Brummiestormer 172 Posted April 14, 2017 Can't believe the negativity of some on here....after our EL demise it's been like a breath of fresh air for us. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waco 1,026 Posted April 14, 2017 Ok Lakeside are very top heavy at home,and need Bowtell and hunter to improve,,Lawrence is what he,s always been a rock bottom grade rider so little improvement expected there..Mcdonald is a potential racer that can,t gate and shuts of on the straight s long before the bends..,hopefully Tatum can iron out these faults,,At present Jaimie Couzins is a better bet than either of these guys if you want points.... Of the young riders on show Eastbourne,s Tom Brennan stood out a mile...Tonight at Easty.we will need improvement from our second strings to stand any chance and thats if our heat leaders are still dominant.... Hope all the riders have a good safe meeting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tractorboy 9 Posted April 14, 2017 Can't believe the negativity of some on here....after our EL demise it's been like a breath of fresh air for us. Totally agree with you, much prefer the National league to the old Elite league. Best move Eastbourne have done since i started watching. Some people are so gloom and doom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liam 376 Posted April 14, 2017 (edited) Totally agree with you, much prefer the National league to the old Elite league. Best move Eastbourne have done since i started watching. Some people are so gloom and doomWhat do you prefer about the National league mate? Edited April 14, 2017 by liam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brian 63 Posted April 14, 2017 (edited) An excellent attendance for the first meeting, and I have to say I didn't enjoy it and that's from someone who watched the top heavy Raiders last season. The meeting was too disjointed, it seemed to take forever to run some races for various reasons what with falls, tape breaks and deflating air fences. I'll give it another go once the league gets underway. Hope some of those attending today also give it another chance. Felt sorry for George Hunter, he's a better rider than the one shown today. Also thought those bumps going into bend 1 would have been sorted. Now sitting outside the Norfolk Arena for another fix. Edited April 14, 2017 by Brian 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E I Addio 15,845 Posted April 14, 2017 At least you have it a go Liam, which is a lot more than some of us are prepared to do, i followed the meeting on twitter and noted the sheer amount of re-runs and stoppages which led to a 15 heat meeting taking two hours, can't see many putting up with that come the chilly Friday nights. PS Lakeside really do look top heavy, Eagles lack a number one to be able to beat Ben and Zach, thats all that stood between them and victory. Quite honestly mate you must sit in front of Twitter looking for something to find fault with. The EL meetings used to take 1hr 35- 1hr 40 min on average if there were no stoppages , which of course there sometimes were. Today's meeting took a little over 1hr 50 min. The first four heats today took about 30 min with stoppages (which we have all seen in past in the EL) , but after that the ref really got on with it and put the two minutes on as soon as the riders were off the track from the previous race, Also one of the good things about the NL is that there is no gardening or messing about with clutches on the start line for several minutes before each race. It's straight out, green light on, tapes up and gone, so although there were stoppages the time is made up in other ways. There are some disappointments with NL racing, and the poor performance of Lakeside's bottom four is very disappointing but there is nothing wrong with the overall pace of the meeting compared to the old EL 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Halifaxtiger 5,318 Posted April 14, 2017 Quite honestly mate you must sit in front of Twitter looking for something to find fault with. The EL meetings used to take 1hr 35- 1hr 40 min on average if there were no stoppages , which of course there sometimes were. Today's meeting took a little over 1hr 50 min. The first four heats today took about 30 min with stoppages (which we have all seen in past in the EL) , but after that the ref really got on with it and put the two minutes on as soon as the riders were off the track from the previous race, Also one of the good things about the NL is that there is no gardening or messing about with clutches on the start line for several minutes before each race. It's straight out, green light on, tapes up and gone, so although there were stoppages the time is made up in other ways. There are some disappointments with NL racing, and the poor performance of Lakeside's bottom four is very disappointing but there is nothing wrong with the overall pace of the meeting compared to the old EL I must admit I thought the complaints about a 2 hour meeting were rubbish. A lot of meetings take that long, simple as. It wasn't a brilliant meeting but it wasn't a bad one either. Get back to Friday night start times and the moisture will stay in the track and there will less dust and better racing. Mason(surprising a few on here, including me), Bates and Brennan impressive. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waco 1,026 Posted April 14, 2017 (edited) Today has shown us that vast improvement is needed ,,a 3man team in both meetings.Ben and Zac plus David at home and Alfie at Eastbourne.i am sure George is a better rider than he has shown today and Alfie May need time to get dialled in at home..the reserves however are a real problem ..One is unlikely to improve, and the other is a long term project.. Edited April 14, 2017 by waco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marko 956 Posted April 14, 2017 Trouble is Waco there is no way to make a team stronger at this level unless you get lucky with a new rookie, where as in the 1st and 2nd tier you might have a chance to land a foreign talent subject to paying air fares etc. Ben and Zach will be the NLs version of the turbo twins (although I do fear with Zach riding for three teams he could burn himself out) and I suspect George and Alfie will progress as the season goes on but we knew the reserves would be a problem and Mason would be an enigma. I had Lakeside down as a 8/9th placed team, after today that has not changed. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted April 14, 2017 It was a poor meeting racing wise at lakeside this afternoon, the return at eastbourne tonight was much better. I'd say the crowds at both venues were pretty similar. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Loyal hammer 5 Posted April 15, 2017 Very impressed with young Tom Brennan. A star in the making. He won't be at reserve for long. He was the only Eagle to win in under 60 seconds at Arlington along with both Wajtknecht and Morley. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waco 1,026 Posted April 16, 2017 (edited) Fantastic crowds at Lakeside and Eastbourne for two national league meetings ,,The problem will be at Lakeside maintaining them,,the quicker the middle order and reserves improve the greater the chances of maintaining a fair proportion of them..I thought the track at Lakeside was fine for this level of racing,, though the bumps entering the first bend need to be eradicated,,and the rakers ,,what there were of them need to put in more effort..And like all the meetings i have seen this year everywhere, could be run with a little more urgency,to keep the fans happy Edited April 16, 2017 by waco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
New Science 1,059 Posted April 16, 2017 I must admit I thought the complaints about a 2 hour meeting were rubbish. A lot of meetings take that long, simple as. It wasn't a brilliant meeting but it wasn't a bad one either. Get back to Friday night start times and the moisture will stay in the track and there will less dust and better racing. Mason(surprising a few on here, including me), Bates and Brennan impressive. I thought having speedway at Lakeside on a Friday was one of the problems according to Jon Cook, if so why are they still running on Fridays ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cityrebel 2,960 Posted April 16, 2017 That is the big question. Will people struggle through Friday night traffic for NL racing. Next week should be ok when kent are the visitors, a few away fans will help swell the numbers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
robolots 35 Posted April 16, 2017 I noticed that Lakeside do have a few meetings on other days but the majority are Friday evenings which is either a breeze to get to or hell (unfortunately usually the latter) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites