mikebv

28 years.... But who really cares?....

Even closer...

So close.....

Brilliant MPT.... One of those under rated 100% riders who provide tremendous entertainment....

Fantastic camera direction again from Eurosport..... Is the ref doing it?

The ref cannot spot a rider going early from a standing start... So he has no chance when they go past at 80 mph...

I think his five yard head starts when on TV helps...

What a crap ref.... Did he do VAR at West Ham yesterday...?

At this rate Ulrich will stay No1 in the averages... Or at worst No2... Luckily for Peterborough that would mean they could run RR for him and everyone could take a ride...

Kevin's track report showed how grippy the inside was.. And less so the further out you went.. I presume the logic is the grip will move out later in the meeting... Problem is that will then be follow the leader around the outside rather than the inside..

The refs in the UK are rubbish at dealing with rolling starts aren't they? No wonder we get so many... Why not try one when you get no punishment and can even win a race off the back of it... So much they could learn from Poland about professionalism without spending any money...

Don't Panic!!

KSF and KOTT can't make his/her minds up....

Again, it ultimately goes back to credibility.... I can 100% guarantee that literally thousands of Wroclaw fans wouldnt' be chanting Woffy's name if he had top scored the previous Sunday for Gorzow whilst covering a Zmarzlik injury absence... A performance from him which could then result in Wroclaw's omission from the play offs and Gorzow's inclusion instead.. That is really the bottom line as to the lack of atmosphere, and lack of crowds over here.. You cannot make any "emotional investment" into "your team" because, for many weeks of the season, it will just be an ad hoc hybrid of everyone else's.. With the ("your") rider doing the lap of honour potentially riding against you a few days later.... If Poland ran the same system as the UK, then they too would have low attendance levels, no major sponsorship of teams and leagues, and TV companies would be using their coverage as very much a second thought "filler", like we have, rather than by having to out bid each other to win the contracts to show it... Some people still believe that anyone who pulls on their teams' colours are "their riders" and will cheer them on.. Which is fine if some want to suspend reality and believe that... I would suggest looking at the numbers through the gates these days, that this is an ever dwindling number who are still prepared to "pretend" that what they are watching is "real", and actually has some purpose and relevance..

If only someone could invent track covers.... Perfect for meetings like today where a dry evening follows rain before the match... Would also give fans confidence to attend who may currently decide to stay away if there is the slightest hint of the meeting not taking place due to a wet track... Maybe one day someone will invent these track covers... Probably need someone from NASA or somewhere like that to get involved though....

All true, but the major reason for the lack of atmosphere is the lack of crowds... A chicken and egg situation.... I have no issue singing along at Old Trafford when surrounded by thousands of others... But would look a bit daft doing the same at the NSS surrounded by empty red seats..... Or stood on the back straight in a section with just me and an octogenarian spilling his teeth out while he sang... What happened to King's Lynn's great song they did....? If that didn't generate great atmosphere then nothing will..... In Poland (just like any sporting occasion), the crowd levels generate the atmosphere, as being within a crowd loosens your inhibitions.. They also though in Poland have a "proper" sporting contest to follow with some tangible meaning to the result, and can cheer on their riders knowing none of them will "stitch them up" a week later by top scoring for their nearest rivals and ruining their own chances of success...... None of the above that supporters over here can say..... "Racing was so much better in the past"... I would suggest it was similar to what we have today in the main... The difference being the crowd levels generated the atmosphere which covered the more mundane races (and there were lots of them just like today)... Nowadays a mundane race is met with silence, with good races generating no more than a muted response by "one man and his dog"... It has always baffled me why, when on TV, clubs don't just let anyone and everyone in for a nominal charge just so the place is packed and "rocking"... A free two hour advert for your club and business.... At the NSS you often see rows and rows of empty seats from the start line camera 15 times a night... Basically advertising "no one watches this sport".....

Sad news.... Had many an enjoyable evening at Stoke which was hugely delivered by Dave's hard work and love for the sport.. R.I.P. Dave...

The whole concept is inherently flawed isn't it? Riders are paying out huge sums of money to buy what they feel is the required kit, to either get, and hold down, a team place and earn money, or further their own ambitions on the world stage... With the money they earn needing to be of a level to afford the kit they need, and provide them with 12 months salary for a six/seven month job... And to earn that level of money they then ride for all and sundry on an ad hoc basis to get as much as they can.. An ad hoc basis which cripples any credibility that the sport has, and reduces it to a contrived farce... A farce that drives people who loved watching Speedway,, (and still do), away... And if the farce that masquerades as a 'proper sport' isn't enough to drive you away,, admission fees then reflect the cost of the salaries of the riders rather than the credibility or entertainment level on view.. With the farce being so contrived it renders all the competitions worthless, from a kudos point of view, yet costs hundreds of thousands from a salary point of view... And all done on nights and days when the riders, rather than the customers, dictate to you when you should run.. An amazing plan... (An amazingly unfit for purpose plan)... Yet..... What a fantastic core product they have to sell.....

Sean Lock and Norrm McDonald sadly passed away recently.. I take it you are in line to replace these great comedians..

I watched the first 10 heats via the Polish stream,... And their commentary was better than the racing.... Hard to know if it was banter or not though.... Have BSI given up?

Do those who run this sport actually not like it? Utter Garbage... Both nights.... And Nige hasn't covered himself in glory either.. Needs to stop all the banter bollocks and concentrate on commentating..

UK Speedway would have a man on the centre green, in line with the tapes, with an easel, some flip paper, and some 2B pencils to draw the finish....

To find out why so many fans of the sport don't go to UK Speedway anymore, the Promoters would first have had to notice that their crowd levels had dropped... And I can only presume they haven't quite noticed this yet as otherwise they would have stopped doing what has driven so many away and started doing something that would entice them back.... Although there could also be a sneaking suspicion of course (given their penchant for doing the 'same old, same old, ad infinitum) that they don't see anything wrong at all with the way the sport is ran.. And it's the many missing fans (who still closely follow the sport), who are just delusional...

I believe Poole have several boxes left over somewhere from the year when Cov beat them.. Might be worth a call? Could get them very cheap...

There needs to be an "Elite" league.. Ran with credibility and integrity.. A "standard bearer" to focus the wider sporting public on... The best you could get to deliver that is, as has been said many times, (and should have been done this year), 8 teams of five riders each.. (The top 40 in the averages).. The rest (circa 40 riders?), can then replace missing riders or they run a fit for purpose RR system, with a Number six added.. The issue though is two fold... Firstly. The top 40 riders will, in the main, need to ride in the 2nd Division to make it pay (and not leave a huge hole in their wages from this years' "ride every night/have bike will travel" situation that has been allowed to pervade by the BSPL.. And secondly. Will Div Two Promoters still want to keep rubbing shoulders with the "best available" (at a reduced price), so therefore wont be willing to drop down significant levels in rider quality? As just using the "next 40" riders will do just that.. In a perfect scenario there would be eight top tier teams, and eight 2nd tier teams... With a clear demarcation in standard between them.. (Based on nothing else other that crowd levels if needs be).. With the rest of the teams riding at a NDL/Development level, with some "reserve teams" similar to BV Colts.. The top using the next tier for replacements and the 2nd tier using the teams left in the 3rd tier for their replacements.. With all teams, (as fixed race nights wont be required) all riding whenever their crowd levels will be at the best.. But there is not a chance riders and promoters will go for that..