Ben91

That would be an Arris...

I don’t think C and D finals are necessary, I would have a B final for the riders who don’t make it through the semi finals however.

This could lead to the sport cutting it’s cloth accordingly which wouldn’t be a terrible thing. A financially viable model is key going forward and I’d guess the sport hasn’t been financially viable here for a long time.

The second one of Tai or Lambert is ruled out we have no chance of winning. Glad we’ve given riders who can use the experience a chance rather than Cook or Bomber who will be outclassed anyway.

As far as I’m concerned the decline was accelerated when BMR came on to the scene. In hindsight things probably began on a downward trajectory from around the end of the 2010 season. We declared a side before the rules changed which would have allowed us to retain Linus Sundstrom who was the stand out rider in the division the season before. The rule change allowed doubling down from the then Elite League and relaxed the conversion rate for averages between the divisions. Len dug his heels in and didn’t redeclare which left us at a disadvantage from the word go. The debacle a season or two after where Jason Doyle was dropped for Steve Boxall was the straw that broke the camel’s back for many regulars and the point that I stopped attending religiously. BMR came on to the scene and it was clear they didn’t know how to build a Speedway team, “names” were signed and riders who had done good things before but had since declined markedly. While their desire to run at the highest level was commendable the reality is Rye House had no business being in the top tier, especially once fixed race nights were implemented. Ironically we could have been a force at second tier level and possibly even made a profit. The way the sport is going now the standard of the top tier would have watered down to such a point that racing at that level could have become viable in the near future.

Didn’t realise that. Makes sense why he hasn’t figured over here then. Get them all in and around the event, the experience will be valuable for them all, would be wasted on a Lawson or a Harris.

Has Rowe been active this season? Can’t recall seeing his name much if at all in the meetings that have been staged. Brennan (according to averages) is the best of the three. Kemp did well in the British Final, is British Under-19 champion and has been racing as regularly as possible at the moment at home and in Europe. Would say for that reason alone Kemp and Brennan are better picks than Rowe right now.

Agreed, see if Kemp or Brennan want it and give experience to a rider who will learn from it. We have no chance of winning without Tai. Calls for Harris to go are baffling.

That is true and let’s not forget Smolinski was a last minute replacement for Hancock too. I’d say Thomsen is better, not by a massive amount but better nonetheless. Polish averages would seemingly agree too.

The timed qualifying that has happened in previous seasons is pretty pointless. For certain rounds a double header weekend wouldn’t be a bad thing. Cancel the qualifying and have double headers at a couple of the permanent tracks. Don’t make Torun a double round though, hold the GP Challenge on day two (either there or at Bydgoszcz) and make a bigger deal of it.

Like the look of the field for next season. Thomsen is an upgrade on Michelsen in theory. Berntzon and KK for Lindback and NKI is probably much of a muchness but they qualified by right and at least Berntzon is a new face.

He has improved over the course of the series, that is undeniable. That is what my post was saying, not being an after timer suggesting he should have a wildcard because of one meeting. I still believe that to be the case despite him struggling on night two in Toruń. I’d rather see Fricke in than Lindback or NKI who have had plenty of chances for example.

Indeed, and this season is Lidsey’s swallow thus far. I think he will go on to be a GP rider but Fricke is the better rider for now and has improved a lot across the GP campaign in terms of mixing it wheel to wheel. There seems to be an obsession with countries having to have a certain number of representatives in the GP. Why Australia seemingly have to have two riders is beyond me but if they do get two spots it’s Fricke to join Doyle in my opinion and it would be a well deserved spot.

From round one up to tonight Fricke has found his feet on the world stage I would say. He seems to have added that little bit of ruthlessness when going wheel to wheel with other riders that is needed in the GPs. I would happily see him in the series next year again.

It’s all well and good adding perspective but you have to add both sides to that perspective. Watching a meeting on the TV when you’ve been starved of Speedway is one thing. When it comes to £12 a week it’s a different kettle of fish, especially if you’re already paying for Sky/BT Sport (or whatever other sports/entertainment TV packages you may have). Especially if there is a televised meeting each week on Eurosport that you’re already paying for. Even if that £12 becomes even better value for money should you be watching at home with your family and thus splitting that cost further. Streaming isn’t the future of British Speedway. It is doing a job for now. If anything if we begin to lean on streaming live meetings it will damage the sport further. As is the case with football in the lower leagues, it is the next best thing to actually being in the ground but a lot of fans would rather keep their money in their pocket. There is no comparison to being at the event live, even if it costs a little extra.

I watched last night and the quality of the stream was generally not bad. My only grip is that it was hard to make out some of the commentary over the sound of the bikes at times. I watched last night but I wouldn’t make a regular habit of paying almost £13 to stream a meeting. When the viewership figures come in I hope the fact that it was the British final and the fact that we’re in unprecedented times come into play. I certainly wouldn’t have paid £12.50 to watch the challenge meeting from Belle Vue last week, perhaps a fiver would have piqued much interest.

Just read this and it’s really annoyed me. Cynicism played no part in the demise of Rye House, the track where I watched my first meeting, the team I supported. You don’t have the monopoly on feeling hard done by Rob, neither are you any better of a fan because you play the tune that you tried to help. Rye House has died because the club was run beyond it’s means. Any other explanation is false. The team ran out of money mid-season. There are further reasons for that of course but that is the black and white.

Woffy’s definitely in the mix I’d say. A couple of better semi-final results over the weekend and he’d be sitting even prettier right now. I still make Bartosz favourite.

I see what you’re saying, my point was more aimed at the fact that the winner of the meeting now gets the most points, on a meeting by meeting basis. Which isn’t a bad thing in my eyes. Of course we’ve had four rounds and four different winners. Out of those winners Freddie has been the most consistent in getting to the final in the other meetings so is rightly top of the pile right now. Without doing the sums I’d assume under the old system that Zmarzlik would be well clear now? If that was the case I’d dare say the series would be a foregone conclusion already. As it is, we could have a completely different complexion this time next week. As a neutral fan that is exciting.

Not true. Because of the importance of gate choices in the semi-finals. Tai wanted as many points as possible and for Zmarzlik to be put into the situation where he has to race it would be more dangerous for him to back off, so the fact that they raced hard doesn’t surprise me at all.

The more I see, the more at ease I am with the new points system. I wouldn’t say I’m for it or against it, it is what it is. I don’t think it has diminished the on track action one bit. It changes the dynamic a little perhaps but it is still in a rider’s best interest to finish as high up the score chart as possible to secure the best gates for the semi-finals. It also places more emphasis on winning the meeting, which there should be. There was some good racing last night, Doyley coming good was enjoyable to see after a rough start to the GP series too. I’m enjoying two GPs back to back as well.

Great to hear. Berwick’s promotion do seem to be one of the more proactive around currently. Perhaps the BSPA should try put a package together to offer schools en mass around the country.

Which tracks that you visited are sending a rider into local schools complete with their bike and kevlars to promote the product? I’d like to see the proof that this is happening but I doubt it is highly.

The graphic was wrong and he was reading from that I can only assume. Had Laguta in fifth on 20 points for some reason.

Half of the beauty of those big names in the league was also that you only saw them once or twice a season. As a Rye fan it was an event when Stoney or Topinka came to town for example, because it didn’t happen every week. These days you see every team visit you at least twice and the novelty of seeing a different set of riders each week isn’t there. No doubt bonus points being included in averages made a difference in a way but there is no chance a rider like Howarth could have held a torch to the riders you’ve listed above. There actually was a worthwhile quality difference from league to league.