Ben91

I’m sure it wouldn’t take long to work that out if you want to do it. It would significantly water down the product as I said but teams could still be filled if the only option was to use British riders exclusively.

The standard would have to be dropped across the board but without overseas riders there are still enough British riders to fill every team.

I would currently place Drabik and Smektala above Lambert but none of them have reached their full potential I would imagine. What matters is what these riders are like at their peak and when they hit it. Look at Greg Hancock, he probably peaked 5-10 years before he won his last three world titles but the competition around him was better at that time. There are many factors that determine who has a better career but that doesn’t necessarily make one rider better than another who achieves less. It is all about circumstance. It is also worth noting (fittingly in relation to Hancock) that Lambert was almost a permanent GP rider last season due to Greg’s issues however he would not have been expecting that when he prepared for the season and then during the year there was the uncertainty as to whether Hancock would be back at any point or not. That must have had a knock-on effect on Robert’s performances both in and out of the GP. He still managed to mix it on occasion and had he been fully geared up for a full GP campaign I feel he would have fared better than he did in his bit part role last year.

What could save the sport is the fact that it isn’t the only sport to be halted by Covid-19. As it stands no sport is happening here at all if we remain in “lockdown.” If landlords still go looking for their rent that is incredibly short sighted, because it could put the tenant out of business and then ultimately they have lost a revenue stream in future. This may only happen at circuits where perhaps the landlords want Speedway out (conspiracy alert). Speedway teams are businesses. To my knowledge not many have full time employees however, so until they host meetings they actually haven’t got a huge outlay (rent aside - which most sensible landlords would put on ice). The people who are likely to suffer financially are the riders who won’t be getting paid. Perhaps this is indicative however of how Speedway continues to be mutton dressed as lamb in Britain. It cannot sustain employing riders as their sole form of employment at the best of times. The stream of riders will not dry up after this however so the sport will not die. This is an ideal time for the BSPA/SCB (or whatever acronym they want to use) to sit down, go back to basics and reshape the sport properly with the future in mind as opposed to chucking a different load of turd at the wall each winter and hoping something sticks.

No it isn’t. They are ruthless (pun not intended) but they aren’t stupid. If any rider went into their top league and struggled then eight or nine years later was suddenly riding at an elite level a team would pick them up because it is a sport and it’s about winning.

Not at all. Jason Doyle was still riding second division speedway here at 27 as one example. Lambert is miles ahead of Doyle when the two were the same age. Of course they’re different people and their career arcs will naturally be different but if Lambert suddenly kicked on to the elite level at the age of 30 he’ll be picked up in Poland.

Lambert is undoubtedly a great talent, one who was seemingly destined for the very top, particularly when he burst on to the league racing scene. To look at where he is in relation to his age shows just how well he has done as a British rider. Can he get better? Undoubtedly. Will he get better? Who knows. Some of Lamberts peers age wise in world speedway are better than him at present, that doesn’t mean they will always be better than him. It is easy to forget how young he is due to how long he has been on the scene. I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes but if there is room for him to improve his fitness and professionalism then that would only make him an even better prospect. What I do know from watching him is that his gating and work in the first bend could be improved upon. If he does that then a world championship is not out of the question in the future. However they don’t give world championships out for fun, look at the likes of Leigh Adams who spent the majority of his career at the pinnacle of the sport and never claimed the ultimate prize. I’d love to see Robert competing at the sharp end of the GP series in years to come and I believe that he is still the best prospect we have by a country mile at present.

Residing in the capital city of Sarcasm... hasn’t been the same since they built that bypass.

I was definitely being entirely serious...

No danger of speedway suffering then.

And?

Which is exactly where the sport is going wrong. There will always be riders, there won’t always be fans. The riders have too much power these days.

Will do mate, hope all is well for you, Sarah and the family too. Makes sense as you’ve got the track on your doorstep, would be silly not to go. Maybe one day there’ll even be another northern tour for the Rockets.

For the sake of British Speedway I hope you’re right but I doubt Lambert will average more than Nicki greatly. To put a little context on things here are the Polish averages (excluding bonus points) of the riders you listed for 2019. This is the best way to compare their 2019 form as they all rode in the Ekstraliga. Doyle 8.80 Lambert 4.28 Iversen 6.65 Pedersen 7.81 Kurtz 4.58 Pedersen has ambitions to get back into the Grand Prix series. If he is serious about those ambitions he will have to be as good, if not better than he was last year. I wouldn’t bet against him doing just that. A tangent from what the thread is about but this just goes to show how good Jason’s old sparring partner still is.

Nicki and Jason Doyle should be the top two riders in the league this year without a doubt. Crump could come back and shock us all. I think (and hope) he will do well but if his average is similar to Nicki’s then he’s done incredibly well or Nicki has had a stinker of a year. Its similar to a boxer who has been out of the ring for years, your body changes and you forget what it’s like to be punched or slog it out for 12 rounds even if you can still do the business on the pads. Will be interesting to see how Crumpy fares after his first fall.

As I said on the Ipswich thread, Nicki had the 12th highest average in Poland last year. He is still one of the best in the world. The time off the bike will be what hurts Crump. But then nobody is expecting him to be the 12th best rider in the world this season.

He’s still going strong and wants to make a trip to Poland to watch a meeting, don’t think they’re ready for him! That makes sense, there’s a highlights VHS from the 99 season knocking around in the loft here somewhere and I recall Len being on it remonstrating with a referee for giving a photo finish against David Mason in a Bronze Helmet race (against Adam Allott maybe?) but I knew he wasn’t promoter at that time.

Goes to show that the best way to promote speedway is to promote! I didn’t start attending until around 2002, but am I right in thinking 2000 would be pre-Silver in terms of Len being sole promoter? My introduction to speedway was my grandad telling me I could either go watch Rye House or go to play golf, I didn’t fancy either much but Rye was closer to home, the lesser of two evils but the bug bit me after a lap. I only ever recall seeing anything remotely like advertising from us in the local newspaper or the speedway star, almost preaching to the converted. Glad to hear you’ll be back along should we get on track mate, can’t even remember the last time I saw you, been far too long!

Despite not being a GP rider Nicki had the 12th highest average in the Polish top flight last year. He is still one of the best riders in the world.

People live longer now, people hit their peak at a later age, 40 being the new 30 isn’t just a saying, there’s a truth to it. Was Schumacher’s return to F1 a disaster? He wasn’t winning races and championships but he was still comfortably one of the top 10 drivers in the world from what I remember. Nobody is expecting even that from Crump. The fact that there is nothing to prove makes it less of a risk for Crump and for Ipswich IMO. He can go out, enjoy his racing and what will be will be. He had bucketfuls of natural talent and was one of the best in the world for a very long time. That kind of talent stays with you.

Immediately looked for the Sheffield dates when I heard this news, not to be rude I’d have had no interest in going to watch Ipswich since Danny Ayres’s tragic passing (a man always worth the entry fee alone regardless of where he was racing) without Crump in the line up. It’ll be interesting to see how Jason gets on. I think he still has it in him to hit a seven point figure should he have decent equipment under him. He’ll also be a huge benefit to have around the pits for young Drew Kemp.

Appreciate the reply, I don’t have Facebook these days so haven’t seen any of the information which may be available to see there. If there is a passion then there’s always a point. It’s worth noting that not everyone who has a difference of opinion is doing so to put the hard work of others down, we all have our own ideas about things and Speedway in particular is a business/sport that has always been shrouded in mystery as to what is going on to those who don’t have a direct involvement. Be it this year or next I hope to see Speedway return to Rye, the sport just isn’t the same for me without having my own team to support.

Got Tai’s book for Christmas, I wouldn’t have bought it myself seeing as Tai is still an active rider which for me means I’m buying an incomplete story. As a Rye House fan of course I was interested to see what he has to say about his time at the club however there wasn’t too much about it (understandable considering what Tai has gone on to achieve). I think Tai’s stance on the British/Australian thing has always been clear so it came as no surprise to me. I don’t see why it is an issue either. He is both British and Australian, people can have more than one nationality and be passionate about both. As a Brit myself we benefit from having one of the best riders in the world competing for us, he is the ultimate professional and is trying to push for the national team to become a more professional outfit. That can’t be a bad thing. The book isn’t a classic, it highlights how good Tai and his team are at marketing though. The book was on sale in high street shops and supermarkets, for a book about a fringe sport like Speedway to be in those markets is incredible promotion. Hopefully in 10-15 years, or whenever Tai hangs up his kevlars he will revisit his career in another all-encompassing memoir.

Any idea if this is all being done with 2021 in mind Rob, or could we see some challenge/individual events later on this year?

Makes it a gamble to buy one on whether the team is going to perform or not. Surely it would make more sense to offer a season ticket for all guaranteed fixtures (league, cup first round etc.) and then if you’re a season ticket holder you get a discount for entry to further cup matches, challenges, play-offs etc.