1 valve

Although I’m no great fan of Tatum as a commentator and agree that at a good number times he appears to lack knowledge of basic topics relating to riders, it is a tad unfair to compare his performance with football commentators. who besides there own research & prep are provided with up to date media guides by the teams which contain a wealth of information about each player as well as having A "spotter" in the booth with binoculars to identify players and provide crucial information. There are also statisticians in the production truck providing “in ear” information on stats/time gone, remaining - subs warming up etc. That type of support is something Kelv can only dream about.

I’ve asked about the crowd capacity at Glasgow which apparently is small which most probably rules it out to host a GP. Regarding Ipswich, I’ve suggested it could be a suitable venue using the existing track or as some folk think the circuit is not suitable, maybe utilise some or all of the stox track build a temporary track for a GP. Yes I do know air fences can be leased and do not see that as an issue for either of the Ipswich suggestions. Re Bradford - what’s with a 1 metre run off area? Where /why would it be located? And how will that resolve the challenge of removing a building which currently negates a neutral zone being in place? You may say “rules can be changed” maybe so - but whilst that building is in place no rider would take to the track nor frankly the FIM expect them to do so as obtaining insurance would be impossible.

I recall a few years ago Matchroom saying speedway did not fit the profile of sport they could be involved with. They actually went with swimming as an experiment which worked well until the folk at the governing body didn’t like the changes being proposed.

Your time for meetings is not possible nor may I suggest accurate. As example, Why does a 33% increase in heats from 15 to 20 require 50% more time from 60 to 90 minutes? In all seriousness, the minimum that can be allowed for each heat is circa five minutes taking into account riders entering and exiting the track before and after races, preparing to start and of course track grading and that is without on track incidents. You are correct that more can and should be done to fill the time between races - Having a bloke on the centre green talking inane nonsense and laughing at his own jokes which nobody understands is just not good enough.

For a good, consistent quality show to be produced week on week there would need to be one company responsible for creating the product. I’m not convinced clubs across the board actually have consistent quality, albeit it’s quite possible for BSN to step up to produce something viable. However, terrestrial tv & Sky do not take content produced by/for streaming channels if that content is not exclusive for a while. But maybe the future being created by Speedway futures ltd such considerations have been accounted for.

You make some very good observations and suggestions. However, When it comes to “highlight” packages and similar content - and most sports covered by tv have them, there is still the need to have recorded the original content before editing the final programme. So for me, the question first & foremost is which production company is going to fund that exercise so that a main stream tv company will broadcast it - and at a worthwhile time of day. The organisations behind darts, Snooker & suchlike actually produce their own content (live & catch ups) providing content to the channels - If UK speedway is to do the same they need a good reliable quality production company including commentary from professional folk who are not necessarily ex riders “doing their best” Maybe the “exciting news” for next season hinted at by the Oxford promotion regarding the leagues set up for next year will also include a change in media coverage with TNT moving out being the first step? We can all but hope & wonder what next?

Very true and an example why there is insufficient number of capable riders available to make one league from all of the current UK teams. Not forgetting how long each meeting would take due to the number of re-runs and dare I say it waiting for ambulances to return. more curfews than final results!?

Equals cost of two bikes & maintenance for a season. Although not a huge amount, good to see at least one promotion making it clear that riders need to earn their income on the track.

So he’s moving on from Kings Lynn? Do the Stars know this?

Indeed. But caused far more by the emergence of Poland as a speedway power than the arrival of GPs - which take place on Poland’s race days.

No not really as it’s good to see all riders in UK getting their fair share of rides across the team. To get team managers more involved maybe introduce gate choices if a team is behind (say by 4 pts away team & 6 for the home side). This would still allow for coin toss and either choice of gate HT1 or HT15 and if and when the scores are level the appropriate gate position as per the initial choice remains in situ throughout the meeting.

And if that was now, you’d never see him race at all on a weekend unless you went to Poland.

There should be no surprises if next year Oxford are in the top flight.

Oxford for the “top tier” (whatever that is) with Sam Masters an early signing/retention but not as the no.1

Promoters agreeing to share riders for many years ultimately dilute the loyalty towards those same riders from a single team fan base. The problem of “us and them” (if it actually exists) is not down to the riders, it’s the culture of how the sport is organised.