Hawk127

The IOW seem to be doing OK and in reality have always run during the summer months when they are reasonably confident of getting a good turnout. Speedway has generally become unreliable with say the hint of dampness in the air and a meeting is called off. Few riders are prepared to tackle a track and adapt to the prevailing conditions and the weekly fix is dead and buried. People have found other things to do since the riders and clubs took the punters for granted and treated them with such contempt over the last few years. Sorry to say but most clubs and owners are their own worst enemy and many have lost the plot coming out with the begging bowl when things get tough which shows how unsound their business plans are and the model they use.

Out of interest do grass track riders have the same over the top expenditure for the bike, are they forced into using a particular tyre, do the bikes engines last more than a few meetings before having to be rebuilt, do they have to use expensive engine tuners? One of the problems with speedway is that it portrays itself as a working mans sport but the participants need wealthy benefactors simply to start a bike up let alone ride the thing. Take speedway back to basics and make it affordable and then a few more grass track riders might consider taking up speedway on a part time basis. I do agree that back in the 70’s and 80’s you would see speedway riders at grass track meetings and I like many others use to attend grass track when you had a top name speedway rider in the meeting like. Dave Jessup or many of the witches riders from that era. As has been mentioned by numerous people, stadiums/clubs need to run on days that suit the local market and with so few league meetings and shortage of riders it makes no sense to run with seven man teams. You need to reduce these to five or even four and run a league format that can be fulfilled on the basis of rider availability and then run individual meetings or meaningful second half individual events that could in effect be a British Championship with the top twenty scorers at the end of the season participating in a grand finale like an old world championship final. Something needs to change as what is on offer now has virtually no appeal hence dwindling crowds and poor t v coverage. Speedway U.K. at domestic level needs to forget the rest of the world and run on its own terms. Overseas riders can take it or leave it but few clubs can realistically afford to employ an overseas rider without a serious sponsor, hence that tells you that in the cold light of day the business model that includes non British riders is on viable.

Totally agree. The sport has been sold down the line by going with this bunch of cowboys but then you have to look at who runs the sport in this country. They have dragged it down to a new level and allowed themselves to be lead up the garden path on a promise and little else. Eurosport could not give a fig about speedway. They have dominated the Olympic coverage much to the sanguine of the viewers who believe that a public broadcaster like the BBC has the viewers best interests at heart. If anyone at BSPL level is lining their pockets on the back of a Eurosport deal then they are taking the p.... No wonder speedway has lost its way and so many cannot be bothered with what has become an embarrassment. Little credence and what could have been ground out from regular t v meetings has gone up in smoke. Thank you BSPL and every promoter throughout the land (except IOW) who have stood back and let the sport down. You are a credit to speedway.

Joking aside, it is sad that what should be a thrilling sport finds itself in such a sad state of affairs. Yes we are probably on the same page and I use to go week in week out irrespective of the result but since 2016, it has in my opinion gone down hill and I really can only bring myself to watch the up and coming riders who do the utmost and ride with heart on sleeve. I was really hoping that the NDL meetings would be part of the entertainment at the top tracks but they just paid lip service to this idea and nothing so my local club have again lost out on my attendance. Only Mildenhall provide the sort of racing that will get my support. Raw talent but entertaining and in the main only ones way to go, that is up.

No problem. Like you, I and most on here have lost the plot so back to the entertainment with WWE and the Undertaker and this will be followed by the riveting world fishing championship from a local garden pond near you. Eurosport have pulled out all the stops.

It is already doing a good job of watering down so not really an issue. You cannot seriously believe that what makes up the top tier is premier, first class or any other descriptive term you may wish to apply to the top tier of the sport in the U.K. It is a make do season from a racing perspective but going forward it needs to reinvent itself and offer entertainment. Perhaps the IOW could provide some ideas. The current format of 15 heats is old hat, dead in the water and boring. Do promoters have any idea on what constitutes entertainment or better still listen to the punters to see what they would like to watch on a weekly basis throughout the summer. Long gone are the days of a weekly fix so adapt and come up with something new. Perhaps that is beyond the current crop of club owners but changes are need to widen the appeal to new riders and new fans.

Are you a rider or promoter or one of those stupid enough to invest good money after bad in a business where effectively the staff (riders) dictate how, when and if a meeting goes ahead.? Riders are suppose to entertain but if the track does not suit them or the weather is not right, they rarely ride to their capabilities and simply go through the motions, hence extortionate prices to watch demonstration races and it is the riders and promoters who need a thought change unless you run the IOW then they have already provided what the punter would like to see in terms of value for money and various disciplines. Stadiums generally are crap and only speedway fans would put up with poor facilities etc. and actually pay for what you rightly say is fifteen to twenty minutes of races in two plus hours. It will not die but it might end up with part time riders and amateur competitions. Failure to crack on with changes and reinvent itself over the past twenty years in the U K finds the sport where it is today. Even the body that manages the sport has failed miserably to ensure that regular and reliable t v coverage, which should be the window on promoting the sport in the U K , is up to the job. When Eurosport can cock up the Olympic coverage what chance for a second rate down on its heels sport like speedway. In terms of what is wrong with the sport, from a fans perspective it is endless. From a promoters perspective all in the garden is Rosie and for all its faults it is basic enough, four riders and four laps yet the rule book has taken away the simplicity. It needs to go back to basics and each club really ought to be run as a business but not a hobby for a few entrepreneurs who, if it was their main operation they would have liquidated a long time back and put their money into something that might generate a return over and above bank deposit rates. I hope you local club survives.

Many aspects of the sport have simply not moved with the times, they have tinkered with the number of heats over the years but it is still four laps clutch start and that is it. Team racing is rare and most ‘teamsters’ race firstly for themselves and the income with the club a secondary factor in the equation which is why I never understand why so many dislike individual meetings apart from the GP. The admission price is seemingly determined by the riders and not the paying punter. Rarely do tracks actively promote themselves or the sport either individually or collectively (some decent advertising deals are available on a number of commercial radio stations) and most could learn a thing or two from the banger racing promoters and the IOW. Despite claims from many who run the sport, it is not family friendly night out given the cost and no need to go on about the odd summer promotion re kids admission , how many regular weekly meetings are being held at all top tier tracks this year and covid is not an excuse for not thinking outside the box and putting on a motor cycle show with various two wheeled disciplines not just the gate and go merchants. Sadly with few exceptions it is boring, living in the past, over priced and going nowhere in a hurry as no one has any vision and the balls to turn it around and make it an evening spectacular and leave behind the dead wood of 15 heat league racing. First and foremost give the punter value for money as no clubs needs to chase ratings, the sport is not big enough to think like that so play to a new audience and drag the oldies screaming into the current day but do something different before it is too late for the sport and it ends up as an amateur outing for a few enthusiasts.

I accept what you say but if you want a weekly fix, league racing simply does not have the numbers any longer to cover a calendar of racing from April to October. I like league racing and have followed three teams since the 60’s (governed mainly by where I have lived) but I have always found that supporting the local rider facing off in a individual meeting against quality opposition and seeing up and coming talent plying their trade against some formidable opposition a useful gauge as to how they may fair in the sport. As you say each supporter has a preference and that is good but those youngsters need to test themselves in various scenarios and individual meetings may offer a different dynamic without the pressure of team racing.

A good performance by Ipswich but in fairness this is Championship speedway. The powers that be need to get the sport sorted and stop pretending. It does not and will not ever compete with Poland so stop dreaming and give joe public regular weekly racing with local riders and teams that the punter can relate to not the mis- mash you have today and put the meetings on when you have the best chance of a decent gate and stop using the excuse of rider availability. Make work or shut it down.

When you have riders like Scott who in fairness guests regularly and in most cases in a joy to watch as rider, given that he has no allegiance to any other team other than those he signed up for, why does no one want to see individual meetings with similar calibre of riders rather than just league meetings. The GPS provide entertainment and in years gone by many individual meetings offered up great competitive racing yet today’s league racing is feast and famine when it comes to quality of entertainment. I really wish a few punters would give the individual race format a chance and get behind riders rather than teams just as they use to in the 70’s and 80’s.

Jake Allen fell but our esteemed commentators referred to Connor. That was all I was saying.

Not me but that is what was said in the commentary in that heat. Listen again if you think I’m wrong.

I meant in that race not the meeting

Connor Mountain is not riding. Where did the commentators get that from as the faller. Another inept performance on and off track.

Few outside the current followers have ever heard of many of the top riders (except for Polish supporters perhaps) and the lapsed fans may well take the view that “we have seen it all before but it won’t last” . It might be too big a financial risk for many running tracks. It is sad but the U K version has to find its own level and rebuild at club level. Outside that you have some talented riders who will rise through the ranks but for now it would seem that the best option for the weekly fix in the U K is to plough our own furrow.

A genuine question as I do not know the rider but is purely down to the rider’s skill or in certain cases is it that their equipment is simply not as good as others and however good the riders ability is he may not make it because he cannot afford the cost of the equipment needed to compete at the next level up?

It will take a fool or someone with a lot of money to burn to continue running Ipswich at the current level. Sadly the sport is in decline and the entertainment value does not exist. I stopped watching after heat seven and found Clarkson's farm programme on Netflix more entertaining. As to consider paying to watch live in a stadium with it lacking atmosphere etc., no way. I use to go week in week out up until 2018 but now rarely go. I would rather watch meetings with riders out to race for themselves than club meetings. The young lad on BBC East tonight who suffered a horrific crash up, I think at Glasgow and is making tentative steps back by riding grass track was more entertaining in the few minutes of the interview. Sad to say that the once mighty witches have lost the plot and may find it hard to get supporters continuing to grace the stands if they stay at the current level in the sport. Teams should ride to entertain the public but that no longer happens and tonight was a lack lustre performance and probably due to poor management judge.

A good mix tonight with young talent challenging the old guard and a reminder of why it was so good in years gone by and I can go back to the 70’s when at Rayleigh those at 6 & 7 took on the the top guys so you had Ivan Miller beat Arthur’s Price and Red Ott beat Geoff Maloney when Red was riding for Scunthorpe. Tonight’s meeting took all those old enough, back to the good old days. Thanks guys.

Vintage racing, if only it could be like this every week. No losers tonight. Thanks to both sets of riders, restored the faith in what a great meeting can be achieved with a mix of talent be it young or old. Cheers guys you did the sport proud.

Forget the score, one of the most entertaining meetings thus far. Congratulations to both sets of riders for putting on a good show.

Take the contents of the interview with a pinch of salt. Having been put on the spot the defensive mechanism kicks in. Does he represent every club with his comments or just those who follow the party line. Given all that is going on in the sport with the failings, issues, weaknesses at various levels and the potential loss of three clubs what the hell are the BSPL doing to manage what has become a dire situation. It was sheer folly to run the divisions this year as if nothing has happened and with large question marks over tyres, a lengthening injury list, it seems that the class of 2021 are headless chickens. To cap it all BSPL directly or via the rule book when it suits them, try to put so many obstacles in the way of the IOW or any other track who would be better running on a open licence like they use to to which may keep those venues going until better times come around yet this option would make sense in a number of cases. The self interested clowns that are in control of speedway’s destiny care little for the bigger picture and are going to go down in history as those responsible for ruining what was once a highly entertaining two wheeled competitive sport. Some clubs are making efforts with streaming etc but those on the top table have their respective heads up their backsides. It is a pity that the sport does not have a rich benefactor to take on those in charge. For the time being how about every forum member writing to the local track asking what it is that the local promoters/ owners have against the IOW running open meetings and allowing any rider to compete/ gain track time and in the wider scheme of things tracks that could run on open licences so that they can continue to operate and not be lost to the sport. Then feed the responses to the Star to publish the results.

I don’t pay £19. Netflix at £5.99 for films and the rest is a licence fee for a public service broadcaster that lacks scrutiny and does what it likes which I cannot seem to get out of paying. When speedway bothers to put out seven man teams on a weekly basis and not Mr R/R to make up a team and runs from late March to October, uses local talent who grow into a team and have honed their craft and are not gate and go merchants, puts on individual meetings such as the 16 Lapper, then I might contribute to the coffers of the local promoter but given that this sort of entertainment is now confined to history and decent promoters no longer exist I seem to be saving money.

Perhaps entertainment is stretching it a bit. Fifteen races in two hours could compete with paint drying. Makes chess look exciting.

Fake wrestling but at least they are professional actors. Riders can neither act or be considered professional sportsmen given the cowboys that run the sport. Circus might better describe what goes on but even that might be an over generous description. Agree with everything you say apart from the wrestling. Long live World of Sport!!