89buttons 761 Posted October 14, 2019 1 hour ago, Arch Stanton said: Absolutely hammering it down again in Ipswich, been like this for days now. Walked across a muddy field on the way to work this evening and it was like quicksand! Up to my ankles in mud. Even with a dry day tomorrow they’ve got a big job on trying to get the track in any kind of half decent shape IMO. Agreed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy robin 2,963 Posted October 14, 2019 Such a shame that the pinnacle matches of the season are ruined by the weather season after season . The sport needs to wise up that the play offs need to start at the beginning of September. Good luck to both teams although I obviously hope Swindon win let’s hope for some cracking races. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Steve Shovlar 10,439 Posted October 14, 2019 Track covers could at least kept the track in a dry condition even if not rescuing the meeting for tonight. Two sets of track covers, owned by the BSPA could have been laid in advance to help keep the tracks from turning into slush. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
old bob at herne bay 828 Posted October 14, 2019 Track Covers ...... with no disrespect to the poster this oldchestnut is resurrected season after season after meetings are rained off. Where does the labour come from to lay the covers , weight them down to stop them blowing away , and then removing them and the weights? What do you do with all the water that runs off the track covers ? Can tracks leave their covers on when they have stadia that stage stock cars ? Having said that I believe Berwick use track covers so they must have cracked the problems. As for the BSPA owning 2 sets of covers .... ..... nice idea , but whne have the BSPA shown any interest in SUPPORTING the sport in the UK ? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baldyman 6,243 Posted October 14, 2019 How do tracks like Vojens manage with their track covers on a Weekley basis,,, and they have drains the water runs into,,, it's not rocket science 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikebv 10,292 Posted October 14, 2019 (edited) 48 minutes ago, old bob at herne bay said: Track Covers ...... with no disrespect to the poster this oldchestnut is resurrected season after season after meetings are rained off. Where does the labour come from to lay the covers , weight them down to stop them blowing away , and then removing them and the weights? What do you do with all the water that runs off the track covers ? Can tracks leave their covers on when they have stadia that stage stock cars ? Having said that I believe Berwick use track covers so they must have cracked the problems. As for the BSPA owning 2 sets of covers .... ..... nice idea , but whne have the BSPA shown any interest in SUPPORTING the sport in the UK ? They work in several places as you allude to... Therefore the 'skill' is there... All it needs now is the collective 'will' to make it happen... Even if just for TV meetings which provide the 'window' for the sport for so many to see in.. Far, far too often you read about meetings getting called off due to issues not actually on the day of racing but before. With the race day itself absolutely fine.. Covers would give TV a far more favourable impression of the sport as they wouldn't keep shelling out to pay for cameras, equipment etc for no reason, and also give fans confidence to attend on those 50/50 'on or not' nights whereby currently so many decide not to bother.. Getting information out to a pre positioned list of volunteers has never been so easy as it is today with this wonderful tool called the Internet... Therefore someone involved in the clubs, with even the most basic organisational skills, could I am sure deliver covers being put down and lifted... If the clubs really wanted to do it.. Edited October 14, 2019 by mikebv 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
89buttons 761 Posted October 15, 2019 (edited) 9 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said: Track covers could at least kept the track in a dry condition even if not rescuing the meeting for tonight. Two sets of track covers, owned by the BSPA could have been laid in advance to help keep the tracks from turning into slush. One of your most sensible posts ever Steve!! I’m not on top of the stadium, as the crow flies I possibly live 12 miles away or so but I’m pretty sure the stadium will be very similar, I’ve had 38mm of rain in my gauge since Friday but it’s supposedly dry all day today! Covers over the past couple of days would’ve meant they can then prepare a decent track today while it’s dry for tonight’s meeting Edited October 15, 2019 by 89buttons 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
montie 1,273 Posted October 15, 2019 9 hours ago, Crazy robin said: Such a shame that the pinnacle matches of the season are ruined by the weather season after season . The sport needs to wise up that the play offs need to start at the beginning of September. Good luck to both teams although I obviously hope Swindon win let’s hope for some cracking races. this year even if you had started play offs in september there would still have been a alot of rain offs for example here in North Lincs,since 1 june 370mm of rain, with september rain fall over 100mm Scunthorpe for example had more mid summer rain offs this year than the 3 previos season added together,its just been a wet year this one Fishing has been shyte too!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waytogo28 2,054 Posted October 15, 2019 9 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said: As for the BSPA owning 2 sets of covers .... ..... nice idea , but whne have the BSPA shown any interest in SUPPORTING the sport in the UK ? Ah Well, they do "manage" it for the gang of wanna be blazers on parade. But as for the fans Hmmm. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AntiqueSteve 100 Posted October 15, 2019 11 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said: Track covers could at least kept the track in a dry condition even if not rescuing the meeting for tonight. Two sets of track covers, owned by the BSPA could have been laid in advance to help keep the tracks from turning into slush. ..Blimey, I find myself agreeing with Steve on something Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pob 545 Posted October 15, 2019 I'm on the other side of Ipswich and ok yes it did pi## it down last night but stopped around 9/10pm. No rain since that i'm aware of and while still a few puddles around roads were dry coming into work this morning . Fingers crossed Chris Bob can work their magic and give the riders a surface they can race on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fromafar 10,375 Posted October 15, 2019 11 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said: Track Covers ...... with no disrespect to the poster this oldchestnut is resurrected season after season after meetings are rained off. Where does the labour come from to lay the covers , weight them down to stop them blowing away , and then removing them and the weights? What do you do with all the water that runs off the track covers ? Can tracks leave their covers on when they have stadia that stage stock cars ? Having said that I believe Berwick use track covers so they must have cracked the problems. As for the BSPA owning 2 sets of covers .... ..... nice idea , but whne have the BSPA shown any interest in SUPPORTING the sport in the UK ? Berwick gave up on using them this season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Baldyman 6,243 Posted October 15, 2019 It's going be on whatever happens, let's just hope it's just not another farce. The Ipswich track staff are very good at turning slop into a race track though. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Weasel 306 Posted October 15, 2019 2 hours ago, montie said: this year even if you had started play offs in september there would still have been a alot of rain offs for example here in North Lincs,since 1 june 370mm of rain, with september rain fall over 100mm Scunthorpe for example had more mid summer rain offs this year than the 3 previos season added together,its just been a wet year this one Fishing has been shyte too!! Whilst I can't dispute your figures for this years rainfall and how many PP that would have caused, the simple fact is, October sees more average rainfall than September, so if you start the Play Offs in September you give yourselves more time to get the fixtures in and we don't end up with the farcical situation we currently have where there's only 2 weeks left in the season and the fixtures are run in poor conditions and whenever we can fit them in to the detriment of the sport and its supporters. How many people booked last Monday off work (Wolves v Swindon) and then couldn't go on the Weds? likewise this week, how many booked yesterday (for the biggest meeting of the year) and have to miss out because they can't get out of work the following day? Swindon have managed to fill a coach despite only knowing on Thursday that they'd definitely be in the final and with it being PP yesterday have managed to fill it again for today, how many coaches would they have filled if they'd had fair warning of the fixture? 2? probably 3? likely 4? possibly, the sport is missing out and doing itself no favours, forget all the usual nonsense about yellow helmets and 1 big league, the first stop is just better organisation all round. 5 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foreverblue 6,096 Posted October 15, 2019 With a dry day today I would of thought the track should be fine tonight although it could be tempting to make it slick which would only benefit Swindon as it did Poole when they were there earlier in the season whereas in the semi final it was deep which suited the home riders. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites