mikebv

If they were really serious about making this competition something you "must attend" then the third rider (injury cover), would be another one of the top five in the team... Instead we have the RIsing Stars doing the third rider role... And one is a guest just to take away any credibility the new competition may have had.... They just can't help themselves can they?

And his gating gloves on...

I think Bomber races against himself four times ..

100%... As someone who doesnt bother who wins , I have to say the Premiership usually means competitive racing even if the score is quite wide.. I do though watch at the NSS so maybe that clouds my judgement.. Overall for circa £20 it is a reasonable product... As long as you dont take the result or the make up of the teams too seriously, obviously..

Yet other countries dont use them and run their leagues fine... Which shows that there very much is an alternative... For me, a fit for purpose RR system would replace guests at a thrice.. Last night for example Kurtz and Wright could have taken all Zagars rides up to a maximum of seven each, (if Lemon had wanted them to)... And promote Bailey into reserve and Brennan into number 2.. Years ago when the No1's ran 10/11 point plus averages and sometimes scored 40 - 50% of a teams points under the 13 heat formula, you can kind of see that they needed replacing.. Now the disparity in level between all the Heat Leaders and Second strings is much closer, as is the difference between Second Strings and Reserves.. So use that close level to put in an affective RR system... Bottom line is injuries happen in all sports and they find a way of not doing what UK Speedway does.. The truth is, is that it is the lazy, too easy way to run it, rather than find a way of running the sport "properly", and of course it provides riders with earning potential seven days a week...

Obviously it goes without saying that with the "Guest Rule" you cant take the sport seriously as it is simply ludicrous in a team sport to be able to bring in "adhoc ringers" isnt it? Even kids League football now uses photo id to prevent this happening.. However.... I can think of one thing might help its credibility... And that's a name change... Just as the "Bosman Rule" changed the landscape of Football, and the phrase "Doing a Bosman" became common place... What about changing the "Guest Rule" to the "Bomber Rule"? Eg. Last night you could have advertised MPT as "Doing a "Bomber' for the Belle Vue Aces", rather than "Guesting"... Could fill those terraces instantly.....

Do the regulations cover off how many teams Bomber can ride for per night in the Pairs?

Spot on... The people you need to attract are the families who are not there now, therefore there is absolutely NO LOSS by reducing admission for them.. And if the odd "regulars" get a discount then "so what"? Call it a loyalty bonus... Given the current climate what an opportunity Speedway has to market itself as a "value for money family night out"... Two Adults and as many kids as you want to bring for a (max) £25 family ticket.. Charge no more than that because the real cost of the night will be around £50 to £60 when all are fed and watered.. I have never understood why tracks dont market EVERY meeting separately in its own right.. Most tracks would kill for another 200 punters each week but don't need the same 200 punters each week.. Therefore market every meeting as if it were a 'one off' stand alone event and see if 200 or more "extra punters" may be interested enough to attend... A local visiting circus or fun fair will be better marketed than the local Speedway team..

My company makes millions from holding them... Hence we send out coupons for what you buy, rather than what you dont... All personal information given freely can be stored and used as long as that is made clear at the time the person gives you their details.. Hence my pizza and curry places send me Xmas Cards through the post.... Happy Xmas Mr Mike and Family..

There is a reason "influencers" can earn zillions of quids.... Tell someone a lie long enough and it becomes the truth....

You could be a promoter... They wont be making ANY money on those crowd levels currently, and is very likely also "brand damaging" by being seen as so "empty", so "do something different"... But do it as part of a strategic growth plan for your business.. Not as a "one off"... Give the bloody thing away free for one night if needs be and get personal info, names, addresses, birthdays (especially kids birthdays), and mobile phone and email info off everyone who attends, so you can target market them ongoing.. Didnt Lakeside get 7000 in one night when they let everyone in for free?.. Then. The week after they were back to normal because they didnt "milk" this captured market ongoing for longer term rewards.. Being an old retailer. A basic "loss leader" generates longer term loyalty "if" you use it well... And you do this by delivering a great experience when those who maybe havent used you before rock up and give you a go... And, as we know, the bigger the crowd the more the noise, the more the noise, the better the atmosphere, the better the atmosphere, the better the overall experience, and the better the overall experience the more likelihood the chances of repeat visits... They could though obviously choose to simply carry on doing the "same old, same old" and therefore carry on getting the same "success" and reward..

And if they were really innovative and proactive they would advertise the whole next seven days of racing from around the country through out the two hours.. Maybe having promoters on from other tracks discussing their up coming meetings.. Plymouth for example race Tuesdays so I am sure they would like some national TV mentions 24 hours before... Poole Wednesday, Sheffield Thursday, Edinburgh Friday, Leicester Saturday, Newcastle Sunday, etc etc etc.. Many of the watching public would he very surprised at how much Speedway exists in the UK, and how "big it is" I would suggest. And some may actually get told they have a track in their own town!! You could turn maybe 30 mins of the 2 hours into discussing forthcoming meetings and the current league tables etc. Making that 30 mins into a kind of "magazine type" programme... Got to be better and more beneficial to the sport than Sam asking yet another rider for the umpteenth time "how ya finding the track buddy?"....

They will be PAYING THEM a tenner to attend.... British Speedway... If it didnt exist the way it does, you couldn't make it up enough to truly do it justice could you?

It is amazing that the TV matches dont have any seperate focus from the promoters isnt it? Guess what. Breaking news. Whisper this. Spoiler alert for any Promoters reading this.. "Unless its the play offs. Your crowd will be a lot less for a TV match than a non TV match, and it will do you no favours when it comes to showcasing your sport to potential future Speedway fans"... I presume the above must be "earth shattering" to read and some will he amazed at my "Poirot like" mystical powers of deduction, but it will invariably be true, given it is based on decades of TV coverage, and hundreds of TV matches.. And when you add in a "poor meeting", with strung out races and little passing (which let's be honest most meetings have more of than close exciting racing with lots of paasing), then anyone watching will put two and two together and decide "no wonder nobody goes", and wont ever bother trying it for themselves... Last night was an example where the scoreboard would have kept things interesting if a large noisy crowd had been in attendance, adding atmosphere to the occasion.. And if the promoters say that they couldn't afford to drop prices for the TV matches then they must rather have someone NOT there, and NOT paying them ANY money at all, than someone actually BEING THERE, GIVING THEM MONEY, say a Tenner, and adding atmosphere to the occasion, improving the overall positive experience of the visit, and making it look to the wider outside sporting world that have tuned in, that the sport is popular and that they could just be missing out on something.. A "strange" and quite "unique" business plan to have a two hour advert on TV, and make your product look so poorly purchased.. ....

Of course they should do... As they should have done for a long, long time.. Two hours of free advertising for the sport so maybe they should at least try and make it look popular..? Restaurants put you in the window tables early in the evening for a reason and that is to make their establishment look "popular".... As they know that people are "sheep like" and easily led and influenced... Speedway showcases itself with rows and rows and rows of empty seats.. A bit of a waste of a two hours advert I would suggest...

The challenge is when we have heavy downpours and the track becomes "too grippy"... The track team do a great job but just need to find a way of keeping the great racing when a lot of grip around the inside has been created.. I am sure they are working on it though and will no doubt find an answer.. For me. Not too sure about grading it after four heats when "grippy" as we need the racing line to move out and the inside become slicker as soon as possible.. The racing definitely improved as the material stayed mid track to outer so maybe letting it move out earlier without pulling it back in might help? Overall an ok meeting with some decent, if not spectacular racing.. And considering the weather, (and no Matej), I would suggest the crowd was "not bad" at all.. And great to see Jason Crump too... What is noticeable is how "social" UK speedway is with the riders of both teams standing together watching, laughing and joking, and two from opposite teams even shared a mechanic in Robbie Kessler.. Not quite like Poland where even the mechanics wear the club colours, and riders from each team invariably stand apart.. I suppose it reflects where UK Speedway is in that it is more about riders getting rides rather than anything else... Not a bad night overall and it is still great to attend a racetrack where, even if not the best racing ever seen there, there is always enough to keep you interested for four laps in most races, and, unlike far too many tracks, the places are not decided coming out of bend two, lap one..

There is a lot of repeat coverage of Speedway on Eurosport so fair play to them... Hopefully it will enter slowly into the psyche of those watching enough for them to decide to visit their local track...

Far too many variables make up averages... Eg a riders liking for a home track v his away performances, his position in the team, how many points get "gifted" or "lost" by engine failures, falls, riders "giving up at the back" and riders "managing" their own averages, riding in meetings missing the best riders through fixture clashes, team riding by riding "shot gun" and probably many more... Grade them all...

Dan does seem to struggle to ride an inside line around a bend when in front... Gets passed underneath too much...

I presume no rationale has been explained with the rule change? If so, I can only think that it actually could be designed as a way of reducing averages for next season for some riders... Isn't the plan to bring back more GP riders next year? If so, including them AND all the doubling up Div One HL's currently sat on 6/7/8/9 point averages might be difficult... Therefore the current lads drop a decimal point or two and they can then get team places to keep doubling up next year... As if they dont double up, they then may want more to ride in Div 2...

Most seasons many of the play off positions are pretty much guaranteed for some teams by the end of July so plenty of scope for manipulation I would think... Matej at 6 would be good for the Aces.. ..

Woukd make sense... Is it Wright, Brennan and Blodorn who can take the rides? Pretty solid four rides covered by those 3 I would think.. Bailey could then maybe take one or two rides if the meeting isnt in the balance later on..

My lad used to ride cycle Speedway and was told "you don't need to be the fastest to win, you just need to be fast enough to win"... Track craft so important... "None shall pass"....

Dan Bewley I believe...

Almost needs to be a bit more ruthless to compensate for his lack of speed... Not sure it is in his make up though.. Freddie, Doyle, Nicki P and Bartosz wouldn't bat an eye lid to do it if they felt under pressure for horsepower..