Swedish El Vs British Pl

[Vince 9,454]

When waqs it that things started to change. I think it was the late 70's or or early 80's. Up until then. It was mainly a part time amatuer sport. Where riders rode for the love of the sport. with a rider sitting in his shed at the bottom of the garden tinkering with his back when he got home from a hard days work. Then strapping it on the back of his old van or car and setting off for a meeting.

Then along came the drop down engines and a new era amerged.

With bikes becoming much faster and some of the big names using some of the top engine tuners to get thier bikes in top order.

Along came the GP'S and the big stars started to emerge, with it along came some big sponsers and they found out that they could call the shots with the promoters for racing at thier club. I think some of them ride now not so much out a love of the sport, don't get it wrong they still enjoy it but the love love has gone.

It is now a matter of how much money can be earned, with some riding for 4 or 5 different clubs around the world.

Gone are the days of one man and his bike it is now one man and his 6 or 7 bikes scattered at different work shops around the world. With team of machanics to get them ready for racing at any given time. With the top engine tuners preparing thier engines.

Until we get some sense back into the sport and aleter the engines and make them so they could only be prepared by the firms that make them and to a single specification.

Then do we get back to days of close racing instead of what we have now.

Speedway in this country doe's not have to relay on the big worlds top riders. What it doe's relay on is some good riders that will give us entertainment.

 

Same era when riders had their 'normal' engines and then if they were already near the top and could afford it hired in a motor for the big events. None of this turning up on the very best equipment they can afford like the lads do today.

You can see how much faster the bikes are today by the lap records! Not really much difference in time.

I'd agree that the sport in this country might not need the top riders in action every week and lower order riders can provide just as much entertainment. However despite some good racing the NL is hardly pulling in big crowds.

I honestly believe that those people mourning the loss of the good old days have some seriously dodgy memories. You used to get mostly mediocre racing with a couple of good races thrown in on a good night (and some of them were due to an astute promoters paying a 'bonus' for last lap passes etc). Now and again you got a brilliant race of the type that makes us all love Speedway and want to return in the hope of seeing similar. Exactly the same as it is now, the exception being that in my opinion the majority of riders push hard in every race which wasn't always the case.

[Trees 2,814]

Last time I visited a speedway venue... and, judging by the crowds I see on live TV matches... the person I stood next to, was usually a 10-minute walk away in either direction.

You should have been at Lynn on Thursday, great crowd :-)

[moxey63 1,785]

You should have been at Lynn on Thursday, great crowd :-)

 

Yes, when I used to attend... was also a great crowd. I knew everyone of them by first name.

[Trees 2,814]

Good memory for 2000 fans eh Moxey!! #bepositive!!

Edited August 16, 2014 by Trees

[stratton 1,491]

Same era when riders had their 'normal' engines and then if they were already near the top and could afford it hired in a motor for the big events. None of this turning up on the very best equipment they can afford like the lads do today.

You can see how much faster the bikes are today by the lap records! Not really much difference in time.

I'd agree that the sport in this country might not need the top riders in action every week and lower order riders can provide just as much entertainment. However despite some good racing the NL is hardly pulling in big crowds.

I honestly believe that those people mourning the loss of the good old days have some seriously dodgy memories. You used to get mostly mediocre racing with a couple of good races thrown in on a good night (and some of them were due to an astute promoters paying a 'bonus' for last lap passes etc). Now and again you got a brilliant race of the type that makes us all love Speedway and want to return in the hope of seeing similar. Exactly the same as it is now, the exception being that in my opinion the majority of riders push hard in every race which wasn't always the case.

Have to disagree bigtime Vince, you are way out i believe in the the good ol days i have seen riders risk there neck bigtime to entertain us the fan.Nowadays any rain they are looking to call it off in those days god they rode in atrocious conditsions at times i certainly was more entertained you would be most teams had three heat leaders usually with an outstanding no 1.I can see where you are coming from i did see some crap racing but even you have to say the BL was the best and a bloody good league.

[Starman2006 2,354]

 

 

Last time I visited a speedway venue... and, judging by the crowds I see on live TV matches... the person I stood next to, was usually a 10-minute walk away in either direction.

If the powers that be don't do something absolutely really radical to the EL this Winter, that might not be as stupid as it sounds at every venue come next season...Can you imagine it, holding up a blackboard, that was a piss poor decision by the REF all four back surely, we need a 5-1 in this, or what was the time mate?? although you might need a bigger blackboard, and plenty of Chalk..

[waiheke1 4,295]

You have a point about the series it is a great product but for me the one off final still beats it certainly for atmosphere.As for the league racing, i still believe the good ol days were miles better then, there were BETTER riders more of them the old BL was the best in the world.Today the EL is second rate to be honest a very average product,no comparison to the old days of most teams having three top heat leaders and often having a regular 1/7 supporters could identify with.

Sid - the BL was undisputably stronger I the "old days." The vast majority of the world's top riders raced here - in the 80s the only exceptions were some of the yanks and Egon.

I'm not sure all teams had three top heat leaders -statistically, you're always going to end up with an average three riders per team with decent averages under the old heat format), but that doesn't make them all "top class" -and there were some incredibly weak teams (i'm thinking Eastborne/Swindon in 83, Halifax in 84 after Carter got injured) - weaker I would say than any current EL team - but some incredibly strong teams too (Cradley 83 were simply awesome). For the most part I'd say teams weren't as strong as the current Swedish/Polish top teams, purely because top riders were spread over 15 rather than 8 sides. I'd also suggest the Poole team last year (Ward, Janowski, Holder) would have been a top side in any given season in the old days. Matt Ford has man many flaws, and I detest the cheating Poole indulge in, but he does put out strong sides, and if every team in the EL could put out sides of that caliber the EL would be in much better shape.

If we are to get back to having top riders and regular 1-7, a single race night (or max two) is needed, along with the EL to have priority over PL for all fixtures, and I'd allow guests/RR only for heatleaders (a PL rider could act as "number 8" cover for second strings, and a local junior/NL rider to cover the reserve slots - that's how I remember it working in the 80s?).

Have to disagree bigtime Vince, you are way out i believe in the the good ol days i have seen riders risk there neck bigtime to entertain us the fan.Nowadays any rain they are looking to call it off in those days god they rode in atrocious conditsions at times i certainly was more entertained you would be most teams had three heat leaders usually with an outstanding no 1.I can see where you are coming from i did see some crap racing but even you have to say the BL was the best and a bloody good league.

was it good that they rode in such atrocious conditions though? Maybe if Peter Collins hadn't had to ride in poor conditions ar Cradlet in 1980 he would have been a world class rider for another 5 years. For more of today's riders speedway is also their full time job, hence it's understandable that they are more risk averse when it comes to putting their future earning son the line?

I'm not sure on the whole the racing in the EL is worse than the old BL days, though some of the best racers tracks are gone (Hyde Rd, the Shay, Odsal etc.) and certainly it has lower quality of rider (relative to world standards) - the latter is the main criticism people seem to have of the current EL, yet at the same time many are proposing cutting back further on the number of top riders racing here.

[stratton 1,491]

I would not disagree about PC riding in dreadfull conditions at Cradley in October that cost him at least three top class years.How would you go about improving the EL? i have no idea i personally would cut costs but i believe there is a very tough spell ahead for british speedway.

Edited August 18, 2014 by sidney

[B.V 72 1,054]

Im sad to say that everything in life seemed better when i was younger everything was new and exciting to me back then.The truth is that i have done and seen everything that interests me thousands of times and that i m o is why speedway back then seemed so much better than it is now in reallity it is very much the same as it was then.I still love it but it does not give me the same buzz as it did 45 years ago im sad to say.

[The White Knight 9,039]

Im sad to say that everything in life seemed better when i was younger everything was new and exciting to me back then.The truth is that i have done and seen everything that interests me thousands of times and that i m o is why speedway back then seemed so much better than it is now in reallity it is very much the same as it was then.I still love it but it does not give me the same buzz as it did 45 years ago im sad to say.

That's because it was.

[Gemini 4,894]

That's because it was.

No it wasn't. I much prefer being the age I am now. No mortgage, no work, children grown up, please myself how I spend every day and what time I get up in the morning. In particular I'd hate to be in my teens again as that wasn't the most enjoyable time, although I suppose it should have been. Life was good when the children were small but that's it. So no I don't agree that 'everything in life seemed better when I was younger' and that includes Speedway.

[arnieg 3,637]

When I was a youngster fatalaties occured at the rate of more than one a year - and that's just on British tracks. In the last 20 years there has been just poor David Nix.

 

Some things are clearly better now.

[stratton 1,491]

Im sad to say that everything in life seemed better when i was younger everything was new and exciting to me back then.The truth is that i have done and seen everything that interests me thousands of times and that i m o is why speedway back then seemed so much better than it is now in reallity it is very much the same as it was then.I still love it but it does not give me the same buzz as it did 45 years ago im sad to say.

Growing up in the 70s i enjoyed it very much,things were tough but things then were simpler and by god we really appreciated what we had it is not always the case now as most things are the norm.Holidays were better,Christmas was better the speedway and football for me certainly was better, now it is all about money that rules the roost and i can't say i like it very much.

[Trees 2,814]

People lose their enthusiasm in their old age, well some do, need to take a leaf out of the book of an 80 year old lady at Lynn, she's been going to Lynn from day one and loves it still, celebrated her birthday there last week :-D

 

One thing that she has never done, get into the politics of speedway, she just supports her team and enjoys the speedway .....

Edited August 22, 2014 by Trees

[Gemini 4,894]

 

 

.....Trees...... People lose their enthusiasm in their old age.......

 

The only thing I've lost enthusiasm for is Christmas. It comes round far too quickly and starts sometime during September. Bah humbug!