flagrag

Anybody know the line up yet at 500cc class ?

Just as a side note I must say well done to Coventry for the new lighting they have put it all around the track, I know it's mainly for the dog racing they cover for rptv. But it made the coverage look really impressive I thought with sharp pictures all night it's amazing what a difference having the right amount of lighting makes to picture and makes the coverage easier to do as less adjustments needed on cameras and kit. Just a shame the team and racing wasn't the best so Brandon may not be top of the list for many more meetings come the playoff run in

The only thing I can see why Branford is not at Berwick when is the U21 round he is in ? Does that clash, As seem to remember somebody saying Lasse was missing 11th & 12th May due to W21 meeting. Even so I would have still used Blackbird at Ipswich anyway

I am not really surprised about the signing to give them some options but it already looks like they are picking the riders incorrectly as you have Blackbird based in East Anglia and I believe started his career here and other eastern tracks but he is not in the team at Ipswich. Then you have Branford who I think used to ride at Berwick last season and also again practicised up there but instead they use Blackbird up there very strange decisions also meaning more travelling as Branford is based up North.

I don't think the facts are right about the co promotors wife going this week, As I was told about this at the first home meeting that she had gone due to a fall out with Hemsley on press and practice day over the office running for the proposed Coventry meeting. She is badly missed at the club as I am told she did nearly all the admin work and got the club a good name by paying the riders on time and detailed breakdown of money earns and deductions. She also did a lot with the programme so wonder if that's why price has gone up if having to get a company to do the layout and production each week. To be fair it's not really the fans thing with internal club politics unless it affects team performance as just like a fall out in a normal workplace.

Backless there are no current sports featured on Sky sports where the coverage is only done using the TV U backpacks they are not designed for that but are being used regular on Sky sports news and Sky news they are ideal for live reports and inserts into programmes. With regards to their use in Speedway I feel that they are working well to give the live updates and interviews and does add value to the coverage, Would people just prefer to have person on the phone giving updates ? Yes the picture quality may not be exactly as good as you will get from a HD sat uplink truck but the cost is so much lower around £1500 cheaper and for Speedway just not justified to use satellite trucks for inserts into the coverage. Most of the reports done this season have not been live and recorded on the EVS system in main OB truck at main meeting to check for quality in case of any problems. As I have stated before we found the coverage varied between Wolverhampton and Belle Vue to signals available and latency also that at present it does not cope very well with racing footage hence why no races have been really shown.

The Bat camera or floating cam as some are calling it is HD but pretty obvious you are not going to get the same quality from a small camera the size of a tube of polos compared to a full 150k broadcast camera with 30k lens on it. I do agree that the timing of use does need a bit of refinement which will happen and it works best in the natural light, in fact at Wolves with its yellow glow floodlights it was just not useable. The live reports from around the tracks will happen when there is other meetings taking place on the same dates and times but will also need good quality mobile coverage as well.

Nightshift - With regards to why Leicester signed Bjerre I think they took a gamble on him not making the World U21 rounds and finals as for the last two years he had got eliminated very early. From what I can see looks like most of the rounds are on Saturdays so if he qualifies then may have to be looked at again. I can also see a possible home loss this week really need Kauko and Magnus to step up and improved score from Nielsen

The amount of meetings Lasse will miss this season depends on how he progress in the World U21 series I heard last week that he is also missing for the Ipswich home fixture in a couple weeks and possibly more. I wonder if he may be the one to be replaced when Roynon is fit again

Volty- You have reminded me of something else about last nights meeting that Popple guy kept plugging the bar last so presume they were hoping to make up some of the lost revenue from the meeting at the bar well that's unless the presenters have got shares in the bar. When I have been in the bar and others have commented that the prices are very high for Speedway but agree is nice atmosphere to mix with fans and riders after the meeting

Does anybody know what sort of average that young American Rocco Scopolite would come in on ? As he looked good and could be useful at 2 or reserve. Depending if Peterborough make any changes I have a feeling we may be seeing Fisher soon but would he do more than Kauko ? He didn't have the best of years at Plymouth but riding in the shadow of Barker and trouble with promotion

As was said in the interview with Glyn after the meeting the performances of some riders of the past week has not been acceptable and that you may be seeing some team changes over the next week. Kauko- Does not seem to be the rider we have seen before looks not so fast and had quite few engine problems. Graverson - Generally does ok at home if he gates but away form is the same as last few seasons he struggles. Lasse- Looks good and would say better than last season. Doolan- He has had a good week and I was impressed with him tonight he looked good and hear was the best of the Lions at Edinburgh. Karlsson- Just don't think he is the rider he was and think Roynon when fit will do better. Nielsen- He seems to really struggling with confidence and not wanting to mix it in the turns. Blackbird- Is doing what you would expect from rider doubling up from NL has good races and keeps picking up points. The Big question is who do you replace it's unlikely there is any 4pt riders out there to replace Nielsen, You bring somebody in to replace Magnus but what happens in a few weeks when Roynon is fit especially if riding well in the Elite league. Lasse and Doolan are doing ok and seem to have good partnership together as well as scoring expected points. Then you have Kauko who is not performing and scoring points like an out and out no one but is adored by the fans and is Mr Leicester. That leaves Graverson and Blackbird the latter is best you can expect on that average if you dropped Graverson and Nielsen could you bring a better rider in and then have another 3pt reserve ? We shall have to see what the club do in the week it may be just a thing to fire the riders up if think team changes may be happening so they improve performances. I was impressed with Fricke as well and interesting that he mentioned in an interview before that Leicester wold have been a good home track base for him well done Edinburgh in signing him up did well at that no and I'm sure once at reserve will be scoring even more points.

Looking at the forecast I have a feeling the weather may be the winner tonight with big belt of rain planned for Leicester from 16:00 to 22:00 hopefully that is wrong and the meeting can go ahead

The thing with Makinen from what I know when I went to Leicester last season was he has good sponsorship from a company there and having seen his bikes on the Internet they look very smart and good quality so he may be riding cheaper due to this sponsorship. Has he been on the pace this season or not ? I thought with his gating that he may have a good night at Plymouth

Really surprised at Makinen as at Leicester he looked a good rider at home and was really good out of the gate, I hear he has had some personal problems off track so maybe that is affecting his racing this year. But have to say I would have expected more

It is good to hear that the majority are happy with the updated coverage of the Elite league and the use of new technology, Although I am rather biased I think it really does improve the coverage and makes it a lot more enjoyable. The around the tracks feature was a trial using very new technology called Live U which basically removes the expense and restrictions of having a satellite uplink truck at the other tracks , instead the pictures from the one camera is fed into a box that fits into a backpack and then broadcasts it by using 12 SIM cards and sends it over 3G and 4G mobile phone networks. You may have noticed the coverage from Wolves looked better than Belle Vue that was due to two reasons poor light in the pits at BV something that can be sorted by us but it was mainly down to us getting very good 4G signal from EE at Wolves with it providing over 55mb upload speeds where at BV most data was sent over the 3 and Vodafone 3G networks. This service will improve over the summer the more EE and other networks roll out 4G across the UK We did try sending some race footage over to Swindon but the fast live action made the picture come rather blurry and really did not look so good but again will improve with lighter evenings and more bandwidth.

Just providing facts and information to answer the questions and complaints. I suggest you try 3,15,29,32,49 and bonus ball 24 for the lottery on Saturday

Neb- Yes I have heard the same that Magnus could be back as temp cover for Roynon but also that there was another rider in consideration subject to their parent club approval. I fully expect a signing today or tomorrow as will have to declare for Saturday soon

I think one of the issues yesterday was Bunyans condition went downhill after being taken off the track and had to be adminstered some drugs which meant the track paramedic had to stay with and go to hospital with him so even if another ambulance had been there same issues would have happened I am told.

I think people can accept the leaks to a certain amount as first meeting but not the lack of urinals in the massive male toilet with space for another 4 or 5 urinals. It does beg the question though why was the toilets and office block such a rush thing they had all winter to do the work but waited until few weeks before season started with even Hemsley saying been a rush and that he had been hanging doors and getting ticket office finished on Saturday Hopefully for my next visit when in the area the weather will be warmer so get better indication of track and faults can be ironed out around the stadium like with the music playing over race results and interviews hopefully just first night issues.

Well said Glyn rider safety has always got to come first there has been already some bad injuries this season with Tully,Roynon,Bunyan and Lambert all spending time in hospital recovering from injuries. As I said before hopefully with the warmer weather it will more water and grip on the outside to allow passes on outside and cutbacks

Well I made a rare visit to Rye house and can't believe how long it took to run the meeting and I know delays with medical care can not be avoided but there did not seem to be any urgency in running the meeting or getting racing started again. Best wishes to all the injured riders but have to say Lambert crash was his own fault as he tried to lean on Tungate but he was too small and light so they both ended up in the fence. I felt bit sorry for Makinen as crash not his own fault but to be honest was not even on the pace and was last out of the gate. Last year at Leicester his strong point was his gating but wasn't happening today and fear for his team place as not scored a point yet and the Ipswich fans around me already saying they want rid.

There was definitely dirt flying but hopefully when the weather improves it will allow Glyn and his team to make the outside more grippy so can get passing round the outside

I went to Leicester last night and to be honest think it is far too early in the season to make final judgements on the track changes as the cold weather would have meant track had to be prepared in a specific way to prevent ice and frost getting into the track in the lead up to the meeting. What I did notice is that gate 1 seems to be terrible now with being too tight once gets to the bend and as other have said can see some accidents and spear tackling. For Leicester I thought they really missed Roynon last night and that Doolan and Nielsen did not look quick enough once out on track the others did what was expected. For Sheffield Stead was the rider I thought he would be very strong and will be near top of averages at end of the season I was impressed by Wells and the new Facundo with Hall like bit of loose dirt on the outside. The new toilet block oh what a disaster with large building but only 3 urinals for men with crowds over 1000 just not enough with large qs happening which meant people missing some of the racing and heard from people around me that ladies no better with leaking toilets so wet floors all in not a good experience for fans

Was going to travel up for this meeting but don't think it will be on tonight. I hope for the fans that they can be sensible and call it off early afternoon so people don't travel and can make other arrangements