Rob Godfrey reflects on a damp Friday

THE Great British Weather is one of the biggest challenges facing any speedway promoter.

Last Friday, not for the first time, the Scunthorpe track staff showed great skill in preparing a track on a day when the weather was less than ideal.

The result was 15 heats between the FluidAir Power Scunthorpe Scorpions and the Newcastle Diamonds without a single faller.

One unfortunate consequence was a smaller than usual crowd, although Scunthorpe boss Rob Godfrey reveals a late call off would have been more expensive to the home promotion.

Godfrey reflects: “We knew there was weather coming up from the south; forecasts said there was going to be a bit of light rain at around 4pm and it would then clear.

“The additional forecast, which I pay for, suggested we might also get light rain between 6-7pm.

“We didn’t expect what we got, which was rain for a much longer period, with it still raining when the meeting started. The consolation was it remained as light rain, and it didn’t bucket it down.

“Based on the forecast, I watered the track on the Thursday, we put just a little bit on in the morning, and then we waited. So I knew the track could take a lot of water and, by start-time, it was in good condition.

“Obviously, the problem was that it was still raining. But we’d got beyond the point of no return. We’d committed. To cancel a meeting at such a late stage does cost a lot of money.

“But visibility wasn’t a problem and with the co-operation of the Newcastle management, we got on with the meeting. Without that co-operation, we would have been left with a hefty bill, because a lot of the costs we would never get back.”

Bursts from behind by Josh Auty, Ryan Douglas and Ashley Birks all entertained the crowd, while the rain eventually stopped around mid-meeting.

“We still put on a good meeting”, Godfrey says. “There was passing, and no-one fell off during the whole meeting. There was a dry line for the riders to use. The Newcastle riders weren’t so sure, but our riders showed racing was possible.

“Of course, we were left staging a meeting in front of a poorer crowd than usual. Just down the road, there were flash floods, and naturally it puts some people off travelling.

“But it would have cost us far more to have called off the meeting at the start-time.

“I’d like to thank the fans who came along; the hardcore were there as always. I think a lot of our fans have learnt that we’ll get on the meeting if it’s possible.

“We’ve got Sheffield at home this week, which should be a cracker. Despite us winning there three times this season, they beat us at the Eddie Wright Raceway at the start of the season.

“The Sheffield promotion reckon they can win at our place again; but I reckon we can gain revenge for that League Cup home defeat.

“It should be a cracking local derby, and I hope we end up with a bumper crowd to make up for the smaller crowd we had for the Newcastle match.”