Hawk127

Totally agree. Supporters need to recognise that team GB, England or whatever you want to call the motley crew of riders racing under the banner are with one exception no real match for those who race at GP, Euro or Polish league speedway. Why do people bang on about the overseas contingent not riding in in the UK when in fact they could not give a fig about British speedway. The current state of the sport offers up the ideal opportunity to regroup and foresake all that has gone before. Time to look after number one and re-build from the bottom up. Those riders who cannot commit to weekly racing in the U.K. between April and September, go ply your trade elsewhere. Build with what we have, invite overseas teams for test matches and forget Poland, ask Germany, Italy, France, Norway, Czech, etc. and get to watch riders who will only grace these shores is these type of matches. Bring back the interest in seeing overseas riders at test matches only. Work on a U K open individual championship, and look at a league format that has riders competing with equal ability rather than machines and stop the nonsense of throwing money at bikes and instead give riders machines that are standard so that all competitors really have to look at their track craft and hone their skills rather then rely on the gate and go aspect of the sport. The sport may once have been part time and a hobby for some riders but it was much more of a level playing field when it came to machinery. Oh for the days when it was announced that a rider was using the track spare. A reality check is needed before it reaches the point of no return. To those in charge, be dynamic, be forceful and stop living in a dream world.

He lived near Kings Lynn and use to race bangers. Any relation to the esteemed leader of the sport in this country. It is unfortunate but the halcyon days have gone. Speedway is no longer viable as a professional sport and to add to the dire situation the weekend’s debacle only puts another nail in the coffin on this once great sport. If it is not too late I cannot i believe it is time to re-trench and look inwardly at all that does not work and consider regrouping and start again. To be brutal It has no appeal to younger audiences, the diehards are drifting away in droves and the riders live in cloud cuckoo land when it comes to thinking it is a viable option to making a living. If BT sport walk who can blame them. Having followed speedway since 1969 it is sad to see that the sport has lost its way and that the light at the end of a tunnel may well be another train coming. It has to take on board all that is wrong and stop burying one’s head in the sand. BSPA/ Clubs, wake up you do not have a viable business proposition and must work together to find a solution for the benefit of all. Carry on in your silos and speedway is dead.

Another outpost for the sport, not an exciting meeting, empty seats and you have to say how much longer can this continue. No creditably and you cannot big up something that aspires to be taken seriously when this is the best that can be served up. Sad really but let’s hope tomorrow offers something better.

Totally agree. Hope all the UK riders can regain some confidence going in to tomorrow. In general it was not the most exciting event and the empty seats is a shame but the reality is, few take speedway seriously enough as a sport other than amongst the ‘anoraks’ Where does one go if this is suppose to be the highest level of racing. To sum it up ‘it fails to excite, need to try harder to entertain’

Totally agree. Perhaps we should all lobby ITV 4 to make a bid for speedway. They had darts from Germany on tonight so right country wrong sport. Well done to Laguta. Be interesting to see what Eurosport do with future rounds. If they cannot be bothered, allow someone else to live stream it but stop treating speedway supporters with such contempt

Your opinion Is respected. I was responding mainly to the comment about the Europeans pairs qualifiers and suggested options that were available and offered one possible option for bringing together a range of meetings. Did it require a reply that you proffered is doubtful but that is your choice. On that note I leave you to think on.

You would have thought that if the FIM or others can put Ice speedway on a live link on YouTube or similar in the middle of winter , meetings like this in the main European speedway season could be streamed on the net. Given the amount of meetings going on across Europe, a fee based internet based transmission showing a range of live and highlight meetings should not be beyond the realms of possibility for those in the know. I would happily pay a monthly subscription to watch a variety of live, recorded and highlights and if this could extend to the winter months and feature speedway from South America, Australia and New Zealand then I would not be surprised if this could pay its way. I guess it is a case of dream on.

Is that because promoters have lost the skill of promoting the product to would be sponsors. Years back many tracks staged individual meetings with local companies putting up prize money. However I think it is impossible to get it right, some fans want to watch a format of league racing only which is almost unsustainable from a financial perspective with allegedly insufficient riders to fill team places. To fill the teams you need a cross section of skills because of rider shortage but many moan about the NL quality riders and all they want to watch is fully fledged riders in their team but do not have the patience to support those riders who need to hone their skills and learn track craft. I believe you either have a mix of meetings or go back to the 13 lap format and a second half open to reserves and second strings. What I don’t understand is that most will watch a GP or European championship meeting but not an individual meeting at your local track, they may not be GP riders but the quality of racing is just as good.

Totally agree. It needs a level playing field with fixed points money which then drives costs and if all riders participated using standard equipment and were then forced to hone their riding skills instead of being gate and go merchants on bikes that many if not most fail to control across a wide range of track conditions then the sport might get back to close racing, team riding and entertaining the punter. Until they bite the bullet and do what is right for speedway and not their own insular but contrived business arrangement where they operate on outdated business models with no idea of what the punter is crying out for, speedway will not even register on the sports radar of any potential new follower. SGP and many of the other televised European meetings as well as the overseas leagues have been given carte blanche to crap on U.K. speedway from a great height and this has been condoned by the BSPA headed by two cronies who the sport would be better off without. Sacrifice is needed for the greater good and the sooner that some of those running clubs realise this the better.

It would at least add some interest and anything that would have half a chance of dismissing gate and go complaints has to be worth a try. Why not trial it in non league so that the purists do not get too upset. Something needs to be done to revitalise the racing given the difference in skill sets of heat leaders versus the others. If the likes of Doyle (using name as an example not having a go before anyone leaps to his defence) are so good prove it in a handicap racing. They would have to work their way to the front while the lesser riders have to learn to ride defensively. It is a shame that so many interesting a different ideas are put forward on here but no one is listening and yet the basic concept is OK it just needs some added spice to make it attractive if only to give the ‘underdog’ half a chance.

While you continue to have a good deal of talent coming through the ranks from a wide range of European nations who can travel to the likes of Poland with relative ease, the Polish authorities will not give a fig what the rest of the speedway world thinks. Britain has no chance of ever getting back the status it once had as the place for riders to hone their skills in one of the best league sets ups that use to exist. That may have happened by default and largely due to the relative ease of access that riders had to the U.K. compared to Eastern Bloc countries many many years back. The FIM don’t seem to be the controlling force they once were and all in all the sport has become fragmented with different factions seeking to take care of ‘number one’ As for the U.K. they should start to plough their own furrow. Afterall Poland says it is their way or no way so why not bite the bullet in the U.K. and start from scratch. Build leagues with what you can afford with riders who will commit to ride here and also improve the ‘employment terms’ so that riders are not dumped at the drop of a hat. Build some loyalty to the team and work with them rather than treat them as commodities and most of all the clubs in the U.K. should unite to promote the sport as a whole and not occasionally at local level. When it gets to a position of strength it might then be able to stick two fingers up at the Poles and the FIM. Until then it remains a lap dog.

Sadly the days of attending Saturday night speedway and hearing at your chosen meeting the results from the likes of Canterbury, Rayleigh, Berwick, Workington, Coventry, Bradford etc. is be a distant but pleasant part of the history of speedway. In the current climate it will not ever happen particularly as the obsession with league racing to the detriment of individual meetings and challenge matches means that the choice of race meetings is limited and the new talent will not get the opportunity that riders had previously with the second half of a meeting. Sad to say but today supporters do not want anything less than league racing and that is one of the reasons why the up and coming riders are taking so long to come through the ranks. You cannot turn back time but some lessons could be learnt from the past if the sport is to go forward.

Agree. They could not play cricket either. So guess that sums up the situation they cannot run and are also rans. Who cares anyway, I lost the will to live and decided to count the number of nails in a local B&Q as it seemed much more interesting.

Do Ipswich need to replace Harris, Bellego and Lawson? If they have any aspirations I think they do but it depends who really runs the club and calls the tune. Carry on as they are and they will be also runs.

It looks dire crowd wise. For the sake of a discount they have sacrificed the atmosphere, riders will look and feel disappointed based on attendances recently and the blame lies fairly with the management/owners who have not got a clue. Sad indictment of those in charge and reflects where the sport is in this country. Ipswich management are fools as they have let down the club and the sport. Feel sorry for those who got the tickets through BBC Radio Suffolk. Ipswich speedway should be ashamed.

I think the problem is that Essex is a large county and the south of the county will not lend itself to a development of motor sports arena given the demand for housing etc. and for any marginal success of finding a suitable location you have to look north of Witham and probably in the North or North East of the county. Plenty of rural areas exist where a track may be viable but it would need to be a multi use stadia and not just speedway. Len Silver spent much time looking after the closure of Rayleigh and this included Southend and Rawreth but to no avail. I would like to see the sport established in the county but it is not going to happen within 30 to 40 miles of London.

I cannot see what the problem is. It adds another dimension and those who are forced to ride in Poland is tough luck. Why not give it a chance. It is a learning curve for everyone and for those who are not purist it adds something that can only improve the status of the GP. Yes it becomes technical re starting positions but it now seems to take on, not just the bikes or the track but tactics. My view and it is personal but it is a welcome change. Well done all involved and if it is done properly how many polish league tied riders will want to miss out on practice. Well done Polish speedway, you are spoilers for the most important competition and your self righteous view may eventually come back to bite you on you Polish arse.

According to BBC Radio Suffolk, Bomber is having his scaphoid screwed back together but still hopes to ride on Thursday. Madness to perhaps contemplate this but who knows. Just remember ‘act in haste repent at leisure’

Why is it that a sport which has quite a few young riders cannot attract the younger fan base. Clearly this young rider base cannot connect with these fans and it is simply a sport that from a participation aspect is beyond the reach of the average youngster unlike it use to be when grass trackers progressed into speedway. It is costly to get into, not high profile enough and won’t make the newcomer a fortune or famous overnight. Perhaps low cost standard bikes etc and not the high performance machines that are used today might make it an option for a few more but in reality people will just have to accept that it simply does not work for a younger generation and never will given the choices that are available today. It is only a matter of time before it becomes a part time amateur status option for a few in the U.K. and those who are professional will have primarily Poland to race which continues to be a hot bed for talent and supporters something the U.K. will never replicate.

A genuine question. With all that housing around the stadia how long can it last? Knowing how some people can be, surely the residents will get together and petition the local authority and then further restrictions could be imposed in terms of start and finishing times etc. and the Robins then face an uphill struggle to continue. I really hope it works out for the Robins but I would not trust any of the non speedway parties involved.

That is the point, they no longer exist. Go back a few years and you had home grown local talent from the local grass track scene etc. and if you are old enough you should know them and no one needs to list them. If you are not of an age and attended in the golden years then read a few good books about the history of Ipswich speedway and all will be revealed. Suffice to say that today you have seven individuals most of whom could not team race to save their lives and it makes you wonder why anyone bothers with league racing and simply does not hold individual meetings and the those riders linked to a club who have accumulated the most number of points try to ride as a team at the end of a season and you then have the play offs. Avoids problems with rain offs, postponements etc. And you simply have a cut off date. Of course this is far too simple to work and the BSPA will continue to live in a dream world.

I think it is a bit much to refer to it as a team given that it is no more than a bunch of individuals with no loyalty or local knowledge or upbringing riding under the Ipswich Witches banner. Even Harris whinges that he had to start finding new sponsors having lined up a few around Peterborough and is possibly in transit. Most witches fans were able to support and follow local home grown talent and more recently rely on the Louis family to be the back bone of Ipswich speedway. That last remaining foundation has gone so expect criticism from here on in given that someone north of the border has got his hands on Suffolk’s number one team. Sad to say that the frequency of home meetings has not improved and the golden days of weekly speedway at the Heath are just history and will be no more as long as the farce of two leagues carries on.

Maybe all that has gone on is a trial run for team squads. East Anglian teams sharing the Chapman preferred riders with media and management centrally controlled by numero one. No one believes any press release let alone the cobblers involving the aging Mr Harris. CL probably did get fed up with the way things had worked out in the lower division and decided to drop out of being responsible for the Witches but sadly if the pre season shenanigans is a foretaste of what is to come, then that is it. Surely it is time for those promoters who really believe in the sport to make a stand and form a break away branch. While it may be too late for the East Anglian teams who knows what could come out of a rival authority with a vision to take the sport forward. Nothing on the team building front or the press releases are likely to entice new supporters or win back those who have drifted away having found other things to do on a Thursday evening. The golden era of the Ipswich speedway is long gone and possibly as a form of entertainment it is now past the sell by date.

I wonder whose choice that was. Confirms who is pulling the management strings. Sad that it has reached this state. A bit like politicians no one will believe what CL and co say ever again. They sold out and let down most witches fans.

I think you are partly right but many loyal supporters who are not forum members will turn up. Sad that single handedly and in such a short space of time he has managed to be so devisive and brought the sport into such disrepute yet being in charge he really could not give a fig. Lies, misleading stories, no public denials and staff silenced would appear to sum up his style. Sadly he appears to be less than a professional businessman and he lacks man management skills and his public persona does not endear anyone to him or his cause, look back at his interviews on TV. Unfortunately it is his money and he is calling the tune and the only way to get back at people like this is hit them in the pocket. That means boycotting meetings. Who is really going to do that? Supporters have a choice and can make stand but will they do it. Add to the unhealthy situation of one company owning three teams in one league in one part of the country and that is bad news for the future of the sport in this region. Add to this the monopoly known as the BSPA which needs breaking up and/or given a bloody nose says it all about the sad state the sport is in and the dire situation that speedway in East Anglia faces. Fans of all three clubs must be wondering what they have done to deserve the current situation.