehand. I realise the new promotion did not have to honour those tickets but as they are doing I'd like to go along and sample what I believe to be the best Speedway Track in the country.

Sorry, edited. You know what I meant.

Not sure where to put this but I guess here's as good as anywhere. I sent my tickets for the Peter craven Meeting back to Belle Vue towards the end of last season for a refund. Unsurprisingly I never got any response or refund. I have recently contected Belle Vue via email to ask how I can attend this years meeting and explaining that I sent my tickets back, etc. I have not had response via email either! So how do I get replacement tickets or my refund?!!

Fair point, then it should be watered during the meeting.

Having seen racing at both, I'd pick Poole everytime. It'd be better still if they actually watered enough at the start or watered during the meeting. Always dusty by the end whenever I've been. No excuse for it.