mikebv

Can't beat a track that's got a bit greasy meaning horsepower isnt the key determinant.. Great to see riders changing lines and moving around all over the bike to get the best traction..

600 (maybe more?), would have been workable at most tracks I would have thought, especially Championship level where crowds of that level are not a million miles away from their actual. Riders probably wouldn't have had their usual money but it would at least have given them regular racing. Seems crackers that Stox can get thousands in the same arenas that Speedway can't have even 'hundreds' in.. Tonight I will sit in a 4500 capacity stadium watching my lad play in the Youth Cup with around 400 to 500 others, with pretty much all social distancing being done by ourselves.. A strange situation..

I have read comments around how cheap it is at £10 compared to going as eg "all the family can watch" with the suggestion that if you paid to watch it live the cost of two admissions at adult level and two at kids level, with food, drink etc would be around £50 to £60.. I think that misses the point.. The stream needs to be aimed at those who dont attend Speedway regularly but know it exists and maybe used to follow it, and also the many thousands of fans around the country who have no affinity to either side on show. And the amount of 'families' who go is minimal when up against those who attend alone I would say.. If I wont pay £18 to watch it live now, then I probably wont pay £10 to watch it on TV.. Especially given you can watch so much Speedway on BT, Eurosport and Premier from the comfort of your armchair, (which you have already shelled out a good few quid a month for).. I would imagine given the pandemic the streams will be a perfect time for a 'toe in the water' to see how it goes, and I hope it goes well.. But going forwards when up against the Satellite broadcasters who can provide around 15 to 20 meetings a month for circa £60, then I would think the £5 per meeting price point will be nearer the mark than a £10 one to get fans to purchase the meetings 'regularly'.. Maybe with the technology of today, the stream could be blocked locally around the home teams area to encourage fans to attend, but to be honest I would think that the vast majority of regulars who still go now would go anyway, so it's not really them you will appeal to via a stream. Unless its maybe 50/50 if a meeting will go ahead due to poor weather, but even then you will still be getting some revenue in rather than zero if they stay away as many do at present when it looks like a meeting could be called off.. The target audience for any stream has to be the utopian "everyone who follows the sport in the country that wont be there in person", which is a massive market even for Speedway.. On a 'normal' week, if every track had a meeting I would suggest 20,000 to 25,000 or so will attend, many of whom will watch 'any speedway' on TV... I would also suggest at least that many again (and probably many more) still follow the sport but hardly attend (if at all). These people currently pay no money directly into the sports coffers yet many will have used to put "plenty" in until they finally 'gave up' with UK Speedway. Yet still watch as much of the sport as they can via TV. You only have to look at the high 5, and sometimes over 6 figure viewing figures for Sky and BT over the past ten years, to see that the interest is still very much out there in the UK to watch domestic Speedway.. Get the pricing right and it could be a real winner for the sport as a collective, however, I do think that working as a collective is the key.. If clubs do it as individuals, and stand alone, then I dont think it would be anywhere near as successful as all working together to share costs and share profits, maybe with exclusivity deals to broadcasters to maximise that potential and deliver a consistent quality of stream.. Speedway has more % 'neutral' fans than a great many other team sports, fans who just love watching the racing, so streaming could be a great way to harness that and make some real money for the sport as a whole.. Streaming really could be a game changer for clubs and the sport in the UK, with, as just one example, more revenue coming in from local businesses who can build their brand awareness by advertising during the stream to the locality that they serve. Speedway has so many natural breaks it would be perfect to use some of the time as advertising slots.. But again, it will only ultimately work if that price point is right and you get enough people to sign up to it regularly..

Lovely evening here in Gorton A bit drafty up here in my cherry picker though... Should have brought a coat.. If anyones reading this in the stadium could you send us up a brew?

So could only giving out riders their money as "prize money" won on the night, rather than "guaranteed points money" allow the sport to drop a level? Those with "other jobs" would have "guaranteed income" and their Speedway earnings would be "nil" unless they "won" money each time they rode. . Technicalities maybe but if it got fans back in stadiums akin to how stock cars can do it then worth a go surely?

A shame the sport couldn't get itself classed as 'more grassroots'.. How many riders are truly 100% pro in the UK? ie those who only race and don't do any other work for the rest of the year? Would they be in the minority? If so, then couldn't Speedway suggest it was more semi pro/grassroots? Must be annoying to see Stock Cars and Non League football running in front of crowds ranging from "excellent" to "possibly workable" in the eyes of a Speedway promoter..

As with anything I suppose there will be that price elasticity and ultimately the sweet spot.. The huge opportunity they have though will be to get some money from all fans with access to streaming if they get it right.. Many Speedway fans simply follow the sport without having a real passion for any team so a big market to try and attract.. Pay by night, pay by week, pay by month, pay by season, pay per team..? Many packages could be offered.. The price point and quality of production though will ultimately determine the level of uptake.. Maybe a tenner a week for the whole package would be there or there abouts? Meaning you could dip in and dip out whenever a match takes your interest?

Who decided Speedway in the UK was an 'elite' sport? Was it the Govt or those who run it? Presume there had to be some set criteria? No disrespect to it but you could hardly put it at the same level as Football, Rugby, Cricket and Horse Racing.. Could it get reassessed I wonder? Go down the route of riders being semi pro at best? Many effectively 'pay to compete' given their outlay, similar to stock car drivers, so maybe the sport could be 'down graded' to whatever the stock car level is.. Change 'points money' to 'prize money' and could you then run the sport regularly at a 'non elite' level..?

I think a lot of the issue goes back to to the lack of a 'tribal' following now within Speedway.. Why follow with passion a team when over a season your own riders could prevent their own team qualifying for the play offs by scoring points for competitors? Imagine if Poland did the same thing? If they did, you could guarantee crowds would plummet and sponsors would leave overnight. . Betard would be delighted I am sure for Woffy and Majic to have top scored for Lublin in a win during the season and those points ultimately cost Wroclaw a play off place... The hundreds and thousands of Euros they put into both team and individual sponsorship would soon be pulled and disillusioned fans would leave the stadiums empty.. Over here, Speedway has very much become a 'just go and watch the racing' night out for many who, given the way the sport is allowed to be ran, and the lack of kudos in winning anything, don't take the team aspect too seriously Unfortunately these (and I include myself) fans will usually be ex regulars who go far more infrequentlly, as watching on TV delivers a similarly 'emotional' experience as being there.. Meaning sitting in your living room with a beer in hand offers a pretty decent night in (whoever you're watching), without paying out anything like the costs incurred of attending in person. . Get some 'tribal rivalries' back (as a team sport should have), give winning a UK Speedway title some credibility and reward, and maybe then being there will become the "only" choice to make rather than being sat in front of the TV just appreciating the racing that you're watching..

Hardly any bike noise is a bit weird.. Is it e-speedway in Sweden...?

Leszno must be a hell of a frustrating team to ride against.. They always seem to come up with race wins from riders who you wouldn't always have down at the start of the race as favourite.. They will take some stopping again..

Harsh, Vaculik didn't change his line and Pawlicki couldn't get round so inevitably would get contact.. He should have gone...

Good ride from Krakowiak... Kept Emil occupied as well as beating Kolodziej...

It was Jason Lyons and he didn't get excluded. . Presume a 'tad' pissed off....

One of my favourite ever riders.. Used to use a uni cycle to practice balancing... Several times I saw him slide off' and then picked the bike up all in one movement and carried on.. I remember him doing it at Kirky Lane and getting excluded because (I think) Ronnie Correy laid his bike down to avoid him.. His face must have been a picture, laying a bike down to avoid another rider and that rider clearing off into the distance.. And Wolves '93 for me gave me one of the best nights ever of my life.. I can still see Peter Karlsson and Henka Gustafsson talking tactics at the gate of the Championship last heat decider when Bobby rode in between them and said something along the lines of "Hi Guys, isn't this great?".. And then went off and won the race handing the Aces the title.. An Aces legend for ever more...

Those pesky Wine Gums...

So he 'cheats' time, and time, and time, and time, again...? For two years? And he hasn't been tested and found out? The unique thing about Speedway is that it takes place on all shapes and sizes of tracks, and it also takes place on tracks with differing levels of grip/slickness etc. All of which will impact a bikes characteristics very acutely... Meaning a 'too fast bike' is no use.. You then have the completely random riding order which may favour certain gates given the track grading schedule.. You then have the weather which can influence many a meeting dependant on your gates when the adverse weather strikes... Yet, within all these variables Zmarzlik is still 100% head and shoulders the best on the planet.. Maybe, (therefore), he is just very, very good....? And also maybe we should just sit back, relax, and enjoy watching a potential 'great' at work.. Him and Woffy are truly a couple of all time greats whose races are (cliche alert), always worth the admission alone.. Just enjoy the unique spectacle..

Really enjoyed that.. Zmarzlik truly a potential 'great' of the sport.. His bikes are fast but surely that is the point of a motor sport? And there are plenty of 'all the gear but no idea' riders over the years who have 'rocket ships' but haven't done anything like this kid.. And the beauty of Speedway is the fastest bike isn't always the one that can get around the track the quickest given too much power can result in no grip and, therefore, no forward propulsion.. Inside, and outside, freshly graded track or not, this lad stalks you and passes you for fun.. A true joy to watch, and with Woffy they truly showcase how good this sport is.. Lets hope he wins this and the ludicrous scoring system doesn't take his deserved 'back to back' titles away..

Wow... Zmarzlik and deservedly so... Woffy to be a bit harsh has to cover inside to mid track and shouldn't be passed underneath, make your opponent go round you if they want to win, but fair play... The best rider in the world should be World Champ, and it looks like no Mickey Mouse scoring system will prevent that happening.. Woofy and Zmarzlik a joy to watch when they race...

The reality is that a few riders (maybe 8?) are 'stand out' and the next 20 or so are pretty much of muchness..

And to be fair his sponsors do get maximum exposure given he goes past each camera so slowly..

All set up for Zmarzlik this.. The way they are only running GP's at tracks that are oval and have dirt on them.. The way they are running races over four laps just in case he isn't leading at the end of lap one.. The way every other rider just slows up and let's him fly past them, inside and outside.. Should have a GP at Buxton and see how well he does there..

Nicki P would have left his left leg out there and slid off... Then stayed down until his mechanic told him his bike was fine...

Maybe do what Athletics do. You move and you are out.. It caused issues initially when introduced, but very quickly the athletes learned not to "go early" and restarts are now rare, even in the races similar to Speedway where split seconds count First time you get put out of the race, do it again and you are out of the meeting. Simple to understand. Give every rider one review to use if they feel hard done to. If clearly the ref got it wrong they get reinstated, if not the refs call is used..

They should just do four finals.. That way you race off against your peer Group to determine your final points earned.. And EVERY race then becomes important to which final you race in, and your performance through the evening leaves you in and around the position you deserve to be.. And will also mean the last round of heat races have lots to race for so even if the racing is poor (like this GP for example always delivers), then at least you have interest and drama to keep you watching. To have anyone beaten by SEVEN different riders, meaning almost half the field have beaten you, and finishing 'Second Best' on the night, is simply ludicrous.. No system is perfect (if you want to run the meeting with a final rather than just using the 'simple' what you score over 20 heats determining the result) but currently the one used is miles off given such huge anomalies are allowed to exist..