Buxton Hitmen angry at late postponement

The meet was called off at 3.15pm to the frustration of race fans and club officials.

Hitmen boss Joshua Moss said: “We are extremely disappointed that the meeting did not go ahead especially for all the supporters that turned out today and we would like to give them our apologies for a situation that was out of our control in the end.

“All of the Buxton riders wanted to get out and race this afternoon, but it was the Birmingham riders and their team manager Laurence Rogers that refused to race.

“Perhaps if we had a stronger referee this afternoon then the meeting would have gone ahead or an earlier decision made.

“The referee did say the meeting was on at one point but certain people in the Birmingham camp didn’t want to race and, in the end, we feel they influenced the referees’ decision.”

Chairman Jayne Moss echoed his comments and said it reflected badly on the sport.

“Today just shows one example of why the sport is in the state it is and all we can do is apologise to the supporters for what has happened,” she said.

“As a club we are very disappointed by today’s events, especially as the situation was beyond our control.

“It was a dry and cold day and although we had heavy rain last night the track was drying out well and in fact would have been dusty if the meeting had gone ahead.

“Certain members of the Birmingham team had made their minds up that they weren’t racing today as soon as they arrived and continually made their feelings known to the referee which in the end resulted in him cancelling the meeting.”