THE DEAN MACHINE

Do you think this is the reason for the lack of mechanics ?

Bydgoszcz may just do this

Yes I agree, my previous post was just about what is actually involved technically, yes it is a full time job, well sort of because there are weeks sometimes when you have no meeting cause rain off or whatever and yes you feel like sometimes you’re living in airport car parks, I was always well planned well in advance with my work(own business) and got customers to know the riders away meetings so tied work round them so that worked out well and this worked in my riding days too, you would often see my van loaded with bikes and work stuff and tied one in with the other

Not technical at all, all you have to do is change a tyre,check tyre pressure, turn a wheel,change sprocket and chain links, adjust ignition and maybe change a jet size and fuel up, that’s pretty much everything you do at a meeting, in a workshop you just strip parts, wash bike and parts and reassemble, checking nothing has broke, bent or worn, strip carb, wash it and reassemble, adjusting arm setting with dial gauge, very rarely mechanic will touch engine settings, you might check tappet gaps but no exactly rocket science, you have to work quick these days but mostly you are at the riders instructions but If you have riding experience you can give your input, it helps to know what changes will do like jetting/gearing etc but you pick these things up as you go along it’s my opinion you could go from an average Joe to become a fully competent mechanic in one season, it’s pretty basic mechanics, one thing that has to learnt is trust, the rider must trust you 100%

I came from an era when most riders had friends that helped them out at meetings to the era from 10 years ago when nearly everyone had full or at least part time mechanic’s to today when riders are appealing for help at various tracks on social media, where have all the mechanics gone? I still see a few from when I did it but a lot just don’t do it anymore, it’s not bad money really and you can do deals with riders and it seems to be all levels too, I noticed bomber washed his own bikes on Thursday and don’t think he turned up with a mechanic at Sheffield, I know teams like wolves and Poole provided mechanics if you didn’t have one but where have the mechanics all gone? Are riders not paying anymore or something else ? I understand rider/mechanic can be a bit like a marriage at times so is it there is too many personality conflicts these days, I know riders can at times be awkward to say the least and I also understand some mechanics think the world revolves around them but even taking that into account there should be enough to go round, is the money not enough these days not enough to subsidise the loss of a work wage or is it just like the rider numbers dwindling the mechanics are dwindling too ?

My Mrs is a stoke city season ticket holder for her sins and stoke subsidise quite a lot of the away travel to matches,some of the matches are practically free and also reduced ticket prices at a a lot of the games, Friday night 7 of the family went to the home game with hull and 4 of them went free, I didn’t go as I had painted a wall and needed to watch it dry but it basically is the sort of thing speedway should do, maybe not all the time but certainly to playoff and TV meetings

Transponder I think,nothing to do with the bike itself

Strangely a rutty and soft track got smoother as the night went on

Done the GP organisers a massive favour with wildcard picks

I saw a post on a Wrocław page after the magic crash saying get Kowalski out of that meeting now and then he strangely touches the tapes

Yes only woryna seems to be wanting to really put it on the line but he is in with a slim chance of a GP spot isn’t it top 2 go final and next 4in semi ?

Magic Hand getting caught in mudgaurd there

Weather is playing havoc with even the polish tv

Some ruts appearing around the inside

I went to see guns n roses there, it’s a vast stadium

Hope I’m wrong but that track looks soft and spongy

They have him in line up ?

Vast stadium to fill,not sure how one sport make it pay, anyway let’s hope it’s a decent meeting

The young lady on BSN does seem like a bit box ticking exercise and a bit cringey but my son thinks she is wonderful but that’s more about his hormones than her speedway presenting talents

BSN captures the essence of speedway and listening to Greg Blair is like sitting in the van with him on the way to the meeting,it’s fantastic,I don’t mind abi and her enthusiasm is to be applauded but Eurosport’s coverage is poor and they treat speedway like they don’t really understand the sport,which they probably don’t often missing the action and the less said about the onboard camera the better,Tatum, Louis and Nichols are ok but they don’t capture the in the moment element that speedway is, it’s rawness,down to earth nature,a working man’s sport, there is a saying in motorsport “all the gear no idea” Eurosport should have this as their moto, they have earned it, commentary is subjective, some you like some you don’t but that’s not really the problem with Eurosport

Like to see Bydgoszcz back in the extraleague but I think rybnik will be winners over 2 legs

That’s not how riders think, take Exeter back in the day, the home riders loved it because everyone else hated it so the home riders adapt to it and get a big pay day every week and that’s how riders think, a good way to further your career in speedway is pick a track you hate and join the team and tell everyone who comes how bad the track is

I’m talking about real time action,at the time of the crash it was a close race at the back but the cameras are focused on the front 2 that are spread out, they do this all the time, they are so amateurish, BSN are far better on a fraction of the cost, BSN capture the essence of speedway, Eurosport are like cable network channel from the 90s

Well done belle vue and special mention to anti voulas who’s points over 2 legs don’t justify the effort he put in

If you don’t race you will never understand a riders mentality, you only have to listen to woffinden’s interview to see they will sacrifice safety equipment for lightness because its win at all costs and it’s the same with this track they might moan but they love a dirt line because it makes you go faster and ultimately wins races