NO WORD FROM THE BSPA

[old bob at herne bay]

Ove  fundin fan, I think we are on the same page.....meetings need to snappier,less delays etc etc .... maybe 3 laps doesn’t help .. but why are we sticking to 15 heats ? Let’s have 18 heats ...... maybe have a separate 3 lap tournament with 2 meetings each of 13 heats in an evening..... lets have KO cup matches with say 16 heats - variety is the spice of life......it’s all so same old same old . You can tarmac the starts and stop gardening at a stroke . Or stick a scaffold pole behind em when they get to the tapes. 1 minute warning will get some urgency into the  riders getting to the starts. 2 minutes is TOO LONG for a restart after a tapes infringement. 

Problem I have with speedway 2018 is as well as the BSPA, most diehard fans appear to have accepted the appalling presentation, the appalling stadia, the appalling delays as “part and parcel” of the sport....... trouble is no new fans are interested. 

 

 

 

[waytogo28]

2 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said:

2 minutes is TOO LONG for a restart after a tapes infringement. 

Yes, it is far too long. back to the start straight away. Tarmac or concrete starting area, please. Get on sharply with the interesting bits.

[therefused]

In my opinion, every track should have a 2-minute clock. If the rider isn't ready to race in the two minutes, tough they are thrown out. 

 

I would allow rolling at the starts as long as the rider didnt actually touch the tapes. This would cut down on restarts when someone moves. 

[moxey63]

And to keep older fans interested, perhaps keep the race gaps to a few minutes so they don't forget what they're actually there for and don't get confused thinking it's a tractor show.  

Edited August 7, 2018 by moxey63

[Chris116]

Many of the ideas that have appeared above are workable and would improve the meeting for the new customers as well as those of us who have been watching for over 60 years (in my case 64 years in September). 

I do not like the idea of three lap races although I understand why the idea was put forward. In fact I think all races should be over a similar distance so small tracks like Mildenhall would run five laps. Four laps on a 400 metre track is a 1600 metre race and for small tracks you run the race over the number of laps that gets as close but not over that distance. 300 metre track would be 5 x 300 = 1500, 230 metre track would be 6 x 230 = 1380. The idea may need working on but I hope you get the idea.

Tarmac or concrete start areas worked well in the 1960's as I remember it so I think they should make a swift comeback.

Running two matches in an evening was something I had not thought of but with 13 heat matches and running alternate heats from the two matches would guarantee that a rider never had two races on the trot. I would suggest that the second match should be of National League/Development League standard.

Get referees to use the 2 minute warning like Frank Ebdon used to when a storm was threatened. I can remember one meeting at Arena Essex where storms were all around the track but Frank had the two minute warning for the next race sounding as the last rider left the track for every race. Meeting started at 8pm and by 9.15pm I was in my car on my way home in a massive thunderstorm. 15 races done in under 75 minutes and as I left I heard lots of fans saying that they wished a storm was threatened every week!

 

[Danny Connor]

How about In stadium betting like at the dogs? 

Do it the same way a pub does on race night. you pick your rider and don't know until all bets are in what you could be set to win. I bet that would create an atmosphere in itself

[ancient mariner]

2 hours ago, Chris116 said:

Many of the ideas that have appeared above are workable and would improve the meeting for the new customers as well as those of us who have been watching for over 60 years (in my case 64 years in September). 

I do not like the idea of three lap races although I understand why the idea was put forward. In fact I think all races should be over a similar distance so small tracks like Mildenhall would run five laps. Four laps on a 400 metre track is a 1600 metre race and for small tracks you run the race over the number of laps that gets as close but not over that distance. 300 metre track would be 5 x 300 = 1500, 230 metre track would be 6 x 230 = 1380. The idea may need working on but I hope you get the idea.

Tarmac or concrete start areas worked well in the 1960's as I remember it so I think they should make a swift comeback.

Running two matches in an evening was something I had not thought of but with 13 heat matches and running alternate heats from the two matches would guarantee that a rider never had two races on the trot. I would suggest that the second match should be of National League/Development League standard.

Get referees to use the 2 minute warning like Frank Ebdon used to when a storm was threatened. I can remember one meeting at Arena Essex where storms were all around the track but Frank had the two minute warning for the next race sounding as the last rider left the track for every race. Meeting started at 8pm and by 9.15pm I was in my car on my way home in a massive thunderstorm. 15 races done in under 75 minutes and as I left I heard lots of fans saying that they wished a storm was threatened every week!

 

That would mean 7 lap races at Plymouth!

[teaboy279]

I don't like the idea of 2 meetings run together. 

Never fully enjoy the play off semis when it's a double header, makes it harder to get emersered in events.

[Hamish McRaker]

15 hours ago, teaboy279 said:

I don't like the idea of 2 meetings run together. 

Never fully enjoy the play off semis when it's a double header, makes it harder to get emersered in events.

Spectators with dementia would find this very stressful indeed and it would probably cause a worsening of their condition. This in turn would led to a substantial reduction in attendances.

[Hawk127]

19 hours ago, Danny Connor said:

How about In stadium betting like at the dogs? 

Do it the same way a pub does on race night. you pick your rider and don't know until all bets are in what you could be set to win. I bet that would create an atmosphere in itself

I agree and add to this the option of picking the finishing order and heat result. Betting stops as soon as the tapes rise. Alternatively run it like a lottery with a percentage of the wager going to to a local charity each week and for the play offs a percentage goes to the Ben Fund. Put betting on site might  see the numbers through the gate increase. Some comparison with dog betting but less time to wait between races. 

[waytogo28]

Do be careful with that one. It is the betting in Japan at the autojo which means a meeting takes more than six hours with three races per hour. Very long gaps for punters to collect their winnings or place their bets on the outcome of the next race. Bloody good racing with loads of passing in every race ( because of the handicap system ). All on 600cc bikes racing on tarmac. And 50p to get in! Fast exciting races but such long gaps, I missed the tractor racing ( not now of course ).

[Grachan]

4 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

Do be careful with that one. It is the betting in Japan at the autojo which means a meeting takes more than six hours with three races per hour. Very long gaps for punters to collect their winnings or place their bets on the outcome of the next race. Bloody good racing with loads of passing in every race ( because of the handicap system ). All on 600cc bikes racing on tarmac. And 50p to get in! Fast exciting races but such long gaps, I missed the tractor racing ( not now of course ).

I went to a couple of those meetings a few years back. They are an all day affair, with people coming in and leaving during the day - lunch time being the busiest as people come in during the lunch hour.

If you think of horse racing and the gaps between the races it's basically the same as that.

[Danny Connor]

1 hour ago, waytogo28 said:

Do be careful with that one. It is the betting in Japan at the autojo which means a meeting takes more than six hours with three races per hour. Very long gaps for punters to collect their winnings or place their bets on the outcome of the next race. Bloody good racing with loads of passing in every race ( because of the handicap system ). All on 600cc bikes racing on tarmac. And 50p to get in! Fast exciting races but such long gaps, I missed the tractor racing ( not now of course ).

Could do it in batches. 3-4 heats at a time! Allows for something to do when the track is being graded. if you knew you had 15 minutes to get your betting cards in!  could do it via an app on the internet phones maybe. or in person. if there is a heat change and your rider is no longer in the race then its void!

3 hours ago, Hawk127 said:

I agree and add to this the option of picking the finishing order and heat result. Betting stops as soon as the tapes rise. Alternatively run it like a lottery with a percentage of the wager going to to a local charity each week and for the play offs a percentage goes to the Ben Fund. Put betting on site might  see the numbers through the gate increase. Some comparison with dog betting but less time to wait between races. 

Why charity! the sport struggles enough to make money domestically! why give it away. Imagine if teams made a profit and could invest in the facilities and the future. or even if (like the dogs) the admission fee was minimal because the money was made from the betting percentage! meaning the hardcore purists get speedway for cheaper. Love the idea of the Finishing order bets etc! Could be something in this!

I

[Hawk127]

4 hours ago, Danny Connor said:

Could do it in batches. 3-4 heats at a time! Allows for something to do when the track is being graded. if you knew you had 15 minutes to get your betting cards in!  could do it via an app on the internet phones maybe. or in person. if there is a heat change and your rider is no longer in the race then its void!

Why charity! the sport struggles enough to make money domestically! why give it away. Imagine if teams made a profit and could invest in the facilities and the future. or even if (like the dogs) the admission fee was minimal because the money was made from the betting percentage! meaning the hardcore purists get speedway for cheaper. Love the idea of the Finishing order bets etc! Could be something in this!

I

Just thought that local charities might create more publicity and bring in that local support which is there or thereabouts and raise the profile in the local community. National publicity has not worked and the lazy promoters do not sell the sport relying on press and radio coverage (mainly BBC)  so this is partly doing the job for them. We know that promoters rarely promote (unlike stock cars and bangers) and to keep the sport alive, something needs doing as without some ideas that are thinking outside the box speedway is dead in the water. Poor stadia, poor tracks, poor presentation and taking the p.. with running 15 races over two hours says all that is wrong. If you want to run something that takes two hours plus then invoke some interest such as betting but stop taking the punters for fools. Promoters need to wise up and get real. If they cannot get a grip on what is wrong, close down the venue rather than hold others to ransom.

[moxey63]

On 8/8/2018 at 9:13 PM, Hawk127 said:

Just thought that local charities might create more publicity and bring in that local support which is there or thereabouts and raise the profile in the local community. National publicity has not worked and the lazy promoters do not sell the sport relying on press and radio coverage (mainly BBC)  so this is partly doing the job for them. We know that promoters rarely promote (unlike stock cars and bangers) and to keep the sport alive, something needs doing as without some ideas that are thinking outside the box speedway is dead in the water. Poor stadia, poor tracks, poor presentation and taking the p.. with running 15 races over two hours says all that is wrong. If you want to run something that takes two hours plus then invoke some interest such as betting but stop taking the punters for fools. Promoters need to wise up and get real. If they cannot get a grip on what is wrong, close down the venue rather than hold others to ransom.

I gather stockcars and banger racing aren't staged every week and therefore there is the time and energy to promote upcoming events between the breaks. I may be wrong though. But you have to ask yourself, would speedway attract that many new fans and be able to keep them? It's alright showing flashy videos of action and spills during, say, a 30-second period. But the reality hits home when you actually enter the stadium and discover the sport isn't as fast-moving as you had been fooled into believing. The video that's attracted the newbie suddenly turns into the real world of "mummy, look at that tractor."

Edited August 10, 2018 by moxey63

[Hawk127]

While we still have no news, an interesting comment in SS this week by Stuart Kellie of Plymouth when he is quoted as saying “We have an idea of how speedway will run in 2019 and it is just a case of forecasting how we can balance the figures, taking into account the potential gate figures and sponsorship income”  This was said as Plymouth are considering stepping up from the NL. I guess all will be revealed in the fullness of time but if Plymouth have an idea why can’t the BSPA be more open and in doing so perhaps generate some good will from one of their most important assets, the supporters. I suspect I know the answer and in the end their approach to public relations continue to be dire.

[PHILIPRISING]

41 minutes ago, Hawk127 said:

While we still have no news, an interesting comment in SS this week by Stuart Kellie of Plymouth when he is quoted as saying “We have an idea of how speedway will run in 2019 and it is just a case of forecasting how we can balance the figures, taking into account the potential gate figures and sponsorship income”  This was said as Plymouth are considering stepping up from the NL. I guess all will be revealed in the fullness of time but if Plymouth have an idea why can’t the BSPA be more open and in doing so perhaps generate some good will from one of their most important assets, the supporters. I suspect I know the answer and in the end their approach to public relations continue to be dire.

WHICH is exactly how this particular topic started. There is word in the air that one league has been dropped, that some CL tracks will move into the PL and NL ones into the CL. 

[Tsunami]

8 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

WHICH is exactly how this particular topic started. There is word in the air that one league has been dropped, that some CL tracks will move into the PL and NL ones into the CL. 

I gather there was a meeting of the BSPA on Monday/Tuesday and the main topic would be next years league formats, so they are hardly in a position to announce anything till things are sorted. 

Edited August 16, 2018 by Tsunami

[mikebv]

52 minutes ago, Hawk127 said:

While we still have no news, an interesting comment in SS this week by Stuart Kellie of Plymouth when he is quoted as saying “We have an idea of how speedway will run in 2019 and it is just a case of forecasting how we can balance the figures, taking into account the potential gate figures and sponsorship income”  This was said as Plymouth are considering stepping up from the NL. I guess all will be revealed in the fullness of time but if Plymouth have an idea why can’t the BSPA be more open and in doing so perhaps generate some good will from one of their most important assets, the supporters. I suspect I know the answer and in the end their approach to public relations continue to be dire.

"We have an idea how Speedway will run in 2019"...

Let's hope it isn't how its been done for the past 10 years or so...

[waytogo28]

12 minutes ago, PHILIPRISING said:

WHICH is exactly how this particular topic started. There is word in the air that one league has been dropped, that some CL tracks will move into the PL and NL ones into the CL. 

Oh, same old, same old structure then seems likely to be laid before us. That structure has already failed abysmally to neither retain existing fans, nor attract new ones.