Happy Hunter

In the absence of any reply from a Gladiators fan the nearest hotel, which is within easy walking distance of the track, is the Premier Inn at 300 Plymouth Road, Plymouth PL3 6RW, There is also an Ibis a little bit further away at Marsh Mills, Forder Valley, Longbridge Road, Plymouth PL6 8LR. The track itself is situated at Marsh Mills, just off the A38 Devon Expressway, and, if you need it, there is free parking at the Coypool Park and Ride car park (3/4 minutes walk from the track). Both the car park and track are signposted. I don't know what the admission cost is as I have not been this season (the Gladiators website is silent on this and not much good at all!). As you probably know there are problems with the track at the moment which I hope they can get sorted. There is a history of rain offs (the name Marsh Mills might give you a clue as to why!). If there should be a rain off there are plenty of things to see and do in Plymouth. Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip - at least you don't get any strung out races at Plymouth and the racing is usually o.k.

If he has had a poorly hand why has he been in the dustbin? https://twitter.com/josh96bates?lang=en (see group of photos at left hand side of account) . I thought he had hurt his back.

Very sensible. Like the Cubs last week they might have got the track fit to ride on but not race on.

Forecast for Leicester is rain stopping in an hour or so and then fine.

I must confess that I went more in hope than expectation! I saw my first meeting in 1949 at Blackbird Road and can well remember going to Brandon on Leicester Corporation double decker buses. One thing that I did like at Coventry was the hot dogs - I reckon the Bees outscored the Hunters in that respect!

Hard to tell but I reckon I saw about 20/30.

I imagine that the terms of the lease of the stadium at Beaumont Park allow the Lion’s promoters to run as many meetings/events as they like for a set fee. So, unlike the Bees last season, who I assume paid some sort of fee every time they rode at Beaumont Park, there are no such fees when the Cubs ride at home. The Lions have a great bunch of volunteers who act as co-team manager, track and start marshals, crowd stewards and who staff the box office and track shop etc. The major items of expenditure are, therefore, medical cover and payments to the riders. I have no idea what National League riders are getting but I can’t imagine that anyone is making a fortune out of speedway at this level.

I used to go to Brandon but only when I thought the Bees would lose!

At the meeting against Belle Vue Colts I reckon there might have been 3/400 fans there.

I can understand why the Lion's promotion wanted to get this meeting on because of fixture congestion but it was a bit of a farce despite the efforts of the riders etc. Because of the weather the crowd was poor - I would estimate that it was not much more than 200 and it was a wonder that there were not more falls and injuries as, especially early on, anyone behind after the second bend had no chance of overtaking.

I am not sure how Stewart Dickson can say the Lions are through to the next stage of the K.O. Cup when they got a bye in the first round and haven't ridden a race in the cup yet!

See https://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/17652808.work-starts-at-derwent-park/

I was about half an hours drive north of Plymouth on Friday and we had torrential rain most of the afternoon and early evening. I think the Plymouth promotion made the right call as the name for the area (Marsh Mills) suggest that it doesn't drain very well. It makes no sense to take a chance and lose money - in fact early call offs seem to be quite common so far this season.. Having said that I was looking forward to seeing the Thompson twins in action!

Thanks - I should have remembered! Have been wondering how they will fit in the Shield play offs and any more cup matches. ? More Sunday or Bank Holiday meetings.

Agreed the fixture list is very congested. As far as the Cubs riding on a Saturday is concerned they are the Saturdays when there is a GP meeting when Scott Nicholls will be in front of the microphone instead of the tapes so I don't think the Lions will want to ride at home on any of those Saturdays. As far as I can see there are two spare Saturdays - 11th May and 20th July when there is not a GP and the Cubs or Lions are not at home. I am not sure when the cut off date is for the playoffs but the 14th and 28th September are also free. Perhaps one of the reasons why the crowd was down in number on Sunday was because people had made other arrangements for that day. If meetings are postponed to a date a few week in the future fans can get themselves better organised. I see as well that the Lions are at Home to Berwick on Sunday, 14th July.

I agree with this. If you look at the posts after the match had finished you will find several posts about the track, the result and individual riders.

You can't win with the weather! I thought that the crowd was only about half that for the previous meeting so perhaps in similar circumstances a postponement to another Saturday might be a better bet. I thought that the racing yesterday was much closer than we have been used to with fewer strung out races although there were occasions when we had two races in one - one at the front and one at the back. Ryan Douglas's fall in heat 3 didn't do his shoulder any favours and he struggled after that. Ellis Perks did really well although I think an appearance in heat 15 was a ride too many. I don't know how Josh Bates managed to stay on his bike in one race - the other three riders must have thought 'best to keep out his way'. All in all a very positive start to the season for the Lions - does anyone know when a Leicester team last won 6 out of the first seven competitive meetings?

I would have liked to have been the fly on the wall in the pits last night just before the first re-run of heat 14. I can understand that Ryan Douglas would want to try for a 12 point maximum but surely the team manager would have told him and Connor Mountain that, if they did not get the drop on Ty Proctor at the gate, they should settle for second and third to make sure that the Lions were home and dry without the need for any heroics in heat 15. It's all supposition but we would then have had a full strength side today.

Not having been to a Brummies home meeting since the 1960's I would be interested if someone could let me know what the spectator facilities are like now at Perry Bar (I seem to remember they were pretty basic in the good old days!). For example is there plenty of seating in the stands or would I need to get there early to be sure of a seat. Also where is it best to park (what's parking like at the stadium) and how far is the other parking from the stadium in minutes walking. Any help would be appreciated. Sad to say it looks unlikely that the present good weather will last until the Lions come calling next Wednesday!

I agree that the light is not good enough but I think that the brightness was set by one of the planning conditions imposed by the City Council when the track was built. As far as the helmet colours are concerned why can't we have luminous yellow?

See http://www.speedwaygb.co.uk/news.php?extend.36102

See http://www.leicesterspeedway.com/news.php?extend.31322.1

I see that the SCB are holding a series of Seminars for officials, including team managers. Presumably the 2019 Regulations will be considered but there is no sign of them on the SCB website yet. Does anyone know when they will be published? I need to know if the heat format has changed so that, if necessary, I can up date my score chart!

Cub's admission prices now on the Lion's website. Season ticket holders can get in for £10.

Does anyone know how much it will cost to watch the Cubs at home? There is no indication on the club's website. Surely they are not going to charge the same as for the Lions!