31/05 Prague Speedway Gp

[mikebv 10,292]

Prague the usual dull GP. Great city but terrible track for entertainment - backing the winner eased the boredom, slightly.

Speedway fans do seem to want utopia every time they watch a meeting..

 

Watch any motor sport at the highest level and 'from the start' is the usual mantra for the winner..

 

Moto GP, Superbikes and, god forbid, MX and F1, the vast majority of the time sees one man win by a country mile with the rest of the competitors strung out 'miles' behind..

 

Speedway is often no different but occasionally can deliver breathtaking entertainment,,

 

It just doesn't happen that often...

 

The occasion is the reason for being there when attending a world class motor sport event if the racing is great then it's a bonus..

[Skidder1 7,637]

Congrats Tai that was a world champions performance.

 

Darcy yet again throws it away in the semi. Lost count now how many semis he goes out in. Needs to look at Tai and carry it through

I think you'll find Gav that whilst DW is carrying the knee injury, his game plan for the GPs is to get as many early points on the board as possible. If he makes a semifinal or even a final and manages to avoid any major 'clashes' (ie keeping well out the way of Pedersen and Smolinski!) then job done.

 

Not bad for a rider that can't gate, but still sits in 3rd place in the GP standings!!

[Haza 1,774]

Poor GP again from the Marketa stadium it's the destination rather than the race track that is the main reason this GP stays on the SGP rota Pardubice would be a a far better race track for a Czech GP but not got the wow factor that the city of Prague has .

[MattK 3,447]

Speedway fans do seem to want utopia every time they watch a meeting..

 

Watch any motor sport at the highest level and 'from the start' is the usual mantra for the winner..

 

Moto GP, Superbikes and, god forbid, MX and F1, the vast majority of the time sees one man win by a country mile with the rest of the competitors strung out 'miles' behind..

 

Speedway is often no different but occasionally can deliver breathtaking entertainment,,

 

It just doesn't happen that often...

 

The occasion is the reason for being there when attending a world class motor sport event if the racing is great then it's a bonus..

 

MotoGP, F1 etc are raced on tracks of varying shapes and sizes, therefore you expect a variety of of entertainment levels and this is where strategies, rather than passing on the track come into play.

 

Speedway tracks are much the same size and shape (compared to a tradional racing circuit). The problem is, when you watch a meeting held on a Polish league track, there is passing on the inside and out in most heats. This begs the questions of why the GP can't find a dozen tracks around the world which will produce great racing.

 

I agree with what you say about the occasion and that is why I go to Cardiff every year without fail. However, only a small percentage of spectators attend any single GP, the vast majority watch on TV where the atmosphere of the event rarely comes across.

[Wolfsbane 12,944]

...apart from the semi final when 2 riders went past Darcy....

 

2 passes in 23 heats, blimey Gav, we are blessed

 

TBH I am more of a mind they went past due to Darcy's mistakes. Anyway looking at the thread it appears, for a change, I'm not alone on this one

[Hodgy 976]

Speedway fans do seem to want utopia every time they watch a meeting..

 

Watch any motor sport at the highest level and 'from the start' is the usual mantra for the winner..

 

Moto GP, Superbikes and, god forbid, MX and F1, the vast majority of the time sees one man win by a country mile with the rest of the competitors strung out 'miles' behind..

 

Speedway is often no different but occasionally can deliver breathtaking entertainment,,

 

It just doesn't happen that often...

 

The occasion is the reason for being there when attending a world class motor sport event if the racing is great then it's a bonus..

Of course that's what we want, that's why we (I) watch Speedway as opposed to those other borefest sports you mention. Speedway is very different as it's the only one you view the whole race over limited laps.

 

Sorry the occasion is not first priority for me, a great Speedway meeting - if you don't make the gate you still have a chance is my preference. We all knew Prague would not entertain, it will not next season, yet they continue to have it there. Move it.

[Phlipphlopp 3,913]

Sorry the occasion is not first priority for me, a great Speedway meeting - if you don't make the gate you still have a chance is my preference. We all knew Prague would not entertain, it will not next season, yet they continue to have it there. Move it.

Congratulations to Tai on the win , but yes after the first lap was as big as borefest as your likely to see and a poor advert for the sport. Not sure more shale on its own is the answer , sometimes need a combination of more shale plus significant banking to create a track with several different lines.

[davidncohen 18]

I watch every GP religiously but afraid last night after watching the first 4 heats I went back to the cricket which was terrific,then more worryingly watched Britains Got Talent.Sorry to say there was nothing to watch in Prague,suspect I wasn't the only one reaching for the remote.

Same here - stayed with the cricket until the end (fantastic climax, well worth it) and then switched over, thus missing about the first 5 or 6 hears of the GP.

[Trees 2,814]

Speedway fans do seem to want utopia every time they watch a meeting..

 

Watch any motor sport at the highest level and 'from the start' is the usual mantra for the winner..

 

Moto GP, Superbikes and, god forbid, MX and F1, the vast majority of the time sees one man win by a country mile with the rest of the competitors strung out 'miles' behind..

 

Speedway is often no different but occasionally can deliver breathtaking entertainment,,

 

It just doesn't happen that often...

 

The occasion is the reason for being there when attending a world class motor sport event if the racing is great then it's a bonus..

No they don't, they know what great entertainment and great racing can take place on the right track by the best riders in the world ..... and that weren't it last night!!

[iris123 20,995]

Why? Cost too much?

Would only be speculation on my part as i haven't heard an official story.Could well be that.Could be that they want their Golden Helmet weekend to remain the highlight of their season.A few days back Herxheim in Germany held the poorer brother of the SGP,the Longtrack GP.They managed to attract 16,500 ehich is around the norm for their bank Holiday meeting.Now they only raised the price by €2 ,so i guess the extra €30,000 or so covered the cost of hosting the meeting.Maybe not.I know one Longtrack in Germany nearly went bust hosting a LT GP.You would have to ask what would Pardubice gain from an SGP?They have their big traditional meeting where they can pick their own field and not have to pay any fees to outside authorities.Although of course in the past decade or so they have had to compete with Poland for the top names.

 

Some clubs make enough money from a big weekend or meeting to cover their season.Guess Pardubice do for the Zlata Prilba meeting,Teterow do i think for next weekends Grasstrack/speedway weekend and Güstrow make a fair bit of their money from next weekend as well.It is a big gamble that might put a clubs future in jeopardy if they try to put on another big meeting.Güstrow are doing just that this season with the SEC.Have to see how that will turn out,but early on, ticket sales were very good so i heard.But the SEC cost a fair bit less than SGP,so the gamble is much smaller

Edited June 1, 2014 by iris123

[PHILIPRISING 7,298]

THE City of Prague, and especially the Mayor, are very keen to have the SGP there and while the actual track still leaves a lot to be desired the Marketa stadium has been greatly improved for spectators and media on the back of having the series there.

 

Pavel Ondrasik in particular has tried to improve the racing... lowering the inside of the corners, using fresh material, etc., but in the evidence of Saturday it obviously isn't ideal. However, the problem is compounded by the fact that any one of the 15 permanent SGP riders, and I would even include Chris Harris, is more than capable of winning a race if he makes the gate.

 

This is nothing new, of course.

 

Next up is Malilla where we all know the track can provide fantastic entertainment. They have been a little unlucky with the weather in recent years and, of course, that is always an issue.

[Mark 1,497]

Unless we get some good racing the GP series will loose spectators.

 

Agree that any one of 15 can win a race from the front but plenty of the tracks provide excitement and a few (Tampere, Prague) don't.

 

Why not get rid if the poor tracks that, year on year, give us a boring meeting.

[A ORLOV 8,628]

Congratulations to Tai, are those holes in his ears getting bigger. Apart from one or two races is was boring so I was glad the pub was also showing the boxing, spent more time watching that after the start of each race.

[P T Preece 262]

Well done Tai, great performance and back at the top, pity about the racing, glad pedersen didnt get to the final, next one please.

[norbold 7,116]

Glad pedersen didnt get to the final.

Er.............