mikebv

If that was me winning the 100m title I wouldn't give a toss how I won it as decades of dedicated training and sacrifice had come to fruition.. Empathy for my rival, but delighted none the less.. However, comparing winning an Olympic Gold Medal to a UK Speedway domestic title victory is somewhat ridiculous... One is at the the highest level of sporting achievement, and the other delivers minimal publicity and awareness, hardly any financial rewards, and actively allows you to bring in a "ringer" at the end of a season... However, after a season whereby dozens of qualifying matches for those play offs have had their own "ringers" brought in, it provides perfect synergy for me, and is 100% in keeping with what has gone before... The year after Bomber was parachuted in for TWO different teams in the play offs... Presumably getting a winners medal AND a losers one!!😁

But this year, under the new semi final draw system... They will be pretty much guaranteed to face Ipswich in the semi....😀 So will get a massive crowd...😜

At least he rode for the Aces in both the semi AND the final... Rather than helping knock out the team he rode for in the semi, in the final!!.. With neither team actually being his...

Each year, it seems to take the Aces until the "warmer evenings" to really get dialled in.. For the first month or so, the away teams (no matter of overall levels), always seem to be "there or thereabouts" come heat 12... Then Kurtz and Bewley usually sort out a wider winning margin.. Ipswich look like a possible team that could go unbeaten all season, if injuries allow, (and they surely must be due some luck on that front this year!).. Great team building using the GB riders discounted averages with riders (like King) riding in their "true positions" which gives them great strength in depth... Didn't go last night as had watched Emil and Doyle the week before, but will definitely attend at least one of the league meetings ..

Or... Simply lose the RS position completely, and run six rider teams with riders all over 4 point averages... Having so many lads well out of their depth, basically beating each other, isn't good for them and the entertainment value on view, given so many finish half a straight behind the GP lads.. It would mean one less "contrived" rule too isn't required, and ultimately not followed, too... Let them ride in the 2nd Div and maybe be a "reserve" in the top league to come in if a rider gets injured during a meeting. Remaining in and around the GP lads, to gain experience on how they prepare themselves, bikes etc... The less "contrived rules" the more chance the sport has of gaining some wider coverage and publicity, and, if nothing else, helps keep the "regulars" attending... Many of whom have simply stopped attending over the years due to the nonsense that goes on through implementing regulations that are full of holes, or simply ignored...

Sixty quid spent on Monday for me and my lad to get in.. If there had been any likelihood of rain, I would have paid for the stream.. Very good value for money for those who decide not to attend in person due to weather concerns or distance to travel . I will definitely be using the stream in future for any other "big meetings" they cover away from the NSS...

Another decent meeting from the NSS, especially considering it was the first meeting of the season there, and was quite packed down just in case inclement weather was around, like March often brings.. Gate 4 was a bit of an issue but the canny riders cut back and used that piece of dirt at the apex of bend two at the kerb, which has appeared over the past season or so.. "Kurtz's Corridor" it is now called. 😁 Plenty of "from the gate" racing which is to be expected early season but even those races at the NSS have enough "close racing" to keep your interest... NKI was great to watch with several outside runs, and Bomber's last ride typified the man. A proper entertainer. The crowd looked very decent again this year (2500+?), so gate receipts must be pretty good at around £25 or so as an average.. Once again it shows that there is still some decent demand for "top level" racing in this country, the big challenge of course is putting it on more regularly... Well done Brady, hopefully an indicator of what is to come in the GP's for him. He has all the credentials, ie can gate, can pass, is very quick and smooth when out in front, and can mix it forcibly with others if required....

£50 a meeting in the "normal seats" in the Grandstand and £90 for both days would be the maximum expected I suggest . With £40 for standing per meeting and £75 for both .. No need to subsidise other meetings like the SON final had to do last season, so no need to charge the prices that they needed to do then.. When compared to Premiership prices, for a World Class event, those admission fees would be value for me, and a 5,000 crowd both days would deliver circa £400k..

"The Olsen Skid Lid" Being another...?

You can park on the main road (Kirky Lane), which the track is on.. Usually about 80 cars or so park there, on one side, and further up nearer BV Rail station cars park on both sides of the road.. You do need to get there and hour or so before the meeting though.. Also outside the Jehovah's. Witness building, just off Kirky Lane, about 150 metre walk away, usually gets cars parked on that road... The school adjacent as been mentioned already is the more secure option, and is "next door"...

There is no "new youth generation" to talk of... Mainly kids go with parents and grandparents until around 11 years old and then sack it off as video games and sports clubs training nights kick in, and then "hanging out" with mates when becoming a teenager is the usual evening time agenda... And any kid who still attends football matches mid week, or weekends, will need to catch up on homework, with not too many prioritising Speedway over Football .. The main opportunity for the sport is to get more "gone aways" back... Those thousands of 40+ something's who "used to go" but got dissilusioned by the sport and simply "gave up" on it... (But still watch pretty much every Speedway meeting on the TV)... Maybe start to listen to those who complain about the Mickey Mouse rules, lack of entertainment, and admission costs, and some may come back..? Much easier to get them older ex fans, with more disposable income, to attend, than expect a 12 to 16 year old attend each week... Anyhow, got my Star today from Tesco's and it again had a barcode issue.. The assistant took a photo of the barcode on her phone and it scanned using that photo... A great read again, what a tremendous production for such a small sport...

The domestic competition's definitely piggy backed off the very regular success at international level.. Watching PC thrill the nation on a Saturday afternoon riding for England, certainly aided crowd numbers for league speedway across the country... And then the UK decided to train up riders from the USA, Denmark and "everywhere else" instead of developing riders to replace PC, Louis, Simmons, Jessup etc etc etc.. Meaning less UK riders to watch, and inevitably, less success, as the USA and Denmark in particular cleaned up... And TV then decided to give it a wide swerve as watching non UK riders win pretty much every major honour, year in year out, became something viewers decided wasn't worth doing.. Nowadays barely 20,000 will attend Speedway every week... Mainstream media wouldn't be interested in such a tiny sport... Particularly with it's weather impact issues and, domestically, its ludicrous operating model... The GP's maybe have a chance of MSM coverage now Lambert and Bewley are challenging? But the organisers seem happy with Satellite and running behind pay walls...

In so many races at the NSS, the Aces are being outscored coming out of turn two, lap one .. They then pass their opponents over the remaining laps.. The early season damp, cold, with a more heavy track, seems to give their faster starting opponents an advantage, as the heavy track provides too much grip, and it is when the warmer evenings, with a slicker circuit, arrive, that the Aces then start to give their opponents some poundings, with many points being earned from behind...

The most despised person at Borussia Monchengladbach? The one who shouts... "Give us a B!".... The sport is tiny, with no major sponsors, an ageing white middle aged, and above demographic fanbase, hardly any competitor's, and an operating model ran with a credibility rating akin to pro Wrestling... A credibility rating which reduces any silverware success to fhe level of "Sunday League" sports who have a similar "lets bring in ringers" philosophy... Eg Thank you NKI for playing a significant role in Belle Vue becoming Champions, but Boool!!! For Bomber for helping Ipswich beat the Aces in the semi the year before... Before he then helped Sheffield beat Ipswich in the final.. . All played out in a wide ranging level of stadium standards and comfort, often miles away from what a 1995 audience, let alone a 2025 audience, would expect... Good luck with selling that product... Cannot see anyone pitching it on Dragons Den..

Here! Here! I agree.... "We Are The Champions" etc etc etc..😁 PS (It doesn't really matter who wins, just enjoy the Speedway, whilst it lasts)... I am a Speedway fan... "Dribble, Dribble, Where's me tartan rug for me knees"