Hawk127

Does anyone know when the fixture list will be available for the world championship rounds?

Sorry I meant only Sunday afternoon. Friday and Saturday nights for the rest and just to add spice, get Polish referees and anyone who knows nothing about speedway to officiate. Hey you could even get a retired rider to guest as ref, which would certainly make for some realistic decisions. Allow for fast gaters and make going back to the pits before a restart an exclusion offence.

I forgot a couple of other points, racing Friday, Saturday or Sunday afternoon to improve crowds and then form teams around those race days, rename the leagues one and two and three and have standard bikes, a track spare and put saw dust down when it rains. Let the top guys do their own thing in Europe or what ever and let British speedway get back to basics with league racing every week between April and the end of September. Cannot be any worse than what you have now.

Standardise the bikes so that you need skill rather than being a throttle merchant who gates and goes and hangs on for dear life because the current bikes are by and large uncontrollable and only suited for racing in certain conditions (albeit only the riders seem to know what those are as they seem to change frequently) and make it more affordable for new riders to get a start in the sport and hopefully this will generate some locally grown talent. Get back to the point where you could name your 1 to 7 that will be riding each week for your local team and create characters who can stir it up with a few more bad guys who have the skill to make it look dangerous but in reality are generally controlling the bike and not the other way round. Get back to having proper international team meetings (How many would go to watch the current Russian contingent of riders take on your local team or even England not team GB). In simple terms, generate interest with a few tweaks and get promoters to contribute to a central fund to advertise the sport more widely. With so many options to advertise on line, radio, local cinema, shopping malls etc. it would not be too difficult to get the sport noticed and once that happens then it might just start to attract the right type of sponsors/underwriters. As an example of where it is poor the sponsorship trailer for the GP is dire and makes it look about as interesting as watching paint dry. Time perhaps to get younger people on board to help with promoting the sport, after all they can do no worse than the current crop of old timers.

As a summer sport little credence is paid to those (the fans) who want to watch regular racing particularly during the peak holiday period. What do you get, very little. The gaps between home meetings is unsustainable from a business perspective and is it any wonder that supporters are drifting away and doing other things. What has gone wrong? Rider such as Hancock turning their back on meetings and depriving some of the most loyal supporters the opportunity to watch him race. No excuses, time to amalgamate the leagues and find riders prepared to commit to British racing and stop pandering to those riders chasing the money on the back of fewer meetings. If the polish and other leagues want to pay top dollar then good luck to them, what ideally we should see is commitment to the sport in this country and if that means a return to riders who have other jobs and do not rely totally on speedway as an income then so be it. It worked before so why no now? If you had an increased number of meetings, would the riders need to look elsewhere? The answer if you want track experience is maybe yes but Financially it is probably questionable if you do a full breakdown of costs. I would love to see the the profit and loss account and balance sheet for the so called top riders and analyse the income etc. As long as the gp riders dictate the terms nothing will change until someone stands up and says enough is enough. I may well be six foot under before the majority of the powers that be have the balls to stop the decline.

No excuses Rosco got it wrong. First time and probably the last that G B seeded to final and he puts out a team who has little experience at this level apart from Tai and Rosco knew the risks and let everyone down. A total waste of space.

I hope Rosco does the honourable thing this evening and stand down.

Totally agree. The supporters who turn up are a secondary thought as far as some are concerned. Why we put up with being given two fingers by some of the riders does make you wonder. Still, no loyalty by most riders when it comes to the average punter, just taking the proverbial. Sad really and little wonder that numbers are dwindling when they show such contempt.

Not the best of racing and in reality you would have been better off without the USA. They made up the numbers but the lack of competitive riders sadly detracted from it being a good event to watch. The racing was not as good as the earlier rounds and with the Russians also being a little off the pace one can only hope that what is served up tomorrow Is competitive hard but safe racing. I do still wonder why this is an annual event and effectively a four team tournament rather than six or seven man teams in a knock out competition and perhaps every two years with the final eight teams then whittled down to then a 4TT final. Good luck to all in the final

I am not concerned. It was an observation based on his lack of ability to conduct himself in a manner required when talking to a wider audience and not his pit crew. No one condones his behaviour and that in itself does not in any way act as a criticism of his ability as a rider but for a guy who has done so much for charity and children's hospital he really needs to think about the privileged position he holds and frankly grow up. Not many reach the pinnacle he has and he needs to understand what that means. Sadly I don't think he cares.

It added nothing, showed him as lacking the ability to string a coherent sentence together without using swear words and frankly if that is the quality of a world champion who is obviously unable to conduct himself then it says it all about the lack of intellect and poor education he must have received. Tai I suggest you engage your brain before opening your mouth and think about the wider audience.

The Kennet brothers, Brian Foote, Ted Hubbard, racing every week, Friday at 8 at Hackney, Rayleigh Saturday, Crayford Tuesday and those East Anglian clashes, Ipswich/Kings Lynn, Rayleigh versus Eastbourne and Dave Lanning, Canterbury and Johnnie Hoskins and the Witches turning up on mass at Rayleigh, Arthur Price, Sunderland and Bradford visiting Rayleigh, Ivan Miller beating Arthur Price, Terry Stone and the shiniest bikes in the league. Characters in speedway both promoters and riders. Where did it all go wrong? I know people started to think it was a serious sport with no strange rules as television showed riders getting double points for beating an opponent, the same riders that they saw last week but riding for a different team to that shown the previous week and the use of a joker in the World Cup which made it a competitive sport thus leaving outsiders wondering if it was for real or a new cartoon series. Oh well.

Good thinking. Is he bored too

So what! No one is listening anyway and I was bored because no speedway again tonight in Ipswich

The real problem is that 'UK Speedway' is a shadow of what use to be a weekly team event that by and large you could rely upon. The conflict between riders availability and promoters desire to put on some sort of match in the face of adversity is sheer nonsense. The sport has to accept that the top names are not coming back, it is simply not convenient to ride in this country. The sooner people who run this sport start to think 'British Speedway' and basically sod the rest and start building for the future with home grown talent the better it will be. It has worked in Germany where attendances are up. So many are now getting out of the habit of going to live speedway in this country that those in charge need to do something now and not wait until the winter for more hot air and no action. It will be too late. I have never known such a poor structure to the fixture list irrespective of the weather and to have teams without a meeting for five or six weeks is p.... poor and those responsible should hang their heads in shame. You have let down every supporter in the country. I really think that the sport is on a knife edge and decisions need to be made now and stop tinkering about. Get on with change.

Do the top riders have time to ride in the UK even with a fixed race night? The additional costs of a squad such as air fares, transport from and to UK airports, not always having their best equipment in the UK, the unreliable weather leading to frequent postponements and as has been mentioned already, the lack of interaction with the supporters means that it is getting further a further from the sport most knew. Just look at the gap in the fixture lists currently for what is suppose to be a summer sport. Supporters are getting out of the habit of going and bringing top riders in on an infrequent basis is unlikely to reverse the trend. It has all been said before that a radical rethink is needed but with most promoters having their heads in the sand and unable see the real state that things are in, it will plod along as is with the number of clubs falling by the wayside for one reason or another and gradually increasing to the point where perhaps just a handful of tracks survive. Does anyone really have an answer that will be acceptable to all, I do not believe a consensus will ever be reached.

I guess it all depends on how many riders have the skill and track craft to ride a speedway machine versus those who can ride but don't have the track skills and rely on speed and effectively hold on for dear life. This assumes a thought process that every other rider works on the principle of those on track at the same time are a danger to your well being. This may explain why close racing and team riding is long gone as most riders no longer have any real control over their machine. Take on some of the suggestions in this thread with standard engines etc and if necessary make a 'British League' only then let's see who really can race rather than gate and go. Some great comments on here and reasoned debate for a change. A great pity that those that look after the sport don't take on board some of the constructive comments. If they want to experiment with standard engines/bikes start in the NL, after two years it applies to the PL and after a further year the Elite league. Those who cannot handle this can ride abroad.

Sorry to see that this situation has arisen and again the fans/supporters have been let down by so called 'Suffolk' people. What is going on? Where has it all gone so badly wrong for what was once a hotbed of riders here in Suffolk. The sport is hitting rock bottom and is in danger of totally imploding and this is probably down to the self interest of those running the clubs. Every manager and promoter is guilty of allowing this once proud two wheeled sport being so discredited and it is becomes harder to see a way back. To every promoter, please start listening to the few supporters you still have that are prepared to part with the hard earned cash to watch a poor imitation of what speedway use to be. Love him or hate him Len Silver knew about putting competitive teams out and looked to entertain the punter as did Dave Lanning etc whereas today the rules, regulations and bureaucratic nonsense and with most promoters having never ridden a bike or have very little idea about promoting it seems almost inevitable that the days for genuine league racing are numbered all because no one is bringing it all together. Please think how to remedy the situation before it is too late

Such a proud name in speedway which has been run into the ground. What has gone so wrong? If the current encumbents have not got an answer they should hang their heads in shame. To let the name and legacy end up like it has is a unforgivable. Having said this, the sport in general is an absolute shambles and spineless bunch running the shop. Back to Ipswich, is it too late to stop the slide into oblivion? The schedule of meetings has been a gamble that did not pay off. The weekly fix has now been lost forever, poor results poo management, woeful promotion, track prep poor and performance that shows the riders do not care. It beggars belief and yet CL and Co seem disinterested. Let's hope that this is not the end. A message to CL, fix it or pull the plug, don't take the p... as far as the supporters are concerned you owe it to the Ipswich supporters and the town.

Sorry for being daft and out of touch but can someone elaborate on next year. is the club to be sold and is the plan to race in th E L?

Well it could be depression, perhaps I should keep off this forum

If you believe all the gloom and doom about various clubs and the tales of woe, what is the betting likely to be on the following happening in 2017 No Coventry or Swindon - Tracks closed Leicester taken over by one of the promoters who currently run one of the above mentioned clubs and change the race night to Thursday/Friday Ipswich return to the Elite League and pick up riders from Swindon & Coventry Scunthorpe and Redcar go NL due to costs and lack of PL riders and end up in the play offs. Wales and Cornwall both get a new track/club All Elite clubs run a NL to fill in the gaps in the fixture list and give some continuity to weekly speedway Season to run from April to September - Pre and post this clubs can be allowed to run any number/type of individual meetings with whoever the like Return of Test Match series against Australia or Sweden or Denmark in Elite League Test matches in the PL against Germany and Czech Republic and Easter European Select team NL series against the USA or Benelux Select All riders of UK birth only to compete in National Championship over 12 rounds with four rounds being held at a track in each of the EL, PL and NL culminating in the highest scorers competing in a final in Manchester. The riders do not necessarily have to be riding for a UK team to compete. Entrance fees across the board reduced to £10.00 adults £5.00 for Children under 18 and OAPS. Family tickets for two adults and two children £25.00 BSPA to sell books of tickets and fans can use them at any track they like Odds on each one happening??? Pretty long I guess. Only trying to lighten the gloom and have some fun. It is not a slight on any club but some of this might just be the way things end up.

It looks like The Mary Celeste at Arena Essex. Has anyone other than the track staff turned up This surely a poor advert for the sport. Why don't Sky just show highlights and do a weekly summary programme rather than the live event ITV knew this was wrong so many years ago and nothing has changed. A real shame that it has come down to one man and his dog plus the two commentators

What I find difficult to understand from some of the comments I s that the riders have to start somewhere. All those fathers who stand on the touchline and watch the son play football in some meaningless game, what is the difference between that and watching new riders develop. The youngsters need encouragement and having a few genuine supporters watch them go through the paces has to be good for their morale. All the riders have to start somewhere and learn their track craft. It is not 'rose tinted nostalgia' The second half was often a continuation of the 'needle' factor amongst certain riders. When people refer back to how good it use to be, the riding may have been the same but at least you could support a team of riders who basically were your team year on year whereas today it is a lottery. It included those at 6 and 7 who were often less than capable but they developed because of the experience. Today it is essentially a bunch of individuals wearing 1 to 7 but team riding, working the fans and putting themselves out for the team simply does not happen and team riding is a lost skill amongst the gate and go merchants. Everyone who rides deserves support and staying on for effectively another 10 minutes or racing is not that much of an hardship. I guess it comes down to do you support and watch speedway or are you simply a team supporter and not a speedway supporter/enthusiast.

Would Ipswich be better running NL with the gaps filled by 'open meetings' and getting sponsors for top class riders to attend. In other words plan the meetings around quality rider availability and get good sponsors to support these individual meetings with good prize money to make it tempting enough to get the NP's of this world to cross the Norh Sea. Maybe better to have regular speedway rather than eratic meetings where you simply no longer get your weekly fix. It has to be worth trying something different rather then let it die a lingering death as appears to be the case. Perhaps the current promoters have given up, otherwise why no drastic changes to save the good name of the Witches. So sad the way it is going.