Piotr Pyszny

I thought you'd say that. :-) Don't the natives of both towns call each other 'Jameaters'? I seem to remember some people in Whitehaven referring to Workingtonians (?) as 'highsiders'.

Thank you. Looking forward to it. Having lived in Whitehaven for a little over five years, between 1986 and 1992, I know how friendly Cumbrians are. :-) I still smile when I recall some of the Glasgow-in-exile meetings I watched at Derwent Park in 1987!

Planning to drive over from York for this. Any useful information for a first-time visitor? Can you take in folding chairs? Are Comets doing a match programme to fill in? Is there plenty of on-site parking?

In the days when I reported on speedway, I recall Paul Bentley ticking me off for referring, in conversation, to his 'second bike'. They're both the same, he told me. There isn't any point, he added, having two bikes, if you think one is inferior.

Long been speedway's problem: clubs at the mercy of ruthless landlords. That said, Buxton (AFAIK) owned their stadium (rudimentary though it was) - yet packed up.

Four tiers to UK ice hockey. Leeds Knights, a relatively new club, set up in 2019, usually sell out their arena - which I gather holds about 1,800. Knights have just won the NIHL National Division (tier two) play-offs.

It is still there. Been a few years since I went but a memory-refreshing glance at Google's satellite map indicates there isn't space for a speedway track. Houses nearby, as well, to the south and to the east.

Exactly. If Newcastle's crowds have dropped as low as 350, closure is inevitable. In the North East, there are football clubs in the semi-pro Northern League attracting bigger audiences!

With the attendances you quote, I don’t see how speedway at Newcastle’s level can be viable or sustainable as a professional sport. What other professional sport is played out to such a small audience?

Of course, for a couple of decades, Carlisle did have its own semi-pro rugby league club, based first at Brunton Park then Gillford Park. Around the same time, the Carlisle & District Amateur Rugby League competition extended to two divisions.

According to wiki, Workington Town RLFC’s highest league attendance in 2021 is 1,457. Encouraging to hear of plans for a track at Northside capable of hosting league racing. Best of luck to those involved.

672 at Reds’ home game yesterday. Not bad for ‘Sunday League’. How many times did Comets get that many spectators through the turnstiles during their last season? Remind me how much the Workington Speedway promoter lost while running Comets. £750,000 in just six years, wasn’t it? Completely unsustainable.

Redcar (Middlesbrough, in all but name) is about the same driving time from York (on quieter roads, too). Scunthorpe's a little further. Both much better racetracks (purpose-built, you see) than Owlerton, where spectator viewing has been ruined by the loss of the first bend terrace (and the continued closure of the back straight terrace). Out of interest, over and above the 15 heats of racing, what additional entertainment would you be looking for?

Called in on Quibell Park in 2005. Still a very tidy little stadium in a leafy setting. The flat athletics track, on which the speedway circuit was laid (I've seen only video footage of racing there), is now synthetic. The outside banking was a velodrome-type circuit. It was still in situ in 2005.

Come on, this happens in professional sport all the time! It's always the little guy who loses out. In the BBCRS interview, Jordan does say "everything" from 2021 will be "cleared up".

You're being extremely generous, comparing favourably speedway's existing venues to second tier non-league football grounds. Are you suggesting (possibly the new, new Belle Vue apart) speedway offers facilities on a par with, say, AFC Fylde, Boston United, Curzon Ashton, Dartford, Hereford United, Kidderminster Harriers, Maidstone United or York City? Many speedway stadia - even the tidier, smarter ones - wouldn't look out of place in non-league football's third or fourth tiers!

That sounds like the sort of thing grasstrack has been doing. Although, in grasstrack's case ('you don't need a specialist grasstrack bike to do grasstrack'), the aim is to increase participation rather than spectator attendance. Does 'solo' speedway in Australia still take place as part of a meeting featuring mixed motorsport disciplines? Maybe that's a route.

Can you tell us what crowds you are getting, Barry? (I appreciate, unlike in many other sports, speedway's attendances have often been a closely guarded secret) Out of interest, what have the attendances been at Eastbourne this season?

It is or was the same everywhere. In recent decades, stock cars and bangers have tended to pull in much bigger crowds than speedway. At Belle Vue, at Bradford, at Coventry, at Stoke, at Wimbledon etc. They did at Birmingham Wheels, long after the speedway finished. In my very limited experience, not at Sheffield. Don't know about Scunthorpe.

I've watched speedway since 1976 (at various tracks, as I've moved around the country) but hardly at all since 2008. Against your experience at Sittingbourne, I'll set my visit to Scunthorpe (versus Redcar) a couple of Fridays ago. It was only my second meeting in four years: Large car park (Scunthorpe charge a quid to use it - and always have, as far as I'm aware. I'm OK with that. They're not taking the Mickey) £17 admission (not cheap but it did include the programme, which was designed well enough for my speedway rookie wife, a solicitor, to fill in without any problems) Tidy little stadium whose facilities have improved greatly since my last visit, in 2008 Pretty sure there was a mascot (being child-free-by-choice, I have no interest in mascots or what they get up to) The meeting started on time, and the main match racing was finished in an hour-and-three-quarters (despite several riders given maximum time for 'two on the trot'). The riders were introduced (rode round without helmets, IIRC) Advice to drivers is to follow the Normanby Hall brown tourist road signs. Worked a treat No merchandise on sale (a personal speedway first - and the one black mark) The staff (starting with the guy on the turnstile) were smartly dressed and friendly Announcements and music clearly audible The stand we were in had lighting ( a little more would've been desirable) In the clubhouse, my tea was served in 15 seconds (I don't do sports stadia food but it seemed to be going out efficiently) Couldn't tell you about card payments in the clubhouse (although Scunthorpe have the option of buying match tickets online) I can't say I noticed a great deal of 'gardening'; the referee seemed keen to get on with things The racing was superb, with passing (inside and out) in various places in most races. Indeed, some attendees described the meeting as the best they'd ever seen An enthusiastic crowd, with plenty of away fans, made for a lively atmosphere There was a victory parade, which seemed to please the home contingent My wife described the spectacle as "engaging" and was keen to see speedway again (which we did, twice in the next week) Scunthorpe Speedway has a vast catchment area, including the northern half of Lincolnshire, Hull (reached easily via the Humber Bridge) and west towards Doncaster. We travelled from York (as had, bizarrely, the two people next to us). Should Scunthorpe be attracting more than 800 spectators? This experience, coupled with those - similarly positive - at Belle Vue and Redcar that followed, suggests it's not all doom and gloom. Incidentally, I've been to Kent Kings once, in 2017. I thought it was fine. Decent racing, decent crowd and decent (by speedway standards) facilities. Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey seems to take a lot of flak but I'm struggling to find fault with the meeting we attended at his track. Why didn't he invite along Martin Goodwin? Tsk.

Summerlee Museum of Scottish Industrial Life, Coatbridge, has a speedway exhibition, Cinder Kings (1950-77), running to the end of October 2021. It's billed as a celebration of speedway in Lanarkshire, at Coatbridge and Motherwell. Blurb: The exhibition features everything from bikes, equipment and badges to programmes, photos and magazines. You can also see items on display from legends, Bert Hawkins and Brian Collins. The exhibition is organised by the museum’s Learning Officer and the Speedway Memories Reminiscence group who have loaned their treasured possessions for the displays. The group meet at the museum on a monthly basis to talk all things speedway or watch films of past races. Booking required: https://summerlee-museum-of-scottish-industrial-life.arttickets.org.uk/summerlee-museum-of-industrial-life/2021-06-24-the-cinder-kings

It's a few years since I visited, but the Black Country Living Museum at Dudley had an excellent display devoted to speedway (Cradley Heath and Wolverhampton, IIRC).

It was this: We have been asked by the BSPL Management Committee not to make any detailed statement today, as we had planned.We remain in constant contact and communication with the Management Committee and they have requested us to make no further comment while various options and avenues are considered.Whilst we are sure that this is frustrating for you, our supporters – and for us – it does allow us the opportunity to optimise all our energies on working through various options and solutions for the short, medium and long-term future.Further detailed updates will follow as soon as possible.

I watched two of the last three meetings at Skegness. The track was awful. A rutted dust bowl. Impossible to race on. The worst, though, was the Derwent Park track Glasgow rode on for three-quarters of the 1987 season. I watched probably 60 per cent of the meetings. Nobody did any work on the track between matches. It resembled a Moto-X circuit. And who can forget the water-bowser-filled-with-slurry, August Bank Holiday Monday meeting against Middlesbrough? No surprise 'Workington Tigers' were kicked out of the National League that season. So many complaints from visiting teams. Never liked Exeter - far too narrow for decent racing. I worked in the city for a short time - 1998-99 - and was picky about which County Ground meetings I attended. The opposition was usually beaten before the tapes rose on heat one. Lots of one-sided, processional thrashings. Once you'd become accustomed to how fast the riders went at Exeter, compared to everywhere else, that was it. Hardly ever any passing. Craven Park, Hull. Always a beautifully prepared track - Tony Swales's handiwork? - but its width and shape weren't conducive to good racing. Went there a number of times when based in North Lincolnshire. Often wondered why I bothered. Brough Park, Newcastle? Long straights and tight bends. Used to go there fairly regularly - 1992-97 - whilst working on Teesside. One of very few tracks where the riders seem to shut off going into the corners.

Like you, I always buy a programme. As you say, Curtis Sport do a very good job. Redcar's 2021 issue is much better than the Cleveland Park era programmes used to be! I'd say £3, as a percentage of the admission fee, is on the expensive side. Not so bad if you're paying proportionally more to watch, say, Scottish Premiership football or Super League rugby league. Certainly agree about the big downside: generic programmes lack individuality. Interesting that, for example, Scunthorpe include their programme - a basic eight-pager - with £17 admission. Used to be sold separately.