mikebv

Can't remember the stat, but didnt he only lose something like three races all season at Hyde Rd?

Wow. Really? I presume Charles must be the '30k' rider he descibes given his level.. (?) And 30k is still a staggering amount to outlay to compete in competitions that will often have a good deal less than 1000 people watching, (never mind paying out 'far more' as you suggest)... If you DU you will be racing around 70 to 80 times a season so a grand a night would be pretty much the minimum on average you would need I would think to make an outlay like that worth your while... And you can also see why DU (and guesting as well), needs to be available as you can't see either league being sufficient in isolation over here, to justify that amount of money being spent (unless you have overseas contracts).. I presume that kit will then get sold on at the end of the season to help finance the purchase of new for the following year? If so that will offset some individuals costs obviously, but even so there must still be collectively an astonishing amount of money overall being spent each year.. All to seemingly win an ultimate race to the bottom when you look at the attendance levels, track closures over the past few years, vast sums of money put in by some promoters to stay open, and general interest in the sport over here.. Surely reducing these costs (by significant numbers) to compete, must be the largest priority to assist the sports future?

He said he had 'invested 55k' into his equipment (inc van) and needed now to earn money as "that money has now gone and I now need to get some money back in".. A couple of weeks ago Charles Wright said in the Star, depending on your level, you will spend between 10k to 30k... Staggering amounts for such a small minority sport whereby many of the participants are not doing it 'for the love of it' as a hobby, like many others do in motorsport, but instead expect to be paid as professionals, with the reasonable expectation being, (I presume), to show a decent return on their investment...

Just read the interview with Michelsen.... He says he has spent £55,000 on equipment.. Wow.... The sport really needs to give it's head a wobble doesnt it? Edit. Another fantastic publication to add to the many recently...

100% the crowds won't be 'great' but let's face it, they aren't ever any weeks are they? There are lots of 'meaningless meetings' each year as they underpin 'meaningless leagues'.. However, given the enforced break I do think that Select v Select would deliver 'early season bumper crowd levels' as people will be desperate to see some action (any action).. For me, they should just run individual events at each track with each being used as qualifiers for a big end of season finale, with all promotions putting up some decent money to make up the finale prize fund, however Promoters seem to see 'their teams' as being important and having relevance, so no doubt will want to try and run some kind of team competitions, regardless of who ends up riding for all and sundry on an ad hoc basis... And for these exceptional circumstances , the crowds might not be too fussed and go along.?

There's always been loads of guests though, so two teams full of guests would hardly be a new phenomenon for Speedway... The main purpose of the two top leagues nowadays seems to be to provide as many races as possible for the riders to earn money, rather than be taken too seriously as sporting competitions, so whatever time the sport has to run this year will need to deliver as much opportunity as possible for those who have shelled out plenty to compete.. Select v Select will still get people watching (as it often has in the past), given the desire to see some Speedway for so many.. And the riders would be grateful for the chance to ride for as many Selects as possible to earn as much as fhey can I would think..

Maybe they could run behind closed doors similar to the Greyhounds? Could Speedway get betting companies involved? Could run several meetings a day on different tracks owned by the Promoters (subject to any restrictions obviously).. Eg One meeting circa 230pm on tracks that can run at this time and one meeting from a track in the evening that has restrictions to run on their usual night.. Maybe even could get those tracks like Buxton and Rye House out of 'moth balls' to run too? Plenty of rides for the riders.. Obviously there would need to be governance but theres plenty of betting markets on Speedway now so that shouldn't be difficult to control... And social distancing can't be too difficult to maintain for 16 riders and 20 or so track staff, officials. Even in the smallest of stadiums... There must be thousands of gamblers just waiting to throw more good money down the drain after so many reduced opportunities to do so, so why not let them do it each afternoon and evening via Speedway..

One thing that does stand out from watching these old Speedway meetings is the riding styles and how they have changed. . Most of the 60's, 70's and 80's racing has riders entering the turns almost 'straight legged' and 'straight wheeled', almost 'gliding' across the corner, (similar to most of the Grass track racing I have seen).. They then, around a quarter into the turn, swing the back wheel round and bite the back wheel into the grip to assist launch down the straight. With the use of the throttle being far more prevelent as they control entry, navigation and exit from the bends... This angle into the turns looked like it gave the riders behind much more room to pick a line to try and overtake as they too entered the turn, unlike today where it appears the modern rider is almost completely sideways before he actually hits the bend, making himself quite a wide target to get round, with almost every bend hit at full speed.. Overtaking must be so much more difficult.. The tracks haven't got any wider, in fact with air fences some will be narrower, so widening the entry and exits to the turns must be a natural progession surely to provide more space either side to counter the modern riding technique?

Would give the riders plenty of meetings.. 'A Festival Of Speedway'.. The one good thing about no speedway is that those clubs who lose tens of thousands, (even over £100k has been quoted), wont lose this money this year, therefore maybe they could collectively stump up a decent prize pot and generate some strong interest from a sports starved public and media?

I have had a one way system in my store for six weeks.. Plenty of arrows on the floor and someone to advise you which way to go as you walk in.. Every day we tell plenty of people they are going the wrong way.. With the usual response "oh, that's what the arrows mean".. The country is sadly full of morons who will now decide "lockdown is over".. You cannot tell people to look after themselves as many are quite incapable of doing so due to being simply thick.. Chaos will no doubt ensue, and the Govt will be blamed for effectively asking people to behave like adults..

Just go on YouTube.. There are loads of full meetings going back a good couple of decades and more, from all different tracks.. Link it up to your TV (if Youtube not included), and fast forward through to just watch the 15 mins or so of racing, and you can see plenty of matches in just a couple of hours.. Got a couple of bottles of South African White chilling away ready to watch a good few matches tonight... Berwick from around five to ten years ago is fast becoming a favourite.. And with the beauty of algorithmic predicting, the next meeting suggested is invariably to your cup of tea... Or Chardonnay as the case may be..

And maybe the UK's chance to do the same and start finally to be in charge of their own destiny? All be it at a lower level...

Been watching loads of '2nd tier racing' on YouTube over the past few weeks.. It's been great to see racing from different tracks.. Most of the racing I have focused on has been from around 2009 to the present day.. And one thing I have noticed is that there must have been only 30 riders in the whole of the league for the past 11 years, as every time you watch the next meeting from somewhere else, maybe a few years later, most of the same riders are there but all riding for some one else... Did anyone stay for a team for more than a couple of years?

I have MUTV... And it's amazing how successful we have been since SAF left when you watch it.. As you say, 'Our Top Ten Defeats' isnt going to get too many Poole fans watching is it? Might get 'one or two' others though..

Reading the plethora of doom and gloom predictions for many of the sports at the top table, eg Football, F1, Rugby, and Cricket, with regards to possible sponsorship issues and how they will pay their huge overheads post C19 as companies adjust their out going priorities... Is there then a chance for Speedway to attract some of those who would still like to be seen on TV, but would be now looking to spend tens of thousands (at most) rather than hundreds of thousands or even millions? Some major companies will be pulling out of some huge deals and the likes of F1 and Rugby in particular will be paying out vast sums greater than any 'match day revenue' would cover, hence they are so reliant on this sponsorship money coming in... Meaning just a few big deals going missing will leave huge holes to be filled, (by possibly no one).. Without wishing to sounding mercenary, maybe Speedway could piggy back on the back of their dilemma and hoover up some of the much lesser cash on offer? Some deals that will be on the table post C19 will make hardly any difference to those who need millions to survive, however, as all things are relative, some of these deals could be seen as huge with regards to what British Speedway is used to and could make a massive positive difference to the sport.. For me. Someone should already be putting a few feelers out to companies that Speedway ordinarily wouldn't even consider as they are 'out of their league'. As I would suggest some big names will be down sizing massively but will still want themselves seen on live sport coverage, and as it's now on Eurosport too there is an even larger audience reach...

He does seem to be open to bringing people in 'from outside' so that must be a positive if it influences real change and brings in extra revenue through sponsorship.. Having new (ish) promoters like the current Aces leadership team, who have mentioned in the past the need for more central independent control of the sport, maybe will start to help influence change? There does seem to be a more dynamic MC than the 'old guard' of years gone by.. This toe in the water of bringing 'outsiders' is hopefully something that will continue and maybe more will be invited in from outside the 'Speedway Bubble'...

As the recently departed Eddie Large may have said.. "Steps back in amazement"..

Says its 5 stars on trip advisor.. You can see six if you get given the top bunk..

Used the money, in the main, to pay for the team's world class GP riders.. Whose presence didnt prevent annually dwindling crowds... And then the vast majority of them dropped UK Speedway like a stone... All that money and zero development of the sport in the UK? In fact, it delivered actual regression in terms of fan numbers... Amazing... Another one of UK Speedway's fantastic, well thought out, long term, visionary business plans, which they have appeared so marvellously adept at making over the years...

Its that old chestnut of clubs trying to win silverware above all else.. Which is laudable for me if that success brings untold fame and riches on a global scale.. However, winning any UK Speedway competition brings you none of this, so surely there has to be one day that will dawn when this realisation sets in, and several of them finally realise that they will get far more long term success if they invested in British young talent as a collective, nurtured it and developed it to the highest level... Making this country the clear No1 Speedway nation for several years would have a far, far greater positive impact to the sport in terms of publicity and sponsorship value than ANY team winning a domestic trophy.. Just like it worked in the 'halcyon days' of the 70's when England (as it was then) filled back pages of newspapers and had TV companies wanting to show coverage at peak time Saturday afternoon of their victories at World level.. Does anyone really think that would have happened if the Danes for example had ruled the 70's? Of course not..

100%, however the BSPA need to guarantee spaces in teams for the lads as they develop.. No point in developing talent then leaving it to fend for itself in its formative stages and years.. There needs to be a clear development plan, with milestones in place for each individual..

Been that way for donkeys years though hasn't it? All to try and win something that hardly anyone gives a monkey's about, with the vast majority, who still attend, there each week whether you win or lose because they are die hards of the sport. Spending an incredible amount on riders who spend an incredible amount on their machinery, with hardly a penny spent on marketing and publicity? An incredible business model..

It's more the opportunities to ride that I think lets the lads development down.. There will always be the naturally gifted, and their talent will move them through the levels, but it's the next level of riders that need more track time and more assessing themselves against better riders to make gradual, incremental progression.. And that opportunity can only be improved by giving them ring fenced places to take away the intense pressure of losing their team place due to a few poor meetings.. Also the domestic leagues are desperate for more 'average' British riders to take places that currently get taken up by 'average' foreign riders, whose non availability due to home country requirements can often mean a disjointed fixture list.. The more British riders in the leagues the better the sport will be as supply will eventually overtake demand, something which currently helps dismantle the sports credibility when it comes to guests in particular and the use of DU when fixtures clash, not to mention the natural premium on cost of demand exceeding supply.. ie. When your the only real option for a certain team place I am sure you can ask for more than the position would ordinarily warrant.... Let's hope the focused development these lads seem to be now getting will be supplemented by several team places guaranteed for them..

Not seen enough of him to be honest. However, he does run an 8 point plus average so must be 'up there' with the better teenagers.. Anders Rowe appears to be another who could move on to bigger things.. It does appear that some real focus is being given to these lads with organised track days, advice on diet, mental health support, and the opportunity to listen to and learn from experienced top line performers, so let's see if it pays off for the sport.. No point doing it though if places are then filled by riders from overseas, rather than creating a framework for the lads to develop, and sticking with them as they progress...

Great racetrack Brisbane.. Another one of those more circular ones that always seem to deliver great racing..