Sgp For Spain?

[Guest]

There was a flat track meeting in Spain recently. If they can lay a track especially for this form of racing could the country not also be enticed into staging a Speedway Grand Prix eventually. Here's the flat track racing youtube link - just to give an indication of the track they used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB8c5uYcL4Q&feature=youtu.be

[phillipsr]

Cant see it being well supported. Plus as we all know it costs a fortune to stage a GP. Unfortunately don't think it will ever get off the ground

[MattK]

I can't watch that, the riders are not wearing sequential numbers.

 

Saying that, 93 looks handy. However, I have absolutely no idea who he is.

[Triple.H.]

Didnt Kenny Roberts get a track suitable for flat track built at one kf the road tracks in Spain if its still there and useable a few temporary stands on a MotoGP or WSB event weekend should/could be workable.

[rusky]

Ok, so this event was at the Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona. This stadium was opened in 1991, and the grand opening was a motorcycling spectacular comprising flat track, trials & speedway with Quads thrown in for good measure. The speedway was organised by Graham Drury & Ian Thomas. This meeting was previously covered in this topic on this forum:

 

http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=65496

[Guest]

Cant see it being well supported. Plus as we all know it costs a fortune to stage a GP. Unfortunately don't think it will ever get off the ground

 

Well a place like Barcelona with its excellent hotels and entertainment is as easy for people to get to - probably easier - than some of the venues on the SGP schedule.

 

I can't watch that, the riders are not wearing sequential numbers.

 

Saying that, 93 looks handy. However, I have absolutely no idea who he is.

 

That's because the riders are wearing/carrying their national racing numbers. If one had a programme of names against numbers that would help but this youtube clip is really designed to show that Spain could be an outlet for a GP. The Spanish love motorcycle racing. This isn't speedway on the youtube but flat track riders from various countries.

My reason was to show that the Spanish might be interested in creating - as at Cardiff - a track especially laid down for a GP as they did for this flat-track meeting.

I think the last time speedway as such took place in Barcelona was 1950 when former Plymouth and England rider Ted Gibson took a group of English and Australian riders there?

Edited January 13, 2014 by Guest

[rusky]

as mentioned above Gustix, speedway was held in Barcelona in 1991, to my knowledge that was the last meeting held in Spain.

[Guest]

 

I think the last time speedway as such took place in Barcelona was 1950 when former Plymouth and England rider Ted Gibson took a group of English and Australian riders there?

 

 

as mentioned above Gustix, speedway was held in Barcelona in 1991, to my knowledge that was the last meeting held in Spain.

 

Thank you for the correction. Much appreciated.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Guest

[theknow 2]

Dont think so Spain has no money !!!!

[iris123]

Find it quite funny that the last time a project to get speedway established in Spain,Gustix or Speedyguy as he was known then couldn't tell us enough about how speedway was tried and failed from the 30s onwards and how it would fail again......Now he is asking if speedway could take off in Spain!!!

[Guest]

Dont think so Spain has no money !!!!

 

I don't think that Spain as a nation would finance the event. It would be as in other countries done by a promoter.

The Cardiff GP will go ahead this year and according to the politicians this country is also broke.

Find it quite funny that the last time a project to get speedway established in Spain,Gustix or Speedyguy as he was known then couldn't tell us enough about how speedway was tried and failed from the 30s onwards and how it would fail again......Now he is asking if speedway could take off in Spain!!!

I am not asking if speedway could take off in Spain. If you read my initial Post more clearly all I was suggesting was that it might be a good country to stage a GP in - relying more as do other GPs on people from other countries to ensure a good attendance. As happens in New Zealand - one of speedway's backwaters these days - but it has had reasonable attendances at its two GPs. And the kiwi definition of speedway is basically various car formulas!

But well done for your post - yet another good try on your part to shoot me down! I think they call it a vendetta!

There was a flat track meeting in Spain recently. If they can lay a track especially for this form of racing could the country not also be enticed into staging a Speedway Grand Prix eventually. Here's the flat track racing youtube link - just to give an indication of the track they used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB8c5uYcL4Q&feature=youtu.be

Where do I advocate a major attempt to stage speedway on a regular basis in Spain?

Edited January 14, 2014 by Guest

[iris123]

Where do I advocate a major attempt to stage speedway on a regular basis in Spain?

Where do i mention regular? I think hosting a GP is at least in my definition,speedway taking off.Not trying to do anything apart from remind you of all those negative posts about spanish speedway Or do you deny numerous negative posts about speedway in Spain? Edited January 14, 2014 by iris123

[Guest]

There was a flat track meeting in Spain recently. If they can lay a track especially for this form of racing could the country not also be enticed into staging a Speedway Grand Prix eventually. Here's the flat track racing youtube link - just to give an indication of the track they used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB8c5uYcL4Q&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Find it quite funny that the last time a project to get speedway established in Spain,Gustix or Speedyguy as he was known then couldn't tell us enough about how speedway was tried and failed from the 30s onwards and how it would fail again......Now he is asking if speedway could take off in Spain!!!

 

 

Where do i mention regular? I think hosting a GP is at least in my definition,speedway taking off.Not trying to do anything apart from remind you of all those negative posts about spanish speedway Or do you deny numerous negative posts about speedway in Spain?

 

I stand by my first post. Persuade Spain to stage a GP. No other comment on advancing the sport there. No remark by me about suggesting or asking if speedway could take off in Spain.

You think that "Spain hosting a GP is at least in my definition speedway taking off."Well that's your PERSONAL VIEW. No comment from me to that effect. A Spanish GP is no different to an American football match at Wembley. Not a move to stage it on a reguar basis here nor by me for speedway on a regular basis in Spain.

No, I don't deny those old comments about speedway failing in Spain - they referred to attempts to try to stage the sport on a regular basis there. And I seem to remember that I proved right in regard to the last attempt which sadly cost Russell Paine a lot of money. A Spanish Gp would be akin to an alternative entertainment attraction to bring Spanish people in to see something different and for regular GP followers to see the sport in one of the world's famed cultural cities if Barcelona was chosen as the venue, although doubtless there are other excellent venues.

I hand it to do you though - you do struggle to justify yourself in some way. On this one-off GP issue (see OP) you remind me of the man who said "I have many faults but being wrong is not one of them."

Didnt Kenny Roberts get a track suitable for flat track built at one kf the road tracks in Spain if its still there and useable a few temporary stands on a MotoGP or WSB event weekend should/could be workable.

 

Wonderful. A supportive comment.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Guest

[Ray Stadia]

I found this on Youtube, which is a bit more 'home grown' than the OP video, but does show a similarity to speedway, in both style and track. If they have a blue-ribbon event for this sport, perhaps speedway could be included?

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEalUxWxJGY

[Humphrey Appleby]

I don't think that Spain as a nation would finance the event. It would be as in other countries done by a promoter. The Cardiff GP will go ahead this year and according to the politicians this country is also broke.

If it were held in Barcelona, then any local support would likely be the Catalan regional government, but they along with the Spanish government have had to institute huge cutbacks due to the financial situation. The UK and by extension the Welsh government that receives all its money from the UK, is much less affected by comparison.

 

Regardless though, it would still require a local promoter and who'd take the financial risk of running in a country/city with virtually no speedway tradition during a poor economic climate. New Zealand is not really comparable because it has a long speedway tradition and solos were still actively being run there (albeit in reduced form) before the GP arrived.

A Spanish GP is no different to an American football match at Wembley.

Of course it's very different. American football is a multi-million/billion pound industry watched around the world by millions, whereas speedway is not. Most people in the countries where professional speedway is actually staged have hardly heard of the sport, so what chance the Spanish or even holidaymakers turning out in their thousands?

[Guest]

If it were held in Barcelona, then any local support would likely be the Catalan regional government, but they along with the Spanish government have had to institute huge cutbacks due to the financial situation. The UK and by extension the Welsh government that receives all its money from the UK, is much less affected by comparison.

 

Regardless though, it would still require a local promoter and who'd take the financial risk of running in a country/city with virtually no speedway tradition during a poor economic climate. New Zealand is not really comparable because it has a long speedway tradition and solos were still actively being run there (albeit in reduced form) before the GP arrived.

 

Of course it's very different. American football is a multi-million/billion pound industry watched around the world by millions, whereas speedway is not. Most people in the countries where professional speedway is actually staged have hardly heard of the sport, so what chance the Spanish or even holidaymakers turning out in their thousands?

 

You make some good valid points and they are fully taken on board.

The comparison with New Zealand has some validity but prior to the arrival of the GP at Western Springs I think it was many years since solo motorcycle speedway was staged there? The main formulas have for many years been sprint cars and midget cars with leading drivers imported from the USA and Australia - and paid big money too!

Speedway as we know it is very much backwater stuff in New Zealand and has been for many years. Only three tracks have regular speedway schedules - Oreti Park, Moore Park and Rosebank. They do not run a weekly basis while a comparison of the racing standard without disrespect would be IMO "middle order" National League.

You say this in regard to a possible Spanish GP - "Regardless though, it would still require a local promoter and who'd take the financial risk of running in a country/city with virtually no speedway tradition during a poor economic climate."

That is something I now recgnise in regard to a Spanish GP being staged in the near future. My OP goes very much on the back burner - but what a wonderful, colourful country it would have been to stage a GP in?

Edited January 15, 2014 by Guest

[Ray Stadia]

A French GP could possibly work. They do have Grass Track, which looks very similar to speedway, as it appears to be run on sand or shale. C'est possible?

Edited January 15, 2014 by Ray Stadia

[iris123]

Or a Dutch GP.They do have some speedway rider,starting a league again and have hosted a world final,so some previous.Is it worth a topic?

[Humphrey Appleby]

The comparison with New Zealand has some validity but prior to the arrival of the GP at Western Springs I think it was many years since solo motorcycle speedway was staged there?

Sure, but it's not so much that speedway needs to have been staged at a GP venue, but at an attractive stadium in a country where speedway is actively raced. Speedway was never staged at the Millennium Stadium before British GP arrived, but it's nonetheless been a reasonably successful event.

 

Speedway needs to be consolidating its presence in existing speedway countries before broadening its horizons. New Zealand (and Australia) are perfectly valid choices in that respect, although the economics are still a issue.

 

It's obviously better to have most of the GPs in countries with a professional speedway scene, but I don't see a fundamental problem taking the GP to places like Finland and New Zealand provided it's not at the expense of a GP in a major speedway country (as with no French GP in F1). I'd say New Zealand is as deserving of a GP as some countries that have had them, and had the added bonus of making the SGP more of world rather than European competition.

 

Going to countries without any sort of speedway tradition is another story. If the sport was doing okay in core countries/region, then you can have the luxury of taking an event to somewhere new, but that's far from the case in speedway.

A French GP could possibly work. They do have Grass Track, which looks very similar to speedway, as it appears to be run on sand or shale. C'est possible?

I think they also had a speedway track at Marmande (not sure if it's still operational), although track racing is largely confined to a small region of France.

Or a Dutch GP.They do have some speedway rider,starting a league again and have hosted a world final,so some previous.Is it worth a topic?

Somewhere like the (revamped) Amsterdam Olympic Stadium would be perfect apart from there being no roof, but who locally would be willing to take the financial risk to promote it.

[Noodles]

 

Well a place like Barcelona with its excellent hotels and entertainment is as easy for people to get to - probably easier - than some of the venues on the SGP schedule.

 

 

That's because the riders are wearing/carrying their national racing numbers. If one had a programme of names against numbers that would help but this youtube clip is really designed to show that Spain could be an outlet for a GP. The Spanish love motorcycle racing. This isn't speedway on the youtube but flat track riders from various countries.

My reason was to show that the Spanish might be interested in creating - as at Cardiff - a track especially laid down for a GP as they did for this flat-track meeting.

I think the last time speedway as such took place in Barcelona was 1950 when former Plymouth and England rider Ted Gibson took a group of English and Australian riders there?

Whhhooooooooosssshhhhhhh