Sings4Speedway

There are plenty of people who i know have attended Kent to watch Greyhounds whilst the Speedway track has been in situ and had no idea that Speedway even ran from the stadium. If you can't advertise fully at your home venue to catch passing trade what genuine hope do others have (given that Kent still get reasonable attendance figures)

I agree with you that silly guarantees and points monies has to stop but you won't get anywhere insisting on "standard" engines, aside from what is deemed standard there would be a huge financial cost to riders to swap out their current redundant kit, monitoring it etc. Simply by reducing the monies a rider brings in they will naturally look at ways to reduce outgoings. Do i need to service the engine every 25 races or will 40 be ok? do i need that cam? do i need to go to that tuner for a service when this one charges half as much? I don't tell my employer how much money i need to live with all the mod cons, they give me a salary and its my responsibility to cut my cloth accordingly.

Mildenhall website says Smith signed in place of Compton but bit sad for Benji if there has been no public announcement. Greensheets don't reflect at present though so either taking it to the wire or needs to be re-draughted. If it is the case then congrats to Sam M for getting to number 1 and shame on Coles for dropping to reserve.

Certainly interesting that there is some sort of figure to use when noting the cost of staging a meeting at Newcastle. However i still believe that NDL teams could be assembled with riders earning just £10 a point. The riders are out there and are desperate to ride. On that basis £2500 to stage the meeting £500 for points monies is 300 through the gate at a tenner a head. Yes that would leave a shortfall on away points and travel funds. The shortfall for a season is likely to be a similar figure quoted as some single home meetings? Back to basics and let the sport grow from the bottom. Those riders who don't want a tenner a point can step away or try and ply their trade in the higher leagues until they all inevitably fold or drop down.

I think you are right, Brum and Newcastle look very costly meetings for the host clubs should either side not see out the season and i can see other teams ready to call off with far better forecasts than there is this weekend. Sadly Eastbourne are more representative of a successful UK speedway club and if they are facing financial difficulties and strong dependencies upon the number of people attending then it really is time to sit down and look at how the cloth can be cut accordingly for all clubs.

I am staggered that more clubs dont run chargeable practice days. They are 100% cash cow. There have been plenty of occasions where tracks have been hired and sub let in the past but it could be utilised so much more. Riders of all standards are crying out for track and happy(ish) to pay for it

Has Compton been officially replaced by Smith in the 1-7? Greensheets out of date/not released yet? Otherwise sure the Colts riding order is wrong.

Have Brum ever got 1200 through the gate?

A big problem that has been raised before is that Speedway Fans are split distinctly into two groups namely supporters of a given team and only have interest in that and supporters of the sport who have no team allegiance just enjoy the spectacle on show. I for one feel that the league format could be scrapped, needing to generate funds for away meetings off the home gate just isn't working. 600 fans trying to cover stadium rents, 2 lots of travel, 2 lots of points monies etc just isn't working and is leaving a financial hole. Organise your home meetings on the day and time that works best for your fan base and run the meeting formats that suit best. Even if thats 7 vs 7 team meetings the host club can build competitive opposition to help generate a better gate. Should teams then want to get together and run mini leagues amongst themselves should their attendances support it. But the primary role of any promotion should be to promote their own venue, its clear that there has been no sensible collaboration between clubs over the years and thats what has generated the mess so switch it back to looking after number 1. The clubs that look after their fan base best will survive and those who don't will fold but at least it gives all clubs a fighting chance.

Genuinely doesn't sound that daft does it. Paying out for away meetings basically paying 14 riders from each gate, if its a 12 rider meeting then saving is already there, then throw in that you can pick and match up the riders to create a good meeting and you don't have to pick the top stars to create good racing but still use riders that are on show every week at CL level for example. Then as stated bulk out with additional races, 2nd halves throughout the match with riders that would happily turn out and put on a good show for just a contribution towards their costs.

Looking across the leagues already this year there have been calls for higher attendances at Kings Lynn and Wolves in the Prem. At CL level Eastbourne, Kent and Leicester have made comments on crowd levels plus obviously Birmingham and Newcastle's recent pleas. Somerset has already gone, Swindon hardly sounds promising and there are plenty of question marks that could be applied to multiple clubs short term futures. The writing is on the wall and yet there are still those in charge who refuse to read it.

1000cc chairs do need the bigger circuits to produce their best but IOW, Belle Vue, Somerset have all hosted spectacular racing in the past, i think Kings Lynn has also. The 500 chairs can produce entertainment but it is a bit dialled down and don't quite have the thrill of the big chairs. That said lower power can generate closer racing, i feel that if the main solo class was downgraded to 250cc machines it would mean every rider would have to get everything out the engine and use track craft to get the wins rather than being reliant on having the best motor and the biggest b&lls which is often the case now. All of these require gradual changes over time but fastest isn't always bestest.

Im keeping my fingers crossed for the return of the 1000cc sidecars to the Island. Suits an end of season event as they trash the track surface but crikey do they serve up some brilliant entertainment.

Sadly all the above are just another list of things why Speedway at Brum is struggling. On site parking charges (never been a fan and smacks of extra profiteering), local free parking but don't get there too early and hope the meeting doesn't run too late (or even think about hanging around after for a drink/chat) and to top it off a route to the track is now covered by the congestion charge. It never rains as they say.....

Throwing more gloom on the doom but with Brum and Newcastle is precarious situations is it simply a case of who's next rather than if? There are plenty of question marks that could hang over many tracks with attendance figures and that's ignoring the threat of re-development of the venues. In 10 years time will there be 10 tracks left running and is that in any way a sustainable operating model?

Unless UK speedway changes its operating model these call to arms will become ever more frequent. I know the rent and operating costs hurt Newcastle but its likely to be a side built at the lower end of the wage scale (throw in that not all that many points are being paid out) and its still not sustainable. Many clubs are struggling to attract 400-500 paying fans but if thats what the limit is then the whole product needs to be marketed to work with those numbers and not the hope that another 300 fans might appear out of the woodwork. If UK speedway as a whole gained 300 fans combined across every track in a season it would be a miracle. I feel for Rob Grant i really do. He's taken on some bad advice, made some brave decisions (like getting involved in the first place) and faces going from hero to villain. Sadly though a bad business is a bad business and short term cash injections are clearly shown not to be working.

Just like he was at Rye House and Somerset, don't know about Coventry, Trelawny, Exeter or St Austell but there is a pattern developing here!

For me it isn't the riding position thats as tough as being the transitional place. Riders at 2 have largely stepped up from reserve and the trick is to keep scoring and move into the main body proper rather than drop back down to reserve and run that yoyo performance life. It is a rapid evening though with 4 rides done by heat 10. If i was calling out the fairness of positions a number 7 rides against another reserve in every race whilst for a 6 it happens twice. Could shuffle those around a little better and switch the endless reserve swapping around.

I hope im wrong and batch decides now is the time to pull his finger out because if he uses kent to drop his CL average even further they are screwed. On paper Batch, Nicholls, Heeps and starke looks a strong top 4 but time will very much tell. Sadly forcing Morley up into the 1-5 might limit his scoring power and i think Mulford will find it pretty tough going at CL level but happy to be proven wrong

varied formats of racing that work best on the home circuit whilst utilising a selection of riders to give both diverse levels yet balanced teams, running on race nights that suit them within the peak operating window, with excellent presentation and value of their customers......that lot on the IOW are barmy and long may it continue.

one of the big problems with the sport is the tail wagging the dog.....tracks should be prepared to best suit the racing. Its down to the riders to use the best engine/setup for the surface. If its deep and grippy there should be short shrift for the complaints of those using super short stroke engines. Keep the prep consistent and let the riders work it out. Yeah Riss and Bomber are cheap pull the other one. Bomber ain't been cheap for donkeys years despite turning in donkey performances. It might not be the most expensive side built but its far from the cheapest either. Mis-spent possibly but the money is still going out. Its also worth considering that publicly acknowledging its not the most financially stable club makes it harder to sign riders at the start of a year and bigger demands from those that do.

Sky high rents do always amaze me. I guess the landlords know they have clubs over a barrel and charge what they like? There must be level of sense applied though as if Brum close and no Speedway runs thats a fair amount of income lost per month to the greyhound folks.

Taken from the club website "The club are especially indebted to Tom, who has arranged transportation to Germany immediately after the Eagles match v Plymouth so that he can ride for the Eagles." roughly translated as its possible to get to Germany after the Eastbourne meeting and we love Tom for doing it but Drew *doesn't fancy it/didn't want to/can't be ar$ed (*delete as appropriate)

His old bikes are already over here and its safe to say that Nicki would definitely tempt me back!

Whilst thats just false economy and won't solve the problem (paying riders more will mean even more supporters needed and its unlikely to magic them out of thin air). Birmingham have their limited crowd base and the chance of attracting a few new fans/neutrals/away fans so spending big on riders will only close the club quicker and produce even more gate and go racing (it will just be the home side doing it more often). Brum do have a chance though to build a team that engages with fans and provides on track entertainment. The likes of Harris, Shanes, Morris and Thomas are all racers who can pass but the track isn't there to provide the opportunities. Create an outside line that works, leave the inside line slick so there are racing alternatives. Speedway is a basic product and people will still pay good money to watch lunatics like Bomber and Shanes ride the boards.