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For or against team suits


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9 hours ago, Trees said:

Team suits are annoying from a fan's point of view but a must for a pro look! 

They most certainly are not. Guess you get some who don't like and some who do. 

3 hours ago, IronScorpion said:

 Once a rider has got a helmet & goggles on & is on a bike, can you actually tell who it is? Individual kevlars identify the rider through their own sponsors as well as on the bike covers.

I do agree with Star Lady in that a stretch waistcoat type top with club colours, emblem & sponsors would be a better & cheaper option.

I can tell with ease. Bike and covers, sponsors on kevlars, helmet,  style, build. Is very little difference to riders in their own racesuits. Plus the biggest giveaway the number on the back. Couldn't be more easier.

You can either tell a rider or you can't. 

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18 minutes ago, Trees said:

That's what I meant about being a pain for the fans, of course some riders' styles are immediately recognisable, at least their bikes are individual.... 

I think it’s a personal choice. I prefer team suits, you perhaps don’t and that’s your choice. In Poland this year we are also have team bike covers, which perhaps will make it even harder for fans. However the design of team suits and bike covers have a nice twist, which I’m certain the Rzeszow fans will like once they are revealed. This design will make each individual rider stand out from his team mate. 

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24 minutes ago, Skidder1 said:

Swedes don't have team race suits and I don't see them being criticised.

 

Even some countries didn't have team suits in the old WTC.

I’m not criticising anyone. I just prefer team suits and yes you are right some Swedish, Danish teams and WC teams don’t have team suits. Though teams in Sweden and Poland we have ridden for have always supplied team suit. 

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1 hour ago, Skidder1 said:

Swedes don't have team race suits and I don't see them being criticised.

 

Even some countries didn't have team suits in the old WTC.

Somebody has mentioned some Swedish sides not using them and how that doesn't look as good.

Any team, whether that be a club or national side, looks far less professional and like a proper 'team' if they don't have matching race suits.

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4 hours ago, sugarray said:

I'm pretty sure that figure is a big liberal so take it with a pinch of salt.

If it is so easy to get a big sponsor for these race suits, don't you think the clubs havent tried? 

The club's where I help have till they are blue in the face but 7000 is a big lay out for little or no return.

I'm not saying it's easy, matter of fact far from it, but there is a good 6 months in the off season so I'd have to question how much of a priority it has been. Especially in Somerset where there is so many businesses that are booming right now especially with the developments of Hinckley Point power station nearby. I don't mean this as a dig but I'm amazed there aren't businesses willing to part with a thousand pound here and there, which is small money to some of them but a difference in the current Speedway world.

I've been a graphic designer for 8 years and have worked within existing brand guidelines for some big companies and created plenty others too so I know the importance of brands and identities. Everybody just keeps looking at the cost of racesuits but they forget that the images of the riders will be in the paper each week, they'll be used on advertisements hoardings, posters, social media etc you name it. Parading Jason Doyle's or whoever individual race colours will look terrific instead of Somerset colours!! I just find it absolute mind boggling. It is such a massive oversight. It probably won't put people off going who already go, but it certainly won't help newcomers go as there is then no association to the team... just a bunch of randomers turning up for an amatuar outting. Like I said, a massive oversight.

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4 hours ago, Skidder1 said:

Swedes don't have team race suits and I don't see them being criticised.

 

Even some countries didn't have team suits in the old WTC.

The old WTC... that says all you need to know, that some people see the way forward for British Speedway is reverting back to 15 years to the year 2003!

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16 hours ago, DWP said:

What should riders wear then, jeans and T shirts. You come off a speedway bike and as your arse is torn off, you can be thinking “I’m glad Club didn’t fritter any money away on my protection “ Its a professional sport, so Club should supply each rider with a good quality Kevlar team suit. Riders have to supply all other equipment, bikes, helmets, under protection etc. Certain Hamilton doesn’t supply his own F1 car, fire suit etc. Rooney doesn’t buy his own football shirt and has to bring a ball to play with. Ok some will say there isn’t the same money in speedway as F1 / football. There isn’t I agree, but is the sport professional or not. If a Club can’t afford this, well they shouldn’t be running as a professional speedway club and if all can’t afford it, British speedway should be an amateur sport and let the Poles, Swedes and Danes run professional speedway. 

If your argument for kevlar suits is safety then surely you should be arguing for airbag suits such as those made by Dianese and Alpinestars, as used by Marquez, Rossi and Dovi?

Incidentally, I've never seen anyone who has had their arse torn off and I've seen quite a lot of motorbike crashes but perhaps I need to get out more.

What's better for a club to be professional looking and broke or a bit less scrubbed and polished but solvent?

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Team suits are a big help to identify which rider is which plus it gives a more professional look. 

Out of interest which team first went for team suits? I remember Halifax Dukes wore a team suit in the early 70's. 

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44 minutes ago, fubar said:

If your argument for kevlar suits is safety then surely you should be arguing for airbag suits such as those made by Dianese and Alpinestars, as used by Marquez, Rossi and Dovi?

Incidentally, I've never seen anyone who has had their arse torn off and I've seen quite a lot of motorbike crashes but perhaps I need to get out more.

What's better for a club to be professional looking and broke or a bit less scrubbed and polished but solvent?

Another one who can't look past the cost of race suits, as oppose to the extra marketing opportunities and creation of extra income it could bring if done properly....

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27 minutes ago, adonis said:

these " kevlars"  and I use the term very loosely since there's virtually no kevlar in them , offer  no protection whatsoever , they have no abrasion resistance at all . so when you fall off your speedway bike you are just as likely to get you arse torn off as you would be wearing a decent pair of Levi's , at least the Levi's wouldn't melt and fuse themselves into your skin ,  "polyester" race suits  were created purely for ease of manufacture and decoration ,  Think polyester suits offer any protection ?  Ask Jason Crump 

I'm not sure on the ins and outs of what material does what in terms of race suits currently. But if I was a promoter, I'd have done my research and say to my riders "this is what we are prepared to provide you with, costing X amount. If you wish to have a greater product or brand then that is fine and you can cover the difference in price."

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6 minutes ago, Najjer said:

Another one who can't look past the cost of race suits, as oppose to the extra marketing opportunities and creation of extra income it could bring if done properly....

There are very few speedway outfits in this country that have the ability or the inclination to do things properly.

That nice Mr Hammond says that he has no plans to change his policy away from austerity. The beatings will continue until morale improves.

So let's keep things simple, let's keep things cost-effective and let's try and keep speedway alive by not spending money that doesn't need to be spent.

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1 hour ago, Trevor said:

Team suits are a big help to identify which rider is which plus it gives a more professional look. 

Out of interest which team first went for team suits? I remember Halifax Dukes wore a team suit in the early 70's. 

Leicester in 1969.

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3 hours ago, adonis said:

If team suits are popular with the public but cost is prohibitive , then a set of plain leathers for each rider which they buy themselves , and teams  supply  a lycra oversuit  as worn by winter olympic athletes ,  protection provided by the leathers  , ease of decoration and low cost provided by the lycra ,  Current polyester decoration systems could be used for the lycra so the manufacturers of the current polyester suits ,would still have their cash cow , 

OMG NO to lycra over suits, British speedway has been there, done that in the past, the riders hate them and they looked hideous lol. 

Why don't the promoters ask the fans to pay for the suits with the promise they keep them at the end of the season, some promotions have done just this in the lower leagues... 

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I'm 60-40 in favour of team suits, but quite a few didn't match anyway so maybe race bibs is the garment of choice long as the riders' own suits are in the team colours....

Edited by martinmauger
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19 minutes ago, Trees said:

OMG NO to lycra over suits, British speedway has been there, done that in the past, the riders hate them and they looked hideous lol. . 

1998 was the year of the lycra oversuits.   They were terrible and riders hated them.

I was up in Manchester at the Belle Vue press day with a rider that year.  Riders hated them, and they'd barely finished the team photos before Andy Smith had taken a pair of scissors to his, cut the arms off, and was threatening to cut the legs off to leave just a bib.   John Perrin was not best pleased.

Within a few months most riders had had their own team suits made to the same design and dispensed with the lyrca monstrosities.

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55 minutes ago, adonis said:

No they haven't , they had those awful Wulfsport tops , not lycra oversuits 

Those moto X style outfits arrived in 2000, we had them at Lynn in what was Wagstaff's first season (Silver Machine) and as you say Wolves had something very similar. As Walter says in 1998 the terrible lycra oversuits were used (I think they may have been Wiggy's idea) and didn't last that long and most riders had their own kevlars in team colours made pretty quickly. The lycra suits even had matching full helmet colours! Eurgh.

If a much better version of these oversuits could be made they would eliminate the cost of team racesuits without compromising on team identity.

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