mikebv

Isn't Phil dreamy...?

Looks a very exciting prospect... Some great YT footage of him from Workington.. The NSS will suit him down to the ground..

Just saw that. Confused....

I am always amazed that the live matches dont get promoted locally as separate entities.. The images portrayed on screen of a three quarters empty stadium the other night, does the Aces, and the sport, no favours... Many businesses would kill for two hours, prime time, worth of advertising being beamed out to the very large reach both locally and nationally that Eurosport has... UK Speedway seem to have no interest in showcasing their sport, either individually or as a collective, which I find baffling...

"Technical tracks", when well prepared, are a bit of a "Freddie Special"... He enters the bends quicker than most, and can manoeuvre the bike to find the traction needed to pass those in front.. No point having someone with his skillset there if a slick dust bowl is all that gets provided..

Due to the way the sport is ran, there is no tribal feeling of "I must go" that you get with other team sports.. As, for a great many, the racing is the reason to be there, rather than the importance of the result.. Hence, many can comfortably stay away and watch it on the TV, and see it as a chance to "save a few quid", but still watch the racing.. As an example, Tungate's score the other night for KL could actually assist KL prevent his own team from making the play offs... If that happens, then Oxford would then be asking a lot of their "big" crowds to return next year in the same numbers I would suggest .. TV crowds show that fans, in the main, don't take it "too seriously" hence when they get a chance to see it without forking out any more cash than their TV subscription, then they do.. Promoters cannot complain about that as they set the operating model...

Track staff 100/100 too.. A Hot day, and they nailed it... Not many could have delivered that level of surface...

Too many big meetings... The PCM, The British Final, and obviously, The Son, which will have miles more Aces fans there than any other team... Not cheap having such great racing to watch, with many of the world's best in attendance ....

Having a large screen to watch the TV coverage replays etc at the same time, and all the interviews and comments too, could help maybe? It is mind numbing being sat there for what seems a long, long time waiting for your next race to start...

Excellent in Poland this weekend.. And has been decent through the season.. Major comfort for the Lions I am sure...

Old ground Dean... No chance of FOMO from anyone watching sadly... Might as well just fill the place with 500 kids and their parents for free... The challenge though is always to get them to return and part with the thick end of £35 for the same tickets after just one visit... And Speedway sadly has an unrealistic, "build it and they will come" mentality rather than an organic long term growth plan... Guestfest after Guestfest also does it no favours.. Nor does having play offs for leagues with so few participants, as when you know you are a shoe in to qualify, and another dead rubber Guestfest is planned, (and maybe on TV) the likelihood is many will keep the circa £50 for a single admission, petrol, and something to eat and drink, in their pocket..

At least he wasn't called the rising star all evening....

The Leicester Ultras there...

An easy mistake to make, with such ambiguous regs........

The largest demographic by a country mile is 50+, white, male, with the vast majority of them paying for themselves as they attend alone or, with a mate who also pays for themselves.. Which suggests a family ticket isn't such great value... Where the sport seriously shoots itself in the foot is its pricing structure... It is clear, as history shows, you are not going to significantly increase your attendance's by attracting new followers, therefore, make it cheaper and get those who do attend to attend more regularly... With the play offs, many fans now give certain meetings a miss when their team has clearly qualified, and, as we clearly see, TV meetings can decimate the attendance... Most top flight clubs seem to have around 2500 to 3000 "followers" who attend in varying degrees of regularity, with BH's and Play Offs, bringing many "out of the woodwork".. Get the pricing structure to attract around 2000 of then a night has to be the aim...

Maybe waiting for the Polish matches to finish that have their riders in?

I must have missed all the local advertising of the meeting when I was in Manchester today... Must have been 30,000 people walking up and down Market St alone today.. The "lucky lucky men" and the "sweetcorn sellers" (who buys that?), were doing a brisk trade... Edit. Just been on the BV website. Wow. Lots of seats left.. I presume the money that Discovery pays them must easily cover the attendance drops you see at every TV meeting? That is the only reason I can think of as to why no advertising or special promotion for the TV meeting is ever done around the country...

Unusual for Pawlicki to go down like that..

Perfect ride again from Cook... Uses his size to get lots of grip on the inside.... Rides the line brilliantly well...

Tremendous from Cook.. Leszno giving it everything tonight...

Bu115hit... As we say in Manchester to the Blues...

Ben Cook showing very strong form in Poland... (Where it counts)

Not ideal, but the size of the prize in Poland has to be every riders priority...

Surely even Speedway promoters wouldn't have a plan of... "Let's order a big temporary stand that will cost us a fortune, meaning that to pay for it, we then have to set huge admission prices that not enough people will be able to afford to use it".. But then again....

Makes sense if I remember paying around £45 for two for both nights..... At the time I remember thinking what "great value" it was considering I paid not much less than that to watch the Aces, and now had the chance to see the Worlds best in action for just a few quid more.. My lad paid £55 for a standing ticket for me as a Father's Day present which I am obviously grateful for, but personally think it is an outrageous sum for such a minority sport...