OveFundinFan

No apologies here for being critical but..... more then a few on here in last couple years been criticising the fuddy duddy music churned out at speedway meetings.... like it not going to attract the young spectators the sport desperately needs, So WBD, Knowing the audience it wants to attract, plays modern music and gets criticised. They can't win it seems.

Some of the comments on here all add to why British speedway is in the dumps. Riders can spend 10’s of thousands of pounds on equipment but the spectators say going watching is worth only £15 for 15 races. Then it comes to the cream of British racing event, a GP with the worlds best riders giving it all, and they did once again, in a city centre (couldn’t get any more centre), meeting guaranteed no matter what the weather, seats (not standing) from £20 and a fair chunk of the crowd would be in that price range, plenty of meeting day activities including bars, eateries, parks, , rolling hills 10 miles away, sand & sea…………. and they still want hotels for £30 a night. Get a pop star performing in the same stadium and entry could be £60-£100, the hotels in 3 figures, and the city will be rammed full, no problem. We know the prices in 2024 will be at least this years prices, so if you want to go you get saving from now. The show is not moving to Wembley, but Wembley costs would be similar if not more, the facilities of parks, rolling hills, sand & sea will not be there, parking probably madness and high price, don’t know about bars and eateries, hotels just as expensive etc……. you can’t guarantee a meeting cause if it rains that’s it done, it would be a temporary track with its potential problems, and as I recall the racing at Wembley was not brilliant anyway. Atmosphere was good, very good….. but what would you prefer a fantastic atmosphere or good racing. My choice would be good racing every time. Cardiff can produce good racing, it has over the years, massive hiccup last year, but lesson learnt they are not going to let that happen again.

Correct…. Virtually all city hotels put there prices up when a “show” is taking place in the city, be it football, pop star, an exhibition etc. Any city centre with attractions will have not only higher hotel prices, but bars, restaurants, car parking etc will have premium prices too. They invest a lot of money and need a return. Check out prices for during the week with example Travel Lodge, Premier Inn etc and you will find nightly prices in the week varies. If I remember right Tuesday night was the most expensive because more reps are out on the road.

Man of the meeting…. No doubt in my mind….. Jack Holder. IMO he’s the one to take the battle to Zmarzlik in the next few years. Has a riding style similar to Zmarzlik and the same tenacity. Dan is fast when he is on it, sometimes not on it though. pre the trophies, riders might appreciate the fact there is less polishing.

I understand the track has been widened this year, with the 4% incline that puts the fence higher, probably meaning the bottom seats have even more restricted view than normal. So, move every one up.

It’s brutal out there.

Track too wet. Phil’s been at it.

After watching the qualifier I think we're in for some great racing tomorrow night. In the UK only Belle Vue would be a better race track but it ain't going to happen anytime soon so, going forward Cardiff Principality stadium is the way to go forward. To get cheaper sleeping arrangements move out of Cardiff. For two years we stayed at the bottom of the valleys and the last year in Bridgend.

In 2013-14-15 we were on upper tier 3rd bend. Enjoyed the good view we had looking down on the track, straight up the back straight, riders thundering into the 3rd bend. Great stuff.

Stevie Worrall finished 7th fastest qualifier.

He is in the line up for qualifying but it’s said he is still carrying the injury. He is out on track NOW and currently fastest….. but early days in qualifying.

Phil’s top priority.

Actually I thought it was quite a good meeting. Would have been better having SON2 there instead of Latvia sand track, the racing would have been better. Even a second Swedish GP, don’t know what crowd it would hold, but when tickets are sold you go on a stream and pay.

There will be no Russians in the worlds biggest tournament ……the next Olympics taking place in Paris. That’s already decided. If as you say they are both now Polish they would surely be riding FOR Poland. I think you know that’s not going to happen. And if it was against the law to single them out wouldn’t you think they would have there lawyers crawling all over this. While Belarus are aligned with Russia in this Special Military Operation (which Putin planned to last 3 weeks), and Belarus troops (with Wagner) have moved up to the Polish border, I don’t thing Poland is sitting too comfortably at the moment. Just as Ukraine once belonged to USSR j not many years ago, so did eastern Poland. Add in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (ex USSR) they all look vulnerable too. And Putin would like to grab Hungary, Bulgaria, Czech, Slovakia, Moldova, Georgia plus all the “stans”.. He wants to make a name for himself in Russian history and bring back the USSR, and at 70 he not got many years left to do it. He is desperate, and not bothered what the human cost is.

Good news for the GP’s

Go on Wikipedia and search for “speedway gp challenge”, take a look back through the years. First off, you will notice the top three every year are usually dominated by the current (for that year) gp riders. However sometimes in the top three you will see a “new” name, like Wozniak this year, who will be in the following years GP series. So follow these names into the following year gp series and see how they do. For starters, take last yeas Challenge winner Kim Nilson. Then go back year by year. Success is not guaranteed. Michel Mickelson came as winner of SEC, how’s he doing. For sure change is needed, new faces are needed, but not 3 or 4 a year. And there could be a case made that when someone comes into the gps they need continuity of more than one year, two years at least. Why? GP is at a different level to league racing… fitness, mechanics, money (sponsors). Even then success is not guaranteed. Take Anders Thomson, very competent rider, came in last year and won a GP, brilliant first year, gets a ticket for this year. Unfortunately now badly injured, but prior to injury how well was he doing? Would he be in next years gp series? Yet I reckon Anders Thomson is a better rider than Kvech, Becker, Pawliki and add Lebedevs too. Take Lebedevs, been around a few years, age about 28. He’s been in a few gp challages, check out his results. Well capable of scoring 7-9 in a challenge final, but that’s it. He’s peaked (sadly, because I like his riding and been willing him on). Putting Lebedevs into a GP series would see him scoring 4-7. For sure I think occasionally he could ruffle a few feathers, which would be good, but not regularly. I don’t want to hold anyone back, look at Bewley, Lambert, JHolder….. they were given there chance and have embraced it fully….. not everyone can/will. Be careful what you wish for.

Apart from Doyle, Vaculik, Lambert, Get below Wozniak and it all gets a bit iffy with kvech, Pawliki, Becker, Lebedevs. One in the 2024 would be enough, two of them could be a disaster for the series. Lebedevs would be my choice, he has the maturity, but doesn’t seem to be able to nail it when required ie recent SON and now the Challange. Beckets not quite there yet, Pawliki (I remember them both only a few years ago), so it’s got to be Kvech…and I not exactly jumping with joy but perhaps best of that bunch for next year.

Below cut and paste from my “ticket”, definitely shows 2:45 British standard time. I therefore assume in the quote above “local” time refers to Swedish time. Broadcast Information Date and time 2023 Speedway Grand Prix Challenge: Gislaved SWE Date and time 19 AUGUST 2023 Begins at 2:45PM BST (about 2 hours)

Stream available, see posts on 19th Aug.

Weather forecast for Gislaved looking good for today. Not much chance of rain, in fact, quite a hot day. Might give it a go with the stream, hoping there will be some good racing. Got my pass now. Point to note is the pass says start time 14:45, elsewhere I seen 15:45 which I assume is 1 hour ahead of uk.

Weather forecast for Gislaved looking good for today. Not much chance of rain, in fact, quite a hot day. Might give it a go with the stream, hoping there will be some good racing.

So, as an apprentice he wouldn’t be earning a big, so where does he get the money from to try to Latvia and back, plus other cost …… like a mechanic! Another sign that British speedway is a waste of time for youngsters who want to get to the top. He needs to get regular rides in Poland.

As R&R says….Tapes Up I connected to Challenge 2022 at Glasgow. You need to login, meaning you need an account. That’s simply name etc and you pay via the login.

NO you shouldn't. All 3 should have expenses, preferably all expenses but if not all a good proportion. Bailey, as under 21 British champ should have been in the team at the start, at least for the first race or two, then depending on performance. Couldn't some sponsorship be rustled up to give the kids a chance, or have you got to be rich before you can develop. Same thoughts with no 17 and 18 at Cardiff, no 17 should be under 21 brit champ and no18 2nd in under 21.Stops any arguments and gives the youngsters some encouragement. A big management mistake in my opinion.

What’s your opinion……. Would you spend £15 on a stream?????