Spl77

We have been lucky to have some true entertaining riders over the years. The pole who came in for a few meetings at the tail-end of 2005 or 06 was a real crowd pleaser. For the Thursday rerun nights maybe we could see some national league action with the young Louis loram and moggo maybe witches v Hackney?

If something along those lines were given the go ahead by the government here British speedway could Re start no problem at all. The BSPA plan over the last 25 years of making speedway such a niche market could finally bear fruit. All those supporters who have been driven away makes social distancing at speedway matches totally possible. See the BSPA are genius and have been creating a business model that works in a pandemic crisis.

He probably failed to arrive and a guest replacement was used.

This topic has been covered a million times on here and in the speedway press. Sadly those in the position to make real either won't or can't. No my own personal take on the sport. One spring evening in 1989 I was taken to my local track Ipswich by a family friend at the age of 12. I was instantly hooked and gave up watching football to go every week. The sound the smell the action on track was all very exciting compared to football. At that time the crowd cheering or jeering and the banter with the rival fans who were next to you was great. This was also apparent at other tracks I visited following the witches Hackney, Peterborough during those first two seasons and then Kings Lynn in 91. Atmosphere and passion from the crowd and the riders. Those first two seasons gave me my first and only speedway heros Loram, Moggo and oddly given he rode for the opposition Galvin. The national league days at Foxhall of 89,90 were superb so many different riders most clubs visited once a season the crowd's were good and as I said passion and atmosphere, and as several school mates alos went Friday was speedway discussion day. As I went though my teenage years and into my early 20s friendships were formed that stand to this day and the social side of speedway came to the for. For me the first time I became aware of speedway politics was the winter of 98,99 when dispite being agreed the year before the league champions could no longer keep their team. After that various micky mouse decisions that the BSPA made over a 10 year period drove me away as a regular the social group that used to go went once last year. Since my last ever present season of 2007 I have been to around 15 home meetings. That group of friends once ever presents most have totally walked away a few like me do one or two a year. For me the key points for my decline in intrest are the lack of passion from the riders for their team, doubling up and down the over use of guests and the rocket ship equipment that is not suited to the UK tracks. The BSPA had a superb opportunity to re invent the sport with the sky money and turn it into a proper professional sport between 199 and 2006 but failed to capitalise on it. Looking back reading speedway books etc the infighting with the BSPA seems to have been going on for years, John berry's books certainly show that. So will the sport change or die sadly given the evidence of how the BSPA operates both now and historically it will die out. In my own personal opinion the most professionally run league set up this county had was the old national league. I want nothing more than to go along to a meeting a get the wow I have to come next week feeling and become hooked again, instead of the see you next year.

One lap dashes, blimey they used to run them in the second half at Ipswich right up to 89/90

Sadly sky have already provided massive (in speedway terms) financial assistance in the early days of their TV coverage. Sadly like most things connected to the BSPA that golden egg was dropped and smashed in pieces. Hence the poor revenue for later contracts and then the almost give away to BT sport. From 1999 to mid noughies speedway had the media partner and the money coming in to really turn the sport around... The rest as they say is history!

Can't blame Doyle or anyone else who throws their hat in the ring to live and ride in Poland exclusively. Their top league at least is going to run so a chance for the riders to earn some money. At the moment it's 50/50 at best that the UK will run a league program. We know unlike Poland we can't afford to run behind closed doors so are at the mercy of the government allowing fans into stadia which at the moment seems a long way off. I've read in a couple of football articles in the last day or two suggesting it maybe January before crowds are permitted back into stadia. Now I know speedway might be in a different position due to the low level of support which makes social distancing easier.

They are indeed Video clips. The difference is not only shocking but very very sad.

I'm not for one second pretending that my ideas have anything with getting this country to the forefront of international Speedway. Its more to do with survival and building foundations to allow that to happen one day possibly.

Now different tracks same competition 13 years apart look at the difference in the crowd levels. That's why something needs doing to save the sport and that poor crowd was 18 years ago god knows what it would be these days

I honestly don't believe that you need the top riders in the world in the UK. If you're trying to attract new support to tracks then the top riders make little difference the likes of Nikki Pedersen Chris Holder etc etc are not known outside of the speedway world. However the entertainment level needs massive work so the place to start is with the bikes that clearly do not suit the vast majority of UK tracks and cost a fortune to run a cost that UK speedway can't support.

I fully believe that in order to save British speedway something radical has to be done and starting with standard engines is what I would do and yes they would be uprights. Having watched racing from the 80s and 90s on you tube recently it's clear that the current bikes do not work on UK tracks. With the uprights riders Were riding the inside middle and outside of the tracks. The same tracks these days with the current equipment and the line is mid track to the outside so inside half the the track sees very little traffic. That can't be good. Seeing the reports this morning that the Poles are asking riders to take a 50% paycut so they can operate behind closed doors maybe it's time to reduce costs across the board for the greater good.

Jawa produced a batch of 2 valve lawdowns a couple of years ago for the nice series. I would have thought that they would be up for it.

The bikes need slowing and to be honest uprights are probably safer and easier to ride compared to laydowns. The way I see it is British speedway has to go semi pro and revert to standard upright machines these clearly suit the majority of British tracks far better than today's laydowns. I know that would mean some riders deciding not to ride here because they wouldn't want to maintain 2 different sets of equipment. However to keep the sport going in the UK its clear machinery costs have to be reduced and the entertainment level of the racing improved across the board. The only other solution would be for the FIM to oulaw anything other than standard equipment. To do that they would have to grow a pair.

Interesting watching this tonight. Firstly it shows how far the sport has fallen looking at the caliber of rider on show 22 years ago. Secondly the old track wasn't all bad those outside moves from Gollob and Rickardsson prove that plus the Louis cut back. Thirdly the crowd wasn't a big as I remember. Great days and sadly I doubt they will be repeated. Next 97 16 Lapper Gollobs Foxhall debut. Did the cowboy ride in this one?

I think you will find that many on here who appear negative have in the past voiced their thoughts on ways forward and things that could be changed to make the sport appear more professional and improve the product. Sadly most of the time we get shouted down and told all is well. It's not always being negative but honest about the situation the sport in the UK finds itself. Having watched the sport since the late 80s I was lucky in that the first few years the sport still came across as reasonably professional and the crowds at least at my local track were still pushing 4000 a week. Over the last 20 to 25 years the sport has been slowly run into the ground becoming evermore micky mouse. I'm sure that there are still a number of people who continue to support the sport enough to watch live and can live with all the things that are wrong and turn it in to a total joke.....sadly they are the few thousand and the the tens of thousands that used to live it. I'm ready to be slated and told I'm negative however I think it's safe to say that I'm in the majority. sad times

Thank you Terry

I was wondering if any one had the programmes for Ipswich v Hackney National league fixtures from Foxhall Heath for 1989 and 1990? I'm trying to confirm the line ups. Thank you.

Tell me the reason that you don't want to accept the facts..... And I will gladly pass it on to my wife and her fellow NHS colleagues..... In the meantime enjoy all the conspiracy theory out there

If that's your argument don't compare it to flu then as the vast majority of flu cases go un tested/confirmed. If you want to quote figures you can only use official ones in which case covid 19 is running at approx 8% in the UK compared to less than 1% for normal flu. People like you piss me off. Neither myself or my wife know any family that has had a loved one die because of flu so far between us we know 4 family's that have had a loved one die because of covid 19. I have nothing more to say if we don't see any speedway this year that is totally fine as long as this is beaten. In the meantime go and stick you head in the sand and let those of us who have to deal and work with this get on with it.

Well according to the UK office figures 60733 confirmed cases with 7094 deaths that puts the death rate at 8% while Spain and Italy both run at around 10%.

I think the fact that covid 19 has a death rate of between 6 and 10% make it far worse that flu which runs at approximately 0.1%. I'm genuinely shocked at the amount of downright prats who still insist on comparing it to flu.... Wake up!

Maybe the BSPA are using all this downtime to take a long hard look at how to make the sport popular again and to relaunch in 2021? Sorry I have been on the vino lmao

Both these books are a superb read! It's also quite sad how Berry could see how speed should and could be ran and sadly how his predictions of how the sport would end up is pretty much bang on. A great man with so many forward looking ideas however just like some before him and more since the BSPA sucked all the enthusiasm and energy he had for speedway out of him.

Jason Crump never required a visa before as he was born in Bristol and held due nationality. As far as I am aware he didn't require a visa this year either.