Team Suits and/or Race Jackets

[steve roberts]

Having flicked thru' a recent edition of 'Speedway Star' I happened to notice that Poole on a recent visit to Belle Vue appeared to have dispensed with team suits adopting race jackets instead. Scanning further thru' the mag it seems that some teams are re-adopting race jackets whereas others have the club insignia on their team suits.

Are team suits no longer compulsory and left to individual clubs to adopt whatever suits? 

Edited April 29, 2018 by steve roberts

[cityrebel]

It all comes down to costs Steve. Kevlars are very expensive to produce, and race jackets only cost around the £50 Mark to make. Rye house have been using the dreadful race shirts this season. It's all about saving money rather than appearance.

[Starman2006]

1 hour ago, cityrebel said:

It all comes down to costs Steve. Kevlars are very expensive to produce, and race jackets only cost around the £50 Mark to make. Rye house have been using the dreadful race shirts this season. It's all about saving money rather than appearance.

Clubs have to do it mate. Simple as that.

[SteveLyric2]

3 hours ago, steve roberts said:

Having flicked thru' a recent edition of 'Speedway Star' I happened to notice that Poole on a recent visit to Belle Vue appeared to have dispensed with team suits adopting race jackets instead. Scanning further thru' the mag it seems that some teams are re-adopting race jackets whereas others have the club insignia on their team suits.

Are team suits no longer compulsory and left to individual clubs to adopt whatever suits? 

I believe Sky insisted on Team racesuits when they had the TV contract. BT make no such insistence and pay virtually comparatively nothing for the broadcast rights.

Its definitely a cost cutting exercise by those clubs that have chosen not to have them.

[steve roberts]

1 hour ago, Skidder1 said:

I believe Sky insisted on Team racesuits when they had the TV contract. BT make no such insistence and pay virtually comparatively nothing for the broadcast rights.

Its definitely a cost cutting exercise by those clubs that have chosen not to have them.

Many thanks for that...it just looks very messy in my opinion whereby the idea of team suits was to make the sport look more 'professional' (although I disliked them personally) and now it appears that it's left to discretion of any one promotion as to which way to go...team suits or race jackets.

[steve roberts]

3 hours ago, cityrebel said:

It all comes down to costs Steve. Kevlars are very expensive to produce, and race jackets only cost around the £50 Mark to make. Rye house have been using the dreadful race shirts this season. It's all about saving money rather than appearance.

...personally I always preferred race jackets and the choice of individual leathers. It made it easier identifying one rider from another.

[marko]

I’m with Steve on this, I much prefer seeing riders with individual kevlars and bike colours.

[SteveLyric2]

Just for info I see the Team GB guys won the 4-team meeting in Germany yesterday wearing race jackets rather than team racesuits!!

[Jonny the spud]

12 hours ago, Skidder1 said:

Just for info I see the Team GB guys won the 4-team meeting in Germany yesterday wearing race jackets rather than team racesuits!!

That’s because not every rider is lucky enough to have a GB race suit.

[Sings4Speedway]

On 30/04/2018 at 11:05 PM, Jonny the spud said:

That’s because not every rider is lucky enough to have a GB race suit.

And what a huge shame it is that the achievements of these 4 young riders only gets mentioned in a slightly snipey way on a race suit thread.

[Jonny the spud]

29 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

And what a huge shame it is that the achievements of these 4 young riders only gets mentioned in a slightly snipey way on a race suit thread.

It wasn’t meant as a snipey way, it’s just that it all comes down to money. 

 

Were hearing  about these plans for team GB but unless there’s a large sponsor willing to finance a pool of top class engines and a budget for suits and publicity etc, all the keep fit lessons in the world will come to nothing. 

 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Jonny the spud

[Sings4Speedway]

19 minutes ago, Jonny the spud said:

It wasn’t meant as a snipey way, it’s just that it all comes down to money. 

 

Were hearing  about these plans for team GB but unless there’s a large sponsor willing to finance a pool of top class engines and a budget for suits and publicity etc, all the keep fit lessons in the world will come to nothing. 

 

Apologies bad quoting on my part.

Would be interesting to see if the new setup is prepared to subsidise suits? For example plenty of riders have to fund their own kevlars at present, however if they were to use the National Team design they would get £200 towards them for example? The riders can then use them week in week out etc.

Think everyone has seen the former team GB suits on ebay within weeks of a world cup despite them being sponsor supplied so its clear certain riders have little regard for them but if they had a vested interest in the suit it might be kept?

[OldRacer]

On 4/29/2018 at 4:06 AM, Starman2006 said:

Clubs have to do it mate. Simple as that.

Some clubs choose to do it. None are forced one way or another.

[Rob B]

If we trying to portray the sport as professional team sport, one looks far better then the other :

[steve roberts]

5 hours ago, Rob B said:

If we trying to portray the sport as professional team sport, one looks far better then the other :

...picture of Poole, the Man Utd of speedway (according to Craig Boyce!). What a burden to carry!

[Midland Red]

8 hours ago, Rob B said:

If we trying to portray the sport as professional team sport, one looks far better then the other :

I just wonder whether, to any newcomers to the sport, those in the top photo - when they've donned their helmets and goggles - all look too much the same

I remember the individuality of the appearance of riders like Mauger, Wigg, Boocock, Broadbanks, Silver, Cowland, etc, which somehow added to the experience as they were so immediately recognisable from the terraces and stands

Particularly in these days of so many journeyman riders, making them all so anonymous is detrimental - race jackets (bibs) did us well enough for so long - and anyway, in team racing, it's helmet colours which are the easy way to identify the team members on track

[steve roberts]

1 hour ago, Midland Red said:

I just wonder whether, to any newcomers to the sport, those in the top photo - when they've donned their helmets and goggles - all look too much the same

I remember the individuality of the appearance of riders like Mauger, Wigg, Boocock, Broadbanks, Silver, Cowland, etc, which somehow added to the experience as they were so immediately recognisable from the terraces and stands

Particularly in these days of so many journeyman riders, making them all so anonymous is detrimental - race jackets (bibs) did us well enough for so long - and anyway, in team racing, it's helmet colours which are the easy way to identify the team members on track

Agree totally!

[Jonny the spud]

20 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Apologies bad quoting on my part.

Would be interesting to see if the new setup is prepared to subsidise suits? For example plenty of riders have to fund their own kevlars at present, however if they were to use the National Team design they would get £200 towards them for example? The riders can then use them week in week out etc.

Think everyone has seen the former team GB suits on ebay within weeks of a world cup despite them being sponsor supplied so its clear certain riders have little regard for them but if they had a vested interest in the suit it might be kept?

It’s not s case of little regard for the suit. One GB suit is in a frame in my office. It was bought at an auction to help the rider for the following season. 

[OldRacer]

8 hours ago, Midland Red said:

I just wonder whether, to any newcomers to the sport, those in the top photo - when they've donned their helmets and goggles - all look too much the same

I remember the individuality of the appearance of riders like Mauger, Wigg, Boocock, Broadbanks, Silver, Cowland, etc, which somehow added to the experience as they were so immediately recognisable from the terraces and stands

Particularly in these days of so many journeyman riders, making them all so anonymous is detrimental - race jackets (bibs) did us well enough for so long - and anyway, in team racing, it's helmet colours which are the easy way to identify the team members on track

Last season I took some friends who were new to the sport to a meeting at Auburn. They just looked at helmet colours and (mainly) race jacket numbers to identify riders. They weren't looking to learn which riders wore which suits. 

There is a staggering difference in professionalism between the two photos above. It is a great example.

[Chadster]

I accept that race suits are good for uniformity and professionalism, but that Sheffield suit is ridiculously fussy, odd bits of blue, black and white with a tiny splash of yellow. I'd make the same obsevation about the Ipswich and Belle Vue suits from what I've seen. One of the things that's being lost in this fussiness is team identity and particularly  through the use of team colours. Anyone looking at those Sheffield suits would have a hard job guessing that the club colours, which you'd prsumably want to use on publicity etc, are blue and yellow.