Hawk127

Anyone who does not have access to Eurosport/sky can watch the meeting on kergel.ucoz.lv

Interesting regarding upcoming sport, they mentioned the GP in Cardiff but no mention of SON. Is the SoN only on Discovery?

Or they could have pairs competition with one male and one female and perhaps using a lower standard of male (by this I mean not GP level riders before anyone complains) this might help the female contingent raise their game albeit I see little wrong with the start that has been made and long may it continue

Didn’t Ipswich do the same in 1998 and only lost 5 matches by narrow margins?

Or look at the piss poor version of what was once an enjoyable form of entertainment with decent crowds but has been allowed to be dictated by the woke society of speedway in terms of rules and pandering to the so called supporters who really do not support the sport or the club and the league which is not what it is solely about. No wonder club owners will not run open meetings with the finicky supporters who cannot see beyond league racing and wonder why British riders struggle. Years back open meetings were helpful to up and coming riders as well as established riders as it gave them track time and as an example Rye House ran a number of open meetings before the Rockets moved in . If you are old enough you know how good it could be but if you are one of today’s supporters who only can get the head around team/league racing and cannot understand individual meetings, four team tournaments, local derbies etc and have rarely seen team riding as well as appreciating promoters who actually promoted the sport (like Len Silver use to do) then you fall into the category of those who really do not get speedway. It had its positives and those should not be dismissed but it needs to move on and should entertain the punter and not be driven by some clear cut rigid rules. It should be fun but today’s version in the UK is dire. When it can emulate Poland and attract crowds that only U K clubs could dream of then you know it is on an upward trajectory but as it stands it has little to offer apart from topping up the salaries of a few overseas riders and as for the rest they should treat it as a part time hobby and ought to get a real job. It has lost its way in the UK

A bit like it use to be and who cares. Watch Mauger, Briggs and many others. Not some sanitised version of the sport you have today. It makes for entrainment and nothing else. Well done Scott for rolling back the years, long may it continue. If you want clean cut racing don’t watch speedway.

Well done the Witches. Remarkable really given that Jason is not on the scene but it shows what can be done with a balanced group of riders. The league needs every team and Leicester seem to have one or two who are not at the races but stick with it, the sport would be poorer if another team bit the dust. The UK is never going to match/compete with Poland and it is frustrating that the sport cannot drive its own destiny and instead hangs off the coat tails of Poland thinking that because one or two who ride in Poland are now over here means the sport is on the up. That is not the case and crowd levels tell a different story. Those in charge need to start thinking outside the box to reinvigorate the sport in this country and that includes promoting, not just managing teams.

Well done to the Stars. A hard fought meeting and hopefully the supporters are pleased despite all the uncertainty. A few more wins and the Stars will climb the table.

Racers and Royals does the finest job in keeping everyone informed on the both and I wonder how many actually tune in on line to Polish speedway. It has so many throwbacks to the UK scene a good few years back and if you compare Eastbourne, Rye House and Boston on Sundays, and Thursday’s at Ipswich watch Jarek Hampel and co and Saturday at Rayleigh, Coventry, and several other tracks, the U K had it but blew it. Now Poland is the one to watch/follow. Kelvin spouts a lot of hot air about the UK scene and it really cannot compete with a full Polish stadium.

It is a question of convincing a broadcaster and when you look at the channels available and some of the dross shown, those who watch the Polish scene know how good it can be from a spectacular and those in charge over here need to ignore the UK option and need to look further afield

Who knows what the ref was doing. Not a lot of atmosphere as far as fans are concerned and those that ride on Poland must wonder why they bother with the UK when you look at the sparse attendance when compared to the Polish scene. If only a UK broadcaster would show Polish league matches, it might encourage more u k onlookers to go to a league match in this country which might help build numbers through the turnstiles

Not bad matches today. Kenneth Bjerre shepherding home team mates reminded me of what team riding was about albeit his partner in heat 14 seemed to have the appetite to repeat the first attempt to run the race albeit Kenneth managed to miss him this time. Score lines don’t really reflect the entertainment value. On to tomorrow’s meetings.

I just think it is so sad that the sport is where it is given the money that came into from Sky and many individual broadcasters across television and radio pushing the sport for what seems to have been to no avail. We once had regular weekly meetings throughout the season and characters both at rider level and promoter level. Now you have a bunch of wimps who seem to have little idea on what makes a good night out and pander to the participants who dictate the business model and that makes you wonder why many continue to run the teams. I am saddened that most promoters cannot spell entertainment let alone know how to provide it. Maybe the last page of this week’s speedway star is the answer, non league speedway which is covering IOW, Kent/Lydd and the Rockets where entertainment is foremost amongst those running these meetings. You cannot blame today’s riders who earn a good living in Poland, why would they jeopardise that for five races in the UK once a week with piss poor crowds, little atmosphere and third world stadia. I do not know the answer but carrying on as is cannot solve the fundamental issues drag the sport out of the self inflicted nadir.

Watching this reminds me of what it was like a good few years back at Ipswich watching Jarek and co plough their trade around Foxhall on. Thursday evening. How the tables have turned and it will be many years before the sport in this country can rekindle what it was let alone compete head to head with Poland and attract riders who are generally locked in to unforgiving contracts. Surely it is time to re set the clock, stop trying what U K speedway cannot do and for a short time become insular, rebuild league racing and have the odd international meeting to test the competitiveness of the home grown riders and when the time is right go head to head with the Poles or whoever. For now stop trying to pretend the UK version can match the Poles, it cannot it is now light years behind and with the BSPA having capitulated so much on race nights, what is really left.

My money would be on Jarek or Patrik to step in to the breach. The Louis family have always had a good rapport with the Polish riders and even though one or two dubious decisions in the past have left the Witches wanting the good have outweighed the bad. Even Drabik would not be that bad but whoever they get, they will not emulate Doyle so it is a case of who will be the most solid middle order reliable rider to fill part of the gap.

By no means an expert but it was a dubious decision. Agree that if Emil had kept going the fence was going to get hit a lot harder. Unlike Emil to be so vociferous in responding to the decision and if at fault he is the sort of rider to admit he got it wrong. Onward and upward, still good to see top class speedway and Eurosport’s presentation of British speedway is so far behind the standard of Canal+ and alway great to see Mr Gollob on hand to voice some semblance of reason. Roll on to the next televised meetings from Poland.

What a result for the depleted Witches. Great effort by the guests and the stalwarts of the Witches side with Emil being sublime and now we can look forward to Thursday with a little more optimism.

Look at positively, if Emil has six rides and wins all six that is 18, Scott throws in a couple of wins and two seconds that gives Ipswich 28 so if the other four can score 10 between them that gives you 38 and a fighting chance in the second leg or maybe I am being just too optimistic. Good luck to the riders and hopefully no more injuries, ailments or any other mishaps.

He probably believes he has nothing to prove and that is admirable but if that is the case step aside and let someone else have a chance to reach the top. The sport needs new blood at this level and the format probably needs a radical change to secure the supporter following going forward.

Do the British riders have the ruthless streak in them to tackle the best riders in the world which unfortunately generally means the counterpart Polish riders. It is a difficult call but Tai is ducking out, Robert has the ability but seems to fear pushing that extract mile and Dan has his demons and who can blame him for a cautious approach, it can be a short career if you get it wrong too often. Look at Jason Doyle, at the top of his game and progress cut short. Not sure what the answer is but unless some Polish riders defect to these shores, the chances of British rider topping the podium come the end of the season is unlikely. We live in hope.

Wrong type of rain and the ones that Buster uses have more holes than a sieve hence you are spot on. Roll on getting back to bags of sawdust and Jap engines. The sport might just catch on.

Shows what you can do to get a meeting on and finished in no time. Well done to all concerned and surely the way forward, fast sport with superbly quick process. Racing might not be top notch but they got the meeting on.

What about Jarek helping out. He still seems capable.

Huge thanks to Scott for a sterling performance. Wish he could come back home to the Witches. Good performance to all the guys excluding one unmentionable. On to Birmingham and Fast Freddie.

Guess he realised he needed his bus fare home.