Bikes without brakes - documentary

[GWC]

https://youtu.be/jAoNvwdVFCQ

bbc east documentary from 1997 and features Kings Lynn - pretty depressing which reflects todays problems even then.

[Deano]

there is a topic on this very documentary already.

 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

And still it slides further into the abiss

[moxey63]

Anyone got this on dvd?

[IainB]

On 12/18/2021 at 2:41 PM, GWC said:

https://youtu.be/jAoNvwdVFCQ

bbc east documentary from 1997 and features Kings Lynn - pretty depressing which reflects todays problems even then.

It was only pretty depressing because that's the slant the BBC wanted to put on it with their funeral music sound track. Compare that with the razzmatazz coverage from Sky only a few years later.

[GWC]

1 hour ago, iainb said:

It was only pretty depressing because that's the slant the BBC wanted to put on it with their funeral music sound track. Compare that with the razzmatazz coverage from Sky only a few years later.

Agreed and films about the sport have been similar. However I watched a ‘look at life’ short film from 1961 (talking pictures) recently with speedway as the subject and the upbeat music gave it a whole different feeling.

 

[moxey63]

1 hour ago, GWC said:

Agreed and films about the sport have been similar. However I watched a ‘look at life’ short film from 1961 (talking pictures) recently with speedway as the subject and the upbeat music gave it a whole different feeling.

 

       

That Look At Life film you mention is brilliant. Though made in the early 60s, and at a time speedway was at a low ebb, I think the sport was in a much better position than it is now. 

However, the Bikes Without Brakes documentary came over as quite pessimistic. Remember, the sport hadn’t found the golden ticket at the time, and they made the programme just before SKY handed millions over for a decade and afforded us hours of live airing, which the sport had never had. That was the best chance for speedway to kick itself into shape and try to attract newcomers.

Despite briefly attracting wider interest during SKY’s initial years, sadly the sport blew that chance and has fallen into a much more precarious state than before that Bikes Without Brakes film from 25 years ago.

[Speedtiger]

So depressing accurate but talk about the writing was on the wall…it could have been made last year!! 
 

When you look at Chapmans behaviour it’s of little surprise the sport has spiralled in to a big black hole. He exudes incompetence and yet he was allowed to eventually run the sport, sadly into the ground.

[IainB]

14 hours ago, Speedtiger said:

So depressing accurate but talk about the writing was on the wall…it could have been made last year!! 
 

When you look at Chapmans behaviour it’s of little surprise the sport has spiralled in to a big black hole. He exudes incompetence and yet he was allowed to eventually run the sport, sadly into the ground.

To be fair to Buster (which I hate to be ) he was only doing what Football managers do up and down the country on the touch line week in week out. Or a Toto Wolff, perhaps Toto had seen this programme prior to going to Abu Dhabi. Maybe Buster was playing up to the cameras a bit.

[Speedtiger]

33 minutes ago, iainb said:

To be fair to Buster (which I hate to be ) he was only doing what Football managers do up and down the country on the touch line week in week out. Or a Toto Wolff, perhaps Toto had seen this programme prior to going to Abu Dhabi. Maybe Buster was playing up to the cameras a bit.

That’s no excuse, the village idiot Chapman is an ignorant bully boy who clearly thinks pushing and pulling people about is the right thing to do. Interesting that no one complied with his pathetic rant. The man is a disgrace to our sport. 

[moxey63]

29 minutes ago, Speedtiger said:

That’s no excuse, the village idiot Chapman is an ignorant bully boy who clearly thinks pushing and pulling people about is the right thing to do. Interesting that no one complied with his pathetic rant. The man is a disgrace to our sport. 

Chapman is just another in a long line of promoters that threatens to pull out when things go against him. Didn’t he do it last season? It does so much damage to the sport.

We had one like him at Belle Vue for years, threatening this and that, with the track closing every winter. It never did.

I initially worried sick about the statements... but you just become distanced from it in time and, do you know what, realise that putting so much effort, affection and energy into something that might not be there next week, you concentrate on something that will be. 

[steve roberts]

5 hours ago, Speedtiger said:

That’s no excuse, the village idiot Chapman is an ignorant bully boy who clearly thinks pushing and pulling people about is the right thing to do. Interesting that no one complied with his pathetic rant. The man is a disgrace to our sport. 

...he was never that good when he rode for the "Cheetahs" Junior Team I recall!

[GWC]

7 hours ago, moxey63 said:

Chapman is just another in a long line of promoters that threatens to pull out when things go against him. Didn’t he do it last season? It does so much damage to the sport.

We had one like him at Belle Vue for years, threatening this and that, with the track closing every winter. It never did.

I initially worried sick about the statements... but you just become distanced from it in time and, do you know what, realise that putting so much effort, affection and energy into something that might not be there next week, you concentrate on something that will be. 

I think Belle Vue are now where speedway should always have been and that’s a community run operation.  The sport doesn’t afford the sums to finance stadiums and riders alike and has been shown in the south east that cash strapped promotions and development pressures have meant we have no speedway to talk of sadly.

 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

On 12/20/2021 at 12:06 PM, moxey63 said:

       

That Look At Life film you mention is brilliant. Though made in the early 60s, and at a time speedway was at a low ebb, I think the sport was in a much better position than it is now. 

However, the Bikes Without Brakes documentary came over as quite pessimistic. Remember, the sport hadn’t found the golden ticket at the time, and they made the programme just before SKY handed millions over for a decade and afforded us hours of live airing, which the sport had never had. That was the best chance for speedway to kick itself into shape and try to attract newcomers.

Despite briefly attracting wider interest during SKY’s initial years, sadly the sport blew that chance and has fallen into a much more precarious state than before that Bikes Without Brakes film from 25 years ago.

I'm not sure it was pessimistic, pretty close to the mark to be honest.

Worrying that even when the golden ticket did arrive a year or so later nothing was done with it.

A remake of this documentary now would be be interesting.

[cowboy cookie returns?]

On 12/20/2021 at 6:42 PM, Speedtiger said:

So depressing accurate but talk about the writing was on the wall…it could have been made last year!! 
 

When you look at Chapmans behaviour it’s of little surprise the sport has spiralled in to a big black hole. He exudes incompetence and yet he was allowed to eventually run the sport, sadly into the ground.

Why does everyone blame Chapman? The sport was on a downward spiral long before he took control. The collective BSPA did nothing with the sky money to improve & grow the sport in the UK.

I'm not Chapman's or Godfrey's biggest fan however I think who ever was in charge over the past decade things would be similar. The result of years of mismanagement.

[Speedtiger]

4 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

Why does everyone blame Chapman? The sport was on a downward spiral long before he took control. The collective BSPA did nothing with the sky money to improve & grow the sport in the UK.

I'm not Chapman's or Godfrey's biggest fan however I think who ever was in charge over the past decade things would be similar. The result of years of mismanagement.

To a point I agree, but under Chapman and Godfrey’s term in charge at the BSPA serious damage to the sport was inflicted. 
The chief clown Chapman got rid of the Speedway’s office manager who I understand ran the show evenhanded and that cost a lot of cash just so he could have full control of things without being question including BSPA money to waste on the engine fiasco. Proving the man is clueless at business. He also was up to all sorts of jiggery pokerary trying to get his hands on other clubs all at the time he runs a dump stadium with a cabbage patch track at KL. 

Edited December 22, 2021 by Speedtiger

[ljriley90]

The gary havelock "speedway stars" doc on youtube is worth a watch too

[arnieg]

50 minutes ago, Speedtiger said:

The chief clown Chapman got rid of the Speedway’s office manager who I understand ran the show evenhanded and that cost a lot of cash just so he could have full control of things without being questioned ...

I believe there were other reasons behind that particular decision.

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, Speedtiger said:

To a point I agree, but under Chapman and Godfrey’s term in charge at the BSPA serious damage to the sport was inflicted. 
The chief clown Chapman got rid of the Speedway’s office manager who I understand ran the show evenhanded and that cost a lot of cash just so he could have full control of things without being question including BSPA money to waste on the engine fiasco. Proving the man is clueless at business. He also was up to all sorts of jiggery pokerary trying to get his hands on other clubs all at the time he runs a dump stadium with a cabbage patch track at KL. 

Not sending him a Christmas Card this year then ST? 

[1 valve]

49 minutes ago, arnieg said:

I believe there were other reasons behind that particular decision.

Which were?