Tinker

Lots of moaners on here tonight again about the track, the racing and everything else you can have a moan about but I think it was a decent meeting which kept my interest from start to finish. Far better than any GP I've seen recently which to be honest are really starting to bore the pants off me. British Speedway is not as bad as what a lot of people on this forum make it out to be ... just give it a chance and stop moaning so much.

Even though I live in Yorkshire I have kind of adopted Plymouth as my Championship team and always look out for their results. They seem to have had a successful year so far so well done to everyone concerned. The other team I have a soft spot for is Berwick. Here's hoping both teams can look forward to a successful 2022!

Rather silly comment to make unless you have any information to back it up? There's probably only so much that the people in charge can do if a club suffers serious financial losses. They certainly won't have masses of cash to throw at the problem. The sport in this country does need a total overhaul though to give it any chance of surviving the next decade and beyond.

I agree with most of what had been said on this topic. The GP's in their current form just aren't doing it for me anymore. After a lengthy absence I got back into Speedway in 2014 and couldn't wait for each GP to be televised. I also went to Cardiff four times, Poland three times and twice to Prague. Great times I have to say but there is now something seriously lacking which has been evident for the past couple of years at least. The points scoring system doesn't do it for me and I think they should revert back to what it was - every point counts. There are several riders at the moment who are just making up the numbers and when they're out on track you can pretty much predict the result. There don't seem to be any riders in the Nikki P mould and the lack of any controversy seems to have taken the excitement away. In effect, the GPs are very much becoming "same old, same old" and in my view a total revamp is required. As things stand, I would much rather watch British Speedway (didn't think I'd be saying that four years ago) and I really look forward to the matches on Eurosport. The stadiums etc might not be up to much etc but most matches I've seen have had some reasonably good racing with the odd bit of controversy thrown in. I think at the end of the day I probably prefer team racing as opposed to individual events. Anyway, back to the GP's, I hope there are major changes planned for next year (different format, new stadiums etc) to get that buzz back. Fingers crossed!

Great idea Falcon. I would have Edinburgh in the top league though so that there would still be the money spinning derbies with Glasgow. Different teams, different venues to visit, different towns/cities etc. Would be great!

Yes, well said. The IOW topic and Connor Coles is getting a tad boring now. It seems folk are just looking for something to moan about, as usual! Back to the British Final, come on Dan!

A very articulate post CountArthur and well said. I wasn't there last night but I fully agree with your final comments.

I like Lewis Kerr and he always comes across as a decent guy. It's riders like him that are making the British Leagues tick at the moment so good luck to him and if he was to achieve a rostrum place in the British Final I think it would mean a hell of a lot to him.

Don't think I've seen one positive post from you yet. Just negativity followed by negativity. Are you a Speedway fan because all your comments lead me to believe that you simply want the sport to fail.

Totally agree. Far too many negative comments on this forum to the point it gets pretty boring and I switch off. Let's have some positivity, at least Speedway is up and running again.

I think Nige and Kelvin do a really good job. They're enthusiastic and entertaining and if they were replaced by someone else you'd really then appreciate how good they actually are. Just my opinion.

Agree entirely. I have been to many speedway meetings over the years and have never felt short changed. Some great matches and some not so good ones but that's just like any other sport. It's always the anticipation of thinking it's going to be a great meeting. In the grand scheme of things I don't think people should moan about having to pay £15 to £18 per meeting.

Harking on about Wembley, it's in the past. Cardiff has served the sport well for many years now so need to knock it. Yes, there could be a new venue out there to stimulate the British GP but in my view, Wembley is not the answer.

From memory I've been four times. Two excellent meetings with lots of passing and the other two not so good. However, even the "not so good" meetings were still very enjoyable and exciting due to the fantastic atmosphere generated.

Been to Cardiff several times and always a real treat. Some of my mates are not real Speedway fans but they love the experience. The atmosphere outside the stadium with thousands of fans milling about, the electric atmosphere inside the stadium, the colour, the razamataz etc. Some really nice bars and restaurants at the waterfront once the live action has finished. Locals absolutely fine with us and no problems whatsoever.

Kenny Carter was well liked in Halifax where I live and got tons of local press. Used to love watching the Dukes away from home where all the opposing fans would be booing him which made for a great atmosphere! He'd go out of his way to make them boo even more but alot of it was just showmanship which is sadly lacking today. However, as good a rider as he was I cannot condone in any shape or form what he did. As Ray Stadia points out though, no one can be sure what his mental state of was at that time and I'm also pretty convinced that the long list of injuries that he had during his racing career (some very bad ones at that) took their toll on him.

I used to have the Speedway Star delivered but when my local Tesco store started stocking it I thought I would buy it there instead. It costs me more money to do this but I wanted to effectively prove to Tescos that there were people out there who would actually buy the magazine. I live approximately three miles from Halifax and my local Tescos always has five magazines for sale on the Thursday. By the following week there is only either one or two copies left so it shows there is the interest/market there. Keep up the good work Phil and fingers crossed that you have so much more current info to report on once the season finally gets underway.

Most teams seem to be announcing riders now for the new season but nothing much coming from Belle Vue. Anyone got any ideas/snippets of information?

Yes, I agree too. Let's have some positivity about the place. Cup half full and all that.

Wasn't aware before now of the David Mcallan incident but I have just read a report on it in the Glasgow Herald newspaper (one year on). It states that the meeting was actually a double header against Birmingham followed by Stoke and Phil Morris was scheduled to guest for Stoke following the first meeting. However, the report says that not only was Morris excluded for the Mcallan crash but that he was then thrown out of the rest of the meeting!

There seems to be alot of criticism on here as regards the people running Speedway in this country. At this moment in time I think we have to be thankful that there are these individuals who are prepared to put the time and effort in for little reward and a great deal of slagging off! If they weren't doing it I'd really like to know who would be prepared to take on their job. I certainly wouldn't want to be at the "top end" with all the decision making to do in these very uncertain times where things seem to change on a daily basis. So good luck to them!

That's rather harsh. I think they are doing all they can for speedway at the moment, it can't be easy.

I agree with the comment made by Topaz325. I started watching Speedway at the Shay, Halifax in 1966 so "older" articles on riders such as Eric Boocock, Ray Wilson and Jim Airey have some relevance to me. However, when I read any articles pre-dating the early 60's I tend to switch off. Having said all that the Star is a fantastic read and I really look forward to getting it each week. I love the Backtrack articles which have more of a depth to them and maybe something could be done on the same lines for more recent riders.