mikebv

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..

Magic Majic... Quality playing to the crowd..

You can see it, I can see it... Many hundreds on here can see it... And thousands who used to attend Speedway in the UK can see it.... Therefore I truly do fail to believe that those who run the sport can't see it either.. It's clear that fixed nights are not even fixed to allow "big names" to ride over here and elsewhere, but just simply to allow as many UK based riders as possible to double up so that they can earn as much as is possible, (to pay for massive outlays), season to season.. And spreading out the days they race on also provides a plentiful supply of guest riders who can supplement their earnings by appearing for all and sundry on an adhoc basis.. Let's be honest, no one in their right mind would choose to run the sport the way it's currently ran if they could afford to run it properly would they?... Therefore the current operating model and business plan are simply the only ones we will ever have... Until it's obviously ludicrous flaws eventually kills the sport off completely over here..

Post Covid restrictions, most tracks' crowd averages will be around 1000 to 1500 in the top division and crowds around 700 to 1000 will be around the norm in the second tier... Just like it's been for the past ten to fifteen years or so.. No amount of trying to get more families through the gates through face painting etc will make one jot of difference.. Its all been tried before umpteen times at various tracks and whilst it might attract a few extra, these people by and large don't return, or if they do, they simply replace someone who has 'given up' following the sport in the UK.. BV are a classic example... At the dog bowl they got around 1000 on average in the last few seasons.. At the NSS their first season averaged around 1400, with some meetings getting 1800 on a Friday... Now it's around 1200 to 1300 (pre Covid), with 1600 or so on a 'good night'... Bank Holidays show how many followers the sport has, with the crowds appreciably increasing... The week after on a 'normal' night, the crowds too are back to 'normal'... If Speedway had 'Bank Holiday' crowds week in week out, it wouldn't be in the shape it is... The bottom line is there are literally tens of thousands of people living locally to tracks who either know about the sport, used to attend, or still attend infrequently... They just don't attend often enough due to either the way the sport is ran, the day the sport takes place, or the value for money in attending.... My last meeting was a lunchtime BH Monday match v Poole a few years ago, and even with the early start, the crowd was nudging 3,000 or so.... I hadn't been to a domestic meeting for a good while and decided that as it was Poole and a BH, that I would go... The meeting from what I can remember was 'decent' and I remember walking away thinking "might go again next week".. That evening Max Fricke guested for Poole at (I think) Leicester as they had another meeting that day. Can't remember which rider it was but one got injured that morning at the NSS so Max got asked to ride... I haven't bothered attending UK domestic speedway since given how ridiculous that scenario was, and no amount of 'add ons' will maintain crowd levels unless nonsense like this stops.... But as everyone knows, it never will....

Haven't a fair few tracks had decent crowds this year? Certainly comparable to pre Covid days...? Reading the various threads' comments around crowd size, and watching the UK racing on Eurosport, I would say most tracks are doing 'OK'.... They never got close to capacity anyway so even a 25% max capacity for many would be around a 'usual' crowd.. Wolves, Birmingham and Newcastle seem to be the ones taking a hit it seems, but most appear to be moving along..

Gambled with his gearing there I would think... Knew he had one chance or no chance from gate two.... Fair play to him too....

A once tremendous track... Unfortunately undone by poor preparation over the past few years.. A great shape for the modern bike, meaning horsepower wasn't the major decider as they go sideways a lot of the way... So the riders who could work the track and find grip were always rewarded.. Nowadays gate from the outside and ride the white line and you win..

More like a Gustrow race...

Good ride from Dan... Saw the mid track develop so moved out to block Madsen.. Looks like they have made the inside too grippy with the soaking they gave the track given the hot weather. . Could do with no grading and just let the track develop....

Usually the outside develops and the racing can be very good indeed...

I would have once agreed, however, times have changed, and massively for some.... Those who have much more to earn (and lose) over the following night/weekend in Poland may no longer (quite understandably), "give it their all" when a meeting is comfortably won..... Dan Bewley for example has 'World Stage' aspirations that hopefully get advanced via the SEC this weekend as well as also riding in front of a possible full house at Wroclaw as they try to stay top of the table... For riders like this I am sure that when a meeting is all but over in the UK, then no undue risks will be taken if they don't make the gate.. Either consciously or unconsciously.... And given the rewards on offer in Poland for being a success you can only understand that position, as it's just human nature..

Got to give great respect to Kolodziej... Every race 100%...

Blimey.. Four lads racing around a speedway track for four laps.... And it becomes filled with all sorts of nonsense.. Nonsense that every season results in teams miles apart points wise who supposedly started 'quite even' using the nonsense criteria..

Ain't that always the way? On a 5-1 then their one rider wins the rerun....

Great race from Lambert.... Wonderful to see GB lads not backing off against the best in the world and beating them....

A good start to Torun v Leszno... Three decent races out of three.... Hopefully more to come...

Can't they just take payment over the phone and have a pick up point somewhere outside the stadium for the tickets? Advance booking and no pay at the gate... Ticks both boxes?

I remember the Aces during the mid to late nineties, seemingly always signing riders who used to do well against them at the dog bowl..... Riders who subsequently became "not so good" when they wore the Ace Of Clubs... I don't think it ever truly sank in to those who ran it that the reason they looked so good when visiting, was that the Aces were invariably so poor.....

Welcome to the Quiz Of The Week Put the following words into a well known phrase or saying.. 'Couldn't a brewery up piss in a organise".. First prize is two 2021 season tickets to a track from the following list.. Somerset, Swindon, Coventry, Rye House, Lakeside, Workington and Buxton..

I think it's ok if you are left handed... And have brown or blue eyes.. Or something like that...

Surely Anlas will be absorbing the cost themselves? Their review process that they carried out must have highlighted the issues hence the additional tyre is the recommendation... If it was fit for purpose initially at these tracks then there wouldnt have been a need for extra tyres, therefore they as the manufacturer will be taking this cost impact surely?

I presume that there hasn't been a 'root and branch' overhaul because those 'in control' don't see anything wrong with their operating model and business plan...? And fair play to them too... Can't be easy constantly avoiding the obvious year after year, after year...

"Going back to it's roots, as a development league"... That was the plan wasn't it?

100% agree, but for me the size of the prize is the carrot for the fans to come and watch.. Promoters literally fork out millions collectively to achieve the grand result of "sod all", running (without credibility) supposed professional sporting competitions.. What a complete waste of a truly incredible, huge investment... Even more so when you consider the small following it has.. So use some of that huge outlay to hype up the sport, generate some publicity and hopefully, see some forward movement for the sport as a whole in the UK off the back of it.. Carrying on doing the same is ludicrous given all the evidence of the past 20 years or so shows 100% that it doesnt work..