marko

That's fantastic value set by Plymouth for watching racing in the PL. I sometimes go to Rye House so would be interested to know their detailed pricing for 2011, from some of the above comments it sounds like Len could be pricing himself out of the market in some cases but i hope that isnt the case, I like Len, he is speedway through and through and at an age where most are sitting back taking it easy he is out there grafting away getting his hands dirty and not forgetting he does an awful lot for the youngsters. Lakeside are charging £12 for admission to Hawks stand alone meetings so i would think that is the buffer Len should be working too, it would make little sense surely for one track to charge different to see the same side, just an opinion but i don't get the impression the Hawks will be lacking support when they are racing at Lakeside, quite the opposite in fact and i am looking forward to seeing them race just as much as i am the Hammers in the Elite or whats left of it, bottom line is i hope for the riders sake both venues can attract healthy crowds for their meetings because these guys are the future and without them speedway does not have a future in this country.

Afraid im guilty of not having that much knowledge about the younger NL riders so cant really comment too much on the team and their chances. David Mason i feel is an apt sort of signing in that the last time we saw a team racing from Hackney (1996) Magic was part of the setup their, his current average looks low but ive read on previous comment on this thread there is reason behind it and i think the idea will be for him and Barrie Evans to lead the side, realistically both are not likely to progress beyond the NL, fair to say they would have already reached stardom by now if they were going to but the National League with riders like Seemond Stephens and Mark Simmonds is a pretty competitive league because the stand alone clubs have to be just that little bit more attractive to bring people in. On the pricing side of things, ok its not exactly cheap as chips but the key will be how they price the program and concessions, for this league i hope a more cut price program can be made to keep costs down, two quid absolute max thus £14 overall, or a simply race card for a pound would be even better, the Elite is likely to be best part of £20 this season inc program, would also have to guess that both promotions would need to come to an agreement about pricing because you cant have both charging different amounts to see Hawks "home meetings" And finally we know the standard of racing at this level is good, more passing because of mistakes etc but the show also needs to be professional and just because its the NL doesnt mean we can do away with rider interviews etc not saying they are going to do this but in the past non EL meetings at Lakeside have been lacking in this department (no Geoff) love him or hate him he definitely adds to the show.

Cant say ive ever been a big fan of Hackney, always been one of our rivals as i started watching speedway regular in 89, in those days we had the Spring or Autumn Triangle with the Kestrels and the Rockets and of the three clubs Hackney was always viewed as the strongest or certainly most likely to win in any given season. However the name is but a name and im fully behind this idea, the more track time we can give to the riders of tomorrow the better, we simply must start to devopelope our own talent in this country or face continually being dictated and taken advantage of by others. You only need to look at the JD situation, all that money paid out to secure his contract and the loyalty shown to him and this is the thanks we get.

Superb meeting, Well done Tomasz on becoming World Champion Also got to pay tribute the gutsy performance from Bomber

Ladyluck It was probably a good crowd because people turned with expectations of seeing a good meeting with a quality field but from what i had read on here it was anything but that, i think if we are honest with ourselves as speedway fans a lot of what we do is based on the hope that it will be ok and things will get better where there have been problems and issues in the past. Hope is very dangerous thing and loss of it can be fatal.

I cant help but think this competition is a waste of time, clearly some riders don't give a hoot about it and then we hear of clubs not telling their own fans about riders that will be missing even though to have such knowledge would have no negative effect financially to the club itself. Some clubs dont even acknowledge the fixture at all, there is not one press release on the Hammers website about the pairs before or after the event and i think it was exactly same last season, this meeting does not exist, it is not recognised even though it is effectively a BSPA event and every club/promoter is part of the BSPA. Its the very worn out record about coffins and nails, very frustrating.

The track was not great but i will give them credit for getting on with the meeting, 25 heats done in not much more than two and half hours.

Cant recall the meeting he officiated at Arena which incensed everyone (it was not recent) but certainly do not remember his name (Mr Robinson) with any great fondness, same applies for Chris Durno and Paul Carrington but they really are all as bad as each other when it comes down to it and their arrogant self centered attitude does not help their cause, never quite understood why the ref boxes we have are not made of Ivory

Sorry Parsloes you missunderstood the point i was trying to make with my proper meeting comment, it was in no way meant as a slur on those riders taking part last night, i have the upmost respect for these youngsters because they are what we are banking on for the future of speedway in this country and that is more important than anything, what i meant was that i was looking forward to seeing a meeting which had a better flow about it with interviews and chat etc and generally a track prepared more for racing than simply being safe to ride. The concept of the seven 7 series is fantastic but i have yet to see it forfill its potential via its application, the under 21 title has a lot of history and riders know it is a big thing to win but like i say i dont feel that the organisers who ever they are really do the event or the competitors taking part justice. People are expected to pay quite a large price to attend these meetings and deserve something for their money and i cant help but feel the reported low turnout was in no small part due to the meeting of 2009. Yes i realise that you cant make a track like Lakeside grippy because a lot of the riders wont be able to handle it but last week we saw the perfect example of striking a good balance and lets be honest with ourselves here, these youngsters which we all hope will go on to be our future stars need to experiance all types of tracks and conditions for them to complete what is a very tough learning curve.

After last season there was no way i was going to go to this meeting but i am sad no horrified to read that nothing had been learnt from the mess in 2009. This again could be very damaging to Lakeside speedway even though they are the innocent parties, until these meetings are treated with the professionalism that they should be, Lakeside and other clubs should refuse to hold them. Roll on next week and a return to a proper speedway meeting.

I was not there so can't comment on the track although to hear of dust flyng in March does sound very strange indeed. Just wondering is the Rye track still laid on the old tarmac stock car track?

Think it is fair to say this meeting is going to be very well supported with fans from all over making the journey, what i would like to ask is does anyone know if there is going to be any significant extra parking available on the day? and are people allowed or will be allowed to park there cars down that very long toll road which would be very handy if you come from the Harlow side?

No poxy Millard tonight, thank christ for that

This meeting definately needs to be moved to another venue, Lakeside have had it for two years now and both times its dragged on and on, our standard league meetings are no better in that respect, there is never any urgency about this place even when the weather is closing in, only wish i could have that much of a laid back attitude to life. Unacceptable to make people stand in the cold for over 3 hours in this day and age and with nothing going on much of the time, at least if it was held at Peterborough,Poole or Coventry the fans could sit down. I was fround upon when i came out and said i thought our stadium was a dump on the Arena forum, but it is what is is and you have to take it or leave it, either way its not fit for the purpose of staging marathons such as this.

As a Hammers fan i will always try and naturally defend our track but tonight i will do no such thing.......why? Because i cant! IT WAS AWFUL! Bald as the M25 and why the tractor kept on grading bare concrete i have no idea. I thought after last seasons farcical ending (vs Swindon & Poole) i had seen the last of meetings like this at Lakeside but apparently not! I am very angry because certain people at our club voice their opinions about how other people prepare their own tracks when maybe they should be taking a look at what they do themselves, thats all i have to say on this matter.

"real disappointment" how many times has that been said tonight, around 30 so far i reckon and we are only upto heat 11.

What Hans was getting at by quoting "this isnt conference league" is that riders at this level shouldnt be craping themselves everytime someone goes near them. You should be able to race and race hard without the others riders taking a dive in the hope of getting someone excluded, i like both Hans and Bomber but Chris in my humble opinion made a bit of a fool of himself when he said he had his leg taken away when he clearly hadnt, what would he have said of they had shown him the replay at that point? End of the day it was harsh to exclude either rider as it was almost six of one half dozen of the other but i guess the ref viewed it as Chris left the door open, Hans took the gap and Chris then having realised his mistake tried to get accross knowing Hans momemtum would take him into him.

Drinking alcohol is a privilidge that sports like speedway and cricket enjoy because everyone generally behaves themselves but that could easily be taken away. It wont be a full proof answer (no pun intended) so there should also be notices saying that bad langauge or anti social behavoir wont be tolerated, of course there would need to be stewards clearly marked at the tracks to aid this. It has to be nipped in the bud before speedway becomes like football where you have whole familiys (not just adults) shouting and gesticulating at the oposition players simply because they are the other team.

Pretty much the same thing happend at Arena at start of season when Hans passed Leigh Lanham on the inside and Leigh dropped it, there was possibly a little minor contact as per last night but some riders find it all to easy to just take a dive than stay on knowing they will lose a race position. Hans understandibly a very frustrated rider because every time he gets near another rider of lesser ability they expect the worse and are almost waiting for that chance, its almost as bad as diving in football, soon riders will be too afraid to try and pass for fear the other will simply take a fall.

Would like to ask how many fans travelled to Swindon unaware that one or two of their riders would not be taking part. There was no mention from Arena that Max wouldnt be riding for us and in fact Johnno has a higher average than Leigh so we had to use our 2nd and 4th best. Ipswich looked in just as bad a situation (no Loram or Louis) as did Wolves with no Karlsson or Hamill.

Swindon are not getting enough home advantage so they are watering the track just before their races.

yes i used to listen to that wrestling show with Tommy Boyd but it was taken off air with no explanation why, they do have a tendancy to do that on that station. They axe and hire presenters without so much a bye or leave.

Always happy to do that Vince but my luck is about 50/50 right now. Anyway, skybet have Trick at 9/4 and Nicki 3/1 Another good possible outside wager could be Andreas Jonsson at 50/1 ?

I have hated this rule right from the start and unfortunately i have followed a team that nine times out of ten will gift wrap the oposition an 8-1 as soon as its used whether the promoters will see sense is another thing but if they are not going to go back to the old tac subs then the threshold for using the tactical should be at least ten points down instead of eight or keep it at eight but each tactical must be on a handicap of 15m back. Promoters-we didnt want it, we dont like it, get rid of it!