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Castagna is really really bad for the sport. He is misleading it in a totally wrong direction. Speedway is such a special sport - a team Sport first adn foremost - and as such is absolutey different to any other from of motorsport. That's why I am a speedway fan and couldn't care less about road racing or motocross. They ususally only have one long distance race and have to award championship points for that. Speedway has 20+ heat races, plus semi and final, were the riders EARN their points. Perfectly easy to understand. And the winner of the last race in a Gradn Prix (the final heat 23) is the winner of that particular SGP, regardless of the points total scored in all of his races during this meeting. By the way, the winner of that final race DOES actually get the most points (in that race, that is) - three points , compared to two points for second and one for the third. So what, if the rider who wins the final, has not scored the most points on aggregate from all of the races he has ridden that night, nothing wrong with that. It's perfectly fair that he does not automatically get the most points, when he has got beaten more often than another rider/riders. There is absolutely no need to award artificial points in Speedway. I hate this stupid stupid decision by the FIM. Castagna has to go. First they abandoned the hugely popular SWC and gave us a "Speedway of Nations" to fall in line with the "Motocross of Nations", "Flat Track of Nations" and "Enduro of Nations", and now they spoil the SGP by changing from a perfectly fair points scoring system to a totally unfair and unwanted artificial one. I'm fed up. What's Your next idea, Mr Castagna? Do us all a favour and please, please resign from Your position !!!

A thoughtful parent who has createdfurther opportunities for his child which will been entitled to dual nationality/freedom of movement between AUS & the UK yeah those true colours are disgusting.......sometimes there is a whole lot more to life than speedway.

I heard someone say that they thought the chicken was not free range.

Could the new points system lead to cheating ? If points from heats 1-20 dont count toward the Championship could a rider who is safe for the semi let a team sponsor mate win a race so that he also reaches the semi. It will happen.

You said that on 4th October

Castagna comes out with a load of rubbish. And a lot of poor developments for the sport under his watch

Castanga says “The main thinking for us is to harmonise our championship scoring system with other big sports events so that the winner always comes away with the most points, which will help attract and retain a wider audience for our sport.” I can't think of any other World Championship series that has 2 semis and a final, although no doubt somebody will correct me. So if you want to harmonise with "other big sports" (and that's a whole different argument as to whether Speedway is a "big sport") then award the points after 20 heats... other wise leave well alone

Yes i see that but sacking NBJ and getting Wells in!

so they have to change the scoring for SoN too then regarding qualifying, i definitely feel for Mikkelsen, with the extra wildcards it just gives more scope for riders in the World Championship to be chosen around a desk, depending on what country they are from. i love the GPs, but we need unbiased qualifying. After the final GP of the season have the challenge how they started to do it years ago, bottom 8 from GP and 8 qualifiers, top 7 going through

No rumours on potential signings yet but this is how you should treat your sponsors. http://www.leicesterspeedway.com/_mobile/news.php?extend.31567.1‬&fbclid=IwAR0Id9tOlE40LD37y1W4EqXuZFnYd1qvsaCYnoDovwigISfCmZJcdPO7Ebw

They were, because that is how they were affiliated into the world of speedway back then. New Zealanders and Australians, as much as it seems strange now had no other way of getting into the World Championships etc

Personally I wouldn't have Schlein within a hundred thousand miles of our younger riders but there you go.

Don't get me wrong, Matt certainly took his eye off the ball for a time but the decision not to replace Richie sooner was purely down to averages, availability and finance!!

Not at Poole then ?

i suppose he will now become an aussie and ditch his uk meal ticket . just . think , no more aussies in the British championship and you can water the track as much as you like .

Bet Phillip Rising doesn't agree with you ?

Quite right, nothing to do with the Scots, this is a world final we are talking about!

The Scots can’t win a referendum never mind a World Cup.

Not particularly relevant as it was seven years ago, completely different rider now.

Prices need to be dropped to compensate for the drop in standard. it’s no good dropping the standard every year and hiking up the prices. It’s all about value for money. I’d never buy a program but assume most do, so on average say it’s £20 admission for an adult. For what? To stand around for two hours watching 15 minutes of racing. The rest of the time is filled with tractor racing, an out of touch presenter waffling on about scores from the week previous which 99 percent of fans will know anyway. Music from the 70s. It’s just not the in thing anymore. speedway, in the UK at least, is a 10 pound sport at best. A lot of people value 20 quid a week and is a lot of money to them. That’s before they’ve bought a few pints, a burger, the kids drink and food etc. There is absolutely no value for money in speedway in the UK 9.9 times out of 10.

Good point, well made. Quite the charmer.

I find it quite sad when you see all the clubs having end of season events and our club don't have anything not even a rider of the year award .just shows how the interest has faded over the last couple of years

My first post here as only recently discovered speedway even though I'm in my late 40s. Coming at it from a newcomer I can see the point of concentrating on the target audience of the middle aged. However I would assume the majority of these people discovered the sport as kids so I still think kids should be targeted more. I have been going for last 3 months with my two daughters (13 and 9) and they absolutely love it. They dont understand or would be bothered that most races finish as they start from the gate. They love the smell, the roar of the engines and interacting with the riders afterwards. By the time they are older and are more aware of the politics behind the sport they will already be hooked. To a child this sport is still very exciting...as long as they know about it. I asked my eldest to bring her friend to the last meeting and they were instantly hooked too even though the races were poor.

You are 100% right. The GP series, when it was introduced, had one feature which countered the "how can a rider who has one good meeting, be considered WC?" effect. Well, what better way to prove that the WC is the most consistent rider across the season that to make every race and every point count? A 3rd in your opening ride should not be considered a bit of a slip, to be caught up later. It's 2 lost points, lost for good. And what about "I've qualified for the semis, so why try hard to win further races" under the new system? We want riders making every race meaningful don't we? Pushing for every point, not making judgements about their likelihood about their qualification for the later stages of the meeting. This is a fundamental mistake and ignores simple psychology. Think on. At Torun this year, we were following the destiny of the championship from race 1 and throughout the meeting race by race.

Was Anders Rowe ready? Was Leon Flint ready? If they're good enough, they're old enough.

See Aaron is back for Berwick again.

At one time Sweden had the team average for the following season set by the average of the top 3 teams in the season just departed. Problem is that tends to raise the average over a long period of time. The greater the average , the more experienced riders required and consequently larger wage bills. Using the Green sheet averages , our limit should be 42 in the Premier league and the Championship league. The NL should be a training ground for younger riders and therefore an agreed limit

It used be 16 riders 20 heats top points scorer wins ( with run offs if needed) ,then along comes the GP's with A,B.C & D finals followed by various tweaks including the ill thought out knock out system. After a few years we went back to 16 riders 20 heats this time with semi's and a final , the top scorer over the season is world champion, simples. I can see no reason tor another change, we do not need to come into line with other motor sports because speedway is unlike any other, 4 riders 4 laps 60 seconds and it works

So who would be next in line if not Danny? Bomber? Lawson? Its ok saying King shouldnt be there but at least suggest an alternative

Derek Bird that was him every race riders lined up in not gate it was Lanes he was there in 2008 when the Ben Powel incident happened when he took Kenni Larsen off!

He would like the new track shape but his scoring has not been great the last couple of seasons. I would like to see him back if he can do what he did when last in the team.

Rather than Ri W meaning Ricky Wells , do you mean Richie Worrall or am I barking up the wrong tree?

Because its a rare thing

The only problem with the Championship (AKA 2nd. division) are the riders allowed to ride in it @ the top end of the teams. This will slow the natural development of young talented riders progressing & of course cost the teams £££££s.

I have both these publications. I have an address of: Mr R.Ferry 13 West Drive, Cleadon, Sunderland SR6 7SJ Tel: 0191 5365064 Whether that's his present contact details I don't know. Good luck as I found them interesting re-counting stories of the sadly missed Jack.

MORE racing, passing, team riding .....whatever it takes, these are the answer imo

Why doesn't your Supporters Club run Rider of the Year comp, after all it's the fans who vote, it's a fan/rider thing ....

Maybe they could add another heat. B Final for the 4 riders knocked out in the semi final. To decide 5th to 8th place.

It was said matt flew in every thurs for the meetings

17 according to wiki.

Hope you're wrong........

Wonder how Mikkel M feels? Wins SEC gets overlooked through politics and logistics then gets informed in future SEC winner gets a spot......

Being around the junior scene for many years now with my own produced riders, I have watched his progress and he is the real deal. He has progressed very steadily with great support from his whole family. He is not dirty, he is not a throttle basher, but he is a very technical astute rider who has great confidence and style. Of the recent great successes emanating from the junior scene and the NL, Jordan is the best, and is now being pushed by the Thompson twins, who will make great progress next year. My protege Archie Freeman is next, and next year we have hopes that he will follow in the same direction that Jordan has. The junior scene is looking very good and healthy, but we need a National League to drop into for more competition to take them to the next step, the Champiomsship.

Bin the averages let teams sign who they want . Speedway s on it s knees in this country let's see how we go

What's wrong with that? He obviously wants his child to have dual nationality. So what?

Hope we build around Max, Dan and Jaimon next season.

Always preferred England.

To be honest, if he was to come back I would expect it to be for track time and an opportunity to rebuild confidence rather than purely money. That seems a bit harsh. He's far from his best of a few years ago but he's still better than a lot of what raced in the league here this year...and he doesn't just do it all from the gate!

In my experience TV matches are rarely entertaining unless you’re own team is involved.

If I was a BV season ticket holder I would want my money back