uk_martin

Containing how many teams?

Hasn't Team Russell/Rossco/Kilby been keeping the fans fully informed of developments? I assume that as they would want to keep the fans from forgetting about the sport, so some kind of continued engagement during redevelopment would seem to be a good idea, wouldn't it?

That's something you don't see every day in British speedway, a referee with balls. I bet 9 out of 10 referees in Britain would have bailed out and called for all 4 back in heat 2

Well quite...like the fag packet that had a Brummies team with 5 guests and a "Cradley" team written on it, featuring 7 guests, including Rider Replacement for the ghost guest on there, presumably because nobody else was available to use as a guest.

Just trying to get my head around the recent posts. In the context of the title of this thread, will tampering with the bike's specs cure BRITISH speedway of its "joke" status? Is this meant to be a British cure to a British problem, which if implemented will result in British speedway being carried out on different spec bikes to the rest of the world? In which case, if British speedway bikes no longer conform to FIM regulations, the sport that we know in this country will need to be called something else because it won't be the sport recognised by the world governing body. And for those exceptional British talents who want to be World Speedway Champion, and who want to race in Poland, Sweden and possibly still in this country, not to mention on the GP circuit, how does that reduce their costs, that they will have one garage of bikes and spares for riding in the UK, with British weights and measurements, and another complete set up of bikes and spares for their use abroad? How does penalising our top talent, encourage young riders to be the best that they can be? How many more future Robert Lamberts will we see learning their craft in Germany, on bikes built to FIM standards, and then going on to ride in Poland and in the GP's INSTEAD of riding in the UK at least for a few years whilst they learn their trade? On a similar vein, with the dour shortage of British riders to fill the team slots in this country, and with the reliance on foreign riders, how will needing to invest in a new setup for riding in the UK be an incentive to attract up and coming foreign riders into the sport in this country? Young Aussies, Americans, etc, faced with double the costs will probably cut to the chase, and go with the "World Spec" sport, as found on the continent, and won't bother with the UK in the future. There have already been one or two that have "broken with tradition" and gone straight to Poland and Germany without riding in the UK first. Will that be the "new normal" in the future? So, going back to the original question, how will having a sport divorced from the rest of the world by virtue of differing technical specifications, with less foreign riders and less top-quality British riders taking part, solve the issue of British Speedway being a joke?

Football at all levels is pretty much off this weekend. Rugby is pretty much all on. The third test match between England and South Africa resumes on Saturday, the Abingdon Airshow on Saturday has been postponed, yet the Duxford Airshow on Saturday and Sunday goes ahead as planned. So basically, there's a 50-50 split between what's going on and what isn't. If you look at football forums, they are lamenting the postponement decision. I tend to agree, By carrying on, and by pulling people together, it allows shows of love and appreciation, as well as last respects and condolence. I can imagine there will be many a rugby ground having a minute or two of silence and then following that with a great rendition of the new national anthem. Queen Eliabeth II has passed; the Monarchy lives on. God Save the King.

Suspended from riding during the months where no riding takes place anyway. Wow, that's a great "punishment", isn't it? It's about as meaningful as being banned from riding every day between 11pm and 7am.

If Claus Vissing was given a 28 day ban on July 9th 2022 (http://www.birmingham-speedway.com/news.php?extend.3196) then how come the Brummies were still using a guest for him 32 days later on 10th August against Berwick? Surely the ban had ended, and the guest facility had ended with it on 6th August? Did the Brummies team manager put together an illegal team for that meeting? Just wondering.

I think you'll find that Basketball and Handball are as big in Poland as Cricket and Rugby are in Britain. You'll probably look at that statement and think "WHAT? - Handball and Basketball?" - but then if you ask a Pole, he'll way the same about Cricket and Rugby.

That doesn't appear to be true in Poland...but then in Poland the crowds are younger and more partisan, whereas here, they are much older and "don't make a noise by me"..."don't fly your flag by me"..."don't blow your horn by me"..."a nice cup of tea, anyone..." Younger people lose the will to live when surrounded by a crowd old enough to be their grandparents. Hands up any young person who goes down to their local Derby & Joan Club for their Friday night out, on the pull? So how about another radical suggestion? Youth Zones on the terracing, where young people can do young people things without someone's granny tutting at them all the time? For all the other changes to tracks, equipment, organisation etc, unless the attraction of the next generation of fans is addressed, the sport will die out, LITTERALLY, as the fans die out. And at some clubs, that's not far away.

On the flip-side, it will also serve to confirm the role of the British leagues as a nursery for new riders and a retirement home for those past their best, because anyone keen on earning better money will ply their trade abroad, like some do already. I got the impression that a good quarter, if not a third of the riders in my original list are Australian. Getting a flight from Sydney to Warsaw is no harder than getting a flight from Sydney to London, so I suspect that it won't be long before some if not all the Aussies may be doing their thing in Polski żużel.

Who says that pay scales have to remain the same? If the alternative is a completely amateur league, then a new pay scale @ 66% of the current rates will get over that problem.

If you wanted to be ultra-radical, you can bin the one against the other type of match and have a series of 4TT's. 4 riders plus a reserve, using an existing race formula that gives 20 races per meeting, therefore extra value for the fans. All 4 teams host a home leg of that combination of teams. Then you have 4 more matches against 3 other teams, and then 3 other teams and so on. Eventually everyone will ride against everyone, and the best teams are decided. Depending on how many fixtures are created, you can put the names into a hat and have a second and possibly a third round of 4TT's again, and possibly opt for a post-season, to create even more fixtures to give the fans something to enjoy.

So, your idea is that British Speedway has to divorce itself from the sport recognised by the FIM, and do its own thing? The motorsport equivalent of Brexit And how's the other Brexit working out so far? Can anyone really see the Swedish league, the Polish leagues, the Czechs, the Russians etc etc all agreeing to change what works for them, just because Britain is struggling? The genie is out of the bottle now, there is no going back to 2-valve upright engines, with or without rev limiters, or whatever the equipment changes are that are being proposed, no matter how romantically you desire it. By all means do all the domestic changes that you want...bin the leagues and start again if you must, revamp the organisational structures, but unless you want to create a completely new category of motorsport that is divorced from what the FIM recognises as speedway, then you have to work within the FIM criteria for what a bike is, what fuel it uses, what tyres are or aren't legal to use, how tracks are constructed etc etc.

So just going through the averages, and "weeding out" those riders who are European and who would struggle to pledge unconditional allegiance to the British leagues, and those British and Australian riders with foreign league commitments, and allocating the double-downers to the most senior club that they ride for, we would be left with: BELLE VUE - Charles Wright, Jake Allen, Jye Ethridge & Connor Bailey = 4 IPSWICH - Danny King, Aaron Summers, Danyon Hume, Ben Barker (!) & Cameron Heeps = 5 KINGS LYNN - Josh Pickering, Richard Lawson, Richie Worrall, Jason Edwards, Jake Mulford, Lewis Kerr, Jack Thomas = 7 PETERBGOROUGH - Chris Harris, Scott Nicholls, Jordan Palin = 3 SHEFFIELD - Kyle Howarth, Connor Mountain, Lewis Kerr, Dan Thompson, Craig Cook, Stefan Nielsen, Justin Sedgmen = 7 WOLVERHAMPTON - Ryan Douglas, Luke Becker, Steve Worrall, Drew Kemp, Leon Flint, Joe Thompson = 6 BERWICK 1 - Ricky Wells, Nathan Stoneman, Ty Proctor, Kyle Bickley = 4 BIRMINGHAM - Josh Auty (!), Ashley Morris, James Shanes, = 3 EDINBURGH - Jacob Hook, James Sarjeant = 2 GLASGOW - Broc Nicholl = 1 LEICESTER - Max Clegg = 1 OXFORD - Dillon Ruml, Josh MacDonald, Paul Starke, Kyle Newman = 4 POOLE - Ben Cook, Nathan Ablitt = 2 PLYMOUTH - Eddie Kennett (!) Connor Coles, Ben Morley, Lee Complin, Daniel Gilkes, Alfie Bowtell, Harry McGurk, Henry Atkins = 8 REDCAR - Jason Edwards, Adam Roynon = 2 SCUNTHORPE - Simon Lambert, James Wright, Zaine Kennedy, Ryan Kinsley = 4 ARMADALE - Tom Woolley, Danny Phillips, Elliott Kelly, Josh Embleton, Gregor Millar, Kyran Lyden, Willian Lawson, George Rothery, Lewis Millar = 9 BELLE VUE 2 - Sam McGurk, Archie Freeman, Freddy Hodder, Jack Parkinson-Blackburn (!) = 4 BERWICK 2 - Greg Blair, Luke Crang, Ace Pijper, Mason Watson, Ben Rathbone, Kieran Douglas = 6 KENT - Danno Verge, Connor King, Jamie Halder, Sam Wooley, Chris Watts, Joe Alcock = 6 LEICESTER 2 - Max Perry, Tom Spencer, Mickie Simpson, Vinnie Foord, Kai Ward = 5 MILDENHALL - Jack Kingston, Alex Spooner, Sam Bebee, Josh Warren, Luke Muff, Matt Marson = 6 OXFORD 2 - Jody Scott, Sam Hagon, Arran Butcher, Jacob Clouting, Luke Killeen, Ben Hopwood, Sam Woods = 7 PLYMOUTH 2 - Ben Trigger, Adam Extance, David Abraham, Rhys Naylor, Ben Phillips, Eli Meadows = 6 So that's a total of 112 riders who you can count on, from 24 teams located at 18 tracks. And I'm being very sympathetic in that definition as I'm including Eddie Kennett, Josh Auty, Ben Barker and Jack Parkinson-Blackburn in there, even though these riders are hardly the kind that you can actually "count on". Other riders like Lee Complin, Adam Roynon, Aaron Summers and James Wright are also in the mix, despite only being on the verge of (re-)retirement. Anyway, optimistically divide 112 by 7 and you have just enough for 16 teams. Go radical and choose 6-man teams, and you'll have enough for just over 18 teams. Not enough to go around, is it? And woe betide the 8 riders who I mentioned don't come to the tapes next year. That'll be one less team that can be fielded. So, if you had your way, which teams would you instruct to shut down? Would you tell the clubs that they can only have one team going forward, so that those clubs with 2 teams will have to get rid of their CL team?

First the big money contract for Gerhard engines that nobody wanted, now a big money contract for tyres that aren't fit for purpose. The BSPZzz are the common denominator. Are they not funded by the member clubs, which in turn are funded by your admission receipts? So now you know how your money is being wasted.

It would make a change from burning straw

Give them to Glasgow, they can be burned on the track next time they need to "dry it out" after a bit of rain...and of course, it never rains in Glasgow, does it?

Murphy's Laws of Speedway: ... 13. Your tyres are supplied by the lowest bidder. ... Seriously though, how come if we are to believe that it's all down to mechanical progress and tyres not being able to cope with today's more powerful engines etc etc, how come, that they aren't popping like popcorn everywhere else in the world? You'd have thought that on Polish tracks, or on Long Tracks, that these tyres would be disintegrating all over the place, wouldn't you? As was said, the procedure is that these tyres are called-off from a BSPZzz secure stock held somewhere, and distributed at random before the meeting. Well, maybe that's where the focus of attention should be. If these tyres are warehoused somewhere, has something got in that's degrading the rubber? I know that (at least some kinds of) rubber is susceptible to degrading when exposed to certain substances. Diesel fuel for one, will cause some kinds of rubber products to fall apart. Don't know if this kind of rubber is diesel proof or not, but maybe there's something else, that's gotten into the storage unit that's weakened these tyres. Or could it be the continued storage in hotter than expected storage conditions, during the prolonged hot spell have affected the rubber? Be interesting to see what happens in the next few meetings to see if there is a continuation of the problem. If not, then someone will need to take a close technical look at the Peterborough track surface, to see what's causing this. Maybe next year, speedway can take a leaf out of F1's book and offer up a choice of soft, medium and hard compound tyres, with each rider needing to run at least two different sorts during the meeting?

That's an interesting question, as back in the 1960's and early 70's, the "market" for speedway riders was basically Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. Denmark didn't really emerge until after Ole Olsen, Norway and Finland began emerging in the late 1970's plus there were one-off's from Germany and Holland. Russian, Polish, and most East European riders were tucked up behind the Iron Curtain until the early 1980's when a couple of Poles and some Czechs were allowed to earn some western currency, for themselves and their host clubs. British promoters were able, back then, to dictate who rode for which club, and the terms upon which they were employed. British league racing was a weekday evening affair, with the best riders free to ride FIM events, long-track grass track or other individual meetings at weekends "on the continent". The only time "western" riders got to see Polish or other Eastern European tracks was for FIM World Championship (Team, Pairs or Individual) meetings. The rest of the time, travel there and back was forbidden, or more agro than it was worth. Speedway on TV was a once-or-twice-a-year treat, with highlights of the World Final and possibly the WTC Final on World of Sport on a Saturday afternoon. Eastern European riders were pretty much tied to JAWA machinery whilst the rest of the world benefited from the developments of Weslake, Godden and latterly GM engines. A lot has changed since those days. Poland has changed immensely as a country and speedway in Poland has adapted to change a lot better than the "we're British and we know best" promoters in this country have managed to do with the sport over here. Just as Britain is no longer the epicentre of world football or world tennis, so it's lost that dominance in speedway to Poland, where they get huge attendances, huge television audiences, and huge sponsorships that are powering them to a position where they have to take measures to protect their investments. And understandably so. We have to resign ourselves to having lost control of the sport in Britain, and just as British promoters dictated to the rest of Western Europe how it could conduct its affairs before the Iron Curtain fell, so now we have to accept that we're just minnows in the sport and that we have to fit in with what other countries are doing.

If he'd have been good enough to break into the team, you could have had "& Belle Vue" for James Pearson too. Thank gawd that Brummies v Coventry was not an official fixture. 6 guests vs 7 guests. And yet there were still enough fans defending the format, all so that they could once again wear their yellow & black bobble hats & scarves with pride.

Free admission to the Cycle Speedway...what more can the "speedway is overpriced" types want?

Must be really hard doing so well in a town / city where they have to compete with Poole City FC, Poole Villa FC, Poole Bromwich Albion FC, and Dorset County Cricket Club (+ T20 and "Hundred" offshoots) on a regular basis. Not to mention Poole Harriers Athletics Club, Old Pooleans RFC, Poole Bullets Basketball Club, Poole Priory Tennis Club etc.

Does the £10 admission with a Coventry programme board or scarf, or bobble hat still apply?