The Direction That Speedway Needs To Take In The U.k.

[Vince]

I'd say speedway needs to reinvent itself by creating a variant that will sell tickets big time. That requires a lot of thought and development but is possible in my view - after all, indoor and ice speedway certainly proved popular when they've been staged, so why not find something that might help win people over to real speedway? To work, we would need it to be:

• Profitable: cheap to run & relatively cheap to attend
• High value-add for customers - lots of good entertainment, plenty of passing and excitement
• Potential to be staged at many locations, not just existing tracks
• Low noise to avoid planning battles etc.
• The ability for many people to participate, having watched top riders do it
• Not subject to weather, and preferably year-round
• Fun! Also addictive - make it easy for people to support teams and build up atmosphere

Thoughts?

 

Team MotoX on electric bikes???

 

Just realised - it's cycle Speedway!!!

Edited January 9, 2010 by Vince

[tomcat]

Just going back to my pots about banning special parts in engines etc.

I have just read, on the Scunthorpe Promoter Fear for NL thread, or whatever

its entitled, as it descended into a bit of a barney between a few posters on there,

a poster called halifaxduke, NOT our mate from Mildenhall I must add, this halifaxduke

chap says about days gone by, when a youngster could get an old jap/jawa for around

£80 and still go out and compete at a decent level, scoring points.

 

Nowadays we obvioulsy cant get a bike for £80, but to read of the reported £10k just

to get started is just ridiculous. Keep the bikes as they come out of the crate, tilt the

scales back towards what we used to have and maybe more people would give our

sport a go.

My lad wanted to ride, but after kitting him out with a racesuit, boots, body armour,

helmet, googles, gloves, back protector etc etc, then a half decent machine, it just

broke us. Trying to get sponsorship help is just about impossible, as most company's

only want to be associated with sportsmen or women that are somewhat established

already, which a complete newcomer is not going to be.

At this time, my lad cannot even start to think about racing again anytime soon, due

purely to costs. How many more kids are out there in the same boat financially.

I keep reading about altering the points limits, banning certain riders from certain

other country's, but thats not the real answer.

We have to reduce the startup costs, by doing that, maybe it will have a knock on effect

throughout speedway, specially in the UK.

Like it or not, speedway IS becoming a rich kids sport, if you have the financial clout

to get supertuned fast bikes and all the trimmings, then your made, if not, tough luck,

you cant even begin to have a career in speedway.

 

Speedway was a working class mans sport, both for the fans and riders, but now its

all money money money....it has to stop.

 

I'll give you an example of how speedway was... and not that long ago.

 

One Kevin Teager, altered a Jawa upright to the Laydown configuration. Didn't cost

him the earth, but he would still pop out ahead of the 'proper' laydown mounted stars

and win a heat here and there.

I actually get very sick of reading about us so called dinosaurs, who advocate speedway

from the past being better. These comments come largely from people that were not

around during the 70's and 80's. All they see are a few YouTube clips and think they've

seen it all. Maybe, just maybe, if they listened to those of us that witnessed a better sport

back then, we may not have such a mess now.

Speedway in the 70's and 80's was better to me..why? Because anyone could afford

to take the sport up and have a good go at it.

 

As an example of rich kids involved, take Andreas Jonsson (No I'm not picking in AJ

personally), he is reported to be financially set for life. He doesn't have to worry about

how he is going to afford the latest piece of engineering wizardry. For that reason, he

doesn't have to put in the effort that lesser riders have to to make ends meet.

To those lesser riders, points scored could mean the difference between a long career

or a very short one due to being broke, just to be competitive. Making that latest piece

of engineering kit unaffordable to the lesser rider leaves him way behind the rich kids,

both on track and financially.

 

I know I've waffled on a lot here, but hopefully someone will understand the point I am

trying to make here.

 

Just Make Speedway Affordable to riders throughout speedway, no matter what their

level is.

[Halifaxtiger]

Very fair comments, TC.

 

This will be the second season that I have helped out Adam Kirby and the first where Oliver Rayson is concerned (financially, apart from that I just get in the way) and when you talk to their Dad's about it you do get some idea of just how much effort it takes to keep them both in racing gear.

 

I read this article recently:

 

'One major item as far as riders are concerned will be to find a way to peg the rising expenses. This is not a new problem. It has existed ever since speedway began. Gradually costs have gone up and up. For a while it was possible for pay to keep level with them but now it isn't.

 

Keeping expenses down is going to be a riders problem. Unfortunately, there seems to be only one way to do it - by banning items which may make some contribution to the progress oif speedway racing, but which can be done without'

 

Very similar to your thoughts.

 

The thing is those comments were made by Eric Linden in Speedway Star & News in December 1962.

 

 

 

 

[kjefco]

Look it's simple... speedway is now a minority sport thanks to the greedy penny pinching promoters. Look at the cost for an average family to have a night out at the speedway 50 quid plus!!

Example - Redcar Bears (Formally Boro Bears) - Few years ago had a great chance when opening a new track but done to total minimum, yeah resonable track for riders but no thought for the fans!!

I've watched speedway for 30 plus years and raced it for 3 so have seen both sides. I know any business has to make money and the riders risk it every meeting but it shouldn't be like that, the riders deserve much better facilities and so do the fans!!!

Sky have done so much to raise the profile of speedway but most of the benefits have gone into promoters pockets, how the fck do we fix this as I'd hate to see speedway fall to the level of stock cars, hell it used to be bigger than football!!!!

[seedef27]

Look it's simple... speedway is now a minority sport thanks to the greedy penny pinching promoters. Look at the cost for an average family to have a night out at the speedway 50 quid plus!!

Example - Redcar Bears (Formally Boro Bears) - Few years ago had a great chance when opening a new track but done to total minimum, yeah resonable track for riders but no thought for the fans!!

I've watched speedway for 30 plus years and raced it for 3 so have seen both sides. I know any business has to make money and the riders risk it every meeting but it shouldn't be like that, the riders deserve much better facilities and so do the fans!!!

Sky have done so much to raise the profile of speedway but most of the benefits have gone into promoters pockets, how the fck do we fix this as I'd hate to see speedway fall to the level of stock cars, hell it used to be bigger than football!!!!

 

2 posts now & still no mention of which team you follow (i'm guessing it's not Redcar) and just out of curiosity which team did you ride for..

 

[gsmills]

2 posts now & still no mention of which team you follow (i'm guessing it's not Redcar) and just out of curiosity which team did you ride for..

whats the way foward , took my two lads to watch speedway for first time last year, 7.45pm start till 10.00pm they saw 15 races at 60 secs each. this left 2 hours when they were bored and they couldnt even prounounce the riders names as there wasnt even a british rider racing. So this evening cost me 35 quid to see a bunch of foreigners take the money, not helped any of our british lads cause the league is swamped by foreigners and even the mention of "going to speedway"to the kids results in a loud BOOORING.Well i dont know the answer but if you cant get youngsters to watch were really struggling,but i do no i want to watch british riders like Carl Wilkinson who will always give it a go rather than foregn riders any day.I just beleive its right look after our own. ps before any body says im not a rascist or a Scunthorpe supporter just want to see speedway survive.

[Trees]

Ban the lot, make the riders keep the engines as they came out of the crate, as

they were in years gone by.

A lot of people seem to forget, that speedway started out as basic road going bikes, with

the extra's ripped off to lighten them. So, lets go back to basics again.

There would be no need for special tuning, just routine maintenance, all riders would

be on equal machinery and those with the skill, or brass balls to race hard enough will

triumph. Rather than the "My dads got more money than yours" brigade pouring a shed

load of money into producing rocket ships, that quite frankly the average youngster just

cannot afford to buy.

I suggest the above for League racing, GP riders should have the choice if they wish to

have a super tuned engine or several.

Any League machine suspected of being illegal could be checked, or better still, instigate

random checks. Its been done countless times when a team lodges a complaint about

a suspected oversized engine, so whats the difference.

Clubs should own all the engines, use a club tuner for servicing etc and the riders from both teams draw lots before the meetings. Allow the riders to have several laps of practice so they can get sorted too before the meeting starts.

[Lakeside Shrimper]

Clubs should own all the engines, use a club tuner for servicing etc and the riders from both teams draw lots before the meetings. Allow the riders to have several laps of practice so they can get sorted too before the meeting starts.

 

I've commented on this in various articles in Speedway Star and on my personal blog, but I remain convinced that the way for Speedway to survive, build, and once more thrive, is not necessarily to re-invent itself, but to look at what is fundamentally wrong and thus holding back Clubs all over the land...this always points back to the ownership of facilities, and the subsequent inability to control their own desitny.

 

Through much more careful consideration of planning applications (a la Beaumont Leys, Leicester), new, much improved Speedway 'mixed-use' facilities can be built and possibly owned by their promotions, and only by doing this, can they make the necessary revenue to improve the way the Club performs on and off the track.

 

I cannot underestimate the importance of Leicester formalising their planning permission at BL, as this will pave the way for other promotions to be brave enough to follow suit and make the move.

 

Sherif

[AndyM]

I've commented on this in various articles in Speedway Star and on my personal blog, but I remain convinced that the way for Speedway to survive, build, and once more thrive, is not necessarily to re-invent itself, but to look at what is fundamentally wrong and thus holding back Clubs all over the land...this always points back to the ownership of facilities, and the subsequent inability to control their own desitny.

 

Through much more careful consideration of planning applications (a la Beaumont Leys, Leicester), new, much improved Speedway 'mixed-use' facilities can be built and possibly owned by their promotions, and only by doing this, can they make the necessary revenue to improve the way the Club performs on and off the track.

 

I cannot underestimate the importance of Leicester formalising their planning permission at BL, as this will pave the way for other promotions to be brave enough to follow suit and make the move.

 

Sherif

Surely the ability to attract and sustain a regular and viable crowd is most important in any location? We still haven't solved the long-term structural decline and found ways to bring through generations of new followers. As I said before, speedway in its current guise and presentation is maybe not going to achieve this, hence my suggestion of "reinventing" a version of the sport to fund the development of traditional speedway, much as cricket has done. It's about bringing the sport closer to spectators.

[Lakeside Shrimper]

Surely the ability to attract and sustain a regular and viable crowd is most important in any location? We still haven't solved the long-term structural decline and found ways to bring through generations of new followers. As I said before, speedway in its current guise and presentation is maybe not going to achieve this, hence my suggestion of "reinventing" a version of the sport to fund the development of traditional speedway, much as cricket has done. It's about bringing the sport closer to spectators.

 

Correct theory Andy....the key here is that you tend to attract the 'current day' spectator (i.e. Mum, Dad and 2.4 children etc...) with good quality, comfortable facilities, backed up by good quality entertainment.

Whilst the stadium stock in the UK continues to crumble, with Promoters having no ability to change the situation, due to their ownership status, these types of spectator cannot be targeted....we have data here at work which even hints at that fact.

 

I am a traditional football and speedway spectator, and I, like a number of those similar to myself, prefer the feel of an archaic stadium with the associated history, feel, smell and atmosphere, but out-of-town mixed-use bowls with no soul are the future...I am afraid that is just fact.

 

IMHO, once you start improving the facilities to this point, you can better attract the next generation of fan, bulk up the attendance figures and filter the increased revenue to improve the facilities further, and expand the offer to different user groups.

 

I do however feel that the sport could benefit from running on one or two fixed days per week only, reduced admission fees, and better promotion from the BSPA as a whole.

Edited March 9, 2010 by Lakeside Shrimper

[AndyM]

Don't disagree with what you say - just think that the core product will not attract and sustain a mass audience any more, whatever facilities you provide. There needs to be better value in the speedway itself - more thrills, easier to watch anywhere.

[tomcat]

I've commented on this in various articles in Speedway Star and on my personal blog, but I remain convinced that the way for Speedway to survive, build, and once more thrive, is not necessarily to re-invent itself, but to look at what is fundamentally wrong and thus holding back Clubs all over the land...this always points back to the ownership of facilities, and the subsequent inability to control their own desitny.

 

Through much more careful consideration of planning applications (a la Beaumont Leys, Leicester), new, much improved Speedway 'mixed-use' facilities can be built and possibly owned by their promotions, and only by doing this, can they make the necessary revenue to improve the way the Club performs on and off the track.

 

I cannot underestimate the importance of Leicester formalising their planning permission at BL, as this will pave the way for other promotions to be brave enough to follow suit and make the move.

 

Sherif

 

 

Whilst I believe that the majority of fans would agree, that current stadia are

eye sores, run down etc etc, the basic problem is that fans can no longer

identify with the sport, as we did when I was a youngster.

Like many thousands of others, I would be on the terraces at a meeting and

be day dreaming of being the next John Louis or Ivan Mauger etc, as it was

financially possible to get into the sport and compete on or very near to

their level with regards to machinery etc. But, today, unless you have thousands

to chuck at the sport, then the average youngster has no chance what so ever

of becoming a speedway rider and emulating their hero's.

Its no good having a state of the art stadium and track and then filling your team

with foreign journeymen. What the British public want, as far as I can gather, is

a team of British riders, preferably local talent, with whom they can identify and

support year in year out. Make the costs prohibitive regarding machinery and

that is never going to happen, the proof is right here and now.

 

I use the Ipswich Witches as an example in the 1970's. We had John Louis, Tony

Davey, Mike Lanham, Trevor Jones, Billy Sanders (Adopted son of Suffolk),

Ted Howgego et al, who were all local, stayed with the team for more than a

season or two and identified with by every Witches fan. Back then you could get

a machine, ready to race for very little outlay and suddenly your dream of being

the next Witches star was a reality. It won't happen today as it really is just too

damn expensive.

Quite simply, get the product right first, then worry about how posh your stadium

looks etc. If the racing is conducted on a level playing field, where Fred Bloggs

stands just as much chance of winning a race more than once, against the likes

of the Crumps, Adams and so on, then the fans will feel that they are being

properly entertained. Instead we currently have a situation, where the guy

with the biggest bank balance will win time and again, well in most cases anyway.

Like it or not, speedway fans love an underdog and the chance that said underdog

can suddenly compete with the so called stars of the sport will mean more interest

and hopefully more fans returning. Keep on with the way we are today, where we

have a select few winning everything, then the sport will die on its backside.

 

Look at the GP threads, its already down to about 4 riders that have any chance

of lifting the World Crown, likewise the Leagues, its virtually the same team names

that are considered able to win the titles year after year.

Even the machinery out and suddenly everyone becomes capable of winning.

Now and again you'll get a suprise team come along and win, someone that

was never even considered as potential Champions, but thats as rare as hens

teeth, as they say here in Northern Ireland.

Fans look at the fixture list and see, for example, Poole V Ipswich this season,

no way are Ipswich going to get near Poole, but put those 14 riders on the

same machinery, untuned, out of the crate and suddenly anything is possible.

As a fan again now, I wouldn't waste my money travelling and paying to see

that kind of one sided slaughter, but if we had an even chance of giving them

a close match or maybe an away win, then many more fans would be inclined

to travel and cheer their team on.

OK, there could be a very slim chance that we get something down at Poole,

but the odds are so heavily stacked against us, or any other team, that the

crowd levels will be affected. Even home fans will start looking at this and

staying away, as one sided matches are not what people want to see.

 

I probably haven't put any of the above that well, but hopefully some people

will get what I am on about and see the bigger picture.

 

I used to love going to meetings, home and away, knowing that one of the

lesser stars could compete and possibly grab a maximum or beat the

oppositions No1 a couple of times, because he was aboard machinery

of a comparable standard.

 

Its not about going back to the 'Good Old Days' of uprights, black leathers etc,

but it is about giving possible future riders the chance to compete with the

current stars and maybe pulling off a shock or several.

Just think.... the possibility of not ever having to watch a race where there are

two very seperate races going on at the same time, due to the haves and the

have nots....

IMO, if British speedway got its act together and instigated this, we would see

a very real upturn in attendances throughout the country. This in turn would

mean more financial stability within British speedway and the sport hopefully

returning to somewhere near its former level with the TV and media in general.

We may also rid our sport of this common thought, that the first out of the

gate wins every time, which IS how speedway is percieved by many people

these days.

 

[gsmills]

Well i can see were on the same track, my lad recently started riding and hes doing ok , but how do you explain to your child that if you get to a good level,we cant afford for you to race. Its not what any parent wants to say , but its the reality of speedway to most of us.As an instance when we need parts and pass out at the price were gleefily told "its the exchange rate mate" but its not just us thats in recesion.There is maybe a way for us mortals look at what there doing with pit bike engines its probaly the brits only.

[tomcat]

Well i can see were on the same track, my lad recently started riding and hes doing ok , but how do you explain to your child that if you get to a good level,we cant afford for you to race. Its not what any parent wants to say , but its the reality of speedway to most of us.As an instance when we need parts and pass out at the price were gleefily told "its the exchange rate mate" but its not just us thats in recesion.There is maybe a way for us mortals look at what there doing with pit bike engines its probaly the brits only.

 

Hi Miles,

I know where your coming from regards this.

I started out, at around 16, got a clapped out Honda 125 Grass bike

for £120, took myself off to local fields and practiced, to get the hang

of the bike, progressed onto a Jawa 2 valve for £250 and I was off

and running. I then smashed myself up a tad and packed in for a few

years, got married and got the bug again.

2 weeks into a new marriage, I took myself off from Kent down to Swindon

to a guy called Roy, who ran RDS racing. Got a MK4 Weslake and some other

kit, helmet, boots, steel shoe and gloves for £500. Then coughed up £400 for

a set of new leathers, then invested in a new back protector and so on.

I used that bike and kit for 2 years or so, then had my last big spill and had

to pack in or probably die trying to make it... I still had no fear, even at age 23.

I sold everything for a mere £150.... Ok I was desperate for money, having been

out of work due to the injuries sustained, so I just wanted the cash and rid of the

bike, before I did myself a seriously bad mischief.

 

In 1996 my lad came along, he started wanting to ride a bike at age 4, so we

got him this little Fantacini monkey bike, that cost us £200, then helmet, gloves,

goggles and body armour etc, that was the best part of £600 gone. After riding

that bike about 3 or 4 times, he was complaining it was too slow and we upgraded

him to a Moto X bike, 80cc, semi auto. £800 for that, plus new protective gear,

race suit, boots, steel show, as he could ride on the shale with it, we bolted the

rear end down to clamp the rear suspension, body armour, etc etc... nearly

2 grand later and he is starting to get into this racing lark. Then he starts to

grow quicker than we can earn the money, needing new race suits, boots and

so on. It soon starts to get damn expensive.

We moved over here to NI 3 years ago, and he hasn't ridden any bikes since.

But... we are talking about coming back over the Irish sea to live within the next

couple of years and he has started asking if he can get back into the racing and

in particular speedway.... like yourself, how do you tell a kid No.

I know he's my son, but he does have a really uncanny sense of balance and

has handled everything thats been thrown at him machinery wise, as he has

had goes on speedway bikes, which gave me a heart attack, he did a practice

start, the very first time on it, went down the straight at what looked like a 100

miles and hour, I thought he was going to hit the first bend fence, but just laid the

bike over and went round the turn like he had been riding for decades. A born

racer and a natural on a bike. And no I'm not trying to be biased as I wouldn't

build my boy up only to see him knocked down. If he was crap, I'd tell him to

forget it, but he isn't and here I sit today, knowing I will be unable to afford to

get him back into speedway.

 

This is where I think speedway shoots itself in the foot. Its us parents that have to

cop for the costs and not one person within the speedway heirachy gives a damn.

I realise that you can't stop progress, but speedway is one of those sports where

progress and technology has slowly strangled the sport, alienating the beginners

out there via the huge amounts of money needed to even start riding, let alone

compete and race in a league.

This then creeps into the lower league, where kids and parents are struggling to afford

the machinery to compete. And so it goes on to the upper levels, which we have all seen.

The obvious haves and have nots, the two races in one scenario that many like to

bang on about. Its not all about limited ability, the major problem is the difference in

budgets for the tuning, special parts and so on.

 

As I said in a previous post, let the GP stars have their rocket ships, but lets have

standardised engines for League racing.

I would actually like to know, how many youngsters have been lost to the sport

due to not having unlimited finances to pour into their bikes.

I bet there's a heck of a lot gone by the wayside due to that particular problem.

The trouble is, a majority of those that have been lost because of that will never

be seen racing again, at least not at the top levels and I include the three current

leagues in Britain in that statement. Amateur racing is fine and dandy, I've had a

dabble in that myself, its a lot of fun, but it won't make you a League winner, or

a World Champion, as your racing at a level where it doesn't matter if your bike

isn't up to GP standard, its all about the fun of taking part.

 

Get the machinery and running costs of that machinery down and watch the kids

come out of the woodwork to have a go. Make this compulsary in League racing

in the UK and the racing must improve. Closer racing means the fans get the

entertainment they crave, the hero's to follow and then crowds may increase.

If it keeps on as it is, we'll end up with a form of Super League, for the few

riders that can afford the costs, if there are enough left to form enough teams.

The rest will end up riding amateur club meetings or being lost to the sport.

 

Once thats been sorted out, then we can start to look at the stadia that are a

shambles. I know some that I wouldn't let my dog take a poop in, let alone want

to stand and watch a sport in. But, until we get the on track product right, you

could have weekly racing at the new Wembley and no-one would bother after

the first month with regards to watching as the racing would be rubbish, as it

seems to be a lot of the time now.

 

Start at the bottom, racing needs sorting out, then worry about the surroundings.

 

Oh... and this constant promise of simplifying the rule book by the BSPA/SCB

needs addressing asap. We all know that speedway is a simple sport, ruined by

the ridiculous amount of stupid and petty rules. They need to either get it done

or allow someone to do it for them... and I would gladly volunteer to sit down for

6 months over a summer and try to do that for them... Free of charge, as my

beloved sport comes above and beyond any financial reward.

 

Passionate about my speedway... You bet I am, angry at the way speedway has

gone with costs and technology.... Too right.

 

Time to put our house in order within British Speedway or lose it as a professional

sport.

[MACK1]

<!--quoteo(post=1684099:date=Feb 14 2010, 05:11 PM:name=seedef27)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (seedef27 @ Feb 14 2010, 05:11 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1684099"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->2 posts now & still no mention of which team you follow (i'm guessing it's not Redcar) and just out of curiosity which team did you ride for..<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

whats the way foward , took my two lads to watch speedway for first time last year, 7.45pm start till 10.00pm they saw 15 races at 60 secs each. this left 2 hours when they were bored and they couldnt even prounounce the riders names as there wasnt even a british rider racing. So this evening cost me 35 quid to see a bunch of foreigners take the money, not helped any of our british lads cause the league is swamped by foreigners and even the mention of "going to speedway"to the kids results in a loud BOOORING.Well i dont know the answer but if you cant get youngsters to watch were really struggling,but i do no i want to watch british riders like Carl Wilkinson who will always give it a go rather than foregn riders any day.I just beleive its right look after our own. ps before any body says im not a rascist or a Scunthorpe supporter just want to see speedway survive.

[Garry1603]

The future is definitily bleak if the kids find the product boring.

[speedyguy]

I think the time has come for speedway to drop team racing for at least two seasons, instead staging meetings similar to those in the USA. open events with tracks booking in various riders. The continued 'new ideas' that come into speedway every year are slowly destroying it.

Edited December 19, 2010 by speedyguy

[jollie roger]

Ido not see dropping team racing will improve speedway.In latter years individual meetings have been poorly supported,that is why there are far fewer than there used to be.

[Bavarian]

I think the time has come for speedway to drop team racing for at least two seasons, instead staging meetings similar to those in the USA. open events with tracks booking in various riders. The continued 'new ideas' that come into speedway every year are slowly destroying it.

 

This is much to radical. It would destroy the sport in the UK, if there were no more league teams racing. Just see how poorly supported the American dirt-track / flat-track or whatever they are called meetings in the UK are.

 

Perhaps we should go way back in time and do it like they did it in the early years of the sport. A bit more variety is what is needed. Let's have league team racing in the first half of the programme, with perhaps smaller teams of only five or six riders and over a limited number of heats, say nine or so, and then follow with a "big" second half individual programme of individual senior, junior solo and even the occasional sidecar racing. Maybe that part of the prog could be done along the lines of the US speedway show meetings, with a bit of fun after the deadly earnest league match, to please the younger generation?

I'd prefer the second half to be a serious competition, though, but the promoters would soon find out what the fans would like to see, clowns on bikes or serious sport.

 

Let's have the best of both worlds! That's how they did it in the early 1930's and it worked perfectly well and attracted a wider range of people as an audience for such meetings.

[Brian De Boise]

Two things I'd like to see introduced would be a) the obvious standardardised engines owned and maintained by the teams (as was being looked at by Jon Cook, I believe) and the minimum average for 1 or both reserves should be around 4.00 as this would help the back of some races to be more competitive.