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People forget only the other week Mildenhall had the same problem with ambulances etc. They had to wait nearly 2 hours for an ambulance which eventually came from Peterborough. The meeting their only continued because it was an afternoon meeting. It's not only Birmingham having the problem i think it's unfair just to criticize the Brummies Promotion. Sadly due to the situation the Country is currently in Abandoning the meeting is going to happen every time there's an incident sadly.

Best wishes to Josh Auty but I’m sorry…. Calling off a meeting due to lack of medical cover… a major city and only one ambulance on site! It is something that needs looked at everywhere!

Reflecting on this now having absorbed all the tributes and comments, it's clear that speedway, in the modern age, has lost its greatest ever promoter. I can't recall such an outpouring of grief and admiration for someone involved in speedway who wasn't a rider. Nigel spent years promoting nothing but positivity in so many aspects of speedway that his contributions were quite extraordinary and surely without precedent. Crikey, he even ghost wrote Kelvin's recent book(s)! This really is a case of you don't know what you've got until its gone. A truly tragic loss.

That's 4 schedules meetings now and not one completed, yes weather plays a part and is beyond anyone's control, but surely there should be something in place at ALL events to cover a non life threatening Injury, ambulances should only be used for major injuries or things like heart attacks, Brummies fans must surely be losing patience by now, no excuses tonight's meeting could have continued, as someone else said if its an ankle injury someone could of transported him to hospital via a car/van

Gutted for the Promotion Team Hope Josh is OK Big crowd dry night good track. Not sure what medical solution is realistically available? NHS is in crisis. Massive delays. Medic cover and 2 Ambulance would be massive cost.

Sorry mate, I had to phone an ambulance for my wife not so long ago, there was no 6 hour wait, the ambulance was at my home within 40 mins, thankfully it turned out to be only Kidney Stones, but there was no way it was anywhere near 6 hours waiting. Speedway is a very dangerous sport and should be ready to cater for an emergency, the risk of a serious injury at a speedway track is far greater than most sports, it needs to be sorted because having no ambulance in a sporting evnt in todays day and age is totally unacceptable

When people are saying you need a second ambulance, that doesn’t mean taking one away from the NHS ambulance service, it would be ‘st john’s’ or a private ambulance/paramedic firm, the same as what your paramedics and ambulance is in the first place

I don't think it's just about losing. It's how much they are losing by!!

It needs to be a rule. If its not viable then they shouldn't be running

Can't give someone morphine from someone's car

All well and good having the money for a second ambulance, but what if there isn't one available? A friend's father suffered a stroke, he lives alone, they were quoted 24 hours for an ambulance, they got one in the end which only took 14 hours but had to do 120 mile round trip. The issue is far bigger than Speedway.

Meeting abandoned. No club should be allowed to run meetings without a back up ambulance.

1 above is Newman, below are Thomas & reserves.

You should join the SNP you would be most welcome with these comments.

Annoying when that happens, especially after the Redcar meeting in June 2021 had to be abandoned for the same reason. Lessons not being learned.

Vsst majority if tracks have had private ambulance and paramedic for years. Some tracks have 2 ambulances, some have 2 paramedics. 2 ambulances and 1 paramedic can be a problem if paramedic has to go with the ambulance to hospital. 2 paramedics and 1 ambulance is problem if ambulance has to leave stadium. Some NHS Trusts will only prioritise County NHS ambulance. It's easy to blame Promoters. I blame a Government that has destroyed the NHS and mugged taxpayers off 37 billion to Dido Harding and Michelle Mone for PPE that didn't exist and companies created by MPs to mug us off In Britain's second city a wait for a 999 ambulance at 6 hours is the norm Thats down to Boris Johnson NOT Nigel Tolley and Laurence Rogers

I understand that, but any sporting event should not be allowed to go ahead without adequate cover, it should be mandatory that at least 2 ambulaces are available, at least 2 qualified medics should be at the tracks, riders should be allowed to go to the tracks knowing that in such a dangerous sport that their care in the event of an accident is second to none, Imagine this happening in F1, the drivers would be appalled and refuse to race, even Cricket and Tennis have adequate cover, Speedway needs bringing into the 21st century and should be making clubs have proper full cover for medical emergencies, whether that be riders or spectators.

Plymouth also has 2 ambulances.

It is or there wouldn't be any ambulance... it's the paying punters that aren't a priority at those clubs run by chancers

I could bet my bottom dollar that Auty will be on his way to hospital now, in a car or a van, no way will he stay at the track for 6 hours, so what's the difference in taking him in a car while the meeting is going ahead

Most of the private companies are now contracted to the nhs and most clubs that have 2 ambulances actually bought their own second hand one but still have to have enough medical staff to cover if one has to take a rider away and with medical staff at a shortage all over the country all clubs will struggle

Utter rubbish. One thing you should not penny pinch with is medical cover. Clearly, the riders safety is not very high on many clubs priorities

I think you'll find that if you stump up the money for a private ambulance they'll turn up for whoever pays the bill

Speedway has and never will be Professional. No Matter how much the BSPA etc try to convince people it is.

Meetings can,t be run on a wing and a prayer,the paying public won,t put up with it and it doesn,t look professional at all.

Maybe it's about time that folk realise that, the NHS is in dire straits and only can be run by donations/charity or whatever. It may push the insurance premiums up, but that's just the way it is?,,, you can't rely on 'free' forever!,,, someone or something has to pay!

Redcar have a second ambulance this season. What’s the cost of an abandonment?

That,s shocking.....how the hell can this sport be taken seriously when things like this happen,will the promotions ever learn.....

Same as BWD then..

I just want to say how wonderful it is to have this track back. Best of luck to both teams

Sedgmen just whinges FULL STOP. He has delusions of Grandeur, he thinks he a superstar in the sport

Never

Neither of them would solve Newcastle’s Team problem IMO.

Both fruit cakes

And when he was alive he had the right of reply. When someone's died people should just pay their respects or say nothing at all, the only people who might be reading negative comments are his family who are left behind and I just hope if they are reading this forum they ignore the ignorant posts and focus on the overwhelming ones from people who realise he will be missed and also a great loss to Speedway.

Did you get banned on your previous user profile 'Pirateship'?

Pretty sure Leicester will score well at Redcar on Friday.

Well my first meeting was also in 1960 so it looks like we have an even more exclusive club forming.

Seems to be the norm at the moment, big away losses/ big home wins. Always thought a team that loses no more than 50/40 away always has a chance over 2 legs, lose 60/30 away and 99% of the time its game over. Don't think Poole and Glasgow will have any 60/30 losses this season, but probably be the only 2.

14 point win. Tsshhh! Never going to happen. Much, much closer. Oxford know the lines. Home advantage, home crowd. Going to be close imo.

47-43 to the Bandits me thinks

My views on Leicester were they swapped Douglas, Andersen and Kennedy for Richie, mountain and Rowe. Imo a weaker side that finished last season and that team were soundly beaten in play offs. Did make me wonder why so many people's favourites for league. I think they're on a par with teams like Plymouth, will win most/ all at home but struggle a bit away

Judging by his quotes last season couldn’t make money,so he won’t come cheap.Certainly wouldn’t pay over the odds for him.

Give me a break Lisa lol I’m not used to results like this being a Poole fan you are and good luck to you but we made on paper a good Leicester side tonight look really poor let me have my moment, it could be my only one this season.

I totally understand your comments but, as a Hammers fan who was present yesterday, it was an enjoyable day. Dont get me wrong, the meeting went on for a long time , longer than I had ever known previously. But, it was good to see The Hammers represented again and to be at a meeting, for the first time since we rode those few meetings at Rye House in 2018. In addition, seeing some of the guys I stood with for years for the first time since then was tremendous. I am not sure it was totally down to the referee for the duration of the meeting. Hammers operating R/R didn’t help , neither did the regular spills and I was told there was an issue with riders seeing the green light, how true that is I don’t know. And the air fence also deflating was again something that can’t be helped. As for Iwade as a venue, it is basic facilities wise but the racing was good and we were close to the action. Possibly too close judging by the amount of track that found its way onto me during the meeting! The upshot from yesterday was that I got the bug for Speedway back through being there and can see me going to more meetings , certainly at Iwade as I loved the venue despite its limitations and the fact I live well into Essex , and the welcome was friendly. I really wish the Kent promotion well in this venture - having lost so many tracks in recent times including my beloved Arena Essex, the fact that Iwade is staging competitive speedway again is a huge bonus.

Gotta feel for the Birmingham promotion, but these sort of things do need special attention.

Who know's,Alex Brady is unsure himself when i listened to the podcast last week.

The Lion's have now completed a quarter of their league fixtures so they better start to improve their away form pretty soon. Redcar on Friday would be a good place to start!

Fair comment. The team was built with a strong top three. At home, visitors will do well to gain a point. Away, the big guns need to score well to keep things tight going into the final three races, where two big hitters will get you over the line or look to at least salvage a point. Lions have now been spanked away by two teams who many will see as being borderline play off contenders. Having watched the stream the track appeared to be slick and dusty which no doubt accounted for the lack of passing. As disappointed as I was with my track observations (which grates when I read of the constant criticism of the Lions track), the score margin cannot be excused. With the clubs expectation of a play off spot as an absolute minimum, the obvious imbalance of home and away performances ( to date) would suggest that it would be very difficult to overcome another top six team over two legs.

Back to kent and huge credit to those where its due. Si Kellow has stepped up and delivered a competitive team at a venue at short notice when speedway in the south east looked buried. Graham at Iwade has transformed a once patchy bumpy track into a smooth fast surface with multiple lines. The volunteers who helped along every step of the way must all be delighted with the opening crowd and if most keep returning plus visitors then numbers should be strong throughout the year.