Peter Craven/grand Opening

[Buttons 370]

I wonder which riders didn't want to ride

[Trevor 270]

I went to the first test event, a week last Thursday and the base was down on the 3rd/4th bends and some of the top layer was being put down as we were in the stadium. So, how long does a track need to bed in?

[scaramanga 904]

the main thing is it was cancelled due to poor track resulting in no injured riders so thats 1 posotive we all need to look at

if it went ahead and we had a injury this would suerly have been a worse thing

[E I Addio 15,845]

 

Had it gone ahead, Belle Vue would rightly have been significantly criticised for the fact that it simply wasn't ready and the riders praised for the fact that they were willing to have a go.

 

 

No. If had gone ahead people would have complained that the racing was rubbish and that it was just a ploy to avoid giving people their money back.

 

If it had got halfway through and had to be abandoned because the track had cut up too badly then what ? Send the crowd home with no refund ? The crowd would have loved that.

 

There is only one party to blame. The clue is in the word "management".

[sommelier 1,118]

Who was the ref for tonights meeting? does he not have any clout to at least get the riders out for heat 1?!!

What does "soft in places" mean on bends 3and 4 ? Would it not been possible in this day and age to fix it?!!!!

when did they lay the track for the first time? was it the last thing to be done?

Im as thick as two short planks but even i can see there has to be a figure in speedway who is tough and makes the correct decisions to get the best results.

Did you not see the problems riders were having on turns 3 & 4 ????

[E I Addio 15,845]

That's how I saw it.

 

Talking to someone who was 'in the room' when the riders (only 3 apparently??) were wingeing about it being too grippy on the 3rd and 4th turn its clear that they couldn't give a toss for anyone but themselves and then a bit of sheep mentality kicked in and the majority decided not to ride.

d.

Here we go again. Someone who knows someone who knows something. So the three riders who refused to ride were? Or don't you or your mate know?

[CB252 1,376]

Whilst I agree to an extent about the fragility of the modern day speedway rider, and their unwillingness to assist in less than perfect conditions, the fact that some of us were told at Coventry last night that the meeting was going to be off is the worst thing in my eyes.

 

Why didn't they just pull the plug and restage at a later date?

[orion 7,615]

No. If had gone ahead people would have complained that the racing was rubbish and that it was just a ploy to avoid giving people their money back.

 

If it had got halfway through and had to be abandoned because the track had cut up too badly then what ? Send the crowd home with no refund ? The crowd would have loved that.

 

There is only one party to blame. The clue is in the word "management".

 

 

No. If had gone ahead people would have complained that the racing was rubbish and that it was just a ploy to avoid giving people their money back.

 

If it had got halfway through and had to be abandoned because the track had cut up too badly then what ? Send the crowd home with no refund ? The crowd would have loved that.

 

There is only one party to blame. The clue is in the word "management".

Spot on ...this is the trouble with the speedway fan ..who could forget 100 page topic about allowing the Cov and Poole to start among many others and how the public were conned ...but then the next moment they want the meeting to start .

Whilst I agree to an extent about the fragility of the modern day speedway rider, and their unwillingness to assist in less than perfect conditions, the fact that some of us were told at Coventry last night that the meeting was going to be off is the worst thing in my eyes.

 

Why didn't they just pull the plug and restage at a later date?

I expect they never wanted to give refunds out

[damosuzuki 696]

Belle Vue's first league meeting is less than a week away - they should announce tomorrow that nothing is set in stone until the track has been properly raced on.WTF are they going to do at the P&P on Monday??

[Red Panda 366]

I wonder which riders didn't want to ride

Does it matter who did not want to ride.................if riders feel a track is unsafe then why risk their lives just to 'entertain' a large crowd on what should have been this country's show piece to the world of speedway.................

 

If I read it correctly the track surface was only laid earlier this week which is not enough time for it to settle...........if that is the case then surely it would have made sense to say lets postpone it for a couple of weeks..........yes it would have meant people rearranging things but surely that would have been better than the backlash they received tonight...............and for the management to blame the riders for what is effectively bad track preparation is out of order.......the fact that the third and fourth bends which my friends there advised was the biggest issue were the last part of the track to be laid says it all................and I do not care what anyone says rider safety is paramount..........we do not want any more incidents like Darcy had because of track conditions or riders out of control due to a poorly prepared track.............

 

National Stadium????????? National joke

 

RP

[ColinMills 1,728]

if speedway wasnt already dead in britain, its now certainly on a life support machine!!....

can you imagine the amount of media, who would of been in attendance tonight?

Edited March 19, 2016 by ColinMills

[stevehone 3,430]

Better move it to Dorset.

 

 

with the Poole track prep!!

[mikebv 10,290]

if speedway wasnt already dead in britain, its now certainly on a life support machine!!....

can you imagine the amount of media, who would of been in attendance tonight?

Sometimes being a 'Mickey Mouse' sport has its advantages in that no one outside the 'die hards' will actually give a toss..

 

Imagine the ridicule the sport would get should the day ever dawn that the wider sporting public ever take any notice of it??

[Scott0311 94]

Where to start....arrived early as advised by the promotion only to find nobody directing traffic into car parks and the gates on the overflow car park at the school being locked with nobody able to find the key. No worries, teething problems happen and after sitting in the car going nowhere for 30 minutes we were finally advised to turn around and use another entrance to the school car park.

 

Very impressed with the stadium itself and the ease of entry with the barcode scanners at the turnstiles making entrance nice and simple. Stood in the back straight stand (South Terrace - entrance S3) and noticed almost immediately the lack of speakers in the middle of the stand....could not hear a bleedin thing! The track shape is superb, great banking on the 1st/2nd bends although it appeared to me to be not as much (although still more than most tracks) on the 3rd/4th bends, and you are really close to the track itself which will generate a great atmosphere. I am not sure what the capacity is for the SWC but It did seem to me that not many more could fit into the stadium unless there are substantial stands erected on the 3rd/4th brands - the backstraight was packed so cannot see any more squeezing in there.

 

Watching the riders on their track walks there was more attention paid to the 3rd/4th bends which made me wonder if this was the reason for allowing all the riders 4 practice laps when it was intimated that heat 1 would be the first time the riders would take to the track? It was noticeable that riders were lifting entering the 4th bend on the practice laps and with it appearing to be a fast track any softness could be an issue. The practice laps finished at around 6.40 and then there was nothing. No bike noise, no riders in the pits and most importantly no announcement to the paying public. I jokingly said to my friend that the riders were probably moaning about the track.....many a true word spoken in jest. At around 7.15 we saw Chris Morton and Dave Gordon walking out of the pits and we looked at each other and said it's off. We could barely hear what was being said due to the lack of speakers where we were stood but the chorus of boos confirmed our worst fears.

 

Once the majority of the crowd had departed we decided to walk round the stadium to the main grandstand and what was very noticeable was how spongey the ground was in the spectator areas around turns 3 and 4 - if the track was the same as this then I can understand the riders reservations.

 

If all of the rumours of the promotion knowing the track was not right are true then I have no sympathy for them whatsoever - call the meeting off early saving people the expense of travelling. Yes there would have been annoyance but not the feeling of being conned which will have been felt by many tonight. The set up is absolutely first class but surely the first thing to sort is the track, practice on it to make sure it beds in and then build up the stadium around it.

 

Such a great shame as this should have been a night of celebration - a top class stadium opening with a high quality field and a huge crowd. What could possibly go wrong........

[B.V 72 1,054]

Why ?

Because they have worked their socks off for the last 9 years to get this fantastic stadium built.Whoever or whatever is to blame for tonights call off as two fellow human beings i am gutted for them.After all the time and effort they have put into this stadium i bet there is not a fan that attended tonights meeting that is more upset and pd off than Chris and David.

Yes tonight was a disaster.But the track will settle and in time will be awesume and as a Belle vue fan i will always be greatful to them for giving our club a future and a stadium to be proud of when so many other clubs are having problems.