Mildenhall 2023

[Siggytastic 180]

Is it stadium or rider availability that is the issue?

[Racin Jason 72 1,283]

I think this is purely down to crowd levels and not being viable. 
I used to be a regular attendee but got fed up of how long it takes to run a meeting and I know many who feel the same. 
If they can address this issue I’ll return but until they do I’ll be staying away. 
 

[HGould 2,213]

Really feel for Lee Chipchase and Phil Kirk who have tried to make a go of NDL at Mildenhall.

Rider availability is definitely not an issue for them, great tradition there for developing talent.

They've been incredibly unlucky with the weather the past couple of seasons especially last season.

The basic issue though is that Spedeworth run Stock Cars on a Saturday night and wreck the track (as Stock Cars do). Speedway then has minimal time to clear up the debris and try to prepare a track. If it's rained on the Saturday or previous few days they are left with an absolute muddy mess to clear up.

Its a fast track for its size and if under-prepared there are invariably crashes and delays.

It really is a vicious circle for them.

If they could ride midweek or a FRiday it's possible they could use track b4 Stocks wreck it and have a chance to prepare it properly but Thursdays are out (PL locally) Fridays are out (would take any CL contracted rider away most weeks) and I guess Tuesday / Wednesday (another night when CL contracted riders may be missing with 3 x CL teams riding on a Wednesday so effectively  6 full Teams).

It's hard to see a way out unless they can find some Sundays when Stocks haven't raced the night before and more in June / July when at least weather may play ball.

[Sings4Speedway 3,247]

All the above are valid points but Mildenhall have largely always been in the same situation and mostly got decent meetings on most weeks with only one or two  bloopers a season. Sadly now its reversed and one or two good meetings is clearly not enough to keep crowd numbers up. Sunday tracks will always be good for NDL riders but not if preparation is poor. 

Mildenhall lack the right equipment and approach to produce decent racing now. The giant tractors do more harm than good lap after lap and attempting to create a grippy surface on a track with very little run off is always going to cause problems (especially as it just makes it patchy) . A slick surface might create a bit of dust but it would also pump meetings through in a sensible time frame.

[Ghosty 500]

I feel the best solution for Mildenhall would be to build a BRAND NEW track close by the existing facilities. Therefore able to use the existing carpark etc. but have a track for speedway only.

Most of the problems Mildenhall have had in recent years are because of the direct & indirect use & preparation of the track for stockcars & bangers!  

[FromBendThree 145]

16 hours ago, StevePark said:

SGB Statement says "The league is awaiting confirmation from Armadale and Mildenhall who are currently looking into various availability issues, and it is very much hoped that both clubs will come to the table next year."

Thanks

[FromBendThree 145]

14 hours ago, Chris116 said:

Mildenhall stadium is owned by Spedeworth boss Deane Wood.

So same cOmpany that runs the cars at Eastbourne.

[Chris116 756]

1 hour ago, FromBendThree said:

So same cOmpany that runs the cars at Eastbourne.

Yes, they also run Ipswich which has Speedway, plus Yarmouth and the two Incarace tracks at Hednesford Hills and Northampton (Brafield) which don't have Speedway.

[FromBendThree 145]

21 minutes ago, Chris116 said:

Yes, they also run Ipswich which has Speedway, plus Yarmouth and the two Incarace tracks at Hednesford Hills and Northampton (Brafield) which don't have Speedway.

Obviously have a big set up. I did not know who ran cars at places you have listed. Thanks for the update. 

[Chris116 756]

7 minutes ago, FromBendThree said:

Obviously have a big set up. I did not know who ran cars at places you have listed. Thanks for the update. 

In the recent past they have run Wimbledon, Wisbech, Bovingdon, Swaffham and Birmingham Wheels and longer ago ran Norwich, Reading, Cross-in-Hand, Walthamstow, White City London, New Cross, Oxford, Weymouth and Newcastle.

[FromBendThree 145]

Used to work in Wisbech. Does it still operate?

[Tom Thumb 81]

20 minutes ago, FromBendThree said:

Used to work in Wisbech. Does it still operate?

no, demolished several years back.

[FromBendThree 145]

Not surprised. Like so many stadiums. When I worked in Wisbech there was huge shock when a child (?) died after a wheel went into the crowd

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

On 11/30/2022 at 6:58 AM, HGould said:

Really feel for Lee Chipchase and Phil Kirk who have tried to make a go of NDL at Mildenhall.

Rider availability is definitely not an issue for them, great tradition there for developing talent.

They've been incredibly unlucky with the weather the past couple of seasons especially last season.

The basic issue though is that Spedeworth run Stock Cars on a Saturday night and wreck the track (as Stock Cars do). Speedway then has minimal time to clear up the debris and try to prepare a track. If it's rained on the Saturday or previous few days they are left with an absolute muddy mess to clear up.

Its a fast track for its size and if under-prepared there are invariably crashes and delays.

It really is a vicious circle for them.

If they could ride midweek or a FRiday it's possible they could use track b4 Stocks wreck it and have a chance to prepare it properly but Thursdays are out (PL locally) Fridays are out (would take any CL contracted rider away most weeks) and I guess Tuesday / Wednesday (another night when CL contracted riders may be missing with 3 x CL teams riding on a Wednesday so effectively  6 full Teams).

It's hard to see a way out unless they can find some Sundays when Stocks haven't raced the night before and more in June / July when at least weather may play ball.

I'm not sure that is the reason. For a start, Mildenhall has had stock car racing for years. More importantly, the stock cars do not run every week (usually once a fortnight) and the speedway certainly used to attempt to run on the Sundays when there had not been racing the previous night, thus giving ample time for track preparation ((i have seen the track on a Sunday morning after a Saturday stocks meeting and it looks like there has been a bombing raid). 

To be fair, I haven't been for a while but there did seem to be an issue with the track last season at least, with a number of meetings subject to multiple accidents and lengthy delays. 

Whatever the case, I really hope this can be pulled round. I have a lot of happy memories of Mildenhall, some good friends there and you won't get a more devoted speedway fan than Phil Kirk. 

[kevin bass 249]

Like already been said the crowds really dropped off this last season, my parents have been going there for yrs and my father said he'd never seen such poor crowds compared to previous seasons.