Jump to content
British Speedway Forum

Tim G

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Content count

    471

  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Tim G

  1. Posted

    13 minutes ago, truthsayer said:

    I also don't see a big travelling support, to be honest, as most speedway fans fall asleep at 9pm but a bold promotor might bring in some big names and local favourites in a bid to create some PR and put some bums on seats.

    But, and I can't stress this enough, the idea is a format for a TV audience first and a trackside one second. A series which can generate some interest and attention beyond the anoraks. Maybe it is a loss leader, maybe not, but trying to make a prestigious domestic series is one way for speedway to try and regain some credibility. Maybe this is not the format, maybe you disagree with me, but league race is dull for the mainstream and speedway has to develop something that has broader appeal and which is TV friendly.

    Personally I don't care a jot about 'teams' but my concept dabbles with it because it is so engrained in the sport.

    So what you are saying is a promoter should run an individual event that nobody would care about in the log run and lose money whilst doing it. You will have them queuing up to showcase one of these events.

    Why would a tv audience be more interested in this than they are league racing?  

     

  3. Posted

    10 hours ago, DSC67 said:

    Another great weekend of racing across all the different classes , with the weather definitely having a big effect on things 

    It was, great to see Bautista not having things his own way.

    Bit of a surprise to hear the Rea to Yamaha rumours though.

    • Like 2

  4. Posted

    11 minutes ago, truthsayer said:

    It's not snobbery, it's just numbers. The 'MSM' (as you call it) is all about getting the maximum number of eyeballs on their article, because that's what makes money. It's not about what they like. Fatalities create clickbait headlines, which get numbers, hence TT death articles are published. BSB is well supported, but on a typical sporting weekend I would doubt it would get in the top 20 of sporting events by attendance/viewership, probably not even the top 40. 

    It's shallow but if speedway had enough fans to justify publishing articles then speedway articles would be published in your 'MSM'. The media is full of lowbrow activities, who get their share of voice purely because it makes commercial sense for that to be the case, or because they've paid to be there.

    BSB at Brands Hatch next weekend will definitely be in the top 20 attended sporting events in this country but the media is not interested in motorbike racing. When Carl Fogarty was at his peak drawing massive crowds in WSB he was hardly mentioned in the MSM. Wins a crap celebrity event and they are all over him.

    BBC News will always show some WSL football match in the round up even though hardly anyone is in the stadium just to come across as inclusive.

  6. Posted

    11 hours ago, iainb said:

    I don't believe it! Have you ever tried to get to and from Tottenham Hotspur stadium by public transport? Possibly the worst transport links in London!

    Overground station less than 5 minutes walk and a couple of tube stations about 15-20 minutes walk. I prefer the walk to the tube personally so I can stop and have a pint.

    so it’s not that bad.

  7. Posted

    10 minutes ago, Humphrey Appleby said:

    I'd say Wembley is a very good stadium - for football and other rectangular sports. 

    Everything around Wembley is less good - overpriced and overcrowded eateries and hotels, the ready mix concrete plant, and all the industrial units housing tacky businesses. The stadium is in principle quite well served for transport, with both National Rail and Underground stations nearby, but as you say, the National Rail station doesn't really seem to work that well.

    Wembley is the best stadium in London, although the Emirates pushes it pretty close and you've got the option of walking there from various places. The former Olympic Stadium would probably be better for speedway though. 

    The best stadium in London is the Tottenham Hotspur stadium but the area is far from the best but you can see they are starting to do parts of it up.

    Probaly would actually be the easiest to convert to a speedway track aswell due to it having two pitches so no damage to the football pitch. 50,000 fans would be a pretty much sell out but I don’t see a speedway meeting get those sort of numbers these days.

    Wembley is a fantasy and too big for speedway now and I believe the London Stadium has seating removed when it’s converted for athletics so would need the same for speedway.

    I just cannot see how economical a speedway gp would work in a big London stadium.

    • Like 5

  8. Posted

    2 hours ago, old bob at herne bay said:

    tbh I am thoroughly confused.

    Does anyone on here know please how I can watch 2023 SGP meetings (either live or highlights) ?? I have a BT sports subscription.  I have a sky sports subscription. Also have a firestick plug in which I used to view Discovery +

     

    Any one of those get me some SGP action ??

     

     

     

    Discovery plus and Eurosport are showing it

  9. Posted

    On 4/4/2023 at 3:32 PM, Dave Jones said:

    Speedway is still "my sport" too ,I've supported it for over 60 Years, I accept it for what is is, but i am still extremely interested in F1 & it would seem that with a 3 day attendance of some 450,000 at Melbourne many others are too . What i do feel odd is that a decision by one man in one race "led you lose total interest in F1" whilst still following speedway with all of its issues.

    A few people I know that watched F1 all the time lost a lot of interest in the sport due to that race and the way the sport was going but these are blokes that are over 55 years old and no longer the target audience for the sport.

    The crowds are big now because the great job that Liberty Media have done with making the sport cool. The Netflix series has been brilliant for the sport and made young people interested in F1.

    You only have to look at the influences that want to be seen at F1 and getting these people involved is always going to be a major positive.

  11. Posted

    1 hour ago, Chris Brown said:

    So just so I understand, we are now comparing getting 1500 to 2000 people into Cowley every week to a Silverstone formula 1 and the Cardiff GP and using those as a good comparison

    Well Rob. I call that comparing apples with pears. It's just not a credible discussion. Those are mega events trying to deal with tens of thousands of people as opposed to whenever you come to the turn styles at Oxford speedway there may be 6 to 10 people in front of you

    It's simply not a credible arguement but I am absolutely certain there is nothing you will accept is wrong with Oxford

    You didn't answer that question about how many other clubs you visited this season who often no facility to pay on the day other than with a pre-book ticket on an app. I suspect I know the answer why

     

     

     

    Silverstone is for all events not just formula 1.

    Oxford speedway is not the only event I am going to this year where I will pay more money to enter on the day than I would if I bought a ticket in advance.

    My Stepfather does MG car runs which he enters and has to pay for in advance and if the weather is rubbish he doesn’t go and loses his money, at least with the speedway you get your money back or go to another meeting.

    I do however think it’s stupid that you can’t pay by card on the day.

     

     

  12. Posted

    7 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

    I have given you a “like” for the idea of banning the culprit of a bad race incident for as long as the injured rider is not fit to race.                    
    I cannot see the benefit of Toprak/Rea etc having an occasional race in MotoGP. The bikes are so different, brakes for example. It would take a lot more than one race to get used to the differences thus nullifying what was meant to be achieved. And of course, getting used to a MotoGP bike is one problem to overcome, then moving back to WSB would be a problem too, the whole episode probably ruining their chance of winning a WSB championship.                
     Toprak didn’t really want to come to MotoGP a couple years ago.…… more than likely because Yamaha could not provide a competitive bike for him. They had Quatararo and Morbidelli on contract in MotoGP..  Reas bike manufacturer doesn’t even have a MotoGP bike for him to race. Bautista of course rode in MotoGP until 4/5 years ago and I don’t think it was a Ducati.

    I was more referring to JRS’s joke about bringing in guests which was.a knock on speedway,  My reply about Rea and Toprak was tongue in cheek and not serious.

    Sorry for any confusion caused.

    Bautista did ride a Ducati in Moto GP before he moved to WSB.

  14. Posted

    Good idea, wouldn’t mind seeing Toprak and Rea in the Moto GP race this weekend.

    I also thought a ban was deserved but maybe one race. How about make it fair and you’re banned for as long as the rider you have injured is out for.

    I’m happy to see his double long lap penalty carries over to when he is fit.

    • Like 3

  16. Posted

    10 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

    Thanks for update on MotoGPs. I am still with BT but not renewed BT Sport due to wanting to cut monthly spending. Something had to go and it was BTSport. I kept Discovery+ so I can watch speedway gps, I will just have to get into World Super Bike racing.

    I have taken out the Moto GP videopass as didn’t want to be tied into an 18 month BT Sport contract.

    I use the app on a firestick and am very impressed with it.

    It was about £180 for the season but still cheaper than using BT for me. You also get the back catalogue of races going back years.

    • Like 1

  17. Posted

    The sprint race was sensational, riders not worrying about tyres life made it exciting.

    So happy to see MM back especially after watching the Amazon documentary to see what he has been through.

    Unlucky for Enea and he will now miss tomorrow’s race.

    • Like 2

  18. Posted

    18 hours ago, flagrag said:

    Interestingly both last night and tonight during their European football coverage BT Sport have advertised that British Speedway is coming soon.

    As has been explained previously from July time both BT Sport and British Eurosport will merge into TNT Sport.

    However with BT including Speedway in their upcoming showreel ( Which doesn’t feature some of Eurosport’s other  content like Snooker, Tennis ,Athletics etc) I do wonder whether British Speedway will actually be on BT sport when the season starts as the rights have already been moved over already it’s just the rebranding is not happening until July

    During the World Superbike coverage at the weekend and advert said that speedway gp and British speedway is on Eurosport/Discovery Plus all season long.

     

    • Like 1

  19. Posted

    On 3/5/2023 at 9:00 AM, DSC67 said:

    Well that was an interesting race . SBK race  two was absolutely crazy stuff lots of action all over the place . Another dominant weekend for Ducati and Bautista the other teams are certainly playing catch up at the moment 

    Those Ducati’s are on another planet compared to the opposition.

    Hopefully when it gets to Assen Rea or Toprak can beat Bautista up a bit.

    • Like 1

  21. Posted

    18 hours ago, DSC67 said:

    Nice to see John McPhee get on the podium in his first Supersport  Race 

    Was a great ride but think he will struggle in the dry conditions as not convinced how competitive the bike is. Still looks a damn site better than the rubbish Tarran McKenzie is riding.

    • Like 1

  22. Posted

    I see  that the BT Sport/Eurosport merger has been officially announced and is called TNT sports. So BT sport changes name in August and Eurosport will close the following year. Currently have 7 channels between them but that number will be reduced.

    It seems current BT Sport content will be moved to the discovery plus app in time which must mean an increase in subscription rates. If they put football, rugby, ufc and the other sports I can’t see it being £60 a year.

  23. Posted

    1 minute ago, TheGuvnor said:

    Goodwill and novelty wear thin quickly. It’s great that Oxford have Speedway back but a 10% price increase year on year and you’ll be paying £30 for 15 minutes of racing before long. That’s before we even factor in the yearly decrease in standard of product. 

    I”m sure Oxford’s cost will have gone up by 10% so it needs to be past on.

  25. Posted

    8 hours ago, OveFundinFan said:

    Re Franco Morbidelli on Thailand.  I know he had a bad injury and takes time to recover. But he done nothing all year, not been a help to Yamaha/Quatararo chance of a second world championship, turns up in Thailand, qualifies straight to Q2 and promptly finishes qualification higher then Quatararo, Bagnaia and Alex Espargaro.. the three championship contenders. What he been doing all year…. Resting on the fact he already signed a deal until the end of 2023?

    Just think that Yamaha is so bad that nobody except Fabio has been able to ride it.

    • Like 1
×

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

  I accept