SarahLapworth

Thanks Simon. Prior to 2011 there was a lack of meaningful 2nd halves. Most tracks were running 3 heats of "stars of tomorrow" races. The same 4 riders against each other. Usually the heats would contain 1 dominant rider. Not only were these races boring to the spectators, they were meaningless to the riders. They were getting nothing out of them. Myself and Nigel Hinchliffe realised this and came up with the idea of setting up what was to become the MDL. Instead of the same 4 riders there would now be 8 which meant more variety in their races. No more would there be one dominant rider. More importantly the riders were part of a team which gave them a taste of what it would be like to step up to National League level. Running round 4 laps is one thing but when it's for your team and every point counts you see a big difference in the riders and the comradery that I have witnessed during my time in the MDL was priceless. The one other aspect we must not forget is the paying public. They want value for their money and from my time involved most of them actually took interest in the MDL and stayed behind to watch and get behind the lads. Prior to the MDL hardly anyone stayed behind to watch the aforementioned Stars of Tomorrow races. I firmly believe that the MDL in its existing format has worked well and has provided youngsters with the experience of meaningful competitive racing that prepares them for the big step up to the National League. If you look at the line up's in the Premiership today Max Clegg, James Shanes, Josh Bailey & Nathan Greaves all started out in the MDL.

I can say that I am no longer involved in speedway and very rarely watch it these days. I did watch the 2nd leg of the Grand Final on SKY - well a few heats anyway until it was obvious that Wolves had won. I used to watch the GP as that was the best racing one could watch until it went to BT Sports. I cannot justify the extra subscription fee to watch it when I already pay for Sky. What I have noticed in the last few years is the rapid decline of British Speedway. I have looked at the team listings this year for the Elite League/Premiership or whatever they call it these days and I must admit there are no names that stand out. It looks like a watered down top division if you will. Ok maybe I am being a bit harsh here but my point is this. The top division clubs and even Premier League (oh sorry Championship) are charging up to £20 each to get in. take into account £3 for your programme, petrol, food and drink and you are looking at a fortune. Now one would not mind if you were paying to see the best riders in the world but the truth is you are not. What you are paying for is a watered down pile of c*** labelled as the best that British Speedway has to offer. Wages have risen in the UK over the last couple of years and folk have move disposable income but there are far better things to spend your money on. Promoters should stand back and take a look at the product they are selling. If they lowered their admission prices and marketed it better maybe more people would turn up. Of cause there will always be the hardcore fans that turn up no matter what. Do these people have more money than sense? I doubt it. Overall is the product that these promoters are selling in 2017 viable? I very much doubt it.

I meant the landowner

Some very interesting comments. Thank you for taking the time you share your views even if some of you don't agree with me. There is nothing like a good debate. One aspect I forgot to add to my post was is speedway dead or alive? For now maybe its just clinging on. If you look at the current league structure and costs of British speedway you will have noticed that in the last couple of seasons most of the established tracks have decided to cut their losses and drop down to the National League. Eastbourne and now Lakeside. Tracks who found they simply could not survive in the higher tiers such as Birmingham and Plymouth. On the other hand does one see Kent or Cradley stepping up anytime soon? errmm NO! Their owners would have to have very big pockets and be financial suicidal. From what I can gather the only track that makes any money is Poole? Will speedway in the UK be dead in the next 10 years? Very very probable! Why do I say this? Land and the need of it for housing. I actually work in the housing sector so know what I am talking about here. I'm sure unless you have been living in the deepest darkest jungles of the Congo for the past few years most of you will be aware of the housing crisis in the UK. It is a two way scenario. Firstly there is a shortage of social housing. Secondly the government in partnership with the developers want to provide more people for opportunity for people to buy new builds with schemes such as help to buy and shared ownership. Available land is now a premium. Landowners are being asked name your price (depending on the area obviously). It's well noted Coventry will be gone shortly. But there will come a time when the land owners of all tracks close to populated area's will be tempted to bite the cherry. Think it will never happen to my team? Well take into account last weeks news that the Jockey Club want to sell off Kempton Park Racecourse. Kempton Park - one of the UK's most famous and premier racecourses! It's certainly not making a loss and attracts huge crowds to its feature meetings. However it is very close to London and the Jockey Club have been rumored to be asking £100m for the land. Maybe in 2027 we will have an elite league with just Buxton and Mildenhall. Poole may be making money but its only a matter of time before Mr Ford accepts the millions.

So glad you obviously have enough time on your hands to search for posts I made almost 5 years ago!

A certain McFly song comes to mind. "Its all about you"

Good riddance to him. His heart has never really been in representing the UK from the start. I used to like him when he was a kid but he has become a jumped up self important *anchor now. I don't watch the GP now as I simply won't pay the extra subscription but It does please me to see Hancock doing well. A genuine guy who always has time for his fans and his country. Just out of interest are Monster Energy sponsoring the SWC next year? If not it may have something to do with his decision.

Just thought I'd re-post this as a lot of people are now saying that those speaking out against Mr Woffinden are pig headed and ignorant. I have not made any comment that Tai in anti-British and I have note said he cares more about Australia. Tai is not forced to ride in the British Final but I do think he is being very selfish and is having very little regard for his British Fan base. With regards to the SWC the only reason Rosco and Chapman are still sucking up to him is due to sponsorship. The SWC is sponsored by Monster Energy. They are Tai's big backers. Monster pull the strings so the BSPA would not dare upset them by not using their golden boy in Team GB. Just a thought as well. If Mr Woffinden is scared of being burned out he should take a leaf out of Greg Hancock's book. Greg is 46, a 3 time world champ, rides in probably more meetings and also flies back to the States during the season to compete in his home championship combined with having a family! If lessons are to be learned maybe the BSPA should consider seeding their British GP riders directly through to the Final. I know Tai reads these posts and he has to realise he has let a lot of his supporters down who would have turned up to see him. Maybe it's not too late to change your mind.

He has no choice to pick him. The SWC is sponsored by Monster - Tai's big backers

I have nothing personal against Tai but his actions here have completely devalued the British Championship. In a time where British Speedway is having a hard time we now have a "British" World champion giving his home championship a snub because he can't be arsed. How can he say he doesn't want to burn himself out when he does half the meeting he used to? I also think this show's that Tai has little regard for his British fans. Of cause he is going to ride in the World Cup final. Its only one meeting and besides that its sponsored by his big backers Monster so its more than his sponsorship is worth to give that event the cold shoulder. Sorry Tai I have always supported you but your snub of your British fans is unsavory. It's one bloody meeting and a lot of fans would have turned up just to see you as your appearances here now are far and few between over here. I know at the end of the day its business and you have to look after number 1 but don't forget the people who have always supported you. British World Champion? - Then behave like one.

Wow! I don't say this very often but I actually agree with you Simon. I have watched from the outside for the last couple of years now and it does amaze me how promoters are now getting a hard on for anyone from Moto X or Grasstrack who have never even turned a wheel on the shale before. A few years ago promoters were cumming in their pants for anyone from Australia who conveniently had British parents. It does make me chuckle. That aside there does seem to be more riders moving up from the MDL now which is only right but the MDL lads should be getting first pick before places are given to complete novices. I've never raced a speedway bike before but was quite handy on my toy peddle tractor when I was a kid. Anyone fancy giving me a team place?

Outdated Monarchy! you pathetic little person!! The Queen has given her whole life to serving this county and has been the best role model anyone could ask for. She has remained politically neutral. When our national anthem is played I feel proud to be British. Long may we have a monarchy and long may Her Majesty reign.

Does Tai Woffinden warrant an honour? Very good question. He is twice a World Champion and based on the fact he does a lot for charity, yes he should be recognised with an MBE. Bradley Wiggins got a Knighthood for winning the Tour De France. Chris Frome has since won it twice but he has nothing. What I will say though is anyone who thinks Tai has any chance of winning the BBC S.P.O.T.Y is seriously dancing with the fairies or smoking something very strong!. For one the shortlist is not decided by the public. It is decided by the BBC to ensure that it is politically correct. The likes of Lewis Hamilton, A P McCoy, Wayne Rooney and Mo Farrah will be on the list and quite rightly so but the others will be made up of a couple of token women, a token black, token Asian and last but not least a token disabled athlete. What we have to understand is Speedway is a minority sport and outside its circles (no pun intended) not a lot of people have interest in it. I believe that SKY tv have their own sports awards so maybe he will get something from that.

Good luck with this one then. He is a very good rider I'll give him that but you may find him a tad unreliable after a few meetings. He may have changed since then but when he made his "guest" appearance for Coventry I heard his dad asked for more than what was agreed so he was promptly shown the door. On a personal note as well he had agreed to ride for me on a Team Viking tour in April 2011 but pulled out at the very last minute (Probably his dad's decision). I like the guys who run Berwick and how they have looked after Alex Edberg but I hope for their sake that this lad and his father have changed their attitudes as quite frankly I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole.

If i'm right that is the old German Imperial Navy flag?

This is the biggest pile of stinking politically correct poo there is. Because some nutter went on the rampage and posed with the flag everyone seems to be jumping on the social media fueled bandwagon calling for it to be banned. The Confederate Flag is a part of US heritage. The US government should be more concerned about sorting out their gun laws before deciding if a flag should be banned. I've not been on the forum for a while so sorry if I'm a bit behind here but it did cross my mind if pressure would be put on Somerset speedway to change their logo. If people find the Confederate flag offensive they need to get psychiatric help. OK people will say its associated with slavery but if we want to go down that route then lets ban the Union Jack. After all didn't we once have a mighty empire built on slavery and colonialism? Lets ban the Irish tricolor as it has links to the IRA and while we are at it lets ban the French flag because they are French! Some people have called for Allo Allo to banned because they wear Nazi uniform in it. My point here is some people need to get a grip in life.

To be fair Conor is a good lad and deserves his chance in the National League. He has been knocking on the door for the last couple of years but has been unlucky with injuries that have hindered his progress. The last I knew he was working at a big chain supermarket so it's not as if he's dropping a 6 figure salary (sorry if that sounds blunt). If I was young again I would gladly pack it all in to follow my dreams. It may or may not work out for him but I have the confidence that given this opportunity and the support that comes with it he will be a valued team member of the Storm

wasn't this meant to be a big venture funded by Poole? Can't say I'm suprised really

Whilst I can put my hand up and say I have had little involvement in speedway this year and have not attended any meetings I have observed with interest the current crisis if you will with the Elite league in its present state. I hope you don't mind me sharing my views. So what is wrong with the Elite league? Well its hard where to start really. I don't wish to jump on the perennial doom and gloom bandwagon but we have to admit this year the product has not been good and we could be seeing the beginning of the end. Birmingham have closed down and Eastbourne look set to go at the end of this year (Mr Dugard has stated that the regular crowd is only 700). The main thing we have to ask ourselves now is are we getting value for our money - the simple answer is a big fat NO!. Crowds are going down because it is simply too expensive for a family now to attend on a regular basis. Wages have not increased for ages and the cost of living continues to rise yet we are asking folk to part with their hard earned cash to pay upto £18 each week per person (excluding kids of cause). Now lets face it people don't mind paying this is they are getting value for their money (football is well attended at roughly the same price or more) but the Elite League is a watered down product compared to what it used to be. People want to see the best riders in the world if they are paying top dollar - thats why Cardiff is so well attended but we can probably count on one hand the amount of GP riders that race here and maybe on two hands the number of truly world class riders. When I first started going to speedway back in 1993 each team had 3 world class heat leaders and the second strings were knocking on the door. Fast forward to 2014 Each team probably has a 1 top rider or maybe 2 if your lucky, the rest is made up of premier league regulars. Doubling up between the leagues seemed a good when the idea was first conceived, you would have the best riders in the premier league slot into the reserve spots in the Elite. It was like a natural progression. What has happened now is that this system has got out of control. The Elite league is full of riders that also race in the premier league. Supporters can no longer associate a rider with one team. You can watch an Elite league match at Belle Vue on a Monday and then go and watch premier league at Somerset on Friday. chances are you will see 60% of the same riders you say on Monday. A case of the same riders wearing different race jackets. This means that in effect the Elite League is just a glorified Premier league with a few top riders thrown in. As for the fast track system for British youngsters - This may have seemed a good idea but has become a total farce. It has weakened the Elite league and was almost certainly brought in as a cost cutting measure. Most of the youngsters are struggling and after a few meetings are dropped. The club then has to take on the next rider in line and so on. Tai Woffinden has stated that the league has to change if he is to ride here next year. I have always said that if the league is to move forward and attract the best riders in the world again we have to have a set race night. Promoters are stuck in the past if they think they can still expect to run on any night they want and the riders have to revolve around that. If the BSPA insist on continuing the status quo maybe the only way forward is to combine the 2 leagues again? At least the fans would get the variety of seeing a different team each week and each team would have different riders to the other as there would be no need for doubling up. Whatever happens the Elite league needs to change! Kelvin Lapworth

This would only work though if doubling up was scrapped to an extent. It would not be credible if the same batch of riders raced for the bottom 2 teams in the Elite and the top 2 in the Premier. Promotion/Relegation would be a good idea if it was done properly. We had the Promotion/Relegation play offs for a couple of seasons in the late 2000's but that was just a big farce

I think the Northern Junior League differs slightly from the MDL this year on its race format. If I'm right each NJL team is made up of 2 x 500cc riders and 2 x 125cc junior riders so that means there are 3 races for the 4 500cc riders and 3 races for the 125cc riders so in effect each heat will feature the same riders but on different gate positions. The MDL still features 4 x 500cc riders per team and the heat format is done so that the riders are in pairings until heat 5 where the second strings race against each other and heat 6 will feature the 4 heat leaders. Hope that clears things up a little bit

Even though I ran that team for a couple of years I do actually agree with you there Bagpuss. I think we should go further though and stop the Premier league using the same bunch of boring riders who get passed around the clubs year after year and give their places to the young British lads coming.

Blimey!! That's 3 members of the old Team Viking touring team in there

Shame really but it looks like the same person has been mouthing off to the BSPA again! For someone who has boasted in the past he is all for bringing on the youngsters I wonder if he realises his rants may actually be damaging the MDL??

There is no confirmed date yet but we will be looking to get this staged at an alternative venue if there are no dates left at Rye House