Lots of photographs so I'll cut back on the wordage this week. Two reasons why I was looking forward to this week's encounter at Blunsdon. The first was the debut at the Abbey of new signing Matej Zagar. The first appearance of a new rider is always an exciting one, and so it was to be. The second reason was that the visiting team was the Lakeside Hammers. Those who regularly read this drivel will know that recently Punch and I went down to the Arena Essex raceway to help prepare the track for a televised match, and we had a great time down there.
The weather forecast was much better than in previous weeks but it was very humid on Thursday and we all felt it as we worked to get the old place ready for the match.
Our new first task is to pump all the water from the air bags. Deflated and lying on the track, they collect rainwater and excess water sprayed on the dog track. This needs to be siphoned up before the bags are inflated. It takes a good 45 minutes to do the whole lot.
Punch and I share the job - the hose to the back of the water tanker is surprisingly heavy and very inflexible and you begin to feel it after three or four bags. While Punch sucks up some more water I use the time to spray a water disperser / lubricant onto the clips that hold the air panels in place against the wire safety fence. Last year we replaced these clips with cable ties to make the removal of bags that much easier. Unfortunately, as a consequence of the Chris Kerr accident at the start of the season we had to revert back to the old clips. The trouble with them is that they tend of reside in / on / under wet shale and soon they begin to rust or just seize up. In the dark during a meeting, with everyone waiting for you to find the clip and then get it undone, the task becomes immeasurably more difficult. At least by lubricating them I can stop them seizing while at the same time digging out any that have been buried under excess shale.
Last week we didn't have to change a single banner - miracle. While Adam, Arron, Roy and Mick washed those banners we had used, Mark Price and I thought we would actually have a bit of time on our hands. Wrong! A cursory inspection of the kickboards collected in after the last meeting showed that they had not been washed in the intervening hours. All of them had to be rolled out on the centre green and then washed carefully, especially where the velcro is to be found - shale in the velcro and the kickboard soon detaches itself from the air fence.
What was once a quick half our job has now become a bit of a weekly chore for Mark and I. The wooden kickboards down the main straights do suffer the ravages of time. Riders, bikes and grading equipment all bash against them and some were looking decidedly shabby. So three weeks ago a new set of boards were cut and painted, the theory being that we could replace damaged ones easily. Sadly, these new boards were smaller than the ones they were replacing so, rather than ending up with an uneven run, Mark and I took out 14 boards on the run to turn 1 and replaced them all with the new ones. The next week we used the best of those removed boards to replace damaged ones elsewhere around the track. Trouble is, the level of the track changes from season to season and some of the old boards were a good inch or so above track level. The response - take out damaged ones, put in new ones down to track level and then removed and re-position all those around. This week we removed a whole section of kickboards from half way down the main straight to the entry to turn 3 and put them back properly - next week ... well, who knows; it's a fixation!
But while we prise the wooden boards away from the pegs into which they are nailed, Ronnie and Punch are hard at work on the track itself. A lot more of the clay based shale has been put sown on the starting area and on that grippy area on the insides of turns 2 and 4. Once the material has been ripped up, mixed up, watered and then lightly packed down it is very "gloopy" indeed but at least the sun is shining and the breeze is light. The wan sun will dry the track smoothly and the absence of wind will slow down the drying process nicely. With conditions like this we should be able to manage the watering perfectly.
It's a bit late but we still have pre-prandial (before lunch) time to unload the washed kickboards and banners .
The Lakeside fixture is a re-arranged match, filling one of our "Reserved" slots in the calendar. Perhaps this is the reason that the greyhound people are working on their track on a Thursday, doing quite a bit of blading and grading. For this reason the blue sheeting hasn't been put down and we can't move the heavy wooden stages that the starting traps sit on, away from the track. The result is that several sections of the air fence perch precariously on them.
Steve Masters has been working hard to put up advertisements and all manner of signage on the new pits area. When Mark Seeley (main sponsor of Charlie Gjedde and the man behind the building of the new pots) drives his van up the gray matches the paintwork almost too well - maybe that's why the gun metal gray has been chosen! Certainly the contract between the bright "poppy" red and the gray is interesting.
By mid afternoon all is done. The grass is cut, the banners up, the track being watered and a chance for a cup of tea. On our way back to the cool of Number 96 Mark and I come across something very precious - a true craftsman at work. The two pictures above cover the during and the aftermath of Robins' team manager Alun Rossiter's attempts at sweeping down a path behind the pits. Sod's law that I should be just around the corner and double sod's law that I should have the camera ready as the maestro runs into technical difficulties with the broom - it breaks in his hand. Seeing me bearing down upon him, camera ready, he utters an oath, throws down the remnants of the broom, tries to persuade me not to publish the evidence and then stalks off. We've all done it - it's just so unlucky that in some cases it is captured in all its "Basil Faulty" brilliance.
A chance to catch up with what's is going on in the pits. Lee Richardson's bikes are always immaculately presented and so it is today. Black anodised wheels finish off the job beautifully.
Elsewhere, Adam Shield's is hard at work on his machine. Newly bearded, he cuts a piratical look in the pits but has no objections to my request to take a photograph of his "semi naked" bike.
Three wise monkeys catch my eye. Clerk of the Course Mick Hunt bows his head, hopeful that if he can't see me, I can't see him. Wrong, Michael. Alongside him, microphone king, Clive Fisher, and stats guru Rob Bamford are just a little too slow to avoid the click of the camera shutter.
Focus of all attention in the home pits is the arrival of Matej Zagar. Tall and angular, he take sup residence alongside his good mate and fellow Eastern European, Jurica Pavlic. It's quite clear that these two are going to get along fine and it will be good for young Jurica to have a compatriot, albeit form across the Croatian border, to chat with.
Further on down, Cory adopts a Mr Cool attitude in stylish shades. According to the GP commentary on Sky on Saturday, Cory is benefiting from engines or tuning from the man who has helped Emil Sayfutdinov to two GP successes, Ashley Holloway, son of Robins' ex captain, Malcolm. Certainly we are now seeing a completely transformed Cory. He's certainly an "all out" racer but he seems much more assured on a bike. Fortunately, this elevated status has affected his friendly and approachable nature.
Out on the centre green, the very tanned Ronnie chats with Travis.
On the way past Simon Stead's pit area I come across "our Flo", Karen Pantry, distributing bananas to the riders. "Got to make sure that they have the right energy levels for the meeting," she says. "Please don't put in something like, 'Flo and her bananas in the pits." I assure he I wont - as if!!
Back at the pits gate it's chance to chat with Rico. Avoiding all mention of the British final, we chat about life at Lakeside, our mutual friend Andy Nurden (sponsor of the Robins and long time sponsor of Lee) and of life at Vetlanda, one of the great clubs and a must visit track for any speedway fan visiting Sweden. Lee has been scoring well all over the place but even he has been amazed at the scoring prowess of Elit Vetlanda's number one, Jason Crump. He is one rider for whom the break with British league speedway seems to be working.
There are many characters involved with speedway here at Blunsdon and one of the biggest characters is start marshall Stan Potter (no more comments from me about "Stanley Potter and the Tapes of Doom") but Stan is not the man he once was. Famous for his rounded figure in years gone by, Stan is a shadow of his former self. A chance sighting of his shape on a Sky meeting two years ago led Stan to the conclusion that he was carrying too much weight (well, it was either weight or twins!) Taking the brave step of joining a slimming club, and the even braver step of telling the rest of us about it (and much ribbing he has received) he has kept to his diet and is now to be featured in the local paper as one of the "Slimmers of the Year". Good for you Slim!
Another character is Steve Masters. Having given up riding, Steve is still a regular feature at the track providing all of the signage. His job today, once all the new adverts have been put up on the new pits complex, is to unveil the new board for Mr Zagar in the home pits - Ta da!
Within Matej's pit area his mechanic is assisted by Rosco and his daughter. Has anyone told Matej about Rosco's abilities with the broom and its consequences?
A closer inspection of the bike shows that it is a rare bird indeed - a Jawa. In a land of GMs it's nice to see someone other than Fast Freddie Lindgren using the Czech engines.
Cory's bike is being assembled in his pit area, bit by bit. Down the back of the pits I come across Punch and John Cook. After our one day transfer to Lakeside, Punch and I chat with John, who is a most relaxed and pleasant conversationalist.
One arrival at the pit gate attracts more than usual attention - Gerald Richter. Gerald's ill health has been covered in previous blogs so it's nice to see him looking much better than when I last saw him. Driven to the meeting by his daughter, and with his young grandson by him, he chats away with all and sundry. It will still be some time before he is fit enough to come back full time but it's good to meet up with one of the reasons why I still work at Swindon - a real gentleman.
And so to the meeting. One aspect that has changed for the better at Swindon with the advent of the new pits is the creation of space. Now riders can line up in the pits ready for the next race without the dreadful crush of spare bikes, mechanics and Uncle Tom Cobley and all.
It's a long meeting, made longer by two nasty accidents that deprive Lakeside of their two reserves. In a season where accidents seem to happen more often and where the finger of blame has been pointed at track conditions by some in the media recently, it is good to report that neither accident here could be attributed to the track. Stuart Robson was caught by Stoj and deposited in the air fence by the pits gate in a move that was doomed from the moment that Stoj decided to straight line the corner while poor Robert Meer's accident was caused by a throttle that appeared to jam open down the main straight, throwing him off on the entrance to turn 1 and catching his hand as the bike hurtled to a stop.
As we waited for the ambulance to reappear much attention in the pits was focused on a hot air balloon that was being buffeted around in the wind high above the pits. With everyone looking in the air a caption contest looms. Any suggestions? I'll publish a larger copy of the photo next week and then you can all have a go. Something to do with the rule book going up in smoke might be appropriate given the current "investigations" into alleged irregularities involving one of more clubs.
But the Robins win and someone points out to Matej that he really doesn't have to ride within an inch of the air fence at Swindon - there really is grip down low. He responds by winning his last three rides easily and annexing the Man of the Match award at the end of the meeting.
It's after midnight when I get home and Friday's work is rather low key - I find it increasingly difficult to concentrate and keep my eyes open.
But Saturday and it's back at the track for another "Painting extravaganza". This time it's to finish off the paintwork on the new pits. We didn't want too many volunteers, which was just as well really, because there were only three of us. Step forward and take a bow, Bob Cook and Alan "DaVinci" Tennant. While Ronnie worked on the track, we three, watched at various stages by Punch, Bob Crowther, Mark Sealey, Rosco and Ronnie, applied lashing of gray and red to the walls and gray flooring paint to the concrete.
Three hours later and it's done - surely the most luxurious Away Pit Area in British speedway - unless you know better and can provide photographic evidence to the contrary.
And the Man on a Mission - it was Zagar, who caught everyone's eye with his hard charging style in a deserved Man of the Match performance.
Holta update - although he didn't win in Gothenburg (as he did last year), Rune acquitted himself well and progressed through to the semi finals with some ease. A slightly harder drive under Jason Crump in the semi could well have seen him in the final but it was not to be.
