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HenryW

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Posts posted by HenryW

  1. Posted

    Today is the end of an era.
    I started properly watching and following the series around the same time that Valentino came into 125cc, and I have been with him all through his career.
    It has been a glorious journey with him, even as someone that has only been a TV viewer of his races...
    Sad as it may sound, I am fairly sure that I will shed some tears at the end of the race and his career...
    He has brought me so much joy and entertainment over the years...and he has been instrumental in lifting his sport to a higher level.
    Grazie Vale....You are leaving the sport in the best position it has ever been in, but it will never be the same without you.

    • Like 4

  3. Posted

    On 11/11/2021 at 1:19 PM, Ghosty said:

    Most riders ride in both leagues so therefore have REAL averages for both leagues, so were or how does the conversion rate apply?

    Most, but not all...6 teams in the Premiership, 11 teams in the Championship...Both had 7 rider teams. All are not being fitted into both leagues.
    Still a bunch of riders that were Championship only.

  4. Posted

    On 11/11/2021 at 6:33 PM, Mr Blobby said:

    Embarrass themselves every year at the BSPA. 5 year plan for the RS pretty sure every man and their dog could’ve told you last year this would only last a season and well there we go scrapped already. 
     

    It would be funny if it wasn't so ridiculous.
    So many times we have heard about a 5 year plan, long term plan, etc and every time it is binned quickly.
    I know that some might not have liked the introduction of the RS system, but to bring it in as a 5 year plan and ditch it after 1 year just makes the sport look completely stupid...especially when it was something that actually seemed to be useful for the development of riders in the UK.
    I'll admit that I didn't really understand the star system from this year, but a move to something like a star for each year in the league could have been a good way to go....but, nah, just bin the whole thing.
    Encouraging and giving an advantage to teams that actually developed riders seemed like a good idea to me....Could it see the best young Brit riders being paid more than their average was normally worth? Yes. Is that a bad thing for developing the young riders? In my opinion, NO! 
    There aren't enough good young Brit riders to go around and it's unfair if a team has a special talent? Tough...Get out and encourage kids to try speedway if you want to win the league rather than waiting for them to appear and fall in your lap or signing young foreign riders.
     

    • Like 3

  5. Posted

    12 hours ago, SpeedwayTShirts said:

    Point me in the right direction then, if you can find me someone who does metre square printed canvases for under 20 quid I'll send you a tenner for everyone we sell as you'll be saving us a fortune.

    I think you might be waiting a good while before they provide that link :rolleyes:

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1

  6. Posted

    On 11/8/2021 at 9:26 AM, Grachan said:

    I often look through maps online to try and work out where old stadiums were. Never found this site before, so very interesting for me.

    Sad as I am, I have enjoyed using the Google Earth app to search out some of the more recently lost tracks in various countries...That app has a good history of ariel imagery for recent years, with 1940s imagary for some of the key WW2 areas, but not anything like back to the big speedway years of the 50s, 60s and 70s like these old maps offer.

  7. Posted

    26 minutes ago, szkocjasid said:

    I don't see how Heeps is a gamble, he's only on a 4.95 ave, so fills a second string spot, if he signed on a 7.0 ave I'd agree a gamble!

    100% agree.
    However, I don't think he'll be short of offers on that average and not sure Edinburgh could give the best offer.
    As for Richie...Not a surprise, and not sure why anyone is suggesting it's a surprise to the Edinburgh promotion...

  8. Posted · Edited by HenryW
    typos and missed info

    On 11/10/2021 at 7:30 AM, steve roberts said:

    I visited Meadowbank a few years back to view the Peter Craven plaque thinking that the speedway track was on the site of the athletics track but judging by the the map overlay its location was to the side of that.

    Yeah, the speedway track was not where the athletics track was that you apparently visited...In fact, the stadium that you visited was actually part of the reason for the end of speedway at Meadowbank in Edinburgh. The site of both of the stadiums shown on the old map was redeveloped to act as the host the 1970 commonwealth games.
    Old Meadowbank - Wikipedia
    The stadium that you visited has also now been demolished and a new, smaller, stadium is being constructed with part of the land being given over to housing.
    I'm not actually certain what has happened to the Peter Craven plaque from the 1970 stadium....I don't think it has been included in the new stadium and has, possibly, been given to the speedway museum...but I may just have imagined that part.

    • Thanks 1

  9. Posted

    9 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

    Sweden matches are mostly run infront of three figure crowds , the rest a lot less. Sponsors pay the for the clubs to run because of TV coverage.

    Long Track gets bigger crowds than speedway in both Germany and France , the others don’t even have proper leagues.

    Poland is huge because their football is poor in comparison to other countries and they price speedway correctly to attract family’s , that attracts sponsors, which brings cash , that attracts stars!

    As has already been mentioned, the crowd figures from Sweden this year should probably not be taken as a good guide to what they CAN attract.
    Despite what some people in other parts of this forum might imply, Sweden was NOT a restriction free nirvana during covid.
    There were fairly harsh limits on sporting events for most of this season...A check on the change in Swedish football attendances between 2019 and 2021 would confirm that things were NOT normal there.
    That's NOT to say that Swedish speedway isn't seeing a reduction in attendance in recent years...Even before covid attendances were going down, but not to the level of 3 figure crowds, so lets wait and see what happens next year.

    Someone else has said that Long track does NOT get bigger crowds in Germany now. France might be accurate, I don't know...But I am confused by the statement that "the others don't even have proper leagues"...In the context of the comment that seemed to suggest that aside from UK, Sweden and Poland there are no proper leagues in Europe.
    How are you defining a "proper league" there?
    What about Denmark? Czechia? Russia?

    I also am not convinced by the suggestion that speedway is "huge" in Poland, or that their success is down to a lower level of football..although I guess a case could be made for that.
    Speedway is big, but not huge, in Poland, and only in certain markets, mainly outside of the major Cities.
    The big speedway places in Poland tend to be cities/towns that don't have reasonably big or successful football teams...The only exception that I can think of is Wroclaw.
    As I said, you could argue that they only get crowds because the football teams are poor...OR it could be that the football teams are poor because the public prefers their successful speedway teams and that holds back the development of a more competitive football scene ;)

    58 minutes ago, topsoil said:

    Speedway in Poland will eventually ruin all the other domestic leagues. And will it grow any in that country at the expense of all the other nations? The recent statement of 139,000 viewers for each meeting on tv doesn't suggest so.

    I would also suggest 'huge' being put into perspective.

    Just taking the devil's advocate position on this claim...
    IS Polish speedway doing anything right now that British speedway didn't do back in the 60's, 70's, early 80's when it was on top of the pile?
    Personally, I think that the failings can be traced back to what British speedway did back then, and we are reaping what we sowed...Obviously that doesn't mean that we should continue in the same way but, as Brits, it's hard to complain about other leagues doing what the British league did when it was on top.

    • Like 2

  10. Posted · Edited by HenryW

    Delighted to see the U21 rider requirement gone from the tournament.
    No disrespect to the guys that raced in that position over the last few years, but it devalued the competition.

    I still dislike the "pairs" format compared to a 4 team world championship (2 team test match format would be even better), but can kind of understand the reasoning for moving to this format while there is a lack of depth in most nations.

    It'll be interesting to see how well attended these meetings are. 
    It feels like the new rights holders are going back over the ground that BSI trod when they first took over (when speedway was healthier in more nations), then bailed out of as they realised that running all meetings in one country led to reduced attendance.

    Having said that, I'd still prefer a different format to the suggested 2 semi finals and a final.
    The difference between the Nations is too big to make that really interesting racing wise. 
    I think I'd prefer a format where there was a qualification ladder through the meetings, but I guess that doesn't work as well as it means more meetings without the BIG names.

    Just using the Nations that competed this year and their finishing order, I am thinking of something like this:
    Day 1: USA, Russia, Finland, Italy, Slovenia, Ukraine, Czechia
    Day 2: France, Latvia, Sweden, Germany + top 3 from Day 1
    Day 3: GB, Poland, Denmark, Australia + top 3 from Day 2

    It feels like that would give more competitive meetings on each day, but would mean that the BIG nations don't appear until Day 3, so probably doesn't work well for TV contracts despite being better for competitive racing.

    • Like 3

  12. Posted

    6 minutes ago, allthegearbutnaeidea said:

    Linked with Torun, good luck battling a team with Emil, J Holder, Lambert, Przedpelski and Dudek, let’s see if Glasgow are the money men after all :lol:;)

    As your team lineup for Torun suggests, there are (very) limited options for Tom getting into that squad.
    If he is being linked with them, I guess it's for their U24 squad...I'm fairly sure Glasgow can pay more than the rates being offered in that...Torun would just be a little extra for him alongside his British clubs ;)

  14. Posted

    2 hours ago, chunky said:

    There have been some superb sites over the years that have just disappeared. That's why we need some kind of central stats site that is going to stay available...

    Yep. Most of the sites that have come and gone have just been run by a single dedicated person keeping things up to date.

    When they lose interest or get busy with other things, the site fades away.

    AktuellSpeedway.se went the same way recently.

    A group organised effort that isn't dependant on individuals is required.

  16. Posted

    2 hours ago, mikebv said:

    Pre Covid in Sweden crowds were considerably larger than in the UK...

    Not Poland level obviously but a basic meeting would get 2000 or so...

    And, given they don't run Mickey Mouse rules, it means they do have some credibility and have a nationally recognised  company sponsoring the league....

    Much easier to race Poland and Sweden with one set of equipment and team of mechanics than it is to do Poland and UK.

    • Like 2

  17. Posted

    16 minutes ago, The Third Man said:

    So you want to get rid of half the top league?

    3 teams should be good, could run as a three team tournament at every track every week, that should work

    The Russian league struggled along with 3 teams in 2015 and 2016.

    Maybe the BSPL could check in with them for some guidance :D

    • Haha 2

  18. Posted

    8 hours ago, steve roberts said:

    I recall that Eric Gundersen in particular having difficulty adjusting primarily.

    Erik did indeed have some issues adjusting to the new rules. 
    He was quite the expert at the tape nudging...A viewing of the 1984 World Team Cup final, when FIM rules still allowed it when British rules were a bit more fuzzy, would confirm that :D

    I seem to remember going to the BLRC in 1984 hoping to see Erik win, only for him to be excluded for tape touching in a race off for the title with Morton and Nielsen :cry:

    • Like 1

  19. Posted

    On 10/28/2021 at 1:19 AM, BOBBATH said:

    I enjoyed Eriks' sense of humour -my question is -do you reckon if Erik's career hadn't been cut short -how do you think he would have stacked up relative to Hans Nielsen. Hans to me was the ultimate professional, Erik more human and mercurial. As Bruce kindly pointed out to him , in the 1981 World Final he (Erik) broke the track record at Wembley in I think his first ride.

    Erik does indeed hold the Wembley track record. I can't remember which race he broke it in but it definitely wasn't his first race...He lost that one to Bruce ;) 
    In that meeting, which was his first World Final, he also finished last in what should have been his easiest race of the night (against Muller, Ross and Dryml) due to a mechanical problem. If he had won that he would have finished on 14 and either been 2nd or in a race off for 1st. I add those options as Bruce knew 14 was enough to win when he did his last race. If he had needed the win, it's hard to think that he wouldn't have got it given what he had done that night...even though his last race was against Carter :D

    Interestingly, Erik's World Individual Final career also ended with an 11 point score and 4th place, losing to the eventual winner in his first race and having a mechanical problem in his third race, just like at his first final at Wembley.

    He had an exceptional record in World Finals, but it would have looked even more exceptional without those two mechnical problems.

    Having said that, and to answer your question about how he would have stacked up relative to Hans...I'm not sure that Erik had plans for much more time at the top level. I seem to recall reading that he had been thinking about retiring from British speedway after 1989 anyway, with the plan to just be racing in the Danish and Swedish leagues. 
    Obviously things are very different now, but it's hard to imagine that he would have been a major contender in the next few years without racing in the British league back then...
    Then again, he seemed to be a man for the big event rather than the regular grind of league racing, so it's not impossible to imagine he could have repeated his Bradford win in 1990 and then his Ullevi win in 1991 as well....

     

    • Like 1

  20. Posted

    On 10/24/2021 at 8:31 PM, GS550 said:

    Sorry but personally I've never been a fan of "categories" and "grades".  The average self categorises anyway to 2 decimal places.  Simple.

    If there has to be greater control than just an overall team build points limit, is it maybe not easier to limit the combined averages of the top 3 as i think used to be the case a while ago, was it maybe 25 or suchlike, although to be honest I've lost track of the various rules.

    I guess it maybe depends on what you are trying to achieve with "categories"/"grades"...
    Averages DO self categorise to 2 decimal places, but that might not be the aim with a grading system...and all averages are not equal. Two riders could have the same average but have achieved them against a very different standard of opposition due to the way that the race format works.


    You only have to look at the way that Denmark grades riders to see how things can be worked to achieve a particular aim. 
    For example, it doesn't matter how badly a foreign rider scores in the Danish league, you will never see them receiving a D grade.
    Across the grades, you will see Danish riders with lower grades than foreign riders with similar or even lower averages.
    As another example, Benjamin Basso had a higher average than Damian Drozdz and Kevin Wolbert this season, but is graded lower than both of them for next season.
    Put simply, the grading system is used to encourage the use of Danish riders and not see young Danes pushed out of a team place due to what could be considered an inflated average.

  21. Posted

    43 minutes ago, Col said:

    Nobody knows what the Ekstraliga will decide to impose on riders in that league, which will largely dictate if any more top tier riders will return to British League.

    That said the way Elitserin use squads, if a rider wants to be busy (which some claim they do) our league maybe a better option.

    Can't see Poole returning to top flight if they can't ride on a Wednesday.

    With Max not doing Ekstraliga next year he has a bit more flexibility so a return to the UK could definitely be an option.

    It'll be interesting to see how the U24 league works out and what days they race that on. That could be the biggest issue for guys like Dan, if Wroclaw want him racing in that league as well.

  24. Posted

    1 hour ago, Jaizer said:

    Sorry but Mike Hunter has let himself down again with the post match press release. Personal opinions should not be included in these unless quotes from the team/ promotion

    Not sure why you think that...Which part did you have an issue with?
    Was it the part where he said that Ricky Wells deserved primary credit? If so, I agree...Never rated Wells and yet it seems like Mike has a bit of love for him there :P

  25. Posted · Edited by HenryW

    42 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

    Yep I think the fact it's not been held since speaks volumes.

    The Polish team lost...At home.
    That probably put them off hosting again :D

    From the scorechart you posted above, it looks like at least Kings Lynn were using a guest, presumably due to a clash of teams...PePe wasn't racing for you guys in 2015.
    Who was he replacing? Would it have been Iversen that was your number 1 back then?

    Edit - I see from Arnie's link above that it was held in ZG in 2014 as well.
    World Speedway League (Zielona Gora) 18/10/2014 5pm | Speedway Updates (proboards.com)

    So the Poles hosted it two years in a row and lost at home to the Swedes 2 years in a row...I can see why their enthusiasm might have faded, a bit like their enthusiasm for the SoN is fading :unsure::rolleyes:

    • Haha 3
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