Gp In Auckland 2012

[kiwi]

That is a good point. What do our NZ-based site posters think in the aftermath of the GP. How can speedway there benefit from its staging in Auckland. By the look of it the NZ media has already moved on.

 

You dont know what you're talking about.

We've just put on one of the most positive SGP's doing it from scratch with no previous experience us or the media. And all you want to do is nit pic. We know what went right and the very few things that need improving. give us a break.

[PHILIPRISING]

LOTS of work going on with NZ kids, some of whom look to have genuine talent. They now have first hand experience of what speedway is like at the very top and their enthusiasm and determination to succeed will be that much stronger. These things don't happen overnight but this GP will have done wonders for those working on a youth programme here. And at least they have one....

[BigFatDave]

what was them start girls on, must a been summit monster, they were terrible

 

You dont know what you're talking about.

Got that right, Kiwi!

 

The Start Girls put on the best show I've ever seen at a GP, live or otherwise. Certainly did more than some of the highly-paid 'Models' we see in Europe.

 

I suppose some folks will always find something to whinge about.

[waiheke1]

What a great afternoon! My first live meeting since 1987 (!), and my goodness I’d forgotten how great live speedway is. The smell in particular, the speed of the riders and how close they are to each other (and the fence) – speedway really is one of those sports where TV does not do it justice.

 

Anyway, my thought on the event:

 

The racing: Far better than I had expected. With a brand new track, and riders expected to be a little rusty, I was expecting it to be pretty processional, especially after seeing the first heat. But I thought the quality of racing was very good, in particularly heat 15 (Gollob v Lindback) and 20 (Emil vs. Hampel).

 

The track: Excellent I thought for a first time venue. Obviously there was that patch on the third bend that cut up a bit, and I’m sure there’ll be some minor alterations for next time, but the track preparation team did a fantastic job.

 

The stadium: Embarrassed to admit it, as someone who lives so close to Auckland, but this was my first event at Western Springs – but I think it’s a great stadium. We arrived about an hour before the start, and the terraces looked packed, but we were able to grab a spot at the entrance to the third bend, about four rows from the front, which turned out to give an excellent view of the whole track, and felt so close to the action as the riders entered the bend. I expected to be showered with shale, but the dirt deflectors obviously do their job. Next year, I think we’ll arrive a little earlier but head for the same spot. Would be interested to know whether those who bought grandstand tickets though the extra cost was worth it? Also, the big screen was used very effectively between heats to show replays (and prior to the heats to show the next heat line up). The queues for the toilets was non-existent, for food and drink didn’t seem too bad. The announcer was pretty poor, and I was surprised that there was no mention of heat times (not even on the big screen).

 

The crowd: It seemed every bogan and Westie from west Auckland was there! Seriously, I’m sure half the crowd didn’t know their Briggs from their Bunyan, and were pretty quiet, but incredibly well-behaved and cheered in all the right places! The Aussies had comfortably the most vocal support, though arguably biggest cheer of the day occurred when Bunyan headed home Bjerre in his last ride. The main thing of course was that it must have been around 20,000 which was absolutely fantastic – and I’m sure at least 90% will be back next year, no doubt bringing a few extras, so if the weather is as kind in 2013 I think you could hit the 25k mark (though if the weather is poor that could shrink by 10k)

 

The weather: an absolutely perfect day(and lead-up) to it, sunny but not too hot.

 

Value for money: $45 (about 23 quid) was great value I thought. In addition I was very impressed with the programme, which for $10 was very substantial, a wealth of info, some good photos.

 

The riders:

Hancock: Rode well all night, a deserved winner. A couple of good rides where he had to come from the back made a bit of a mockery of a comment someone posted the other day about him being a “boring” rider (though he’s not an excitement machine like say Emil or Gollob).

Hampel: My personal prediction for the winner, a couple of poor rides to start, but then hit his form.

Pedersen: Solid and brave performance, did just enough to secure a rostrum place:

Crump: a bit of a mixture. Looked very good at times, but a poor last in his third ride, and lat in the final.

Gollob: Looked unstoppable in the first half of the meeting, the fastest rider on display and looked a nail-on GP winner, but missed the gate in the semi and couldn’t get passed Nicki. His race with Lindback in heat 15 was one of the evening’s highlights.

Emil: The most spectacular rider on the night, and was a little unlucky in incident with Pedersen. He hit the rut, had almost got passed Pedersen, and it seemed to me Nikci turned back a little into him- I think the ref made the right call, but 1 in 4 the decision could have gone the other way. His heat 20 battle with Hampel was breath taking, real heart in mouth stuff, especially given he only needed a second place to secure his semis berth! The sort of racing attitude which I’m sure will both win him some, and cost him some, world titles in the future.

Lindback: Very impressive, the surprise package of the meeting. He was definitely one of the top 4 riders on the night, but got outgated in the semi and that was that.

Freddie: Solid, did just enough to make the semis, but was the one rider you couldn’t see making the final from there:

B Pedersen: Like Freddie, solid enough, without ever really firing:

Andersen: Looked off the pace, but a win in his final ride will hopefully give him confidence for the next GP.

Harris: Given his propensity to start the season poorly, and my anticipation that it would be a gater's track, I was only expecting him to finish ahead of Ljung and Bunyan, so in that sense surpassed expectation! But in reality, I thought he was possibly the worst f the GP regulars (possible exception Ljung), and while its early days, I can see this being his last GP season, unless Tai fails to qualify and turns down a wildcard invite.

Jonsson: Started with a superb win, and then had a disastrous meeting from there on – hugely disappointing:

Holder: The other big disappointment on the night, seemed lacking the necessary speed and barring his win, wasn’t doing the business from the gate. That said, he was a little unlucky in his last ride (when a win would have got him to the semis), he was so close to getting into the lead round the first two bends, instead got shut out wide and couldn’t make any impression from the 4^th spot.

Ljung: Better than I expected, but nailed on for 15^th this season (barring injuries)

Bjerre: a couple of solid seconds, then engine problems ruined his night.

Bunyan: Performed in line with my expectations, far from disgraced., and vindicated his selection as wild card. Apart from his first ride he was never last from the tapes, and was fully deserving of his point in the final ride. Certainly more competitive than the likes of Starostin, Ondrasik and Kroeze in the world finals of the 80s.

 

Pre-meeting entertainment: By the time we’d grabbed a seat, we saw the cheer-leading display (mediocre) and the army band (which I think is only ever a hit with the over 60’s – and personally I think when they try to do “modern” stuff (YMCA) it’s a little bit cringe. The main thing is the speedway, and I’m not too fussed about pre-meeting stuff, but this is one area where there could be improvement next time. I’d love to see a half hour set by an iconic musician/ban such as The Exponents, The feelers, Davy Dobbyn or Gin Wigmore, perhaps a cheerleading display by the Monster girls (I presume they have a global cheerleading team?), and if it’s a night meeting next time (Kiwi- is this possible if included in advance as part of the Western Springs calendar?) some fireworks to open/close the meeting.

 

The media: Very disappointed with the print (and online)coverage both before and after the event, for a global world championship event attended by 20,000 people and in a sport which NZ has superb heritage, I thought it deserved far more media space than it got. That said, the DJ on Radio Hauraki has just commented on what a fantastic event it was, and spent a couple of minutes talking about the bravery of Nicki Pedersen, how fantastic the crowd was etc.

 

Overall, I’d have to give it 9/10. As others have mentioned, a few minor improvement can (and I’m sure will be made), but huge congratulations and thanks to Bill Buckley and team for bringing this event so successfully to NZ.

[justinflux]

Hi Everyone

 

I attended the New Zealand GP on Saturday where I was lucky enough to film next to the start finish line from ground level.

Literally 2 metres from the outside rider.

Was an excellent vantage point.

 

I have edited the following short music sequence from the footage I shot

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slBu7TEJSog

 

 

Cheers

 

Justin

[kiwi]

Race Times

Ht 1 65.07 Track Record Gollob

Ht 2 65.72

Ht 3 65.34

Ht 4 65.37

Ht 5 65.84

Ht 6 66.07

Ht 7 65.63

Ht 8 66.12

Ht 9 65.32

Ht10 65.69

Ht 11 66.15

Ht 12 66.19

Ht 13 66.69

Ht 14 66.25

Ht 15 66.94

Ht 16 65.93

Ht 17 67.18

Ht 18 67.00

Ht 19 66.59

Ht 20 66.59

S/F1 66.25

S/F2 66.25

Final 66.06

[Daniel Smith]

 

 

You dont know what you're talking about.

We've just put on one of the most positive SGP's doing it from scratch with no previous experience us or the media. And all you want to do is nit pic. We know what went right and the very few things that need improving. give us a break.

 

I think you've been a bit harsh on speedyguy here. All he's done is ask what can be done to improve speedway in NZ as a whole, not the GP.

[kiwi]

it was the NZ media moving on i was referring to.

[justinflux]

Here is a music montage clip I filmed on Saturday at the New Zealand event.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slBu7TEJSog

[speedyguy]

LOTS of work going on with NZ kids, some of whom look to have genuine talent. They now have first hand experience of what speedway is like at the very top and their enthusiasm and determination to succeed will be that much stronger. These things don't happen overnight but this GP will have done wonders for those working on a youth programme here. And at least they have one....

 

The problem is not encouraging kiwi kids to ride speedway. It's proving to the public at large in New Zealand how good and exciting speedway is. There may have been a 20-25,000 crowd but take away the genuine overseas speedway fans, how many of the remainder were New Zealanders interested in speedway and how many were people attending what promised to be a good day out?

To kindle interest in speedway in New Zealand is a mammoth job - no top flight international riders to create spectator interest, just three speedway only tracks and about 30 meetings a season between them?

There is nothing I would like more than to see speedway in New Zealand get back even to the strength it enjoyed in the 1950s and 1960s with real international stars like Ronnie Moore, Geoff Mardon, Barry Briggs and Ivan Mauger. But is there enough interest among the paying public to back this in a country where car speedway is very much in the driving seat (so to speak).

I have no doubt that future GPs in New Zealand will prove as successful - perhaps more so - this year's event. But I have to be convinced that it will generate a major upwards surge in interest for the kiwi sporting public. I hope to be proved wrong.

[PHILIPRISING]

THERE are lots of people willing to try so let's not knock their enthusiasm. And, judging by the teenagers I listened to talking to Jason Crump and Chris Holder, the determination is there.

 

Of course it will be a mammoth job finding another Moore, Briggs or Mauger. That will probably never happen but, who knows, sometimes a genie pops out of the bottle. And Britain's record in unearthing another Craven, Collins or Lee hasn't been too hot either.

 

It's a start, nothing more, but at least those trying to rekindle interest in speedway in NZ now have a showcase event to illustrate just what it is all about.

[speedyguy]

THERE are lots of people willing to try so let's not knock their enthusiasm. And, judging by the teenagers I listened to talking to Jason Crump and Chris Holder, the determination is there.

 

Of course it will be a mammoth job finding another Moore, Briggs or Mauger. That will probably never happen but, who knows, sometimes a genie pops out of the bottle. And Britain's record in unearthing another Craven, Collins or Lee hasn't been too hot either.

 

It's a start, nothing more, but at least those trying to rekindle interest in speedway in NZ now have a showcase event to illustrate just what it is all about.

 

Good luck to everyone trying to rekindle the domestic New Zealand speedway scene. It's a mamoth task when compared to challenging the current small oval car scene there. It would be great to one day see speedway in New Zealand back on a healthy footing - maybe even with a revival of the once flourishing speedway league scene when the teams used to import overseas riders. And some very big UK names were involved in those days.

[speedyguy]

This Tuesday April 3 2012 New Zealand Herald link may be of interest.

 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10796075

[BigFatDave]

Thanks Kiwi for putting up the times, Cuz! Not bad times for a quarter-mile oval.

 

Some very good juniors coming through in UnZud, and the ones I know of have a game plan all sorted and plenty of support - look for a few to pop up in the UK in the next two or three years.

[kiwi]

I saw you there Dave when you were walking through the pits, I was just getting all the riders signatures for their completed bike checks and I was going to comeback and say hi. You must've turned sideways as I lost you after that.

 

First junior will be there in June

[waiheke1]

Good luck to everyone trying to rekindle the domestic New Zealand speedway scene. It's a mamoth task when compared to challenging the current small oval car scene there. It would be great to one day see speedway in New Zealand back on a healthy footing - maybe even with a revival of the once flourishing speedway league scene when the teams used to import overseas riders. And some very big UK names were involved in those days.

Despite our proud speedway heritage, I'm not sure its ever been as big here as our success would indicate -as an example, only Ivan Mauger of our riders has won the Nz sportsperson of the year (77+79). And of course, to make it big, riders today (as with Mauger, Briggs and Moore) will have to head over to Europe to do so. In the late 80s when I returned to NZ, even though the likes of Shirra and Barge were still competing successfully in the UK, speedway hardly got a mention.

Hopefully this GP will start to change that, realistically it's always going to be a minor sport, but a GP wildcard is the start of things to realistically aspire to for Kiwi riders.

[raceleader]

The attendance for the New Zealand Grand Prix according to this week's 'Speedway Star' given by Phil Rising on page 35 was "Around 15,000". Not as many as we were originally being led to believe when 20,000 and 25,000 were being given but very good for what is essentially a non-speedway bike minded sporting public.

[waiheke1]

an article from nz herald late last week - Bill Buckley a fair whack out of pocket. tbh, auckland council and Nz govt should front up with some cash in my view. There must be say 1000 overseas visitors for the event - get the govt to chip in say $200 for each of those, which must be a very cheap investment compared to gain to economy - thats $200k. then get Auckland council to chip in $100 for each visitor to Auckland for the event - again cheap compared to benefits to hospitality, hotels etc. - thats another $500k, which should see Bill break even, and maybe even make a bit if the corwd is bigger next year (which, weather permitting, I think it will be). http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10797238

 

Has an official attendance been confirmed anywhere?

Edited April 10, 2012 by waihekeaces1

[PHILIPRISING]

CONCUR with everything you say waikekeaces! but with Buckley Systems Inc. heavily involved no doubt Bill has a half decent accountant working on ways to legally mitigate some of the losses.

 

Spoke to Larry Ross in Christchurch over the weekend and he says many people there, who resisted the temptation to go last month - fearing that the sprint car track couldn't be transformed - are already talking about going in 2013.

 

Attendance was 15,000, give or take one or two.

[Humphrey Appleby]

tbh, auckland council and Nz govt should front up with some cash in my view. There must be say 1000 overseas visitors for the event - get the govt to chip in say $200 for each of those, which must be a very cheap investment compared to gain to economy - thats $200k. then get Auckland council to chip in $100 for each visitor to Auckland for the event - again cheap compared to benefits to hospitality, hotels etc. - thats another $500k, which should see Bill break even, and maybe even make a bit if the corwd is bigger next year (which, weather permitting, I think it will be).

 

The Cardiff GP (which is the IMG showcase event) is subsidised by the Welsh government to the tune of approximately GBP 170K per GP (assuming it meets certain targets). This is about GBP 4.25 (or NZD 8.30) per head, so to expect an even bigger subsidy from either the New Zealand government or Auckland council would seem optimistic.