Alpha

I posted this on the "Not Converted" thread last week and I think it is relevent to this thread. In the last 20 years i've been watching speedway I don’t think the amount of passing has varied much at all. All of the changes to bike to improve racing (i.e. dirt deflectors) have made little or no difference to the product. As someone above said, I think the bikes are faster now but quality of racing remains unchanged. In my opinion, the biggest factor affecting quality of racing is the track layout and the racing lines around the circuit. At some tracks there is one line that is soo much faster than the others that it is very difficult to pass a rider if he is on that line. I’ve been to most tracks in the county and we know some are more conducive to passing than others. Changing the bikes, tyres, engines etc will not alter that. That brings me onto my second point. The only thing holding back good crowds is the cost of speedway (to both supporters and riders). EL supporters paying £16 - £18 per adult with prices going up by the year. Speedway has always been more of a working class sport with people attending generally earning below the national average earnings (£26,500 if you believe the BBC, I think it's actually much lower). By rising the admission prices to cover promoters cost you are reducing the crowd and by proxy reducing the gate income in the style of the Laffer curve for tax income. People just won’t pay it in the current economic climate. Promoters say most of them operated at a loss last year, but why is that? I guess stadium rent and H&S/insurance are a big factor but the wages to some riders are too high. If their cost were lower they could be paid less (but still earn the same amount), lower cost for promoters, lower cost to supporters in admission fees, = more supporters through the gate = more gate income (Admittedly simplified a little). Sadly the costs are only going up with the latest silly idea to increase cost even further by allowing the use of titanium component. Maybe the bikes will go 2 mph faster down the straights but I don't think it warrants another £2 on admission price. Sure the riders pay it, but ultimately the costs will be passed onto the supporters. A step forward as is often proposed is a single spec engine mass produced and sealed to prevent changes. I vaguely remember Honda being approached about 10 years ago to produce an engine (derivative of a 500cc MX engine) but the proposal was turned down by BSPA? This would reduce costs for riders and even up the field for those riders with less money available to spend on massive tuning bills. Lower the price and the supporters will come.

If we can cut the riders expenses and if they agree to pass the savings onto the promoter then there is no risk to the club in reducing admission prices. Cheaper admission will increase the crowd figures, giving us the bigger crowds we want for the Sky coverage. I don't think you can make or force great racing but maybe it could be made closer with standardised engines. No matter how much we admire the skill and bravery of the riders, if it costs too much to go, we won't go. But I agree the promotion of the sport is a key ingredient to its success. The key to this is all parties working together to reduce costs for the betterment of the sport. Trouble is the BSPA seem to have trouble making decisions between themselves without including riders/tuners etc.

In the last 20 years i've been watching speedway I don’t think the amount of passing has varied much at all. All of the changes to bike to improve racing (i.e. dirt deflectors) have made little or no difference to the product. As someone above said, I think the bikes are faster now but quality of racing remains unchanged. In my opinion, the biggest factor affecting quality of racing is the track layout and the racing lines around the circuit. At some tracks there is one line that is soo much faster than the others that it is very difficult to pass a rider if he is on that line. I’ve been to most tracks in the county and we know some are more conducive to passing than others. Changing the bikes, tyres, engines etc will not alter that. That brings me onto my second point. The only thing holding back good crowds is the cost of speedway (to both supporters and riders). EL supporters paying £16 - £18 per adult with prices going up by the year. Speedway has always been more of a working class sport with people attending generally earning below the national average earnings (£26,500 if you believe the BBC, I think it's actually much lower). By rising the admission prices to cover promoters cost you are reducing the crowd and by proxy reducing the gate income in the style of the Laffer curve for tax income. People just won’t pay it in the current economic climate. Promoters say most of them operated at a loss last year, but why is that? I guess stadium rent and H&S/insurance are a big factor but the wages to some riders are too high. If their cost were lower they could be paid less (but still earn the same amount), lower cost for promoters, lower cost to supporters in admission fees, = more supporters through the gate = more gate income (Admittedly simplified a little). Sadly the costs are only going up with the latest silly idea to increase cost even further by allowing the use of titanium component. Maybe the bikes will go 2 mph faster down the straights but I don't think it warrants another £2 on admission price. Sure the riders pay it, but ultimately the costs will be passed onto the supporters. A step forward as is often proposed is a single spec engine mass produced and sealed to prevent changes. I vaguely remember Honda being approached about 10 years ago to produce an engine (derivative of a 500cc MX engine) but the proposal was turned down by BSPA? This would reduce costs for riders and even up the field for those riders with less money available to spend on massive tuning bills. Lower the price and the supporters will come.