leanne1706 0 Posted August 22, 2008 Making airfences compulsory at tracks will most certainly help with crashes. At some if not most it will put an end to all crashes for good as the tracks cant afford to install them and will close them down. Until we get to a situation where most if not all tracks are able to install them, the wise thing to do is to concentrate on all other aspects. Such as the skills and responsibility/respect towards other riders. If Målilla and Eskilstuna get the money from the community, good for them, go and buy them. Will Örebro get the money for their track, will Sittingbourne or Plymouth? I know Tampere wont get it. A quote from Sam Ermolenko from a few years back (I've used this before) is that the Swedish tracks dont need airfences. The fences are different than the UK ones I've seen and most of the polish one's. They are designed to flex 30-50cm on impact around the track. Thats a bit different to the one in Heuzden-Zolder Belgium, where a WC qualifier was staged back in -04. The fence was built of plywood that was supported by concrete blocks. Just a thought... I didn't know this, and that certainly goes some towards compensating for not having an airfence. It would be awful if speedway disappeared from these tracks that don't have the funds, and for those riders that never crash - or at least never suffer bad injuries - then it's all well and good. But what about those that have lost their lives? Wouldn't it be worth it, even if it saved just one life? I don't know - we could go on forever with different ideas, different debates. I guess I'm just feeling pretty off with speedway at the moment with all the injuries flying around Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted August 22, 2008 (edited) They need some air fences on that track... desperately. Now seen the accident. I'd say that was first bend punching and all four back. Dont really mean to blame anyone (I dont) but Davidsson was the one who had moved the furthest from his own gate 3 line. The track in Eskilstuna has a very long start straight (if not the longest) as the tapes are not middle of the straight but very early on the straight so the speed is high in the first corner. Even with an airfence there still was the bike travelling very fast that hit the riders before they hit the fence. Edited August 22, 2008 by f-s-p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leanne1706 0 Posted August 22, 2008 Now seen the accident. I'd say that was first bend punching and all four back. Dont really mean to blame anyone (I dont) but Davidsson was the one who had moved the furthest from his own gate 3 line. The track in Eskilstuna has a very long start straight (if not the longest) as the tapes are not middle of the straight but very early on the straight so the speed is high in the first corner. Even with an airfence there still was the bike travelling very fast that hit the riders before they hit the fence. Then why make the comment in the first place? You can see in the replay that the start line is set further back than most which would, of course, have added to the speed the guys were traveling at. Such an appalling looking crash, particularly the way they collide with the fence. You can actually see the fence gives a little, but this was still undoubtedly the cause of Jonas's fractured rib and shoulder injuries - they do hit it with some force. I still think an airfence would've made a difference as it would have at least cushioned the blow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted August 22, 2008 Then why make the comment in the first place? You can see in the replay that the start line is set further back than most which would, of course, have added to the speed the guys were traveling at. Such an appalling looking crash, particularly the way they collide with the fence. You can actually see the fence gives a little, but this was still undoubtedly the cause of Jonas's fractured rib and shoulder injuries - they do hit it with some force. I still think an airfence would've made a difference as it would have at least cushioned the blow. Because it's was what happened as I saw it. You dont think the bike hitting the couple with 60mph had anything to do with the outcome? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
leanne1706 0 Posted August 22, 2008 Because it's was what happened as I saw it. You dont think the bike hitting the couple with 60mph had anything to do with the outcome? Did the bikes actually hit the riders? I've just re-watched the video and it looks like they go off to hit the fence just to the left of the guys... Anyway, I feel we're going round in circles - my point still stands, airfences would go a long way to stopping many bad injuries, IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ghostwalker 1,859 Posted August 22, 2008 pictures from the meeting can be found here (scroll down towards the end): http://www.smederna.nu/?page=73 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
