Buster is the ** if you want to break track records, but it's not the best for close racing. Some riders love it, but there's more who struggle with it.
It can't be the shale, because it was Skidder or FB I think that said it was the best meeting they had seen in years when Poole was in town. And from what I have read, there have been a few of them this season.
A bit of dirt is a good thing, but if it's got a lot of clay content and soaked, it becomes super grippy, and it makes most riders cautious because there not used to it and the way the bike reacts.... Peterborough proves this. They have had a few great meetings, with the same shale as they have had crap ones.
A bit less top surface, and a bit less water …. Maybe?