IronScorpion

Yes, the times of the 1st 4 heats were 58.2, 59.9, 61.8 then 64 showed that it had become greasy with the riders maybe being a bit more tentative but the rain had stopped,& it wasn't a thunderstorm just a passing shower, & as I did say, the sun was out with the times improving race by race, bar heat 12(.44 slower than previous heat).

Me neither! After the success when re-entering the league drying up, crowds have dwindled & now the promoters are not making the money like they were before with their success. Not finding their own piece of land to build their own track would have cost them money but was it really going to happen!

The track was prepared to expect a bit of rain so seemed a bit slick & as the rain, sorry shower, duly arrived around heat 3, it made it a bit greasy with the race time of heat 4 of 64 seconds typical. After the laughable track inspection after heat 4, in bright sunshine which could have meant a sun delay later, the meeting continued with the exciting & entertaining races with multiple passes by both teams on show. The race times improved by 5 seconds as the meeting progressed from heat 5 to heat 15. Jensen & Pickering, as expected, pushed us with Lawson on the pace but I was disappointed with Wells & Heeps with their scores similar to what Auty & Allen scored on Friday. The meeting was over in an hour & a half even with the track inspection with the thunderstorm also arriving within an hour of the finish & THAT would have stopped any meeting. It was even hard to drive in that, even through town. Here is the Edinburgh press release(reading the 2nd paragraph, was he at the meeting) https://www.edinburghmonarchs.co.uk/news-centre/article/2019-08-04/well-beaten-at-scunny

Except you

What about the riders & promotion that have to get there early & after having a Saturday night meeting. Football takes presidence, though.

That is what I find strange as you are not supposed to ride into the pits after a race but is ok to ride from the pit area, to the gate & onto the track.

It is a guest ruling & not R/R. Plus it is on current form & have I read somewhere that Masters has only dropped 1 point to the opposition.

No, but this last few years I have posted to wind up Peterboro, '17 & Workington last year but it is just banter & opinions on the forum & I met some lovely people last year. Now it is Glasgows turn.

I think some have made a weekly break of it as it was posted that after being at Scunthorpe last Sunday, they were going to Manchester Monday(British Final) then down to Somerset(CL Wednesday) so just probably stayed in the area.

Woolley needed his 3rd programmed ride somewhere.

The fuel used is passed to the riders at the track so is the same for everyone It is the containers they put it in & pit work they do but I am sure Rasmus will put you right. I expected more of a beating Friday so it was a good job 2 of our heat leaders did not perform, but on the other hand, others did.

That is my Met Office rainfall radar & I agree with the shower at 2 but another around 6 if you scroll across https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/map/gcx8c5kxh#?map=Rainfall&fcTime=1564876800&zoom=8&lon=-0.65&lat=53.59 But it was similar last week & missed us!

I think this was why the Facenas decided to change the shape, size & banking to the track to give better entertainment as they have got it right with promoting the speedway off track. This does come at a cost as meetings become tighter as riders find it easier to race but it depends what rocks your boat. A 60-30 or 47-43? Win or a loss? Being Entertained throughout?

Similarly, as do I but the forum is very opinionated. Track preparation should be similar at all meetings, bit of dirt & dampness giving grip on inside & riding the dirt mid meeting. Also, the weather can play its part. As I have posted before, some riders are defeated before they have turned a wheel. Edinburgh is a technical track which makes it difficult for some, then to make it grippy leads to some riders & not just novices but experienced riders, struggling to turn. Then you get tracks like Berwick & Stoke with long straights & tight turns. Track shapes can unusually be altered, but some have tried this last few years to make the racing better, like Glasgow, Ipswich & Leicester. It does not always work, though. Belle Vue had a couple of millions thrown at it & it is a brilliant stadium & track & it showed what is possible, with the conditions pre meeting Thursday then the on track action from young lads having a go.

Just checked 3 weather sites & all 3 say rain around 5-6 o'clock but if a track is prepared right, like at Belle Vue Monday, racing not riding is possible. Let's see what tomorrow brings as things could change.

I stand corrected by HT & yourself but it is the riders that ride the track so they should have their say. Track size, shape & prep can get in riders heads & they can be defeated before setting foot on track. Something is happening at Eastbourne tonight with it kicking off.

It is quite amazing reading some of the threads & now BobC posts about how bad the track is & will not return except for 1 more meeting. Yet his home team is POOLE!

Hope Rob has laid some extra dirt on the track from somewhere, as if more people turn up, expecting to see similar lines used by Ayres in heat19 of the British Final on Monday in which some of our other riders would benefit from, will be going home disappointed.

Yes, you did say hopefully but most go for an enjoyable meeting. Back in '06 & '07 we had an awesome team but I did not enjoy seeing 65-25 thumpings. Give me an entertaining, fair, raceable & rideable track for both teams(providing Schlein is not there) & the meeting goes down to heat 14 or 15 does it for me, win or lose(but preferably win). I reposted part of his post because of the "not the greatest team" bit. Over the years we have never done well there. Hope your p!sh again tonight so we can run you close & you & your fellow punters can have an enjoyable evening.

With the Scorpions being not the greatest of travellers & racing on a technical track does not bode well for an enjoyable night of racing. The track will probably not be made to provide entertainment of a fair level, but that is your prerogative to make the track grippy to suit your riders. & for ours to adapt to. This was what one of your supporters posted last time about the crowd level "with not the greatest team at the dale in a tie that seemed a done deal i guess had something to do with it."

Think back to our meeting with Redcar away when E Riss was missing due to riding in Germany after signing for the Bears. If Rob Godfrey had any say in these matters then, yes, he would have blocked it but people need to get their heads out of the sand & realise that the BSPA should have a spokesperson/PR moderator that is not a member of the board but a secretarial type of person. Not everything is Chapman's view or Godfrey's view or Bates's view but when their name is in print, they take it as gospel.

Still got the dodgy fuel in the tanks to help some riders improve their score & get Cookie to lessen his to a more attractive average for next year.(some people just cannot see it but it might sow the seeds of doubt )

It also lead to riders being unemployable due to their averages not fitting, not just this year but previous years as well. Take Workington, last year, who only made 1 enforced change through injury but 6 of 7 riders finished with averages between 6.5 & 7.2. Lakeside, also, finished with a 44.2 average. This year, it is Berwick, again, not making any changes(last year only 1) & having a team average for August of 41.4, 2019 average of 40.5(all meetings) with a team rolling average(including end of '18 for some riders) of 40.9. This proves 38 was too low, bringing in too many riders not ready for this level of racing.

Why would they take out the jet? Wrong choice of words as that would flood the carb. May be using a smaller jet & altering the ignition.

It wasn't long ago that posters were saying Cookie was using over sized engines when he was doing so well at Edinburgh. How times change!