Speedway From An Outsiders View .

[speedibee]

Seems that all us old hacks ,take speedway for granted tyhese days , This is an Interesting view from someone who had never seen speedway before http://fueltopia.co.uk/profiles/blog/two-wheeled-superstars

 

[foamfence]

See what he thinks after a rained off Sunday afternoon at Buxton or a game of 'spot the crowd' at most other tracks.

[KevH]

Seems that all us old hacks ,take speedway for granted tyhese days , This is an Interesting view from someone who had never seen speedway before http://fueltopia.co.uk/profiles/blog/two-wheeled-superstars

 

I agree, it's a very interesting view.

 

League promoters would do well to read this and pick up on the points the author was impressed by and try to incorporate them into their local tracks. It's also worth noting that GP racing has very simple, straightforward rules which a newcomer can easily understand....something which should also be the case in league racing!

[The White Knight]

I agree, it's a very interesting view.

 

League promoters would do well to read this and pick up on the points the author was impressed by and try to incorporate them into their local tracks. It's also worth noting that GP racing has very simple, straightforward rules which a newcomer can easily understand....something which should also be the case in league racing!

Spot on KevH.

[tyretrax]

Spot on KevH.

Said an outsider.

[The White Knight]

Said an outsider.

Very true - but over 50 years of supporting Speedway to fall back on.

 

How about you?

[tyretrax]

Very true - but over 50 years of supporting Speedway to fall back on.

 

How about you?

Trumped! ..........63

[The White Knight]

Trumped! ..........63

I fold.

 

I give you best in years. :)

[martinmauger]

Whenever I've shown speedway to non-regulars, either live at a track or on TV, I've always got "speedway, never heard of it, when was it invented ?" (oh, 'only' in the 1920's) "no gears or brakes, you say - really ?!" & "they ride so close togther" & "I love the way they can pass around the outside" & "those bikes look great" & "it looks brilliant" & "when is the next race in Hull ?", the last comment is a bit tricky to answer (!). Think the worst reaction was the (sometimes) 'typical' teenage "tut" + roll eyes. The funniest comment recently was "it's just motorbikes going around a track". I resisted saying "oh there is a lot more to it than that, especially when you get into to it and try following the rules"....

[Red Panda]

I saw this earlier on and thought it made really interesting reading from being on the outside looking in............great photo's too.................

 

 

 

I agree, it's a very interesting view.

 

League promoters would do well to read this and pick up on the points the author was impressed by and try to incorporate them into their local tracks. It's also worth noting that GP racing has very simple, straightforward rules which a newcomer can easily understand....something which should also be the case in league racing!

Spot on...............if only the promoters could see that..............

 

RP

[waiheke1]

I agree, it's a very interesting view.

 

League promoters would do well to read this and pick up on the points the author was impressed by and try to incorporate them into their local tracks. It's also worth noting that GP racing has very simple, straightforward rules which a newcomer can easily understand....something which should also be the case in league racing!

for a newcomer, the rules are pretty simple. four laps, points are 3-2-1. that's all they really need to know. If there is a double point heat, in they may also need to know there two times table. I used to fill in the programme as a 4 year old, so there's no reason why any newbie can't grasp the fundamental rules on their first visit. Certainly I'd say its a lot simpler than understanding rugby or cricket the first time.

[tyretrax]

Trumped! ..........63

Must have been off school the day we did maths. It's actually 66.

[teaboy279]

Been a couple of good articles on fueltopia featuring kent kings.

[Guest]

Been a couple of good articles on fueltopia featuring kent kings.

 

So the site also caters for speedway's big time then?

Edited November 12, 2015 by Guest

[Gresham]

My interest in Speedway has dwindled since the early 90's. I dip in every now and then.

 

I knew everything there was to know back in the day...I lived for Speedway.

 

I don't really follow Speedway now....Speedway for me, is a fond memory from the past.

 

That 'fond memory' draws me back occasionally to my local tracks...often out of curiosity to see whether much has changed.

 

Now to the point I was going to make.... I don't buy a programme now...I don't follow the results....I just watch the heats and simply four blokes racing their bikes.

 

I strip it right back....To pretty much how a 'newbie' would see it.

 

When you do it like that, you see it in it's raw state...how a 'newbie' would see it.

 

Then you ask yourself...is this entertaining to watch? What is going to draw me back again?

 

I always come away feeling let down....perhaps I see the past through rose tinted glasses.

 

But what got me hooked as a seven year old boy all those years ago?

 

I looked around the 'stadium' and saw a majority of OAP's diligently filling in their programmes....but no kids.

The few I did see, were just running around or queuing for chips. Why aren't they enthralled like I and many other kids were back in the day?

 

From what I've seen...Speedway will die when those OAP's eventually pass away.

 

Hopefully I'm wrong...but imho....it is the Promoters and Riders mindset that is killing the sport. Too many wanting to make a fast buck during their time, rather than thinking about the future.

 

Tin hat on.......

Edited November 12, 2015 by Gresham

[speedibee]

My interest in Speedway has dwindled since the early 90's. I dip in every now and then.

 

I knew everything there was to know back in the day...I lived for Speedway.

 

I don't really follow Speedway now....Speedway for me, is a fond memory from the past.

 

That 'fond memory' draws me back occasionally to my local tracks...often out of curiosity to see whether much has changed.

 

Now to the point I was going to make.... I don't buy a programme now...I don't follow the results....I just watch the heats and simply four blokes racing their bikes.

 

I strip it right back....To pretty much how a 'newbie' would see it.

 

When you do it like that, you see it in it's raw state...how a 'newbie' would see it.

 

Then you ask yourself...is this entertaining to watch? What is going to draw me back again?

 

I always come away feeling let down....perhaps I see the past through rose tinted glasses.

 

But what got me hooked as a seven year old boy all those years ago?

 

I looked around the 'stadium' and saw a majority of OAP's diligently filling in their programmes....but no kids.

The few I did see, were just running around or queuing for chips. Why aren't they enthralled like I and many other kids were back in the day?

 

From what I've seen...Speedway will die when those OAP's eventually pass away.

 

Hopefully I'm wrong...but imho....it is the Promoters and Riders mindset that is killing the sport. Too many wanting to make a fast buck during their time, rather than thinking about the future.

 

Tin hat on.......

I agree with most of that , except not having a program , even if it's just a printed sheet off the internet. filling it in and looking at the info all adds to the experience , well for me anyway

[Trees]

It's the old adage, there's more things to do these days.

 

Lots of the little extras that kids liked, having a ride round on the bike with riders and giving riders high fives has gone because of H&S . Even in my crazy first days, standing immediately behind the fence and bopping down when the riders and shale flew past made it exciting I guess (never thought of the danger ha).

 

Promoters need to talk to the young people who do go to get some idea of why they go and what they love about the sport and go from there .......

 

As far as us oldies go, we do take the riders' talent for granted, the actual act of racing, I do believe that riders need to make a little extra effort with the fans though, it doesn't take much to celebrate with the fans.

 

Promoters need to put themselves into the shoes of the fans, will be easy to work out what is wrong then!!

[Guest]

It's the old adage, there's more things to do these days.

 

Lots of the little extras that kids liked, having a ride round on the bike with riders and giving riders high fives has gone because of H&S . Even in my crazy first days, standing immediately behind the fence and bopping down when the riders and shale flew past made it exciting I guess (never thought of the danger ha).

 

Promoters need to talk to the young people who do go to get some idea of why they go and what they love about the sport and go from there .......

 

As far as us oldies go, we do take the riders' talent for granted, the actual act of racing, I do believe that riders need to make a little extra effort with the fans though, it doesn't take much to celebrate with the fans.

 

Promoters need to put themselves into the shoes of the fans, will be easy to work out what is wrong then!!

 

 

Excellent comment. I agree with you - all the way.

[The White Knight]

My interest in Speedway has dwindled since the early 90's. I dip in every now and then.

 

I knew everything there was to know back in the day...I lived for Speedway.

 

I don't really follow Speedway now....Speedway for me, is a fond memory from the past.

 

That 'fond memory' draws me back occasionally to my local tracks...often out of curiosity to see whether much has changed.

 

Now to the point I was going to make.... I don't buy a programme now...I don't follow the results....I just watch the heats and simply four blokes racing their bikes.

 

I strip it right back....To pretty much how a 'newbie' would see it.

 

When you do it like that, you see it in it's raw state...how a 'newbie' would see it.

 

Then you ask yourself...is this entertaining to watch? What is going to draw me back again?

 

I always come away feeling let down....perhaps I see the past through rose tinted glasses.

 

But what got me hooked as a seven year old boy all those years ago?

 

I looked around the 'stadium' and saw a majority of OAP's diligently filling in their programmes....but no kids.

The few I did see, were just running around or queuing for chips. Why aren't they enthralled like I and many other kids were back in the day?

 

From what I've seen...Speedway will die when those OAP's eventually pass away.

 

Hopefully I'm wrong...but imho....it is the Promoters and Riders mindset that is killing the sport. Too many wanting to make a fast buck during their time, rather than thinking about the future.

 

Tin hat on.......

No tin hat needed for me.

 

A very good Post with which I totally agree.

 

I am though, one of those 'Old Gits' (OAPs) you were talking about.

[Bavarian]

It was the same situation here in Germany some ten or twenty years ago. You could hardly find any youngsters attending the meetings, it was mostly elderly people watching the speedway and long-track racing, often sitting in their camping chairs filling in their programme. At long-track and grass track meetings this is still the case and the number of people attending these meetings have steadily decrease with the years. Long-track and grass track has a real problem, because of that. There is no younger fan base, and along with this decline, we don't have the number of riders for the long-track / grass-track solos and sidecars either anymore.

 

Speedway in Germany somehow turned the corner. One of the major coupes was to led kids under 12 or under 14 in for just 1 Euro, if acompanied by an adult. This allows families to attend at a very low cost. It swells the crowd, betters the sales of food, drinks and merchandise at the meetings, and fosters a new generation of young fans for our sport.

It took some years, but now one can see that speedway has a much younger fan base in Germany compared with the slowly dying long-track and grass track events.

Edited November 22, 2015 by Bavarian