Richie Worrall (the Future Of Speedway)

[Fromafar 10,370]

He is a decent PL. rider no more and should be able to make some money at that level.No point spending huge money to tuners if you are not riding at highest level.He will be taking home decent money for a nights work.

[The Voice Of Reason 2,124]

Maybe he's now realised that listening to his 'agent'; and turning his back on his contract with Lakeside for more dosh with Belle Vue at the start of 2013, was a major cock-up?

 

No doubt the anti-Laksiders/anti-Cook'ites will jump down my throat; and say it was Douglas's and Cook's fault, etc. However, tell me one other rider who has EVER said that Lakeside's Promotion are unscrupulous to deal with, pays wages late, etc?

 

His replacement was a certain Richard Lawson - a true gentleman who has been loyal to us for the past three seasons.

 

So do I feel sorry for Richie Worrall?

 

Well, yes I do actually. He's a Brit and had bags of potential. I hope things work out well for him in whatever path he now decides to tread.

[E I Addio 15,845]

Yet other riders from other countries will come here, ride in the PL, move up to the EL and then on to higher levels abroad.

 

As indeed will Robert Lambert I'm sure.

 

So is it a problem with the system, or a problem with the riders?

 

Over the years, how many full time riders have their been in speedway second division? Was it a common thing? Just a few? Is it reasonable to expect to make a full time career riding at that level?

 

James Grieves for example, a pretty decent 2nd division (and top flight at times) rider always had a job separate to speedway.

Is it a problem with the riders or a problem with the system ? That's a difficult one. Sam Ermolenko says that when he came over he just had to get on with it and succeed or pack up and go home , and his take is that British riders have home comforts that distracts from the absolute determination to succeed. I can see where he is coming from. There are enough overseas riders making a living in the UK without any help from anyone yet are collectively good enough to beat a team of GB riders or at least run them close. I don't. Hear any of the overseas riders complaining about their lot, yet Robert Lambert hardly stops moaning about the BSPA , and now Richie Worrall has put his spoke in, so in many ways the riders themselves could do wi th getting their heads down and getting on with it.

 

However we have to face the fact that the success of British Speedwáy depends on having successful British riders, at all levels. The sport cannot survive on overseas riders alone, so to that extent there needs to be some formula to keep home grown riders in the sport making a decent living, and if you are going to have a system for goodness sake do the job properly.

 

You mention Robert Lambert who is in rather a different situation to Richie Worrall. Lambert, like Tai Woffinden and Scott Nicholls before him and indeed Leigh Adams and others has had parents that funded their sons careers from a young age so by the time they get to 16 they are wound up ready to go. On the other hand riders like Richie Worrall, Craig Cook and Richard Lawson have come over. from moto cross and didn't really start their Speedwáy careers until they were turned 20 so they have a lot of ground to make up. By that age they were no longer able to rely on Mum and Dad but have to earn enough to make it worthwhile Make no mistake about it, British Speedwáy cannot survive purely on riders coming in at 16, there has to be some means of get ting more young men of 20+ into the spor t and to a standard where they can earn a decent living ,not so much for there benefit , but for the benefit of the sport.

 

 

 

 

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[Bigballs 15]

Maybe he's now realised that listening to his 'agent'; and turning his back on his contract with Lakeside for more dosh with Belle Vue at the start of 2013, was a major cock-up?

No doubt the anti-Laksiders/anti-Cook'ites will jump down my throat; and say it was Douglas's and Cook's fault, etc. However, tell me one other rider who has EVER said that Lakeside's Promotion are unscrupulous to deal with, pays wages late, etc?

His replacement was a certain Richard Lawson - a true gentleman who has been loyal to us for the past three seasons.

So do I feel sorry for Richie Worrall?

Well, yes I do actually. He's a Brit and had bags of potential. I hope things work out well for him in whatever path he now decides to tread.

DIDENT lakeside turn the back on him with a second CONTRACT hope the true tail comes out would be good reading. Riders can't change CONTRACTS they would get a 28day BAN. Worrall is a good rider and I hope he keeps at it the more you do it the better you get a bit like you V O R on these key pads.BRITISH speedway riders are hard to find so when we get them willing to have a go we should help them not inder them. Ps I see lakeside use the buy back metherd now it works better than messy CONTRACTS

[Halifaxtiger 5,318]

Think understanding bosses who would give time off and put up with injuries for Speedway are very few and far between these days.

 

Think understanding fans who would accept one of their riders not being available for some meetings due to work are even fewer!

 

Practically I think the chances of a young rider doing anything that isn't self employed during the season these days is going to be very difficult although they should and do work in the off season.

While admittedly more racing is at weekends, the NL seems to survive (and indeed prosper).

 

With rare exceptions, their riders have to have some other form of income to even compete.

 

Speaking to Adam Kirby on Wednesday, he self funds because he's on NL pay rates. He has to - what he has earned this season in its entirety probably wouldn't pay for a bill he has received for a blown engine, and he blew another the same night.

 

I think its remarkable that some of these lads keep going.

 

Is it a problem with the riders or a problem with the system ? That's a difficult one. Sam Ermolenko says that when he came over he just had to get on with it and succeed or pack up and go home , and his take is that British riders have home comforts that distracts from the absolute determination to succeed. I can see where he is coming from. There are enough overseas riders making a living in the UK without any help from anyone yet are collectively good enough to beat a team of GB riders or at least run them close. I don't. Hear any of the overseas riders complaining about their lot, yet Robert Lambert hardly stops moaning about the BSPA , and now Richie Worrall has put his spoke in, so in many ways the riders themselves could do wi th getting their heads down and getting on with it.

 

However we have to face the fact that the success of British Speedwáy depends on having successful British riders, at all levels. The sport cannot survive on overseas riders alone, so to that extent there needs to be some formula to keep home grown riders in the sport making a decent living, and if you are going to have a system for goodness sake do the job properly.

 

You mention Robert Lambert who is in rather a different situation to Richie Worrall. Lambert, like Tai Woffinden and Scott Nicholls before him and indeed Leigh Adams and others has had parents that funded their sons careers from a young age so by the time they get to 16 they are wound up ready to go. On the other hand riders like Richie Worrall, Craig Cook and Richard Lawson have come over. from moto cross and didn't really start their Speedwáy careers until they were turned 20 so they have a lot of ground to make up. By that age they were no longer able to rely on Mum and Dad but have to earn enough to make it worthwhile Make no mistake about it, British Speedwáy cannot survive purely on riders coming in at 16, there has to be some means of get ting more young men of 20+ into the spor t and to a standard where they can earn a decent living ,not so much for there benefit , but for the benefit of the sport.

I agree with (and indeed applaud)95% of this.

 

But I think the point is only the top EL riders (or those at the top end of the PL doubling up eg Craig Cook) will make a decent living out of speedway.

 

It simply has to be recognised that that is not going to be the case for most of the rest and that that is not new - its pretty much always been like that. In addition to Mick Bell (see above) I can remember Dave Morton saying after his move to Ellesmere Port in 1985 that he repaired and bought and sold cars during the season to make ends meet.

 

I suspect that there might be some who believe that speedway is a quick way to earn a lot of money.There must be an understanding that speedway isn't going to pay the household bills even during the season.

Edited July 17, 2015 by Halifaxtiger

[topsoil 2,498]

when i started watching Teesside in 1968 i don't believe any of the riders were full time - when did this happen?

crowds of 500 can not fund full time wages

Because PL standard riders see GP riders, who are professional riders, because they ride in several countries and make it pay that way, want some of the same and think they can become full time riders, but as you have pointed out, crowds cannot justify this. Hence the reason why as many tracks are struggling.

Before the GP came along, how many full time riders at PL level would there be in British speedway? Certainly back in the 1980s and 1990s all the riders I knew had part time jobs to supplement any income they got from speedway. Even if it was working for the promoter's business in some fashion. Until speedway can either i) attract much better crowds ii) much bigger sponsorship or iii) secure a lucrative TV deal, the future is the past i.e. part-time or semi-professional riders

[Fromafar 10,370]

Agree,riders have to be realistic or go find a job out of the sport.Many promotions are paying rates they can't afford.

[sparkafag 746]

I do feel for the likes of Barker and Worrall in that they are caught in the middle. While there are upsides to the draft system, it is basically at least 8 places taken by riders who shouldn’t actually be in the league.

Edited July 17, 2015 by sparkafag

[00000 1,279]

Speedway cannot afford a whole raft of riders to be full time. There are not enough people on the terraces.

 

Riders in the NL are employed elsewhere and speedway is a bit of a (sometimes) paid hobby. Grasstrack is similar.

 

Much of NL racing is at weekends and does not involve time off work.

 

There used to be a lot of Saturday racing in the BL and most riders could juggle a job and ride, as others have pointed out on this thread. Doubling up/down was unheard of and in reality riders couldn't do it because of work commitments.

 

Not sure what the solution is for the EL. I agree with the earlier comment about the PL.

[The White Knight 9,039]

To be fair he says he doesn't think he would want to ride in the EL at reserve for £50 or £60'a point racing against guys on £130 or £140 a point when he has the same equipment costs. That is a fair comment. He also makes the cogent point that what the promoters are saving in EDL riders wages they possibly are losing to falling crowd numbers.

 

Another good point he makes is that the Fast Track should be for the PL. However the PL promoters have absolutely no interest in anything outside their own little worlds and are more than happy with the current rent-a- foreigner scheme.mtherein lies the problem.

 

The problem of riders like Richie, Ben Barker etc has to addressed because it's clear they are making no progress in the PL and need something better than the EDR scheme to kick start their careers.

Is Richie Worrall just the tip of the iceberg?

 

Is he not the first of many?

 

I sincerely hope not - but I fear it could be the case.

 

[bringbackHalifax 238]

I believe this is the tip of the iceberg, but

Richie has had a lot of clubs in his short career, chasing the £'s ? Highest bidder ?

I don't think Richie would ride in the elite as a draft rider on draft rates after riding in an elite team for proper rates, and who would blame him. Those who have never had it will see it as a bonus, Richie would rightly see it as a 50 to 70% pay cut.

As for riding abroad Poland and Sweden are on a downward spiral. They have less teams than our elite, crowds are falling and they have now got more riders wanting the team places so competition means they can play hard ball with contracts and have a few squad guys ( who never get to ride). Read somewhere of a prem rider who has a £400 per point contract in Poland but has ridden twice in two seasons. Our elite needs some rules that make it better to have a Richie, Auty, Kerr, Cook than a foreigner just like the Poles and the Swedes do in their leagues.

 

Big, big year for the BSPA conference. Wonder how many of the current promoters are absent come March 2016.

[E I Addio 15,845]

I think that's very fair point.

 

I can recall Mick Bell saying that when he rode for Coventry's championship winning teams in the late 1970's speedway was just a good paying hobby, not something you could rely on for full time employment. Even in the hey day of the sport, only the top boys really made money at it.

True. I have a copy of Classic Speedway which has an interview with Norman Hunter who retired in the 1970' s and he says he retired because he opened up a motor-cycle shop and the intention was that his speedway should subsidise this the motor-cycle business but it ended up being the other way round.

 

However the world has changed a lot since the days of Mick Bell and Norman Hunter. In the past running a small business was alright as a side line but there are so many regulations, now and it so difficult to compete as say a private garage owner against the corporate bodies that it really needs full time attention.

 

Having said that, some riders don't have much idea of finances. I often have a wry smile when I see riders turning up in big vans with a mechanic doing then driving, then Richard Lawson arrives with everything crammed into his little VW Carry, with bikes he has basically prepared himself and then goes out and gets a bigger score.

 

It is difficult though. Richjie Worrall talks about £20, 000 investment in bikes before you even start on vans etc, and that is an expense that riders didn't have in the past. Terry Betts for example used to have one bike and all he basically did , according to him, was change the valve springs when needed, The one engine would last a season then he would buy another one the following year..

[Daytripper 1,123]

DIDENT lakeside turn the back on him with a second CONTRACT hope the true tail comes out would be good reading. Riders can't change CONTRACTS they would get a 28day BAN. Worrall is a good rider and I hope he keeps at it the more you do it the better you get a bit like you V O R on these key pads.BRITISH speedway riders are hard to find so when we get them willing to have a go we should help them not inder them. Ps I see lakeside use the buy back metherd now it works better than messy CONTRACTS

 

 

 

Groan ..... Give it arrest mate. There are two sides to the story and what you or anyone else believes depends on which side of the fence they are on. Nothing will change that. Richie has already taken a booking at Lakeside in a challenge match, so the divisions are obviously healing. I spoke to him when he was at Lakeside and he is OK. Whatever is past is past. Constantly digging it up wont do any good.

[Bigballs 15]

True. I have a copy of Classic Speedway which has an interview with Norman Hunter who retired in the 1970' s and he says he retired because he opened up a motor-cycle shop and the intention was that his speedway should subsidise this the motor-cycle business but it ended up being the other way round.

 

However the world has changed a lot since the days of Mick Bell and Norman Hunter. In the past running a small business was alright as a side line but there are so many regulations, now and it so difficult to compete as say a private garage owner against the corporate bodies that it really needs full time attention.

 

Having said that, some riders don't have much idea of finances. I often have a wry smile when I see riders turning up in big vans with a mechanic doing then driving, then Richard Lawson arrives with everything crammed into his little VW Carry, with bikes he has basically prepared himself and then goes out and gets a bigger score.

 

It is difficult though. Richjie Worrall talks about £20, 000 investment in bikes before you even start on vans etc, and that is an expense that riders didn't have in the past. Terry Betts for example used to have one bike and all he basically did , according to him, was change the valve springs when needed, The one engine would last a season then he would buy another one the following year..

in the day gone by may be you DIDENT need a fast engine but in today's races you need one that's why top tuners get big money it's a bit like a ferrari v ford cortina who will win? Unless its a very wet track and the Ferrari spins it nuts off and goes nowhere have you ever noticed that when tracks are very wet the top lads get beat . If a rider as the ability to sick the bike in the dirt he will go round faster than someone spinning he's nuts off on the slick in side but you need confidence to do that and you won't have confidence not ridding much don't for get these 500cc bikes with no brakes take some ridding the Aussie boys have the best of both worlds they ride here and are good they go home loads of money in there pockets have a chill out do the Aussie championships when that finishes come back britain ready to race where our British lads have not even started there engins infact some British teams pick there Aussie riders from there Aussie results the more I think about it the more it makes sence.will British speedway be any good with not many british riders?

[E I Addio 15,845]

in the day gone by may be you DIDENT need a fast engine but in today's races you need one that's why top tuners get big money it's a bit like a ferrari v ford cortina who will win? Unless its a very wet track and the Ferrari spins it nuts off and goes nowhere have you ever noticed that when tracks are very wet the top lads get beat . If a rider as the ability to sick the bike in the dirt he will go round faster than someone spinning he's nuts off on the slick in side but you need confidence to do that and you won't have confidence not ridding much don't for get these 500cc bikes with no brakes take some ridding the Aussie boys have the best of both worlds they ride here and are good they go home loads of money in there pockets have a chill out do the Aussie championships when that finishes come back britain ready to race where our British lads have not even started there engins infact some British teams pick there Aussie riders from there Aussie results the more I think about it the more it makes sence.will British speedway be any good with not many british riders?

 

 

You have totally missed the point of what I said. The point was that in days gone by the investment in machinery was a lot less than it is now. One bike pretty much lasting a season, now two bikes needing to be serviced every few meetings, therefore todays costs are bound to be far higher I think everybody understands that.

 

I don't understand the rest of your post. DIDENT...ridding....engins....sence....sick the bike in the dirt. Even Sidney would struggle with that.