Problems with drainage spill from the greyhound track that surrounds the speedway track at Blunsdon had caused us no end of problems during the 2006 season. Not only was sand washed across the track, but the run off brought about increased moisture in a small area.
The resulting weakness meant that, at the very spot where the bikes were being prepared for the first turn, and where the revs were at a maximum, the track had a weakness. The ensuing rut lifted the bikes slightly and when the tyres bit back into the surface further into the turn, the added pressure caused caking (the braking of the surface shale into slabs) and then deep divots.
To prevent this happening again in 2007 we dug a trench across the track and laid a drainage pipe to take the water away to our main drain. As we dug down we unearthed layer after layer of shale and then hit the magical cinders (and the clinker underneath) that constituted the first racing surface back at Blunsdon in 1949. The picture below shows the extent of our archaeology in more detail than in previous pictures!
