tonyd

I used to work on large motorway projects where drug and alcohol tests were the norm as there was a total zero tolerance to both on site. Every day a minimum of 10 people were tested, a simple test of pee in a special container, snap the lid down shake and place on desk. then you watched the container together with the tester to see if the crystals change colour. A simple effective test that caught many out. The only time it was known to give a false reading was if you were taken certain prescribed drugs and the testers always asked pre test if you were taking anything. (and don't speedway riders have to declare prior to a meeting any strong prescribed drugs they are taking?)

If speedway gets going next year even with the corona virus still around what will happen if there is a local outbreak and there is a localised shutdown? What will happen if the club involved cannot complete there fixtures next season due to it, will they be penalised or fined ? Worst still what happens if the shutdown results in the club closing down do the BSPA have a emergency fund to help out in this situation. So many questions that the clubs might want answered before putting pen to paper for 2021. This Corona virus is here to stay for a while yet.

I would say that speedway this season virtually imposable, maybe the odd track could stage an open meeting or two in October. Covid19 is going to be around for years to come and something that is going to have to be dealt with locally like Leicester each time. Come the winter they are already talking of a second wave with a big spike in numbers again and the possibility of further lockdowns and if that happens the 2021 season could be heading for a late start as well for some if not all. If this happens will speedway in this country as we know it survive?

The longer this lockdown goes on will it create even further long term problems for our sport? We all know that no one goes into speedway promotion these days to make there fortune and the longer this lockdown goes on the possibility the shorter the season (or any season) we will see and the bigger losses they could entail. I would have thought promotions have already spent many pounds in readiness for this season which is now on hold. The problem is when the lockdown is over it will not mean crowds will be allowed to gather together again at sporting or any other such events straight away, the crowd ban could go on for a while yet after the lockdown is over. Could the unthinkable happen and with the longer this goes on some promotions / teams decide to cut there losses and not operate this year, giving it a miss and coming back to the tapes next year? Could some stadiums / track owners with no income coming in (and the longer this goes on) be thinking about cutting there losses and possibly selling up? Could some riders think that a shorter season is not worth coming back for this year and sit it out saving there equipment for next year? If and when the season starts will the riders at home around the world be able or be allowed to travel back to this (or any other country) to continue there riding here?. Come to that will some riders be allowed to hop around Europe to several counties each week? Could some teams find themselves short of riders if / when the season starts? Could when all this is over and normality resumes some people not want to stand around mixing in crowds again, this corona virus is not going to totally disappear overnight. This I know is not a happy read BUT it is just some of the thoughts I have had about the possibility's this virus could cause to our sport. There are probably hundreds more problems to add to the above as well. Anyone else got any thoughts or am I just talking rubbish?

British speedway used to lead the world and my personal thoughts are that a revert back to two valve uprights is a must to save this sport in this country. True top riders might stay away to start with but on the flip side of the coin as someone said above most top riders have equipment in each country they ride in so what's to stop them having a upright setup here? Plus it will sort out the men from the boys a big part of uprights was throttle control something many modern riders would have to learn again. The other thing of course is that maybe other countries after a couple of seasons will see the cheaper running costs and think seriously about their long term future as well. With a revert back to uprights maybe its also time to bring back the track spare. Remember that tatty looking machine that was warmed up and parked at the back of the pits at each meeting and then ….. bike problems and the spare was rushed out for the home rider to jump onto, not his own machine or set up but every home rider could nearly always get it round the track into the points.

It's been a long time since the last post on here but does anyone know how Blair (and his family) is getting on? Hope he is doing well addiction is a terrible thing to live with, go through or recover from.

I think the only way speedway is going to survive in this country is by going back to be semi-professional, the teams in the UK cannot afford to pay big bucks to riders on the crowds they draw in. The league needs fixed point money across all the teams (with maybe a bonus system for maximum points or a big win etc) If the riders want the big money then go to Europe to get it (mind you how many times do you hear of riders waiting to get paid?). Yes bikes are expensive to buy and maintain so there is another problem with costs and needs to be looked at. (maybe a league / teams using the F2 bikes) If fans / promoters want the big name riders them maybe the European league that was punted about a few years ago needs looking into again, nothing to stop clubs running in the two leagues if they can afford it. Lower costs might also stop some riders being signed by a team and spending thousands on equipment at the start of the season only to be told a couple of months later they have not made the grade and are them dropped and ending up with a garage full of expensive ornaments there still paying for. I don't think there is any easy answer to the plight of speedway in this country at present and apart from the people with there heads in the sand saying "all is well" and "its just a glitch its happened before and speedway had bounced back" things need to change and fast. One things for sure at present the guest riders situation, poorly prepared tracks, and the powers that be letting any old crap being served to Joe public and still expecting them still to come smiling and cheering through the turnstiles each race night are long gone. One things for sure and that is the old saying of "A turd is still a turd no matter how much you polish it" relates to speedway as it is at present.

It would be to expensive to make i'm afraid, the story and action shots no problem but can you imagine the cost of hiring all those extras to fill a stadium and have crowd scenes like that again?

I see on the SCB website that these two tracks are not licenced at present and posted this to advise riders and officials. What does this mean to any riders or officials that attend these tracks for a few practise laps? Surely if riders practise there being unlicensed it's no different to riders having a spin on there bikes on a track laid out on a farm somewhere or on a private piece of land / field ........ or does it? http://www.scbgb.co.uk/news.php?extend.78.1

I think that is a valid quote he has made AND what many many supporters have been saying on various speedway forums and pages for years.

Something needs to be done about riders contracts as it stands at present a rider signs for a club to ride for them for a season but he hits a bad patch and ends up being dropped and replaced OR another rider gets injured and to fit a new rider in to the averages rider X gets dropped and replaced by a lower averaged rider either way rider X who has invested £xxxx in machinery for the season ends up teamless and unemployed. On the other hand a rider who falls out with the promotion for whatever reason and refuses to ride ends up with a fine and a minimum 28 day ban. In either scenario it's always the rider that ends up suffering with no protection at all but the promotion just carry on. I would love to see riders contracts challenged in court because I bet they are not worth the paper they are written on in many cases.I

If Rye are to return in 2019 then I think they should enter the National League with a team, after the fiasco this year they need to ........ 1) start from scratch again 2) walk before they can run 3) build up the fan base again (and the fans belief in BMR again) 4) Build a team they can afford and survive the season 5) ensure they run on a Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon. Ambition is great and BMR had / have plenty of that but for that you also have to have deep pockets and it seems you have to ensure your face fits and be in with the right click of people when your sitting around the table at the big HQ. BMR need to look back over the Silver years, many people moaned about Len (including me) as a promoter, his teams, and his presentation but and its a BIG but at least he gave us speedway virtualy every weekend throughout the season for a great number of years.

I dont think all promoters loose money year on year, some do some dont BUT I do believe that speedway must be a nice tax offset if someone has a thriving buisness outside the sport.

Rye House has been a weekend track since the birth of speedway, even when Len ran the odd mid week match over the years the crowds were down compared to Saturday nights.

Everyone thinks that ....... in fact everyone knows that ........ and if the speedway ruling classes had any sence then this would be the number one item on the agender at the next and every future BSPA meeting BUT I think there is more chance of collecting rocking horse droppings than this happening.

We were spoilt for choice back in the day Steve Then back in the 70s I lived in Wembley (just off the A40) and 70/71 I could walk to wembley stadium as a kid to see my beloved Lions and after they closed it was off to Wimbledon. For this I had to get a lift either from parents or friends BUT there was always some speedway supporter I knew around my area who went each week and had a spare seat in the car. When I was 18 I had passed my test and owned a car and the world was my oyster and I was spoilt for choice, Monday Reading. Wednesday White City, Thursday Wimbledon, Friday Hackney. The weekend was Swindon Saturday or maybe Canterbury, Sunday was maybe Eastbourne. Or maybe a weekend of it with Canterbury Saturday and onto Eastbourne Sunday sleeping in the car or a tent. Cannot say I done all the tracks every week but if I had enough for a tank of petrol entrance fee and a programme then I was off. Then while on the road you would get a toot and a wave from a passing speedway fan when they spotted your car adorned with various speedway stickers or sun visors (or the big action speedway rider a lot had in our back windows). Happy days never to return.

Hawk127 has hit the nail squarely on the head in the above post " All very sad and no doubt many more will get out of the habit of going" I know I have already. From being a regular at Rye I stopped going each and every week in about 2008/9 and just started picking and choosing my meetings. Moved to the East Midlands in 2012 and not been to a meeting since coming up here and now get my fix via television, internet, youtube and dvd. Sad I know and Im sure many on here will say im not a true supporter BUT watching it this way I dont have to drive for xxx amount of miles each way, stand around in a clapped out stadium and go home £30 or £40 lighter in the pocket and moan about the meeting or lack of meeting at the end of the day. Plus the best bit of watching speedway my way is that if its crap there is always the off switch or something on another channel. High speed bikes with lay down engines and slick tracks I think killed it for me its all open throttle and hang on today ........ what happened to throttle control and riders natural skill and ability? I think whats even sadder is that im 61 this year and I just cannot see myself attending another live meeting

Plenty of dirt for the riders to collect and use to garden at the gate. Imagine out the pits onto the motoX track to the highest point wave to the crowd collect a bucket of dirt while your up there and then off to the starting gate to deposit the dirt in your selected rut ( while maintaining full control of the bike at all times)

I have this book on my kindle and have read it several times. Kenny was not everyone's cup of tea and yes he had his demons. He also had a belief that he knew he could beat every other rider he came up against and second place to him in a race was like coming last. He also had an opinion on most things speedway and called it as he saw it and this alone turned many people against him, BUT to me all these things make a great speedway rider. One things for sure when he pulled on an England vest he was a proud man and in every race he had you could virtually see the red, white and blue pulsing through his veins.

I don't see why not because there are plenty of others over the years who have dragged and dropped clubs, riders and the sport in general into the mire who have kept going within the sport in one guise or another.

Looking at the plans for car parking alone I see that there are 456 car parking spaces, 13 disabled spaces (15 marked on drawing) and parking for 3 coaches. Don't want to knock anything but where is the overflow carpark going to be? I'm sure there will be more cars attending than that for some meetings. Also with only 3 spaces to park coaches will there be no more big meetings held at the Abbey? I think I've also seen more than 24 motor cycles attending ANY speedway meeting at any venue I have been to over the past 40 years. I just hope the council put a "Fit for purpose clause" in the specification / contract and stick rigid to it. Just my thoughts on first view of plans.

Everyone has there opinion and there are loads of thoughts and comments on "should be's" and "could be's" along with "what if's" and "maybe's" but at the end of the day Swindon are play off champions over the two legs and the real winners for me (apart from Swindon) were ......................... British Speedway and all that viewed the matches either at the tracks or on the TV. I think it was a great advert for British Speedway and the riding and action in both matches for me was just BRILLIANT.

I thought they all had shotguns because that way they cant just shoot themselves in the foot ............ they blow the bloody thing off.

How can you defend Sandhu, Horton, Brandon Estates or the BSPA ? , and at he same time how can you blame Sandhu, Horton, Bandon Estates or the BSPA ? After all the pages about Coventry, the stadium and the lot listed above the only TRUE fact that is known up to now is that there is no team running next season called Coventry Bee's. Everything else about whats gone on are thoughts and hearsay sofar, HELLS BELLS we are speedway supporters so we are expected to know nothing, say nothing and just continue to hand over our hard earned money to someone or other during the season and be grateful for what we get. The chances of 99% of us finding out the real truth about what is / has been going on in the near future is next to nil. Everyone please remember we are all as speedway supporters just mushrooms (as in kept in the dark and just fed a constant supply of Bullsh1t)

I think your right as in league professional speedway as we know it. I think the sport will survive but on a amateur basis, its going to have to re-group, re-brand and be re-born to try and get back to the dizzy heights it once held.