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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/21/2024 in all areas
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Agree with a lot of that. Shouldn't have been on the calendar. BUT...what I strongly suspect is that organisers have to get the calendar out early and Cardiff was dependent upon funding from Welsh Govt. I expect that has been pulled, after all, if it's not attracting numbers and doing good business, then why would you invest tax payer money in it? Once that went, it's not viable. As for Poland, well, that's the reality of where the sport is. It's the only lucrative market for speedway on the planet. He who pays the piper calls the tune. Let's not forget there was a time when the World Final was held in the UK every year and riders qualified for that direct from the British Final. Same situation, different country. I think the best way to process this is to be grateful for the 20 odd years we had at Cardiff. Few of us imagined speedway ever getting back into a major UK stadium after Wembley. It did and it was a joyful experience - particularly 2007.6 points
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Sorry, that's ludicrous. Harris' win in 2007 and Rickardsson's wall of death in 2005 are among the most iconic moments in GP history5 points
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The Harris moment will live forever as one of my best watching live Speedway.5 points
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Not seen it advertised by the club yet, but seen on Niels Instagram that his testimonial will be the season opener at Lynn on 16/03 (3pm start). Well deserved for a Stars legend. Hopefully the weather is kind and I imagine he’ll assemble a good field considering his standing in the sport. Sure they will be plenty of GP boys looking for track time at the start of the season.5 points
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I've a horrible feeling no. Poole fans are unbelievably fickle when it comes to NDL standard. Personally myself and all our group would love it. There has been offers to run an NDL side but BSPL rules it had to be run by the current promoter.4 points
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4 points
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Just for clarity and your statement implies you have your opinion of Poole speedway if this was the case and you are saying this is why they win a lot of trophies why dont all the promoters follow your lead then other teams of what you believe is true would be very successful who is your team ? you don't say on your name.Speedway is a yearly competition what changes every year good or bad teams are built to entertain and make all involved a living.Poole along with others just run a team each year and if other teams or people run an NDL team good for them it's up to whatever level people spend their money so if some teams just take a rider from a junior side that's what they do,vultures will always there not just Poole but maybe they know which carrion to plunder.4 points
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The decision itself is not a huge surprise. I went to every Cardiff GP from 2001 to this year's, and 2024 did have the feel of a final visit. However, the way it's been handled stinks. If they had doubts about viability, then drop Cardiff when they set the calendar. To put it in, allow fans to arrange (expensive) accommodation etc, then move the goalposts three months later is a huge own goal.4 points
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WBD managed to half the crowd from the moment they took over and then did pretty much nothing in the way of promotion to tempt those people back. Like @flagrag said they need to rent the stadium for a period of time to put the track in and that won't come cheap and then all of a sudden the numbers stop adding up. This time the decision truly has been made for "commercial reasons" but you can't help but think that if IMG were still the rights holders we'd all be off to Cardiff again next summer.3 points
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Just for clarity this is not a WBD decision to cancel Cardiff .My understanding is that the company that have put Cardiff on for the last two years were planning to do it again in 2025 however due to the low crowds the stadium have increased the rental costs considerably for 2025 abb they lost money last year on staffing costs as very little customer spend inside the stadium. Speedway also ties the stadium up for 9 days and means paying lots of extra money for security. Expect to see a major concert to fill the gap when the Speedway GP was planned to be3 points
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Exactly. Often it's much cheaper to pay up front, with the no ammendments,no refunds option. Obviously it's a gamble and if something goes wrong in your life, meaning that you can't go, or a natural phenomena makes travel impossible, that's the chance you're prepared to take when you choose that option and you suck it up. With the Cardiff GP though, it's not going to be a rain off, so I think someone would have a legitimate complaint when the rug has been pulled by the organiser in this fashion after they had announced the date when they must have known it wasn't certain to happen.3 points
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I didn't miss a Cardiff GP so it's a very sad day for me, they were very enjoyable weekends. To me it feels like I have lost a loved one.3 points
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not ideal but ive thought for a while that cardiff had run its course as a gp however good the social side of the weekend was the sums not adding up isnt a surprise3 points
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Not a word about the thousands who have booked hotel rooms/travel etc If there was any doubt about the viability of the event why announce the date? Shambolic3 points
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The cancelled SGP has nothing to do with the BSPL. That’s a Warner/Discovery/FIM competition.2 points
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It's probably reached a natural end, but the way it's been dealt with is abysmal. I'm sure the usual suspect will be along soon to chastise those who've booked non-refundable accommodation, but that was a big attraction of Cardiff: it would never be rained off. Whatever your thoughts are of the whole event, there are now unhappy speedway fans who have lost money on hotels, and maybe some who won't bother as much with speedway. WBD have been an unmitigated disaster.2 points
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2 points
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And if Worky went NDL who would they sign? Most of the northern based riders will be committed to Edinburgh, Belle Vue, M'brough and Scunfield. How many southern based riders of a reasonable standard could they persuade to travel all the way to Workington.2 points
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Honestly, if Edinburgh could get Wolbert in a 5.00, would be fighting for the title. If he doesn't want to race here regularly, could Monarchs convince him to race 6 meetings (till he gets a new average) the replace him on his new (presumably) higher average?2 points
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Have you always been an idiot? History lesson for. You do know why coventry was bombed during the second world war. Thats why we have two cathedrals. Twinned with gaza?. Hope your a man city fan and have a great christmas2 points
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to be fair doesn't have to be a huge number, BV can only hold so many. I think attending both days is going to be popular, Manchester is easy commute for much of the north and midlands. We'll see2 points
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When I first heard Belle Vue was going to also host a GP round, I thought, that's great for GB speedway, 2 venues in one year! Now, what do I think? I think it could be a disaster, from an attendance point of view. Also, how do fans choose between day 1 and day 2? Or are the organisers expecting fans to attend day 1 and 2? I doubt a huge number could.2 points
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Could the British Grand Prix not have gone to Plymouth after all the track work? Surely they have a FIM status air fence2 points
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I guess it's the right time of year for old chestnuts. And that has to be the oldest.2 points
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As an aside - I still much preferred the one off 'World Final'. Speedway as it ought to be.🙂2 points
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Absolutely rubbish decision. Best weekend of the year. No way am i going anywhere near manchester. Two nights in the most depressing city in the world2 points
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It’s a sad day for UK speedway & a measure of how the sport is failing over here. The attendance has been poor since Covid & to be honest embarrassing when on live tv so probably the right decision.2 points
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Sad day, really sad. The 3 home wins were as good as atmosphere as I can ever remember at any sports event Ive been to, Bomber in 2007 in particular. With regards to this being 'inevitable' I understand that but why was it ever put on the calendar? Its inexcusable really is. This lot keep making bold promises they do not keep and we now have a series in sub par stadiums with the only 2 riders that have a chance of beating BZ not allowed in the series its been a shambles. The business model is be propped up by Polish money and therefore they dictate what goes on. There will be a minimum 3 permanent Polish riders from 2026 onwards, will be 3-5 Polish GPs minimum, the PMZ will block Artem and Emil ever getting back into the series and unless a very wealthy individual decides they want to stage a GP in another country we will see no new venues. WBD have delivered on pretty much zero that they promised and its not a great surprise as I would assume none of them had even heard of speedway pre 2021...2 points
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Crump and Adams you dumped after a year after bringing them over. Doyle and Chris holder both started at I.O.W before Poole and Jack holder started at Plymouth before Poole. As lewy has also pointed out Zack cook started at Plymouth also. So not really invested in the Aussies either, oh dear. So your point is utter nonsense.2 points
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I can't help but feel sorry for Cardiff, especially all of those good folk who have already booked up accomodation, transport etc. Bit of a kick in the teeth really. As a Belle Vue fan, I am, of course, very pleased a Grand Prix has been given to Belle Vue, but Cardiff has really done very well for Speedway over the years. We should be very grateful to them. A very sad decision for me.2 points
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Well Belle Vue need to learn their lesson from overpriced temp stands on their last outing. It is easier for Polish fans to travel via Manchester airport correct, but Polish fans won't pay £60+ for this event. They have premium stands and multiple SGPs in Poland, Cardiff was an experience, Belle Vue isn't. I went with my Polish GF to both SON Belle Vue and Cardiff last year. The difference in her experience was telling, indoors was amazing and a nice city to walk around, Manchester, well...2 points
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Or it'll be London in Nigeria, where a rich Prince has promised his inheritance to WBD in a no-loss contract to broaden speedway's horizons.1 point
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Benjamin Basso was tapped up by a certain team while riding for Poole, probably goes on all the time1 point
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Yep I'd agree with that. I've not been for a few years and ironically was probably going to make the effort in 2025 but costs going up and crowds going down was only ever going to end one way. Feel for those who have lost money on hotels and whether they should have covered their own backsides is another argument, at the end of the day if a speedway event with a roof is scheduled then it's extremely rare for it to not go ahead. On the bright side we should get two excellent meetings in Manchester if the weather behaves. Hope to be there for one of them if ticket prices are sensible.1 point
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Was strange at the time always used to announce the date and ticket's on sale the next day1 point
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1 point
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I don't think that's delusional at all, I'm no Poole fan, but I wouldn't be surprised if Cairns averages over 5.1 point
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Great news... Two days of cracking Speedway, seven miles from my door.. Just need to make sure the missus doesn't book any "surprise" holidays... Or she will be going by herself...1 point
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Maybe the subsidy by from the Welsh tourist board has finished or been dramatically reduced to make the event unviable. Local businesses are going to suffer unless some other event gets booked in. Also it shows the way not to address the problem of declining attendance is to shove the prices up way beyond inflation. BV need to take heed - no guarantee of the meetings being a sell out as both will be on TV & should price tickets to pass on the benefit of their fixed costs now being spread across two meetings instead of just the one intended.1 point
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i do find it rather amusing that everyone who doesn't support Poole can see this, but the Poole fans just wont accept it.1 point
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I'd booked my Cardiff hotel but luckily on a refundable rate so i've just cancelled and will get my money back. I feel sorry for those who wont get a refund. The date should not have been announced months ago as I reckon many people probably booked the hotels on a non refundable basis due to the prices being cheaper. As much as I love the GP I doubt I'lll risk getting tickets for Manchester, I know some will say it doesn't rain much up there but if it does that could be a whole weekend wiped out. I wonder what the riders think about a double header GP ?1 point
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Nothing new here, Poole have been cheating/poaching/stealing riders for years & years & giving nothing back, not likely to change any time soon.1 point
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I just love the spin in the Headlines..rather than the doom and gloom and the disaster of losing the biggest day of the year in UK speedway its dress up as a great positive that we 2 GPS in a normal speedway track.1 point
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At least fans will get to travel through the spectacle that is longsight not once but twice now, I know Wiktor Lampart was taken back by his first drive through there1 point
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Bewley has also been spouting conspiracy theories on TwitterX. I suspect the crap in those cans he keeps pushing will do him more harm than a glass of cows milk 🐄🥛... I wonder if he'll be sporting a tin foil crash helmet next year?1 point