mikebv

If this was a boxing match the ref would step in..

Last night with Anders Rowe being there to represent Sheffield it left the meeting devoid of credibility when aligned with the sport being a supposed professional team sport.. However, on the other hand.... Last night with Anders Rowe being there to represent Sheffield it certainly added much to the overall entertainment value on offer... Personally I will always believe that a truly fit for purpose RR facility would do away with guests completely, (never more so than now given the closeness in rider capability from 1 to 5 in particular), however as that is seemingly beyond the wit of man to deliver then they will be forever here to stay... Which obviously means the leagues will never have any value in winning them, but at least each meeting should stay at least competitive and watchable.... Unfortunately though the sport can't have it both ways... No one can ever complain about a lack of major sponsorship when that company/those companies will be associated with something 'pretty much contrived'.... And I can't think of one major company that would choose to back something ran that way.... 14 riders of a decent level can still deliver a good nights entertainment regardless of who 'wins'.... Which is ultimately what each track should be trying to achieve..

Thus bringing the sport in the UK both Credibility AND Integrity? Hmmm.. Interesting concept.. However. . Maybe we should just try and get regular manned flights to Mars first before we attempt this type of thing...

To be honest if I was a rider I would be the most frustrated of all 'stakeholders' in the sport.... They should be earning fortunes and plying their considerable talents in front of thousands every night... 'Lions led by donkeys' would be most apt .... And good to see Adam racing over here again... Once again tonight, easily one of the best 3 riders on show....

To be fair having one of your own highest potential future stars scoring points for another team, which could ultimately end your own teams' season early, won't exactly have many of 'the masses' beating down the gates to get in either... Having Anders there tonight though certainly improved the spectacle and entertainment value which is really all that matters... And a fair proportion of British lads too in both teams which can never be a bad thing to hopefully help the sport grow...

Enjoyed that tonight.. Most races pretty processional but close, with enough "last ditch" efforts to make most races interesting to the end.. The Ipswich Tiger proved to be the match winner with a couple of excellent passes to prevent the Aces scoring more... (How do you feel about that Mr Louis?) The tapes exclusion for Etheridge and R Worrall falling off meant the Aces were a little bit undone by themselves, but Batch gifting them a 5-1 in heat 13 balanced it up somewhat.. Plenty in too, considering the 'restrictions' and pay at the gate (in cash?). £36 for me and the lad to get in, £2 car park, (never bother with a prog), and circa £20 petrol (due to a huge 50 mile detour because of road closures), meant not staggering VFM but you certainly wouldn't feel short changed... Considering the crowd size, and a local derby as such, the atmosphere was definitely 'un Poland like' and pretty flat in all honesty.. Maybe on nights like this they should have a home and away section? Must have easily been a good couple of hundred Aces fans there which if together (like Poland do), I am sure the atmosphere would have been ramped up several notches and given the meeting some real edge... (Like a proper team sport if you will).... And whilst on that subject.... When Anders next goes back with Ipswich does he ride for both teams? Given his efforts tonight, it would be a real shame for the kid to knock himself out of the play offs..

A "two hour advert" that advertises itself as a sport that hardly any crowd attends.. A Great plan... Those watching wont for one moment think the stadiums are virtually empty due to the TV cameras being there.. They will just think it's because "that is normal" and, being sheep like, wont get encouraged to attend something so apparently poorly followed.. I suppose Nigel and Kelvin could currently say all the gaps are due to social distancing rules and a restricted attendance..? Might struggle with that after lockdown fully ends though..

Imagine if Poland ran with this? I am sure Betard would be delighted for Woffy to top score for Gorzow to help knock Wroclaw out of a play off slot.. I am sure that they would also be both eager and delighted to sign off their several hundred thousand euro sponsorship deals for both team and individual again for next year... Whilst such nonsense exists, the sport can never move forward.. No matter what else they try and do to improve its following.. "Being taken seriously" and "Having credibility" are two simple and very, very, basic fundamentals if you want to attract investment or just basic custom...

Good call... Kings Lynn could maybe do the same...? They could line up like this.. B E S I X T H

Yes/No/Maybe/Possibly/Probably/Definitely/Definitely not/It's in the interests of Speedway/It doesn't really matter * * Delete as applicable...

And a reduction in income tax...

To be honest, having Rowe there improves the entertainment from my perspective.. It's £36 for me and the lad tomorrow and having him there instead of Bates should mean a closer match and racing.. However.. I can dispassionately "couldn't care less" who wins, but maybe those that still see league racing in the UK as "real" may not... And that unfortunately is the ultimate downfall of the way the sport is ran.. Eventually you pee the die hards off (your biggest, most loyal fans), so much that they then lose their enthusiasm and (more importantly), their attendance.. Finally.. Is Jack there or have Torun got a meeting Friday?

"Morning Mickey".. "Morning Minnie".. "Just had to give another ruling for a Speedway meeting". "In the UK?".. "Of course" ..

Since around the mid eighties... Screen, Loram, Cox, Cross, Wigg, Havelock, Tatum, Smith, Dugard, Knight, Thorpe, Doncaster, Harris, Nicholls, Cook, Louis, Woffinden, King, Lambert, Bewley.... And probably more I have missed... All have competed at the very top World or European level, with many of them winning or reaching the rostrum at that level.. Which shows that producing top class English/GB riders who can compete at the very highest level hasn't really been a problem since the sport began... The issue since circa 1985 is that most teams stopped using loads of English/GB lads below that level to fill up their teams with, and instead used riders of a similar level from around the globe, (journeymen without being disrespectful), to fill these slots... These youngsters coming through are not necessarily the 'next gen' of World Champions, (some may reach the level of the riders mentioned), but hopefully most will go on to provide a constant stream of 'mid level' riders with which to fill teams with and, hopefully have enough 'top level' lads to get "Team GB" back up consistently at, or near, the top of the rostrums of the various FIM events.. And, as having a consistently victorious 'national team' is is the only way the sport can get the mainstream media and major company sponsorship involvment it needs to grow the domestic leagues, then lets hope the plan to get these lads plenty of racing opportunities and development works.. When at least five out of seven riders in every team is British, and there is a clear demarcation between all the leagues, (be they two or three), then the domestic product may once again start to attract more interest...

Might be there a bit early Kirky...? You should get a good spot to watch from though.. No social distancing problems either...

Best of luck to everyone down there.. Hope it is a success.. Lots of fans in the UK certainly admire and respect what you all do down there..

I know Kevin..

I work for a major UK and Global retailer and I do absolutely loads supporting the shops around me as without them the High St suffers and my trade dips.. I am also involved in the local Chamber of Commerce and Trading Associations.. As we will stand or fall together in the Community where my store is.. As an example I have hundreds of car parking spaces that are often empty, therefore the local hairdressers, take away's etc, and even the local Saturday food market inform all their customers that I allow them to use it for up to two hours.. Guess what? Many also then come in to shop with me when they go back to their car.. Very, very basic business acumen.. New promoters dont even get to vote on their own future in Speedway let alone get fully supported by the wider organisation in their infancy.. An utterly ludicrous way of running an ever shrinking enterprise..

The affordable level of the sport in this country is semi pro... Teams in the top league should pay out no more than an average of £100 a point across the team meaning £12k needed per home meeting to pay VAT and riders for one home meeting, and one away at a 90 point average.. Meaning £4.5k a night salary target to be divided up amongst the riders when agreeing individual points money contracts.. £16 admission and one thousand fans gets you £16k, to pay for a 'Championship Plus' level. (Not far from what we have now in the top league).. The second tier should be a "Championship Lite' league were an average £50 a point across the team is paid meaning £6k per home meeting needed to pay for VAT and riders.. £13 admission and 700 fans gets £9100 A £2.25k a night salary target to be divided up amongst the riders when agreeing points money contracts. The third tier shouldn't be much more than expenses paid.. Entry level motorsport is very much "pay to play" for most, with prize money often generated by their entry fees, so there really shouldnt be any more than an average of £20 a point paid out to anyone at that level.. 90 points for both home and away matches at £20 means £2160 to pay riders and VAT. At £10 admission a crowd of 400 would bring in £4k... I dont think the promoters realise just how little those of us who still follow the sport care about who wins their championships give the ridiculous operating model used and how they allow such manipulation, yet they pay out fortunes to try and win them, expecting riders to pay even more ridiculous amounts to get the best kit available.. Kit that also gets used (and subsidised by promoters by the way), to assist their own individual ambitions.. Let riders DU as much as they want to but only pay out a standard amount per team per night.. The bottom line is not many fans care who wins titles, so stop trying to out do each other to win something which is not far from irrelevant, and work together for collective success, which for many could simply be survival... One thing for sure is that closures within any industry can never be seen as a resounding success of its overall operating model and business plan..

Certainly didn't seem to be any social distancing issues... Seemed to be 20m between people, never mind two... As often when the sport is on TV, the empty terracing is a very, very poor advert for it... And with the size of Ipswich's stands, it looks even worse.. On Sunday I saw thousands watching in Wroclaw,, the majority bedecked in club colours, full stands, fans with drums to play along with the fan chants and create atmosphere, and every heat win celebrated like it actually meant something. . Last night you would have had to have the centre green flag marshalls and medical staff joining in just to keep the world's worst Mexican Wave going... I think it was quite telling that we had no close ups of "the crowd" as I don't think the producer could find enough together to actually fill a TV screen..

Can't they just implement the 2 min rule properly like Poland do.. So much peeing about at the gate that you just dont see in Poland.. Its seems to be obligatory to get off your bike and stamp over here..

Great ride from Becker... But poor from the Witches both riding narrow down the home straight...

Go off 15 metres Jake... Then let us see the formation this time... ..

I think you would find that if football ran itself using the UK Speedway operating model it too would be struggling very badly to attract fans.. In fact, a better analogy might be if Poland ran its Speedway the way the UK ran theirs, it would also be on its backside.. It would have.. No tribal following of hundreds of thousands of fans.. No one club riders who are synonymous with certain tracks to help build that fundamentally vital loyal emotional attachment to the club and individual... No major individual and team sponsorship from national companies to fund the paying out of 'Superstar wages' to 'Superstar riders". And. No TV companies having to tender (willingly given the size of prize on offer), for the rights to broadcast a 'ratings winner' into millions of Polish homes every weekend.. "I say Gregorz, old bean, could I borrow Tai on Friday because Bartosz is riding in the GP Challenge Saturday night?".. "Sorry Marek, Tai is already racing for Leszno agsinst you that night because Emil is in the same meeting as Bartosz. I do believe Patryk may be available though if you call FZG".. "Be quick though, I believe Lublin are after him to replace Michelsen on Sunday"... Can't see the Polish fans, sponsors, or TV broadcasters going for that somehow..

Certainly 'everyone being off at weekend' has changed considerably however.. It's telling that other forms of Motorsport all run into, and through the weekends, rather than try and run during the week.. As has been alluded to on this thread "making a day of it" would be the best way Speedway clubs could attract new fans.. Bottom line is Speedway in the UK is just an opportunity for riders to earn money under an ultra tenuous "team" infrastructure, that ultimately delivers "Championships" hardly anyone cares about, achieve very little merit or kudos in winning, and certainly have no major financial reward... If that is your starting point to attract "new fans" and your one saleable item is 15 heats/minutes of Speedway, often ran on days to accommodate your employees wishes, then you are clearly not going to make a success of it..