British Youth Championship - Scunthorpe 22nd July

[Hot Shoe]

I'm a bit underwhelmed by the meeting last night. Surely someone at Speedway HQ could have put a bit of effort to make this an occasion as it was a British Championship round. Instead it looked so amateurish. No real pre-race presentation or sense of occasion,  just a few riders let onto the track to have a random practice session. The hardly audible PA didn't help but hardly anyone watching seemed to know what was going on. A bit of a shambles really. Compare this to how other motorsports treat their junior competitors. Road Racing, Motor Racing, Stock Cars etc could all teach speedway how to put on an event and make the competitors feel that they are competing to be British champion.
No wonder speedway is going down the pan when what should be a showcase for British speedway's future is so poorly presented.

Edited July 23, 2018 by Hot Shoe

[Albert]

The meeting itself wasn't the best... Great 500 Final though, great advertisement for youth speedway.

Less of an advertisement was young kids getting lapped.. surely these kids ought to be of a standard before putting them in such a meeting.

[Hot Shoe]

5 hours ago, Albert said:

The meeting itself wasn't the best... Great 500 Final though, great advertisement for youth speedway.

Less of an advertisement was young kids getting lapped.. surely these kids ought to be of a standard before putting them in such a meeting.

My main concern was how poorly presented the meeting was and how the BSPA could have at least made an effort in that respect. It was after all a showcase for the future of British speedway but i do agree though that yes there was some good close racing but often there were two separate races going on at times. I also agree that it isn't good seeing kids getting lapped and that really needs sorting out in the British Championship as it doesn't do anyone any good.

[WalterPlinge]

On 7/23/2018 at 6:00 PM, Hot Shoe said:

My main concern was how poorly presented the meeting was 

You might see something different in the next round on Saturday.

I'm told there's a big turnout of riders, but also Belle Vue are putting on Sidecars, Flat-track, and Blast from the Past.   Got to be 50+ races, all for a fiver adults, and kids go free.  

[Hot Shoe]

15 minutes ago, WalterPlinge said:

You might see something different in the next round on Saturday.

I'm told there's a big turnout of riders, but also Belle Vue are putting on Sidecars, Flat-track, and Blast from the Past.   Got to be 50+ races, all for a fiver adults, and kids go free.  

Yes i know some of the flat trackers that are going.

I do hope though that the racing in the youth championships is more even than it was at Scunny as i can't see it does anyone any good to be riding around at the back and being lapped.

 

 

[Gambo]

47 minutes ago, Hot Shoe said:

Yes i know some of the flat trackers that are going.

I do hope though that the racing in the youth championships is more even than it was at Scunny as i can't see it does anyone any good to be riding around at the back and being lapped.

 

 

Surely any track time is important to gain experience?

[Sings4Speedway]

5 minutes ago, Gambo said:

Surely any track time is important to gain experience?

Experience plus the opportunity to ascertain where a rider really is in terms of ability and progression. Riders only improve racing better riders.

[Hot Shoe]

19 hours ago, Gambo said:

Surely any track time is important to gain experience?

Yes but at a British Championship round?

There are plenty of opportunities to gain experience but surely at a British Championship isn't the place for it.

Being so outclassed and lapped doesn't seem to be the sort of experience that is going to help anyone.

 

[Hot Shoe]

19 hours ago, Sings4Speedway said:

Experience plus the opportunity to ascertain where a rider really is in terms of ability and progression. Riders only improve racing better riders.

There are plenty of opportunities to do that at Buxton, Scunthorpe, Arena, Lydd, Iwade, Rye House, Redcar, Northside etc when kids can learn how to ride and race each other and progress under the guidance of people who are willing to help them.

The British Championship should be the place where the best riders learn how to compete and race with other top riders of the same age group in a championship environment. it isn't the place to ascertain where a rider is ability wise or to learn how to ride a speedway bike. That should have been done long before the even thinking of competing in a British Championship.

 

[Gambo]

30 minutes ago, Hot Shoe said:

There are plenty of opportunities to do that at Buxton, Scunthorpe, Arena, Lydd, Iwade, Rye House, Redcar, Northside etc when kids can learn how to ride and race each other and progress under the guidance of people who are willing to help them.

The British Championship should be the place where the best riders learn how to compete and race with other top riders of the same age group in a championship environment. it isn't the place to ascertain where a rider is ability wise or to learn how to ride a speedway bike. That should have been done long before the even thinking of competing in a British Championship.

 

And how do you ascertain who is the best? 

[Sings4Speedway]

IF there was competition for spaces in all classes at the youth rounds then yes a grading/ability guide should be used but sadly as there isn't then all track time is valuable to riders of whatever level. Obviously safety should be paramount and riders being lapped need to be aware of approaching riders, maintaining a line etc but its still a yardstick. A rider could be top of the pile at any track mentioned but would never truly know their level until they get to the Nationals.

[Hot Shoe]

59 minutes ago, Gambo said:

And how do you ascertain who is the best? 

By having a championship with the best riders in each age group.

[Gambo]

And how do you ascertain who those best riders are in each age group in the first place?

[Hot Shoe]

16 minutes ago, Sings4Speedway said:

IA rider could be top of the pile at any track mentioned but would never truly know their level until they get to the Nationals.

I think you'll find that if a rider is going to ride in the British Championship then they have ridden at most if not all of the training tracks i listed against every other rider who would be at the nationals.

[Gambo]

3 minutes ago, Hot Shoe said:

I think you'll find that if a rider is going to ride in the British Championship then they have ridden at most if not all of the training tracks i listed against every other rider who would be at the nationals.

At Scunthorpe in April there were 24 x 125 cc riders. Would you have limited that field to your chosen few? Or given all a chance for true competitive rides?

[Hot Shoe]

6 minutes ago, Gambo said:

And how do you ascertain who those best riders are in each age group in the first place?

The same way that you ascertain that in any championship in any other sport. You either have a qualifying system or simply pick the riders with the ability to race competitively.

The BSPA already a Speedway Training Programme in place and those who run that should and no doubt do know the ability of every rider who can potentially race in the british Youth Championship.

[Hot Shoe]

On 7/23/2018 at 12:51 PM, Albert said:

The meeting itself wasn't the best... Great 500 Final though, great advertisement for youth speedway.

Less of an advertisement was young kids getting lapped.. surely these kids ought to be of a standard before putting them in such a meeting.

Yes agreed. Some of the racing was excellent.

It was just a pity that some races were between pairs of riders a lap apart at times and surely that is no good for the riders or the sport.

[Gambo]

1 minute ago, Hot Shoe said:

Yes agreed. Some of the racing was excellent.

It was just a pity that some races were between pairs of riders a lap apart at times and surely that is no good for the riders or the sport.

Nobody forces them to ride. You ask Neil Vatcher, they ALL want to ride in these meetings, and you would deny them that chance?

How many riders (per Class) would you limit these Championship Rounds to?

[Gambo]

At the Championship Rounds they not only gain valuable track time, but also learn the discipline of a structured meeting and all which that encompasses, and not just free practice. Everybody learns more from racing against others.

[WalterPlinge]

2 hours ago, Gambo said:

Nobody forces them to ride. You ask Neil Vatcher, they ALL want to ride in these meetings, and you would deny them that chance?

 

Of course they want to ride, and what's more British Speedway needs them to be riding.

What crazy comments from someone wanting to restrict the chances to develop young British talent.