Humphrey Appleby Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Surely that should involve trying to get the best riders in the world to race on a regular basis? British speedway just can't afford them. Who is going to put up the money to employ riders who simply don't justify the numbers coming through the turnstiles? The Elite League all the top riders 10-15 years ago, crowds declined regardless, and tracks went out of business. What's going to be different this time around, especially as crowds are now even lower than they were then? 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedibee Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Most Elite league tracks that have more then one available race night have already tried different ones , I know coventry have tried mondays wednedays and thurs , but returned to fridays because that was the night the most paying public wanted .. as for attracting more of the top riders back here , who are these top riders ? and it has nothing to with racenights or travelling that has prevented them riding , it's money !! If someone offered Woffinden the same money as he gets in Poland or Sweden he would be riding here ,no doubt about that , and fixed racenights will not generate any more money so whats the point ? what we need to do first of all , is stop training Australians for European leagues , concentrate on Bringing british riders on . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve roberts Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 British speedway just can't afford them. Who is going to put up the money to employ riders who simply don't justify the numbers coming through the turnstiles? The Elite League all the top riders 10-15 years ago, crowds declined regardless, and tracks went out of business. What's going to be different this time around, especially as crowds are now even lower than they were then? Couldn't agree more! The domestic programme in this country has been strangulated by the effect of the GPs. The days of employing 'star riders' has passed and those wishing to compete in the GP should be given an ultimatum...compete in the British League or the GP? Okay there would be a drop in standard (debatable!) but it's time that British speedway grasped the nettle and then hopefully there may be light seen at the end of the never ending tunnel? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weatherwatcher Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 The sport in this country does not need the top riders to make things work, they think they are gods and ask for payments above what the clubs can cover from the paying public. There is not enough interest in the country now for people to come and watch the sport. There must be a lot of people that haven't got a clue what the sport is or that they have a club near them, gone are the glory days. What is needed and has been needed for many years now is to advertise the sport and let Joe public know about it. Get the people in then think about what sort of riders you need, I for one would rather see more British lads in the top flight. What they have done again this year by keep them in the reserve berth is a total disgrace. They have now been held back for far to long, it is as if the promoters are saying that they are not good enough to get a full team place, but we will gladly keep you at reserve, because a few of you are the ones that win all the meetings for us, but we won't give you a shot at riding at second string. They have proved thier worth, so now they should be given a better chance. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Completely agree Simon Wigg was an advocate of having common race nights. What he failed to understand as does everyone who attends meetings without paying i.e riders, promoters etc is that there are so many spectators who attend multiple tracks each week. Going back a few years the top flight contained clubs like Reading Monday, Ipswich Thursday, Oxford Friday, a huge amount of clubs running saturday,in fact only tuesdays were blank. I used to attend maybe four or five top flight fixtures in a week and guess what i used to see the same faces at most of them. Speedway has,unlike Football, fans that aren't content with one match every two weeks and are quite happy to attend neutral fixtures. Wind the clock forward to today i watch the same amount of meetings but almost exclusively in the NL plus as many Rye House meetings as possible and i still see fans faces that visit multiple tracks. Yes it may encourage those riders who have fleeced British speedway with their over the top financial claims only to come back, then not to return and effectively kick the sport in Britain when its down. Crump, Hancock, Pedersen etc are all guilty, sadly even the current British World Champion does nothing to promote the sport in this country. No the crowds overall wouldn't increase and how long would it be before the so called Elite was down to six teams. I hope it isn't tried but if it does go ahead it might cut out all the top paid riders and bring the sport to some sort of realistic financial approach and save British Speedway. The approach that the NL and PL take is generally correct. Just by having limited nights racing for me is a sure fire way to bankrupt most top flight clubs. Just lucky for Kings Lynn that they would be one of the clubs unaffected but then who is the Chairman of the BSPA? Lynn changed nights to Wednesday years ago . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehone Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 everyone seems to think all the money will be going to the 'top' riders, but you have to remember in these days of the lower team average it's a lot of high scoring reserves that will be commanding a massive chunk of cash .. maybe not in points if they are capped, but in all the extras that are possible to get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
screm Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 If you have fixed Race Nights in the Premier League - depending on what nights they are - you will force certain Tracks to close. If that is what everyone wants - go ahead. Landlords at various Tracks will not be told by the BSPA which Night they can hold their Dog Meetings - and why should they - they are the Landlords. In a Utopian World it would be a very good idea to have a dedicated Race Night for all three Leagues - unfortunately this is Great Britain not Utopia. Dont think they are looking at the PL as a fixed race night, more the EL. In going to a fixed night the BSPA hope it will attract back one or two more GP riders than we have now, and reduce fixture clashes with leagues on the continent meaning more riders available, that's the hope anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaramanga Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) with our new chairman wanting fixed race night whats peoples views on the fixed race night for me its a no go zone as it would be either monday or wednesday only as sunday is poland tuesday is sweden thursday is denmark and friday and saturday are gp nights obviosly there are a couple who would think wednesday nights are a good choice if you run a set night and your home meeting is rained of you could go 3 or 4 week without a home meeting just not acceptable for british speedway in my view i know it s been discussed allready but for some reason this was typed a long time before its actually posted ? Edited November 5, 2015 by scarra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 with our new chairman wanting fixed race night whats peoples views on the fixed race night for me its a no go zone as it would be either monday or wednesday only as sunday is poland tuesday is sweden thursday is denmark and friday and saturday are gp nights obviosly there are a couple who would think wednesday nights are a good choice if you run a set night and your home meeting is rained of you could go 3 or 4 week without a home meeting just not acceptable for british speedway in my view i know it s been discussed allready but for some reason this was typed a long time before its actually posted ? i think you have to realise GB's position in the speedway world - poor relations. We can't dictate anything - we either fit in with the rest of Europe or forget many star riders. I think it would be a bold move but at least it would be a move - better than doing nothing. EL Mon and Weds, PL the rest of the time. Lets get behind it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsunami Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 i think you have to realise GB's position in the speedway world - poor relations. We can't dictate anything - we either fit in with the rest of Europe or forget many star riders. I think it would be a bold move but at least it would be a move - better than doing nothing. EL Mon and Weds, PL the rest of the time. Lets get behind it I would be for it, but not for the return of big stars we can't afford, but more for teams not having to borrow guests when DU's teams are riding on the same night. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Lee Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Most Elite league tracks that have more then one available race night have already tried different ones , I know coventry have tried mondays wednedays and thurs , but returned to fridays because that was the night the most paying public wanted .. Actually, Cov ran on Saturdays for most if not all of their first half century. 3 matches a month with Stock Cars on the first Saturday of the month. It was when they changed from Saturdays that I stopped going to every match. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Knight Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 The sport in this country does not need the top riders to make things work, they think they are gods and ask for payments above what the clubs can cover from the paying public. There is not enough interest in the country now for people to come and watch the sport. There must be a lot of people that haven't got a clue what the sport is or that they have a club near them, gone are the glory days. What is needed and has been needed for many years now is to advertise the sport and let Joe public know about it. Get the people in then think about what sort of riders you need, I for one would rather see more British lads in the top flight. What they have done again this year by keep them in the reserve berth is a total disgrace. They have now been held back for far to long, it is as if the promoters are saying that they are not good enough to get a full team place, but we will gladly keep you at reserve, because a few of you are the ones that win all the meetings for us, but we won't give you a shot at riding at second string. They have proved thier worth, so now they should be given a better chance. They will however be cheaper and at the end of the day, that is what I believe counts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Completely agree Simon Wigg was an advocate of having common race nights. What he failed to understand as does everyone who attends meetings without paying i.e riders, promoters etc is that there are so many spectators who attend multiple tracks each week. Going back a few years the top flight contained clubs like Reading Monday, Ipswich Thursday, Oxford Friday, a huge amount of clubs running saturday,in fact only tuesdays were blank. I used to attend maybe four or five top flight fixtures in a week and guess what i used to see the same faces at most of them. Speedway has,unlike Football, fans that aren't content with one match every two weeks and are quite happy to attend neutral fixtures. Wind the clock forward to today i watch the same amount of meetings but almost exclusively in the NL plus as many Rye House meetings as possible and i still see fans faces that visit multiple tracks. Yes it may encourage those riders who have fleeced British speedway with their over the top financial claims only to come back, then not to return and effectively kick the sport in Britain when its down. Crump, Hancock, Pedersen etc are all guilty, sadly even the current British World Champion does nothing to promote the sport in this country. No the crowds overall wouldn't increase and how long would it be before the so called Elite was down to six teams. I hope it isn't tried but if it does go ahead it might cut out all the top paid riders and bring the sport to some sort of realistic financial approach and save British Speedway. The approach that the NL and PL take is generally correct. Just by having limited nights racing for me is a sure fire way to bankrupt most top flight clubs. Just lucky for Kings Lynn that they would be one of the clubs unaffected but then who is the Chairman of the BSPA? And here is the biggest problem with the sport NO Sport will survive while it panders to the anoraks who attend more than one match.. and no there aren't that many of them either. I would be for it, but not for the return of big stars we can't afford, but more for teams not having to borrow guests when DU's teams are riding on the same night. Spot on! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinMills Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 unsure the top riders would be in a rush to ride here, as gp"s are now up to 12 rounds(?), im pretty sure, if they can afford it, one days rest, is something they would probably want/need to keep...the introduction in 95 had just 6 rounds, its a lot different now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Forget top riders! The biggest problem is Elite League and Premier League running on the same nights and teams being decimated as a result. Separate race nights for the leagues solves many of the sports problems immediately. Its not rocket science. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) Press comment re Buster Chapman: http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/driving_force_buster_chapman_revved_up_to_make_a_big_difference_as_head_of_the_bspa_1_4297562 Edited November 5, 2015 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 with our new chairman wanting fixed race night whats peoples views on the fixed race night for me its a no go zone as it would be either monday or wednesday only as sunday is poland tuesday is sweden thursday is denmark and friday and saturday are gp nights obviosly there are a couple who would think wednesday nights are a good choice if you run a set night and your home meeting is rained of you could go 3 or 4 week without a home meeting just not acceptable for british speedway in my view i know it s been discussed allready but for some reason this was typed a long time before its actually posted ? Surely not Monday so it's sandwiched between Poland (Sunday) and Sweden (Tuesday)? I wouldn't mind fixed race nights as long as it's Friday and Saturday with riders who want to be here like it used to be in the past. Time for the GP riders to go their own way and if that means no Chris Harris at Coventry because he's still pratting around in the G.P's then fair enough. Bye Chris. I'm sure he'd soon realise where he is better off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trees Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Weds and Fridays? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BWitcher Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Weds and Fridays? Fridays is utterly pointless and entirely defeats any potential benefits. It HAS to be on different nights to Premier League racing or its a waste of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g13webb Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 Well done to our New Chairman, only been in the job a short while and already shown his forth right views..... A lot of people thinking only about attracting top stars, are jumping to the wrong conclusion here. Having specific race night helps everyone. It would benefit the fans, it would benefit the TV, it would benefit the promoters. How many riders, racing here, also ride abroad? How many riders race here in 2 or 3 leagues?? , all these riders would benefit from fixed race nights. having riders missing, would be a thing from the past. Our sport need structure. The EL ; PL and NL should be governed with one set of rules and not as 3 individual groups.......... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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