Speedway's Twisted Mentality...

[Gresham]

.... right...this is not me slagging off speedway before certain people start.

 

It's trying to understand a mentality in speedway, that I really can't get my head around.

 

We all know Speedway is susceptible to the elements, and it's hard to race in wet conditions...always has been.

 

So in this weeks SS we have a bit of a Rant by Rosco... who imo, speaks a lot of truth the majority of the time.

 

In reference to a recent meeting being abandoned because of the weather...

 

He Quotes about fans moaning...

 

''They are so quick to complain about the riders, but the bikes have changed so much. Well I was fortunate to have ridden lay downs and know exactly what they are like. I totally get it because they are so unpredictable. The characteristics of the bikes are so different.

 

At Kings lynn it is grippy going into a bend, then turns 'icy'...all you do is a 360. An upright bike could control that, these days they are so unpredictable...you can't say...back in the day''

 

So knowing full well tracks are open to the elements and rain iis most certain in most countries....why have we allowed a sport to develop bikes that can't race on the slightest bit of rain?

 

It's not rocket Science is it?

 

All seems to me, that it is the Engine tuners and developers that run this sport...done in a way to make more money.

 

Any thoughts?

[sparkafag]

Personally, I am not that interested in seeing speedway riders race on rain effected tracks even if they have a bike to suit a rain effected track

 

The mentality that went on for years off “get a meeting on” irrespective of the conditions went some way to damaging the sport IMO, in particularly meetings on Sky watching riders follow each other around the track upright on one dry line, nah, absolutely rubbish and short changing people.

 

In short, it’s not a water sport.

[Gresham]

So we have a Poole Promotor that wants to bring in approx. 25 home meetings in per season. One home meeting a week. How many of them are going to get rained off at first attempt or even second attempt? How is it possible to run a bigger fixture list in a season, with the bikes we have, with the weather conditions common to Britain?

 

What percentage of rain off's have we had this season?

 

Imo, it's the amount of rain offs we have, and the irregularity of speedway meetings being on, that is the problem...as people get fed up of travelling miles only to be told it's off.

 

I personally enjoyed seeing riders battle the elements as well as one another.

 

Perhaps that's why County Cricket, Lawn Tennis and Speedway suffer falling attendances...because they can't deal with the normal conditions of the Country we live in.

[Fromafar]

Personally, I am not that interested in seeing speedway riders race on rain effected tracks even if they have a bike to suit a rain effected track

 

The mentality that went on for years off “get a meeting on” irrespective of the conditions went some way to damaging the sport IMO, in particularly meetings on Sky watching riders follow each other around the track upright on one dry line, nah, absolutely rubbish and short changing people.

 

In short, it’s not a water sport.

That could be the reason most tracks don't bother with the use of track covers, the weather on the day is so unpredictable .

[damosuzuki]

Glasgow (wettest place in the world after Manchester) have only had one home meeting called off this year, and have had meetings in extremely damp conditions. EG Coventry meeting - track was very wet and it was a cracker. Maybe some tracks are worse than others.

 

I don't think a return to uprights is on the cards!!!

[The White Knight]

Glasgow (wettest place in the world after Manchester) have only had one home meeting called off this year, and have had meetings in extremely damp conditions. EG Coventry meeting - track was very wet and it was a cracker. Maybe some tracks are worse than others.

 

I don't think a return to uprights is on the cards!!!

A pity that. :sad:

[Deano]

The bikes and riders suits are the only thing that has moved on in the last 30 years.

 

Everything else around them is exactly the same as it was back in 1986 barring the air fence.

 

So, it mates you wonder that it's probably everything else that needs to catch up with the bikes.

[Daniel Smith]

The bikes and riders suits are the only thing that has moved on in the last 30 years.

 

Everything else around them is exactly the same as it was back in 1986 barring the air fence.

 

So, it mates you wonder that it's probably everything else that needs to catch up with the bikes.

 

So the bikes & suits ain't the only things to change in the last 30 years then

 

I think this whole thing about laydowns being more unpredictable is nonesense. Things move on over time and if a modern engine was produced in an upright fashion I'd have no doubt it'd be pretty much the same performance wise.

[The White Knight]

 

So the bikes & suits ain't the only things to change in the last 30 years then

 

I think this whole thing about laydowns being more unpredictable is nonesense. Things move on over time and if a modern engine was produced in an upright fashion I'd have no doubt it'd be pretty much the same performance wise.

Perhaps they should give it a try.

 

I might even make the Bikes safer?

[Star Lady]

 

 

I might even make the Bikes safer?

 

but they will only be interested if it makes them faster

[The White Knight]

 

but they will only be interested if it makes them faster

I'm afraid that you are right Star Lady. :sad:

 

Faster does not make the Racing better in my opinion. For the sake of a few tenths of a second, they have changed the Bikes in to very dangerous machines indeed. Racing is definitely faster these days - but it was better in years past.

 

There were still injuries then - but not so many serious ones.

 

Of course, I know I will be called a rose coloured spectacled old duffer - but it is what I believe to be true.

[daveallan81]

Gresham, on 29 Jul 2016 - 12:31 PM, said:

What percentage of rain off's have we had this season?

 

Imo, it's the amount of rain offs we have, and the irregularity of speedway meetings being on, that is the problem...as people get fed up of travelling miles only to be told it's off.

 

I personally enjoyed seeing riders battle the elements as well as one another.

 

Postponements sit a tad under 20%, abandonments at 4.5%. That includes all 2016 meetings up to last night.

[The White Knight]

 

Postponements sit a tad under 20%, abandonments at 4.5%. That includes all 2016 meetings up to last night.

Like the Avatar Dave.

 

Who is it?

[customhouseregular]

I'm afraid that you are right Star Lady. :sad:

 

Faster does not make the Racing better in my opinion. For the sake of a few tenths of a second, they have changed the Bikes in to very dangerous machines indeed. Racing is definitely faster these days - but it was better in years past.

 

There were still injuries then - but not so many serious ones.

 

Of course, I know I will be called a rose coloured spectacled old duffer - but it is what I believe to be true.

Let's have a cheer for all us rose- coloured spectacled old duffers. Long may we live to continue loving our speedway.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I've said many times it boils my piss when I see tuners taking the credit for riders , it shouldn't be like that, in speedway fans don't care about what bikes and who tunes them ,it's about the rider , it is not a bike sport it's a team sport on bikes , tuners and riders are dictating the direction and the cost of the sport and if you let the tail wag the dog for long enough the dog will fall over , the lesson is there to see and it's been there for long enough but will anything change ? I doubt it

[SPEEDY69]

They all seemed to get on ok at the SEC round earlier this year in dreadful wet conditions, in fact the racing was made very interesting by it. A lot goes into perfomrance on the track, not just engines or their power but also riding styles, experience of the rider, the track, weather of course. If you've never ridden on a wet track you will struggle to start with.

 

I also agree with Danny Smith earlier in that i don't think the positioning of the engine makes any difference to unpredictability - however a short stroke is definitely more unpredictable than a long stroke engine and unfortunately many riders now use these. I think there should be some way to reduce the speed of the bikes because for me that's not the sole attraction of speedway, it's the combat.

[Gresham]

I read a interview the other day with Tai Woffinden, where he said bikes were very hard to control these days and they were very often just hanging on.

 

So if the world champion is saying he is just hanging on and has less control, what does that say about our sport?

 

He mentioned that it was like driving a car on marbles.

[steve roberts]

I read a interview the other day with Tai Woffinden, where he said bikes were very hard to control these days and they were very often just hanging on.

 

So if the world champion is saying he is just hanging on and has less control, what does that say about our sport?

 

He mentioned that it was like driving a car on marbles.

I recall an interview with the late Kelly Moran some years ago when he was quoted as saying that he had difficulty riding a lay down engine.

[Gresham]

I recall an interview with the late Kelly Moran some years ago when he was quoted as saying that he had difficulty riding a lay down engine.

It's the high revs, the back wheel spins so fast, it almost needs a perfect track to get traction.

 

Notice how much a rider in turns 2 and 4 has to lean over, but push the bike out with his arms to keep it more upright, often with the right leg off the peg....all because the rear wheel needs to find more traction....otherwise it just turns 360.

 

The Sport is out of control. at least with F1 they real things back in...Speedway has just been led by the manufacturers and tuners.

[E I Addio]

Peter Johns made some good points in SS a while back. The important thing is transferring power from the engine to the track via the back tyre and Johns suggested changing the tyre compound to make it less grippy so tuners would then be forced to "soften " the engines other wise they would just be spinning up all the time.

 

Sounds a good idea in theory but would need some careful thought. I seem to remember many years ago they played about with tyres and just made all worse. However technology has moved on and it is perhaps worth some thought as long as they (the tyre manufacturers} can get it right.

Edited July 29, 2016 by E I Addio