truthsayer

I'm not sure. Not for one second am I saying that speedway is well run, it is nowhere near well run, but it is always going to be up against it, as all motorsports are. Speedway is a very specialist sport. There are environmental, cultural and financial reasons why it faces a bleak future. Lack of venues is the key one and it is hard to see how any landowner can see value in a speedway track over commercial or residential property. The country has, in all aspects of life, relied on imported labour for many years and this is coming home to roost after the self imposed annexing of 2016. Speedway's lack of homegrown competitors, combined with a lack of facilities, an outdated business model and an almost complete absence of a grassroots/amateur system is creating its long and painful death as a professional sport. It's something being witnessed in other areas of industry too. The Sky money could potentially have been invested into a grassroots and developing a new business model, but frankly the base product isn't good enough for modern TV. If I watch other sports on TV, they start on time, conclude when expected and are not cancelled because conditions are bad. The base product sucks for the modern consumer and I just don't see how that can change until the sport dies and it is forced to reinvent itself.

No rubbish!

For real? Loads of people? I mean, there are so many reasons to stay away from speedway and loads of people do stay away from speedway. But are 'loads' of people staying away because of the length of time the starting tapes are held? Really? Am I missing something? Is this really speedway's salvation?

He does seem to be able to figure out the dirt line and make it work later in the meeting. Early on the track is fresher and the inside line generally advantageous. As the dirt builds up on the outside it favours the brave and the skilled who can ride the berm. Its the dirt that generates the speed and he is the master of it.

Totally, this really is no big deal. I don't think the optics are great, but really it's not important. - it's their money - the cost, in the grand scheme of running a speedway club is tiny If they think going away for a business is worthwhile then who am I to disagree. Not how I would conduct things in 2023, but not my money. It won't put any clubs out of business.

Yes (they come back), because they are fans and running a speedway team is their hobby. It's not a serious business proposition any more. In their heart of hearts they must know there's no way back, but they are fans first and foremost and can't bear to put it out of its misery.

A 'tax deductible business expense' is still an expense. It reduces your tax liability on your profit, but tax deductible doesn't mean free, it just means it ultimately costs less than it otherwise would. And of course it's an expense, which will come out of the non existent profits made by the clubs. Equally, speedway promoters are losing a crap load of money. I am not going to begrudge them an overseas jolly/business trip. Without them there is no sport as we have it just now.

Recovering from a mental health illness is not a good reason to exclude someone

You are aware of the chronic shortage of speedway riders available to teams?

Hardly 'disgraceful reporting' those are the official facts as they are just now. BBC has a history of doing this, it's to their credit and to their detriment, as everyone who lived through the EU Referendum can attest to. Even the speedway team is saying it is their last meeting. I mean seriously are the BBC going to say 'well this might be the last meeting, it might not...' if all parties say this is the end? The alternative is to not report it.

It's always important to take a proper gander, whatever you are doing.

It's right and wrong. People like Len Silver and Johnnie Hoskins were of their time. They understood the audience and did what was right in that era. Promoting that way today is not an option. Consumer tastes have changed and the problem we now faced is that speedway is largely run by people who are old school, for spectators who are old school. Those days were those days. Times are different in almost every way. Speedway as a sport relies on commuting riders and cash at the gate and it needs to have a more modern approach to its viability. Those old school promoters were legends of their day and will always be so. But keeping speedway 'alive' isn't an option. It needs to thrive and that requires fresh thinking.

This 100% but also comes back to the point I keep coming back to: if you are a speedway rider you pretty much have to be a league speedway rider, there are no facilities to simply race for the fun of it, or to ride to progress to a higher level. Speedway is at the level of semi-professional football in many ways, but with much higher overheads. I get it, the days when riders could have a full-time job and then race at weekends is largely gone with Monday and Thursday racenights. Equipment is more highly tuned (expensive) and so they have to take all the bookings they can get to make it a profession. Standardised equipment/sealed engines is a way to reduce costs for sure, but that can be either part of a reboot of the sport or part of the race to the bottom. In every other national motorsport less than the top 1% are earning really good money, with another 2-3% earning a living or covering costs, with the vast majority paying for their hobby. Accept speedway is different, but the percentage of 'professional' riders is way too high. They're not doing it 'for our entertainment' they are either doing it to make a living or for the thrill of the race (or a combination of both) so don't let that cloud your view. As a spectator, you pay to help them do their sport!

A Euro league would be the perfect 'made for TV' product but with the same riders racing in each country it's just not viable. But what you say is the dilemma speedway faces. Any good 'product' requires paying the money, so it's a bigger gamble because you have to gain more income through gate receipts, TV income and sponsorship. But (and I understand why) we're going the other way, with costs being cut to try and balance the books. It's understandable, but the product suffers and it's only going to end one way.

While I don't really disagree with you, I would add that the promoter's job is to run their own business to make it profitable. 'Doubling up' (I don't really have a problem with it TBH) is cheaper than importing or developing new riders, so it's hard to blame them for that. Personally I have more problems with guesting, where riders can ride for a dozen clubs in a year. The lack of riders coming through is a core problem and that's caused by a mixture of things, but comes back to my age old gripe that speedway does nothing for people who want to access the sport as competitors. Riders have power as there is a shortage of supply and have to make a living. The biggest issue is that these things can't be fixed overnight. Time is not on speedway's side, so five year plans are not really an option when surviving the next five days is often not guaranteed. The structure of the sport is mad. There's no direction, because it's not run by someone with a vision but by a committee of stakeholders.