Halifaxtiger

The biggest disappointments must be Harris and Sarjeant. Harris was especially disappointing last night and 8 points from 5 rides and no heat wins simply isn't good enough. That's how I saw it, too. Klindt was hard on Starke but he left room whereas Vissing didn't.

I would see the difference is clear from the meeting listings I have posted. After all, its the same engines at all the above tracks isn't it ? If that's the case, why is it that those engines cause 3 or 4 fallers and no injuries in 15 heats at almost every NL track and then 13 fallers and 3 injuries in 10 heats at Stoke ? Do they suddenly disastrously misbehave when they get to Staffordshire ? Or is it quite simply that the track is in such dreadful condition there that even the best and most experienced riders in the NL can't stay on ? Bluntly, its insulting, unsubstantiated and unjustifiable to claim that the carnage at Stoke the other night was caused by rider incompetence and, worse, it attempts to deflect the blame away from a club absolutely notorious for their shoddy practices.

First one I have seen - if my hazy memory serves me well - in nigh on 800 matches.

I thought it was a very decent meeting indeed Some cracking racing - proving once again that passing isn't absolutely necessary, only knowledge that a rider can pass - with a close score line and some handbags thrown in. Vissing left Proctor with nowhere to go, Klindt shunting Starke on to the fence being almost as hard. Improved performance from Bach and Jensen and I thought Bickley was more on the pace.

First time I have seen Flint. Very impressed...........but not as impressed as I was by Kemp. Brummies well worth their win, using their in form reserve to their best advantage. Heats 13 & 15 would have graced a GP

To be fair, they are not. As CR has said, Isle of Wight, Somerset and Poole have all had problems with defective shale. Isle of Wight was dusty when I was there recently but it didn't cause carnage, which suggests that Stoke's problems are not down to the shale alone.

I don't agree that bad control is a bigger issue than track surfaces. Looking at the most recent meetings at all NL tracks on updates : Belle Vue 2 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Birmingham 4 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Buxton, 4 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Coventry 3 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Cradley no falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Eastbourne, 4 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. IOW, 3 falls, 1 injury, 15 heats. Mildenhall, 4 falls, no injuries, 15 heats. Plymouth, 8 falls, no injuries 15 heats. The one injury was Adam Roynon, - one of the best and most experienced riders - whose throttle stuck open. Plymouth's track surface was described as 'inconsistent'. And then we have Stoke. 13 falls, 3 injuries, 10 heats. Meeting abandoned due to the state of the track, following meeting cancelled a day before hand due to track issues. The above very much suggests to me that the issue here is not about poor throttle control at all, but a dangerous track surface in which all riders - and not just the young and inexperienced ones(I repeat, Ben Morley fell twice) - were unable to cope.

You mean Ben Morley, one of the NL's top riders ? He fell twice in three races on Saturday. Word I got from IOW was that it was so bad they did not want to send their riders out. Trying to pass the buck and blame riders is not just a cop out, its a sham - and it could be seen as an attempt to get promoters whose tracks are dangerous off the hook. If this were happening everywhere and there were multiple fallers and unacceptable levels of riders leaving stadiums injured as a result of the track surface you might have a point. It isn't, though, and no other track in Britain has a reputation for such incompetence as Stoke - and that's by a long chalk. The sooner the SCB get involved, the better.

What happened to Stewart ? He was nigh on unbeatable when I saw him a few weeks ago.

One of speedway's worst failings is the way some of its management (for want of a better word) treat paying fans. Aggressive, arrogant and even abusive on occasion and at the same time as they are complaining about falling gates and making ends meet As an example, and solely because of responses I got to exactly the same viewpoint, I refuse to go to one track (and I am anything but alone in that) and constantly bang the drum for another.

You might well be right but I think that an abandonment due to the state of the track and after injuries and multiple falls and without any adverse weather should always be investigated.

Every track in the NL is on a limited budget (some more than most, maybe). That's not an excuse. According to the IOW facebook page, the meeting was abandoned after the Warriors requested a track inspection and its probably not a coincidence that that was after heat 10. There are some choice words about Stoke Speedway on that page. I suspect the SCB will get involved now.

Not totally unavoidable. I was at Plymouth a few years ago when Ash Birks was seriously injured after crashing and hitting a fence stanchion. Racing re-commenced after the fence was fixed, Plymouth having two paramedics in attendance.

I have - and he deserved both the ban and the sack.

I think you are right here. The NL has a lopsided look about it this season with one or two very strong and others weak. No-one's fault, but it might well not be good for attendances.

The thing is as Whisperer says that rule was brought in not for the benefit of the Poles but to protect speedway in this country. We can't then simply break it. As for referring to the 'demands of a Polish club', Harris signed contracts both with them and Glasgow in the full knowledge that there could be a clash. Glasgow knew it too. Why shouldn't the Polish team insist that he rides for them given that he has a contract and the agreement between speedway countries states that they have precedence ? I really do think you are pointing fingers in the wrong direction here. It is Glasgow, Harris and the BSPA that are at fault, not his Polish team. If this was the other way around - for example, Damian Drozdz riding for a Polish club on a Monday when he had a commitment for Belle Vue - we'd be screaming blue murder.

I wonder how many riders we would have left if we insisted that British Speedway had priority at all times. For Belle Vue, Cook, Fricke, Tungate, Drodz and Bewley all have Polish contracts. The chance of a clash is very small, but you're looking for an absolute guarantee. Practicality suggests that we have to allow them to ride elsewhere and that there is an agreement regarding who has preference in the event of a clash. If we want the Poles to co-operate we simply have to honour our side of the bargain.

I think you're pretty much spot on. We have all seen how arrogant the Poles can be but here surely they are in the right if the international calendar gives them priority on Sundays. Which league it is, to me, makes no odds. Harris (and Glasgow) should have considered that there was a small chance (given the squad system and that Sunday is Glasgow's second choice race day) that there maybe a clash and accepted that if there was he should ride in Poland. Its all very well for British Speedway and its fans to be aggrieved when the Polish authorities throw their weight (and money) around, but this simply gives them the opportunity to say that we are no better.

'My first visit yesterday and it was very impressive from start to finish well done to everyone concerned yesterday, i shall be returning in the not too distant future' 'Some excellent races' 'An enjoyable meeting despite the scoreline.' 'Some excellent racing at the NSS yesterday morning' 'it was a delight to watch and the racing was excellent too.' 'And the racing was out of this world' 'Despite the scoreline, there was (as usual )some fantastic racing' 'The two newcomers who joined me today loved it and will be back for the Poole meeting' 'Excellent racing today.' Is that enough or would you like a few more ? Interval dragged a bit, partly because Andy Meredith was picking up the track of the year award for both the Premiership and the NL. As I said, 12pm start, boiling hot day. No dust, no blue line, brilliant racing. Andy Meredith doesn't have a magic wand. If he can do it, so can everyone else.

Belle Vue's track on Monday - despite a 12pm start and it being very hot indeed - was superb. No blue line, no dust and excellent racing.

Cheap shot and not only a lame excuse but an untruthful one. They will have to think of some other reason why their team was so poor.

I think it was a dig but who cares. The constant watering meant that the meeting took longer than usual but also ensured that the track stayed in superb condition, no mean feat on a steaming hot day. All credit to the track staff and no surprise that they took track of the year for both the Premiership and NL. You will have to explain to a Buxton fan what a track without dust is like because he won't know . Despite the scoreline, there was (as usual )some fantastic racing - particularly Bewley's brilliant ride in heat 9 and heat 14 with three abreast in the first couple of laps (suspect Etheridge needed to change his race suit when Tungate missed him by a whisker). Belle Vue were brilliant but they shouldn't get carried away as I thought Leicester were rubbish. What on earth was up with King ? He never looked like beating anyone.

The last bank holiday meeting was near perfect - a huge crowd, cracking meeting and Chase the Ace strutting his stuff. I can only see this being even better

Definitely not in the minority of one. It'll be the same as usual - huge expectation and then falling flat on our faces. We simply have to make use of the best months weather-wise for racing as more people attend and there's less chance of rain off's. Little racing in June and then desperately trying to fit everything into July, August & September is daft. The thing is this isn't just Workington. Virtually all the Championship clubs are the same.

The idea is to get regular speedway, not gaps for weeks on end or three fixtures in three weeks and then nothing for a further three weeks. If you read the comments on this forum, it is repeated many, many times that the haphazard pattern of fixtures puts people off attending - and you have pointed to that. The trophy campaign is little more than a warm up, so start running that fortnightly - along with maybe an open meeting - the middle/end of March. Then bang the league fixtures/KO Cup in from the beginning of June to the end of August (a period of 13 weeks that allows for the odd rain off). Playoffs at the beginning of September. I am sure its not as simple as that, but its got to be better than weeks missing and playoffs in October.