Jonny the spud

Last year I made a return to several UK speedway tracks ofter a 23 year absence, same 4 guys racing round, Same noise, (roughly), same atmosphere . Down side....... Same stadium facilities, same music (really), same amateurish "promotion", no other interval entertainment. In short nothing new on offer. That's it basically, i may be missing something but i cant think of anything in the last nigh on quarter of a century that's a great improvement for the customer to make a night out more enjoyable or appealing to a new audience. Now look at other forms of motorcycle sport and see what's happened in the last 20 odd years. Quite sad really .

"Made a loss"= good accountant. Don't want a profit to we. The taxman would come sniffing.

I think this whole thread sums up why your average man in the street avoids speedway like a tarts toothbrush. If even die hard fans can't understand the rules, what chance does a newcomer have ?

Failing to move with the times, Supercross was unheard of 30 years ago, now with loud modern music and razzmatazz they pull in hundreds of thousands of young (and old) fans worldwide. Speedway spends too much time looking backwards then wonders why other forms of motorcycle sport are way ahead of them. I'm trying hard to think of another kind of motorcycle sport that has declined so much from its former glory and what do people moan about on here ??????? ehh in the old days we had 2 valve zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Not sure, but i know the first home meeting is on his 17th birthday.. hopefully a night to celebrate for more reasons than one

D'ya think they'll invest in some music from a decade later than the 70's ?

Any ideas on when a fixture list will be released ?

Any ideas on when a fixture list will be released ?

As I said in an earlier post. He's eligible , if he's good enough he may get an offer. If he's not good enough he won't. That's it.

If he's good enough and has a British passport let him try his luck. If he's that good he'll get an offer, from experience I know that just to come over here and drive up and down the country doing second halves,( and sometimes if the meeting overruns doing hundreds of miles for nothing!) if he isn't up to it he won't get an offer . Same as anyone else. There's lots of riders who no matter how hard they try will never make it. It's not favouratism, it's a level playing field.

But if that's where his parents lived. That's where he had to ride. Again it's no different from Ellis

Both Adams parent moved abroad in the late 80's. he was born, schooled and has lived in France all his life

So what does make a "proper" British rider. Is Adam Ellis British ?

Don't know about meaning nowt. I used to try to win EVERY race in my day. It's easier to defend a lead than make up a deficit

I think a lot of it can depend on if teams can get some pre season team days going. Some riders, Tom / Adam etc, are also racing premier league and will get a chance to " hit the ground running" but the team that gels early in the season is going to be hard to beat.

Seeing as there's a similar thread in the premier league forum, what's the prognosis for the national league next year ? Who do you think is going to be the team/riders to watch and why ?

He won that in the semi final. He didn't finish the final

If you're only as good as your last race, in terms of the SGP. what does that make Chris Holder ?

There's a " back the Brits" campaign on twitter to encourage young Brit riders. If I'm right ( although I could certainly be wrong) are 6 of the islands 7 British ? And with an average age of less than 20 can any other club beat them on that front ?

So just how are you supposed to get a team ace when you live 1200kms away ? My definition if being tapped up is when one club has nurtured a rider only for another to come along and take advantage. In Adams case he'd spent thousands of euros and a lot if the summer travelling to tracks to show what he could do. When you're a free agent I can't see how clubs coming to you to offer team places can be counted as tapping up

Adam wasn't at all "tapped". He had periods in the UK, all of which involved 2500km round trips from home and tried to squeeze in as many second halves as possible. Lots of offers were made and he chose the IOW because he liked the set up and the people. He's only 16 and will be living away from home which is a big gamble, but the island is close to where he's being based and falls in nicely within the area of his biggest help/mentor Matt Read. It certainly wasn't money driven as he was offered more to ride elsewhere. More a question of trying to get the right help in terms of starting out and getting the right people to start a career. It's a big gamble for one so young being so far away from home !

Yes he has signed

If anyone is interested in helping/sponsoring Adam Ellis for his 2013 season, he'll be riding for the Isle of Wight on the national league, Ipswich in the premier league plus the occasional skid with lakeside hammers. All help no matter how small is appreciated to help him progress up the speedway ladder. Send propositions to ... ellisjon@hotmail.com Or ellis33@live.fr Thank you

Someone posted earlier that Adam Ellis has big sponsorship for next year. Being involved with trying to secure it for him can you let me know where it is cos boy would it be welcome !

Why's that heathen ? Spill the beans