British Speedway Promoters Meeting

[Mike.Butler 601]

its easy. 2 valve upright machines.

[Starman2006 2,356]

Is he the man for the job then ,should be looking elsewhere for the benefit of the Sport .Imo Live TV coverage in itself is not concern they are only thinking of the large sum of Sky money he can pocket for himself .

Be a bit careful what you say mate. Mr Russell does a lot of work on behalf of British speedway. Without him Sky would not have taken speedway on in the first place, and Speedway would have been in a dam cite poorer state than it is now.

Edited November 15, 2013 by Starman2006

[skthecat 90]

its easy. 2 valve upright machines.

And how much would that cost?? Say a million or two for every rider to get kitted out with new stuff? And thats a gross underestimate. 168 riders x average 3 bikes each, thats 504 new everythings at say £4,000 each bike... thats 2 million and 16 thousand for the bikes staight off, not including the cost of the re development of the old parts!!!

 

Wheres all that dosh come from?????

[HenryW 1,178]

On the other hand i would be open minded about some 1 lap races from the tapes.Never seen such a thing, and it might be interesting.

 

Way back...maybe 1989, Edinburgh ran a little 2nd half competition where each week the top 5 riders from the meeting (or maybe just top 5 home riders) went into a 1 lap dash race. Last man dropped out and the other 4 came straight back round to go again. Repeat until you have a 2 man match race for 1 lap and a winner is found.

 

That actually proved to be pretty entertaining but got dropped after a while...Shame.

 

It would be fun to see that return.

[THE DEAN MACHINE 4,792]

And how much would that cost?? Say a million or two for every rider to get kitted out with new stuff? And thats a gross underestimate. 168 riders x average 3 bikes each, thats 504 new everythings at say £4,000 each bike... thats 2 million and 16 thousand for the bikes staight off, not including the cost of the re development of the old parts!!!

 

 

jawa/jrm already make a 2 valve engine in upright and laydown form ,it is used for ice racing.

[New Science 1,059]

The shortened version of cricket is real money spinner, maybe NOT for the purists, but its what Joe public wants to see, County Cricket produces the Test match players,but very few want to watch it. Speedway has to look at ideas like this, 13 Main Heats for the usual points, 5 Single lap races, and then perhaps we could look at a way of producing Tag racing, ie similar to relay racing, Maybe a stupid idea, but something has to be done to GET excitement back, and crowds through the doors, lets all try to think outside the box. The tried and tested formula, is failing..

When you get good racing and a pretty even scoreline there is nothing at all wrong with the 15 heat formula.If the racing is poor it doesn't matter if its over 1 lap ,10 laps or tag team / relay racing.Speedway will not get back on its feet until the product improves,ie the racing.Forget stadia,forget double points,forget 4 points for a large away win,we can worry about the fine details when we regularly churn out good speedway racing on a weekly basis.This is why fans have stopped going,the only way to get them back is to give them good racing,none of us agree on all the rules but this is not the reason we stop going. Speedway needs to work from the bottom up to get the core product right (THE RACING) and the rest will follow,thats what will get the fans back !

[SCB 15]

Way back...maybe 1989, Edinburgh ran a little 2nd half competition where each week the top 5 riders from the meeting (or maybe just top 5 home riders) went into a 1 lap dash race. Last man dropped out and the other 4 came straight back round to go again. Repeat until you have a 2 man match race for 1 lap and a winner is found.

 

That actually proved to be pretty entertaining but got dropped after a while...Shame.

 

It would be fun to see that return.

get all teams to do something similar and you could have a national speedway 1 lap dash champion.

[New Science 1,059]

I am just updating some stats for a book I last did about four years back, a companion for the Peter Oakes' British Speedway Leagues. Out of interest, mine covers 1991-09 (hopefully it will be up to date shortly). However, cutting to the chase, having not really taken much interest in different competitions in recent years, I am left head-scratching at some of the antics employed to try and sprinkle a little sparkle into speedway.

We have the end-of-season Play-Off for the Play Offs... The four points for a big win, three for a big win but with a full team... it is too confusing for a casual bystander who wants to just watch a sport for what it is. If I knew what a sugar rush was, I would say all the fixtures - all the Cup Finals - at one main point in the season is too much.

Weather being what it is, why have so many prime matches in October? It is too much to take.

Have we got so many competitions so, a bit like being at junior school, all the kids have chance to win something?

And don't get me started on what rider belongs to whcih team... At times I think we're back in WW2 years, when any rider that turned up would get a ride at active tracks.

The sliding scale brought in for match points was one of best ideas the promoters have come up with.I know the playoffs divide opinion but fans and viewers vote with their feet,they are the best attended meetings of the year and attract the largest TV viewing figures

[skthecat 90]

When you get good racing and a pretty even scoreline there is nothing at all wrong with the 15 heat formula.If the racing is poor it doesn't matter if its over 1 lap ,10 laps or tag team / relay racing.Speedway will not get back on its feet until the product improves,ie the racing.Forget stadia,forget double points,forget 4 points for a large away win,we can worry about the fine details when we regularly churn out good speedway racing on a weekly basis.This is why fans have stopped going,the only way to get them back is to give them good racing,none of us agree on all the rules but this is not the reason we stop going. Speedway needs to work from the bottom up to get the core product right (THE RACING) and the rest will follow,thats what will get the fans back !

So, we're talking bikes and track surfaces yes?

The modern day laydown does not handle dirt very well, now worse with the tyre compound and new exhausts (so I have been told by someone in the know)

 

So, how do we fix these issues without upsetting local councils (exhaust noise) tyres (not suitable for engine revs) track surface (bikes with the above components cannot handle a lot of dirt)

 

Its a bit chicken/egg or egg/chicken isn't it.......?

 

By the way, could a laydown engine be converted to a 2 valve laydown engine?

 

Can a laydown engine be ran upright?

 

Can a laydown configured diamond be converted to take the laydown in upright config cheaply?

Edited November 16, 2013 by Never to old

[Cornishfisherman 10]

The problem with TV Speedway is that someone like myself will miss going to speedway for any minor reason as I can get my weekly 'fix' on Sky. If there was no TV Speedway I might just go each week -perhaps I'm not the only person who thinks this way.

 

Oh by the way I did cancel my Sky Sports subscription and when asked why I was cancelling I did say that I am only interested in Speedway and should they decide to show the sport next season I would be re-subscribing.

 

Also on the Subject of the Terry Russell dealings with Sky, I just wonder if someone else knows something of an alternative Company who might just be interested in screening the sport next season.

 

Compared with Soccer Speedway is cheap for any Broadcaster particularly taking into account the viewing figures.

[pandorum 1,259]

The sliding scale brought in for match points was one of best ideas the promoters have come up with.I know the playoffs divide opinion but fans and viewers vote with their feet,they are the best attended meetings of the year and attract the largest TV viewing figures

I agree that rewarding a team for a good away performance was a really good idea long overdue.

But the BSPA could not resist being daft after such a good idea by rewarding a team who slaughters the opposition at home.

The extra point for a home massacre is a silly idea. Better to allow a bonus point for the aggregate win which again allows for a good away performance.

The idea is to promote good speedway so in a sport where home advantage is so strong keeping the opposition interested should be a priority.

The shortened version of cricket is real money spinner, maybe NOT for the purists, but its what Joe public wants to see, County Cricket produces the Test match players,but very few want to watch it. Speedway has to look at ideas like this, 13 Main Heats for the usual points, 5 Single lap races, and then perhaps we could look at a way of producing Tag racing, ie similar to relay racing, Maybe a stupid idea, but something has to be done to GET excitement back, and crowds through the doors, lets all try to think outside the box. The tried and tested formula, is failing..

The tried and tested formula isn't failing.

It's the team building that has failed miserably.

It's racing surfaces that are failing.

It's the bringing on of new talent that has failed.

It's the overcomplicated rules that have failed.

Everything about speedway is failing except the core idea of 4 man races over 4 laps.

What difference does it make to have one lap or 5 laps when the riders in the race cannot compete.

Two teams that are competetive racing on a circuit that is prepared for racing will produce good speedway.

[iris123 21,100]

Way back...maybe 1989, Edinburgh ran a little 2nd half competition where each week the top 5 riders from the meeting (or maybe just top 5 home riders) went into a 1 lap dash race. Last man dropped out and the other 4 came straight back round to go again. Repeat until you have a 2 man match race for 1 lap and a winner is found.

 

That actually proved to be pretty entertaining but got dropped after a while...Shame.

 

It would be fun to see that return.

Sounds interesting.This is an American idea,isn't it?Didn't they do one or two meetings with this style(not sure if it was just one lap though)a couple of seasons back when on tour?

[bigcatdiary 3,173]

Be a bit careful what you say mate. Mr Russell does a lot of work on behalf of British speedway. Without him Sky would not have taken speedway on in the first place, and Speedway would have been in a dam cite poorer state than it is now.

 

Terry Russell does a lot of work for Terry Russell, Speedway couldn't be in a poorer state than it is now its rock bottom and Terry Russell has to take his fair share of the blame.

[Daniel Smith 5,694]

I agree that rewarding a team for a good away performance was a really good idea long overdue.

But the BSPA could not resist being daft after such a good idea by rewarding a team who slaughters the opposition at home.

The extra point for a home massacre is a silly idea. Better to allow a bonus point for the aggregate win which again allows for a good away performance.

The idea is to promote good speedway so in a sport where home advantage is so strong keeping the opposition interested should be a priority.

Unless I'm mistaken I thought it was always 3 points for a win before the introduction of the latest points system? If so big wins at home change nothing but only just winning at home benefits the away side.

 

Reintroducing the bonus point will be a disaster and a major backward step. That will end up encouraging teams to be built for home advantage looking for big 30+ point wins. It's easier to build a team for home victories than trying to build one for away results.

 

The current scoring system encourages teams to at least look for some kind of home and away balance within the sides.

 

We really must not lose one of the BSPA's best ever rules. Move the sport forward not back

[Hodgy 982]

Terry Russell does a lot of work for Terry Russell, Speedway couldn't be in a poorer state than it is now its rock bottom and Terry Russell has to take his fair share of the blame.

Not sure about that BCD. TR was the main man that pursued and eventually gained Speedway coverage on a major sports channel. Unfortunately the responsibility for not succeding must lay with the promotors. They had a great opportunity but didn't take it, but took the money. The product in general was not entertaining - until they covered the odd Premier League match.