mikebv

I was an Area Manager covering Bradford for one of the UK's biggest businesses... And one of my stores had, (using loyalty card info), a 95% Asian customer base.. Hence, the range of products I put in was very much tailored for sub continent customers... The store in question had 30,000 visits per week... Definelty not a city with enough of a demographic to follow Speedway I would suggest... ..

When is the sliding roof going to be in place? Maybe Speedway will relaunch there then?

Supplementary Reg 31. (as of Feb 01/26).... Any Swedish rider, who hasnt ridden in either of fhe UK two top leagues for a "few" years, (let's keep it ambiguous), and whose surname has two lots of consecutive consonants in it, comes in at an average of 4.50...

Come the end of May, we will all be pining, and reminiscing, for "the good old days" of November 25 to March 26...

I think we can almost guarantee it... In the Speedway Star, Matt Ford mentions how those previous generation of promoters basically left a very poor legacy, and when the going was good, they didn't invest money back into the sport, and today's promoters get all the blame and stick from fans for the current malaise... Ford is someone I do have a lot of respect for but the previous promoters haven't watched over the last ten to fifteen years or so worth of unchecked decline have they? They didn't make "DU'ing" so fundamentally important, nor run Guestfests after Guestfests, nor indeed just pick and choose what league to race in whenever the moment came along to suit themelves.. And. Instead of "going it alone" when the GP's and Poland took over, they instead pandered to others and let their own operating model become defined by these outside influences... The result? Team Speedway in the UK simply isn't an authentic product to sell, which then hugely impacts its relevance, and therefore fan engagement. . This winter's goings on is just a "new way" of making the sport look the way it does, no doubt there will be other ways to keep the same reputation in the future...

Good luck with that.... I think someone with a better grasp of the rules may explain why it SHOULDN'T happen!!!... The official answer of course is that... "This is UK Speedway"...

Cowboy Cook? He could maybe DU with the "Young Stars"...

Just like the Rising Star criteria when it was launched......

Lifeboats that the Premiership teams have subsidised...

Riders have to double up... It's the law....

A good, informative, interview (again), in the Speedway Star with Matt Ford and he mentions Vaculik and his injury inducing, short lived, stint at Leicester, which cost him thousands as he had to pay back his signing on money to his Polish team... A big risk for riders to come over here when you are talking high five, and sometimes six, figure signing on fees that have a "pay back clause" if injured riding in other leagues...

See.... Now you've got it....

Maybe with potentially less meetings the rent has needed to be renegotiated?

Winners always find a way.....

It needs to be on free to air mainstream TV, which then (might), engage some of the old followers to attend, and ignite some interest from the millions, within 45 mins of many tracks, who literally don't know the sport exists... And free to air mainstream TV may also get some "new money" sponsors into the sport, rather than "in house" sponsorship which doesn't move the sport forward... However. Some "proper cash injection" would need to be met with an agreement to run the sport authentically from a team aspect though, and, given so many "hobbyists" are involved, that may be a big barrier to overcome...