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The NSSC are proud to present a, "Speedway Question Time". In the David Dimbleby role will be David Rowe. Joining him on the panel are Tony Steele, Jim Lawrence, Rob Lyon, Adam Roynon, Rory Schlein and Simon Stead. (There may be another name to add yet!) As this will be taking place after the BSPA AGM there will be a lot of hot topics up for discussion. We hope this will generate a lot of interest and look forward to your support. Entrance will be FREE ! Everybody welcome. There will be a bumper raffle and donations will be accepted to raise funds for young British riders. We sponsor the British Under 16 & Under 19 Championships. The young riders are supplied directly with vouchers, consumables or tyres. If you will be attending the event and wish to suggest a question/topic, please e-mail us at; info@nuneatonspeedwaysupportersclub.co.uk This event will be held at the Chilvers Coton Liberal Club in Nuneaton at 8pm on Tuesday 25th November. For more details please vist our website; http://www.nuneatonspeedwaysupportersclub.co.uk/

So if they are having to improve drainage and relay the track in Riga it wasn't just the weather that caused the cancelled GP as BSI wanted us to believe. Thank you for confirming that!

Fundraising all very well but how much do they need? What happens if the amount donated falls short of the desired level and they don't run the Storm next year. Do we get our money back? (Didn't think so!)

Went to Avesta last night for the Masarna v Lejonen 2nd leg of the final. Lejonens 16 point lead from the first leg was far too much for Masarna to cope with but it was a decent meeting on a nice wide track. As you would expect Lindbäck, Sundström, Berntzon and the two Poles lead the way but we were impressed by the Masarna reserve Ted Hagansbo. I don't know anything about him but thought he had a nice smooth style and not afraid to make strong moves or defend his position. We really enjoyed our visit and have another Swedish speedway T-shirt to add to the collection!

Are the Allsvenskan finals the following Thursday and Friday? 18th & 19th September. We will only be an hour away from Avesta (Masarna) during that week so selfishly hope that they get to the final, if that's the case.

I look forward to reading the Star tomorrow then. The basic questions still remain and are; 1) was the track prepared properly with sufficient drainage and suitable material? 2) if the answer is yes and assuming the weather was too bad on Saturday, why not run it in Riga on Sunday. The weather was fine on Sunday, we were paddling in the Baltic! 3) if the answer is no, then who is to blame for the poor track preparation? We were there from Thursday. Yes there were some showers, some quite heavy, but nothing that should have completely ruined a suitable track. If that GP had been on a "normal-permanent" track it would have been fine for Sunday if Saturday proved to be too much.

There was a post on this forum (thank you whoever it was) at the time saying that you had to return to where you collected or purchased the tickets and complete & submit the form. Of course there has been no help at all from the SGP website other than, "you need to contact the ticket agency for a refund". Why couldn't they help fans by having a link to, or pdf of, the form on their site? As usual with the SGP's we are diverted to an obscure (to us) ticket agency. So obscure that Marks & Spencer's blocked the credit card transaction initially until they spoke to me! And as usual taking our money from a credit card is very quick and easy but they refused to refund against the card and we had to leave all our bank details and passport number on this form. We were told it would be in our bank within 10 working days, now on day 13. Anyway I have e-mailed Paul Bellamy about the delay and to be fair he replied very quickly and I have now been copied in, in an e-mail from Vladimir Ribnikov, "SGP Latvia Organiser" confirming that there had been a delay but 90% of tickets had been credited and, "be sure all tickets will be refunded". Another e-mail will be on the way to Paul Bellamy soon about the miss-management of this whole affair. From track prep right through to PR and customer support, but I want to get my refund first!

Has anybody received their refund yet? Like IanT we completed the form (with all our bank details and passport info!) and handed it in to the Bilesu offices on the Monday after the GP and were told it would be 10 working days. Assuming they don't have August bank holidays in Latvia the 10 days are up. Here we go.......

Got to agree with Abbo. It is becoming increasingly hard work being a speedway fan, no wonder there are fewer of us there every week. We knew we were going to witness two one sided affairs with gulfs between the skills of the riders but like 300? others we went anyway to support the young lads. On handing over our £30 the guy at the turnstile did not even break conversation with one of the "guards" and the women selling programmes couldn't have been more miserable. It was such an underwhelming experience we both commented on it. How difficult is it to say "thank you, enjoy the meeting"...... basics! I thought the meetings were going along at a reasonable pace. It was a bit annoying that they couldn't do the track grading when there was an extra 2 mins for r/r but why would you expect common sense at a speedway meeting! Bearing in mind the previous "curfew" was 10:45 with 5 heats to go, no problem. The strange thing was it seemed to catch everybody by surprise. If there is a curfew tell the fans before hand then we all know what's going on. More to the point what would have happened if there had been more delays in the meeting and at 10:15 we were only at heat 7.....what time would the "curfew" had been then? As I said I went knowing we were not going to see many great races but feel robbed of not seeing Josh Bates against the Storm guys in heats 13 and presumably 15 for no real reason. Pissed off with it all and we are keen, the floating fans will not stand for it, and there is the problem. Speedway cannot survive on the enthusiasts alone. Those that go to speedway for a night out would not tolerate the crap that we put up with!

Where's this curfew come from? Never known it before at Coventry until these last two Storm double headers. And why is it so variable? I reckon last time it was 10:40 and tonight 10:15. Tonight's first meeting could not have run much smoother with only one re-start (I think). The second meeting had a bit of a hold up for repair to the air fence and possibly 3 re-starts but nothing catastrophic. So if there is a curfew at 10:15 they should start even earlier or not attempt it. They should not charge for two meetings if there's no chance of making it. Apart from feeling short changed I also feel sorry for the riders. I'm sure Josh Bates was dead chuffed to only get 3 rides, potentially missing out on another 6 points the way he was going. I hope nobody travelled from Plymouth to watch their team. It will be interesting to see how they handle the Eastbourne double header especially with the extra faffing about the Elite boys like to do. I'd also like to see them try to stop a stock car meeting at 10:15.

Translating a Danish tweet they think it will be a 30 or 40 day ban. If it is and he then falls beneath the GP cut off of 8th place will he just walk back in next year on a wildcard?

This win at all costs attitude is killing speedway. I know people who have stopped going purely for this reason. Why don't we just give Poole the League championship and make Darcy Ward the World Champion every year then we needn't bother about all the grief and controversy that gets us to that point.

Completely agree with IanT particularly about the quality of the track and the lack of responsibilty for its complete failure, very convenient for BSI to hide behind the weather. We are in the same boat regarding the refund and will give them until Monday before chasing. Like IanT I am incensed by BSI's total lack of sympathy or help for fans that support their product. Topaz325 says that fans get fobbed off but always return.......well we are not returning to the GP's. We have attended many over the years, there have been some dodgy ones like Berlin and Tampere and cancellations in Gothenburg, Gelsenkirchen and Riga. We have experienced them all and finally have had enough. When we go to a GP we make a 4/5 day holiday of it so at least we have enjoyed the host cities but for those that just fly in for the meeting it must be awful. BSI have proved many times now that they are incapable of overseeing or putting on a speedway event in a non speedway stadium except for Parken & Cardiff, however even these came perilously close to disaster in the last couple of years. Even Phil Rising said on this forum that Vojens is close to the new Horsens venue if there are any issues........and so it goes on. For me the whole BSI/SGP/Monster thing has just become too unpalatable. According to the official SGP site there is no news at all about Darcy Ward, not even a reason for missing the last GP! How can you take it seriously? And don't get me started on Monster Joe!! Anyway I don't think I'm brave enough for court action but letters and e-mails will be sent. Does anybody have a particularly good name or e-mail address, thanks.

So I pressume Darcy Ward will ride in Gorzow if we hear nothing from the FIM. Isn't that rather strange? Also why doesn't anybody seem to know when the FIM hearing will be?

Is that to become the norm now then?!

Philip Rising!! So disappointed with your response to the shambles in Riga, "well you should have gone with Travel Plus"....ffs Why? Why should we have to go with a travel company just in case SGP are incapable of putting on a speedway meeting. We have been fortunate enough to go to many meetings in Europe; league, WC & GP and part of the fun is planning and exploring these places on our own, not to mention the cost. For reference; Travel Plus 3 nights in Riga = £479, we went for 5 nights for £320 and before you mention transfers etc a bus from the airport was about €1.00, taxi €3.50/each. The whole city is walkable and that particular weekend all public transport was free because of the city birthday celebrations. Also our hotel, according to Tripadvisor, was rated higher (9th) than the Travel Plus hotel (24th) and the price included afternoon coffee and cake and an evening buffet meal if you wanted it. I used to regard your posts as an informed calm amongst the tittle tattle but I think you underestimate how let down and annoyed those who try to support these events feel and trite comments such as yours just rub salt in to the wounds. It used to be fun to follow speedway but it is becoming more and more exasperating, disappointing and frustrating, no wonder there are fewer of us around now. And another thing! Why is the Speedway Star incapable or unwilling to take SGP to task when these events go wrong. The main story should have been, "Hundreds of fans left stranded in Riga as GP is moved 230 kilometres due to sheer incompetence". See page 7 to find out why......... By the way regarding the costs incurred by BSI/SGP etc. I hope it cost them a fortune!

This is bugging me now, probably unreasonably, but the SGP website is very quick to give us news on the Dudek failed drug test but Darcy Wards failed alcohol test is still not newsworthy???

Unless I've overlooked it, and apologies if I have, how come this very big news for speedway and the GP's in particular, is not even mentioned on the SGP website? The report of the meeting does not mention him at all and nothing since. I wonder why? More smoke and mirrors and half truths? Has he been abducted by aliens? If you get your news from the SGP website he has vanished without trace.

Do we get a prize! As feared we have now "achieved" the hat-trick of going to the three cancelled GP's. All as a consequence of poor track preparation, not as a direct result of the weather. When will they learn? Cardiff last year was a very close call and Tampere was barely fit for purpose. You can see that there was a dramatic improvement in the stadium in Riga but why is the most important bit, the track, left to chance? We travelled hoping for the best, we weren't encouraged by the total lack of posters or adverts anywhere in the city, was it really going to happen? Well obviously not and of course everybody passes the buck and the beleaguered fans are left to make other arrangements or give up. Very disappointed with the support offered by SGP/BSI (whoever) for the fans who make a big effort to support these events. Would coaches have been too much to ask for? Or even show details of how to get to Daugavpils to help those fans who wanted to go. An Edinburgh fan in our hotel said he spent all Saturday afternoon on his lap top trying to sort out the best way to get there! Not sure I've even seen an apology on their website. I'd also suggest that just offering your ticket money back (once you've jumped through hoops) is not really adequate compensation, surely they could have tried a bit harder. All in all yet another bad experience and one that proved to be the final straw. We are already commited to Stockholm but that will be our final GP.

Does anybody have any advice on the best way to get from Riga centre to the stadium. It looks a little way out of town. Thanks if anybody can help.

As it's the next GP and we've heard nothing more, is it safe to assume that the stadium improvements and track prep are all in hand and will be complete in time. Rather apprehensive about booking the tickets. Having experienced two disasters at Gelsenkirchen and Gothenburg I don't want to make it a hat-trick!

Chris van Straaten is the guest speaker at the NSSC tonight. Maybe he will be able to answer these questions?

I thought they'd sorted these indoor tracks out. Certainly had plenty of practice, but Cardiff was mighty close to being a non-starter last year. The track at practice was almost un-rideable and certainly not raceable. Only an immense amount of work overnight saved the day. Now it seems something similar could have happened at Parken. Worrying!

Having watched the clip (in which Smolinski was not excluded for, by the way) I cannot see why he is getting tarred with the same brush as Pedersen. The distant camera angle is not conclusive but Smolinski does not appear to move off his line entering the bend. Certainly nothing like Pedersen v Zagar. For me the worse thing about the Pedersen/Zagar incident was Niki's total lack of respect or interest in the rider he had just knocked off (wether intentionally or not). A raised hand of apology or a check to make sure he was OK would have at least maintained his stance that it was a racing incident. His attitude from the moment they crashed to the scenes in the pits was just unacceptable. If you are going to ban riders for what happened in Olching then we may as well pack up and watch curling because there won't be any riders left.

If the track shape can be changed for next year then obviously there was a problem this year. This problem should have been spotted and solved by whoever the experts are months ago. As "mere" fans we knew the track was too narrow as soon as we saw it on Wednesday. The country, city and people have been great, but most of those who travelled this year and the locals, who left in droves before the end, will not be there next year. What a mess! BSI/IMG need to concentrate on the track. Get that right and everything else will follow, however they seem more interested in their bloody fan zone and Monster Energy!!