ch958 2,396 Posted May 22, 2013 The difference between speedway and other forms of motorcycle might be this: speedway is very much built on rider personalities and contests between clubs. Other forms of motorcycle sport feature a great deal more on the type of machinery being used with a lesser concentration on the actual competitors. I think these days MCN likes to be regarded as a technical publication which possibly may explain its lack of interest in speedway and grass track racing (the latter was also covered strongly by them some 30 years ago). these comments are totally spot on Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
glasgowmicktiger 142 Posted May 22, 2013 Berwick had a good crowd on tuesday.....ok they went the extra mile for the big event but shows it can be done hope they keep it up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelcroucher 30 Posted May 23, 2013 I have always said if you want a big corwd then you have to look at what other coutries do to get crowds at speedway. Every Sunday i watch speedway on TV in Poland and the crowds are always full or nearly full. They also get big crowds in CZ every once in a while and sometimes in Denmark and Swenden if they can do it why cant the UK. I think the promoters dont help sky never did anything and i dont know if they are still like that but you want get big crowds if they keep speedway runnning the way they do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spinkox 37 Posted May 23, 2013 speedway is very much built on rider personalities and contests between clubs. PRECISELY. Its a team sport. 99% of the crowd just want to see their team win - they dont care if a particular rider has made any new mods to his bike. Actually - the bikes have less character now. Going back to my experiences of Wimbledon in the 60s it was possible to recognise any of the teams bikes because of the individual quirks they had, style of handlebars etc. It meant you could tell who might be a substitute in a race by seeing the bike wheeled out - before it was announced. Not that this has much to do with crowd size differences. . . 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ch958 2,396 Posted May 23, 2013 PRECISELY. Its a team sport. 99% of the crowd just want to see their team win - they dont care if a particular rider has made any new mods to his bike. Actually - the bikes have less character now. Going back to my experiences of Wimbledon in the 60s it was possible to recognise any of the teams bikes because of the individual quirks they had, style of handlebars etc. It meant you could tell who might be a substitute in a race by seeing the bike wheeled out - before it was announced. Not that this has much to do with crowd size differences. . . no but it helps us understand where the appeal of the sport lies and it has never been in the technical stuff for me which is why it is the one area costs could be cut - fans don't care about miles per hour jus close exciting racing. Find the cheapest kit possible to achieve this and charge £10 at the door.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_minall 232 Posted May 23, 2013 It would be interesting to see if a track could survive by charging £10 on the door week in, week out. Granted they'd have to bring in nearly twice the crowd, but the increase in food/drink/merchandise sales should also increase as a result. An experiment I'm assuming will never be attempted. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ch958 2,396 Posted May 23, 2013 (edited) It would be interesting to see if a track could survive by charging £10 on the door week in, week out. Granted they'd have to bring in nearly twice the crowd, but the increase in food/drink/merchandise sales should also increase as a result. An experiment I'm assuming will never be attempted. no they wouldn't have to double their crowd!!!! they'd be paying the riders less because the riders wouldn't have to shell out for daft exprensive kit the point people are making is that the bikes dont matter - but the teams and riders do massive vans and 5K bikes? The sport can't stand it - except at GP level they can ride BSA Bantams for all i care things started to get out of hand when 4 valvers came in and it gets more out of hand every bloody year Edited May 23, 2013 by ch958 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The White Knight 9,039 Posted May 23, 2013 no they wouldn't have to double their crowd!!!! they'd be paying the riders less because the riders wouldn't have to shell out for daft exprensive kit the point people are making is that the bikes dont matter - but the teams and riders do massive vans and 5K bikes? The sport can't stand it - except at GP level they can ride BSA Bantams for all i care things started to get out of hand when 4 valvers came in and it gets more out of hand every bloody year B****y good Post!! I particularly liked the BSA Bantam bit. I don't think that Despatch Riders after WW2 had 'Lay Down Engines. Yes - the Sport is PRICING itself out of Business. :sad: 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Long Eye 278 Posted May 23, 2013 no but it helps us understand where the appeal of the sport lies and it has never been in the technical stuff for me which is why it is the one area costs could be cut - fans don't care about miles per hour jus close exciting racing. Find the cheapest kit possible to achieve this and charge £10 at the door.. Well go and watch cycle speedway then. No complicated internal combustion engines to baffle you there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ch958 2,396 Posted May 23, 2013 Well go and watch cycle speedway then. No complicated internal combustion engines to baffle you there. honestly - have you got nothing better to do than make dumb ass comments grow up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manchesterpaul 447 Posted May 23, 2013 Or like Horse racing which in about 8 minutes in 3 hours, or 12 minutes of action in an hour at a tennis match. Then there is golf ,about 4 minutes of play in 4 hours. Well observed indeed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Long Eye 278 Posted May 24, 2013 honestly - have you got nothing better to do than make dumb ass comments grow up So why is it dumb ass? It was a serious suggestion. You have stated you have an interest in speedway but are not bothered about the types of bike used and wish to see a cheaper form of the sport. Cycle speedway probably fits your ideal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ch958 2,396 Posted May 24, 2013 So why is it dumb ass? It was a serious suggestion. You have stated you have an interest in speedway but are not bothered about the types of bike used and wish to see a cheaper form of the sport. Cycle speedway probably fits your ideal. I'll leave it to forum members to decide whether you're taking the p*ss or not I know what i think if you did a poll of fans 90 pc wouldn't care much about the bikes. You clearly do - thats fine Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dave_minall 232 Posted May 24, 2013 no they wouldn't have to double their crowd!!!! If a club charges £17 per meeting and drops this to £10, they would have to "pretty much" double their crowd to make that work - I did say: "they'd have to bring in nearly twice the crowd" that's basic business. it's pretty logical. Riders are never going to take pay cuts, equipment is never going to get any cheaper. Promoters need to think outside the box to make ends meet and it won't involve cutting costs when it comes to paying riders. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TwoMinuteWarning 69 Posted May 24, 2013 If there is no Sky TV money next year, I think it WILL come to cutting top riders pay. Which will result in less top riders. Which will result in smaller crowds. Which will result in ... don't wanna go there .... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
