mikebv

well done the organisers for providing a dreadful and dangerous track........ very, very lucky freddie then.. and nki.... a disgrace to be honest to let these lads risk their neck on such a 'p' poor surface

nicholls a 'natural' at this pundit lark... 10 out of 10... far more intense work than on sky as just dual 'talking heads' tonight with no other guests.... and sophie shows a few others how to interview speedway riders properly in the pits..... eurosport should keep them and use this way of working at every gp...

I do think one of the major issues the sport has is the widely differing expectations of fan and promoter... Most fans want a winning team AND entertainment... Most promoters in the main seem to see a winning team (at home at any rate) as being the ONLY objective.. You only have to look at the average manipulations and the 'win at all cost' mentality within the sport to see that most tracks' owners are 'in it to win it' and that is probably why they get frustrated when they deliver at the very least an upper mid table team yet they still get grief.. (they are don't forget competing for a 'supposedly' professional sports' championship) As many have said not going inevitably will lead to no speedway, however that is looking more and more like the final conclusion when the void between what the fans expect by way of an overall value for money entertainment package, and what the promoters believe we should accept (and be grateful for) is growing year by year...

that'll be again then...? ffs, there are one or two 'precious' folk down leicester way isn't there?? guess what, most tracks have a 'bit rubbish' racing compared to what we the fans perceive to be 'great'.. most races at most tracks allow you to fill your programme in after the second bend on the first lap... been that way for donkeys years... leicester have a speedway team, their fans can choose not to support it (as is their right), however ultimately that means it will close.. and that means IF they find a buyer to take it on they will still have the same track unless 'someone' pays out shedloads to change it (good luck with that in the present economic climate) .. the chance to build a 'somerset' or a 'scunthorpe' wasnt taken at the outset, therefore just accept it as the way it is.... processional racing is available most nights of the week around the country if you ever get 'bored'...

maybe they should, maybe they will?... doesnt alter the fact that their adjudication and rationale behind the points deduction, DOES benefit all other clubs which blatantly was not their intention when they made the decision... (that is expressed very clear in their statement)... why issue the rationale behind your decision and deliver a punishment that diametrically opposes it...?

maybe they would appeal the points deduction...? the ruling suggested that only bv should suffer and no other club should benefit points wise by what happened... well deducting three points mean EVERY club in the league benefits by either a) increasing their lead over the aces or getting nearer to them if below them at the moment.... maybe time for a lawyer to look closely at the rationale of the decision and see if it is justifiable,,,?

the truth will out!!! justice is served, no one tried to 'con' anyone else, and all acted with the utmost integrity, just as it should be..... the sport can now move on into a glowingly successful future now such a complete and thorough investigation has been observed with meticulous detail being so expertly dissected... there's nothing to see here, please move along.... ,

just tell 'em "well you see, speedway's different..." they'll hear it enough times over the season to get used to it... best of luck to the new venture..

they are speedway promoters, of course you can.. no promoter has ever manipulated a situation, rule or incident to suit their own means in the history of the sport... let alone ever knowingly taken the p1ss out of an ever decreasing level of loyal fans... saints every one of them, we are so lucky to have so many of them.... (bloody typical that the one night you need a downpour in manchester it stays sunny all day)!!! if the aces are to get some sanction (and deserved too if found guilty of any offence) then maybe some other recent and not so recent 'strange' call offs should be retrospectively followed up?

edited for you.. (and your almost guaranteed to pick up a minimum three points)..

would simply have shown up british speedway (once again) for the joke it is.... lovely evening in manchester, ideal for speedway....

agreed.. maybe somebody within the bspa could actually see that this 'kid' is a true talent... he can gate, race and more importantly pass with the best of them... a lot of potential within this kid to promote the sport to the facebook, twatter generation... I wont hold my breath that anyone within the bspa could spot the opportunity for both them and him...

over 20 matches bv must be paying nearly as much (if not more) than 75k a year now in rent... for that they get nothing in return... might as well pay the same and get car parking, bar and restaurant take as well as being able to 'let out' the facility to a third party and pocket the money..., a great day for the aces and the sport in general...

speedway has just launched its 2013 season with the usual 'bumper' easter crowds... yet I bet hardly any track had any plan to carry out market research as to who these people are that come 'once a year' and why they then drift away.. as you say, there should be names, addresses, emails taken and then followed up with special offers to get these people back into the 'habit' of attending speedway, even football does 'next four matches' tickets at discount so why doesnt speedway? cannot believe that the amount of season tickets sold makes a huge difference given the low number so why not do quarter season/half season tickets? those in the 'bumper crowd' are by definition of being there 'speedway fans' so the market you need is there... it just needs to be attracted back more regularly using a proper marketing plan ....

you are 100% correct.... look at the crowds at the darts comps... great hype and promotion from barry hearn has taken the sport to a new level, simply the sport hasnt changed but the way it is sold has... speedway truly is the ultimate extreme sport, with many participants 18 - 25, therefore it should be followed manically by the 'monster/red bull' generation yet the stadiums are still 'full' of 40+ somethings. with hardly a teenager in sight... not down to the sport that, simply to its marketing...

same thing happened at BV tonight... didnt need a tractor to pull a grader , they could have used a brush to 'tidy up' the dust... bottom line of course though is deep tracks simply cannot be handled by the majority of riders, this may be due to ability or modern machinery, (or maybe both?) either way, not having circuits that you need throttle control on which by definition increase opportunities for mistakes, does lead to pretty much 'first out of the gate' wins, which then leads to a lack of spectator response meaning a flat atmosphere....

as money obviously needed to be saved through cost cutting measures.. why didn't the pl teams just work out the average amount of bonus points attained for a '3-3' per meeting over say the past three years, (and the average cost per meeting) and then just remove this amount from their payroll budget for the seven riders at the start of the year? the promoters save the cash and all seven riders have had the impact rather than the odd individual who runs the third place behind his partner (and you prevent all the negative impact to the team spirit that this rule can bring))

always felt the mail was more open to a bit of 'irreverence' regarding the sport when it came to letters and the editorial... seemed to give the 'true fan' the voice rather than worry about what the promoters would say/think... the star in the last six months or so have/are coming around to publishing the 'voice of the people'... lets hope it continues....

its a numbers game in many ways.... it seems foreign riders have more commitment and desire but in many ways we are only taking about those who 'make it'.. promoters take on a foreign rider for a team place time and time again with a huge amount failing, only to be replaced by yet another foreigner... in reality most are no better or worse than a brit counterpart but are recommended by someone who rides with them in poland. sweden denmark etc therefore the promoter takes a punt... the speedway world is full of 5 to 6.5 point men 'journeymen' who use the speedway 'revolving door'... as a fan, from an entertainment point of view watching a brit 'journeyman' or a foreign one is much of muchness.. the difference for me is that in the bigger picture the more brits in the teams means more track time and hopefully more benefits for the sport domestically

just watching the highlights... two hours, no talking bollox in a studio... heat following heat.... looks good.....

and do you know what the most amazing thing is?? promoters reading your comment will shake their heads and wonder what planet you are living on!!! honestly, they will then give 101 reasons to justify why they need to charge so much.... rather than finding 102 ways of reducing costs to be able to charge an admission fee more in keeping with the sports actual position in the 'grand scheme of things'.... I can watch man utd take on chelsea for 29 quid, therefore speedway is surely not worth more than a tenner.... charge that and then 'maybe' you will once again start seeing something akin to a 'decent' fan base.. not holding my breath obviously

be good to get alan and his oh, so positive outlook on life in general (and bv specifically) back on an aces website... went so well last time.. maybe he will also tell us how much he dearly adores SAF and his mighty reds like he used to.... (I am sure he only pretends to be a 'bitter bertie' really) come back moxey!!!!

when times changed and punters' expectations of what a 'value for money good night out' constituted, no one had the vision within the convoluted mish mash of a controlling body to find a way of delivering it.. the admission cost thread showing this years prices sum up in a nutshell how far away from reality those who put a 'price' on the sport really are.....

seventeen quid to watch a sport that even for its biggest event in cardiff cannot get 0.1% of the population to attend... truly, truly crackers these promoters... me, the wife and two kids (14 and 10) paid twenty three quid at the local cinema last thursday evening... the cheapest track so far mentioned in the EL would charge me thirty eight for a family ticket with the rest charging me over Forty?? the cinema also is covered, you can clearly see the action and hear what is being said, it has a free car park and the 'participants' advertised as being there actually show up!!! wonder why speedway is in decline....

Some good ideas Remember when speedway was popular in the seventies? Why was that? When I started going in circa '72 most riders had other jobs and rode speedway as it was a way of earning 'a months money in one night'.. They did this using in the main standard machinery, very few but the 'top lads' had 'special kit', this meant that 90 percent of the riders in the leagues were on a similar level of equipment which also meant a lot fewer strung out races, however it also meant their pay more than covered their cost expenses, everyone won.... The promoters also didnt have to pay tens of thousands in air fares and hotel bills for foreign riders and mechanics... Maybe going back a couple of steps to what worked before 100's of journeymen foreign riders came over and thousands got paid to 'supertuners' will give the sport the chance to 'start again' and not make the same mistakes ?