It's no secret that we have had troubles getting spare air fence panels made and old ones re-conditioned. For most of the season we've been running with three spare air fence panels and I've been repairing as many panels as possible without having to send them away. So far (he writes, desperately seeking some wood to touch) we have been able to manage all of the damage done by speeding riders but three spares doesn't leave much room for manouevre. You can imagine my dismay when two panels were wiped out in a heat two crash involving Eastbourne's Ricky Kling and the Robins' Cory Gathercole. Both track spares had to be brought in to replace them. When Mads Korneliussen then inexplicably rode into another panel after heat 3 had finished and ripped it I was in a total state of despair!
But back to earlier in the day. With hosepipe bans threatened in some parts of the country, the water supplies at Blunsdon were always going to be critical on another hot day on the arid sands (shale) of Blunsdon. And so it turned out to be.
One of our first discoveries of the morning was that the water tanks were all perilously low and that meant that we would be struggling throughout the day to get sufficient moisture into the shale to prevent dust and track break up. The fact that two water tankers in the greyhound compound were full of water didn't help matters, since we couldn't get at them to use any even if we were desperate.
With Roy driving the red pickup, Dave and I spread out the banners and then brushed as much of the accumulated muck off them before Mick Richards' mate came to clean them properly. Slightly humid, with a good few clouds in the sky, it was still scorchingly hot.
The track had had a dousing with water the night before but it was clear that we would need to water often and regularly as the fatal combination of a hot sun and a drying wind swept in over the Abbey Stadium.
While Ron and Punch flooded the track, Mark Price, Dave and I were joined by a decidedly summery John Nobbs, stylish mid length shorts and all, who had taken a day's holiday to spend it with us at the Cote de Blunsdon.
Our first track side job was to remove the greyhound start gate stages that site on the track when the doggies race. With these out of the way we were able to put the fence gates into place and then turn our attention to the dread air fence.
The vision that greeted the eyes next was of Clerk of the Course Mick Hunt in his tee shirt and shorts - another sun worshipper. Other than the problems caused by the sight of two sets of white legs and knobbly knees, we were not flushed with track staff.
By mid morning we had the air fence up and the banners loaded, in the correct order for distribution around the air fence, on the back of the pickup. Rubber kickboards had been folded and placed in readiness at the start of each air fence panel and all was well with the world.
Time for a tea break and a chance to cool down while Mick Hunt and Roy swept out the pits.
Ron used the wonder wheel to disturb the shale mid track right around the track and with particular depth on the corners. One advantage of having quite steeply backed corners is that rain runs off quickly. The down side is that when the track is as hard and dry as ours is, any water that you put on is just as likely to run off straight down to the white line and thence to the big drain on turn 1.
Ripping the track in this way means that we can get moisture down into the base and keep it there whilst also preventing it from running away.
By mid day I had lost count of how many watering the track had had, but the shale was having to be monitored on a constant basis.
Of course, applying this amount of water to the surface is problematical since some parts of the circuit absorb moisture more than others and we don't want to turn one of the starting gates into a sloppy mess. We also need to be mindful that, as temperatures drop, as they will do during the evening, so the moisture will be drawn to the surface and can turn a grippy track into a veritable ice rink.
Punch, who is responsible for nearly all of the race day watering, has a nifty string and pulley affair so that he can drive the tractor whilst controlling the outlet valve on the water pump that pushes water out in an arc at the back of the water tanker.
My son, Dave, has a school drama rehearsal to attend at 4pm so we crack on to get as much done as possible while he is around.
By the time that Terry and Wayne Russell arrive with copious supplies of Kentucky Fried Chicken, we have all the rubber kickboards in place and all of the banners secured apart from 5 down on turn 1. Compared with two weeks ago, when we fell behind in preparations for the Peterborough KO Cup match, we are hours ahead of schedule.
In the time that it takes me to drive Dave back home to Malmesbury and turn around and come back to the track, all the banners are in place and it is left to Mark and me to clean the white line and some of the wooden kickboards on the straights.
The saga of the diesel pressure washer seems almost unending. The diesel tank has been repaired by Bob Crowther and no longer leaks diesel all over the place. We even manage to start the thing with a good blast of Easy Start in through the air intake a a couple of lusty pulls on the pull string from Punch. It fires into action and a dribble of water appears at the end of the washer wand. The dribble begins to gain strength and then the whole wand is almost pulled from my grasp as the most amazing pressure is built up. Trouble is, everything is OK as long as I hold the trigger on the wand - the moment I let go the pipe which feeds water from the pump to the wand blows off and a huge jet of water bursts forth across the car park. Ah well, back to the drawing board.
We place a second jet washer on the back of Jemima and set off, cleaning the white line and the boards. Job done!
Out on the centre green the Adams family watch on as son, Declan, blasts around on his beautifully cut down speedway bike. After a week that saw the last British Under 21 qualifier crash out at the semi final stage of the World Under 21's it is good to see a youngster getting plenty of track time - but wait, unless he's going to do a Tai Woffinden on us, young Declan will be riding for Australia in 10 years time!
We put a little water on the training track just to keep the dust down but they wont be practicing for long - the sun is still as hot as ever although the drying wind appears to have abated somewhat.
Back up in the tractor park we begin to sort out the equipment that we feel we are most likely to need. The hydraulic harrows are excellent for fluffing up the surface and distributing the top material. With swing arms, to allow entrance through the pit gate, they cover a significant part of the track with one sweep. The small blade is not hitched up. The volume of water on the track during the day allied to the possibility of a drop in temperature and a consequent rise in moisture content means that we will probably have quite a bit of dirt out wide. The trouble with the blade is that it has a smooth edge and therefore picks up everything or nothing and we will need to feather the material back down from the fence during gradings.
The wheel is ideal for this feathering, rotating and picking up and flinging material material as it is driven round the track.
Down in the pits the riders are setting up. Much interest obviously revolves around Matej Zagar, such a hit when he joined the Robins last year. His friendship with Leigh Adams is obvious from the way they greet each other and we are all looking forward to their clashes on the track.
Lukas Dryml is further down the pits. I can remember when he and his brother Ales first came to the UK and were signed up as a couple of teenagers by Oxford. They would often take part in after the meeting track sessions at Blunsdon and were blindingly fast. It is worth remembering that Lukas was once 3rd in the World Championship in the early days of the GPs - it such a shame that injuries have plagued both Dryml brothers and restricted their scoring potential so much. But Lukas is always so friendly and amiable - always willing to chat with track staff and fans alike.
A bit of a shock comes in the next pit area, one that sends us all scuttling to check the team sheets. A Leigh Richardson bike, complete with all of the covers and adornments sits where the Eastbourne number 3 should be. Is Rico riding for them as a guest? Let's be honest, we all like Rico a lot, but not as a guest against us!
The concerns disappear when we learn that the bike now belongs to Simon Gustafsson. When he appeared for the first time at Blunsdon two years ago I thought he was the best newcomer I'd seen for a number of years but thus far he hasn't made the strides that I expected of him. A shame, because his father, Henka, was a brilliant exponent, but I'm sure young Simon will soon be right up there with the top Swedes.
Another Swede, young Ricky Kling, sets up in the reserve pit. We were not to see much young master Kling after his first ride, which ended in the air fence on turn 4. Alongside above is Mads Korneliussen, who had an encounter with the air fence on turn 2 in the next heat.
Everything about Leigh Adams shouts professional. Even his kit bag is decked out in the team colours and the Australian logos.
Just a couple of bays up from Leigh are the bikes of Thomas H Jonasson, complete with their distinctive green livery. Young Thomas is quickly gaining something of a cult status at Swindon with his all action style of riding the Blunsdon track and his "never say die" attitude.
And so time ticks by and the pits grow busier and busier as mechanics begin final set ups and riders get a chance to walk the track and assess conditions.
Simon Stead talks with Dale, his mechanic, about set up matters while Punch sets off on yet another watering of the track.
Our young Polish trainee referee, Jarek, is nervous because Graham Reeve is the referee and will be assessing him. He is a little too quick with the pen, reporting that the white line is not continuous, even though we have pointed out the the blank areas will be chalked in once the final watering has been completed. To do so before hand would mean the chalk would be simply washed away.
And so to the parade. It's a tense time for everyone. The pumps need to be topped up and checked and it's the first real opportunity I get to see how many track staff we have got - it being holiday time.
And so the meeting starts. Heat one passes off without comment but heat two is a disaster. Kling loses control low down on turn 3, kicks up and catches the back wheel of Cory Gathercole. They both career across the track and clatter into the air fence just beyond the pits gate.
It is clear one panel is damaged. The track team go about their work efficiently, bringing out a track spare, uncoupling the old bag from the wire safety fence, the cable at the bottom of the fence and the mesh above it. Bungs are inserted into the other parts of the air fence and the pump is turned down. Initially it appears that only one panel is damaged but we can't find the pipes that connect the panels together and direct the air through them. The impact was so great that both pipes have been blasted into the next air panel and we struggle to find them.
As we begin to inflate the fence again it transpires that the adjoining bag has also been ripped. Sadly, when it folded down as we took out the first panel, it folded in on itself and sealed the rip. As we inflate it unfolds and the damage is clear. We remove this panel and bring up the track spare from down on turns one and two.
Perhaps it takes a little longer than anticipated but it is best to be safe and sure than let the next race go ahead with a faulty air fence.
We are now down to one spare panel, and that it one that still relies upon the kickboards being cable tied in place - no velcro attachments here. I have inflated it but it a heavily repaired one and I am really reluctant to use unless it is absolutely essential.
And then Mads plunges into the fence on turn 2. Keith immediately relays on the walkie talkie that the fence is deflating but he can't be sure what the real extent of the damage is because the oversized banners are covering over the entire area.
The kickboard has been shredded and will need replacing but I wait at the top end until the extent of the damage can be confirmed. If the panel is indeed badly damaged we will have to manhandle the final spare bag down from the pits and try to work round the fact that it has a completely different rubber kickboard to all of the others.
Oh, what fun.
Keith Johnson tells me that he thinks he can bring about a repair using cable ties. I gather a bunch and head off for turn 2. Mads has actually ripped the end of the air bag and again, one of the air pipes has been pushed into the bag. Steve Bradford races off to the pits to get a spare air pipe and also a length of kickboard, since it looks as if another kickboard has been totaled. It all looks a bit hectic but desperate situations demand desperate remedies, and we are desperate not to have to replace this bag.
The cable tie bring the ends of the bag together and seal off most of the air loss. We adjust the air pumps to compensate and then inform Clerk of the Course, Mike Hunt, that we are satisfied that the repair will hold and that the air fence is safe again.
I make my way back to turn 3 and contemplate seeking out a darkened room. The rest of the meeting passes off without too many dramas but I have a hell of a headache by the end, brought about, in no short measure, by non stop prayers.
Next week I will have to try to sew back the materials on as many damaged bags as possible. What fun!
Punch and I end up tidying up the track and depart with the clock showing 11pm. It's been a long and fraught day.
