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Yes. But to be fair to BSI they have taken the Speedway GP series forward. I don't think any fair-minded person would question that. Cardiff, Copenhagen, Warsaw, Sydney, Stockholm and the like have been a big step forward from the model they inherited of Coventry, Landshut and Linkoping.etc. It's not all been a gold-plated success, granted. But the ambition and vision have put the World Championship in a better place than it was 20 years ago. That said, it has stalled in recent years - I never got any sense that IMG treated BSI anything other than a tennant in their offices - and the time is right for someone with a truly international reach to have a crack.

Would still have lost. Broke them heat 4 at Ben fund match.

I’ve just read chris Louis talking about the restrictions they have to put in place to get fans back in stadiums, this is no way a slur on Chris or British speedway and what they are doing but I simply will not attend any speedway meetings while any restrictions of any kind are in place, I’m not going into the rights and wrongs of the covid stuff in this post but I go to speedway to socialise and enjoy the sport, I’m not go to be treated like a naughty little child, sorry I know it’s harsh on speedway and it’s 100% not their fault but it’s how I feel, I’m missing the social aspect of speedway as I am with other things I do but I can’t enjoy live speedway from the naughty step

I'd question it. I'm not suggesting that keeping the old World Final format was the way forward, but the latter World Finals that were held in decent stadia had pretty decent audiences compared with most GPs today. After about 1993 though, these events all seemed to be held in small and often remote venues with few other attractions, and the results were there to see. But I'd have thought even Coventry managed to pull crowds that some GPs would be happy to have today, and of course the Millennium Stadium (or the other indoor venues) wasn't built yet with its stakeholders needing to fill an expensive loss-making venue. BSI - unlike the BSPA and other speedway promoters - did understand how to leverage money out of local municipalities and tourist boards, and how to court the relatively new cable/satellite channels desperate for cheap content. And I suppose at one point their founder did harbour ambitions to be a sort of Bernie Ecclestone, taking the SGP to better venues and new markets around the world. But when it came to the crunch, there were really only a couple of prestige venues in any given year, with the rest of the series filled with the sort of tracks like Landshut and Linkoping plus the obligatory Polish ones just as in the old days. Other than the Millennium Stadium and perhaps Prague, few other venues proved sustainable in the long-term and the SGP never ended up going to 'new markets' except for the handful of GPs in Australia and NZ, and that was really only because some other mugs were found to throw away their money. Plus there were numerous fiascos with GPs being called off, moved at a day's notice to another venue, and indoor meetings being abandoned with fans in the stadium. In the end, IMG/BSI seemed to either realise the SGP wasn't really going anywhere or just lost interest, and seemed to settle on running the competition as cheaply as they could get away with. Although ironically, going to proper speedway tracks seemed to improve things in some respects. I'll say in fairness that I think speedway is a hard sell, with expensive set-up costs, vulnerability to the vagaries of the weather (seemingly even indoors ), the sport having no sort of high profile anywhere other than Poland (and even that's debatable), an unattractive spectator demographic which is somewhat reflected by the rather thin list of sponsors, and virtually no wealthy patrons or those that can open doors to sources of funding. But a change of promoter is long overdue and the rights should have been re-tendered years ago. It will be interesting to see what Discovery/Eurosport can do with speedway, although they did make Ski Jumping cult viewing so who knows?

Sounds remarkably similar to BSI's proud boasts about 20 years ago.

To be honest, I would be happy if they ran it for what it is, which is the World Pairs Final. The compulsory U21 rider is a load of nonsense, which works against the aim of giving the smaller speedway nations a better chance of competing, as only a handful of nations have a rider of sufficient experience or ability.

Confirmation of 14 day self isolation - how empty is that flight from stansted tomorrow morning going to be now! I’m still going as I’ll be able to work from home during my self isolation, but I really feel for those who can’t attend now. Let’s hope 2021 brings some form of ‘normality’ back

Yes it's a big risk, I understand they've repainted the TV Licence detector vans to catch people not obeying quarantine

Very impressed with the effort put in by everyone, the youngsters were right in the thick of the action.Praise for Chris Louis, really impressive with his race comments and thoughts on conditions and explaining himself. Very refreshing from the usual screaming we’re used too.Eurosport need to get him on board.!!

From todays press release: "The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and Eurosport Events has agreed a long-term partnership which will see the Discovery-owned event management company promote FIM Speedway events including FIM Speedway Grand Prix, Speedway of Nations, Speedway U21 and Speedway Youth World Championships globally for the next 10 years. The new agreement will begin in 2022 and builds on the existing partnership between the organisations for the promotion of the FIM Endurance World Championship (EWC) since 2015. In an expanded role following a competitive tender to select the new global promoter of the sport, Eurosport Events will leverage its long-standing motorsport promotion expertise and the international scale of Discovery to develop the sport and grow Speedway around the world. The partnership will seek to expand Speedway GP’s international calendar, extend the distribution of the sport on TV and digital platforms, launch Speedway into new territories and increase its audiences around the world. Eurosport Events will oversee the full operational and commercial aspects of the sport including multi-platform rights management and distribution, broadcast production, sponsorship rights strategy and the full suite of marketing, brand and promotional activity. It will also work with local organisers on local promotion and maximising ticketing, hospitality and fan engagement activities. Following the signing of the contract, the FIM President Jorge Viegas expressed his satisfaction: "The FIM launched the tender process back in 2019 for the promotion of the FIM Speedway World Championships 2022-2031. Discovery and Eurosport Events has won the vote of the Board of Directors for its innovative proposal in terms of sport promotion and television coverage. “The FIM is delighted to expand its collaboration with Discovery and Eurosport Events, who has been the promoter of the FIM Endurance World Championship since 2015. This new collaboration will provide increased media visibility of the FIM Speedway Grand Prix World Championship through Eurosport platforms and key third-party broadcasters. The FIM would like to thank BSI and OneSport who have made a significant contribution to the development of the Speedway over the past twenty years and to wish them every success in 2021 and for the remainder of this season,” Viegas said. President, Eurosport and Global Sports Rights & Sports Marketing Solutions, Andrew Georgiou, said: “Eurosport Events has an outstanding record in building and strengthening the event portfolios of rights-holders, as well as a unique ability as part of the Discovery global network to grow a sport and its audience. We are privileged to deepen our relationship with FIM and have the opportunity to develop one of the most entertaining and exciting motorsports series in the world. “Speedway already enjoys one of the most passionate and engaged fan communities in motorsport in a number of our key markets, so we can’t wait to deploy Eurosport Events’ promotional know-how and the global scale of Discovery’s channels and platforms to strengthen the sport even further and best serve existing and new fans around the world.” Georgiou said. Head of Eurosport Events, François Ribeiro said: “We are delighted to grow our relationship with FIM and expand our motorcycle events portfolio in addition to FIM Endurance World Championship. Beyond our global media footprint which was an asset during tendering process, we proposed FIM a comprehensive pyramid approach from grass roots, junior world championships up to Speedway GP and Speedway of Nations top level. Speedway sporting foundations are strong. Speedway remains one of the only motorsport categories organised in stadiums, driven by fans. FIM gave us a global responsibility for the next 10 years, and we look forward to 2022." Ribeiro said. Eurosport Events will take on the role with a proven track record in growing some of the most popular motorsports series in the world - including the FIA World Touring Car Cup, FIA European Rally Championship, new electric touring car series PURE ETCR, FIM Endurance World Championship and UCI Track Cycling – and organising events across four continents. As part of Discovery, the promoter will also have the ability to tap into the scale and depth of the group’s worldwide lifestyle platforms, channels and brands to raise the visibility and awareness of the sport to new audiences globally."

That's how I watch them.I use the Opera Browser and use the VPN facility.I 'pretend'I am in Asia or the Americas if Europe doesn't work.

A significant part of Jeff Scott's "Hitchhikers Guide to the SGP" is all about the impact that BSI has had on the sport during their tenure, from the highest level(s), right down to the personal. It's quite nuanced, goes into plenty of detail, and leaves the reader in no doubts about where the blame for the current state of speedway might lie. It also touches on the impact all of this has had on the domestic UK scene. And, certainly, the same agreement above, was the basis for the initial BSI tenure - new markets, global reach etc. etc. etc. so nothing really new there. It is really hard to imagine exactly where / how Eurosport can make a difference. The SGP universe exists in a kind of 'bubble' on it's own, so I can quite easily see it continuing as is, and maybe consolidation is the best we can hope for. Of course, the post-Covid-19 world will have an impact, as it will for many sports. As an example, an almost sacrosanct view was that football without fans is _nothing_, and that has been turned on it's head.

I'm not convinced by the choir of voices pledging to support streaming speedway. I ask myself this...a few years ago, a deal was done with Bet365 to have streaming coverage of speedway. Who signed up for it? That service never made it to a second season. People say "yeah, I'll pay". Yeah, until you quickly find a "free" pirated streaming link on BSF, like you do for the Polish and SGP meetings, and use that instead. It's in the nature of speedway fans to use a pirated link rather than an official channel, to use a downloaded race card rather than the official programme, your own smuggled in food & drink rather than what's on sale at official outlets... So, by all means give it a try, but don't hold your breath that it will be the salvation of the sport. And when it all goes wrong, and the sport runs out of money, don't forget to blame someone else for that happening too.

maybe riders could donate things for an online auction?

It will be interesting to see what transpires. I admire BSI's ambition with some of the more prestigious stadia, not always successfully. And it's perfectly understandable why they settled upon a strategy of "safe bets" in the core markets in Poland, Denmark, Sweden and the UK. Despite some of the above critiques, the SGP is well ahead of where it was in the late 90s, so BSI deserve credit for that. Having worked in sport, I understand a lot of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes and - more often than not - the bright ideas that come from outside have been investigated and are not viable. That said, I can't resist tossing my tuppence in! To expand they are going to have to take it into markets where there are deep pockets and no financial reliance upon gate receipts or take it to new, but lower risk markets close to their core markets. For the former, I am talking about places like Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Qatar where they happily pay through the nose to host F1, MotoGP, ATP Tennis, European Tour Golf. I spent a little time in Qatar and witnessed the odd spectacle of guys like Valentino Rossi, Andy Murray and Ernie Els performing in front of paltry crowds. Thing is, these series are global brands and get those countries "on the map" and good PR for what are effectively dictator regimes. Speedway cannot do this, it doesn't have the reach. The latter might involve getting the SGP into places like Spain, Ireland, Netherlands using stadiums that are quality, oval and (relatively) convertable. And all within an EasyJet/Ryan Air Flight from the UK, Sweden, Poland and Denmark. Admittedly, it would be a difficult sell to the locals. But what European speedway fans wouldn't fancy a weekend in Dublin, Majorca or Amsterdam? So there might also be interest from hosting tourist boards/local Govt for a Speedway GP too? Of course, this only works in a back to normal post-COVID context. One I can't understand is talk of Argentina. It's a tiny market for speedway and miles away from the majority of speedway fans. It all smacks of "a bloke Armando knows". I wish EE well, but it'll be no easy sell, that's for sure.

Better late than never He's gonna be a star that lad!

maybe some of us should have popped down to the local bookies and put a bet on sarj not breaking the tapes in 2020. ! ! !

ONE of the problems they will inherit is trying to get a crowd, a venue and a track at a SGP in a non-speedway country. That was a fence at which BSI's expansion aspirations often came tumbling down.

I will have to think about this one. In the 13 heat match era 7 different riders often won races in a meeting, but I do recall there being 9 heat winners in the Newcastle-Wolverhampton match in 1965 (Craven 2, Brett 4, Kelly, Guasco, Airey, Francis, Jarman, Andrews, Sweetman). In 1966 there were again 9 heat winners in the Cradley Heath-Wolverhampton Midland Cup match (Brown 3, Hughes, Featherby, Julian, Francis,2, Vandenberg 2, Maxted, Cowland, Jarman).

Though Dave Rowe and Chris Louis were excellent together.Pleasure to listen too.

It was for a while ... that sort of squirming-for-him type comedy of David Brent or Alan Partridge. But the comedic value has waned with relentless repetition. But leaving Sam out of it ... Dave Rowe and Chris Louis would seem a good partnership for domestic TV next year, Other ideas that come to mind are ... not to employ any 'dolly birds' with no Speedway experience, give us a rest from NP/KT for a while (leave them on the GPs), cut down on the studio nonsense and give us rapid-fire racing with just the odd (brief) interview with riders ONLY when there is an incident worth commenting on (Steve Brandon always seems to get that right).

Tomorrows match Friday 2nd October Poznan v Rawicz start time 3pm Motowizja Poland live updates https://sportowefakty.wp.pl/zuzel/relacja/105287/spechouse-ps-poznan-metalika-recycling-kolejarz-rawicz

UNDER 21 FINAL LINEUP! In draw order here is your lineup for the 2020 British Under 21 Final 1, Alex Spooner (Kent Kings) 2, Joe Thompson ( Leicester Lions and Leicester Cubs) 3, Jordan Jenkins ( Redcar Bears and Kent Kings) 4, Anders Rowe ( Swindon Robins and Somerset Rebels) 5, Jason Edwards ( Eastbourne Eagles and Mildenhall Fen Tigers) 6, Daniel Bewley ( Belle Vue Aces) 7, Joe Lawlor ( Redcar Bears and Leicester Cubs) 8, Jack Thomas ( Birmingham Brummies) 9, Drew Kemp ( Ipswich Witches and Eastbourne Eagles) 10, Jordan Palin ( Scunthorpe Scorpions and Belle Vue Colts) 11, Jamie Halder ( Newcastle Gems) 12, Dan Thompson (Leicester Lions and Leicester Cubs) 13, Kyle Bickley (Berwick Bandits and Belle Vue Colts) 14, Tom Brennan ( Eastbourne Eagles) 15, Leon Flint ( Berwick Bandits and Amadale Devils) 16, Daniel Gilkes ( Kent Royals and Kent Kings)

What an innovative idea! I'll throw a fiver at it

Yes, not handlebars but the others yes. Some run with pressures as low as 4psi and wheelbase also makes a big difference but often it's about reducing wheelspin because the engines are too strong. An older bike in those really wet conditions I think may be an advantage!

Seems there is no RR for Lindback. Tuff match igår, men nu ställer vi om och siktar in oss på returen hemma imorgon, torsdag. Det såg väldigt mörkt ut i helgen, med risk för många förare borta. Efter ett riktigt hästjobb i kulisserna har vi fått ihop det och kan presentera ett riktigt bra lag! Antonio har fått okej att göra sitt Coronatest i Sverige och kan alltså åka till Polen för GP på fredag morgon, Bellego har fått plats på samma flyg och kan därmed också vara med i semin. Bergé utgår och istället kommer Tarasenko för första gången i år in i laget. Tarasenko har äntligen lyckats få starttillstånd och det ska bli spännande att se vad han kan göra! Philip har jobbat hårt med rehab efter sin skada och går in som nummer sju. Preliminära laguppställningar: MASARNA 1. Antonio Lindbäck 2. Vadim Tarasenko 3. Kim Nilsson 4. Przemyslaw Pawlicki 5. Nicki Pedersen 6. David Bellego 7. Philip Hellström Bängs LEJONEN 1. Nicolai Klindt 2. Rene Bach 3. Mathias Thörnblom 4. Kacper Woryna 5. Robert Lambert 6. Linus Eklöf 7. Maximilian Bogdanowicz

Well, I used to pay money to travel all over the country to watch matches as a neutral, and there were plenty of us that used to do the same. So, why wouldn't people pay money to watch online? Obviously, there are those who wouldn't, but people like you and I would.

Got to give Rory the moan big praise no moaning just got on with it, and was best on the night, though I'm unsure if he should have been riding as is an Aussie, but on a British licence. I have seen Rory just riding round on tracks a lot dryer than belle Vue was on Monday

Just like the good old days!

Agree with comments, and full credit to Belle Vue for getting on, but the thing consistent about rider attitude regarding whether to ride or not is the context of the meeting.IMO. If it were a league meeting they would have wanted it off,knowing that it will be rerun so they will not lose out financially ,but if it is an Open Meeting they will ride round (not race) just to earn some money on the night just in case it’s not re-run and they lose out. Ps. They all gave it 100% at Belle Vue. I

Try a visit to Glasgow - first class track and facilities and FIM approved.

For some time now BSF members have been saying British speedway is in the doldrums, dying on its feet, and what’s needed is some different thinking, something creative. The thinking a family of four staying at home, spend £12 instead of £50, thus the track loses £38 plus drinks, food etc, is stifling the creative thinking. When this pandemic is managed and we can have a bit of normality, many workers will have lost their jobs (how many millions we don’t know), their won’t be many families who can afford £50 plus, and I just wonder what percentage of fans currently are mum, dad plus 2 kids anyway. Creative thinking, here is a good example I just seen on a shopping channel on TV. ...... they selling a pair of ladies thigh length boots (I don’t normally watch ladies fashion, honest, but I just woke up from mid afternoon nap) and this was the offer. You order your size and they send two pairs, one the size you order, other pair half size bigger, whichever fits you keep and send the other pair back post free. Immediately I said to the wife “what a brilliant idea”, she looks at me with a blank look on her face. Creative thinking....... they almost certain of a sale by sending two pairs, different sizes. If they sent the size ordered, say ladies size 5, and it was a bit tight, it would be sent back and unlikely a size bigger ordered (lots of purchases are impulse buys). Result.... no sale. So, two pairs sent, different sizes, one pair is likely to be fit and kept by customer..... kerching - money in the till that might not have been there. Brilliant idea. The model doesn’t fit speedway sales, but it’s the creative thinking needed to INCREASE sales that is needed.

Here's a novel idea, more info and details etc on the Berwick Website. I'll be watching it and donating, wonder how many others will? the event is now scheduled for Wednesday the 21st of October at 7pm. * Pay what you like pay per view: Watch the British Under 21 Final from the comfort of your living room on your SmartTV or your household devices. Before, during or after the event head on over to www.berwickspeedway.com and pay what you feel the event is worth

Trouble is, I don't see any price point that works for streaming. I'd say £12 is way too cheap to make streaming viable. If we go to Wolverhampton, it's £18 each and £7 each for the kids, so a total of £50 (plus programme, travel etc). If the weather was a bit dodgy in the morning, it would be a no brainer to buy the £12 stream rather than risk wasting a lot of money. So the club would lose £38.... It wouldn't take many families to make the same decision to bankrupt the club.

PAY WHAT YOU LIKE...PAY PER VIEW! Berwick Bandits Speedway Club is proud to announce that the British Under 21 Final will be broadcast Live around the world via the club’s YouTube channel Bandits TV! With the constant changing situation due to Covid 19, at this stage it is unclear whether we will be able to accommodate a limited number of spectators at the event or if we will have to run behind closed doors but your constantly forward thinking promotion have put plans in place for all eventualities. We have lots to get through so check out the ‘all you need to know’ below Date change: the event is now scheduled for Wednesday the 21st of October at 7pm. Pay what you like pay per view: Watch the British Under 21 Final from the comfort of your living room on your SmartTV or your household devices. Before, during or after the event head on over to www.berwickspeedway.com and pay what you feel the event is worth? A link will be available for you to make a swift and secure payment and that will go live on the day of the event. Is it possible that people will just watch for free? Yes....but we have every confidence that Speedway fans in the UK and around the world will appreciate the effort and pay what they feel is a fair price. Tickets & Attendance: At this stage it is very unclear as to whether spectators will be able to attend. If and when we can release tickets, we will contact our sponsors and 2020 season pass holders and the remaining quantities will be available for purchase via our website. To avoid disappointment and if we are able to issue tickets they will go live approximately 7 days before the event. Sponsorship: The 2020 British Under 21 Final will rely heavily on sponsorship and a big reason for our innovative ‘pay what you like pay per view’ idea is to maximise the eyeballs tuning into the livestream thus providing substantial exposure for the sponsors who will be graphically represented and announced throughout the event, on the website and of course via our social media platforms. Please check out the list below and don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to back this innovative and prestigious event. Title sponsorship: Please contact us @ club@berwickspeedway.com Powered By/Sub title sponsor: £500. Souvenir Race Jacket Sponsorship: £130, appear on and get to keep your own souvenir race jacket from the event. 18 available. Heat Sponsorship: £100, 13 available. #Under21Final #BanditsTV

The best geordie foreiner has got to be our Dickie juul tho

Bomber's had a year to get his bike ready but misses the two minute warning in race one.

Yeh it came Monday cracking read

what they will get out of the stadium ray is their "cut" out of the development of the stadium car park,probably as r&rsays they will then be gone,hopefully the stadium itself(not available for development) will by then be viable and someone will jump in

That is your best troll post so far. Hilarious

Although I've no complaints about Jack Holder getting the Wildcard I'm a little disappointed the already qualified SEC winner Robert Lambert hasn't had a shout for any of these rounds.

Television coverage was never meant to "replace" live sport; it provided the opportunity for people to watch who couldn't be there in person - like my situation now. Unfortunately, there were some who did look upon it as a replacement, including those who stayed home rather than "supporting" their team. I can see it in certain situations, such as a long journey in inclement weather, but there is no way I would ever give up a home meeting to watch it on the box, or special events like the biggies at White City or the NL Fours/Grand Slam weekend at Peterborough.

Ee, ecky thump!

Good to be reminded about what an excellent co-commentator Chris Louis is ... Hopefully Eurosport will make use of him next year (if he wants!) rather than the hapless Ermolenko.