cinderfella 865 Posted May 18, 2023 2 hours ago, Bojangles said: Christ, steady on! The score was 55-29 going into the final heat of a match that meant nothing to either side. Maybe the meeting was meaningless as far as the competition goes but for fans paying hard earned cash all 15 heats mean something especially to travelling fans. Heat 15s continue to be a joke as top riders are continually not being nominated or declining to ride in it. Time to go back to the old 13 heat formula imo and have 13 heats that are meaningful. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bojangles 594 Posted May 18, 2023 (edited) 4 minutes ago, cinderfella said: Maybe the meeting was meaningless as far as the competition goes but for fans paying hard earned cash all 15 heats mean something especially to travelling fans. Heat 15s continue to be a joke as top riders are continually not being nominated or declining to ride in it. Time to go back to the old 13 heat formula imo and have 13 heats that are meaningful. Yeah, I'm sure the travelling Plymouth fans would have loved to see Nicholls and Masters ram home another 5-1! I was there, and the Plymouth fans cheered Barker home in heat 15. I'm sure they were glad of something (however small) to celebrate. Maybe one of them can clarify if they are on here. It also gave the Oxford youngsters yet more track time, which can only be a good thing for the Chargers. I'm sure there are cases where heat 15s are a joke, but don't think it's the case on this occasion. Win-win in my opinion. Edited May 18, 2023 by Bojangles 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
paulboy 169 Posted May 18, 2023 24 minutes ago, cinderfella said: Maybe the meeting was meaningless as far as the competition goes but for fans paying hard earned cash all 15 heats mean something especially to travelling fans. Heat 15s continue to be a joke as top riders are continually not being nominated or declining to ride in it. Time to go back to the old 13 heat formula imo and have 13 heats that are meaningful. There's an idea, give even less value for money! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toady 231 Posted May 18, 2023 52 minutes ago, cinderfella said: Maybe the meeting was meaningless as far as the competition goes but for fans paying hard earned cash all 15 heats mean something especially to travelling fans. Heat 15s continue to be a joke as top riders are continually not being nominated or declining to ride in it. Time to go back to the old 13 heat formula imo and have 13 heats that are meaningful. Agree with most of what you say other than the old 13 heat bit. £40 to be cheated out of seeing the top riders race is a total joke despite what others think. imo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lucifer sam 3,953 Posted May 18, 2023 2 hours ago, cinderfella said: Maybe the meeting was meaningless as far as the competition goes but for fans paying hard earned cash all 15 heats mean something especially to travelling fans. Heat 15s continue to be a joke as top riders are continually not being nominated or declining to ride in it. Time to go back to the old 13 heat formula imo and have 13 heats that are meaningful. Yes, because there's nothing like giving the fans extra like going back to an antiquated heat formula and taking two races away from them! Heat 15 was a decent race last night, because it was a competitive race. Heat 13 was not, because of the strange withdrawal of Richie Worrall. Sam Masters and Scott Nicholls romped home easily in that one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skidder1 7,637 Posted May 18, 2023 Anyone seen Lewy lately? Hope he's not gone missing! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike0310 660 Posted May 18, 2023 Maybe even he can’t defend the things going on at Plymouth at the moment. 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
4BM 116 Posted May 18, 2023 Was there any news on Howarth? Know he was withdrawn after ht1 fall but did it say what the injury was?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lisa-colette 6,035 Posted May 18, 2023 30 minutes ago, 4BM said: Was there any news on Howarth? Know he was withdrawn after ht1 fall but did it say what the injury was?? Wrist injury is all it says in the Plymouth media. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Triple.H. 1,986 Posted May 18, 2023 1 hour ago, 4BM said: Was there any news on Howarth? Know he was withdrawn after ht1 fall but did it say what the injury was?? It was a very awkward fall mid track where he overcooked it and locked up then got thrown of the bike. Hopefully it's nothing to serious, maybe he aggravated the injury he'd just came back from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted May 19, 2023 17 hours ago, paulboy said: There's an idea, give even less value for money! ...a meaningful second half would help. Fifteen races doesn't present good value for money in my opinion. Those that don't wish to stay after the main event is their prerogative but re-introducing a junior meeting would help redress the balance in my view but I wouldn't expect many to agree with that particular scenario? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bagpuss 10,784 Posted May 19, 2023 Personally I'd always prefer a couple more senior races over half a dozen junior ones, but each to their own. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted May 19, 2023 8 hours ago, Bagpuss said: Personally I'd always prefer a couple more senior races over half a dozen junior ones, but each to their own. ...yes whatever but an extended meeting involving more races whether it be included in the main event or a seperate contest. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
phillipsr 2,057 Posted May 19, 2023 5 hours ago, steve roberts said: ...yes whatever but an extended meeting involving more races whether it be included in the main event or a seperate contest. Unfortunately if its meaningful you can bet promoters will up the price of entry to accommodate it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steve roberts 9,246 Posted May 20, 2023 (edited) 9 hours ago, phillipsr said: Unfortunately if its meaningful you can bet promoters will up the price of entry to accommodate it ...problem is it's a viscous circle. Back during the middle eighties when crowds were still generally decent promoters ditched the traditional second halves and introduced Junior Matches in an attempt to "reinvigorate" fresh British talent but as we all know the real reason was an attempt to cut costs. However promoters didn't/couldn't/wish to help stem the rise of running costs by paying riders money they didn't have to help pay for escalating bike/maintenance costs and speedway began to slide eventually producing a product that to many was unacceptable and fans began to turn their back on the sport. There were many reasons (and boy it's been debated enough on the forum over the years!) why speedway has taken the route it has in this country but promoter and/or BSPA mis-management in my opinion has been the main reason why this has been the case. One time Oxford promoter Chris Shears took the initiative in once running an "old fashioned" second half (at no extra cost) and it proved popular in that many fans stayed on but his wrist was "slapped" by the BSPA because they thought it set a dangerous precedent never mind what the fans thought? Edited May 20, 2023 by steve roberts Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
