mikebv

And yet promoters will still expect their own fans to fork out several hundred quid a season knowing that their own No1 could help another team to a better season than his own ends up with.. A rider could quite conceivably ride himself out of the play offs...

But in those days you had a fair few people in front of you to take the most impact..

Birmingham crowd wise are a "natural" NDL or Championship side 500 to 600 crowds might just get them competitive in the Championship... But would be "very decent" in the NDL... Definitely down to their die hards, so might as well try and run NDL on Mondays, with those in charge of UK Speedway recognising the need to keep tracks going so they allow them to...

There are things that could be done... Eg fewer riders per team, and/or a fit for purpose RR facility, being two that leap out as very doable.. The reality though is that guests are an easy answer to get "any speedway" on, hence meetings without them are now the rarity... Hence, not many watching take things too seriously...

Or the Mickey Mouse leagues..

Team Speedway ran in the Mickey Mouse way it is over here has no chance of success... Regardless of who rides over here... Nice to see Max tonight helping Sheffield into the play offs... The fans of Leicester must be delighted for the Tigers...

Bringing in the GP lads has certainly made a massive difference to crowds haven't they? The crowds dwindled when they all rode over here, taking the majority of the Sky money.. Therefore. What gave those in charge the belief that all would be good with expensive GP riders back again?

Well... Many moan that they only get 15 mins racing....

Clearly the obvious thing to do... And also clearly why the sport isn't taken seriously in the UK... Bringing in Lambert to replace Fricke is seen as a "bad thing", yet not having a full team of your own riders, and, instead, cherry picking riders from other teams on a "horses for courses" basis, to give your team a better chance of winning, is "absolutely fine"...

A couple of very big crowds today...

If fans didn't turn up, I would think the Edinburgh management should maybe look in the mirror first as to the reasons why...? The reailty of course is that the punters who still attend are, by definition of being there, content with what they get served up, so I am sure they will attend regardless of who turns up to ride.. "Select teams" are pretty much the norm these days in the vast majority of matches.. And as for Craig Cook? If he has such impressive mind altering persuasive powers as to make others' mind's up to do things, he is wasting them riding a speedway bike...

All valid comments, and what goes on behind the scenes is something we will never appreciate, however.. The continental tracks alluded to, are often wide and much less tighter than some UK tracks built within the confines of a greyhound track, hence when "grippy" these tracks are not seen by many riders as something they want to take on... Bomber is Bomber, and Bewley is an ex MX rider so both ride conditions that are "deep" with supreme confidence... You kind of get why riders who get extremely well paid in Poland may decide to "play it safe" when conditions over here are not quite to their liking... An injury over here will cost them a lot of Polish money...

Poole have a fanbase used to winning and their business model is solely based around that.. Unlike many other tracks, they actually have a fanbase to lose given the numbers they get.. Hence, they astutely know, victories keep them attending.. Come their leg of the final they will probably top 2000, which for some in the Championship is three meetings worth of attendees.. Many fans around the country attend for "the racing", Poole fans attend more for "the success" as that has been their default position for the past two decades.. Accordingly, their promoters give their punters what they want ..

Which is fair, as they are the ones expected to pay out loads on machinery, so need to earn plenty to pay for it.. Poole winning keeps a a good crowd level too.. Great racing and defeats isn't a recipe for success at most places, and definitely not Poole.. Come "Final's night", any poor racing watched over the season will be forgotten by the 2000 or so in attendance..

Wow... That is amazing,.. But, if correct, perfectly in keeping with the way the promoters run the sport... And they then scratch their heads looking confused on race night, when they see the lack of punters in their stadium..

And many of them use the same riders... Not even enough riders to run one division...

The 30 mile rule... How short sighted is that? Many of the fans who follow the sport will attend to watch racing rather than be "precious" about the result, so running a track reasonably near on a different night could benefit both... Especially if they worked together on giving discounts for SS holders st the others' track...

Making the 2nd tier an almagam of Championship Lite and NDL Plus is surely the obvious opportunity? One each DU Top tier SS and HL per team and two "Rising Stars" at reserve (NDL reserve/SS standard), with at least one SS being a NDL level No1/Heat Leader.. Meaning a "top rider" (at that level), to be used as a yardstick for the developing riders, and to aid their development, plus keep the crowds interested, and (at least), 3 NDL level riders per team, giving six spaces, as a minimum, per match... For those teams who cannot compete in the Top tier, it would be ideal, and maybe encourage a few tracks back who have left the NDL over the past five years or so...

"The Blue Groove" would be more appropriate based on my four visits down the years...

Were both East Anglian meetings "dried off" last night?..

Yes. John Hall led the team... He is in the video of the night berating PK at the end of the last heat as he came past, "It's not effing Stock Cars"... Happy Days... Used to attend four or five tracks a week all over the country... Now, my mortgage would cost me much less if I tried the same..

Gutted for you Dean... I seem to remember that Sam was in hospital, hence Henka guested, and they had him on the phone over the PA several times duing the meeting... I must confess several of us did shout "Get Sam back on!", more than once at the end... The place was rammed that night and showcased everything that is great about this sport.. Real rivalry, proper hard racing, a massive crowd with the resultant atmosphere that such crowds bring, and an amazing last heat decider... Such a shame that the raw material of the racing, which can still often be great nowadays, doesn't get supported by what surrounds it...,

Damn that Gregorian Calendar... Does UK Speedway few favours...

Or not enough Monday's and Thursday's?

1993,'Wolverhampton v Belle Vue... Wolves needed a draw, and the Aces needed the win to be Champions.. No play offs then, just a league that ended with the top team winning.... The Aces were 8 points down, with only a few races left, and only that win on the night would do... The four of us there that night all agreed to watch one more race and then get out quickly, so we didn't have to watch the mullet headed Wolves fans (in all their 70's denim clothes), celebrate... Then the Aces got a 0-5.. Then suddenly a couple of races later, were one point up, with just one race left .. And then Bobby Ott flew from the tapes, with Jason Lyons riding shotgun, whilst Peter Karlsson did his best to spear him at the end of every straight, eventually doing so, lap 3, which let Henka Gustafsson through too... But neither could catch "Bob".... There must easily have been 800 and more Aces fans there that night (how times change), and the lady in the " Wolves Megastore" was particularly unimpressed when, as we finally left, I asked her if she had any "Wolves 1993 Champions" car stickers.. I think her face, and the pile of unopened boxes behind the wallpaper paste table used as a "display", told me the answer...... Big crowd, great atmosphere, and the right result... Just like the other night at the SON....