Belle Vue National Stadium

[Bruiser McHuge 589]

I think people forget that speedway tends not provide races and races full of passing and incident whatever the track so if you catch a particularly poor meeting then you tend to think that track is rubbish....the fact is that it isn't easy to pass at speedway whatever the track , but some give more chance than others obviously..

Hyde Road was obviously a great track but even there I saw some dire meetings with strung out racing and no passing ...it wasn't all thrill a minute racing even there, although Collins and Morton did their best to help in that regard !

Kirky Lane is actually a decent track and there were some fantastic races there and when prepared well it was as good as most places if you attacked the bends....it's problem at times was preparation ..I remember being on it and you could see it's base and kick all the uneven bricks on its base....things like that brought it down but when prepared well it was a pretty good track to be fair, although it would be great to get a purpose built track with good viewing all round...fingers crossed.

[New Science 1,059]

I think people forget that speedway tends not provide races and races full of passing and incident whatever the track so if you catch a particularly poor meeting then you tend to think that track is rubbish....the fact is that it isn't easy to pass at speedway whatever the track , but some give more chance than others obviously..

Hyde Road was obviously a great track but even there I saw some dire meetings with strung out racing and no passing ...it wasn't all thrill a minute racing even there, although Collins and Morton did their best to help in that regard !

Kirky Lane is actually a decent track and there were some fantastic races there and when prepared well it was as good as most places if you attacked the bends....it's problem at times was preparation ..I remember being on it and you could see it's base and kick all the uneven bricks on its base....things like that brought it down but when prepared well it was a pretty good track to be fair, although it would be great to get a purpose built track with good viewing all round...fingers crossed.

You should put this post on the back of every speedway ticket under terms and conditions.What you are about to watch may not be any good but don't be alarmed it is the norm and its not our fault. Edited July 6, 2014 by New Science

[martinmauger 584]

I've read all the posts and the link to the article but was unable to get the .pdf file to load. The stadium / track look very impressive, but when did a presumably full-sized rugby pitch with permanent 'end-zone' corners come into the equation ? I was very much under the impression that either 5-a side football pitches or a hockey pitch would be inside the new track....

[New Science 1,059]

Yes but been told it is 13,000 now

I only ask because looking at the plans there doesn't look much room around the periphery of the track to construct temporary grandstands on the bends or to construct one on the back straight where a covered stand already exists. Is 13,000 an official figure ?

[Daniel Smith 5,661]

I've read all the posts and the link to the article but was unable to get the .pdf file to load. The stadium / track look very impressive, but when did a presumably full-sized rugby pitch with permanent 'end-zone' corners come into the equation ? I was very much under the impression that either 5-a side football pitches or a hockey pitch would be inside the new track....

It's been a Rugby pitch from day 1. The 5-a-side and hockey pitches are on the outsides of the stadium

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

There is no passing at Leicester beyond the second bend. The track has fundamental flaws in terms of the relationship between the length, width and shape. It's big but somehow has no space!

I've not been to Redcar but it's small and I'm told that the banking on the third/forth bends cannot be used effectively due to the small nature of the track.

Buxton is too small, narrow, rough and not even level.

Weymouth was too small and narrow.

I never saw Trelawny but it was small. The same goes for Plymouth.

Somerset is an interesting one. I've been once (Somerset v Stoke) and considering how people talked it up I was totally unimpressed. I remember one race, Cunningham v Staechmann. The best Staechmann could manage was to get his front wheel level with Cunningham's back wheel. There were some close races but precious little passing. I also saw a Somerset match on Sky, that was good admittedly. I would say Somerset is one of the better tracks in the country but most others are pretty poor so it's not saying much. I think it could be better still.

Scunthorpe I've not seen, it's talked up like Somerset is but I think it's smaller?

Wimbledon was narrow and had a poor surface I understand.

Birmingham isn't particularly conducive to passing from what I've seen on the TV, I don't know the reason for that, whether it's size, shape, width, surface or a combination of all those. Also viewing is poor at the stadium, how bizarre.

Have I missed any? Probably.

The rules in regards to track size need changing, min length should be 300m. The minimum widths on straights and bends need to be increased.

The common thread running through this is that most modern tracks have been short.

Proper speedway tracks are big, wide and fast with multiple lines.

The Polish and Swedish tracks I've seen on TV are far better than most British tracks, length, width and surface.

I'd guess you'd disagree with most of what I say above as you think they are all "fine".

 

All personal opinion but.......

 

Leicester I agree on.......but Kent is worse.

 

You can't pass on the banking at Redcar (particularly the outside) because the track preparation is poor. When Glyn Taylor was there, you most certainly could and I'd say it went from one of the best racing tracks to one of the worst when Havelock took over. Its been better recently but still nothing like it was.

 

Buxton certainly isn't narrow but I don't go there because the track is awful.

 

Weymouth was small and narrow - the first bend was particularly scary - but I still liked it.

 

I never went to Trelawny but as far as I am concerned Plymouth is one of the best.The first bends there are like no other track in the country.

 

Somerset is also one of the best, Scunthorpe is the best. Birmingham simply hasn't been as good as it used to be.

 

The three best meetings I have seen this season have been at Belle Vue, Lakeside and Glasgow

 

In my experience the quality of the racing is more about preparation than size or shape.

Edited July 7, 2014 by Halifaxtiger

[woodenspoon 157]

Perhaps the New Stadium could have more than one starting gate position.

I think it was on TV this week that the track had more than one starting gate location. The one used was just after the fourth bend, making it a long run into the first bend from the off.

All the tracks in Britain appear to have only the one gate, (unsure) What do people think on here of having different gate locations.

[John Leslie 3,213]

Perhaps the New Stadium could have more than one starting gate position.

I think it was on TV this week that the track had more than one starting gate location. The one used was just after the fourth bend, making it a long run into the first bend from the off.

All the tracks in Britain appear to have only the one gate, (unsure) What do people think on here of having different gate locations.

Can you imagine the outcry on this forum if someone bought a season ticket in the middle of the grandstand by the starting gate and turned up the next week to find the start line had been moved 40 yards back to near the 4th bend?

 

Would you also have the referees box on some kind of pulley system to line it up with the ever moving start line?

Edited July 9, 2014 by John Leslie

[Stokielee 30]

Not wanting to hijack this thread talking about other tracks so I'll be brief.

I sincerely hope Belle Vue get an excellent racing strip, a club of that stature deserve a brilliant track.

 

Admittedly I miss-remembered Buxton being narrow but it's still an awful track. Incidentally, there's currently a debate on FB about the track being poor.

 

As you say I forgot the Isle of Wight, Kent and also Hull.

 

Most tracks wouldn't fit in their current stadia if they had to be 300m. That's why I think they are shoe-horned into places they don't really fit.

 

Best of luck to Belle Vue.

[Rob B 1,256]

I only ask because looking at the plans there doesn't look much room around the periphery of the track to construct temporary grandstands on the bends or to construct one on the back straight where a covered stand already exists. Is 13,000 an official figure ?

 

That's the figure promotion were saying at the public consultations.Think most of it on bends 3 & 4 on top of car park, bit of room on bend 2.

[StevePark 2,781]

 

All personal opinion but.......

 

Leicester I agree on.......but Kent is worse.

 

You can't pass on the banking at Redcar (particularly the outside) because the track preparation is poor. When Glyn Taylor was there, you most certainly could and I'd say it went from one of the best racing tracks to one of the worst when Havelock took over. Its been better recently but still nothing like it was.

 

Buxton certainly isn't narrow but I don't go there because the track is awful.

 

Weymouth was small and narrow - the first bend was particularly scary - but I still liked it.

 

I never went to Trelawny but as far as I am concerned Plymouth is one of the best.The first bends there are like no other track in the country.

 

Somerset is also one of the best, Scunthorpe is the best. Birmingham simply hasn't been as good as it used to be.

 

The three best meetings I have seen this season have been at Belle Vue, Lakeside and Glasgow

 

In my experience the quality of the racing is more about preparation than size or shape.

 

Not quite true, although I'm no expert by any means, but, although track prep might have something to do with it, the banking has been dropped slightly and that's why you don't get the same sweeping around the outside of 3 and 4 like you used to.

[hyderd 1,216]

it's getting nearer, this was posted at the proposed site.

www.facebook.com/bellevuespeedway/photos/a.580857561988167.1073741826.129552893785305/693789067361682/?type=1&theater

[The White Knight 9,039]

it's getting nearer, this was posted at the proposed site.

www.facebook.com/bellevuespeedway/photos/a.580857561988167.1073741826.129552893785305/693789067361682/?type=1&theater

Any chance of a summary please Hyderd - for those of us NOT on Facebook? :neutral:

[fredbogge 40]

 

Admittedly I miss-remembered Buxton being narrow but it's still an awful track. Incidentally, there's currently a debate on FB about the track

 

Buxton track is not good it has wanted digging up and replacing for quite a long time now. Biggest problem I can see is that nobody seems to do much work on it . The late Ken Moss would be ashamed of the state of it. He used to grade an water every few races and the water used before last weeks meeting out of the whale tank stank to high heaven.What`s happened Jayne & Richard Buxton Speedway used to be one of the best in the 3rd division I`m afraid it is now one of the worst

[BWitcher 12,453]

Any chance of a summary please Hyderd - for those of us NOT on Facebook? :neutral:

 

It's a notice (piece of paper) stuck to a fence at the site, stating that the planning application is being made.