bigcatdiary

Unfortunately it was the Sheffield No 6 who filled his boots better

That’s your opinion, I know which one I would sooner watch.

I see BSN have Leicester v Kings Lynn scheduled for BSN Thursday, now who on earth did the scheduling for that when Sheffield are hosting Ipswich on the same day.

It’s not enough water being put on the tracks in the preceding days that’s the real problem but I dare say the ineffective watering during the meeting isn’t helping either.

Whether there is more to it or not, your no 1 and captain should never ever put on a display like that. But knowing Batchelor when he rode for us, it only surprises me that teams entertain signing him in the first place.

It was the gaps after the crashes where the track was lost, it dried it our very quickly but the root cause was not enough water was put into the track in the previous 24 hours, basically it wasn’t prepared properly and the mini crop sprayer Ipswich use between heats just kept the dust down for the first heat after it was done after that it was dust dust and more dust, I appreciate you couldn’t water the super slick inside but it was very noticeable that Doyle and Sayfutdinov were using the outside lines from heat 8 onwards and looked untouchable. The problem is most tracks subscribe to this standard of track prep and in really hot weather (especially midday and afternoon meetings) you get really caught out if you haven’t watered it enough prior to the day of the meeting.

Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance

The close scoreline for the first 11 heats kept it entertaining, the fact that Lynn were in front until heat 10 also played a part, as did track conditions.

The track looked ok prior to the meeting but it clearly hadn’t had enough water put down either yesterday or this morning especially considering it rained early doors, the stadium and car park was dry when we arrived at one although it was watered prior to the meeting starting. What affected it badly was two crashes that caused some delay to the reruns and it should have been watered as they waited, it wasn’t and it dried out in the sun, it must have been somewhat embarrassing for Louis who was on track speaking to the track man during the meeting on several occasions. After that the blue grooves appeared on bends 1 and 3 and despite some regular grading and watering it quickly re appeared and was dusty. Lynn did well early doors and Kvech and Klindt both took advantage of early inside gates as they won the toss and took 1 and 3 but once it turned to Ipswich turn for the inside gates they quickly turned it around and pulled away for an easy win in the end as Kvech Klindt and co run out of steam. The track didn’t suit Harris at all and Bougthen never finished a race but once Ipswich saw Lynn faltering they took full advantage, fantastic crowd and the match was entertaining but the racing wasn’t up to much.

I rather suspect most people have fallen out with the GP’s and after this year and possibly the 2026 series I have heard their will be a lot of changes as sponsors are now not willing to pay the sums required by the organisers, plus Poland are deeply unhappy with only 2 representatives in this years series. It will be interesting to hear how many people have paid up to watch speedway on the TV because from my friends it isn’t very many.

To be fair Chris Louis was an above average trapper who more often than not made the gate although he did mix it on the first bends, his trapping was much better than his passing whilst Loram was the opposite. Trees is spot on with regards to a lot of riders who don’t make a decent effort in trying to pass the opposition if they miss the gate and unfortunately most of the tracks don’t make it easy for racers to show off their passing skills. If we’re being totally honest neither Saddlebow or Foxhall are particularly good overtaking tracks although I acknowledge that steps have been taken to improve Foxhall.

Tracks need a staggering amount of regular watering to prepare it properly and a minimum of at least 24 hours especially in hot weather. It also helps if a track has some material on it to start with plus some more as and when needed, it also helps if you have a track man who knows what he is doing and has the tools to fully do the job. In recent years I seriously doubt Birmingham can fulfill any of those requirements, and I have watched several meetings there over the last few years. When clubs learn to prepare tracks properly to entertain paying customers with decent racing then they will get better attendances, race suits, mechanics in matching overalls, 2 minute clocks on the centre green, electronic scoreboards, video replays in bars, transponders, superheats etc etc are all very nice but supporters generally come for the entertainment, most of which is close meetings and good racing. Until the basic product gets it right this sport will always be second rate. Its interesting to hear that Leicester and Ipswich have both taken steps to improve their racetracks, it really is about time.

It’s early doors but it must be clear to most on here that Ipswich are head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in every department, No 1, heat leaders, second strings and reserves. They clearly had a plan to utilise the British discounts and with the whopping reduction for Thompson as well they have put together a super team. And with 3 riders on the up (Brennan, Thompson & Jenkins) it’s obvious even now injuries aside they are going to walk it. The other teams could have gone the same way but decided to do it differently for a variety of reasons. To be fair Ipswich have had little success since 1998 so are due a good year, especially after the horrors of 2024.

Promoters pay what they think is right depending on the ability of the rider but of course sponsors come into it as well and can often top it up considerably. Some clubs with affluent sponsors are well known for enticing riders from other clubs which is why the points cap and new riders assessed averages comes into play. Its more difficult for riders to come in now on a low assessed average and make a complete mockery of it.

Indeed, the track was an absolute disgrace, very little if any shale just a light covering of dust which when dry after ineffective watering went home with supporters who were wearing it as they left. The racing was dreadful follow the leader crap, with the closeness of the meeting the only thing that kept it mildly interesting. It was also interesting that Staechmann kept mentioning the blue groove and said it could cause problems and shortly after Voulas tested that theory. Just how long does the SCB and the BSPL stand for this level of non existent track preparation, it’s hardly a wonder they suffer from poor crowds when they produce this type of meeting on a track devoid of any decent material.

I bloody hope not I have just paid for the BSN Feed. We will see but hopefully Birmingham will make a fist of it.

Harris rode twice at no 7 in July 2021 once at home and once away at Sheffield where he scored paid 17.

I make comments on tracks based on racing, entertainment and the ability or chance to overtake and being honest most of the Premiership tracks don’t provide much in respect of decent racing or more than the odd chance of passing. The NSS is thankfully one that is generally allows for numerous different racing lines, sadly not many in the Premiership do and after watching speedway in excess of 50 years I feel well able to know the difference between gate and go tracks and proper racing tracks. This sport is in a real mess because of the lack of decent racing and entertainment and I make no apologies for highlighting it. Perhaps I was spoilt in my time at Peterborough because it was one of the best racing tracks in the UK.

That’s about par for Lynn, the track is awful.

One of the safest riders I ever saw that rarely if ever took any risks, relying on his exceptional trapping skills but he wouldn’t mix it and that was his weakness, especially when it came to the top quality events like GP,s etc.

Ipswich from 1-7 are a powerful team with no weak links at all, I would be surprised if they don’t get beat occasionally on the road but other than Belle Vue or Sheffield it’s not looking likely from anyone else, at Foxhall unless they have a mare of a meeting and suffer like they did in 2024 it looks likely they will go unbeaten and a lot of the scorelines are going to be 30 point plus hammerings. They have built well taking full advantage of generous British discounts including a massive discount for ex RS Dan Thompson and it will be interesting to see the final GSA for this team this year. Foxhall is a nice viewing arena and the facilities are good but the racetrack isn’t and never has been conducive to good racing.

OXFORD manager Peter Schroeck says he took encouragement from the performances of the club’s new signings in Monday’s KO Cup defeat at King’s Lynn. The Spires went down by 16 points to give themselves a recovery job in their home leg on Thursday Schroeck said: “It didn’t look so good early on, but we had a talk together and we then did much better for the rest of the meeting. The bloke lives in cloud cuckoo land if he took encouragement from that battering by Lynn just because of the performance of Gusts. Two heat winners and two heat advantages in 15 heats is dire. A friend told me how professional the club was when he attended the Ben Fund, racing, starts, stadium and presentation, food and drink etc but it matters not a jot if the team isn’t up to the job and this one isn’t.

Tracks are generally prepared much slicker these days and the general consensus is friendly matches are not considered so this is what happens when riders are unprepared and lack match practice and race fitness. You can’t have it both ways. Of course the fact that Birmingham hasn’t got a strong line up doesn’t help but their are better sides than Leicester and the fact that they totally rolled you over doesn’t bode well at all.

🤙

I take it updates isn’t covering this meeting