Sings4Speedway

Probably unpopular but as a rebuild things need to be looked at from bottom up not top down. Restore the NL to a competitive league with better standard riders so the riders who move through it are a better quality when they move up. The other league is Champ Plus. A strengthened version of whats in place now with reserves having to have achieved a certain level at NL. Assessed riders to stay at higher averages 4/5 and Brits to get bigger end of season reductions to encourage use of home grown riders. Promotors genuinely need to sit together and build teams that are far more equal, there will always be teams that click or don't etc but it cannot be the case that year on year teams are getting bashed at home repeatedly. Its just bad for business on both sides and win at all costs when what's worth winning is questionable anyway is unnecessary. Build / re-build some rivalries, generate a bit of needle between teams. It can all be theatrics but it adds to the entertainment and gets buy in from fans. When riders, managers and owners are all one big happy family its boring, i want to see some rider passion, a manager stomping to the pit phone to rant at the ref thats all part of a show.

The issue sits massively with what is defined as fit for purpose? Personally i want to be entertained so two teams with riders of close abilities on a track that offers passing opportunities and im happy. That used to exist at NL level and was sub £15. Watching the worlds best can be mesmerising but unless they have someone to race it can be dull as dishwater and the gulf between the top and bottom riders in teams is getting too vast. Top 100 in the world is a bit of a stretch when there is probably only a few thousand active riders of all ages worldwide anyways. For £30 you would need top level facilities (how many females don't attend simply because the state of the toilets) and an afternoon/evening of entertainment with passing, track craft, even a bit of controversy. The home hero, the pantomime villain, the stuff that gets people talking on the way home and wanting to see what happens in the next fixture. I certainly can't remember the last time i felt like that hence why i am one of the many who used to attend a lot of fixtures at various tracks and now barely go at all.

Must all be down to the free parking....

I guess it boils down to if Jason wanted to go back to Brum? Obviously RS picks are drafted but once released he becomes a free agent again essentially......

Weekends yes (or at least Fri/Sat/Sun) but sadly good used tyres are largely like hens teeth. The current rubber barely lasts 4 heats, i suspect if that was the rule you would find riders having to lightly knock the edge off a new tyre just to comply. Throw in that most NL fixtures are run on bald circuits which scrubs any tyre more it will only produce more fallers and lower the already shaky opinion of the league.

I understand Kent re-introducing Charlie Wood but unless Clouting asked to step down it makes little sense that he was the rider to be replaced.

A nice recent comparison would have been the Ed Kennett on an upright round IOW vs himself on a laydown BUT the most recent champs was wet and reduced to 3 laps plus i can't find the times anywhere for comparisons grrr

Can think of maybe half a dozen decent uprights rattling about, by decent i mean maintained and quick but as you say the owners are either retired or largely inactive. So its either talk riders out on track with laydown hooligans or ask their pride and joys to be handed over to laydown hooligans......either way the answers won't be positive.

Its not an entirely modern phenomena that riders who have strong financial backing are able to make stronger progress early on before the reality of league speedway sees the gap close back up. £8k 250cc engines (yes eight) will see good progress through the youth ranks in reasonable hands along with taking in the European meetings that are just out of reach of others. Speedway promotions though aren't looking for the most talented rider they are looking for the fastest and often they can be quite different. I wish both Cairns and Rushen all the best but at present they are the better end of a much smaller pond, if they could achieve progress rates similar to Dan Thompson or Luke Harrison (both of who i rated higher age for age) they will have done very well.

Could be argued though that a rider who doesn't have a strop now and again is a rider who doesn't care...... Yes there are plenty of "emerging" riders who want to look/play the part but promotions also have to share some of the burden as are they looking for well turned out kit and team in matching gear or a scruffy oik who is quick......lets be honest the scruffy oik is going to have to be twice as quick to get noticed. There always has and will be riders who also just enjoy the sport, want a team place because thats the next step and any money they get back is a bonus towards their hobby. The opinion that every rider is a ruthless mercenary is something that fans have sensationalised.

There are always 2 sides of a coin in any situation. Obviously there are plenty of Aussies who have come over, grafted and taken the chance presented to them.....there have also been plenty of bang average ones who have had a season or two basically having a paid for holiday. The same as Brits, there are plenty of flashy showy youngsters about with all the idea and ego although to be fair its often the parents (with deep pockets) who have enabled this......there are also the ones who do genuinely try and focus on the job at hand and can be just as successful.

Employment and speedway contracts can draw very few parallels and indeed speedway contracts are seldom worth the cigarette packets they are written on. Literally financial data no targets, or average thresholds for acceptable performance. Even then there are often riders who are over performing but get dropped as part of the numbers game. My major issue has always been visa'd riders, Australasians in particular receive guaranteed wages and accommodation as part of the visa requirements whereas a British passport holder receives non of that and therefore potentially has to juggle work and the sport actually putting them at a disadvantage.

I don't know the ins and outs of visa sponsored riders but recall hearing that even if released the club would still be responsible for accommodations and basic wage for the remainder of the season.......which does beg the question why clubs are so ready to take gambles on riders in the first place

But where are the riders coming from? The prem is struggling to track 7 similar standard rising stars, the champ clubs are scratching for 2 pointers and whats left of the NL is tracking riders that are realistically second half level. Numbers in youth rounds are hardly encouraging and the amateur scene has been hammered into the ground. The dilution of the sport started 10+ years ago and now the price is being paid. For every Cairns or Rushen you need another half a dozen "lesser but competent" riders coming through, the sports journeymen that keep the places filled and they are what are very much lacking at present.

Did you used to be Steve Boxalls mechanic......🤣