Jump to content
British Speedway Forum
Sign in to follow this  
GWC

Bikes without brakes - documentary

Recommended Posts


there is a topic on this very documentary already.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

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.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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 :D) 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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
33 minutes ago, iainb said:

To be fair to Buster (which I hate to be :D) 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. 

  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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. 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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!

  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
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.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy