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So tonight with the lack of any Speedway on the box I decided to watch the recording of the worst Speedway meeting in the history of the world... evs (Saturday's GP). And I was shocked, I was shocked to discover that actually in probably 75% of the races there was actually passing and/or close racing. I was not only shocked because I'd read on this thread that it had been particularly poor this year but also I attended the meeting myself and didn't really think it was anything special. Admittedly the race was never really for the lead and often between 2nd, 3rd or 4th but racing and passing there certainly was. I wonder why so many people (me included) are saying this was such a poor event (racing wise) this year, where clearly if you were to watch it again and actually take note of a close race or pass you'd see this wasn't really the case. What defines a good/close race? Maybe expectation was too high for Woffy to perform? All the Poles certainly seemed to be having a whale of a time. If you went to a League meeting and 75% of the races produced close racing and/or passing I think you'd be well satisfied... even for £18, with no atmosphere, standing on a grass bank watching mainly tractor racing interspersed with journeymen and amateur Speedway riders. And before coming back at me telling me I'm wrong I suggest you take the time to re-watch the event

I cant recall any meeting this season , and I think I watch Cook race more than you , where Craig has received a ref warning for a starting offense. If Craig is guilty of rolling I'm sure at least one ref will have noticed since April .

I just saw your post, and I just had to comment; you are 100% correct. I live in the US, and my only way of keeping in touch with family, friends (including many from speedway), my old work colleagues etc, is via Facebook. It is also a valuable tool as far as my work is concerned. Facebook is what YOU want it to be, and what you ALLOW it to be. We are not all insecure and socially inept as many seem to feel... Steve

He is a Berwick fan so what are you slavering about. Personally i feel Kyle has done well, as said young riders can be inconsistent but Kyle has done perfectly fine and will improve at his own pace.

Weather permitting, I am hoping to be there. 'Mon the Tigers!

This thread shows just how out of touch some members of this forum are. All they can do is moan, moan, moan. Every year you get the same folks whinging about the racing. Every year you get the same folks declaring how they don't go to Cardiff and most people they know don't.. Yet every year we get a crowd of nigh on 40,000 which no other stadium can even dream of obtaining, let alone having the capacity to do so.

The sport (in the UK), is now no more than a conduit for riders to earn the kind of money that justifies their outlay on kit... A system devised to provide as many rides as possible for individuals, with scant regards to the impact this has on any credible status of each league or the teams within them.. It won't change now I would suggest, as it cannot given how long this situation has been allowed to fester.. Basically riders riding for whoever, whenever, is an integral part of the business plan, and operating model, which then facilitates their participation in the sport in the UK.. Too many teams? Not enough riders? Either way, that scenario isn't going to be fixed anytime soon unless they try six or even five man teams initially to give themselves some head room to deliver a much more fit for purpose longer term plan.. No breath is being held waiting for that to happen I would suspect..

With the present incumbents running the show, it's hard to see any other outcome. Speedway desperately needs some professional people to help pull it out from the abyss.

Reading through this thread I feel I went to a different GP to most on here. I thought the GP was OK. Not a classic by any means but certainly I found it entertaining and never once did I think the meeting was a complete duffer. There have been far worse GPS this year. No, it wasn’t as good as some previous Cardiff GPs but certainly there was plenty of passing. I also thought the crowd was larger this year, which is a good sign. Definitely swollen by the amount of Poles now making the trip. 5 years ago there were just a few up high on the third bend. Now there are thousands all around the stadium. Certainly adds to the already excellent atmosphere. I always buy tickets on the day but this year all the cheap tickets had sold out with cheapest on the day £50. Had to use a tout to get a cheap ticket. The city was absolutely heaving before the meeting and great fun. As for a second GP at Belle Vue, there is no chance whatsoever. Until Cardiff sells out anyway, which is not likely to happen. Why on earth would BSI run another British GP which would reduce the attendance of Cardiff? Never going to happen. NSS not big enough anyways and even if they did it with temp stands, who is to say they might get the track completely wrong just like they did in the SON semi final Friday meeting a couple of years ago? I for one thoroughly enjoyed Cardiff this year. Sure we have seen better meetings there but I came away knowing I will be back in 2020.

With the greatest of respect the rider who said he is quitting and off to Australia should have got the answer of enjoy the flight and the written off van on the M5, get another one from your insurance. Pandering to riders is a big reason why the many clubs are in trouble and that kind of behaviour shouldn't be tolerated in the NL. Far better to oust the riders at the time (X has left the club because he didn't show the level of commitment we required/expected to maintain his place) the sooner there is a return to it being a privilege to have a team place rather than a rite the sooner the sport can start t get up off its knees.

I tend to stay out of these discussions because of all the negativity and stupid stuff spouted by self-appointed "experts", but reading the views of iainb, Steve Hone, and your good self, I thought I would join in... Was this a "great" meeting? Of course not. However, it really wasn't that bad either - or at least I didn't think so! Same as Vojens. Not a classic, but enjoyable all the same. Most of the racing we see today is no worse than it was back in the "good old days". Like most people, I really miss Wembley, but to say the it was even SLIGHTLY superior (racing-wise) to Cardiff would be a stretch... Steve

Exactly that. I've just watched it again and there were good passes. Wright, Emil and Madsen, spring to mind and few races if any were strung out so close racing if not passing. This is a top class field of riders of equal ability so none are going to be easy to pass whatever the track condition which I thought was pretty decent. A good increase in the crowd size this year too which suggests it ain't going away any time soon. I have no complaints and will be back next year for sure.

I can only conclude that most people on this forum were too young to be watching speedway in the 60's, 70's or 80's. I know some will disagree but speedway is no different now to what it always has been, and generally, overall may be actually better than it used to be. Great racing, not great racing, that's how it has always been.

Mmmm, I'm thinking more like a no sale if he doesn't lose money clause. I very much doubt there was ever going to be a sale,,, just uncle Buster agreeing to pay any debt that may occur

Gone way beyond that. No-one truly professional would take it on, having looked closely at it as a project.

The supporters have been saying this for years , and ther BSPA have not listened , I can't see this year being any different . name change of the leagues perhaps .

THE capacity at the NSS is what it is because they had to drastically scale back on the original plans. Hopefully, the Speedway World Cup might be back in Manchester next year.

Speedway has always been held in great stadiums with poor tracks. Amsterdam, Munich & Wembley for starters. I have nothing against Cardiff, i just don't like the GP's. They are like Marmite, you either love them or you hate them!.

The BT Sport Schedule on my Sky planner shows; Thurs 26th BT Sport 1 7.30pm Poole v Ipswich Sat 28th BT Sport 3 7.30pm Ipswich v Poole So both definitely on the telly box!

I thought it was interesting listening to Allen & Stead on the BT GP Coverage, particularly Stead who was voicing his opinion that riders should be more ambitious... At the risk of being controversial, wasn't it Stead that hid away in the lower leagues for a lot longer than he should have done taking the coin? Maybe more of a do as I say manager than do as I do. Anyway, I wish them all the best, GB will be nothing again until regular test matches are run, you can do all the skipping and ball catching you like, there's nothing like experience

Think we caught Somerset cold when we won there earlier in the season , as that was the first meeting with their revamped side . But I think we can keep things close enough to take the tie over the two legs . A lot depends on the lower order of both sides . Anders Rowe has done ok at home riding at 2 , Stoneman has improved , but Luke Harris seems to find the going at CL level hard going . Whereas for us , Connor Bailey gets better by the week and is starting to take the scalps of more experienced riders , Sam Jensen has undoubted potential , but is still at the stage of falling while trying too hard . Andersen is nothing special , while Bickley can gate but lacks the pace for four laps away from Ashfield . Its is still a bit of a concern that at the end of his second season he still hasn't reached a four point average despite all the hype surrounding him when he turned 16 . He still has time on his side though . Cook and Jensen are as good as any visiting riders round the Oak Tree Arena , while Vissing is capable of steady support . Schlein , Harris , Covatti and Morris have their work cut out to get the better of the clashes amongst the heat leaders

people have to remember that the 1981 World Final, which many people call the best ever, only really had good races when Penhall was involved

It will eventually end up like grasstrack, with a few amateur and club meetings run occasionally at weekends.

I believe Speedway in this country will die and can't see it still about in 10 yrs to cum

It's been a bit slow but 1032? That's well past my bedtime. I'll get my coat pyjamas

also made it onto Question of Sport's "What happened next?" round.

God how time goes so quickly, one stat that really surprised me and showed just how good Tommy was .His longevity record in speedway was impressive and he had to wait until 1997 to win his first Danish championship.

And the attendance could have been a lot better if more people had turned up

Dammit... You beat me to it!

I have been highlighting the problem for a few years now. The end effect of having riders doing 2,3 or 4 leagues, is you rob youngsters of opportunities. Do that and they don't stay in the sport. Do that and you end up attracting less riders to the sport.....

It’s rare in speedway to get top racing all the way through a meeting. Hyde Road racing was top notch at times, but there were boring races as well. The only GP this season that really excelled was the one in Poland - Wroclaw. That was full of excitement from pretty much race 1. By comparison Cardiff was pretty poor, but compare Cardiff to most of the other meetings this year and it’s probably in the mix. I have seen better at Cardiff, this year going round someone seemed a difficult thing to do, attention needs to be put into sorting that. Thing with Cardiff I now fed up with is the rider introduction being held in the dark..... so much so you can’t see what’s going on and it didn’t come across well on TV. I know where the “darkness” comes from. Speedway racing in the evening under track lights is more spectacular then racing in the afternoon. It was the same call back in the 70’s when continental finals were held at White City in the afternoon. I have no problem with speedway racing under track lights, it does look spectacular... but let’s see the introduction of riders. Of course, venues will try to put on something different for the fans, but too extreme is too much sometimes.

You might have something there.

I would love to see a Rebels home victory as I then believe the return leg would be very interesting with a fair chance of a rebels victory, that said the Tigers are looking clear favorites. Rebels will need a good/strong referee to stop the Cookie rollers! The South West weather is currently not good & forecast not looking any better for tomorrow. Early cancellation always the best policy Debbie.............

It really was. You can count the number of good Cardiff meetings using the fingers on one hand. The place needs binning

I totally understand, it's just very sad that a "National" stadium has such a limited capacity...

Have filled in two racecards for tonight just to be sure

No worries I won’t bother with Swindon threads in future. Didn’t realise there were set rules on items open to discussion on a thread. Be lucky

I think you are reading far too much into my post. Maybe my fault for not including a

It sounds as thought the sale/purchase process has been somewhat drawn out. But wasn't it suggested before the season started that Louis had a 'buy back' clause after the first season in the proposed agreement?! I'm sure I read that somewhere.

It is however , better than any other toilet roll by far . It promises to show lesser toilet rolls the way to be the best at cleaning your arse . how to flush away more easily . but never actually does . best of all though , comes covered in loads of different patterns . thats why it's too expensive for the UK market , and only available in Poland ,

Belle Vue I would imagine He was scoring well earlier in the season , then Bailey arrived and has progressed at a rate of knots and is now ahead of him , which seems to have had a negative effect on Kyle

If you actually look at the touchline markings this season you might have noticed that the football pitch was considerably narrower at the start of the season - probably about three-quarters of a metre. I was told from a vaguely reliable source that it is now the absolute minimum width allowable. Football teams cannot change the dimensions of their playing area during the season. If you look at most modern football stadia these days the areas outside the actual white lines are almost always artificial turf. Presumably if the cost was not prohibitive that could be employed at Shielfield too allowing the track to be widened up to the actual white lines. All that would be needed was the desire of Rangers to allow it happen and, presumably, the Bandits to pay for it.

So it's really that simple is it?? If it is why don't they simply do that then? I've only just got home after a great weekend and am watching it again on TV now and it really isn't as bad as people are making out.

You could say the same about the F.A cup final. There have been some boring ones over the years and some classics but it's all about the occasion nobody's ever said they should scrap the F.A cup after a boring final.

Well in the words of Sir Elton....”Saturday nights alright for fighting”.....

I can guarantee one way to stop the Sponsors and TV companies chucking money in is for Poland to run their Speedway Leagues like the BSPA do theirs over here..

I think you'll find it's an unwritten rule which may or may not be implemented depending on wind direction.

Admission prices reduced the the play off meeting at Perry Barr - £10 adults, £2 kids http://www.cradley-speedway.com/news.php?extend.1888

OMG - so much bitterness. Back to the speedway - that’s bound to cheer everyone up

See you there! Bringing popcorn