manchesterpaul

I presume it's a pretty forlorn hope that any of these meetings are televised and on the internet?

Maybe there has been no news yet because the organizers are fed up of people moaning about the acts and are leaving everyone to entertain themselves with a sing-a-long How did Bonnie Tyler do when she was on, did she not rock the place?

If a blank one will suffice i'd also suggest the Speedway Star as the perfect solution. You'll have lots to read about the meeting too. You'll probably get to read that when the pre-meeting entertainment is on (don't know who it is yet). Unless you pop into an internet cafe, or anywhere with access to the web, after the draw is made early Friday afternoon. Most of the reacecards on here are available not too long after the draw.

Wow! sincerest thanks Ghostwalker for an early write-up on these matches. I usually have quite a celebratory weekend, yep even when nothing in particular to celebrate. So that by the time i have caught up with and fulfilled obligations it leaves me with little time to read up on previous match reports and previews of the weeks fixtures. So it's very much appreciated when you give insights. Incidentally, how likely is the football European Championship qualifier between Sweden and Finland likely to affect the attendance of the live broadcasted match?. I'll actually be watching it at the same time as the speedway despite not being Swedish or Finnish because it seems an interesting fixture and is available on a satellite channel over here.

Lol sincerest thanks for preserving my fragile sanity. Thought i was doing a 'Black Sabbath' (am i going insane) I soooooo did not clock the date.

Getting piffed off with these contradictions BSPA say Buxton 44 Dudley 47 Speedway Updates says Buxton 44 Dudley 46 WHO IS RIGHT??? For now i'll update the tables as per BSPA version, although that has not been faultless so far this season. WHAT OTHER SPORT CAN FAIL TO RELAY THE ACTUAL FINAL SCORE, BE IT FROM SOMEONE IN THE STANDS OR THE OFFICIAL SOURCE (WHICH HAS BEEN WRONG THIS SEASON)

How is the sport doing attendance wise in Norway these days. I note that it was a nice sunny day at Riska so did the fans turn out in force?

Thanks for info and links.

Very heartwarming to see Speedway Star mention a crowd of 10,000 for one of the meetings. Not sure right now how many teams are in the league. Wasn't it decimated with withdrawals and closures etc.? Best of luck and wishes to the sport over there though. You certainly produce some right good racers.

Thank goodness for that, last thing we want is for Nicki to be branded a moose killer

I do actually agree with you and i was quite fascinated myself by the set up at these tracks with the tables. Also, the regulations governing alcohol consumption being permitted or not is interesting. I was just making an appeal for some more comments on the racing itself in addition. I managed to make a few observations once the racing improved. Anyway, overall whilst not enough passing as one would like in the early stages, and not a competitive match score wise, it was once more a very enjoyable way to spend an early Tuesday evening. Thanks to all who provide info too. I cetsinly appreciated the specific track description.

Bit of a strange thread so far? Since the meeting started; Comments on the match 6 (5 by me and 1 other) Comments on beer and seating 10 (by others) Lol! aww nobody watching the racing? Update OK, Sky meeting starting now so need to concentrate on watching the two meetings, logging out from here. Hope the swedish racing continues to be as good as a couple of the last few heats. Enjoy all and have a good night.

Wow! very nice race swapping positions in a good battle.

Excellent race as Harris didn't make the gate but still won and Holder improved.

Come on Holder we need you to make for exciting up front battles, no more of this lagging behind stuff please.

Didn't manage to grab the time pre-meeting to read up on the teams match reports as to how they have been performing, but don't think i would have expected a 18 point deficit for Lejonen at this early stage.

Pleasant surprise to see such a dominant win by Harris there. Presume Holder will be making some mechanical adjustments mind.

Agree wholeheartedly with the preview plaudits. Whilst on the subject of knowledge of the local scene, please Anders (or any of our 'international correspondents') can you give us a little info on the type of track and potential quality of racing we are likely to get from Västervik. Like myself there are clearly many more fans taking a keen interest in the Swedish Elitserien this year due to UK live TV coverage. Although, with Sky broadcasting a Tuesday meeting tonight it means watching two matches at the same time. With the Swedish/Premier Sports on on the tv screen and the Sky/Premier match on the PC with the superb Sky Player that gives excellent quality pictures. OK off to track down the weather satellite links that Ghostwalker gave the other week which cover Sweden. I for sure bookmarked them but....where! lol.

Sunday evening and finally got to watch the GP. I feared the worst after the initial races, however, took my own advice and stuck it out in the knowledge that 'usually' a speedway meeting improves as it goes on. There were in the end some good points. There were a couple of outstanding races indeed (yes i know there needs to be many more). Big treat was the use of Jan Staechmann who gave some excellent nuggets of information and insight. Very welcome addition indeed, alas, i'm presuming he is not a permanent fixture? The Sky team and commentators finally seem to be enjoying speedy and correct information regarding the standings and significance of heats to each of the riders. Even Sam was able to give the right details for the semi-final draw order when the anchor realised that what he was reading out was wrong. So at last after a few years it's not only me enjoying the benefit of knowing what is at stake etc. Interesting to hear the team mention something i have been prattling away about for years. Namely, the overpricing the meeting out of the reach (or desire to pay) of the level of the local economy. They clearly said the tickets last year were very expensive and were altered this year. The crowd certainly looked far better than i had dreaded it would be. Bad points the desperately disappointing track that over the length of the meeting produced little passing. I do despair as once again the sport has thrown away the annual chance in each of the staging countries to gain new fans. If speedway fans themselves are threatening to turn off after half a dozen heats, and they have a lifetime's knowledge of the sport knowing that in all likelihood racing will improve, how many outsiders would have stayed that far into the GP? One of the big benefits of the SGP series is each country in effect gets their own 'World Final' (ok some get 3 lol) and all the associated extra publicity that the sport receives. As a result you will get outsiders to the sport tuning in to see what all the fuss is about. Unfortunately, way before we got some tremendous racing they would have turned off and never intending to tune into a SGP again. Even if, as we did last season, we get some stunning racing and excitement in the GP's ahead, there won't for example be any new Czech fans aware of it as they won't be watching. More significantly, there will not be any new fans turning up at speedway tracks in the Czech Republic having been hooked by a great spectacle and having witnessed exciting racing. Instead if an aquaintance says to them they are thinking of going to a speedway meeting, they will strongly advise them not to waste their money as it's absolutely dire and boring.

Aaah understood. Not sure if that is worse if i set it to record and it misses the end lol. I always thought that speedway usually overruns into the next programme much to the disgruntlement of other sports viewers. The worst i've seen in recent times is they hastily leave after the final race with no wrap up. Might have to consider watching the SGP at the same time as the footie using combination of pc screen and tv. Then have to record the first martial arts which is on Premier Sports and watch the late night one on ESPN live. Mind you only potential snag in figuring all this out is we will all be heavily under the influence by half-time of the football lol. Thanks for the potential heads up mind, never had an inkling of any possible switching to the red button. Ok over and out from here, need to avoid the result until Sunday afternoon or evening. Let's hope we get a good GP. Just checked the weather and mentions chance of thunderstorms tonight in Prague whilst warmer TOMORROW! Guess that's par for the course for the rainmaker extraordinaire that is the SGP series Hopefully the meeting will miss the bad weather. Update Dontcha just love the power of the human brain whilst sober! Not that anyone but us remotely cares an iota lol but.....easy to sort. Recording the SGP 'as live' and should the end stages of that get red-buttoned we've also set to record the three-hour highlights programmes in the early hours tonight and midday tomorrow as a safety net we can switch to.

Whilst i'm here, for those unaware, available online now are the TWO different versions of the MiniMax Racecard. You can directly download them from the top of the following page and as ever no advertising etc. cluttering up the card. MiniMax 2011 Czech Republic Grand Prix Racecard Basic Version MiniMax 2011 Czech Republic Grand Prix Racecard

Have you checked since Screamer? I've just checked the planner and it has speedway not greyhounds. Too be honest i can't even find mention of greyhounds in my weekly tv magazine either. You gave me a heart attack as it's the first GP i can't watch live due to a little kickabout between some mancunians and spaniards. Also a night of mixed martial arts through to 5am! I need to be able to record it 'as live' rather than highlights and watch it on Sunday before the Nascar.

Thanks and all are welcome.

Don't want to sound like a Tom Petty song but how come he 'don't come around here no more'. We used to have quite a varied list or racecards for the GP's with each appealing to many folk.

OK put them online so AVAILABLE as of NOW! You can directly download them from the top of the following page. MiniMax 2011 Czech Republic Grand Prix Racecard Basic Version MiniMax 2011 Czech Republic Grand Prix Racecard