False dawn

Apologies if this has been done before, I'm a bit a bit in and out of the forum these days.... I'm regaining my passion for the sport (it was severely damaged by the temporary closure of Brandon). As a result, I've started to travel to more meetings but I want to take all of my family, including my boy, Lenny (greyhound cross). The hard bit is trying to determine which tracks will let Lenny in. Many team websites don't say one way or the other. So, can we assemble our own list for the benefit of dog owning fans please? I've started my list below and will edit this as this wonderful group post further information. Yes Berwick Coventry Eastbourne Edinburgh Leicester Ipswich Isle of Wight King's Lynn Peterborough Plymouth Poole Redcar Rye House Scunthorpe Somerset Stoke No Belle Vue Glasgow Newcastle Sheffield Sittingbourne (Kent) Swindon Wolverhampton

Josh is an exciting prospect. If you'd have seen his sublime pass on Michael Palm Toft on bends 3&4 in the Leicester vs Redcar match on 30th March, you'd know what I mean (shame the race subsequently stopped, but he did win the rerun). He's a level headed lad and knows that a couple of good meetings following a season off doesn't mean he's going to rule the world. But watch out. This a rider with a real future.

Last night's meeting sounds like a good one. I was unable to go but look forward to at least one of the other meetings mentioned above. One question. Round 3 of the championship is scheduled for Leicester on 19th July? That's a Friday. I can't find confirmation of that date and was just wondering as the Saturday is available and Leicester now run on a Saturday. Thanks for your help.

Love it. A Leicester fan predicting a Scunthorpe win and a Scunthorpe fan predicting a Leicester win. Priceless

As most people know, the main car parking at Leicester is in the shopping centre nearby. The advertised time limit is 4 hours but I and many others have heard rumours that this doesn't apply on race days/nights. That is not true. I went to the recent Ben Fund meeting and today received a car parking fine for exceeding the 4 hour limit. It was very annoying given that I queued for about 40 minutes to get out of the car park. I have appealed but beware. Normal evening team meetings shouldn't be a problem but a popular afternoon meeting is more of a risk.

I think that makes me a dinosaur too. The problem is that I think the asteroid has already landed.

I heard they tried to avoid problems by having 17 going one way round and 18 in other.

Fair comment. I get carried away sometimes! Anyone know when Wales were recognised as a sovereign nation in the speedway world? [Dad was Welsh]

I know it's while ago now, but who won the football world cup in 1966?

Only if Jason Crump counts as British!

Ah but. If the Boococks are going to claim Yorkshire as a sovereign nation and CH and others, Cornwall likewise, NI sort of counts.

He might have been a scrambler but he was also a grasstracker. I remember reading an article in the Speedway Express that he wrote about riders charging the tapes. He was suggesting that speedway should adopt the grasstrack rules whereby you were excluded for touching the tapes. I think I'm showing my age.

According to a rider I know, when I spoke to him a couple of years ago, it is still in the rules that all riders have to sign a document to say they have been paid for the previous meeting before the start of the next meeting. Obviously the reality is that riders sign even when they haven't been paid for all sorts of reasons and we end up with this type of story where riders are owed large sums. Of course, the authorities would blame the rider in these circumstances for not refusing to ride.

Nigel (100%) Boocock. Peter Collins, Dave Jessup, Chris Morton, Tai Woffinden, Mark Loram, Uncle Freddie, Simon Wigg, Joe Screen and Jimmy McMillan

I've had a few over the years. Used to be my role to get my coat on a regular basis.

Pinched from Wikipedia...... Ronnie Moore In 1950 at the age of 17, Moore was the youngest rider ever to qualify for the final of the Speedway World Championship. He won the championship in 1954 and again in 1959. He also finished runner up on three further occasions. His first win was all the more notable given the facts that he was still only 21 years of age, that he was riding with a broken leg and that he won with a maximum score. Got to be a good candidate for your list!

What, no Jason Crump? He was born in Bristol. Alright, I'll get my coat.

Surprised no one has included Tai in their lists! Alright, I'll get my coat.

And giving the losing the side choice of gates, means the track staff don't know which gates to favour in those circumstances doesn't it?

Not sure how this thread got revived after being dormant for many months but having reread it I still think there are ways to solve the problem. I read with interest the pros and cons of concrete starting gates but can't believe for a minute this is the way forward. Surely the torque generated by modern bikes rules out this as a possibility? My original contention was that although the stats show a clear advantage for one gate at times, looking at several meetings at the same circuit suggests that there is nothing intrinsically right or wrong with any one gate. To me, that suggests track preparation around the start line and the upkeep of the surface during the meeting are more crucial. It never fails to amaze me that when one gate is becoming an obvious graveyard during a meeting, no attempt is made to level up the surface. I'm no expert and I'm sure I couldn't look at the surface and say what needs to be done. But then I'm not the track curator or the starting marshal who stands there week in week out. Grade the starts and those that want it, could have an argument to ban "gardening".

Commiserations from a Bees supporter.

Well I'm listening to Leicester vs The Bees from Blackbird Road on the Home Service on Tuesday. You're welcome to my time machine

I have wondered if this was a possible solution. Although it could cause damage to the tyres and lead to riders wanting a new rear tyre per race.

Simply question: Is it possible to make all 4 starting gates roughly equivalent? Those of you who know me well know that I like to gather and analyse meeting statistics. Actually, I'm a bit of a nerd, but you've been too polite to say so thus far. But stats are just data. Their interpretation is information and information that can be useful. Take the last 4 years GPs at Krsko for example. Many of you will have noticed that gate 4 on Saturday night was a stinker. It produced 1 race winner (Magic in heat 19) and, in my opinion, more significantly, yielded the fewest points. Now you could propose quite credible reasons for this based on the run to the first corner and the shape of the track. And if we look at last year's stats you will find some support for this conclusion (0 wins and an even lower number of points). But go back to 2016 and the theory breaks down. Gate 4 was the 2nd best gate. Now all these numbers are well and good. I think the sample is significant enough to draw some conclusions. Certainly riders are generally pretty sure which gate to chose in the semis and the final based on the first 20 heats. My question is more related to track preparation. Is the fact that gate 4 is on the racing line significant? Is there more (or less) loose material out there? Does the rain drain down to the inside? I don't know, but surely the track curator has some ideas. Would you want to prepare a track where riders had very little chance of scoring points from one or more gates? Surely there are ways to even out the surface? Men with rakes around the start, working between every race (not an original idea btw)? A more scientific measure of the surface such as Kelvin's dirtometer (!!!). Whatever method is used, please remove some of these disparities. All too often the last third of a meeting is spoiled, ruined dare I say, due to the unfair advantage offered by a given gate or two.

Great minds eh?