f-s-p 832 Posted February 6, 2009 ... with the third round to be held at Argentina. Now is that stypid or what? This has been mentioned in the polish portals and last weeks Spar. Armando Castagna has been checking the facilities in Argentina and they are actually thinking of a mini GP next year and on... Dont do it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blazeaway 1,501 Posted February 6, 2009 ... with the third round to be held at Argentina. Now is that stypid or what? This has been mentioned in the polish portals and last weeks Spar. Armando Castagna has been checking the facilities in Argentina and they are actually thinking of a mini GP next year and on... Dont do it. What an awful idea. In times when people are looking to try and save money an expensive trip to South America in the middle of the season. What a joke, mind you this is speedway so why should we be surprised? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iris123 20,997 Posted February 6, 2009 I agree....seems a crazy idea.it isn't as if most of the youngsters are rolling in money to make such a trip.plus will it be in the middle of the season?as the argentinian season is when ours finishes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ron Butler 0 Posted February 6, 2009 ... with the third round to be held at Argentina. Now is that stypid or what? This has been mentioned in the polish portals and last weeks Spar. Armando Castagna has been checking the facilities in Argentina and they are actually thinking of a mini GP next year and on... Dont do it. I haven't heard it mentioned in my local Spar. Maybe I was in Tesco at the time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Puma23 27 Posted February 6, 2009 Good idea ! Give chance any speedway country !! Is Europe being better than South America ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tommy 0 Posted February 6, 2009 Yeah, I wonder who's gonna pony up the cash to move riders, mechanics n bikes to south America. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonM 0 Posted February 7, 2009 Personally I think this is a great idea. If done properly it could be an excellent opportunity to grow the sport. The current Argentine Int'l Series has four "foreign" riders competing over several weeks, how hard would it be to bring another 12 for one weekend!! And what an opportunity for the locals to boost interest in the sport, they already have a good base of riders to work with and a World Title event would take it to the next level. This formula could be used in the future to help raise the level of the sport in other countries too. An event of this stature would do nothing but good in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada and the US. One non European race a year would be a win win for everyone if done properly. Unquestionably the key would be proper support and funding from the authorities. Is it realistic? I hope so, but that's the big question isn't it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
f-s-p 832 Posted February 7, 2009 I agree....seems a crazy idea.it isn't as if most of the youngsters are rolling in money to make such a trip.plus will it be in the middle of the season?as the argentinian season is when ours finishes. It's supposed to finish the season as the third round in october or november or similar. I wouldn't say Europe is being better. But what I will say is that it's money down the drain for the riders taking part. Especially Brits seem to be moaning all over how expensive everything is in speedway and how sponsorhip is hard to get. I wouldn't travel to the other side of the world with equipment that wouldn't cut the mustard in a final round of the championship/final meeting of the year... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
philipg 0 Posted February 7, 2009 team speedway is slowly been killed off by this gp rubbish Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Parsloes 1928 nearly 495 Posted February 8, 2009 What an awful idea. You're confusing me now... You've always been a vociferous defender of the GP system so why now are saying that extending it to the U-21s is an awful idea...?! Having a GP system to determine the World Under 21 championship is indeed a terrible step backwards but thus it was for the senior WCs and you defend that..!! Some clarification needed, please!! BTW, I do support whole-heartedly the Speedway world embracing Argentina. Sounds like the championship series going on out there at the moment is attracting crowds bigger than we usually get in the UK and ones anyone in Europe would be proud of; so why not... While we have the GPs (ie the senior ones...), it should surely be that series (not a made-up one for the U-21s) who venture out to South America..??!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HenryW 1,178 Posted February 8, 2009 I think the suggestion of moving the U21 to a Grand Prix style is potentially a good move, but I'm not sure that the current proposal is worthy. If the full SGP series can't be made to work financially outside of Europe, how the hell can the U21 series do it? The guys competing in the U21 championship are much less likely to have the infrastructure and backing to enable them to make long treks across the Globe, so who is going to pay for this round in Argentina? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paulco 7,080 Posted February 8, 2009 I think the suggestion of moving the U21 to a Grand Prix style is potentially a good move, but I'm not sure that the current proposal is worthy. If the full SGP series can't be made to work financially outside of Europe, how the hell can the U21 series do it? The guys competing in the U21 championship are much less likely to have the infrastructure and backing to enable them to make long treks across the Globe, so who is going to pay for this round in Argentina? I worry though how badly our Premier League will be affected if the under 21s becomes a GP type event . Too many riders could be posted missing at crucial times of the season if this happens . The international demands are bad enough without increasing it . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SCOTLAND1314 121 Posted February 8, 2009 I must admit I am some what ignorant of the exact proposal re the World U21 championship. However, if I've picked up at least a bit of the proposal i.e. a GP style leg in Argentina, I think this is a good idea. It is after all a 'World' championship. What of the U21 riders that are from South America, given the current set up of the final(s) being staged in Europe, surely they are on the back foot from the get go. If there is a nation out there that are up and coming, in speedway terms, surely you do what you can to encourage that country. There may be a Maradona of speedway waiting to be unearthed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bavarian 767 Posted February 13, 2009 Yes, it is supposed to be WORLD championship, not an entirely European affair. The FIM have the duty to take the sport overseas. This is long overdue. And yes, it will be an effort to get most of the finalists from Europe to South America, but why not? The young riders from overseas are always expected to come to Europe to race in the world championship events. Why not the other way round? It is time that the sport gets out of Europe. The FIM proposal is to run the final of the world under21's as a series of three meetings, with a couple of European countries hosting round 1 in September and round 2 in October, with the third round being held in an overseas country such as Argentina in November. South America will just be the start, Australia, New Zealand and the USA (California) may host this final round in future years. The FIM hope to be able to finance this project by selling the TV rights. After all, the under 21 world championship serves some of the best racing with often unpredictable results and would be a treat for TV. If they can sell this product to Sky Sports or some Polish or other TV stations, it could really work. It should certainly be possible to raise enough money to take the 15 riders, plus mechanics and equipment overseas. Only 15 riders it would be, with the sixteenth place (a wildcard entry) as well as the two reserves coming from the host nation, just as it's already done in the SGP series. I guess (if neccessary due to financial restrictments) it may even be possible to cut down on that number of 15 riders. After the first two rounds held in Europe it could be ruled that only the top ten or 12 go forward to contest the final round, with the remainig spots filled by local riders as wildcard entries. After all, any rider not placed among the top ten or twelve after two of the three rounds, will not have a chance to win a medal. It would not be necccessary to send the backmarkers overseas. The top riders would go and fight out the medal positions, while a lot of money could be saved by letting the host nation nominate their local favorites as wildcards to complete the sixteen riders line-up. Please remember that this (the reduction of riders) is not what the FIM proposes, these are only my personal thoughts. But I guess it would help to cut costs while it would not harm the credibility of the series in its status as a true world championship. Of course, if the money is there such a cut won't be neccessary at all and all fifteen qualifiers could be sent overseas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
