Nobblytriers

lol, ok, maybe sheer determination was the wrong phrase to use, but even with that, passing at BP is at a minimum! Last week, Karlsson was behind Bowen the whole race and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pass. Apparently Karlsson is one who likes the track prepared the way it is now but if it was prepared to allow passing then maybe he would have got past? As for putting the rider in front under pressure to make a mistake, a good tactic but hardly the definition of speedway.

That's something that I can't get my head around. Apparently the riders do say that the track is good (Crump gave it his blessing before it opened and Lasse rates it highly) and I think Glyn was told by them how they wanted the track prepared before the meetings. So, does that mean that most riders are happy that no one can pass them if they hit the front and that if they don't make the gate, not to worry, there's always the next race? That can't be right can it? But then what happens if they actually do want to pass? The track isn't prepared for that so it's only by luck or sheer determination that they manage it. Surley it's in everyones interest to prepare the track for passing and racing? That way, the riders who miss the gate stand a chance of making places up and we, the fans, get a chance to get excited and see some passing.

I vaguely remember The Mirror being involved but apart from that, I can't remember the press covering that many meetings, hence my comments. If that's the case then maybe we do need the national press to get on board and give us some coverage on a regular basis? It's interesting that speedway was very popular in the 40's and 50's, and it also seemed to be in the 70's when I started going, so maybe we should be looking at what made it popular then. It's sort of the same sport today as it was then, so what's happened to the crowds? Have we just become more demanding, or sophisticated, or spoilt for choice or ...? Is it any less entertaining? It's certainly quieter and doesn't smell as much as it used to. Were the stadiums OK back then but, with little or no investment or upkeep, they've now fallen into disrepair and become grubby places? I feel the promoters should be trying every trick in the book to get this sport noticed and people through the gate. Maybe they do, I don't know, but it's a bit worrying, in the case of Newport for example, that, so I read, you can have a decent (ish) crowd turning up every week and then for some reason, attendances drop off the cliff! Does anyone know what happened there?

I can't recall it being on either ITV or BBC every week during the season, and with the GP's as well, I think that's far more coverage than the sport's ever had. With regards to the press, I don't think the national papers have ever been that interested anyway, but our local paper seems to contain regular articles during the season, and over winter when news comes up. By coincidence, I'm just refitting our bathroom and on lifting the floorboards I found a 1981 copy of our local paper. In the sports section there was an article about a forthcoming visit by Ipswich and it was written by our then promoter, Martin Rogers. Maybe it's the job of the promoter, or someone in house, to provide the local paper with some copy that makes people aware of what's going on?

I think speedway needs to change how it appears to the general public. The majority of people still think that speedway is 'first out of the gate wins' and I think that they're right in alot of cases. I'm sure that everyone and his dog has an idea as to what makes a good passing track, but whatever the ingredients are, the promoters should put them together and generate good, close racing with plenty of passing. People pay money to be entertained and it's only the diehards that watch riders going around in circles in a line. I'd happily go and watch a rider on his own, just to watch the skill and courage on display, great to watch but then I'll watch anything with an engine! I've spoken to numerous people, with regards to the return of Leicester speedway, and some of them didn't even know what speedway was! The sport has never had so much coverage, especially with Sky coming on board, and yet people are still unaware. So, what's keeping people away or making them leave? If it's the price to get in, the promoters should drop the price and promote the fact that they've done so. There's not much point in having 50% off at the gate if no one knows about it. If it's the product, change the product. Make it entertaining. Make it a good experience. Ask yourselves what makes you go back week after week or what made you go for a second time? For me, it was the whole package. The noise, the smell, the racing under floodlights (nothing better than speedway at night) and being in a crowd. Today, silencers, not alot of smell and small crowds. At Leicester, you can't even see the riders in the pits! (health and safety apparently) and that is something else that's part of the experience. Seeing the bikes being worked on and the riders close up is all part of it. I think the rules only start to become important as you get into the sport but I do think that they should stop trying to jazz it up with double points and keep it simple. That's where the old Tacticle Substitute rule worked years ago and helped keep things close - well sometimes anyway! Six points down after four races instead of 10 points down now seems better to me. So, promoters should promote their product, and find ways to make it viable, without putting any added costs onto the paying public whose experience should make them want to come back for more.

Great Thread. Love going down memory lane though it's getting to be a trek now I can't remember seeing anything about speedway in the comics I read but, and I hope this isn't off topic, I can remember a programme on TV, about five o,clock, called king cinder. I thought it was great as all my mates were into football and I was a lone speedway fan - at last, I thought, something that I can relate to. Happy days.