Tai Woffinden's Views On Single Night Racing In Uk

[Humphrey Appleby]

BUT he is only suggesting that if British speedway wants the top riders racing in its domestic leagues then changes have to be made. If it doesn't, then so be it. He is not saying it has to change simply to suit Tai Woffinden.

Riders have been wittering on about this issue as long as I can remember, and it's entirely about what suits them. If the BEL paid as much as the Polish Elite League, you'd miraculously find the commuting and tiredness of the riders would no longer be an issue.

 

While it is true that having the top riders in a meeting doesn't guarantee great racing, surely there can be no denying that they remain draw cards and are more likely to pull in fans than lesser lights.

The simple fact of the matter is that even when all or most of the top riders rode in Britain in latter years, they didn't draw sufficient crowds to justify their wages. They might put a few extra fans on the gate, but if teams are still losing money then it's a pointless exercise. It doesn't matter whether it's a 'Super League' or a run of the mill league.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Humphrey Appleby

[orderly]

I think that having all Elite League meetings on a single night is great, as Tai said in his interview when Sky cover a meeting then the promotion will bend over backwards to accommodate them, so why not hold all meetings on a Monday night I am sure that the landlords could be negotiated with and knowing that their stadium would be featured on TV with world wide rights every few weeks.

Someone on this site posed the question asking “How can Sweden afford to have so many top riders in their teams” it’s simple maths if you only have one meeting per week then you only have to pay your top riders air fares once instead of two or three times a week plus the possibility of hotel charges, that will help the promoter to keep speedway viable with reduced overheads and the likes of Birmingham could still be racing

For the speedway fans you would be able to see some top riders every week with the likes of Chris Holder, Greg Hancock & Tai Woffinden to name but a few instead of seeing an Elite League team consisting of 1 top rider, I Elite league second string, 3 Premier League Riders & 2 Fast Track riders.

While I respect every rider in all the leagues I fell that the current format is not the best interest for what is supposed to be the best league in the country or in the interest of many of the fast track riders

I feel that the fast track system should have been introduced into the Premier League in the first instance where the racing skills are closer.

But if it came to the vote I would cast my vote for a single nights racing

Well cheerio then. British speedway has to be run in a way that's best for British speedway rather than the top riders.

What a blinkered view, it's the top riders that are the best for speedway in general

[Chris Brown]

BUT he is only suggesting that if British speedway wants the top riders racing in its domestic leagues then changes have to be made. If it doesn't, then so be it. He is not saying it has to change simply to suit Tai Woffinden.

 

While it is true that having the top riders in a meeting doesn't guarantee great racing, surely there can be no denying that they remain draw cards and are more likely to pull in fans than lesser lights. That's the way of the world.

 

I also don't think Chris Brown's argument that Tai learnt his trade here and should repay that by continuing to race in the UK no matter what holds water. He is effectively just a tradesman and no different to someone climbing the ladder at one company and then leaving to join another. That, too, is the way of the world.

Fair enough but if he or any rider does like the way the sport is here then they should not expect it to change just because they say so

 

That is also the way of the world. It will be shame to see top riders decide not to ride here but if that sustains speedway here by becoming more profitable then so be it

[bruno]

Typically selfish rider's point of view.

 

Most clubs in the UK don't own their stadia and therefore are limited to when they can operate.

 

If you're tired, don't cream off the dollar in both Poland and Sweden and have a kip on Sunday or Tuesday.

why not. its what most would do. and me. you go where the money is best surely

[Chris Brown]

I think that having all Elite League meetings on a single night is great, as Tai said in his interview when Sky cover a meeting then the promotion will bend over backwards to accommodate them, so why not hold all meetings on a Monday night I am sure that the landlords could be negotiated with and knowing that their stadium would be featured on TV with world wide rights every few weeks.

Someone on this site posed the question asking “How can Sweden afford to have so many top riders in their teams” it’s simple maths if you only have one meeting per week then you only have to pay your top riders air fares once instead of two or three times a week plus the possibility of hotel charges, that will help the promoter to keep speedway viable with reduced overheads and the likes of Birmingham could still be racing

For the speedway fans you would be able to see some top riders every week with the likes of Chris Holder, Greg Hancock & Tai Woffinden to name but a few instead of seeing an Elite League team consisting of 1 top rider, I Elite league second string, 3 Premier League Riders & 2 Fast Track riders.

While I respect every rider in all the leagues I fell that the current format is not the best interest for what is supposed to be the best league in the country or in the interest of many of the fast track riders

I feel that the fast track system should have been introduced into the Premier League in the first instance where the racing skills are closer.

But if it came to the vote I would cast my vote for a single nights racing

 

What a blinkered view, it's the top riders that are the best for speedway in general

While theoretically this would be great it's totally pie in the sky. Stadium owners would lease the stadiums to suit speedway because they would on TV a few times...................really ?

 

Are you going to pay for the strength of the teams you are suggesting, the costs would be astronomical. Birmingham did only race on one night and not enough people turned up and this was a team that was generally successful. It would IMO be financial suicide. We need to recognise that we cannot afford all the top riders, no chance.

 

As for your last point, sorry but the top riders are a lot of the problem with the financial demands they make on the sport

 

Just my view

[PHILIPRISING]

Fair enough but if he or any rider does like the way the sport is here then they should not expect it to change just because they say so

 

That is also the way of the world. It will be shame to see top riders decide not to ride here but if that sustains speedway here by becoming more profitable then so be it

I repeat that Tai is only saying that if the EL want the top riders to race in England there has to be changes not for his sake but theirs.

[Humphrey Appleby]

Someone on this site posed the question asking “How can Sweden afford to have so many top riders in their teams” it’s simple maths if you only have one meeting per week then you only have to pay your top riders air fares once instead of two or three times a week plus the possibility of hotel charges, that will help the promoter to keep speedway viable with reduced overheads and the likes of Birmingham could still be racing[/font][/size]

Simple maths? And what if British teams are expected to pay weekly rent at a rate much higher than what Swedish teams pay, because the stadiums have commercial landlords rather than owned by the local council?

 

What a blinkered view, it's the top riders that are the best for speedway in general

Are they? And how economically successful was British speedway when they were all riding in Britain?

Edited July 18, 2014 by Humphrey Appleby

[jimmy jimmy]

I am not even sure it has to be the same night, it just has to be one night per week. Then you have a chance of building a sustainable top league. I don't think the top guys care if it is Monday one week and Wednesday the next week. It is just knowing it isn't relentless racing for a tenth of what they get in Poland.

[mdmc82]

Will Tai's view about racing on one night in the UK have any promoters

taking any notice. He says in the SS that he is not the only top rider

currently riding here who is thinking about giving us a miss in 2015.

Tai doesn't really seem to want to ride here now so wouldn't be too bothered if he didn't ride here next year.

 

Mondays would not be financially viable for a lot of clubs.

[jimmy jimmy]

Not enough people turn up to speedway to warrant the best riders in the world coming over. Christ, we can't even get the European speedway event here, it's pathetic. Lambert will do 3 years and then he will be gone too. When you see the support for tai at Cardiff last weekend, it is lamentable how bad the current UK set up is.

[frigbo]

British speedway's relationship with international riders is all but done. They're becoming less and less reliable or interested and clubs can't afford them.

 

I'm starting to convert my opinion and think low-budget settled teams at £10 a go might be the only hope to rebuild.

Edited July 18, 2014 by frigbo

[G the Bee]

Well cheerio then. British speedway has to be run in a way that's best for British speedway rather than the top riders.

 

But British Speedway hasn't been run in a way that's best for British Speedway for years! If it had been, the sport would not be on its backside right now. And let's not paint a picture that all is rosy in the PL, because it certainly is not. One only has to read Mick Horton's comments this week in the Speedway Star to see that.

 

The fact is, the sport at Elite League level should have moved to one race night years ago. Instead, they clung to an out-of-date league format which dates from the time when the British League was the only league for riders to race in.

 

The EL promoters should have recognised the threat of Poland and Sweden years ago, accepted the system and worked within it. Instead, they dug their heads in the sand, constantly came up with reasons for a single race night not to work, rather than create a determination to make it work and, as a result, created the watered down, half-way-house of an Elite League we have at the moment.

 

Something's got to change. The Elite League cannot keep going on the way it is. Farcical doubling up rules, fixture clashes, uneven and disjointed fixtures are killing the sport. The EL has either got to go one race night and get the top riders back or simply shut up shop. Every year, it seems to get worse, crowds are lower, the standard of rider is lower... If the promoters do not have a collective determination to do something radical then they are wasting their time and the sport, at least at Elite League level, will die a slow but inevitable death.

[Mike.Butler]

If there was a solution it would have been found years ago. A downward spiral of increasing costs (for riders and fans), dwindling crowds, poor facilities, lack of sponsorship and a seriously 'un-elite' elite league I fear means that it's days are numbered. An elite league with less than 8 teams will lose sky sponsorship and that will be the final nail in the coffin for our top flight.

 

The premier league are right to be wary of any amalgamation and instead should be striving to be a £10 sport as I read in the Star only this week. More clubs in the premier would be great but that must exclude top riders since their pay expectations are unaffordable. The race to pay for top machinery must stop as per Jon Armstrong's views in the same issue.

 

Unfortunately that can only be achieved by accepting the UK is no longer a major speedway nation, and run the sport for the (remaining) fans to enjoy at a level the Promoters can afford.

This probably means employing only riders who have jobs and and an income outside of the sport + tracks running weekly on their preferred race day with no doubling up allowed.

 

Until /if the economies of the model change then no BL riders should be permitted to ride in any overseas club/individual meetings with the exception of the world championship.

Put the fans first for a change as without us there will be no UK speedway.

[Chris Brown]

 

Put the fans first for a change as without us there will be no UK speedway.

 

Best point made so far tonight but sadly I suspect not one that too many in the sport will take any notice of

[orderly]

Mike.Butler, on 18 Jul 2014 - 11:52 PM, said:

Put the fans first for a change as without us there will be no UK speedway.

 

 

Best point made so far tonight but sadly I suspect not one that too many in the sport will take any notice of

 

Put the fans first for a change as without us there will be no UK speedway.

If there were no riders then there would be no speedway & if there is no speedway then there is no point having speedway fans

[Chris Brown]

 

Mike.Butler, on 18 Jul 2014 - 11:52 PM, said:

If there were no riders then there would be no speedway & if there is no speedway then there is no point having speedway fans

 

 

Nobody is saying there will be no riders unless the EL goes to one day per week. There will be dozens of riders and I am really not sure there will be less fans. There could be more because without the so called top riders the costs would be reduced and maybe a greater audience could be attracted

 

Anyone would think that a few riders skipping the UK would mean every club is going to close the way you are putting it

 

EVERY single business in the world will fail unless its puts its customer first, doesn't matter if its Sainsburys, Tesco's, the local newsagent or British Speedway. The promoters need to learn that, its scary that as a customer you seem to think the riders should be put first. No wonder the sport is in a mess if people think we need to put the riders first

[E I Addio]

 

EVERY single business in the world will fail unless its puts its customer first, doesn't matter if its Sainsburys, Tesco's, the local newsagent or British Speedway. The promoters need to learn that, its scary that as a customer you seem to think the riders should be put first. No wonder the sport is in a mess if people think we need to put the riders first

But Sainsbury's, Tesco hand the local newsagent all know they have to stock a range of products from budget to top quality to cater for all tastes. British Speedway needs riders of some degree of quality if not GP riders. If Tesco stocked budget products only they would lose a lot of customers. Same with speedway.

[Humphrey Appleby]

But Sainsbury's, Tesco hand the local newsagent all know they have to stock a range of products from budget to top quality to cater for all tastes. British Speedway needs riders of some degree of quality if not GP riders. If Tesco stocked budget products only they would lose a lot of customers. Same with speedway.

Yes, but the average local shop is unlikely to stock champagne and caviar because it's too expensive for most of the clientele.

[salty]

Bigger draw back than the lack of the GP top boys, is, in my opinion, the regular absence of the current contracted riders. All well and good for Leicester and Eastbourne to want to run on Saturday nights, but how often are they able to run without wholesale changes due to clashes with international events?

 

A set race day (say Monday) would be a tough step to take, but I think in the long term it is the only way forward.

[Gemini]

 

 

.....Humphrey Appleby.......British speedway can't afford the top riders anyway.

 

And they'll afford them even less if some tracks change their regular race night.