Gp Practice

[racers and royals]

Phillip Rising has said on another thread that the staging time for the practice is possibily going to be later-6pm i think was mentioned.I have been to several over the years and i have struggled to keep awake.

Someone else mentioned that the GP bikes now have transponders fitted,and that set me thinking as what could be done to improve practice for the spectator.

Obiviously there`s no grid position in speedway-and the draw number doesn`t really affect the outcome to much in my opinion.however could a one flying lap(don`t want to ruin the starting area)competition be introduced with the fastest being awarded one GP point.

Thoughts anyone ?

[Dave_minall]

In my opinion practice should be abolished full stop - every time a rider is asked about practice we get the same answer 'The track is completely different than practice so we're starting fresh again'

 

what is the point if they still have the learning curve of figuring out setups on the fly?

 

personally I think that no practice will make it more interesting.

[ImpartialOne]

In my opinion practice should be abolished full stop - every time a rider is asked about practice we get the same answer 'The track is completely different than practice so we're starting fresh again'

 

what is the point if they still have the learning curve of figuring out setups on the fly?

 

personally I think that no practice will make it more interesting.

But the riders have the option of skipping practice if they wish. Very rare that they do so they obviously feel it necessary to do it.

[iris123]

It is what it is.It is there for the riders and maybe press etc.Not really for the fans.Just they can go and watch it if they want,i think.So can't really see the idea of "making it interesting".I guess the riders are a bit more relaxed and you can get to mingle.Surely that is enough?I know a few photographers that go and take hundreds of pix.But also heard that others like Mike Patrick couldn't be bothered with fotos of practice.

[ImpartialOne]

It is what it is.It is there for the riders and maybe press etc.Not really for the fans.Just they can go and watch it if they want,i think.So can't really see the idea of "making it interesting".I guess the riders are a bit more relaxed and you can get to mingle.Surely that is enough?I know a few photographers that go and take hundreds of pix.But also heard that others like Mike Patrick couldn't be bothered with fotos of practice.

Mike used to do almost all the practices (lots of photos on his website) but due to ill health he had to cut back on things and eventually retire. I don't think it was a case of not being bothered.

[iris123]

Mike used to do almost all the practices (lots of photos on his website) but due to ill health he had to cut back on things and eventually retire. I don't think it was a case of not being bothered.

Just what i was told by one of his colleagues.Good friend of mine,Conkers(on this forum)

Was told this after i travelled up to Vojens for a rained off practice a few years back.Like i say,just what i heard and not all important.If riders or photographers attend or not,i don't see the practice being held for the fans benefit.And thought there were some that fans were not allowed to attend

Edited October 20, 2011 by iris123

[PHILIPRISING]

Just what i was told by one of his colleagues.Good friend of mine,Conkers(on this forum)

Was told this after i travelled up to Vojens for a rained off practice a few years back.Like i say,just what i heard and not all important.If riders or photographers attend or not,i don't see the practice being held for the fans benefit.And thought there were some that fans were not allowed to attend

 

ImpartialOne is spot on ... since the advent of digital cameras photographers like MP took hundreds of pictures not only one race day but at practice as well.

[racers and royals]

Just what i was told by one of his colleagues.Good friend of mine,Conkers(on this forum)

Was told this after i travelled up to Vojens for a rained off practice a few years back.Like i say,just what i heard and not all important.If riders or photographers attend or not,i don't see the practice being held for the fans benefit.And thought there were some that fans were not allowed to attend

At Prague one has to pay to see practise so maybe some competitive action would increase the punters attending.

[The Know]

sgp practice is like watching paint dry and pointless. practice should mean something. use it for timeing riders and gate positions in gp. or top eigth from last gp go to next round, the rest then are joined by say the best on form 6 riders in practice on friday and the quickest go into sat gp. this was talked about a few years back with the use of transponders.

so much info from these can be used for tv and spice up the programme and pratice. bsi could tthen sell tickets for practice and screen it as other sports do on the friday as build up to gp.

[Humphrey Appleby]

sgp practice is like watching paint dry and pointless. practice should mean something. use it for timeing riders and gate positions in gp. or top eigth from last gp go to next round, the rest then are joined by say the best on form 6 riders in practice on friday and the quickest go into sat gp.

 

Thought something similar years ago, although speedway should be about racing rather than timed qualifying.

 

Could still have a few qualifying races during the practice session though. Maybe 8 riders in a repechage format racing for 4 places in the GP proper.

 

That of course would cost more money, so isn't likely to happen.

[PHILIPRISING]

NEXT year practice will start at 6pm on the Friday preceding race day except in Auckland where (subject to confirmation) it will be at 3pm because of noise constraints.

 

Wouldn't disagree that practice can be (is) boring but it is for the benefit of the riders and to a lesser degree track staff and TV companies and not the public. There were numerous examples last season when riders who didn't practice fared better than those that did but, trust me, any suggestions to curtail practice have been vigorously opposed by the riders.

 

Efforts to introduce some form of timing to practice have and will continue to be looked at but how riders would be rewarded remains an open discussion.

 

I appreciate what The Know is suggesting but it simply isn't practical for riders to travel to a GP and be eliminated before the event has even begun. That was the major bone of contention with the knock-out format used a few years ago. I can still remember Greg Hancock turning up for the opening round at Prague in 1998 as the defending World Champion and packing his bags after just two races.

 

Competing in the GP is a huge commitment for riders and they need to know that they will at least have five races (and the appropriate TV time) in every round. It is on that basis that they try and sell themselves to sponsors. I am sure Meridian Lifts would much rather back a rider who was guaranteed exposure rather than be involved in a sort of Russian roulette system.

 

There have even been thoughts of holding practice on a Saturday morning. That would be fine if speedway tracks were concrete rather than dirt and wouldn't suffer the inevitable damage that practice (equivalent to over two full meetings) incurs.

[Humphrey Appleby]

I appreciate what The Know is suggesting but it simply isn't practical for riders to travel to a GP and be eliminated before the event has even begun.

 

That was apparently never an issue until the prize money needed to be upped, and rather than the FIM/BSI erm... digging deep, the way to do it was to cut the number of riders and revert to the old World Championship format.

 

The qualifying heats could be comprised of a mixture of one-off wildcards or near qualifiers whom you might want to experience a GP. However, regardless of how you run practice/qualifying, riders would turn up if the rewards were sufficient. You only have to look at F1 in the not-so-distant past, where teams would turn up to Pre-Qualifying on a Friday morning just to try and get into the main Qualifying session that itself didn't even guarantee a place on the starting grid.

Edited December 11, 2011 by Humphrey Appleby

[PHILIPRISING]

SOMETIMES I think you are living in cloud cuckoo land.

 

How many riders would turn up for pre-qualifying in Auckland? Besides, practice is not a major issue and the the event itself doesn't require any tinkering. It's doing fine and any comparisons with F1 are just absurd.

[SCB]

How many riders would turn up for pre-qualifying in Auckland? Besides, practice is not a major issue and the the event itself doesn't require any tinkering. It's doing fine and any comparisons with F1 are just absurd.

Well the few who do turn up would get the place then wouldn't they? Lucky them.

[Humphrey Appleby]

How many riders would turn up for pre-qualifying in Auckland? Besides, practice is not a major issue and the the event itself doesn't require any tinkering. It's doing fine and any comparisons with F1 are just absurd.

 

It was apparently okay for 24 riders to go all the way to Australia for the possibility of just two rides, so what's different now?

 

New Zealand is obviously a bit of an extreme example, but you could still use the qualifying to determine the local wildcard. You'll have to pay/persuade a couple of local track reserves to turn up anyway, so at least it would give them something to race for and add a bit of interest to the practice sessions.

 

We're told that riders turn up to the SGP for the glory and honour of racing in the World Championship rather than the money, so on that basis, surely it shouldn't be so hard to persuade some riders to take part in a qualifying session...?

Edited December 12, 2011 by Humphrey Appleby

[Gearhead]

There wasn't any practice before the old one off finals and every GP rider I've spoken to says the track is usually different and also its hard to judge how quick your starts are on your own and where you,are fast etc,waste of time if you ask me I'm afraid

 

At the end of the day you can't replicate racing conditions

Edited December 12, 2011 by Gearhead

[kiwi]

There wasn't any practice before the old one off finals

 

Yes there was

[PHILIPRISING]

HUMPHREY ... it wasn't okay for riders to go to Australia (and elsewhere) for the possibility of just two rides which is one reason why the format was changed. Also, 24 riders was too cumbersome and some tracks and especially pit areas couldn't handle the number of riders and machinery.

 

You are basing your arguments on the assumption that there would be benefits from riders coming through a Friday practice. But not everyone accepts that premise. Riders like and indeed need to know that they are competing in every round. You cannot seriously expect a rider to travel all the way to a gP, and with all the preparation required for himself and his team, and risk being eliminated in practice. We are not talking about factory sponsored teams here.

Also, Programmes are printed, signage prepared, TV graphics... I can think of various reasons why it wouldn't work as far as a SGP is concerned.

 

It would be nice to make practice more meaningful but qualification for the meeting itself isn't the way to go.

 

As Kiwi has pointed out, there was practice before the one off World Finals. At Wembley it was the Thursday before the Saturday, elsewhere the day before.

 

And, with respect Gearhead, I probably speak to more riders at a GP than you and actually attend every riders' briefing at every GP. Quite often the call from riders is for MORE practice not less.Some, like Sayfutdinov, often don't take all their sessions. Others, like Hancock, Gollob and Crump would probably ride all day if you gave them the chance.

[Trees]

HUMPHREY ... it wasn't okay for riders to go to Australia (and elsewhere) for the possibility of just two rides which is one reason why the format was changed. Also, 24 riders was too cumbersome and some tracks and especially pit areas couldn't handle the number of riders and machinery.

 

You are basing your arguments on the assumption that there would be benefits from riders coming through a Friday practice. But not everyone accepts that premise. Riders like and indeed need to know that they are competing in every round. You cannot seriously expect a rider to travel all the way to a gP, and with all the preparation required for himself and his team, and risk being eliminated in practice. We are not talking about factory sponsored teams here.

Also, Programmes are printed, signage prepared, TV graphics... I can think of various reasons why it wouldn't work as far as a SGP is concerned.

Surely what Humphrey is saying is that BSI thought it was fine at one time for riders to go to GPs and only have a couple of races UNTIL they changed the format!! BSI clearly didn't worry then about the rider's prep and lack of media coverage, did they think the riders were factory sponsored perhaps, did they not care then about the programmes, the tv graphics, the signage .......

But that's all in the past, they've messed the riders around, used and abused them as the old saying goes and decided the old tried and tested format is best, fancy that!

[PHILIPRISING]

DIFFERENT regime at BSI/IMG and in the days of 24 riders they were all included in programmes, signage and TV graphics. However, it was accepted that the knockout format was harsh and a change was made.

 

Your last sentence isn't even worthy of a reply. However, talk to riders like Crump and Hancock and they will wax lyrical about the SGP and how it has transformed and enhanced their careers and enjoyment of speedway. I have never heard them say they are being abused. And what old and tested format are you talking about?