mikebv

Spot on there Dean... That piece on Andreas Jonsson was excellent...

Chris is one of those riders who when you watch the racing on YouTube from the past five to ten years or so appears in loads and loads of meetings for a good many various teams, and was often it seems very much an in demand guest.. A rider who came across as someone who gave his absolute all in every race regardless of who he was riding for.. One of those '100% triers' that the sport is built on and the fans often appreciate the most.. Best wishes to him and his family, and let's hope he can overcome his current issues and find himself in a better place in the not too distant future..

Another great read this week.. Best two compliments I can pay it are, one, I now buy it every week and, two, I still have things to read about well into the week after, such are the diverse articles that are in there and the detail that they are covering.. An outstanding magazine, especially given the current situation..

It isnt hard to be pessimistic is it given the already parlous state of the Sport.. If nothing else it may give those who run the sport a moment or two to reflect on why their sport always seems to live on a knife edge re how many teams last the season/start the following one, and provide them with the inspiration to change things.. There does seem to be a few more pro active promotions about now so some maybe have already realised that the 'same old/same old' simply doesnt get the cut through anymore, and actually be able to influence the radical change needed to move the whole sport as an entity forward.. What an opportunity in this enforced break to do so, as when the sport returns I would think it gets a 'free hit' as to what it can put out.. Be interesting to see if tracks do something 'different' and gauge reaction from their output..

If found guilty will he get a % reduction in time for being British..?

I came back to the sport in 88 when the Aces moved to Kirky Lane and watched the first few matches as many riders (probably the majority), found the track somewhat tricky and more than a good few were 'all shapes' on occasions.. He smashed the track record in his first ride.. I remember he rode down the straights with his front wheel slightly off the ground for virtually the whole straight, before bringing it down to execute a perfect turn, never once locking up or finding unwanted drive, but riding every bend as if on rails.. One of those WOW moments some riders can give you..

I've said on another thread.. Watching these old meetings from around 2005 to the present day, I am sure that there were only about 30 riders in total riding in the 2nd Division for about 15 years.. Each year the same riders seemd to turn up riding for someone else.. And then you can add guest appearances too... I think Chris Harris, Rory Schlein and Scott Nicholls must have ridden for everyone at some time..

Probably how German football has ran? And F1 will run? ie. Marshalled and clearly signed as to where you can stand or sit, a list detailing who can come in and how many are allowed to do so, and each person with the correct PPE for their role.. Similar as to how thousands and thousands of businesses have kept running (inside rather than outside) during the crisis..

I do think that there needs to be some kind of grip on reality... Go to the vast majority of supermarkets and you will see no social distancing whatsoever.... My store has had over 200000 visits over the past seven weeks, all within a confined space of less that 15,000 Sq ft.. We let a max 70 in at a time and I can guarantee within one aisle, social distancing goes out of the window.. Some customers do the 'social distancing dance' where they go left, then right, then left again as two people try to avoid each other, but many just walk past others almost touching.. Going to a sporting event in the outdoors, with controls as to who can come in, and when and how many, and only standing or sitting where clearly shown, would be infinitely less risky than going doing your shopping..

To be fair there does need to be the balance to the equation that many of the 'massive' averages were gained with no fixed gate positions, and the No1 usually picked the best every time, and usually only four rides a night with no 'best riders in the last race' which can impact massively averages nowadays.. But even so, running a high 11 plus average was some achievement given that virtually all the best riders in the World rode here at the time and the heat leaders still rode often against each other..

You could have a "first out of the gate wins" in running cash out?

If you disagree it therefore must be a great idea..

I think we should. Empty stadiums earn Greyhounds hundreds of thousands of pounds as all round the world, millions watch six dogs run around a track at all hours of the day.. Speedway could run races the same using four riders.. There will always be match fixing/cheating going on in any sport at any given time so you will never eradicate it. Sometimes you just have to accept it may happen and believe that there is enough integrity in those who participate to allow it to take place.. And the biggest opportunity of course is that the Green Helmet cover could be brought back so we could all bet using our TV remotes..

These numbers do really suggest the time has to be right for 'one make' standardised engine leagues doesnt it? The generosity of the sponsors is incredible but wouldn't all this sponsorship going to the clubs rather than individual riders help the sport overall in the UK? Seven riders all bringing in an average £70k between them would get a good few standard machines and leave money for spare parts and a mechanic to collectively look after them. And maybe enough to rent a club van to take all machines to the race meets? Riders could then be salaried, with payments reflecting their position in the team, but with the obvious lack of money being needed to pay for their kit which must make up a significant part of their remuneration package now.. All bikes to have their own passport showing photos, serial numbers etc. And any changes needing authorisation from the governing body, all logged, all with visual evidence and all signed off each meeting by the machine examiner that it all tallies with their records.. Similar to the way F1 shoehorns an individual sport into a team framework. With drivers often paying for their ride by bringing in team sponsorship and then they get paid a 'wage' to drive, and any changes to engines etc must get authorisation.. At the moment it does seem to be a race to no where given one rider will buy one top of the range piece of kit, so the others will also buy it to keep up, meaning nobody has actually moved forward, but in fact are all actually back to square one. The only thing therefore moving forwards are the costs collectively across the board, with seemingly no extra punters coming through the door to pay for them.. There must be hundreds of thousands of pounds given to individual riders in the UK by generous backers each year, so maybe it could deliver a better long term return for the sport, and obviously the riders, if it was used more collectively to pay the sports race meet costs and be used for marketing the sport nationally?

Can't remember the stat, but didnt he only lose something like three races all season at Hyde Rd?

Wow. Really? I presume Charles must be the '30k' rider he descibes given his level.. (?) And 30k is still a staggering amount to outlay to compete in competitions that will often have a good deal less than 1000 people watching, (never mind paying out 'far more' as you suggest)... If you DU you will be racing around 70 to 80 times a season so a grand a night would be pretty much the minimum on average you would need I would think to make an outlay like that worth your while... And you can also see why DU (and guesting as well), needs to be available as you can't see either league being sufficient in isolation over here, to justify that amount of money being spent (unless you have overseas contracts).. I presume that kit will then get sold on at the end of the season to help finance the purchase of new for the following year? If so that will offset some individuals costs obviously, but even so there must still be collectively an astonishing amount of money overall being spent each year.. All to seemingly win an ultimate race to the bottom when you look at the attendance levels, track closures over the past few years, vast sums of money put in by some promoters to stay open, and general interest in the sport over here.. Surely reducing these costs (by significant numbers) to compete, must be the largest priority to assist the sports future?

He said he had 'invested 55k' into his equipment (inc van) and needed now to earn money as "that money has now gone and I now need to get some money back in".. A couple of weeks ago Charles Wright said in the Star, depending on your level, you will spend between 10k to 30k... Staggering amounts for such a small minority sport whereby many of the participants are not doing it 'for the love of it' as a hobby, like many others do in motorsport, but instead expect to be paid as professionals, with the reasonable expectation being, (I presume), to show a decent return on their investment...

Just read the interview with Michelsen.... He says he has spent £55,000 on equipment.. Wow.... The sport really needs to give it's head a wobble doesnt it? Edit. Another fantastic publication to add to the many recently...

100% the crowds won't be 'great' but let's face it, they aren't ever any weeks are they? There are lots of 'meaningless meetings' each year as they underpin 'meaningless leagues'.. However, given the enforced break I do think that Select v Select would deliver 'early season bumper crowd levels' as people will be desperate to see some action (any action).. For me, they should just run individual events at each track with each being used as qualifiers for a big end of season finale, with all promotions putting up some decent money to make up the finale prize fund, however Promoters seem to see 'their teams' as being important and having relevance, so no doubt will want to try and run some kind of team competitions, regardless of who ends up riding for all and sundry on an ad hoc basis... And for these exceptional circumstances , the crowds might not be too fussed and go along.?

There's always been loads of guests though, so two teams full of guests would hardly be a new phenomenon for Speedway... The main purpose of the two top leagues nowadays seems to be to provide as many races as possible for the riders to earn money, rather than be taken too seriously as sporting competitions, so whatever time the sport has to run this year will need to deliver as much opportunity as possible for those who have shelled out plenty to compete.. Select v Select will still get people watching (as it often has in the past), given the desire to see some Speedway for so many.. And the riders would be grateful for the chance to ride for as many Selects as possible to earn as much as fhey can I would think..

Maybe they could run behind closed doors similar to the Greyhounds? Could Speedway get betting companies involved? Could run several meetings a day on different tracks owned by the Promoters (subject to any restrictions obviously).. Eg One meeting circa 230pm on tracks that can run at this time and one meeting from a track in the evening that has restrictions to run on their usual night.. Maybe even could get those tracks like Buxton and Rye House out of 'moth balls' to run too? Plenty of rides for the riders.. Obviously there would need to be governance but theres plenty of betting markets on Speedway now so that shouldn't be difficult to control... And social distancing can't be too difficult to maintain for 16 riders and 20 or so track staff, officials. Even in the smallest of stadiums... There must be thousands of gamblers just waiting to throw more good money down the drain after so many reduced opportunities to do so, so why not let them do it each afternoon and evening via Speedway..

One thing that does stand out from watching these old Speedway meetings is the riding styles and how they have changed. . Most of the 60's, 70's and 80's racing has riders entering the turns almost 'straight legged' and 'straight wheeled', almost 'gliding' across the corner, (similar to most of the Grass track racing I have seen).. They then, around a quarter into the turn, swing the back wheel round and bite the back wheel into the grip to assist launch down the straight. With the use of the throttle being far more prevelent as they control entry, navigation and exit from the bends... This angle into the turns looked like it gave the riders behind much more room to pick a line to try and overtake as they too entered the turn, unlike today where it appears the modern rider is almost completely sideways before he actually hits the bend, making himself quite a wide target to get round, with almost every bend hit at full speed.. Overtaking must be so much more difficult.. The tracks haven't got any wider, in fact with air fences some will be narrower, so widening the entry and exits to the turns must be a natural progession surely to provide more space either side to counter the modern riding technique?

Would give the riders plenty of meetings.. 'A Festival Of Speedway'.. The one good thing about no speedway is that those clubs who lose tens of thousands, (even over £100k has been quoted), wont lose this money this year, therefore maybe they could collectively stump up a decent prize pot and generate some strong interest from a sports starved public and media?

I have had a one way system in my store for six weeks.. Plenty of arrows on the floor and someone to advise you which way to go as you walk in.. Every day we tell plenty of people they are going the wrong way.. With the usual response "oh, that's what the arrows mean".. The country is sadly full of morons who will now decide "lockdown is over".. You cannot tell people to look after themselves as many are quite incapable of doing so due to being simply thick.. Chaos will no doubt ensue, and the Govt will be blamed for effectively asking people to behave like adults..

And maybe the UK's chance to do the same and start finally to be in charge of their own destiny? All be it at a lower level...