Hawk127

P poor support on the terraces. Sad really that speedway and and event like this has fallen to such depths and you have to wonder how you drag it up from the nadir that it seems to have reached. What do those in charge need to do to reinvent this spectacle.

Congratulations to Australia. Shame about the track support. If any new people tuned in and saw the p poor crowd you would wonder why it is given airtime. A decent nights speedway but no one can be proud of the on track support. Sums up speedway.

No they are not consistent enough to be described as on the pace. They and Neil etc think they are but in reality they are NDL level in terms of the international platform. Look at how other nations have progressed and yet GB have gone backwards. Maybe in five to ten years from now they could be competitive but that might be wishful thinking. Until the idiots in charge in the U.K. recognise what a cock up they have made in terms of managing the sport and fully getting behind the riders, team GB will struggle.

No just recognise where they stand and stop having the powers that be build up mediocre riders and start from scratch. GB riders can rise to the top but at this moment they not on the pace and those in charge are doing these lads no favours. The riders are OK but they have a long way to go to be good.

Good final race and both pairs deserved to be in the line up for the last race. Not a bad evenings entertainment and hopefully team GB can take away some useful tips.

Back to basics, team GB are not as good as they believe themselves to be and the powers that be need to stop pretending that GB are a force to be reckoned with. Let the youngsters mature over time, they need to grow into a force to be reckoned with, but at the moment they sit behind many of those on show tonight but can learn.

Not as good as the GB team think they are and the management need to take a look at themselves. GB really do not deserve to qualify but will probably win the get out of jail card. About time the BSPL got a grip and stop chasing the crap they talk about. No rider worth it wants to race in the U.K., as a nation we need to re group and start from the bottom up. What you have now is all too fragile.

What I do not understand is that on the Eurosport SON page where it tells you how to watch it says ”Stream the Speedway of Nations live and ad free on Discovery+ With live action on Eurosport 2 and via Eurosport.co.uk.” Does that mean it is also on-line in the u k but not on TV?

Yep, seen it and agree it is a bad as the British version.. While the racing has its moments it is not top draw in terms of a spectacle it is a poor relation. While the meetings can entertain, they offer mediocre competitive racing and those riders competing are not top level but nevertheless do manage to put on a show. Just do.not over sell, the product, it is second rate.

Agree and that is why this sort of televised meeting is an embarrassment. We should go back to part time riders and racing on nights that stadiums will make the most in terms of income. We cannot compete with Poland or a number of other European leagues in terms of presentation and quality. It is only the promoters who think otherwise and frankly are pissing money up the wall on chasing something which will never happen in this country. That ship has long gone but if those in charge want to go on kidding themselves, carry on losing money you fools. You have dragged the sport to its nadir and for what purpose.

Having watched the Polish matches yesterday this coverage is embarrassing and the track/ support is amateurish and you wonder why they bother televising matches. The commentary is second rate and now you have The old duffer giving it his best. What a load of crap and it is only heat one.

The start sums up just how bad the sport is in this country. Riders need to get a grip.

In your circumstances the only offering that may be worth a look at is the IOW. Apart from this I agree with your sentiments but alas those in charge do not give a fig about the true speedway supporter as opposed to a club follower. Many like to watch the racing and if it is close and competitive most are happy. Teams are a joke with riders competing in all three leagues. It might be better if meetings were individual events made up of riders assigned to club names and at the end of September the riders with the most points were drawn to represent four clubs in a play off. Those clubs could be drawn out of a hat. Ridiculous it may seem but no more than what we have now.

Yep, I understand but speedway use to be a weekly event and was well supported. The point I was trying to make was how times have changed and it is not driven just by economic conditions but the state the sport is in where rider availability and the doubling up down and sideways makes it a nonsense. Ipswich and many other clubs were the stable of weekly track action and many supporters turned out to watch racing. I can remember supporting a Saturday night club and waiting for the results from Canterbury, Coventry, Berwick etc. but now the sport is a pale shadow of what it once was. Alas it will take a combined effort from many to re-establish itself as a serious form of club entertainment.

If I am not mistaken just three more home meetings. Long gone are those halcyon days of weekly meetings at Foxhall. What a sad state of affairs when you are in July and at the height of the school holidays etc. Just two home meetings in August and nothing other than league fixtures with no other offering including the 16 Lapper likely to be run. Ipswich has a loyal following but sadly the sport is shooting itself in the foot and is unlikely to attract a new following with a limited racing calendar.

We must remember that the powers that be run meetings for the benefit of a few riders and not the fee paying public who are basically given what is on offer on a take it or leave basis. Shame that the promoters show so little regard for those who turn out to watch what is sometimes dross and treat them which such contempt. I agree, if this was held on a Friday or Saturday more supporters would travel as they do to the GPs and surely the host stadium would make more money. Says it all when I think it was Tungate who was recently in the Star bemoaning the way speedway was run in this country because it did not suit the overseas riders who would coming flocking back if it changed. U K speedway can neither afford or should give in to rider demands and should plough its own furrow starting by allowing clubs to race on days that suit the business not the rider. Clubs should sign riders who want to commit to British speedway and not want to ride simply to top up the coffers when they have a lull in Poland or elsewhere. Sadly nothing will change and in a few years it will be into single figures the tracks left running and they will only survive if riders are part time and have jobs elsewhere.

What a race with Lambert. Out of the top drawer as one of our commentators would say.

Jason Doyle is a class act and a joy to watch in the purist sense of a quality rider. Great to have in any team but did not have the support he deserves but still enjoyed each race he was in. Presentation was dire and Sheffield got lucky with the curfew preceded by track delays/repairs to air fence. How anyone at the senior management level think speedway in this form is credible needs to take a long hard look at what you have left joe public with and the sooner you wake up to the fact that speedway in Great Britain is second rate and run it accordingly you will continue to end up with this sort of farce. Ditch the t v coverage and get back to basics before you the management committee finally kill it off.

Most would agree but some fault does llay with many supporters who for reasons best known to them will rarely turn out for anything other than a team league or cup match. Go back a good few years and you had a number of prestigious individual meetings and for local interest, three and four team tournaments (e g Eastbourne, Rayleigh, Canterbury etc. In the south east ) and admittedly a good few years back in that example but fans did turn up. League racing played a part but so did the array of other meetings which made up a seasons entertainment from March through to November but I guess the difference was that the sport had its villains and the good guys and that was not only the riders but the promoters so the entertainment value was on and off track. The promoters will not gamble money putting on a meeting knowing that they are unlikely to make a profit and with the lack of sponsorship for the big meetings which might attract the top names for the right money racing on a night when you will almost fill a stadium (Friday, Saturday or Sunday particularly when Poland take a summer break) means supporters are left with what you have today. The lack of large corporates/household names willing to underwrite a meeting is understandable as no one with a decent brand will want to be associated with a sport for all the reasons quoted by many of the more knowledgable contributors to this topic. So many issues arise be it from the state of the stadiums and facilities through to rider ability to rules. You then have the restrictions on rider movements between the U K and Europe so the sport has a lot to deal with but it is not helped by the custodians of the sport having failed miserably to grasp the post covid opportunity to reinvent the sport by trying something different to attract lapsed punters and new ones too. It will continue to experience a decline in interest from joe public until the promoters decide to look inwardly at what they have and stop looking at the sport through rose tinted glasses.

He may need to think with his head rather than his heart. Hawkins would not hold down a job anywhere else in the sport and should go. Maybe the riders are given generous terms that are sufficient to cover the costs of turning up and hence the pressure to perform is not on, who knows. Sadly the Ipswich teams in recent years have been made up of riders who have no real passion for the Ipswich name and notwithstanding the good support, the on the track performance has left fans wanting. Success is a long way off, riders and management talk about fortress Foxhall but that is hot air. Wholesale changes were needed at many levels but alas you have the same old and with the limited number of meetings in a season and nothing new in terms of promotion, speedway as a form of entertainment and racing formulas etc. that fails to inspire new followers. Added to this the early woeful performance of riders particularly Heeps and Batchelor in this league and a team that does not inspire confidence. How much longer must this continue before someone decides to get a grip with all that is sadly in wrong as far as speedway at Ipswich is concerned. It was nearly lost once before, it could still happen unless those in charge and the riders think about some pay back to those loyal followers who crave success.

And the banks have lost nothing during the pandemic. All loans underwritten by the government are what is described as ‘zero risk’ rated so no bank capital is used and the return on the loan goes straight to the bottom line of the bank as net as profit. The conservatives have been irresponsible in the loans/grants to businesses during the pandemic and those in receipt are surprised regarding the tax implications and are pleading ignorance on this point despite most having accountants who will have given best advice. The tax payer in the U.K. has been ripped off because of so many unscrupulous businesses falsely taking loans and an irresponsible government who with such abandon, threw money at a situation without thinking it through and consequently leaving a system open to abuse. How many businesses owners have taken the open cheques from the government and bought premium bonds etc. Those who doubt this are ill informed, most accountants know what has gone on and when tax returns are completed, accountants are alerted as to why the returns are wrong and most of the issues relate to the grants and loans dished out willy nilley by the government to businesses who are less than honest. The current financial implications for the domestic market re price caps on fuel etc. are because of the failure to manage the reduction in fossil fuel use over a reasonable period of time and the investment in alternatives which has lead to everyone paying over the odds in the short term rather than a managed financial strategy over a reasonable period of time. The hike in direct/indirect taxation through NI as well as the fuel increase etc. should never be solely down to one individual of the like of Sunak who through family wealth will never ever be impacted by the hardship of the average U.K. citizen. It says it where the country has a top table as a governing body which is made up of the privilege few who the rules do not apply and yet claim to understand the current financial crisis but will never be affected by the financial hardship many will suffer. They seem to be really taking the p... out of each and every struggling worker/household.

Because it is run by amateurs who have continually failed to market the product. Those in charge would have trouble making a corner shop successful let alone an entertainment product that could be so good if they had imagination and the foresight to promote it for what it is, four riders racing hell for leather for four laps on machines with no brakes and that in itself requires a specific set of skill sets. No instead let’s piss about with rules that no one understands, teams that are not unique with double up/down and a series of league meetings which mean dick all as you have a system of play offs that mean you need only ride to a certain standard, get guests and win the championship with a group of riders who have been brought together to boost the ego of the club owner. The sport is a joke and until it is managed professionally with clubs towing an external party line, it will never attract serious sponsorship or attract main stream publicity be it press, radio or television. It has a group of hard core ageing fans watching the decline in this country of sport that in its current form is part of a bygone era.

Today the issue of linking Cycle speedway would probably be an obesity problem and the lack of willing youngsters to drag themselves away from the on-line electronic world. If they could be attracted how many could ride/manage laps needed to complete a race? Whatever most forum members offer in terms of ideas and opinions about speedway those in charge are delusional and treat the punters with contempt. Those that watch and support the clubs simply want to be entertained. Finally the riders seem to think that they are owed a living and expect punters and sponsors to subsidise their ambitions and as a consequence spend thousands on machinery to race hoping to make up their lack of ability when in fact many could achieve greatness If that actually tried to hone their motor cycle skills rather then rely on a over powered piece of machinery which is not suited to most tracks in the U.K. Riders are not in touch with the fans and the club owners could not give a fig what punters think. To those in charge everything is hunky dory. Dream on you fools.

Absolutely correct but until you get the glory hunters running clubs realise first a foremost the objective is to entertain the punters who part with hard earned cash to watch no more that 18 minutes of racing, then nothing will change. Those in charge do not listen, acknowledge or take the slightest bit of notice from supporters who they generally think are a pain in the arse. The sport in this country with a current modus operandi that would make most sensible business people run a mile offers no incentive for sensible investment, the lack of a major sponsor is surely an issue that no one seems to have really cracked, intermittent t v coverage focusing on six teams (that in itself gives the wrong impression to joe public who probably think ‘what just six teams race in the U.K.. why bother’) added to which riders who have over inflated value of their worth, race nights to suit most apart from the punters, teams that cannot survive solely on turnstile income, rules that make no sense for a simple sport and no independent body to deal with issues and you wonder why outsiders cannot take speedway seriously. It is a fast and furious sport that fails to excite joe public because of the dinosaurs who are using a formula that is long overdue for a radicle change and have continually failed to properly market and promote what can be a good evenings entertainment if packaged correctly. As much as many on here offer constructive criticism, innovative ideas and continue to have a passion for speedway the only response from those in charge (who probably dare not read many comments on here) is to stick one or two fingers up at the punters and will as custodians carrying on presiding over the demise of speedway u k. I hope they are proud of the status the sport finds itself in.

If a sport was crying out to be reinvented and those in charge show some imagination this was what speedway 2022 should have been about in order to excite the existing punters and attract new interest from those who have drifted away as well as tempting first timers to come and watch. Instead you have the same tired routine and the top tier with just six teams racing each other maybe two, three or four times in a season of fixture fits and starts with the summer months probably being wasted with a sparse list of team matches interspersed with GP’s and World Cup type fixtures. Will the play offs be held in early September and completed mid month, no chance, they will drag on into October despite the lack of teams. How you can make a season interesting with just six teams is anyone’s guess. Sad that speedway has got to this stage and that those in charge are neither understanding how the market has changed (Poland is an example of what needs and can be done in terms of presentation) nor acknowledging that it is no longer what it was in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s as a spectator sport. The bikes have changed, the skill sets are different but the stadia are awful (not much can be done as most clubs don’t own them) but the presentation and content as well as offering value money is in the hands of the club owners/promoters. Unfortunately these custodians of the sport continually ignore those frustrated fans who so desperately want the sport to return to its glory days but that is never going to happen as long as you have no independent body overseeing the sport and you do not have someone in charge with vision to want to take it to another level.