oldace

I think people are now starting to believe this cobblers. The track didn't break up, they may have felt it was on the verge of doing so but thats a different argument. Just watch the meeting again, the track was riding just fine save for the odd rut, nothing untoward at all

Have I missed a GP or something?. All this talk of crap tracks. The last GP I saw was the Warsaw one where the track was fine. There was a problem with the lights causing the riders to walk out but nothing else. So where has been this GP with the cocked up track then, it certainly wasn't Warsaw

It shouldn't be England. Speedway in Great Britain is represented at the FIM by the ACU. The ACU governs 2 and 3 wheel motorsport in great britain. The team is the ACU representative team and is correctly named GB. The ACU dont represent northern ireland

Yes Dave rode it in the 1983 British Final. It didn't do him any good though, he ran into the back of PC, bringing them both down and injuring himself.

It was later than 93 wasn't it when Long Eaton closed?

I agree, it was a major cock up but not one that should get a meeting called off Fair enough, you could ask the question but the answer from all concerned will only be the carefully scripted cobblers of an unfit track. I prefer to believe the evidence of my own eyes. Why was it "not as crap as some tracks". It was actually starting to provide good racing by heat 12. Too many have bought into this bad track cobblers when the evidence is there in front of their eyes, the track was fine

The starting gate failed, thats it. Yes it was a major cock up no doubt at all about that. What else was there that was a fiasco? Phil has highlighted other problems that would otherwise have gone on behind the scenes and no one even been aware of. So just what is it that made this event a so called disaster/fiasco other than a bunch of childish cry baby riders that no one could legislate for

So its exactly like a few of us said right from the off. It was entirely a dummy spitting exercise from the riders over the failure of the starting gate. I don't need to have been there, to have ridden a bike with no brakes etc etc, to see that the track was perfectly race able, not just rideable. Sure lessons need to be learned but the biggest lesson to learn is that the riders dont control the show, we are in a tail wagging the dog situation and it needs sorting. As it seem to have been every rider not a lot in the way of points deduction or suspension can be done but the very least a big financial punishment should come their way

Wasn't George Dixon killed in the blue lamp before being resurrected for another 20 year stint in Dixon of Dock Green. Anything Dallas can do we were doing 30 years before!!!!!!! This is on topic because when he wasn't on duty George Dixon was an "off duty policeman"

Name 1 benefit transponders would bring to speedway? From the start? yes they could do away with tapes and use lights and they could determine false starts, well we have seen where that leads. For the finish ? Unnecessary, speedway is rarely, if ever so close as to not be able to be split by a slo mo replay For race times ? yes but speedway doesnt have qualifying determined by lap times and race times are more of an interest than a neccessity so totally pointless. You are merely suggesting technology for technology sake rather than any benefit it may bring

Exactly what I just said, it will be full no matter what, even at £20.00/£25.00 The point I was making was it will be full of largely existing speedway fans who wont provide the week in week out fans the stadium needs. Old trafford is full each week at £50.00 and will likely continue to be so, you dont sell a ticket for a pound when you can get £2.00 over and over, thats common sense. It would be nice though if the opening night in a packed stadium was witnessed by a few thousand new customers. Of course they can only fit 6000 in and as you say need to make the most of it Like I said I wish the venture well

To be honest I would have hoped for a slightly reduced cost. No doubt, for opening night it will be a good crowd, speedway fans from all over the country will likely attend but in truth these are not the ones needed week in week out. £25.00 (or even £20.00) is not likely to tempt someone with no affinity to the sport to come along. £10.00 or £12.00 with a big marketing push locally, get a few thousand new fans, show them a vibrant product in a packed stadium and hope it comes across well enough to get them to come back. Hope it does work out for the Aces, I suspect, weather permitting, I will be making my first visit in nearly 10 years to this one

Hence why riders, Emil aside, are keen to maintain their places. Even riders at the lower end with no realistic chance of being world champion have always seemed happy to compete, Andy Smith/Stoney etc. Actually, for a minority sport like speedway I wouldn't consider £8000.00 a bad pick up for an evenings work anyway. BSI run the SGP as a commercial exercise and it grosses, on the face of it, a nice little profit of 1.5 million. Over 12 GPs its approx £125,000 per GP profit. Of course the flagship ones will be responsible for a larger chunk of profit than the others. So in this fantasy world where the riders should be paid footballer type wages where is the money to come from. If BSI were to double the prize money on offer it would eat into two thirds of that profit and the SGP would not be worth their while anymore. In any case the FIM are responsible for the prize money and I suspect they trouser a large amount of readies for doing precisely sod all, if there is an issue with the prize fund it is the FIM who need to address it.

She just said herself that she is aware who one sport really are. Strange woman, who on earth would think these are right and proper people to run any kind of championship

Oh I see, the 16 riders competing over a series of events to find a champion type model, it is nothing new really, there is another series that uses a similar model as well. Been going a few years and not run by some wannabe mafia type organisation

Are you on a wind up. One Sport the best model for a top class championship?

But fair play to the ref who, very politely, told him to "shut the f__k up and get on with it, the track is fine". The ten heat rule, brought in for good reasons, now needs changing. The idea is not to race on, on an unfit track, until heat 10 and then call it off. It is meant to be in the case of deterioration of the track before heat 15. We now seem to accept a match is 10 heats and if its sunny and the riders can be bothered we may get 5 bonus heats thrown in

What on earth are you wittering about. There is absolutely no correlation between the two. Why should Tai making changes to his day job affect his affinity to his country.

Ooh err Mrs

No more stupid comments are needed, you are providing enough all by yourself

Indeed we have, and no doubt Starman made a pr!ck of himself then as well, a glutton for punishment

It is a mystery isn't it really. Makes you wonder if there was an agenda that night that none of us have thought about Edit A bit of a discussion within a discussion here. I am of course referring to Belle Vue v Poole last season, not Saturdays GP

What rain? The track was in the same condition at heat 10 as it was for heat 11 and yet it was safe for heat 10 but suddenly unsafe for heat 11. It didn't rain in the slightest. The only thing that changed between those heat was a result could be declared, that result was by the 7 Poole needed and no refunds need be given. Then along comes Tony Steele plumbing new depths of cobblers with the "moisture coming out of the track" Rest assured, 100% dangerous or not that match was always finished between heat 10 and 15 at whatever point Poole were 7 up. It is nice though that as a Poole fan you recognize that there was massive cheating by Poole and their cohorts to get them into the play off, as you say the match really should have been off and with it Pooles chance of a play off place. Of course they then went on to field a (retrospectively I grant you) totally ineligible rider so all in all a pretty hollow victory

No, the evidence as seen through your own eyes suggest it was adequate. A bunch of quotes fro 18 riders now realizing they are in the sh!t are worthless

Brilliant summing up, agree completely To be honest Tony, apart from a few morons spouting the "riders know best" they risk their lives for our entertainment" cobblers then more and more now seem accepting that the track was perfectly adequate and the riders were a disgrace. Hopefully in the fullness of time they will get duly punished for what happened on Saturday That though shouldn't exonerate others for their part. The FIM jury for allowing this to get as far as it did are culpable along with the race director. The failure to provide another starting gate, although a green light was an adequate solution it could have been avoided was a major cock up