Leaderboard

This is the last paragraph - nice to see some praise. “word for the Redcar promotion. What a great setup they have, centre green immaculate, track in great condition and everything running like clockwork. A super place to watch Speedway.”

NOT sure that is even true any more. Plenty of vacant dates for any track to stage an individual meeting but none do because they know it will lose money.

£1057 collected by Two junior rider's fantastic effort everyone

First time have agreed with anything "mr hunter" has said but yes the place looked a picture last night , spotted fans from sheffield volves belle vue and a nice mention for us comets fans from " wanting woy " lol.wont be last visit , right off to peterboro talk about a busmans holiday !

So in the good old days, even 2 of the gate-n-go-races, won from the gate with no passing, had overtaking?

Exactly what I can see happening. One league, two or three, the only way I can see to reduce costs is to stop giving in to riders' demands. Riders need to realise that the sport in this country cannot afford full time, all year round professionals.

They should st least try the British champs over a certain amount of rounds

The tracks that are able to stage other events etc could put on other types of meetings such as perhaps the likes of Ipswich, Lynn, Boro and Mildenhall staging their own mini series of the Star of East Anglia. Obviously what I am saying is that perhaps someone like Sky Sports and a branded sponsor can make a 10 round series work financially for riders, let's be honest here also the "Super 16" in what would be the top flight many get income from riding in other countries. If promoted well you could get 4,000 to 5000 spectators at Foxhall alone for one round, I know alot of speedway supporters are over a certain age where routine is everything and team speedway means everything but this is my point, team speedway only means it to fans, it doesn't mean it to riders Go back years where there were genuine rivalries between clubs, fans and riders, now in a fans head rivalries still exist however for clubs and riders they do not.. Riders due to doubling up and social media are all mates, how do you feel when your team in the championship tweet that Rory Schlein scored 9 points tonight for Wolverhampton (as an example) why would YOUR club tweet about your rider scoring points for another team? Because he is not your rider is he, that's not a team sport Then how much team riding is there anyway in this gate and go, win at all costs no matter where your team mate is because winning maximises my own income. Personally I'm one who prefers individual meetings and can see speedway has no way of coming back from where it is now despite how many times the BSPA gloss over it every season

It will scrap itself... Those who say they wouldn't go if team speedway was scrapped surely cannot take what they watch now (masquerading as a team sport), seriously can they? The sport should just try and sell the spectacle in whatever guise it can do credibly.. If it can do Team Speedway 'properly', then go for it, if it can't then try something else to get the punters interested.. I went to the Colts v Kent meeting in Thursday and I would say the crowd was around 400, yet hardly any of them were under the age of 18... And it is completely free for them... Yet the crowd was made up of literally hundreds of Mum's, Dad's, Grans, Grandads, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters etc etc with relatives under 18 years of age Yet they cannot seem to get these relatives to come along.. The racing is great at the NSS, therefore is it the concept that doesn't interest the younger generation? My lad watches with pretty much zero affinity to the Aces or Colts, as even at 16 he finds the rules used ridiculous, but loves watching Speedway both live and on TV.. Presume there must be similar of the younger generation out there who would follow the 'sport' if ran from 'event to event' but not necessarily bother about following a team? If even free entry doesn't get them in to watch 'their team' then maybe it is time to try something else..?

Yes I remember the good old days of 40-38 happiness. People still forget there was a lot of strung out races as well tho back then!

Thats a great effort, maybe the club could've included the finishing total either in their report on last nights match or they post it on the clubs Facebook page

Just over a thousand I think

Does anyone know how much was raised for young Sam last night?

But g13webb didn't say there were 4 heats with no overtaking, he did say " 4 heats were won from the gate " So in 2 of them there was passing for the minor places. 13 - 4 = 9 + 2 = 11 Heats with overtaking.

The potential for a good racing circuit is there World Under 21 was a classic example a fantastic meeting possibly the best at Berwick? Why can’t we have the track like that all the time ?

Totally agree,i was just saying the way Lynn have to do it within the current rules.

Popped along last night. Very good result for the Witches, even better that the Stars ended up with nothing despite it being pretty tight until the end. However the 'racing' was dire. All decided by the second bend apart from three occasions, when Cook barged his way past Heeps in the last heat, Lawson nipping past Lambert whilst he was looking round for King and the best race of the night, the battle for third between Jorgensen and Procter in heat three, half a straight behind the Witches pair. Anyone trying a blast round the outside simply went backwards, just one line, follow the leader stuff. It meant yet another long drive home feeling that I hadn't been entertained and why did I bother. Good results are important but the racing has got to be the main reason for going. If it was just about the result you might as well sit at home and use the excellent update service.

No

Why start another thread when there is already one here http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/88097-championship-fours/&page=1??

Big gap between races too....heat 2 and then heat 13.

I certainly don't think the racing was any better back in the 70's, just certain tracks are much poorer these days. As many posters have mentioned the bigger crowds and atmosphere generated made it all seem so much more exciting. Though by no means perfect the league was bigger meaning more variety, top star names only visited once or twice a year, giving more incentive to go and the whole package looked more credible; it seemed worth winning back then. The regional early season warm up competition the Spring Gold Cup had more teams in it than the whole top league does now! Though back then as now the usual consequence of winning the league is the break up of the championship winning side...

Here's another one you should try explaining to a young kid... Broc Nicol scores 5 points for his team (Sheffield) on Friday night against Scunthorpe; on Saturday night he goes out FOR Scunthorpe and scores 15 against Eastbourne. How can anyone take this sport seriously?

Yes, Aldershot took over the Southern Rovers fixtures, so at the end of the season, all Southern Rovers fixtures were noted as Aldershot fixtures, so, officially Aldershot did race the 31 May fixture at Eastbourne even though they were not in existence at the time! If that makes sense....

Congratulations to James Shanes - winner!

Madsen's bike is quick and he is super exxciting to watch on a track that allows passing. Heat 5 and 6 top grade.

Indeed. For whatever reason speedway was not classified as a sport but as an entertainment which had a much higher rate of tax.

Good luck with that.

Problem is there is no atmosphere at live speedway these days, so you don't miss anything by watching it on TV. I watch ice hockey on TV and it is a bit dull, but go to a live match the atmosphere is electric with plenty of away supporters and lots of banter. I would always rather pay to watch a game live than watch it on TV.

Some fantastic riders in the field that night who could go on to become world champion in the next 10-15 years

To be honest the shape of the track argument has been debated many times on this forum, the track size or shape is not going to change so we have get on with what we have. But it would be untrue to say we don't get good racing with the current shape but we don't get it on anything like a regular bases that must come back to track prep in the days leading up to a meeting.

Well after a rocky gate and go start at Chapman's EoES circuit where a fast time seemed to be the indicator of quality, things have settled down and the last three meetings have produced some of the best racing you'll see anywhere. The only bit that affects us is not enough racing but that's pretty standard for us over the last 15 years. Individuals outside of the GP don't interest me and without significant finance to focus rider's minds (which speedway doesn't have and would only use unwisely if it did) then a cheapo GP inspired format would be doomed to failure IMO.

Because a pass doesnt have to be for first place.....

When is the World ( and the BSPA in particular) going to wake up to the fact that the National League is a great product which deserves to be treated better ?

Good to hear no negatives about the track.

It's had a negative effect, but I can't see any other option they had. Sponsorship was difficult to attract, costs have been cut, even the riders took a pay reduction. You could take the radical step of reducing admission in the hope that there is a significant increase in crowds, but it is a hell of a gamble when you have already lost a lot of money.

Is that because promoters have lost the skill of promoting the product to would be sponsors. Years back many tracks staged individual meetings with local companies putting up prize money. However I think it is impossible to get it right, some fans want to watch a format of league racing only which is almost unsustainable from a financial perspective with allegedly insufficient riders to fill team places. To fill the teams you need a cross section of skills because of rider shortage but many moan about the NL quality riders and all they want to watch is fully fledged riders in their team but do not have the patience to support those riders who need to hone their skills and learn track craft. I believe you either have a mix of meetings or go back to the 13 lap format and a second half open to reserves and second strings. What I don’t understand is that most will watch a GP or European championship meeting but not an individual meeting at your local track, they may not be GP riders but the quality of racing is just as good.

Robert Lambert is still very much in contention with two rounds to go but his exclusion last night could come back to bite as a point or two in that race could prove crucial.

Those that thought that Berwick would pull this round on aggregate were deluding themselves I`m afraid and so it proved, in fact as I posted beforehand Berwick would have a job on just to win on the night and so it proved as Leicester ran out worthy winners and looked what they are, the best team in the league. One or two members in the Berwick team under performing of late and that needs to turn round very soon as more home defeats are likely if that isnt addressed

The word dire crops up so often that the word racing should be dropped from the title of "Speedway racing". And the intractability of promoters to accept that that is the case and is at the heart of what is driving people away from the sport. Interest dies for the majority when there is no "racing" part of speedway racing. When will the BSPA wake up and see that unless the quality of racing improves extinction looms for UK speedway? I watched the first round of the World Under 21 Championship yesterday and there were three passes ( after the first half lap ) in the whole meeting and just as is mentioned above, the track allowed the very best of the worlds "young guns" NO chance of racing - just to take part in a high-speed procession. Thankfully I did not travel all the way to Lublin to watch it.

Is it April 1st already ?

Probably the poorest meeting this season to be fair. But that's what happens when better riders get in front. Berwick beaten by a better team tonight. I do feel that there has been a lot of over-reactions on here though. I bet you could look back on every season and find poor meetings.

Gary Flints positivity failed to rub off on the riders, very poor from some members no excuses beaten by a good Leicester Team.

Where on earth has this Heeps been hiding the last couple of years?! He was absolutely superb all night. That heat 15 was one of the best races I can remember - Stewart, Heeps and Wright all giving it absolutely everything. Stunning ride by Heeps to get past Stewart. For the Bears Stewart oozed claas, MPT and Wright both as excellent as always a solid showing for the reserves (against admittedly weak Monarchs pairing) Heeps was the standout for Edinburgh, Pavolaara and Andersson showed flashes but not much else for their good travelling support to cheer.

Heat 15 was a good a race as i have seen in allmost 50 yrs hats off to all 4, but thought edinborough were poor with pav the ultimate start tart .

What a great meeting, no stoppages & some excellent racing. CW. 11+1. Never gave up very good TB 4+1 did what he had to do good win in Heat 8 UO 4. Needs a couple more meetings to fully assessJS. 13 only beaten by the excellent HeepsMPT. 10. Only dropped points in a tremendous heat 13NG. 6. Rode very well got some points he should not have !JS. 5+2. Scored more than double his average Two races 13 & 15 were worth the entrance money . All credit to Cameron Heeps, brilliant all night but in these 2 he excelled Read more: http://bears-talk.proboards.com/thread/3555/redcar-edinburgh-saturday-22nd-june?page=1#ixzz5rc2RONQT

Trackrat is just on a wind up again probably really fed up we won.

61.3

What normally happens in this case is that Swindon will wait until the play off cut off date and if there a few points off the play offs and Peterborough are in, then they appeal, win and the points are awarded to Swindon and removed from Peterborough, the wind up merchants do there job, Peterborough fans defend there team and get called whinging moaners the play offs are run and Peterborough's season ends.

Thanks everyone for the bits of advice... I've looked and all hotels within walking distance have no rooms available!! But since that shopping centre is within walking distance, might park my car there nice and early as the Premier Inn at Great Barr has rooms available... Too far to walk, thanks again and looking forward for my first speedway meeting at Birmingham (That I can remember) Question... If I park my car at the shopping centre at 6, I'd be alright leaving it there until after the meeting

One advantage of those days from the past - there was little or no televised speedway, live or recorded So, if you wanted to watch the sport, if you wanted to see the "big name" riders, the ONLY way was to pay your shillings and pence at the turnstiles With a big league in operation, there was probably only one chance a season (two with a cup meeting) to see the stars when they appeared at your track