Stadium Racing

[Hawk127 1,357]

8 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

But why is there a lack of meetings? Either the demand isn't there - from either riders or spectators, or there's insufficient volunteer effort to organise more meetings. 

And this exactly demonstrates the problem if speedway tries to run along amateur lines. It will go from a sport where fans know they can turn up every week (or at least every fortnight) to an occasional one.

The IOW seem to be doing OK and in reality have always run during the summer months when they are reasonably confident of getting a good turnout. Speedway has generally become unreliable with say the hint of dampness in the air and a meeting is called off. Few riders are prepared to tackle a track and adapt to the prevailing conditions and the weekly fix is dead and buried. People have found other things to do since the riders and clubs took the punters for granted and treated them with such contempt over the last few years. Sorry to say but most clubs and owners are their own worst enemy and many have lost the plot coming out with the begging bowl when things get tough which shows how unsound their business plans are and the model they use.

[iainb 4,962]

4 minutes ago, Hawk127 said:

with say the hint of dampness in the air and a meeting is called off. Few riders are prepared to tackle a track and adapt to the prevailing conditions and the weekly fix is dead and buried.

It doesn't even have to be a hint in the air, these days even a forecast of a hint of dampness in the air is enough to cancel for some tracks

Edited August 4, 2021 by iainb

[Humphrey Appleby 13,942]

5 minutes ago, Hawk127 said:

The IOW seem to be doing OK and in reality have always run during the summer months when they are reasonably confident of getting a good turnout. Speedway has generally become unreliable with say the hint of dampness in the air and a meeting is called off. Few riders are prepared to tackle a track and adapt to the prevailing conditions and the weekly fix is dead and buried. 

The IOW are still running every week during their short season though, so there's some continuity.

The IOW has always had some quite unique circumstances and they're obviously trying to do what they think works for them (and good luck to them). But unless people want speedway to be crammed into an IPL-type season, it's not going to work for the sport as a whole. 

With respect to rain-offs, well the fact there's apparently been so little research into improving the surfaces so they can stand up to rain, has been one of the major problems with the sport. Cricket still has its rain-offs, but improved surfaces and drainage means that surfaces can be made playable quite quickly after all but the worst downpours. 

I never really understood why speedway couldn't have cricket style covers (pitched and ventilated) or even canopies or cantilevered roofs over the track. Maybe not affordable for all tracks, but perhaps for the more premier ones. 

[Ray Stadia 1,064]

21 minutes ago, Hawk127 said:

Out of interest do grass track riders have the same over the top expenditure for the bike, are they forced into using a particular tyre, do the bikes engines last more than a few meetings before having to be rebuilt, do they have to use expensive engine tuners? 

One of the problems with speedway is that it portrays itself as a working mans sport but the participants need wealthy benefactors simply to start a bike up let alone ride the thing.

Take speedway back to basics and make it affordable and then a few more grass track riders might consider taking up speedway on a part time basis. I do agree that back in the 70’s and 80’s you would see speedway riders at grass track meetings and I like many others use to attend grass track when you had a top name speedway rider in the meeting like. Dave Jessup or many of the witches riders from that era.

As has been mentioned by numerous people, stadiums/clubs need to run on days that suit the local market and with so few league meetings and shortage of riders it makes no sense to run with seven man teams. You need to reduce these to five or even four and run a league format that can be fulfilled on the basis of rider availability and then run individual meetings or meaningful second half individual events that could in effect be a British Championship with the top twenty scorers at the end of the season participating in a grand finale like an old world championship final. 

Something needs to change as what is on offer now has virtually no appeal hence dwindling crowds and poor t v coverage. Speedway U.K. at domestic level needs to forget the rest of the world and run on its own terms. Overseas riders can take it or leave it but few clubs can realistically afford to employ an overseas rider without a serious sponsor, hence that tells you that in the cold light of day the business model that includes non British riders is on viable.

Many riders just have the one bike, some may have two for the same class, i.e. 2 500cc bikes. Some may ride in both say, 350cc and 500cc, so will have 2 bikes, one for each class. I don't think they are forced to use a particular tyre. I think the rim size mostly used is 22 inches and Barum used to be the tyre of choice. That may have altered now. Some will rebuild their own engines or a family member, but most, especially those using GMs and Jawas (250,350 and 500cc), will have their engine rebuilt by a competent engine builder, but many, every 2 years, some every year. Between meetings, just check tappets, strip the clutch down, maybe clean chains, air filter, just general servicing.  

[Fortythirtyeight 838]

On 8/3/2021 at 6:46 PM, Fromafar said:

How many Clubs pay for 12 months rent.That is the question.

Most of those that don’t own their own stadium as that’s how they retain the right to run at the stadium, it would be simpler to ask ‘ who owns their own stadium ‘ ? The answer is ….very few !

[Fortythirtyeight 838]

On 8/3/2021 at 6:51 PM, mikebv said:

Or let the landlord then rent out the Speedway track to someone else...?

If any track pays 52 weeks rent for 20 weeks or so use they must be crackers..

Especially in this current climate.. 

Read the full context of the posts !….the suggestion was to just run 10 meetings a season, which would never work for those clubs paying rent and on a lease.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Fortythirtyeight

[Sotonian 609]

On 8/3/2021 at 7:43 PM, wealdstone said:

Seen the sidecars .Can only say boring, boring . boring

I agree.

I struggle to see who they appeal to. I see them more as light cars than motorbikes but my car racing fan mates think the opposite hence they fall between 2 stools. 

[Pieman72 588]

How can you say that 1000cc Sidecars at full throttle on the Grass are a wonderful exciting spectacle. Obviously you haven't been to a Grasstrack. With so many riders and so few tracks it's such a pity the promoters go elsewhere for riders. Have Speedway fans become complacent and brainwashed into accepting the model of Speedway served up by the BSPL. Reading the posts on here seems to give a naive acceptance that promoter knows best. 

[Sotonian 609]

1 minute ago, Pieman72 said:

How can you say that 1000cc Sidecars at full throttle on the Grass are a wonderful exciting spectacle. Obviously you haven't been to a Grasstrack. With so many riders and so few tracks it's such a pity the promoters go elsewhere for riders. Have Speedway fans become complacent and brainwashed into accepting the model of Speedway served up by the BSPL. Reading the posts on here seems to give a naive acceptance that promoter knows best. 

I've been to countless grasstracks, the first in 1972. I even competed in a few on my JAP in the 90's. Despite this, I never did and still don't get excited by the sidecars. 

[Pieman72 588]

55 minutes ago, Sotonian said:

I've been to countless grasstracks, the first in 1972. I even competed in a few on my JAP in the 90's. Despite this, I never did and still don't get excited by the sidecars. 

Sorry there are so many on here who knowv nothing about the bikes. Oh the JAP wonderful sounding engine I remember Egon Muller on his. How did such a 'stone-age' engine last so long or was the simplicity it's winning formula? I've seen a 4 valve version of it. I can see your point about the Chairs.

[JamesHarris 390]

I've never been to a Grasstrack meeting and probably never will. There's no way I could put myself through that horrendous torture - Not with my hayfever anyway!

[Fromafar 10,336]

4 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

Most of those that don’t own their own stadium as that’s how they retain the right to run at the stadium, it would be simpler to ask ‘ who owns their own stadium ‘ ? The answer is ….very few !

Who and what are they going to run on a speedway track in the winter and if stock car people want to run it is compatible to share the facilities with speedway Promotions.

[Skidder1 7,632]

23 hours ago, mikebv said:

??

Their largest outgoing is employee wages...

They are one million percent in charge of that.. 

A substantial four figure£ stadium rental for every meeting, no matter what standard/level of racing!!

[mikebv 10,243]

6 minutes ago, Skidder1 said:

A substantial four figure£ stadium rental for every meeting, no matter what standard/level of racing!!

Paying 14 riders for 60 races of Speedway will still be considerably more (and by some fair old margin I would suggest)...

Therefore, your largest cost will always provide you with your largest cost saving in £s (but can actually be just a small % reduction in reality)...

I pay out £22k a week in wages, so if I hit my budget sales I am fine as profit is budgeted for me to spend £22.5k a week..

If my sales drop 10% because my customer numbers dont hit the budgeted sales, which are forecasted in advance, I have to drop my payroll spend accordingly..

If I didnt, and carried on laying out more than I could afford, I ulltimately wouldnt have any profit to reinvest and more than likely go bust as the inevitable outcome..

And not all clubs have to pay any rent at all dont forget, AND get to keep bar, car park and food money...

[Humphrey Appleby 13,942]

Just now, mikebv said:

And not all clubs have to pay any rent at all dont forget, AND get to keep bar, car park and food money...

They'll also have the upkeep of the stadium - all year round whether they have any racing or not.