Hawk127

Slightly off the main thrust but went to Tesco this afternoon and it has become a free for all. No following arrows up and down aisles, two metres distancing being totally ignored with people thinking life is normal. No queuing for the check out yet the checkout staff appear unhappy about how all the precautionary measures have been dropped apart from the screens. Well done Tesco, you seemingly know better that all the experts and as long as people keep coming in and you maintain market share sod your social responsibility. Says it all about where society is on the pandemic and profit means more than anything else.

Almost as good as the real thing, some great racing and legends. The return leg should be a cracker. Thanks to everyone involved in putting this together. For those who have not watched it give it a try. You become engrossed and feel part of it. Looking forward to the next meeting. This could be a good winter filler as well.

Maybe in days gone by when you had experience business people in parliament rather than career politicians things would have be managed differently but I wholeheartedly agree that mob rule has taken over and i doubt even our esteemed ministers know how to deal with this except to say it is not on but have no substance when it comes to dealing with issues except to create a debt mountain. Funny how through years of austerity no money could be found but like the irresponsible credit card user it has become spend spend spend and when interest rates rise over the next ten twenty or thirty years generations to come will bemoan the actions of the 2020 elected government and failure to do the basics when it comes to project planning. Glad I will not be around to witness the sorry state they will find themselves in.

Agree and the government will sacrifice everything to kick start the economy so do not expect anything to alter now. Next weekend will be hell as the irresponsible one’s party like nothing matters and the stretched police are suppose to sort out the mess that Boris and co have created. The only way to deal with the chaos that will ensue is bring in the army. That will not happen and we are in for a summer of social unrest and then the bite on the bum will be a severe spike in September or October and lock down leading up to Christmas. You will then know who to thank. Millennials and the followers of BLM and those who simply could not give a toss will be guilty and yet no one will do anything. Anarchy will reign and the civilised members of society will suffer. Let’s hope that all who ignore the rules sod off abroad for their holidays and show what rubbishe society the U K has become.

You would never see any of today’s high fliers take to the track in those conditions. In those days riders just got on with it and in doing so showed some respect to the paying punter. These days they are over rated and over paid thanks to Poland and most have no respect for anyone but themselves. Add to this the fact that the cost of participating as a rider forces most would be riders out of the sport and with fewer riders/countries competing then all you highly paid individuals will suddenly find no one can afford to play with the few elitists who think they are Gods gift to speedway. Make it cheaper to enter and participate as a rider with standardised equipment and stop the nonsense of needing three or four bikes. Those who want to be like formula one drivers, stick to GPS and keep out of league speedway.

I agree with this except that if you have riders chasing the ‘ holy grail’ spending thousands on equipment, it will not change. Why not have standard bikes and then those with the skill can hone their craft and they will be competitive and rise to the top. At the moment it is a case of who can throw the most dollar, pound, euro etc at equipment to simply buy a few seconds edge. That is not what the sport should be about. A level playing field with standard affordable equipment Hence a lower cost that may encourage younger riders might just allow a few newbies to think it is worth a go. As it stands, price wise it is an elitist sport for those with the best sponsors who have questionable skills and are generally the gate and go merchant whereas what it really needs is the rider who can control the machine, cope with track conditions and is in control. Few of today’s riders fall into the latter category. Get back to basics and the sport may have a chance. Again just an opinion but the reality Speedway U.K. is dire and someone needs to the balls to stop the rot. Those who moan that it is the promoter’s whose money is at risk and not those on this forum does not wash. If you are a business person get real. Piss or get off the pot. Stop whinging and if you are throwing money away then get out as you simply cannot make it pay. Riders, promoters and sponsors are so far apart it is never going to be a viable media spectacular.

Price it low and pile it high. That is almost what they do in Poland albeit the stadia etc are better underwritten with commitment from the local authority. Are the current crop of ride s still expecting top dollar given where the rest of the U.K. work force stand and the fact that Poland has lowered its rates. Someone who owns the track should experiment and as a one off see what happens when you charge £5 per adult and £1 per child. Find 14 riders prepared to ride for a lower points money but with a chance to share in the takings over a certain level once the basic costs are covered. Unless you try you will never know and it could get new supporters if it works. Just and thought and standing by to be shot down in flames.

I know this is not normal times but without the enthusiastic Polish supporters and the atmosphere this is not really any better than U.K. speedway. Go back to the 70s and early 80s speedway in the U.K. it was OK because of the crowds but the racing was not always that good. It shows that the sport needs the right mix. Polish speedway would fall flat if this went on for too long but that is not the case. At best this is an experiment not to be repeated

What was wrong with the heat 2 start?

OK Thanks

Watching on the internet, does the Gorzow meeting following on from this afternoons meeting?

This team looks poor albeit Robert looks very good and another great win. 12 points thus far. Let’s hope the next match is a little more entertaining

This is where you really need a referee who has been a rider and can don some leathers and try the track for themselves and the make a decision. This is where speedway shoots itself in the foot. Make a decision and that is it. In English piss or get off the pot. No one is asking anyone to take on any greater risk than can be expected if you are a speedway rider but only in this sport can they fart about and not make an educated decision based on prevailing conditions and the chances of either an improvement or deterioration.

Sorry watch you Tube and reading another thread. Talking about the Polish match.

Adverts are amusing on the You Tube feed. Cannot complain and if you can access all the meetings on this medium, great stuff.

No the commentary is in Polish. Watching it via You Tube on TV and it is not bad at all

Working fine on You Tube and it’s free!

It all makes sense and no point in thinking that the right conditions will prevail later in the year. Clarity from a management team is so good. All clubs should take note and abandon any idea of league racing in 2020. If racing is possible come up with a UK wide individual knock out competition, and pairs competition where they can represent sponsors or clubs and run as many rounds at those tracks that are able to open but that should be it.

Just reported on the BBC news pages that the hospital contract at Cardiff stadium extended to at least September.

And what a heat 15. If most of the meetings contained a few heats like that then people would start to take an interest again. Unfortunately not many of today’s rider are of the calibre of Mark and CL or have the confidence to ride against an opposing rider in the knowledge that your competitor will give you racing room. Gate, go and hang on for dear life. Throttle merchants will little craft on bikes that are over engineered for the tracks.

I am sure many feel exactly the same as you, I do. Until you get four riders albeit with various levels of skill on standard bikes rather than riders having to compete with those who have faster bikes because they have deeper pockets than a team mate it will never change. If they all start on a level playing field as far as equipment is concerned the product may be less processional. (Years back riders on track spare could win races). You have too many variants from machines through to the weight of riders and if that is to continue then without some sort of handicap so riders with different skills/equipment start at different points on the track again you will invariably be left with the gate and go merchants and the rest simply following the leader. Every track will be the same for each rider on the night so it is a case of getting on with it, that is not an excuse yet you regularly hear from riders who blame a track but it is probably more a case of the bikes simply not set up for the conditions. Speedway is well past its sell by date as it stands and needs freshening as a competitive sport if it is to flourish going forward. A fickle fan base or followers do nothing for those who run the sport and would like to make changes but dare not which alas is another reason why Speedway is stuck with an old outdated format and no new people coming through the gates. As a team sport, it has no credibility given you can get a rider participate in three different leagues in the U.K. and then ride for an opposing team the following night. The only way is go back to individual racing and re-build the league structure in a few years time. If any racing is to take place this year, then this is the time to experiment. With the way other countries are going to operate and cross border movements restricted the U.K. has no choice and at the same time no better opportunity than to try something different

Agree and given the limitations on cross border movements which are likely to be around for a very long time, perhaps it is time to look at what speedway has got in terms of riders and then have one or possibly two leagues with teams running Wednesday to Sunday on days that suit the local track and possibly look at ways of introducing the formula 2 bike to cut rider costs and let’s see where it takes the sport. It can forget about international racing for a year or two so why not experiment. I am sure that many fans would like to see some form of regular speedway on popular nights whenever that may be and hopefully find those local heroes of the track once again.

Unfortunately those who have spent the weekend ignoring the advice have irrevocably change everyone’s way of life. No point in jumping down everyone’s throat on here as most if not all are responsible and reasonable people. Sadly we will all probably experience casualties but better to educate than berate. We all know that in society some ignore, think they are better and stick two fingers up to what is happening but this is different and to those who think they are above the advice, god help you. To all you recognise the issues thank you.

I read somewhere that when it comes to football for example, the matches are postponed and not cancelled so Sky claim no refund is due. Not sure where subscribers stand but it might be worth trying to cancel and look to renew in a few months when the position might be clearer. Who knows anymore. In unchartered territory now and no end in sight. I blame the Chinese but who is going to sue the Chinese Government. Oh well always 2021 to look forward to watching speedway.

Partly by agreeing a pay structure so that the cost are shared. Why is it on this forum you always have some one who cannot see the bigger picture and it is probably why Speedway today is in the mire which was not the case in the sixties and seventies when real supporters went to meetings to follow the sport and not like today where it is league racing or nothing and people wonder why the sport is in the state it is in. Supporters are not what they used to be. You like speedway racing or you like team sport. Years back some of the best meetings which were well supported were individual events but today who knows what works. Lucky all U K supporters are not in Australia they would have so much to moan about the set up but it works and yet U.K. followers benefit from these riders who ply their trade in individual meetings and turn up on these shores for farcical league meetings where double up and down makes it a joke. Why cannot speedway supporters look at the positive options rather than the negative side of everything. Who would want to run a team and be a promoter with negative people like many on this forum. Think outside the box for the sake of speedway not just the team/league racing.