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

[Nobblytriers]

Sorry to disagree with you but nearly all the national papers were involved with Speedway. Did not the Sunday Despatch sponsor the World Championship at Wembley for many years. Then what about the Daily Express Spring Classic meetings at Wimbledon. Then there was the Daily Mirror sponsoring Test Matches.. Back in the 1940 's and early 50' and you were going on a thursday night to Wembley Speedway the Evening News would feature the evening's match. Then the EN was a broadsheet and the whole back page would be about that evenings meeting with heat detail ,pictures and profiles. During that time the national papers morning editions would have last night's results and point scorers and a write up of the match itself. You have to remember during that period Speedway was as popular as football

 

I vaguely remember The Mirror being involved but apart from that, I can't remember the press covering that many meetings, hence my comments. If that's the case then maybe we do need the national press to get on board and give us some coverage on a regular basis?

It's interesting that speedway was very popular in the 40's and 50's, and it also seemed to be in the 70's when I started going, so maybe we should be looking at what made it popular then. It's sort of the same sport today as it was then, so what's happened to the crowds? Have we just become more demanding, or sophisticated, or spoilt for choice or ...?

Is it any less entertaining? It's certainly quieter and doesn't smell as much as it used to. Were the stadiums OK back then but, with little or no investment or upkeep, they've now fallen into disrepair and become grubby places?

I feel the promoters should be trying every trick in the book to get this sport noticed and people through the gate. Maybe they do, I don't know, but it's a bit worrying, in the case of Newport for example, that, so I read, you can have a decent (ish) crowd turning up every week and then for some reason, attendances drop off the cliff! Does anyone know what happened there?

[The White Knight]

I remember that the 'Daily Mail' was also involved. I seem to remember a huge Silver Trophy of a Speedway Rider. Must have cost a fortune in those days.

 

Anyone else remember?? - Over to you Norbold.

[stratton]

Did speedway just lose a generation of supporters? The Little Un suggested on another thread that people have been lost for ever.I have friends who went to speedway know whats going on still in the sport but do other things in there lives and dont go at all.I think since Penhalls retirement 82/83 the sport has plummeted is it because the sport took supporters for granted? is it the stupid rules? is it too exspensive to go? maybe the product is not as good as it used to be wondered what people thought.

[keef]

It certainly is more expensive to attend than years ago. Could it be the lack of local/british riders, and too many changes in team personnel?Lack of a world-class British rider. Poor delapidated stadia. Poor national newspaper/ terrestrial tv coverage?

[Cockney Rebel]

Both the above posters ask questions that unfortunately we will never know the answer to. If the people who run Speedway, be it the BSPA ACU or SCB are doing things wrong and people walk away from the sport how do we know what they are doing wrong if the people who walked away are not here to tell us? There are lots of things that happen in the sport that some of us are not happy with, points limit, guest riders, tactical rides etc, but we are still fans and keep going. Apart from personal circumstances what would make you give up your regular speedway fix? Nothing would put me off, all the daft rules and arguments about team make up doesn't detract form the spectacle of four madmen going round a small track with a loose surface on powerfull bikes with no brakes. I think we need somehow to get that image across. Unfortunately I've got no idea how to do that. Perhaps we need to draw people through the gate by additional entertainment and hope they enjoy the speedway enough to come back and again. Make the evening a big event with speedway just a part of it? I realise this post hasn't answered any questions or offered any solutions but just wanted my say.

[The White Knight]

Both the above posters ask questions that unfortunately we will never know the answer to. If the people who run Speedway, be it the BSPA ACU or SCB are doing things wrong and people walk away from the sport how do we know what they are doing wrong if the people who walked away are not here to tell us? There are lots of things that happen in the sport that some of us are not happy with, points limit, guest riders, tactical rides etc, but we are still fans and keep going. Apart from personal circumstances what would make you give up your regular speedway fix? Nothing would put me off, all the daft rules and arguments about team make up doesn't detract form the spectacle of four madmen going round a small track with a loose surface on powerfull bikes with no brakes. I think we need somehow to get that image across. Unfortunately I've got no idea how to do that. Perhaps we need to draw people through the gate by additional entertainment and hope they enjoy the speedway enough to come back and again. Make the evening a big event with speedway just a part of it? I realise this post hasn't answered any questions or offered any solutions but just wanted my say.

 

In other words, I think you are saying, the Sport needs to be PROMOTED better. I agree.

 

All of the things you mention plus Play Offs, Double Points, Joker (SWC), GPs. ALL of these things are, in my opinion, detrimental to Speedway - folk have gone on about one or other of these subjects for ages - but - NOBODY LISTENS at the Top Table (the Promoters).

 

I totally agree though - I will keep on going as long as I can - and - NOTHING can spoil the thrill of four Riders hurtling around the Track - they can't change that.

 

 

 

.......................or can they???

[oldace]

In other words, I think you are saying, the Sport needs to be PROMOTED better. I agree.

 

All of the things you mention plus Play Offs, Double Points, Joker (SWC), GPs. ALL of these things are, in my opinion, detrimental to Speedway - folk have gone on about one or other of these subjects for ages - but - NOBODY LISTENS at the Top Table (the Promoters).

 

I totally agree though - I will keep on going as long as I can - and - NOTHING can spoil the thrill of four Riders hurtling around the Track - they can't change that.

 

 

 

.......................or can they???

 

Three of the things you mention (play offs, GPs and SWC) are, by far, the best attended events that speedway has!!!!!!!!!!!!

[g13webb]

Having followed speedway more years then I can remember, I’ve seen many changes and agree the sport has diminished both in stature and appeal. I don’t believe it’s a straight issue of this or that but a collection of so many things.

 

Life has changed, there are far more directions now, to go for your entertainment, and probably cheaper too. Money has always an important issue, whatever time of life we look at. So yes I agree, the supporters want more for their money then just 15 heats of racing.

 

I ask myself ‘Why only 15 heats now, instead of the old format of second halves’ and answering the question by elimination of theories.

 

Is this, what the rider’s wants? - Probably. They can pack up early and go home.

Is this, what the promoter’s wants? – Probably. No need to pay out extra money for second half races.

Is this, what the supporter wants? - No. they don't want the night to end so early.

 

So first priority; that needs to be addressed to keep the supporters interest longer, so they will go away happy and look forward to the next time.

 

My own thoughts are that the riders have become too big, they are aware of the value they hold. Can’t blame them for that. But in this decaying sport, I believe they need to give more back then just turning up and riding, then off to the next meeting..

 

We need them to connect with the public, we want them to care about the future and help in the marketing on a local basis. There is so much more that could be done to promote interest.

 

I’ve been around a long time. The blood in my veins has been replaced with Castrol R. No matters what happens to the rules I will always follow my love for speedway. I worry about the next generation of supporters, and realise it’s the youngster that has to be targeted. Nobody can do that better then the riders.

 

Promoters accompanied by star riders on an organised trip round local schools showing video footage would be a start.

Edited February 16, 2012 by GRW123

[stratton]

Having followed speedway more years then I can remember, I’ve seen many changes and agree the sport has diminished both in stature and appeal. I don’t believe it’s a straight issue of this or that but a collection of so many things.

 

Life has changed, there are far more directions now, to go for your entertainment, and probably cheaper too. Money has always an important issue, whatever time of life we look at. So yes I agree, the supporters want more for their money then just 15 heats of racing.

 

I ask myself ‘Why only 15 heats now, instead of the old format of second halves’ and answering the question by elimination of theories.

 

Is this, what the rider’s wants? - Probably

Is this, what the promoter’s wants? – Probably.;

Is this, what the supporter wants? - No.

 

So first priority; that needs to be addressed.

 

But my own theory is that the riders have become too big, they are aware of the value they hold. Can’t blame them for that. But in this decaying sport, I believe they need to give more back then just turning up and riding, then off to the next meeting..

 

We need them to connect with the public, we want them to care about the future and help in the marketing on a local basis. There is so much more that could be done to promote interest.

 

I’ve been around a long time. The blood in my veins has been replaced with Castrol R. No matters what happens to the rules I will always follow my love for speedway. I worry about the next generation of supporters, and realise it’s the youngster that has to be targeted. Nobody can do that better then the riders.

 

Promoters accompanied by star riders on an organised trip round local schools showing video footage would be a start.

When i watched Michael Lee,s divd he said it all for me.He said all he wanted was the sport to move forward but certain individuals over the years were just in it for themselves .Nothings changed i still love the sport but i think you need a impartial body running the sport making decisions that makes the sport move forward everyone gaining not just individuals.

[Cockney Rebel]

Three of the things you mention (play offs, GPs and SWC) are, by far, the best attended events that speedway has!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Exactly! despite these unpopular rules people still watch so if it's not the daft rules that turn people off what is it?

 

 

 

GRW123 Mentions star riders and promoters going round schools etc to drum up support which is an excellent idea and used be done quite regularly I believe but most star riders are off to the continent as soon as the meeting is over so are not likely to be too keen on touring the local schools. This what I meant in another topic on a different part of the Forum when I asked "where do want speedway to go?"

 

[g13webb]

GRW123 Mentions star riders and promoters going round schools etc to drum up support which is an excellent idea and used be done quite regularly I believe but most star riders are off to the continent as soon as the meeting is over so are not likely to be too keen on touring the local schools.

 

My original thoughts, were that his could be done in a period prior to the season starting, so not to create problems like that you said. Photo and flags given out to the kids with a family admission vouchure , say £25.00.

 

I live in a small village probably 20 miles from the track, and when i mention Speedway, people are surprised. Some didn't even know there was a speedway track close by.

 

So if there not aware of a track, what chance is there of them ever going to watch.........

 

Advertising is only targeted to those who are interested. Never to the general public on a local level.......

Edited February 18, 2012 by GRW123

[Cockney Rebel]

My original thoughts, were that his could be done in a period prior to the season starting, so not to create problems like that you said. Photo and flags given out to the kids with a family admission vouchure , say £25.00. I live in a small village probably 20 miles from the track, and when i mention Speedway, people are surprised. Some didn't even know there was a speedway track close by. So if there not aware of a track, what chance is there of them ever going to watch......... Advertising is only targeted to those who are interested. Never to the general public on a local level.......

 

Can't argue with any of that mate. It always amazes and sometime amuses me that all the clubs are run by people who have other successful businesses which presumably they advertise so why don't they do the same with their speedway business? I think Neil Machin mentioned this in an article in Speedway Star sometime about how hard headed businessmen go to pieces when trying to run a speedway club. Do the methanol fumes affect their brains or are they hypnotised by four blokes going round in circles? Answers on a postcard please to the BSPA. The winner will receive the undying gratitude of thousands of speedway fans and the grudging respect of some promoters.

[Chewbacca]

The spectacle is still there but there are so many other things for young people to do,

 

When speedway was attracting tens of thousands there was not recordable TV and DVD's or computer games which so obsess the young. Shopping was not a leisure activity and you had to go 'somewhere' to meet your friends and talk to them (hey, why not the speedway or the pub - no coincidence both are dying and mainly frequented by men over 45). These days they are in 100% contact and their meeting places are on-line.

 

If speedway is to grow then it has to embrace this societal changes. People expect discounts and free stuff and they expect it via emial, Why does the BSPA not sponsor a Groupon voucher for free entry to the local speedway?

 

ANd here is one to shock you, having discussed what they look for when searching youtube for motorsport, the words 'crash' and 'fatal' are most often used. By the way, fatal does not mean a death to todays kids, it means cool. Is there anyone under the age of 25 looking at ways of promoting speedway to their own generation?

 

We see clubs lauded for putting an advert on the side of a bus. Better than nothing but not where young people look for sources of entertainment. Today's tie up with Monster Energy drinks for the SGP is a good one and more needs to be done along those lines. Get 'cool' brands associated with the sport. It might make us old 'uns feel a bit uncomfortable but if we don't the sport will die.

[g13webb]

it really saddens me to see speedway going the way it is , speedway needs to be cheaper (all aspects of it ) .from a riders point of view the parts and tuning are way over priced , the price of jawa forks for example have gone up about 150% and yes steel has gone up but the steel used is cheap chinese crap ,and the price of jrm engines have gone up vastly but for no real reason except they want to put it up , buy a 90mm piston for any engine from a manufacturer and it will be less than a speedway one ,why? same size piston same amount of alloy , boots ,any sport £100 cheaper than speedway boots and they have less material. from a fans point of view speedway is overpriced , at elite level its not worth the £16+ for a meeting and the same for lower leagues ,the bspa seem totally oblivious to the lack of people attending matches now ,alex harkess said they are going to attack the problems head on ,ok the problems are speedway is going bust so what are they doing about it ,answer- NOTHING , next season the prices will go up again and crowds will get a bit less and the bspa will come up with some revolutionary rule thats going to save speedway but dosent do anything except add another page to an already useless rule book , speedway needs to take a huge step back before it can start to go forward it needs to re introduce itself and yes it will be painfull in the short term but unless something is done i really do fear for the sport in this country ,i wont name names or what part they play in the sport but the arrogance/attitude of some people in speedway is part of the problem , its a case of im doing alright out of speedway why change it

 

Many years ago, I was sitting in the pits at Lynn talking with Terry Betts. The Stars had just managed to beat Newport by a few points but the topic was all about the new engines used by Phil Crump and Neil Street. Crump had scored a maximum and Street weighed in with paid 11 . It was the differences that was so evident in their machines, winning by 50yds or so. No one could get close to them. It was at that point that Bettsy said . 'The best thing that can be done with those bikes is to ban them forever.' We couldn't believe what he said. But he continued,' If they don't ban them now everyone will have to use them to be competitive, the costs will go sky high for the riders and that will be transferred to the fans. The fans wont be able to afford the added costs and will stay away. The speedway we know will be gone forever'

 

How right he was.......

[stratton]

Many years ago, I was sitting in the pits at Lynn talking with Terry Betts. The Stars had just managed to beat Newport by a few points but the topic was all about the new engines used by Phil Crump and Neil Street. Crump had scored a maximum and Street weighed in with paid 11 . It was the differences that was so evident in their machines, winning by 50yds or so. No one could get close to them. It was at that point that Bettsy said . 'The best thing that can be done with those bikes is to ban them forever.' We couldn't believe what he said. But he continued,' If they don't ban them now everyone will have to use them to be competitive, the costs will go sky high for the riders and that will be transferred to the fans. The fans wont be able to afford the added costs and will stay away. The speedway we know will be gone forever'

 

How right he was.......

What changes to the sport would you like to see happen? i would like the fans to have more of a voice more debate.The world championship to be a open shop once more.But the sport shows no sign of moving forward and i am sadly resigned to that now.

[g13webb]

What changes to the sport would you like to see happen? i would like the fans to have more of a voice more debate.The world championship to be a open shop once more.But the sport shows no sign of moving forward and i am sadly resigned to that now.

 

Hi Sidney, It ‘s strange that we have many simular views on many issues. Like you I’m also resigned to the fact that nothing will ever change and that speedway will continue on this downward spiral. But at least we can look back on our memories and recall all the wonderful times we’ve experienced.

 

What changes would I like to see? There’s so many, where do you start?

A. Sport to be governed by an Independent Body

B. Nationwide marketing of the sport.

C. Elite league reports in the National Press

D. More effort to be made to encourage new talent.

E. The league to be more preferential to British riders

F. Qualification from the countries top leagues into SPG instead of this ‘Closed Shop’

 

These are just a few to start with.

 

Hope you enjoy this new season. From all accounts you must be feeling optimistic of your teams chances this year. It’ll be good to see another team fighting for the title for a change.

Edited February 28, 2012 by GRW123

[Humphrey Appleby]

I think Neil Machin mentioned this in an article in Speedway Star sometime about how hard headed businessmen go to pieces when trying to run a speedway club. Do the methanol fumes affect their brains or are they hypnotised by four blokes going round in circles?

 

A sports team has to be run on different lines to a normal business. In other businesses you're essentially competing with all the others, but whilst in speedway you may compete on track, it requires cooperation off the track. Teams need to understand they cannot and shouldn't always try to win, because the greater good of the league depends on the majority of the teams being competitive and financially healthy. This seems to be difficult for the average businessman to grasp, because they're so used to doing everything their own way.

 

Unfortunately, far too many owners in recent years have also run teams as some sort of glorified hobby rather than on proper business lines. That's why they've allowed rider wages to spiral well beyond what revenue can justify, which has lead to a revolving door of promoters burning through a pile of cash for 2 or 3 years before leaving their teams in the lurch.

 

What changes would I like to see? There’s so many, where do you start?

A. Sport to be governed by an Independent Body

B. Nationwide marketing of the sport.

C. Elite league reports in the National Press

D. More effort to be made to encourage new talent.

E. The league to be more preferential to British riders

F. Qualification from the countries top leagues into SPG instead of this ‘Closed Shop’

 

G. An international promoters association to coordinate fixtures and share riders amongst the professional leagues. This should also insist on a share of the proceeds from the SGP and SWC, if not actually run the competitions itself.

[Humphrey Appleby]

I was flicking through the Star last week, reading the sundry comments about how these big Elite stars are unhappy about the fixture congestion, and lack of a regular racenight, blah blah blah, and I got to thinking, "how could this be sorted?"

 

Are we running the sport for the benefit of the riders, the promoters, the fans or television? I'd suggest certainly not the former, even if the EL 'stars' already command wages far in excessive of what revenue levels can sustain.

 

At the end of the day, those running speedway have to do what keeps the sport in business. If that means running 30 or 40 meetings per season without the 'stars' then that's what has to happen.

 

Running half the fixtures with the 'stars' and half without will just make the half without an inferior product that the casual fan will stay away from. Moreover, what would star-studded teams bring to the sport that they didn't a few years ago?

 

British speedway fundamentally needs to start from a lower level - putting out cost effective teams, developing its own rider base, and eventually developing its own stars. Prostituting itself to the SGP riders will simply lead to a downward spiral that will eventually doom the professional sport in Britain,

[stratton]

I think theyre are only 2 options you could have less fixtures but the quality of rider higher maybe ?( ie Crump, Jonsson, Hancock willing to ride less fixtures. Or what i would prefer reshape everything ride say 40 odd fixtures without the stars.I dont know how others feel but i am sick to death of the SGP circus affecting our league programme and us bowing down to there every need. Time to move on i feel even if we dont see the stars, saying that we only have 4 riding anyway or the more to totally restructure.our league programme.

[The Know]

Are we running the sport for the benefit of the riders, the promoters, the fans or television? I'd suggest certainly not the former, even if the EL 'stars' already command wages far in excessive of what revenue levels can sustain.

 

At the end of the day, those running speedway have to do what keeps the sport in business. If that means running 30 or 40 meetings per season without the 'stars' then that's what has to happen.

 

Running half the fixtures with the 'stars' and half without will just make the half without an inferior product that the casual fan will stay away from. Moreover, what would star-studded teams bring to the sport that they didn't a few years ago?

 

British speedway fundamentally needs to start from a lower level - putting out cost effective teams, developing its own rider base, and eventually developing its own stars. Prostituting itself to the SGP riders will simply lead to a downward spiral that will eventually doom the professional sport in Britain,

 

Doom ? its already doomed in the uk as a professional sport