Speedway Star Interview With Alex Harkess

[heathen chemistry]

he's not the captain - just another passenger

[Vincent Blachshadow]

Harkess comes across as not having the first clue where to start trying to put things right.

 

If he's supposed to be the Captain of the ship there's only one way things are going to go.

He's not the captain, he's the figurehead - at the front of the ship but no influence.

Edited August 23, 2015 by Vincent Blackshadow

[tigerowl]

Came across as honest, but he's hardly the visionary we need to take the sport forward. To have so long in the job and to see the sport going down the pan without the first clue to put it right isn't good enough.

[Bruiser McHuge]

Not seen this interview but I must admit to never being impressed with any other Alex Harkness interview that I've ever seen....he comes across as somebody who has been put into a position and is completely out of his depth....like I said though I've not seen this latest offering..

I will admit that the job is very hard though and cryingl out for a top CEO but they can't and wouldn't be able to afford one

Edited August 23, 2015 by Bruiser McHuge

[Humphrey Appleby]

Harkess comes across as not having the first clue where to start trying to put things right.

If he's supposed to be the Captain of the ship there's only one way things are going to go.

Harkness was at least honest, and there would have been no point in pretending everything in the garden is rosy as we can all see it isn't. However, whilst I don't imbue the chairman of any membership organisation with a magic wand, he was just plain wrong on a number of points which he claimed the BSPA can't control.

 

There are some things that are beyond the control of BSPA, like the availability and costs of stadiums and changing socioeconomic preferences, but the development of British based riders is most certainly within their control to a reasonable extent. The number of riders being developed in a sport like speedway is directly linked to the availability of training programmes, team opportunities, costs and wages. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy that if you reduce the number of opportunities, either by having doubling up or smaller teams, then there's going to be less interest in competing in the sport. I can accept that Edinburgh (and Glasgow) are out on a geographical limb and there's not even much of a grass track scene (if any) in Scotland these days, but if he as chairman can't see the bigger picture, then the future does look bleak.

 

Rider wages are also entirely within the control of the BSPA, however much it may be claimed otherwise. Every business can only pay out what it afford in the long term, and allowing wages to spiral out of control way beyond what's affordable for the sport is entirely self-afflicted. Similarly the use and abuse of guests and other ridiculous team building regulations that are continually flaunted by one member or the other.

 

There are other things that can't entirely be solved by the BSPA, but could be solved if there was collective will within the professional speedway community. The issue of engines and equipment needs an international approach, as does the problem of fixture scheduling, but it needs the heads of the respective professional speedway authorities to be trying to sort these things out. Similarly, questioning the structure of the sport and who's skimming off the cream (such as it is).

 

The problem is these issues don't directly affect the BPL, even if it there is a knock-on effect in some cases (e.g. with respect to equipment costs). Any chairman needs to be thinking as much about the top as the bottom.

Not seen this interview but I must admit to never being impressed with any other Alex Harkness interview that I've ever seen....he comes across as somebody who has been put into a position and is completely out of his depth....like I said though I've not seen this latest offering..

In fairness, we don't how the interview was edited for publication, so some things may not have come across as intended.

I thought that he wouldn't reveal a blue print for reform in the Star but rather discuss it with his fellow promoters first.

There isn't any blueprint, and there's never going to be whilst the sport is run by hobbyists rather than professional promoters.

Edited August 24, 2015 by Humphrey Appleby

[jenga]

workington speedway are holding an open fans forum friday 4th september at the waverley hotel to discuss how workington can be run and any ideas can be put to the management who will be in attendance.

if a formula is discovered , we will pas it on. if the bspa cant sort it out. what chance have the fans got of turning it around ?

 

my ideas are ... really low entrance fee.. the price now has reached its ultimate price that the fans want to pay.

 

get loads of youngsters in the grounds. they are the future. old fans die off and are unable to travel to their clubs.

 

one pound and some times more for a race . but not much in between races .

 

time to freeze riders demands... when was the last time YOU had a wage increase from your small employer ?

 

conservatives are looking at 9 pounds an hour in the future. where is that money going to come from ?

 

time to source new suppliers of speedway bikes,parts etc.

 

maybe the bspa/scb could provide/make racin suits etc.

 

 

at the end of the day, ITS JUST TOO BLEEDING EXPENSIVE TO PARTAKE IN AND SUPPORT..

Edited August 24, 2015 by jenga

[Trees]

The fans need to buy shares in the club, will be tons of positive input then

[tyretrax]

How difficult is it for some people to spell the man's name? It's H-A-R-K-E-S-S!

Edited August 24, 2015 by tyretrax

[SCB]

How difficult is it for some people to spell the man's name? It's H-A-R-K-E-S-S!

When people can't spell Nicki and Tai then Harkess stands no chance!

[iris123]

When people can't spell Nicki and Tai then Harkess stands no chance!

Who remembers the controversy of whether it was Boycie or Boycey and the Poole fan who used to get her knickers in a twist about it

[oldtimer]

At last someone admits there are too many guests, but nobody will admit that although riders are missing due to doubling up and foreign commitments, the number of injuries account for a large number of guests bookings. The only way you will resolve this is to have bikes suitable for the size of the tracks they race on, if that means having less power, getting rid of lay downs or 250cc speedway bikes, that's surely better than no speedway at all, which is where the sport is rapidly heading.

[The White Knight]

At last someone admits there are too many guests, but nobody will admit that although riders are missing due to doubling up and foreign commitments, the number of injuries account for a large number of guests bookings. The only way you will resolve this is to have bikes suitable for the size of the tracks they race on, if that means having less power, getting rid of lay downs or 250cc speedway bikes, that's surely better than no speedway at all, which is where the sport is rapidly heading.

Well said oldtimer.

[ch958]

At last someone admits there are too many guests, but nobody will admit that although riders are missing due to doubling up and foreign commitments, the number of injuries account for a large number of guests bookings. The only way you will resolve this is to have bikes suitable for the size of the tracks they race on, if that means having less power, getting rid of lay downs or 250cc speedway bikes, that's surely better than no speedway at all, which is where the sport is rapidly heading.

i agree but someone has posted on here that laydowns are easier to ride not harder - crucially i don't know and maybe neither did he. We need some ex riders without axes to grind or things to sell to come up with answers to that. Deano used to talk sense but i think he's given up on us.

[foamfence]

If you look at videos of the recent World Junior Championships on YouTube, the 250s look adequately fast but how reliable would they be and would they be even more dependent on tuners and setup?

[speedibee]

Taken all in all - the worst thing to happen to the Sport as far as British Speedway is concerned.

 

Of course, that is only my opinion.

One I share wholeheartedly , The recent decline in attendances has been entirely down to the GPs , I cannot think of a single benefit to British speedway from the GPs . but an absolute shedload of downsides , when the Gp started in 1995 all but 2 of the 23 riders in that series rode for teams in the UK , and the 6 meeting series was easily accomodated without too much disruption to the domestic calendar , once BSI realised they had been given a goose that laid golden eggs , they quickly expanded the series and therefore their opportunity to profit from a Product that was earning it's living from other sources , the British promoters and supporters , world championship affairs were once an opportunity for British speedway to earn a much needed cash boost from , but now world championship is poison to speedway . we should have cut the GP riders loose when BSI's ambitions became apparent instead of Kowtowing to them . if we had rid ourselves of the GP riders in 2000 , and kept a regular race night maybe we would not have lost as much support as we have now

[foamfence]

One I share wholeheartedly , The recent decline in attendances has been entirely down to the GPs , I cannot think of a single benefit to British speedway from the GPs . but an absolute shedload of downsides , when the Gp started in 1995 all but 2 of the 23 riders in that series rode for teams in the UK , and the 6 meeting series was easily accomodated without too much disruption to the domestic calendar , once BSI realised they had been given a goose that laid golden eggs , they quickly expanded the series and therefore their opportunity to profit from a Product that was earning it's living from other sources , the British promoters and supporters , world championship affairs were once an opportunity for British speedway to earn a much needed cash boost from , but now world championship is poison to speedway . we should have cut the GP riders loose when BSI's ambitions became apparent instead of Kowtowing to them . if we had rid ourselves of the GP riders in 2000 , and kept a regular race night maybe we would not have lost as much support as we have now

Breaking away from the rest and having one semi-pro league and one amateur league, is something that comes to mind.

[Wheelman]

RE .... Engines ....250 s will not get the job done...... they just dont have the torque.......can be just plain dangerous when the track has some drive.....Its time league riders realize most of them cant justify running a GP spec motor 4 nights a week.......... Regulate the league motors...... Leave the SGP guys to do what they must. Other forms of motor sport dont run F1 motors 4nights a week.....it wouldnt stack up.

[The White Knight]

RE .... Engines ....250 s will not get the job done...... they just dont have the torque.......can be just plain dangerous when the track has some drive.....Its time league riders realize most of them cant justify running a GP spec motor 4 nights a week.......... Regulate the league motors...... Leave the SGP guys to do what they must. Other forms of motor sport dont run F1 motors 4nights a week.....it wouldnt stack up.

Spot on.

[george.m]

The two things speedway needs to give it a chance of a brighter future is leadership and a business plan.

The current system doesn't allow this.

Whether it's Mr Harkess or anyone else in charge the ability to make decisions in favour of the greater good just isn't there.

There's simply too much self-interest. Needs an impartial leader, not connected with any clubs.

 

All the ideas posters come up with are well intended, but under the current system it's just moving the deck chairs in reality.

 

Strong leadership, with decisions made within the framework of a plan is the way forward.

Edited August 30, 2015 by george.m

[uk_martin]

Too bad that Bluejam off here couldn't have asked one certain question of the sport's imperious leader...