mikebv

Must confess, I love watching meetings like this.. Simply because 'true racers' get a fairer end of the stick rather than the usual 'gate and go' fest that most bone dry slick tracks provide...

Middlo in a Huddlo, in a Puddlo...

Come on Ipswich.. You are going to blow a chance of a big crowd on Saturday if your not careful... Give them a chance...

Good job it's not a boxing match or the ref might be thinking about stepping in.....

Could be plenty of MX type block passes tonight as the leaders take the outside lines.. Follow the leader if not. .

The two Pirates didn't look like they fancied it too much there... Looks like the Witches have no such concerns...

Is the tide in or out?

I think he meant that there is no 8 point rule apart from that one....

Didn't anyone think of telling Patryk Dudek that it's the Final this week?

Game over... Every season there appears to be no point in going to watch Smederna till they reach the play offs..

The sport (in the UK), is now no more than a conduit for riders to earn the kind of money that justifies their outlay on kit... A system devised to provide as many rides as possible for individuals, with scant regards to the impact this has on any credible status of each league or the teams within them.. It won't change now I would suggest, as it cannot given how long this situation has been allowed to fester.. Basically riders riding for whoever, whenever, is an integral part of the business plan, and operating model, which then facilitates their participation in the sport in the UK.. Too many teams? Not enough riders? Either way, that scenario isn't going to be fixed anytime soon unless they try six or even five man teams initially to give themselves some head room to deliver a much more fit for purpose longer term plan.. No breath is being held waiting for that to happen I would suspect..

That will be pretty much the end game won't it? Similar to the US and Aussie where riders go around from event to event... Mainly made up of UK riders.. The best UK riders will still be riding abroad earning decent coin in well ran leagues, but for the majority it will be a semi pro (at best) standard with, in the main, riders using it as an exciting paid hobby, similar to how so many do in MX and Road Racing.. Unless of course the UK decides to run its leagues like proper sports do and delivers radical changes... Not a chance of that though as we know.. Has someone told Richard Lawson where he is on Saturday?

Let's hope they don't +5% to it as that will be another 96 years before they get there..

If so, maybe Buxton could return?

I can guarantee one way to stop the Sponsors and TV companies chucking money in is for Poland to run their Speedway Leagues like the BSPA do theirs over here..

Spot on.. Sponsors put big money in to be associated with the best and are obviously happy that they are dealing with a clearly well respected brand.. This standard then delivers great TV coverage and means Polish Speedway can actually auction their meetings to the media, rather than take any meagre pickings thats offered by a single interested party.. That great blanket TV and audio coverage then helps engage a new generation of fans, as well as delivering great coverage for the sponsors to the right demographic they wish to engage with.. It also makes means big money to the riders, which makes being s speedway rider in Poland a truly aspirational career which can bring huge rewards, therefore training schools are full and a conveyer belt of talent is pretty much assured.. This money coming in then means realistic admission costs which encourage families in particular to attend as it remains firmly within their budgets, meaning younger fans start to take notice of the sport to hopefully maintain a strong future for it.. As you say, doing very nicely at the moment... I am sure though being very forward looking, they will still be contemplating how they can improve their current operation further.. Winners never stand still, because they know that if they do they will effectively fall behind competitors who are moving forwards.. Maybe to improve things going forward, they will think of dropping the weekends and run on those 'traditional' family leisure nights of Monday and Thursday's? And maybe consider inserting a rule that lets every rider ride for every club in the league on an ad hoc basis whenever there is a gap in any team? Two ideas both sponsors and TV executives would love to see brought in I am sure.. Or maybe they wouldn't...

And the next village along is PontyPandy where Fireman Sam lives... Oops, I mean Firefighter Sam obviously, apologies... Although the term fighter may be a bit too agressive for young children if I am honest.. Fireputterouter Sam it is then... Already booked for next year, staying at Norman Price's place, above his mams shop.. Can't wait....

In a nutshell... When Woffy has been in contention at other Cardiff GP's later in the meeting the atmosphere has remained ramped up.. As we say many times, following sport needs that emotional attachment to the individual or team you follow to make that experience truly mean something.. An emotional attachment that sadly has been gradually eroded away in domestic UK Speedway..

I always think the Cardiff GP crowd highlights the huge opportunity that still exists for the sport in the UK.. I would suggest there were more UK based people there last night that don't attend UK speedway regularly than those who do.. The UK promoters really need to ask themselves why that is the case... Or maybe more pertinently FIND OUT why that is the case and do something about it.. Even just 30000 people regularly attending each week would be a huge positive move forward such is the ultra low base it comes from.. 40000+ at Cardiff every single year shows there is still a fair old appetite for the sport in the UK.. It also shows then that many just don't like the 'menu' UK Speedway serves up..

To be fair, they do give you months and months of time to purchase your tickets.. And, a bit like at a motorway service station or a theme park, if you are already there in Cardiff you are pretty much a captured market, so fair game for the owners to charge you what they want to charge you.. I would imagine not many people living in and around Cardiff locally would suddenly on the day decide to go, meaning anyone in Cardiff without tickets will be there for the one reason alone, which is to attend the GP.. Therefore the organisers know they need to get as much out of you as they can in the small amount of time they have to do so.. I also remember being able to buy a cheaper ticket and move over to a more expensive seat in the stadium in the past, without any restriction control whatsoever in doing so.. If that is still the case then it makes sense for them to only sell the higher priced seat in the first place..

Lots of sporting events have the 'occasion' outperforming what's on show.. The Monaco GP is invariably processional crap.. The Lords' Test Match is invariably the most bland of any Test Match on the roster as fans get restricted as to dress code, musical accompanying etc.. Playing England games at Wembley never ever reach the level of enthusiasm that got delivered when they put the games around the country when Wembley was being rebuilt.. Cardiff is unique and a jewel in the crown of British Speedway.. And British Speedway should be thankful it exists to remind many ex followers in the population that the sport is a) still going in the UK and b) can be ran properly without needing Mickey Mouse rules..

And the beauty of course is that several lads who appeared in the final will, (quite possibly due to the late staging) guest for either team in the qualifier of a competition that they had already competed in the final of for somebody else.. Or something like that. .

Can either of them still qualify?

But 13 years ago every rider due to race every meeting didn't have two/three/four/five teams that they rode for.. Many do now...

Got back into the sport when TK was regarded as one of the best... Reputation from some fans as I came back was as a typical 'Danish gater' and nothing more.. Glad I saw him ride... He was so much more than that... Watched him ride the Kirky Lane track the first time Cov visited and he was exceptional... Many riders had struggled to get round it the first few times they rode it.. He didn't...