IainB Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 1 hour ago, mikebv said: In reality the racing at some tracks today is at least on a par, and for me, even better at some tracks, than what was delivered then.. I think in reality racing doesn't have that much to do with attracting a crowd. BV can't even get close to filling their place for anything other than a SoN event. While people, including myself, turn up every week to watch the cr@p served up at Leicester. It's all about credibility, the SoN is a credible event, held on the best track in the country, with the best facilities, with credible pairs/teams racing against each other. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 2 hours ago, iainb said: I think in reality racing doesn't have that much to do with attracting a crowd. BV can't even get close to filling their place for anything other than a SoN event. While people, including myself, turn up every week to watch the cr@p served up at Leicester. It's all about credibility, the SoN is a credible event, held on the best track in the country, with the best facilities, with credible pairs/teams racing against each other. All the FIM events in this country certainly get me and my lad attending.. Pity there isnt more.. SEC round, GP Challenge, U21 Final etc.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 4 minutes ago, mikebv said: All the FIM events in this country certainly get me and my lad attending.. Pity there isnt more.. SEC round, GP Challenge, U21 Final etc.. With Eurosport taking over the operation of the GP's it makes me wonder if we've seen the last GP at Cardiff and other venues similar. Don't know if the Cardiff contract has expired or if it's been null and voided by the circumstances of the last 2 years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grachan Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 17 hours ago, mikebv said: Indeed... But to be fair. ... If that 1974 final was ran on a Monday night... And shown live on TV.... With a line up that (apart from one rider), was made up of 2nd Division heat leaders and second strings... Like this year's British Final was... I don't think it would have been 'packed to the rafters'... The way the NSS wasnt the other night... In 1974 it would have been. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 22 minutes ago, iainb said: With Eurosport taking over the operation of the GP's it makes me wonder if we've seen the last GP at Cardiff and other venues similar. Don't know if the Cardiff contract has expired or if it's been null and voided by the circumstances of the last 2 years? Wasnt this the "Jewel in the BSI crown"? Hence they marketed it themselves and paid for the venue, rather than take a fee and let another promotion run it, (with Wales' tourist board financial support I think).. I presume it depends on how much it can deliver in £'s to the series owners, whether or not Cardiff stays on the rota.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dog Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 Given the way that Poland seems to be the Mecca of speedway nowadays, I can see most of the gps being held there with maybe the odd venture into Sweden or Denmark. Easier for riders to get about too, so sadly we might just have seen the last of Cardiff. I was told that all the shale they use for Cardiff has been sold/dissappeared too so who knows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 1 hour ago, The Dog said: Given the way that Poland seems to be the Mecca of speedway nowadays, I can see most of the gps being held there with maybe the odd venture into Sweden or Denmark. Easier for riders to get about too, so sadly we might just have seen the last of Cardiff. I was told that all the shale they use for Cardiff has been sold/dissappeared too so who knows... I don’t agree. We have seen that if a promotor in a far off country has the money then there may well be a GP ie New Zealand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dog Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 4 hours ago, OveFundinFan said: I don’t agree. We have seen that if a promotor in a far off country has the money then there may well be a GP ie New Zealand. Didn't the gps in Australia lose an awful lot of money tho and take into account the planning and organising to get riders and equipment there it's probably a bit of a ballache for everyone. Don't get me wrong, I think it should be spread around and venture to new countries but just right now Poland seems to run the show and the riders seem happy to go with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ch958 Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 a more adventurous approach would see Spain, Italy, USA, Germany etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 3 hours ago, The Dog said: Didn't the gps in Australia lose an awful lot of money tho and take into account the planning and organising to get riders and equipment there it's probably a bit of a ballache for everyone. Don't get me wrong, I think it should be spread around and venture to new countries but just right now Poland seems to run the show and the riders seem happy to go with it The reason why Poland for 2020 and 21 are having more GPs is entirely due to COVID. Travelling last year and up to middle of this has been restricted to to C19’ . Getting across borders and possibility of having to isolate has caused problems. With Vaculik injured the replace,met should have been Locachev from Ukraine, but he couldn’t get back to Ukraine isolation) to get a visa for next go. That’s how it goes, C19 still causing problems. And you know that Polish speedway is awash with money, so it’s only them (basically) that can afford double weekend GP’s. It would have been good to see 2 gp’s at Malilla but I suspect promotors short of money. And yes you are right, Australia and New Zealand didn’t make any money, that why if a promotor has money to burn the gp circus will go distances, sadly not enough promotors with spare cash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OveFundinFan Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 2 hours ago, ch958 said: a more adventurous approach would see Spain, Italy, USA, Germany etc. Italy has held crop FIM contest ie world team championship, best pairs and I think they had GP Challenge final. Germany has a GP round, this years got cancelled due to COVID restrictions, Spain is massively into MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3, Red Bull Challenge etc training young kids from very young age - would be difficult to break into Spain with speedway. USA, even in the heights of USA riders, and they were extremely good for years, had a World Championship final in Los Angeles, and I think a world team championship, but it never caught on for big tracks, they like Costa Mesa which can’t be much longer then a cycle speedway track I used to race. And remember Ivan Mauger and Barry Briggs took a world class tour of USA on massive stadia but it didn’t catch on some 40 years ago. Argentina has a rider in Europe. Again Ivan and Barry took riders to Arab countries, no real interest. South Africa was popular 50/60 years ago, but short lived. More effort and help could be put into Europe, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, even Finland and Norway struggle, France is simmering, why it’s not bigger there, don’t know, Austria has produced good riders50/60 years ago, Hungary too. Difficult, needs money thrown at it but it may all fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted August 19, 2021 Report Share Posted August 19, 2021 (edited) 22 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said: The reason why Poland for 2020 and 21 are having more GPs is entirely due to COVID. Totally irrelevant, according to iainb. It's so unfair; it's just a ploy to get a Polish world champ, 'cos Zmarzlik isn't good enough to win on merit... Edited August 19, 2021 by chunky 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted August 20, 2021 Report Share Posted August 20, 2021 (edited) 14 hours ago, The Dog said: Didn't the gps in Australia lose an awful lot of money tho and take into account the planning and organising to get riders and equipment there it's probably a bit of a ballache for everyone. Even more of a ball ache to get to Togliatti next weekend, the kit is being air freighted out, visas are needed and it's in the @rse end of nowhere in a country not recognised by the sporting world! 10 hours ago, OveFundinFan said: The reason why Poland for 2020 and 21 are having more GPs is entirely due to COVID. Travelling last year and up to middle of this has been restricted to to C19’ . Getting across borders and possibility of having to isolate has caused problems. With Vaculik injured the replace,met should have been Locachev from Ukraine, but he couldn’t get back to Ukraine isolation) to get a visa for next go. That’s how it goes, C19 still causing problems. And you know that Polish speedway is awash with money, so it’s only them (basically) that can afford double weekend GP’s. It would have been good to see 2 gp’s at Malilla but I suspect promotors short of money. And yes you are right, Australia and New Zealand didn’t make any money, that why if a promotor has money to burn the gp circus will go distances, sadly not enough promotors with spare cash Covid may have been a fair reason for 2020, 2021 though? GP's being held in Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark and even Russia!! SoN in England, SEC in Germany, SGP Qualifiers in Italy, Scotland, Croatia and Hungary... all with riders riding in UK, Poland, Sweden, Denmark etc. 10 hours ago, chunky said: Totally irrelevant, according to iainb. It's so unfair; it's just a ploy to get a Polish world champ, 'cos Zmarzlik isn't good enough to win on merit... You know it's not fair, you're just too pig headed to admit it... oink oink! Edited August 20, 2021 by iainb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heat9coffee Posted August 20, 2021 Report Share Posted August 20, 2021 If a British gp comes back, much rather it was at Belle Vue. What's the point in a national stadium if it doesn't get used for the highest level of competition? Could extra temporary stands go up here - or another decent UK track? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fromafar Posted August 20, 2021 Report Share Posted August 20, 2021 5 minutes ago, heat9coffee said: If a British gp comes back, much rather it was at Belle Vue. What's the point in a national stadium if it doesn't get used for the highest level of competition? Could extra temporary stands go up here - or another decent UK track? Capacity is the only problem regarding Belle Vue,had temporary stands for WTC but the attendance was still only 9-10,000.Cardiff is normally 30-40,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeilWatson Posted August 20, 2021 Report Share Posted August 20, 2021 17 minutes ago, Fromafar said: Capacity is the only problem regarding Belle Vue,had temporary stands for WTC but the attendance was still only 9-10,000.Cardiff is normally 30-40,000. And the roof......... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted August 20, 2021 Report Share Posted August 20, 2021 3 hours ago, NeilWatson said: And the roof......... Dont need a roof in Manchester... It never rains... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chunky Posted August 20, 2021 Report Share Posted August 20, 2021 6 hours ago, iainb said: You know it's not fair, you're just too pig headed to admit it... oink oink! Is it perfect? No. Is it unfair? No. I didn't see you whining about how unfair it was to hold the British Final at the NSS... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted August 20, 2021 Report Share Posted August 20, 2021 19 minutes ago, chunky said: Is it perfect? No. Is it unfair? No. I didn't see you whining about how unfair it was to hold the British Final at the NSS... One off event, no comparison, would Bewley have come 2nd at Eastbourne, highly unlikely. 6 out of 11 WC events in a single country? It's clearly unfair, oink oink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted August 20, 2021 Report Share Posted August 20, 2021 6 hours ago, NeilWatson said: And the roof......... It would be better for Roofless Robert Lambert. Here all week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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