jamebabes1 7 Posted June 19, 2016 This is a message Luke Chessell has asked me to post regarding his bike situation. "Hi this is from Luke Chessell, I am only going to state facts and don't wish to be drawn Into any argument, I raced Friday and Saturday at Somerset and Plymouth my 1st bike lost all compression during my 1st race so I jumped on my second bike and road that which at the end of the meeting when draining the oil there was lots of metal in my oil which is not common. Which left me no choice other than to pull out of the meeting with great regret. No bikes or engines was offered to me from Mildenhall. Thanks Luke" Surely a Speedway rider without machinery isn't a Speedway rider anymore but a Speedway spectator? Can you have a guest for a spectator now? Or maybe they should!? Thousands of guests replacing the thousands of missing fans could solve a lot of issues!! Luke is a declared rider, you don't declare your spectators. I think your all a bit harsh, the lads trying his best on a budget and needs more that a few hours to get his resources together after what sounds like a very expensive weekend. Maybe some useful comments offering to help would be more beneficial Surely a Speedway rider without machinery isn't a Speedway rider anymore but a Speedway spectator? Can you have a guest for a spectator now? Or maybe they should!? Thousands of guests replacing the thousands of missing fans could solve a lot of issues!! Luke is a declared rider, you don't declare your spectators. I think your all a bit harsh, the lads trying his best on a budget and needs more that a few hours to get his resources together after what sounds like a very expensive weekend. Maybe some useful comments offering to help would be more beneficial Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spin king 1,923 Posted June 19, 2016 I don't blame Luke Chessell, and in a way I don't blame Cradley. Its the fact that a club could get a Guest facility for the rider of the same ability that is the problem. Surely simply making a club use the number 8 should have been the answer. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex2000 266 Posted June 19, 2016 Luke doesn't need to write to 'explain himself' why should Kevin moan if he has no equipment he needs time to get it sorted so be it and they should be allowed to use a guest. I don't blame Luke Chessell, and in a way I don't blame Cradley. Its the fact that a club could get a Guest facility for the rider of the same ability that is the problem. Surely simply making a club use the number 8 should have been the answer. but they are weak lower down as it is, so it wouldn't have changed the score dramatically Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greyhoundp 990 Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) Luke doesn't need to write to 'explain himself' why should Kevin moan if he has no equipment he needs time to get it sorted so be it and they should be allowed to use a guest. but they are weak lower down as it is, so it wouldn't have changed the score dramatically Thats what i thought, i had been thinking having Matt Williamson for Luke may have made a difference of a point or two, as for the idea of bringing in a No8 for a 9+ rider when we are already using rr, surely a Team needs to be competitive. Slightly of Topic, on Monday both Cradley and Buxton were using Guest riders both Teams had riders of similar ability out, that was an ideal chance to use No8s but neither Team did that.. Edited June 19, 2016 by greyhoundp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigcatdiary 3,165 Posted June 19, 2016 Isn't James Easter the co-promoter as well as league sponsor? He can't be happy with this... I would imagine no one is happy at this and I dare say the BSPA are not going to be impressed either as this is seriously bringing the sport into disrepute. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rooner1911 0 Posted June 19, 2016 Not to speak out of turn but Matt cannot guest ride in the NL as he is fast track number 7 at Workington so NEG PL, or has this changed ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GWC 495 Posted June 19, 2016 (edited) Luke's machinery issues must lie at Cradleys door irrespective that he was riding for different teams when the problems arose. Cradley should accept this and promote a rider from within the club - it's what used to happen on all occasions in the past when we had sensible rules and juniors got a chance when situations arose. Aren't Cradley still using r/r for a rider who retired ?? Edited June 19, 2016 by GWC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex2000 266 Posted June 19, 2016 Luke's machinery issues must lie at Cradleys door irrespective that he was riding for different teams when the problems arose. Cradley should accept this and promote a rider from within the club - it's what used to happen on all occasions in the past when we had sensible rules and juniors got a chance when situations arose. Aren't Cradley still using r/r for a rider who retired ?? No they signed Richard Andrews Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk127 1,359 Posted June 19, 2016 Sorry to see that this situation has arisen and again the fans/supporters have been let down by so called 'Suffolk' people. What is going on? Where has it all gone so badly wrong for what was once a hotbed of riders here in Suffolk. The sport is hitting rock bottom and is in danger of totally imploding and this is probably down to the self interest of those running the clubs. Every manager and promoter is guilty of allowing this once proud two wheeled sport being so discredited and it is becomes harder to see a way back. To every promoter, please start listening to the few supporters you still have that are prepared to part with the hard earned cash to watch a poor imitation of what speedway use to be. Love him or hate him Len Silver knew about putting competitive teams out and looked to entertain the punter as did Dave Lanning etc whereas today the rules, regulations and bureaucratic nonsense and with most promoters having never ridden a bike or have very little idea about promoting it seems almost inevitable that the days for genuine league racing are numbered all because no one is bringing it all together. Please think how to remedy the situation before it is too late Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Waynejarvis 2 Posted June 19, 2016 Having spent ages reading the posts today has finally made me register to post! I have visited Mildenhall for many years, travelling from North London most weeks. I had been on to the speedwaygb website and the meeting was still on. With the weather sunny and fine I set off on the 90 minute journey to the track and arrived at about 2.30. I met several cars along the narrow road to the stadium and assumed that the Moto X had just finished. On arrival it was clear that something was amiss and reading the handwritten bit of paper stuck to the turnstile entrance it was announced that the meeting was off due to personal and speedway issues. The number of people arriving during the time I was there was very steady demonstrating how much inconvenience the immature decision has caused. Having spent a total of 3 hours in the car at a cost of around £30 in fuel (175 mile round trip) I was really pleased to read the Mildenhall statement that Mr Jolly immediately regretted his decision on cancelling the meeting. I know just how he feels as I now regret spending a day and my hard earned money going to Mildenhall and that he would be taking a rest before returning on 17 July when the Isle of Wight visit. I will not be returning again. This act sums up British Speedway. Promoters wonder why they don't get crowds - that need to remember that they are offering a product that they need to sell. Can you imagine turning up at Man Utd or Liverpool and the Chairman has decided that he can't be bothered to play a game and what the implications would be if they did cancel the game. The meeting at Kings Lynn on Saturday also shows the same lack of, for want of a better term, customer experience. Yes there were lots of stoppages but there were 20 minute gaps between the qualifiers and semis and the semis and final. I drive out of the car park at 23:40 I do not suspect that Mr Jolly will be offering any recompense to those who travelled and I suspect that like most promoters he doesn't care. There needs to be a full open and Mildenhall speedway about he reasons for this and I hope that Mr Jolly's licence is suspended. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westhamboy66 599 Posted June 20, 2016 Being purely selfish I wasted nearly four hours driving, did 180 miles and it cost me about 25 quid in fuel. I do far less meetings these days as i simply don't risk travelling when there is a dodgy weather forecast anymore. But to turn up to a stadium and watch many others turning round and leaving for no apparent reason is a real kick in the teeth. I don't give a toss about a dispute over who can and can't ride this sort of thing just wouldn't be acceptable in a real sport. Whatever the rights and wrongs that is irrelevant and i wouldn't bother discussing it all i would say is that's my lot going to watch racing at Mildenhall as there is plenty of racing elsewhere. So who is the loser? Ultimately Mildenhall speedway as i'm sure there are more people than me thinking this way. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan_Jones 1,005 Posted June 20, 2016 Not to speak out of turn but Matt cannot guest ride in the NL as he is fast track number 7 at Workington so NEG PL, or has this changed ? That refers to guesting in the PL, not NL. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rooner1911 0 Posted June 20, 2016 Alan, But I thought if he is declared in a PL 1-7 he cannot guest in NL only PL ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
martin_t 219 Posted June 20, 2016 (edited) Luke's machinery issues must lie at Cradleys door irrespective that he was riding for different teams when the problems arose. Cradley should accept this and promote a rider from within the club - it's what used to happen on all occasions in the past when we had sensible rules and juniors got a chance when situations arose.. Aren't Cradley still using r/r for a rider who retired ?? They did by promoting the number 8 Bradley Andrews to cover for the injured James Purchase.So Cradley already had two 3 pointers(who quite honestly can't score 3 points between them)in the team...and you expect them to bring in another unattached 3 pointer to replace a heat leader?.. And those 3 pointers would have to take three R/R rides as well.Hardly fair is it? Edited June 20, 2016 by martin_t 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike.Butler 601 Posted June 20, 2016 (edited) I drove 2.5 hours to Mildenhall arriving at 2.30 and really looking forward to an attractive meeting..to be met by dozens of cars turning around, and so drove 2.5 hrs home again... I was trying to visit every track this year but what with the weather and now this totally avoidable cock-up my enthusiasm is waning. This on top of attending the Coventry fiasco last season. I am surprised as many like me still attend anything that's not local. Even if a meeting goes ahead I don't even expect to see 15 heats these days let alone the 20+ of old days... With some exceptions supporters seem to be the last people riders and officials ands refs think of.. Why on earth I spend up to £20 plus fuel to possibly see as few as 10 heats i can't quite fathom....the few of us left must be mad. I go to non-league football a lot (and travel long distances), with sometimes paltry crowds watching at step 7, but at least I know the game will go ahead and not be called off for some ridiculous reason. (like the visiting team have a player the home manager doesn't like much!) What happened to riding under protest and paying the appropriate fine? Doesn't seem to happen these days.. Speedway as a whole seems to have a self-destruct mechanism, and i'm afraid it might be better in the long run those found not to be acting with the best interests of the sport in mind to be thrown out of the sport. If tracks close so be it. In the long run it might stop us lurching from one shocking cock-up to another (it is meant to be a professional sport after all) This type of incident affects every Promoters business to some extent, so why on earth others tolerate this year after year beats me! I will continue to go to tracks up and down the country as I love the sport so this isn't a threat in any way...it just breaks my heart that other fans are understandably stopping going because of the shocking way the sport is being run in this country. I think in this case a disrepute charge would be appropriate. One person's actions have cost me and others a significant amount of wasted time and money Edited June 20, 2016 by Mike.Butler 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
