British GP 2013

[keepturningleft 589]

Over the last few years the Cardiff GP has taken world championship speedway in Britain to a different planet.

 

A less than perfect track maybe a price we have to pay for the overall phenomenon that Cardiff has now become, an 'event' which is probably greater than the sum of it's parts.

 

Or maybe should we go back to holding the GP in a weed strewn terraced stadium in the provinces in front of 10,000 people with the real possibility of a rain affected or rained off meeting and an inevitable decline in media interest?

 

The track for the 1975 world final at Wembley was also a disaster - and that was smack in the middle of speedways last golden era with millions watching on terrestrial tv.

There is nothing new under the sun.

In speedway, as in life, things go wrong occasionally.

 

Those events in'75 didn't harm speedway anymore than last nights will.

 

After 13 years there's no sign of a major down turn of attendances at Cardiff despite the many posters here who proclaim defiantly, "I'm never going again!" Funny that.

 

The last 3 Cardiff tracks have been good, so hopefully the shale issue last night was an unforeseen one off, and things will be back to normal next year.

 

Eurosport coverage is excellent and Scott Nicholls superb as pundit and summariser.

[TheSmiler 420]

JUST out of interest KK BROKE THE TRACK RECORD ON THAT TRACK,HOW?.Who was the time keeper?

 

54.7

 

Previously 55.0 by Kenneth Bjerre and Jason Crump.

[Snyper1010 24]

Why wouldn't I be Adam? Tao bailed at the first sign of a tussle in the bend. There is no way in a month of Sunday's Freddie hit him hard enough to send him across the track in the manner that Tai did.

[TheReturn 1,724]

Why wouldn't I be Adam? Tao bailed at the first sign of a tussle in the bend. There is no way in a month of Sunday's Freddie hit him hard enough to send him across the track in the manner that Tai did.

Unless the tap was enough to put him off balance, which he then hit one of the many ruts in the track. If Freddie forced Tai off his natural line with that mere tap, then I think Freddie is at fault.

[SCB 0]

As someone who lives in Cardiff, that's bollocks. Wet my backside. The forecast has been pretty much spot on so no excuses.

 

I live less than a mile from the stadium, you're talking b0110cks. Weather had been as predicted this week, better of anything.

Wasn't it bucketting down BH Monday?

 

Niamh

In honesty last weekend was a scorcher. Saturday was boiling all day, as was sunday. No rain at all.

 

Monday was ok till dinnertime then drizzle all day, tuesday was very wet then wednesday was ok till about 4 then rained all nite. Thursday and friday fine.

So as I said, the weather was as predicted/forecast. So no excuse there. And it turns out reading Philip Risings post it was NOT the issue. Mind you, it cuold be they tried that as the official line but when pointed out by a local it was bollocks they had to change the official line, maybe?

LET'S try and clear this up once and for all. The material is stored in an environmentally controlled facility which is supposed to ensure the moisture content is around seven per cent. It was transported to the stadium in between showers and using information supplied by the Met office. It did not get wet during transportation or while it was being laid on the track.

Yet we've been told later int eh thread by FTM that the shale was left outside. The outside area of Newport Docks is hardly an "environmentally controlled facility" - someone has cocked up, admittedly if it was meant to be in such a facility but wasn't, it might not be BSI in the first instance but when the shale turned up soaking wet why not fix the issue then?

 

 

Should of excluded Tai and I think it was Vaculik on the outside from memory. He fell completely on his own before Tai went through Pedersen like a steam train.

That was my first thought too, but I can certainly see why the ref excluded Lindgren and Woffy does move off his line awfully quick suggesting he did take a knock.

Cook was first out of turn 2 in his initial ride, but was left lagging down the back straight. Not sure if it was his bike underpowered, or just that he was on the wrong part of the track. Still, an encouraging performance. Auty has never been a gater, and in this sort of company that's gonna get you nowhere.

Cook was sensible. The track had ruts he didnt knwo where they were. In a league meeting the rusts wold appear through a meeting and he goes out every few heats and sees them, he was going out with them already there and so couldn't risk riding into one and crashing. I thought he rode with his head and hopefully enjoyed getting a couple of rides.

 

 

I can't believe pessimistic me enjoyed yesterday while everyone else seemed to hate it Maybe as I went in expecting a slick track that was going to break up as the meeting went on I wasn't disappointed when it happened. I sat with a speedway virgin, he'd watch a bit of speedway on tele but that was it, he enjoyed the meeting and the build up before hand even if he had bet on Lindback. He got into it and was cheering for Bomber and Woffy as much as anyone and despite having a few ££ on Nicki was happy to go alone with the booing of him Interesting that he was a first timer and eh enjoyed ti and Adam above mentioned his first timer enjoyed it but the regulars are all moaning - no it wasn't a classic but it wasn't that bad.

[Snyper1010 24]

So at what point does it stop being Freddies tap and become Tais riding? Into the 4th bend? Out the 4th? Into the 1st? At some point the blame shifts. Not that I think Freddie touched him.

 

Take Nicki two weeks he was hit and was drifting wide in the final, and due to the injury to his arm he could no longer hold on. Why was that not KKs fault? At what point did it stop being KK and become Pedersen?

[iris123 20,989]

So as I said, the weather was as predicted/forecast. So no excuse there. And it turns out reading Philip Risings post it was NOT the issue. Mind you, it cuold be they tried that as the official line but when pointed out by a local it was bollocks they had to change the official line, maybe?

Yet we've been told later int eh thread by FTM that the shale was left outside. The outside area of Newport Docks is hardly an "environmentally controlled facility" - someone has cocked up, admittedly if it was meant to be in such a facility but wasn't, it might not be BSI in the first instance but when the shale turned up soaking wet why not fix the issue then?

 

 

 

 

Well looking back at an earlier quote from Phil i can't believe the shale was not in an environmentally controlled facility because...

 

THIS is part of a feature in speedwayXtra this week (speedwaystar.net)...

 

 

THE British Grand Prix at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium is the absolute jewel in the sport’s crown but the event just doesn’t happen like magic.

Preparation for the big night goes on throughout the year as Paul Bellamy and his team at BSI/IMG meticulously ensure that nothing is left to chance.

[Arson fire 4,785]

Why wouldn't I be Adam? Tao bailed at the first sign of a tussle in the bend. There is no way in a month of Sunday's Freddie hit him hard enough to send him across the track in the manner that Tai did.

no bit they all had to move over as Freddie dived bombed the inside..... As for tai delib doing Nicki??..... U sound like u just don't like him from what you saw at Edinburgh...

Correct decision well done ref.

[Snyper1010 24]

Arson fire twice in the space of 3 GPs Tai has taken Nicki out with riding right through his back wheel. Some will call it coincidence and some will wonder otherwise. Freddie didn't touch Tai, he was also under control while attempting to pull off his pass. At no point does Freddie or his bike change direction as though correcting himself from hitting Tai. Let's face it if he did infact hit Tai hard enough to cause such a drastic change of direction there would have been a reaction to Freddies riding position. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

[fullbore 129]

As I said previously any contact that may have been was minimal and is seen hundreds of times with no rider crossing the whole width of the bend and plowing into an opponent.

 

And As I said, had it been a decent track nothing would have come of the minor contact.

 

Given how long it took for an exclusion light to come on the kop out decision would have been to exclude the rider on a stretcher who obviously wasn't going to feature in the rerun.

 

All in all it was no more than a fairly regular racing incedent the got made into a crash by a bad track.

 

Niamh

[Snyper1010 24]

All had to move over? Ofcourse they did Vaculik laid it down when he saw Tao heat seeking Nicki and let's face it there's no way nicki was staying on his bike after Tao hit him. So where you get they all were moved wide from I don't know.

 

It took so long for an exclusion light as many referees especially in GPs prefer to wait until all riders involved are checked and are concious out of respect before showing a light. This can also allow extra time to view footage. If as you say it was a minor incident (Freddie didn't touch tai) made worse by the track I'm afraid that is Tais fault. You can't blame Freddie for tai not handling conditions. Especially since he didn't touch him.

 

One day we are going to see Tai excluded in similarly dubious circumstances and you will all be screaming blue murder because it happens to be tai on the receiving end.

[fullbore 129]

Tao heat seeking Nicki

 

This and certain other of your posts read as though you are suggesting that Tai has been deliberately hitting Nicki!

 

Hell enough riders lifted on the 3rd and fourth bends last night that it seems obvious that the track was a major problem without and contact to trigger things off.

 

Niamh

[Snyper1010 24]

Niamh I am in no doubt that the track wasn't ideal. I haven't doubted that. What I said was Tai taking out Nicki in a similar fashion twice in 3 GPs would be seen as coincidence by some but others may wonder if it is something more sinister.

[Blazeaway 1,501]

Who the fook is Tao?

[fullbore 129]

something more sinister.

 

So you are stating that you think Tai is deliberatly aiming to crash into Nicki?

 

Niamh