Hawk127

Totally agree. The fact is that many riders participate in different leagues and if you can see the likes of Dan Bewley riding well in Poland and they see him on ITV 4 and it is mentioned that he also rides in the UK then floating followers may seek out where he is riding. It use to work in days gone by when if you knew where an Olsen or Gollob were riding in the UK then you would turn out to see them. It applied to many other riders and that was the beauty of international meetings and top individual meetings that use to take place in the UK. It is not impossible to recreate a similar scenario to the Daily Mirror World classic Series that took place many years back but it takes vision and sponsorship. Most speedway followers would turn out in serious numbers to watch an international meeting in the UK involving Poland, Australia and the UK particular if the likes of Dudek et al turned up. The trouble is no one can bring together the sponsorship and the T V rights to make it a success. Poland dominates the current era of top class speedway and to show it on UK terrestrial TV might just ignite a new following that the sport so badly needs in this country to raise the profile.

Scotty never gives up on chasing the pack and his knowledge in the pits will give added value to those with less experience. I hope you are wrong for this stalwart of British Speedway who never knows when he is beaten. That aside does it really matter who comes out on top as long as the sport survives and punters enjoy the evenings racing.

Reading the article, he is not a happy chap and rightly so. If things do not change I cannot see him sticking around too long. Someone wants it to be professionally run and proper lines of communication while the top table are not listening and pissing off a new promoter almost before a wheel has turned. Welcome Richard Coleman to the farce that is UK speedway.

Unfortunately it will take something quite radical to get the current incumbents to drop the cloth cap thought process and take the sport forward. Not sure if it is possible but someone somewhere who has finally had enough but believes in the sport to investigate the possibility of taking a UK club into one of the European leagues or even the second tier of Polish speedway if that would be allowed. You would get (bar the weather) once a fortnight home meetings and everyone knows where they stand for the season ahead in advance unlike the debacle every year in this country. Oh to see the sport run professionally again. The other issue on the insurance, given the importance why did no one in authority do a press release on the website and in SS in advance notifying riders et al of the impending change? Probably because they simply could not be bothered and with that attitude would you really want to work for people like them.

Yep and back in the day meetings were held morning afternoon and evening with some real derby matches. As a Hackney supporter in those days I remember travelling to Ipswich in the morning and the return at Hackney in the evening. At Rayleigh you had a morning meeting followed by a return over the weekend with either Canterbury, Eastbourne or Boston. Today you have so few teams you cannot even have a regular weekly meeting and as a sport which should be thriving in the summer months you end up with a calendar devoid of meetings when support should be flocking to tracks and today the lack of ability to capitalise on those months when the sport should be attracting punters is consigned to history. Sadly it is a pale shadow of what used to be such a great bank holiday extravaganza.

I really think you are being unkind with your comments 😂. According to the newbies on this forum and those who post once in a generation, you should embrace the situation and be thankful for what the sport offers in this country because these contributors are so right and the likes of the long suffering followers are so wrong and need to dismissed as not following the rules which these members believe are correct and should not be challenged. In the meantime I will stick with the Polish version as I don’t understand the language and therefore the total boll..cks that may have or is being spoken goes right over my head unlike the UK version which needs no translation and leaves no doubt on where the sport stands in the eyes of a few.

You are ‘flogging a dead horse’ pointing out the obvious and unfortunately the real opportunity to invoke a change came after Covid yet for some unfathomable reason it was a case of ‘as you were’. I am not sure where the sport needs to go to find new impetus but to attract a new audience it needs to embrace technology and start entertaining. It is an exciting form of entertainment that could hit the right notes if marketed but that is probably expecting too much given the governing body. With the cost of living crisis determining the consumer/punter spending it really needs to adapt asap and offer a lot more than a bland format that only diehards appreciate.

Unfortunately the set up does not give the new people a chance and it is history repeating itself. So many have tried and failed. Those on this forum have an insular view of where the sport is but if you are and outsider and simply look at what the likes of Chat GPT and other internet reviews of the sport offer as an answer frankly no one will touch speedway with a barge pole. I like you really wish it has a future but everything on line says otherwise. As to how it is turned around, is anyone’s guess, but hopefully it can be revived and rise up the ranks of being one to watch.

Totally agree. If it is entertainment and you want to attract a new generation of punters, then you do not need those riders who are costing clubs a fortune. No new punter or family will have heard of any of the top names, so as long as the racing is competitive and you have match race’s featuring different age groups to entice youngsters as well as a meaningful match or individual meeting then that is all you can ask for. No one seems to want to try a two wheeled speed event including for example flat track riders etc. as well as speedway. As it is now you have the same old same old format which with all the ridiculous rules and doubling up etc you will never convince the media that it is credible and without the media the punters are not going to pick up on it. Give them something different (proven by increased numbers who attend the play offs when you something to go for but not the qualifying matches) and just maybe they could start on that very long journey of attracting new fans, sponsors and possibly media attention on a national scale.

Spent all the marketing budget buying into Northampton. Is it any wonder no one has heard anything given the numpties who have bought in are the same as those who have historically failed to run speedway in any way shape or form where it could be described as professional run sport. The only saving grace regarding Northampton is that it has kept the forum going but for which what else could have been debated. Oh well I am sure the numpties have it all under control.

It may be the case at this time and the situation will only get worse until those riders starting out and those still learning their craft are given more track time. To continue to deny those on the bottom rung of the ladder the opportunity means the sport will end up with the self fulfilling prophecy of of end of UK speedway as it was once known unless the intention is to get the overseas nations to train these riders and bring them to the UK to fill team places at higher costs and result being you maintain the status quo of not enough British riders coming through the ranks. Something has to give and people need to look elsewhere if the ambition is to watch world class riders week in week out, UK speedway cannot afford to entertain these guys or continue to use doubling up as a long term option.

FIM have live meeting coverage for Inzell. Both meetings for Euro 9.90 or you can get a season pass for 15.90. Seems good value to me.

Failure to have a nationwide promoting policy is one issue as is the price point to watch the sport and the attitude of many punters who only want league speedway racing rather than general speedway racing. As an example of what many miss out on you only have to take a look at the individual meeting in Poland on the 28th March and the line up you are getting and tickets for just over £11.00. Once upon a time we could watch great individual meetings in this country which filled out the speedway calendar but now virtually nothing. Add to the lack of support for these meetings the failure by so many clubs to put on second halves for up and coming riders is only damaging the sport further. Put a £1 on the admission fee and put on a second half. Clubs will have already been paid by the punter so it does not matter if the majority leave after the last race of the league meeting, the riders are getting valuable track time. If you have decent sponsorship and hold individual meetings at the right time then the top riders would come but many do not want to commit to a whole season in the UK. It is delusional to think that the worlds top riders would flock to the UK if a TV deal was in place and the points money matched what is available elsewhere. TV has made little difference to the numbers going through the turnstiles and has never nor ever will match the pulling power that fills stadia in Poland where you have broadcasters falling over themselves to get a slice of the action. In the UK you just have to accept it a case of also rans and the sport should take a long hard look at itself and decide what is best for the domestic scene and build on that. A new club comes along so just sit back and see how it pans out. What they do about promoting, team names, riders, promoters, managers etc, is down to those behind the venture and I am sure they are not naive or the amateurs that many think they are and all anyone needs to hope is that it goes well. How they do it is their business and no one else’s.

Well deserved retirement. A great servant to the club and the voice of Ipswich speedway. Thank you Kevin.

Agree and what the other team members will get is invaluable experience of a rider who has seen it done it and can make the difference to one or two riders in the team. A true professional who has served the sport well and never gives up. He may not be at his peak but in reality he can steady a ship if things start to go awry so a good signing and it will be good to see him one more time as Witch. As to the rest of the team, give them a chance, no point in decrying what was and what is, a wheel has not been turned and Ipswich know as well as most what unfortunate injuries can do to what was suppose to be an unbeatable team. No one ever wants to see a rider injured but in a split second fortunes can change. Fingers crossed for all participants but in reality racing as these guys do in various leagues across Europe, the risks are undeniable. Let’s just see how things pan out.