PHILIPRISING

IT'S not a restriction on earning, it's a restriction of trade. The fact that they ride elsewhere is (in my opinion) irrelevant. As a self-employed tradesman any restriction on a rider "trading his wares" so to speak is surely illegal? I was quite heavily involved in soccer journalism at the time of the Bosman ruling and have always thought that British speedway would have to toe the line one day. I still do. SS has asked the question of many promoters over the years but they generally close ranks and say that it would be the ruination of British speedway. Presumably they include "rider assets" on their balance sheets. Scrapping the asset system might result in some short term pain but could prove hugely beneficial in the longer term and might actually become a more practical and workable form of rider distribution than some of the artificial and contrived methods currently in use.

JUST copy and paste it here....

EXACTLY ... they would sign fixed term contracts as they do elsewhere. It ain't rocket science!

THE rider asset dilemma is the inevitable consequence of British clubs continually changing the regulations regarding team strengths each year ... one eight point rider per team, two, only two from the top 20, points limits, etc. At the end of each season a number of riders are unable to start a new season with the same track as they finished the previous one because their average rather than their face doesn't fit and become "assets" that are either unused or sent out on loan. If these riders were simply released as being out-of-contract a bigger pool of riders would be available for all and sundry.

RIDER contracts with British cubs usually expire on October 31 each year, otherwise tracks would have to provide some renumeration during the close season. Niels-Kristian Iversen, interviewed in Speedway Star this week, called for properly regulated fixed term contracts between riders and clubs in the UK, as is the case in both Poland and Sweden for example. Batchelor would have no trouble attaining a work permit as he has done in the past and the BSPA might be on sticky ground if they refuse to sanction one (if, indeed, they have that right) if one of their member clubs signed him as they are entitled to do.

FIND it difficult to believe that it cannot be against the law of the land (if not the BSPA) that a rider (in this case Batchelor) not wanted by the club (in this case Peternorough) claiming to 'own' him cannot be free to earn a living and sign for whoever he pleases given that no valid contract exists between the two. Looks like a clear case of restraint of trade to me.

THEIR contract was for both the SWC and the SGP. The Sky speedway production team almost en masse went to the SWC each year as a sort of "jolly boys' outing" and it is possible that they could cover the SWC and not the SGP in 2013.

SKY did handle the TV production at Cardiff - one of their largest outside broadcast operations of the year in any sport. It is the 'host' broadcasters who handle the production in each country ... Sky in the UK, TV2 in Sweden, DK4 in Denmark, Canel+ in Poland. In some countries the Polish or Danish companies are brought in to do the job. They provide the pictures for the World feed which all the accredited broadcasters can take. Sky will also have some cameras for their exclusive use at Cardiff, just as the Poles will in Poland, the Danes in Denmark and the Swedes in Sweden. If Sky do in fact pull out of SGP coverage in 2013, BSI/IMG will have to make alternative plans for the World feed and TV production at Cardiff but that is something IMG in particular are used to.

TOO far to walk but not far or expensive in a cab ...

RALLYCROSS, unlike speedway, has many major vehicle and component manufacturers involved ... far easier to attract both advertising and sponsors than speedway which, sadly, exists, within its own little bubble.

THE motorsports division at IMG, under Global Head of Motorsports Rob Armstrong , the man who brokered the speedway deal with former BSI chief John Postlethwaite, is growing. The rallycross TV coverage is likely to come under the umbrella of Artifaxmedia who also direct the SGP television operations and there will be a considerable synergy between the two at IMG.

SEE my previous post ...

EUROSPORT (but not the UK version) have had the rights for some time. Obviously, allowing Eurosport UK to show the GPs is one option open to BSI/IMG.

DON'T bother... hasn't much going for it TORUN on the other hand has just about everything

THINK that is most probably the case ...

IN the short term the Cardiff crowd might grow. Those who already plan to attend presumably wont change their minds because it's not on Sky while others, who would otherwise sit at home, might go instead. BSI already pay to advertise on Sky so that wont change either but its the long term that a lack of TV coverage would prove harmful. However, the Sky door isn't shut and other options remain, especially in 2014.

YOU are being very simplistic just suggesting that dirt on a track will produce better racing. It won't, it is a myth. Riders want tracks that provide grip, are consistent and predictable but at the highest level any rider worth his salt is capable of winning a race. I saw EVERY World Final between 1963 and 1994 and there wasn't that much passing in any of them. Talk to any current GP rider and he will tell you that the temporary tracks at Copenhagen and Cardiff, along with Gothenburg this year (no rain) and even Auckland were fantastic. You cannot just blame the stage on which they perform if you don't like the show. I have said and written this many, many times: there is no perfect formula to producing the perfect speedway track. It is not an exact science or like baking a cake. What works one day doesn't necessarily work on another and simply throwing dirt on a track achieves nothing and more often than not results in races that have riders very strung out. Where is the entertainment in that? Ole did favour slick tracks because they are easier to handle if the weather intervenes but Tony Olsson has a different objective but you cannot just rustle up a great surface at the click of your fingers, especially at some of the stadiums where the track staff don't always listen (intentionally or otherwise) to what he proposes. I may be in a minority (wouldn't be the first time) but I enjoy the spectacle of riders, in close combat, elbow-to-elbow, having faith in each other and the track surface and wouldn't swap that for the odd pass or two. One thing Ole is working on is an all-weather track. He firmly believes that it is possible to manufacture the perfect racing circuit that will not be susceptible to the weather. What a legacy that would be. I SHOULD add that what really makes a speedway track is having more than one racing line, giving riders the option to go inside or out, often on the same lap. That was a major reason why the old Hyde Road track was so good and why, in recent times, the tracks at Bydgoszcz, Gorzow, Torun and Malilla have produced so many great GPs.

I WOULD be the first to admit that not all of Ole Olsen's suggestions are worthy but at least he is always trying to think of ways to make the product more entertaining and not to standstill. The work manual that he produced for the GP, which is still the benchmark today, set the bar very high for those organising and staging SGP rounds and is referred to constantly.

AND quite a sensible thought, too...

THERE are some other plans for the Monster girls, who will still be present at the draw for gate positions in the final. You are right that often riders have different views on the best gates but sometimes choices are fairly predictable.

WOULD you like to put money on that...

NO one has said they are being done out of sight. The theory is that it will be quicker to go to the riders in their pit bays rather than for them to come to the scoreboard. I happen to be sceptical that much if any time will be saved especially as it will be me going to the riders. If anyone thinks Tomasz Gollob (for example) will stop cleaning his goggles and/or adjusting his clutch to instantly choose his gate position as soon as I ask him they might be living in cloud cuckoo land. But we will see...

I VERY much doubt that a challenge would come from any promoter - rocking the boat and all that - but I can see the day when a rider will take issue with the whole asset farce. It is one thing trying to prevent an out-of-contract rider going elsewhere if the club claiming him as an asset wants to use him. But trying to prevent a rider from earning a living when the parent club don't even want him is even more outrageous and, surely, illegal. Personally, I doubt that it would even get to court given that the system is basically indefensible.

THE crux of all this is whether the rules are legitimate. Cannot reveal names but a few years (not too many) ago when a new promoter was coming into speedway he enquired of his lawyer, an expert on European law, what she thought of the BSPA rulebook and specifically riders with no contracts being classified as assets. Apparently he had to pick her up off the floor because she was laughing so much.

COULD be worth a try!