Gresham

Ermmmm yet again...I think you are missing the point...MASSIVELY. People like the sport...that's a given. And like I said...there are a small number that still go regularly. However...there are still a massive number that like the sport, but don't go anymore...SEE THE DIFFERENCE? That is why you have long threads like this and the other one going about what fans want. If you can't see there is a problem with the sport, then I can't help you. The one above for a start...

No need to be pedantic is there? Of course...otherwise I wouldn't be returning to the sport. However...unless you have your head in the sand,you will notice that Clubs are struggling with attendances and many fans are staying away. With respect, there seems to be a minority of people that seem adamant to make out Speedway hasn't got a problem. Perhaps that's why Promotors are not bothered to change things...as they know in the short term,there will always be just enough people turning up to make a living from the sport...or still use it as a tax loss against other businesses they run.

Many cracking points there...especially points 5 and 6.

Great result for the Rebels...was really surprised and chuffed when I read it. Good to see Brad scoring well too...my new fav rider :-)

But why is there no chance in hell? Who's running this show? Who's making money out of it now? Who is thinking profit short term?

Now that's what I call a proper WOOOSHHHH moment...I know you like Capitals BWitch, so I added some just for you ;-) I like the way you've completely missed the point...Rosco was obviously pointing out that the track is such, that no one has a chance of overtaking on it. Like many tracks these days...the slicker they are, the less chance you have of passing if you miss the gate. Like you CORRECTLY say...most races are won from the gate and always have been...but at least in the past when tracks were set up grippier, deeper and with more racing lines...riders at least had a chance of catching up and passing on a more regular basis. I do however, bow down to your logic in nearly every response, that speedway is pretty much the same as it's ever been...even if I think it's deluded and WRONG ;-)

Couldn't believe a letter I read printed in this weeks SS...with respect, if the author is a member of this forum, but I was gobsmacked to what I was reading... He complained that Rosco commentated live on SKY that Leicester was a Gaters track and that a rider didn't have a chance if they didn't make the Gate...or words to that effect. The author agreed with Rosco's comments, but said Rosco shouldn't have said this on live TV, as it would stop people attending. Why would you want people to attend and then find out for themselves that it's processional? Surely they would never come back? I agree with the authors assessment though, that it could be applied to many tracks and that it is little wonder that Speedway is struggling to attract crowds. What's more annoying though, is that if the likes of Rosco think it, then i'm sure many in the game think the same as well. It really doesn't make sense.

Always seemed like he was riding in an armchair did Larry Ross...very relaxed. Chris Morton was the one rider I didn't mind winning against the team I followed...pure racer.

Re the Peter Craven Crash...surely there is definitive detail as to what happened in that race? It would have been documented at the time...and plenty of eye witnesses. Hunter would have said whether he had engine failure or lost control...surely? I can't believe it's so hazy...Any thoughts?

Whilst I understand your thoughts...the Racing comes first. That's why we go. I go to football, cricket, rugby...there isn't any other entertainment apart from interviews. I hate it when there is an interval at the Speedway...just get on with the racing. I've witnessed attempted 'entertainment' at Speedway and football...it's often not entertaining. Two hours is plenty of time to run a meeting imo. Just make the racing entertaining...and people will come.

I can remember there being a 'competition' between riders before the second half at Eastville, where riders attempted to complete a lap on one wheel...as a very young lad, I also was enthralled by this. Thanks for reminding me :-)

It's a completely different type of racing...slick tracks are completely different from deep grippy tracks. You may not get the passing as much as you think...but the racing was entertaining...because the riders had to ride the track differently. The bikes were set up differently, and the tracks rode differently...all the available evidence also shows that. Throttle control was different, how you rode into a corner and exited, bikes set up different etc,etc. It's completely different to how it used to be. Watching racing on a grippy track is entertaining, as you could see riders using there skill to try different moves. Nowadays...it's wind it on, hang on...and if you drift off the racing line you are pretty much buggered.

With respect...'That many' are in the minority that still attend every week. I will agree people started to leave before Laydowns were introduced....but what caused that? I'll tell you...Slick tracks. Riders like Ole Olsen, who imo, regardless of how good a rider he was, have had too much control in producing tracks that gave less entertaining racing. Laydowns were a knock on effect to these slick tracks, as they rode them better. Fans started to leave as Speedway became less entertaining as a spectacle...and the trend has spiralled downward. There are a minority of die hard fans like yourself, who obviously think it is just as good...but if you really think Speedway can survive in the same way as it is now, and run in the same vein, then with respect, I think you have your head in the sand.

Enjoyed reading those travelling tales fellas... Indeed Cradley was by bar the hardest track to find in my experience too. Had to stop three times to ask people directions...all within a mile of the track...none had even heard of it, even a local Petrol station. Couldn't get my head round that. I can't think of any decent food i've had at any speedway tracks...apart from the humble chees and onion crusty roll served on the back straight at Blunsdon :-) Best food i've ever eaten at a stadium, non hospitality, in other words for normal fans, has to be Forest Green Rovers FC. Totally Vegan throughout...even the beer...and i'm a proper meat eater. Now there's a thought...FGR's are planning a new stadium development just off the M5...if a Promotor was willing to go totally Green in speedway, i'm sure they'd back it.

With respect...lets think about that for a moment. How can a sport like speedway, that thrives on passing and racing on a grippy surface, that gives various racing lines, allow that to happen? The laydown engine cannot perform well on deeper grippy surfaces. It's lower centre of gravity, higher revs, produces a wheel that wants to spin furiously on a slicker track. Hence why the riders struggle to race on grippier surfaces. The riders prefer riding on such engines...the promotors prefer it as well, because costs are less in providing shale and track maintenance. So the sport has made things easier and cheaper in one way...yet more expensive in another, because these engines have to be serviced more regularly because of the way they are tuned. These types of tracks are also more susceptible to wet conditions...so Promotors lose more revenue to rain offs...and also fans get fed up with this and find other things to do. In doing so...they've created a problem. Cheaper track costs, but higher expenses for wages and engine services. Plus rain offs. All this has led to less entertaining racing...hence fans leaving in their droves. So where does all the money have to come from to pay the riders and cover all the costs? The Promotors and riders have created their own nightmare. People are talking about how much it is to go and watch. Even if you let the public in for free, you may get some take you up on the offer...but after a while, they'd get used to it and find something else to do...because the chances of seeing some decent racing are becoming far more elusive. People want to see entertaining racing with mistakes and overtaking, on various racing lines. It is.... that simple.

What I should have said, is they are easier to ride on slick tracks. Put them in deeper tracks with dirt and they are even harder to ride. With the lower centre of gravity and higher power ratio, the revs being higher and wheel spinning faster, with an increased downforce, the bikes struggle on anything but slick tracks. They are definitely difficult to ride and need immense skill...however...watching 4 riders blast around a very slick track, with rear wheels spinning furiously, whilst appreciating the skill involved can often lead to boring racing. Having tracks prepared with dirt, different racing lines and bikes and riders that can adjust to such things, imo, would enhance the sport greatly.

It depends on how you define 'perfect pitches better for action' as a spectacle. I look at most sports nowadays, including speedway...and they have become more 'perfect'. In that, I mean...Technology has taken over, pitches, tracks etc perfect, tactical awareness, fitness, health, Professionalism etc...all perfect. I look at Sport, and when it's done perfectly it's often seen as boring. It's the mistakes and imperfections that make sport exciting. Imo...there was a pinnacle where technology got to a point and sportsman got to a point...and when the both mixed, it made it exciting. I look at Sport from the 60's,70's and 80's...and visually it was more exciting. The majority of motor sport and sports like football, tennis, golf etc were exciting to watch. Technology was developing and Athletes (riders) were less fit and less professional. The mix of the two at that point made it exciting. They complimented one another. You had the technology that gave a certain amount of reliance...but still had the skill of the individual and the slight imperfections of pitch/track. These combined made for Entertainment...often down to the slight imperfection of it all. Look at football...and it is statistically analysed to within an inch of it's life. Teams are so good...that they cancel one another out. It's often like watching a game of chess. Speedway has made everything too easy. Slick tracks, Bikes that are easier to ride, very few mistakes compared to the past. Back to the era I mentioned...the mix of skill and mistakes made for high entertainment. Remember....this is coming from a lad who only caught the tail end of the 70's and the majority of 80's and 90's. I find myself watching sport from the 60's and 70's...before my time, and it's far more entertaining. My interest faded when tracks became really slick and the introduction to laydown engines and bikes covered in plastic covers. Poor racing ( entertainment ) and aesthetically not pleasing to the eye. Ask any footballer to go back to pitches from the 70's and leather footballs and they'd scream no. Ask a Speedway rider to go back to deep tracks with dirt, and upright engines etc...and they'd also scream no. Ask fans of football to rather have terracing and an atmosphere, even hostile, to get away from the sterile feel of stadiums ( often like a shopping mall ) and many would be flocking back. Bring back more of a team feel to Speedway, and better prepared tracks ( deeper and with more dirt and riding lines ) and bikes that were able to be ridden on them (ie uprights ) and a way of keeping machines from being highly tuned by individual riders...in other words, relying more on riders skill than a highly tuned engine...standardise team bikes....and I think it would go a long way to making Speedway entertaining again. Most races that are entertaining are from riders of a same ability ( not always the very best ) on similar standard machines, where a rider makes a mistake and another uses his skill to take advantage of it. Just my opinion...based on watching and playing Sport of all sorts since the 70's. Like I mentioned on another thread...I still go to watch/partake in Football, Rugby, Cricket, Golf and Skiing regularly and have done since the 70's...I did with Speedway...Unfortunately Speedway is the one sport that has taken a back seat and at one time it was my favourite. For a Sport to go from second highest watched...to what it is nowadays is a travesty...especially when most other sports like I've mentioned are still popular and highly attended.

With respect...you are joking right? Football is thriving for a reason...As are other sports...Speedway is dying on it's feet. Belle Vue opening farce, Poland GP yesterday...they can't even get the big events right...yet alone the domestic scene.

Strange one isn't it...I follow and participate in many other sports still. Skiing, Football, Rugby, Cricket etc...watched and took part in them all...they've all changed over the years, the same as Speedway has...but I still watch and partake in them still, just as much as before...but not Speedway. I read threads on this forum, and scratch my head to why certain fans think that Speedway is ok as it stands now. Often going round and round in circles making excuses and refusing to see the wood for the trees. People talk about other sports not being the same as before...but so many are still healthy with crowds still following. To go from the second highest watched sport in the country to what it is now, yet other sports still keep healthy screams there is something massively wrong with it. Sorry for digressing...but it has just hit home how much travelling I used to do to watch Speedway...it's being run into the ground. Another example today...looked to see who Somerset are riding against this week...they aren't. No meeting scheduled...rained off week before. No wonder supporters find something else to do instead...proper shambles.

I've only just read this thread...seems there are a few people who followed speedway around the country, and not just when it was their team riding. It was very similar for me. Being on the road as an on site QS and company car, with decent fuel allowance, I made the most of it. I'd try and make my daily work schedule fit around speedway meetings. I was based in the Bristol area and often around Swindon. I'd get to as many meetings as possible...Exeter, Poole, Weymouth, Newport, Swindon, Oxford, Reading, Coventry, Cradley, Wolves. Great memories following. Shame my interest has dwindled and I go less often...it definitely became less and less after the introduction of laydowns and bike covers. I've thought long and hard about why I lost interest...looking at races now, they can be just as exciting. For me, I think it's aesthetics....Speedway to me, is just not aesthetically pleasing anymore. It doesn't look right imo. Odd one I know...

Or...It's race day, you wake up to the sound of rain on the window, and think, it's 2016...the sport has been running nearly 100years and they still haven't found a way of protecting the track from being waterlogged...then shrug...sigh...complain about it on a forum...then bugger off down the pub :-)

You learn something new everyday...Poland has different rules? Does each country have different rules to each other then? Can't get my head around that...can't think of any other recognised world sport that does this, i'm sure someone will tell me their is though.

I completely understand where you are coming from LP...having returned recently after a very long lay off, and like you, I used to live for Speedway. I totally understand you coming on here and venting your frustration too...I get it. You love the sport deep down...it just frustrates you so much, that you felt the need to say something...somewhere? There are so many contributing factors as to what makes Speedway less entertaining. I've come to the conclusion that it will only get worse...but I will try to enjoy what little bit of Speedway magic still exists, at the few meetings I will attend this season. Having read threads and comments on this forum as well, it also gives you a good insight to how fans and others think about the sport...it's totally mixed...from people who see the demise to others that are happy clappers with their head in the sand... I feel your sadness.

Wasn't he the first person to bring 'Kettle type crisps' into the country?

Typical...Chose to go to Somerset rather than Swindon...and now it's postponed...Grrrrr. I can never remember there being so many cancellations in the past for 'waterlogged' tracks. I think this is a contributory fact to why so many are staying away now...they find other alternatives to do weekly.