Ray Stadia

You would have thought there would be plenty of opportunity to open another track in Cornwall, with all it's uninhabited land! But then, you have to find a promoter interested and of course NIMBYs are in all counties!

Where does Slough Speedway fit in, with the above plans?

I didn't know Stevie Wonder is a speedway fan! I should have realised....'Ebony and Ivory'....is all about the speedway chequed flag!

I think it is fair of the paying supporters, to expect there to be some kind of dialogue between the promoters and the fans. Keeping schtum, just makes things worse! Brexit is a perfect example!

But football is a completely different 'animal'. The media are all over football like a rash, so any news, rumours etc are not kept secret for very long. Whereas speedway has very little media outlets. Speedway Star, this forum, local newspapers a bit. Perhaps unofficial club websites, local radio a bit, word of mouth on the muddy terraces.......I have run out of ideas!

I had never met the gentleman, as far as I know, but a senior grasstrack rider, Frank Yates, sadly died after taking a tumble in the pre 75 event on Sunday, at a Ledbury Motorcycle Club meeting. RIP Frank. It appears on Facebook, he was very well thought of.

I suppose you could have 2 ambulances, but then double the cost, I imagine.

A number of people have mentioned on here that they want value for money. I know most tracks have a curfew and can't operate beyond a certain time, so something like a second half is difficult. However, is there any reason why speedway couldn't have a pre-match half that started say at 6.30 pm and had races for the juniors, which would perhaps encourage local would be riders the chance to ride and be future team riders. Now, not all speedway fans want to see the 'wobblers', but for those that want to see more speedway in an evening, they will have it and it may just entice youngsters in the surrounding towns to come and watch their mates going round.

But surely a loss is a loss? If you are offsetting profit from another company, all you are saving is the tax you would have paid on the profit, therefore, you are still out of pocket?

I think at the end of the day, it is the whole 'industry' that needs to get together to sort out the sport in the UK. All those that have 'skin in the game', promoters, riders, managers and manufacturers/tuners etc. Really, everyone in the sport that has a financial interest. After all, if the sport completely dies, so does their livelihood. For us, the fans, yes we would feel a bit sad and 'empty', but not out of pocket. The industry needs to hire a conference centre and have a serious brainstorm with all those mentioned above. Will speedway do anything resembling that? I wouldn't put money on it!

Perhaps the answer is to put a proper cap on what the promoters pay a rider. If a rider wants to blow all his earnings on 'feeding' a tuner, that will be up to him. However, if there is a sensible, laid out, suggestion/example of how a riders earnings translate into bike expenses, transport, clothing and overall profit, then a rider can have a bit of an idea, how much he wants to commit to engine tuning and number of bikes. Surely, most riders, riding in the UK, can exist with 2 bikes? Maybe also a spare engine, in case of a blow up. But then, maybe that is how they do run their affairs, but still can't square the circle?

Sorry! I suddenly thought that maybe his brother is David and just checked, yes! Many apologies BB!

Close!....Ray Davies!

Well he was a member of the SAS!

I don't know about that. I like Moto GP and World Superbike Racing, but the engines used in speedway are much much simpler. I don't have much idea about the techi stuff used in Moto GP and WSK, but love the racing. What makes speedway unique, is that the old boys watching speedway, who used to ride a road motorbike with a pre-unit gearbox and a single cylinder, will relate to speedway, as that is much like today's speedway set-up!

I am confused (often am!), Who are the 'car racing people', BMR? If so, odd that a car racing company owns, presumably, the RH assets? (not the stadium, as that seems to be LVP). Why would car people want to run speedway? After all, speedway effectively, 'kicked out' car people!

If a block of flats is truly an option, sorry, but can't see that RH taking revenue from flat track, amateur speedway and moto X practice, will stop the owners flogging the site.

I do not know the chap, but I do know this forum excels at character assassination. Character assassination usually comes from people with an alias, whereas Rob has the balls to use his real name. As Rayleigh says, take no notice Rob, by trying to get at you, it is distracting their minds from the crisis in speedway!

I saw the British Grand Prix there, I think 1995. The old Hackney stadium was basically being rebuilt and that was the rub, they ran the GP while it was still under construction. The great banked Hackney track, as was, had been turned into a billiard table and didn't work. Then eventually, without the works on stadium being completed, the owners of the stadium went bust or scarpered! It was all a very messy affair, which could be speedway's catchphrase!

Very sad news. The Dunlops have paid a big price racing on road circuits, but I doubt they would wish it any other way.

I am sure that has happened in speedway, top flight speedway teams selling their licence to a team who want to get into the upper league. Sounds like a franchise system would be just rearranging the deck chairs....again. Speedway needs something very radical. At the end of the day the problem is down to the cost for the promoters.

Surely, the way it is run now, is a franchise?

Of course, they could have left the league, but I would imagine RH didn't realise how destructive a week day race night was going to be. Hindsight is a wonderful gift!

Thank you for the explanation. All very complex and a tangled web. Maybe BMR have a legal case to take against the BSPA? By forcing BMR to operate on a race night which clearly was not producing sufficient fans and if BMR did ask to switch to a weekend race night, but were turned down, doesn't the BSPA share the blame for RH's demise?

I get that Whisperer, which is similar to a director's guarantee, but if the promoter hasn't any money to settle the debts, there is no point pursuing the situation. If this is the case, surely the BSPA, for the sake of a team, fans and the sport as a whole, would allow another promoter to carry on. If that is not possible, it is complete madness!