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Theboss

British Speedway to be reborn?

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1 hour ago, Fromafar said:

It’s pretty obvious that if there is any  meaningful Team speedway this season(doubtful IMO)there won’t be many foreign riders or Aussies that have gone home available.Most Aussies that went home will have used their return ticket, so who will pay for them to return in present climate and if they do return they will be heading for a Poland IMO. Riders wanting to be full time riders in GB might have to rethink.Writing this season off would be the best option for many Promotions.IMO.

I agree that team meetings should be written off, however if the government restrictions allow it I would hope a few open meetings could be held before end of October

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20 minutes ago, mikebv said:

Interesting that the old 15 year survey on another thread had only 30% of fans attending in the main to 'support their team', and only 10% went based on the quality of riders on show..

And that was when more 'top names' rode over here..

Therefore, presuming the %'s are still similar, (and I would think they are not a million miles away), what an opportunity to put on 'entertaining Speedway' in whatever guise it can.. 

When 70% go and watch and are not unduly bothered which team wins, then they are a real target market for each track to have them go away thinking "that night was great, I'll be back next time"..

The promoters should spend this down time working out how to deliver 'a great night out' when the sport returns, rather than spending time getting slide rules out to determine whether 'Rider A' can guest for 'Rider B' in a meeting that only 3 in 10 fans in attendance are bothered who wins...

A huge opportunity for fundamental radical change.. 

Will it be taken? :rolleyes:

Like you say, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to totally rebrand the sport. Will those in power have the balls and the knowhow to pull this off, lets hope so.

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7 minutes ago, Hacksaw Jim Duggan said:

I appreciate the wishful thinking but I doubt it. I don’t really think the narrative around the sport can be changed and it will most likely fade away after all of this.

It won't simply because someone will always have the idea "Hey, what about four guys racing on a stadium track that all spectators can see, and have a team to support"

It might fade away temporarily at the top but at grass roots there will always be speedway, it's a simple sport. The trick is not to mess it up by making it complicated. As long as there are bikes, tracks and guys mad enough to use both it'll survive. 

 

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Just now, RobMcCaffery said:

It won't simply because someone will always have the idea "Hey, what about four guys racing on a stadium track that all spectators can see, and have a team to support"

It might fade away temporarily at the top but at grass roots there will always be speedway, it's a simple sport. The trick is not to mess it up by making it complicated. As long as there are bikes, tracks and guys mad enough to use both it'll survive. 

 

I suppose it depends on the definition of survival, but yeah sure, somewhere in the country there will be some field where some people watch 4 guys racing a bike. 

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Just now, RobMcCaffery said:

It won't simply because someone will always have the idea "Hey, what about four guys racing on a stadium track that all spectators can see, and have a team to support"

It might fade away temporarily at the top but at grass roots there will always be speedway, it's a simple sport. The trick is not to mess it up by making it complicated. As long as there are bikes, tracks and guys mad enough to use both it'll survive. 

 

I tend to agree. I'm sure that speedway will survive and hopefully common sense will previal and expenses looked at...the days of super-charged bikes costing thousands to tune may well be at an end as it's unsustainable at the present level certainly in this country. If that means that "The Stars" look abroad for the mega bucks then so be it.

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14 minutes ago, RobMcCaffery said:

It won't simply because someone will always have the idea "Hey, what about four guys racing on a stadium track that all spectators can see, and have a team to support"

It might fade away temporarily at the top but at grass roots there will always be speedway, it's a simple sport. The trick is not to mess it up by making it complicated. As long as there are bikes, tracks and guys mad enough to use both it'll survive. 

 

Could community run/owned clubs be an option?

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As others have said, it looks like there's virtually no chance to have any meaningful team meetings this season, all we can hope for is to be allowed to run some open meetings.

If, and it's a big 'if', we get the go ahead (say in August / September), how about each track hosting a 'Festival of Speedway' round for the British based riders (of any division) - maybe with a 'final' at the NSS on tv for the top scorers? Maybe even have under 15s in their own category and / or sidecar racing if it were feasible.

As has been said though - any costs would have to be outweighed by the revenue generated.

People will be desperate to get out and about again and if it were marketed properly it might just attract a few new fans / sponsors for next season.

Some say that I'm a dreamer...………...

 

Edited by Garry1603
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18 minutes ago, jchapman said:

Could community run/owned clubs be an option?

This is a great way forward IF it could be replicated as much as it has been in Sweden. But this is a medium term possibility as I doubt if it coul dbe "sold" to councils and or comminuty groups in a few months.( even in 12 months ).

 

I suggest that it is entirely renamed - perhaps as "Dirt Track Racing" or somesuch. It needs to be on standard bikes with no tuner add ons and therefore easier to have a go and start riding for youngsters . F2? Perhaps even 250cc bikes ( as the 500cc rockets ships have inherent problems in their use inc safety & cost ) . Perhaps on a single manufacturer's machine. Get the empahasis on talent winning ( and having a beter chance of proving more reliable exciting racing ) and not the increasingly "first away wins". Boring! Include handicap racing - maybe in ability bands to offer a better on track experience for the younger new supporters. What is clear that the same old, same old of at least the last 20 years will not attract a sufficent new audience for the sport to survive. Definitely improve the P.A. everywhere ( so that interviews etc can be heard ) and Please DO change the music played and general style of 1970s presentation. That's the dim and distant past and a turnoff in trying to sell the new style action. Get those yawning time gaps deleted from meetings! Concrete starting grid - so NO gardening and more time wasted. I could go on!

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41 minutes ago, Garry1603 said:

As others have said, it looks like there's virtually no chance to have any meaningful team meetings this season, all we can hope for is to be allowed to run some open meetings.

If, and it's a big 'if', we get the go ahead (say in August / September), how about each track hosting a 'Festival of Speedway' round for the British based riders (of any division) - maybe with a 'final' at the NSS on tv for the top scorers? Maybe even have under 15s in their own category and / or sidecar racing if it were feasible.

As has been said though - any costs would have to be outweighed by the revenue generated.

People will be desperate to get out and about again and if it were marketed properly it might just attract a few new fans / sponsors for next season.

Some say that I'm a dreamer...………...

 

I think a 'festival fo speedway' is a great idea

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8 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

This is a great way forward IF it could be replicated as much as it has been in Sweden. But this is a medium term possibility as I doubt if it coul dbe "sold" to councils and or comminuty groups in a few months.( even in 12 months ).

 

I suggest that it is entirely renamed - perhaps as "Dirt Track Racing" or somesuch. It needs to be on standard bikes with no tuner add ons and therefore easier to have a go and start riding for youngsters . F2? Perhaps even 250cc bikes ( as the 500cc rockets ships have inherent problems in their use inc safety & cost ) . Perhaps on a single manufacturer's machine. Get the empahasis on talent winning ( and having a beter chance of proving more reliable exciting racing ) and not the increasingly "first away wins". Boring! Include handicap racing - maybe in ability bands to offer a better on track experience for the younger new supporters. What is clear that the same old, same old of at least the last 20 years will not attract a sufficent new audience for the sport to survive. Definitely improve the P.A. everywhere ( so that interviews etc can be heard ) and Please DO change the music played and general style of 1970s presentation. That's the dim and distant past and a turnoff in trying to sell the new style action. Get those yawning time gaps deleted from meetings! Concrete starting grid - so NO gardening and more time wasted. I could go on!

I agree with all of that - maybe have a 'speedway app' that could enhance the experience for the watching fans as well (and the ones who can't be present at the meeting).

The bikes don't have to be tuned up thoroughbreds, a good race is four riders closely racing, not follow your leader at high speed.

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11 minutes ago, waytogo28 said:

This is a great way forward IF it could be replicated as much as it has been in Sweden. But this is a medium term possibility as I doubt if it coul dbe "sold" to councils and or comminuty groups in a few months.( even in 12 months ).

 

I suggest that it is entirely renamed - perhaps as "Dirt Track Racing" or somesuch. It needs to be on standard bikes with no tuner add ons and therefore easier to have a go and start riding for youngsters . F2? Perhaps even 250cc bikes ( as the 500cc rockets ships have inherent problems in their use inc safety & cost ) . Perhaps on a single manufacturer's machine. Get the empahasis on talent winning ( and having a beter chance of proving more reliable exciting racing ) and not the increasingly "first away wins". Boring! Include handicap racing - maybe in ability bands to offer a better on track experience for the younger new supporters. What is clear that the same old, same old of at least the last 20 years will not attract a sufficent new audience for the sport to survive. Definitely improve the P.A. everywhere ( so that interviews etc can be heard ) and Please DO change the music played and general style of 1970s presentation. That's the dim and distant past and a turnoff in trying to sell the new style action. Get those yawning time gaps deleted from meetings! Concrete starting grid - so NO gardening and more time wasted. I could go on!

I like the idea of 250cc bikes prior at the start of a meeting and then 500cc standard spec bikes for the main event. 

No idea why music is so bad at some tracks, many moons ago you could understand it as the cost of a DJ was prohibitive for some tracks but now we have spotify and can upgrade to ad free music for just £10 per month! Speaker systems have also been an issue for many moons because of the cost, however it would now be easy to broadcast through an app so supporters could hear it through their headphones connected to their mobile phone.

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Why can't we run with the engine's they tried in the meeting that was run at the isle of wight? It would be cheaper for riders promoters ect. And the racing maybe better? What do people think?

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4 minutes ago, Garry1603 said:

I agree with all of that - maybe have a 'speedway app' that could enhance the experience for the watching fans as well (and the ones who can't be present at the meeting).

The bikes don't have to be tuned up thoroughbreds, a good race is four riders closely racing, not follow your leader at high speed.

I was literally writing about an app for hearing intervioews as you wrote this. I agree, an app could contain all the race information, scorers and advertisers. It would reduce the cost of attendance for fans as programmes would no longer be required.

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