New Science

To add some balance the rain has got steadily worse and this meeting would be now probably be heading for a postponement as of 5 oclock. No problem with this, my nark was the postponement coming at 2 o'clock with it being bone dry. Obviously someone has access to better forecasting than me. Happy to set the record straight

Have you had a deluge in Manchester ?, BBC forecast says light rain coming in at 9pm for Manchester M12. Drainage at Belle Vue is the best in the country, would have thought the track could have took that and knowing the forecast could have got a move on

This is another problem we have, the dedicated speedway devotees who tell the world we have such a fantastic product, when by enlarge we don't. It must amaze you reading Laura Morgan's feature in the Speedway Star 3 weeks ago how Workington benefited from 300 hundred people getting free admission only for that number to halve the following week when it was a tenner and then revert to nothing when it was full price a week later. Everything is not the BSPA's fault as some would like you to believe

What has become of this sport. The forecast on BBC weather is for light rain from 3pm all through to midnight. That's exactly what we have now 2 miles from the track, a few spits and spots, absolutely nothing. Many times I've seen the guys at Wolves preparing the track in the afternoon, they put plenty of water on the track, gallons more than the few spots we have had today. This match in my opinion has been pulled because a few spots may put a few people off going, it seems promoters are now not prepared to run meetings in anything other than bone dry conditions. Wow finances must be near the knuckle if this is the new order. Lets not have promoters complaining over lack of dates at the back end of the season when they are calling matches off this easily.

Remind us the last time your mighty Belle Vue won the league

I'm sure that we can both agree that speedway was far more popular in the times your describing , the sport must have had something going for it to draw crowds like it did. Mostly in sport and in life children are introduced to a pastime / sport by their parents or family, I'm sure most of us are in that boat. These days instead of becoming hooked like we did, kids are being introduced and then are drifting away. Never before have I seen so few kids at speedway, 20 years ago there used to be loads, the announcer had to remind them to keep their legs the right side of the wall about 4 times a night. I've said it about a dozen times on here, the things that hooked me as a kid are largely not present in the sport now, the noise , the smell for 2. Throw in largely processional racing and the kids are bored, for that matter so are most of the adults. Its no secret why the sport is dying On a broader note motor sport fans want raw motor sport. Not sanitised, not quiet, not green. This is currently tripping Formula 1 and Speedway up. The owners of Formula 1 know they have made a mistake going down this route and will eventually make changes to rectify it , unfortunately speedway wont be able to do this , it wouldn't surprise me if speedway sanitises further and eventually lurches towards electric. Also expect the grid girls to return to Formula 1

Are there people waiting in the wings that will inject the money to restore Brandon Stadium to its former glory should the planning for houses fail ?

Isn't the first, won't be the last time he makes an idiot of himself on this forum

I think grid girls are the least of the worries for Formula 1 and Speedway. Both sports facing a decrease in footfall and TV audience. Many in F1 and speedway failing to connect with a sport they no longer recognise.

Yes goodbye "Team GB" hello " GB speedway team". Result

If they feel that strongly maybe they should not ride where any grid girls are present, including the GP, World Cup, European Championship and Polish League.

Agree with this, as a side note that picture of the Poole team in this weeks Speedway Star looks awful. They look like a team out of the National League. Hardly fitting for the so called " Manchester United of speedway "

I think your asleep at the wheel. Fortunately as we both have watch our speedway at the same venue for many years we are able to make accurate comparisons. Do you honestly, I mean genuinely think the racing at Monmore is a patch on what it was 10 years ago. Nothing to do with less fans being there, its simply just not as good, that's why many are knocking it on the head. Its not " natural wastage " either, its people giving up on the sport for what they see as a poor product or not value for money, natural wastage is people who don't attend through circumstance not those who feel they have had enough of the sport. If all those who had left the sport in the last 10 years returned to the terraces the sport would not have the problems it has today, Wolves have been in the play off final the last 2 years and are currently operating on their lowest crowds I can remember.

Interesting to read Laura Morgan's interview in this weeks Speedway Star. The Workington promotion went to a local show to promote their club locally , handing out over 3000 free entry tickets for the following nights speedway. 300 take up that offer, not bad, Workington then put another offer on for the newbies with £10 entry to the next fixture, 100 out of the 300 take that up, the next week without any offers all the free entry fans are nowhere to be seen, in Laura's words what can you do ? It may be a bit controversial but is the core product good enough ? because current fans are leaving the sport, and in this case new fans are choosing not to return. Speedway is down to its diehards, many of who will watch anything. Diehards say there's nothing wrong with the racing but that's the reason I've stopped going, others I stand with are the same, I was going more for a social than the speedway. There's only Belle Vue in the top division, with their purpose built track that I would now attend every week if I lived in that area. Sadly it seems speedway in Britain is slowly dying a slow death, less fans , weaker teams, pennies for a TV deal and no major sponsors . sad but true

Teterow must have some money knocking around to get these events. As someone who travels abroad watching speedway the logistics of getting there are important to me. Teterow looks like a track in a field in a small town with no hotels or transport infrastructure unless your idea of a good time is driving half way across Germany, which mine isn't . I suppose money will always talk

If the Monster Girls go then probably so will Monster and without SGP's biggest sponsor there may not be a GP series.

Good post. It was interesting reading last weeks speedway star about how to attract a younger audience to speedway. Unfortunately the things that first hooked us 40 somethings in the 70's and 80's was as described in the star "the strong aroma of Castrol R, the throaty roar of the 4 stroke 500 hundred cc engines. Add to that the speed and the crackling atmosphere on the terraces for the big matches under the lights and you had a magical experience as a kid. Move on 30 years and the smell has gone and so has the noise ,taking with it the atmosphere in the stands ,a somewhat watered down version to what we had .Watch some old footage from the 80's on Youtube and you can hear the crowd before each race starts. Is it any wonder youngsters are not hooked any more, todays machines are also not compliant with the tracks in this country any more, it might be fine in Poland but only the new purpose Belle Vue is anywhere near of the shape and preparation required. As someone who was hooked, I'm now unhooked on what I'm watching in Britain, most of the time the racing is poor, processional strung out stuff with little excitement, speedway is lucky that many of those over 40 still attend out of habit and the social side rather than the excitement of what they are watching. Unfortunately the future looks grim, the machines are not going to change and neither are the tracks on which they race. Speedway in Britain may have been in decline since the eighties but it has been more rapid since 2011 when the new silencers were brought in.

Great news for Somerset and British speedway as a whole

You could greatly improve the current World Cup format by seeding the hosts to the race off instead of the Final

Also for good measure I had to spend a good 30 seconds proving I'm not a robot for every failed log in attempt. about 10 times

Tai Woffinden didn't ride in the SWC this year Wouldn't go down this route you are risking a strong rebuke from Mr Rising.

Sorted my ticket out for Warsaw today . Only took an hour. Log in incorrect, password incorrect, wont send me a new password, tried to reregister but cannot because email already exists ,account deemed inactive cant email anyone as its out of weekday office hours. Eventually had to create a new email account just so I could reregister as the same person with a Polish pessel number which doesn't actually exist because I'm not Polish. What a ball ache. Found on my email a letter I composed from 2006 for a GP in Bydgoszcz with the same problem. I suppose some things don't change

They should have saved their money and left the stadium as it was. Looks awful for watching football with that awful athletics track around the pitch

Think I prefer the Slaski stadium how it used to be . I big old fashion eastern European bowl , seating 60 thousand plus

Amazing how its now great to get back to Torun Phil when 3 years ago it was so fantastic to branch out into new frontiers in Australia. Pretty poor how you Phil trumpet these GP's then diss them after they pull their money out. ditto New Zealand. Didn't hear 3 years ago that the riders didn't want to travel but now the plugs being pulled its an issue, these supposed issues only surface when the money stops As for the riders, every staging country can't have a world champion in the series, things change ,riders come and go, how many World Champions have Poland had in the last 20 years but still their crowds are the strongest, likewise GB, the only 2 major markets left in speedway and the only 2 able to maintain a stadium GP. Feel sorry for the minor nations and the way they are treated by BSI, the likes of Daugvapils, Krsko.Gorican, Picked up when needed and them dropped like a hot potato when BSI get a better offer, will there ever be a GP in Riga ?