JamesHarris

OK - for what it's worth my opinion on this matter. Speedway in the UK will see it's 100th season and beyond but it needs to change and change fast. Someone has mentioned on here that British Speedway needs a single dictator running the show. I actually agree. I understand a lot of people may not like the idea as such but you only have to look at Barry Hearn with Darts and Snooker and even Bernie Ecclestone with F1. One person running the show can work. Then again some can say Speedway GB as it stands is a dictatorship with a small inner circle calling the shots. However I firmly believe that this "inner circle" only have their own short term interests at heart and don't really have the mental capacity to see the bigger picture. In comparison to the BSPL one only has to look at the mess that is now England Rugby. They have run the English Premiership as a posh boys closed shop for years. They don't want the smaller teams anywhere near their patch and they think they know best. And guess what? Three well established clubs have gone "t*ts up in the last 2 years simply because the people who run this closed shop could not open their eyes. Moving forward. Teams need to be run as motorsports clubs rather than promotions. I saw this when I spent some time in Denmark. The clubs have public membership and have riders of all calibre on their books from 50cc kids to the Elite riders. These clubs run several teams in several leagues and held practice days in the week. For this to happen here in the UK though we would need all clubs to actually own their own tracks/stadiums such as Belle Vue, Scunthorpe, Redcar, etc. I think the same system operates in Germany but I'm sure Iris will correct me if I'm wrong. Based on the above system if we continue to run an Elite League it would need to be on a set race night that didn't interfere with Poland and Sweden. And finally - If you can't beat them join them. I've always been an advocate over the last few years on entering a British team into the Polish League. It would take a hell of a lot of money and would rely heavily on sponsorship but if the British team could be based at a track near to an international airport then maybe it could work. On the flip side of the coin a lot of British fans could have a few long weekends in Poland or Germany. TV exposure would also be a good way of bringing in businesses that do trade with Poland and visa versa. And Yes if I had Lord Sugars money I would have a pop at it

I think a mix of both individual and team would be good. As someone has already pointed out the British system at the moment is solely focussed on an outdated two team format. This format obviously does work well in Poland and Sweden but am I right in suggesting they are run as motorsport clubs rather than a promotion? With it looking likely that there will be less teams operating here next year perhaps it is the time to run the league on a four team tournament format so you're having the best of both? I do remember back in the day we used to have a lot of prestigious individual open meetings. I'm not saying that if we had these again the promoters should be throwing money around to bring in the GP riders (they'd be broke within a month) but it would be a good way to include tourist riders or Scandinavians and Continentals looking to put themselves out there. Always generated interest amongst the punters when an unsigned Danish youngsters turned up for an open meeting.

Is it as popular as you are led to believe though? It's very easy to fill stands when you are giving away tickets or selling them for the same price as a McDonalds meal. I've nothing against women's football but the standard is poor. It is being rammed down our throats that it is the most popular sport in the world right now. If that was so you would see houses and pubs decked out in England flags for the women's world cup and so far I have only seen one.

Probably basing it on the idea of Dundalk racetrack in Ireland. Greyhound track inside a floodlight All-Weather horseracing venue. From an entertainment perspective it would make perfect business sense to combine the two at the same venue. Unfortunately is doesn't bode well for speedway unless they could fit a speedway track inside the greyhound track inside the racecourse but I don't know what the housing situation is around Dunstall Park.

Doesn't look like there's many people there or is that a standard attendance at Lynn?

Does anyone know what the track length is please? thanks

Not very often I agree with you on here but as you say the guy giving the interview has absolutely no idea about speedway when he says he want's a GP in November or December. But when there's money to be made who knows what Discovery Sports will do. I personally think the bikes are too fast now for indoor or in Wembley's case outdoor artificial tracks. The racing is not good. it's usually first out the traps wins. I've been a bid advocate for a GP at the new Belle Vue as the track always produces flat out good racing but what do I know.

This is only going to last 9 heats

What actually defines a Longtrack these days? I always assumed it was the 800 - 1000m tracks

And how many of us watch the links for the Polish streams on here??

You can watch it for free if you know where to look

I remember you running in the initial MDL. You were one of the genuine ones. Sadly it was the minority running under the Ghost team banner that let it down for everyone else. I do agree though that maybe they could be allowed to run again but under very strict criteria.

As controversial as it may sound I do think the BSPL were right to pull the plug on Ghost teams. I agree it has had a knock on effect with regards to the number of teams operating in the MDL but it did need to be done. I speak from experience with my involvement in the early days of the MDL. There were several ghost teams back then. Some were run by genuine enthusiast who wanted to provide a platform for youngsters whilst keeping alive a not too distant name from the past. Sadly though there was a small minority of ghost teams run by unsavoury ego obsessed muppets who were far more interested in using the best riders within the rules to fill their own trophy cabinets. It was very embarrassing for the league IMO when one of these teams got a 30-6 whitewash and boasted about it - all too easy when you fielded 4 NL standard riders against 4 juniors. That said a couple of MDL teams fielded by the established clubs were run by unsavoury characters as well.

The MDL is still running though - albeit with 3 teams. But it is still running.

Correct. This has worked for the NJL and I have no argument against that. But this is the very same reason the MDL was created. The riders will not benefit if they are racing against the same 3 other riders in consecutive races. The result will more or less be the same and the crowd that have stayed behind to watch will soon get bored. The MDL provided a proper competition for those just below the NL. It was designed to be a mini-meeting with each team having 2 NL reserve standard riders and 2 Scunthorpe amateur open class riders. The highlight would be heat 6 where all 4 NL reserve riders raced against each other. Prior to the MDL most tracks just operated a few races billed as stars of tomorrow which were a dull affair comprising of the same 4 riders.

I think it will at some point return to a decent number again. Do the Premiership tracks still run a second half league because I've heard nothing about it since they "launched it"? Full credit should be given to Lawrence though for keeping the league running even if it is 3 teams. Some may not be aware though that when the league was first launched albeit "unofficial" in 2011 we only had 5 teams running out of three tracks (1 from Leicester, 2 from Scunthorpe and 2 from Sheffield).

To be honest I found the event to be a bit of an anti-climax. Without the Russians I was expecting it to be a lot closer but in the end Haarahiltunen completely dominated (well done to him by the way). As controversial as it may be the World Championship is missing the quality of racing the Russians bring.

Does anyone know if there is a speedway track being constructed in Grantham please? Drove near to the A1 north services there today and it looks like a dirt oval is being constructed in an adjacent farm field. Could be for banger racing but looked a bit too small for that. Thanks.

I think it's safe to say Nikita Bogdanov would have been World Champion this year had the FIM not kicked the Russians out.

Didn't Brian White go ** up at Weymouth and was bought out by Phil Bartlett who also went ** up?

Has it been decided who the other 6 riders will be for the final? I'm assuming Haarahiltunen and Webber will be two of them.

I probably am the only person then thank you

I thought he had been banned from riding in the Polish league along with Laguta? Sorry if I have missed something.

Has Emil been given special permission to ride in this meeting?

Well done to those involved. There's still a very long way to go yet thought. If speedway does return one day I doubt it would be inside the stadium as we know it know. It's too far gone. Surely the Main Grandstand would have to be demolished? It would cost a few million to re-instate it to its former glory and even in the final few seasons it was beginning to show it's age.