Speedway Star Article On Facilities

[RogH.]

A quick answer, no the Hull track is not in place, you can not tell there ever was a track at Craven Park.

[martinmauger]

A quick answer, no the Hull track is not in place, you can not tell there ever was a track at Craven Park.

 

That's right, in fact the only "speedway bits" left are a bit of dirt/shale outside the touchline on used to be the straights and the pits behind turn 4. Well the pits were still there last time I looked a few months back....

 

[sandman]

Speedway does not need buckets of cash thrown at it

 

What it needs is more people on bikes

 

HOW YOU ASK ...NON LEAUGE RACING.

 

Open up all the tracks that can’t afford league racing for amateurs to have a go racing no prize money just trophies.

 

Every rider on a bike gets 4 in the gate plus other spectators and bring the admission price down

 

I was reading another thread on lack of training facilities why should you be training and for what get racing form your own rider clubs and do it yourselves.

Then you can create a rider depth and people can show how good they are before hitting the Pro Leauge scoring 2 points and getting canned.

 

In a nutshell the more people involved.... the bigger the following ....... make a lot of noise doing it

Then the sponsors and money starts coming in

 

involvement at that level is very important. Billy Hamill has done the Gumball rally, racing for youngsters, for some years now. He knows the future of the sport needs fresh talent. He promotes it as a family sport. I do believe your statements above are absolutely correct. In the states, pro motorcycle racers all started in non pro events, and Nascar racers like Robbie Gordon & Jimmy Johnson were desert rats as children racing in amateur races and in Johnsons case, he started on motorcycles. It was all just family outins with his parents on weekends, and look at where he is now. I think your post was spot on.

[olethefod]

As always some great ideas put forward on an age old topic. I was just watching the TV and two cycle riders were being interviewed at a velodrome, didn't catch the drift of the conversation but did notice who was sponsoring the velodrome....Tissot the watch maker...They throw thousands at the sport, I would add, even though thousands of people cycle (This has been used on this forum as a reason for the money, the attendances at local cycle meets can be counted on one hand if you don't include the competitors, who sponsors the time keeping on the SGP circuit? TAG, Maurice Lequar, Gucci, Tissot, nope!

 

Some one in the forum said get more people on motor bikes, I hate motor bikes yet love speedway, I love the way the riders put everything on the line week in week out, I love their must win attitude and they way they connect with the fans.

 

Re the £200 million about to be thrown at grass routes football, its because they look and sound professional when interviewed, they wouldn't dream of saying the goal mouth was s**t thats why I missed the penalty, would speedway riders be the same......mmmmmmmmmmm! No. Football had to re-invent it self ten years ago, it drafted in all the best foreigners, we drove ours away by lowering points averages, it built new stadiums, we layed tracks on open land and old landfills and offered a porta loo!

 

What ever we say on here its about hard cash, its business at the end of the day.

 

Over the years the big sponsors have left speedway high and dry as we served up rubbish in tatty surroundings, bad news is, last few weeks we have served up more rubbish in empty tatty surroundings, how can the team rock bottom in the Elite league own the contracts of Nikki Pederson, Peter Karlsson and Tai Woffenden and still not win at home, dont think this would happen to Man Utd do you, so a club wins year in year out because they have the most money and best riders, this is the cruel way of sport, we dont ask federa to use a smaller racket to give the others a chance, anyone heard of Chelsea and the 40,000 thay attract ever week and the five thousand they add to your gate when they visit?

[Snyper1010]

We all sit on these pages and talk and talk about what we feel is going wrong. The point is we all have the answers but we have no workable solutions. Im afraid i dont have several million pound to open up a track for training purposes.

 

Speedway is never going to have kids flocking to it until we can get solid future minded specialised training tracks and schools. Why would a parent go out and spend £1,000 for a bike £100 for a helmet another 100 or so fir kevlars then a couple hundred for boots etc etc etc when they can simply go and buy a £30 pair of football boots and be done with the matter.

 

I own a bike, ok i aint the youngest of people but the hassle to find a track with regular access to the public is a nightmare.

 

 

We need an across the board initiative on how to rectify these issues.

 

My idea on this matter would be as follows.

 

Edinburgh, Glasgow, Newcastle and Berwick (maybe Workington) could between them afford to open a simple training track/facility, that would accomodate the needs of Scotland and Nothern England.

 

I cant be bothered going through all the clubs but you get the idea a few clubs within reasonable distance could all come together to provide these facilities in a central location to all there home tracks.

 

 

Another thing i find astonishing is that speedway must be the only sport in the world where a professional participant does not get to train. A friend of mine who happens to ride for a pro club has told me is a case of going to the tracks getting on the bike and racing. This being down to the lack of facilties now IMO that is absolutely rediculous and is one thing that would turn anyone away from the sport.

 

Just my opinion.

[star ghost]

Training Speedway riders would be difficult as most tracks are limited to a very few hours a week and this will only cover the match times.

The cheaper admission idea could work. After all a lot at a reasonable price is better than a few at astronomic prices, the ones attending at cheaper prices would pass the word round and have more chance of bringing others and the possibility of them continuing to come on a more regular basis.

Unfortunately the days are gone when a junior from the second half stepped up into the team to replace a top man, and succeeded. This happened at Norwich when Phil Clarke was pitched into the side to replace injured Bert Spencer and kept there for 13 years. Nowadays its "Bring in a Guest" every time. Ev ery season teams are torn apart and riders leave. How can people form allegience to that

 

[Snyper1010]

Training Speedway riders would be difficult as most tracks are limited to a very few hours a week and this will only cover the match times.

The cheaper admission idea could work. After all a lot at a reasonable price is better than a few at astronomic prices, the ones attending at cheaper prices would pass the word round and have more chance of bringing others and the possibility of them continuing to come on a more regular basis.

Unfortunately the days are gone when a junior from the second half stepped up into the team to replace a top man, and succeeded. This happened at Norwich when Phil Clarke was pitched into the side to replace injured Bert Spencer and kept there for 13 years. Nowadays its "Bring in a Guest" every time. Ev ery season teams are torn apart and riders leave. How can people form allegience to that

 

Simple ban guests UNLESS two of your 7 nominated riders are injured then it should be a 2nd half rider and the clubs choice whether they get a guest for the second place.

[Ron Butler]

Where will this all all this talk of new facilities get speedway. I read today that the Football Association is pumping £200million into grass roots football. Where would speedway ever get that sort of cash to improve speedway from?

 

And are the GRA such an ogre to speedway? They only have two tracks under their control (Belle Vue and Birmingham) and since 2005 have lost interest in Wimbledon and Oxford. Not really "overall control" of British speedway tracks!

 

I assume the British Speedway Promoters Association equivalent would be slick shale speedway?

 

[Ron Butler]

speedyguy you missed my point.

 

The reason why football can get all that money is simple the number of people playing the game from kids to semi pro level. And that turns into spectator level at the Premier leauge.

 

Speedway doesnt have a real grasslevel where anyone can develop other than training schools and or grasstrack. (not talking about fan base here).

 

As i said in my last post a group of past riders, want to be riders and or their dads should form clubs and start non leauge racing at some of these defunct or struggling tracks at lest give them a chance to encourge young guys to come into and try.

 

Its better than no growth or development.

 

I note, Snailexpress, that you are resident in Singapore. Could this mean, I wonder, that you may be out-of-touch with British speedway and its basic day-to-day problems?

 

I ask this as a genuine question not as a statement of fact.