Leaderboard

British speedway is very short of cash, it’s having to operate with reduced attendances and yet clubs are not using the obvious and potentially profitable avenue of live streaming it’s meetings. Take today’s meeting at Belle Vue. The official speedway site were quick in putting up a couple of heats, yet there are hundreds of supporters in and around Peterborough and thousands around the country who would have been quite happy to pay £10-12 for the opportunity of watching this meeting. The quality of the feed is high, there’s live commentary, what’s the problem? 1000 people paying for a stream would bring in £10,000 at a tenner, or £11,950 at £11.95. Hugely profitable. And remember. There’s a worldwide audience to pay and watch. Promoters might be worried about loss of revenue at the stadium but currently with reduced capacity demand should be enough for a stadium to sell out. And it is possible to geo-block fans within a set distance from the stadium. Glasgow are running behind closed doors, with live feed only at £11.95. The meeting against Poole on Friday should achieve very good numbers with the take up of the stream. I have already purchased my ticket. Pretty sure a lot of Poole fans will also. And the feed will give neutrals something to watch on a Friday night if they want to see some action. Now for the top flight Eurosport have the rights to TV, but I don’t think it has been tied down like the Sky and BT deals, allowing promoters to be more flexible on doing their job of promoting. The days of no filming inside, no photos etc choke the sport. Use technology to open up the market. Streaming cost a small amount to do. One cameraman, a commentator and someone in charge of the streaming is all that is needed. Two cameramen and a little more is required. But bloody hell it should already be in place, bringing in the funds for our sport to be sure of its survival. Come on sort it out!

This aged well.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_muscular_atrophy one milion Pounds already donated/collected

I would have thought in this current situation this was a no brainier for clubs to stream all their home matches.

Best you go get yourself a pint glass

Whatever the limits in the past new riders on 3.00 averages have been signed into teams. They have done so because they are the best available and bettered the others. With the lower limit it has become a necessity to have 3+ riders per team around this mark increasing the spaces available and ultimately dropping the overall standard. Those listed above have started well but they have also been against a lower level of competition than previous years.

First and foremost was great to be back watching live speedway..I didn't like the track as it produced no real outside line for the likes of bomber but we was beaten by the better side. Let's give Bjarne a chance before slating him..Palin was also well of the pace and that sort of thing can make hell of a difference when you look at Brennan and Etheridge.

Lets pray tom brennan has an injury free season, this could be a pivotal year for him, riding these bigger tracks will help his development alot

You have so many faces,, people won't know which one to slap. Giving it the large one earlier about how many number 1s you have

Another year and GB will have three world class riders. Bewley and Lambert joining Woffinden in the GPS. Bewley has looked very good so far this season and will help his Polish team win the league this season imo. Just need another so we can compete in the WTC. Who is the 4th member?

5 Points in 1 Day for the Panthers. Experience wins the day.

What’s it like in cloud cuckoo land?

Ohhhhhhh.!!! So close Geoff... Well when I say 'close'.... You got the bit about Bewley right...

Peterborough should be the favourites for the title. Best team in the league by a mile that's being disrespected by the BSF & Bookmakers purely because of age. Look at Jason Crump at Ipswich for example. Jason is still winning races for fun after sitting on the sidelines for a few years which proves how weak this league is. Pedersen, Harris, Andersen & Nicholls are all No.1's in this weak league. MPT is a Third Heat leader and Ostergaard is a second string riding at reserve.

It's all going well for the Panthers at the moment.

The races at Belle Vue on 26th May 1962 were not for the Golden Helmet, they were described as challenge races in the programme. Not forgetting the earlier clashes in the Golden Helmet: Belle Vue 20/07/57 GH Peter 2 Ove 0. Norwich 07/08/57 GH Peter 1 Ove 2 Southampton 20/08/57 Peter 2 Ove 0 Norwich 07/05/58 GH Peter 0 Ove 2 Belle Vue 31/05/58 GH Peter 2 Ove 0 Poole 09/06/58 GH Peter 0 Ove 2 Norwich 27/05/59 GH Peter 1 Ove 2 Belle Vue 03/06/59 GH Peter 1 Ove 2 Norwich 29/08/59 GH Peter 1 Ove 2 Belle Vue 05/09/59 GH Peter 2 Ove 1 (included in Sid's list as 05/09/61) Peter Craven won the decider by default as Ove Fundin was unable to ride due to commitments in Sweden. Additionally: Oxford 09/05/63 Peter 2 Ove 0 Norwich 17/07/63 Peter 1 Ove 2 Wimbledon 29/07/63 Peter 0 Ove 2 That gives a total in the Golden Helmet races of Peter 20 Ove 23.

Isn't the Government guideline 4K or half capacity whichever is the lower, No doubt in the Rugby the players, management and physios etc count towards the 4K. Thats what happens at Football in stadiums with the 4K limit

I would also suggest that running so many double headers is also down to a lack of confidence in their NDL offering to deliver profit if ran 'stand alone'.... And to be fair to those who say that they are not going, it is a risk on the part of the promoter... Expecting to have someone pay £26 when they are not interested in 50% of what is on offer could be seen as a risky strategy.. On the other hand, to some, thirty races for twenty six quid will be seen as good value.... I suppose the proof of whether right or not will be in the outcome... Will thirty heats of speedway for £26 appeal to enough punters to offset the missing fans who feel £26 to watch only the fifteen races they want to watch is too much...?

rode against Roman when he was in a Czech touring team i think in '86, scared the poop out of me!

I am a bit late to this thread having on recently found out he's passed away. I just wanted to add to this. I was at both meetings, and it's been a long, long time. But this is my memory of what happened. The Tigers were at Station Road the night before and Robert Nagy beat Matousek, brilliant ride by Nagy which Matousek took exception to after the race as they went back to the pits, but seemed to be something and nothing. The following night Long Eaton were on the return fixture at Sheffield and that fateful race as they lined up at the tapes I knew what was about to happen by the fact Matousek lined up at the tapes at a funny angle IMO. Only one man will ever know if that was a deliberate crash or not, but I certainly know what every Long Eaton fan thought that night. Mild mannered Johnno, perhaps unwisely with hindsight, was allowed to go and see Robert on track, he ran back from the first bend, to the pits and went for Matousek. Although the race and match paled into insignificance, the referee bottled it by not excluding Matousek. To see him celebrating winning the meeting later on was an utter disgrace. To this day I believe that crash was a disgrace and he got away with it. I won't describe the crash as an accident.

I was there when Craven won his second world title at Wembley in 1962. Fundin was third that year and the two met in that famous heat 6 where four of the big five were involved. As well as being a rider of undoubted world class, Peter was also one of the most spectacular and universally known as "The Wizard of Balance".

Top entertainer at many clubs in his time. Hope he recovers quickly.

Sad news, grew up watching mad dog at long eaton.. a hard committed racer Hope he recovers soon

a disappointing draw into a fabulous away win. Still unbeaten and brought 5 points home today cannot complain. Kurtz - broke his heat 1 curse tonight. Rode well today really. Kurtz is not a rider that will score you 15 points a meeting. Quicker people understand that the better. Richie- always in the mix all day. Unlucky this morning. Bewley -star man. What else can I say. Stevie - not his greatest days and brennan in for him in heat 14 shown that. Early in season though. So nothing to worry about. Wright - much better from heat 13 this morning onwards. Hopefully big things to come from now Jye - OK this morning. Brilliant tonight. He can be happy Brennan - still to master the NSS but it will come. I still belive he will be the top rising star end of season. Was brilliant tonight. And talks so so well. Very level headed lad. He's going places LEMON - made the correct changes. Your all quick to slate him when he doesn't so praise for when he gets it right today All in all A good day had. Love bank holiday double headers I'm the sun.

Well Norwich has shut, but KL are looking for a No.1

Panthers crowd tonight must have been touching 1,000. Very good effort. Hopefully the gate money tonight can be used to sign us a decent number 1.

Well done Tom B... best score yet

I think the managements of all the teams concerned should have contacted you first. After all, the meeting was imminent, only 9 weeks away. How dare they not consult.

Donate whatever you can, please, on siepomaga.pl/nina for life saving operation for this little girl in the American clinic. Heartfelt thanks

Another nail biting draw looks like it was a good afternoons entertainment. Terrific performance by Gilkes another star in the making we certainly have a lot of them now Never expected him to put Knight in the shade but he was deadly Seagulls will be happy with 3 away points from two matches having had to re jig but Royals will have to do something about the long tail if they are to have any ambitions and we know Len always wants to win. I am surprised that they declared some points under the limit when they could have had someone like Luke Harris A special word for Mulford and Ablitt, Two more that can join the list of future stars. looking forward to seeing Gilkes at Arlington next Sunday and how he copes with Brennan,Kemp and Edwards.

100% agree. Edinburgh Monarchs were providing live streams for away fans even before the current pandemic (geo blocked within 50 miles of Armadale). While capacity restrictions are in place these streams have been made available for anyone to buy. The service is brilliant and I can't understand why every other club isn't doing the same!

Move back up next year and you will get him as a second string....

Agree Steve and I don’t think Eurosport can complain unless they were going to show highlights or full coverage of every meeting, and I doubt they will show even 25% of PL meetings raced.

Dosent bear thinking about Lisa.:)

Wait till heat 15 and he is gate 4.

Being committed and being good for the sport are not necessarily the same thing. Certainly there are riders past and present that don’t like the management set up at. KL. Beggars can’t be choosers so we have to be grateful for whoever risks his money in promotion, but beyond that it is difficult to find much positive to say about Buster.

Brady doing for them what he did for us, goes missing in a few races

You've always got the burst water main to keep the track moist

Peterborough are that good to the point where the can easily become Arsene Wenger's Arsenal during the 2003-04 PL season. The Peterborough INVINCIBLES Crendon Panthers has a nice ring to it already.

Afraid I'm going to disagree with one or two observations, Jake, in his first meeting scored 11+1 against a strong belle vue team, and poor Jordan, last Thursday were his first laps anywhere, apart from press and practice at Foxhall so not only was he nervous but rusty too. However this strong wolves side will probably win comfortably.

Maybe they could put the NDL matches on first...? It would clearly gauge the enthusiasm for it as if you want to watch it you will be there... It would also mean those who didn't want to watch it could pay to get in after Heat 15 of the NDL match with the break to get everyone in giving time for the track staff to redo the surface... I would also suggest the track wouldn't be allowed to become a dust bowl if the seniors rode the second meeting, and there would be every focus in getting all the heats completed which sometimes has appeared to be a secondary consideration when the 'junior meeting' is second on... The NDL lads would also get a chance to race a circuit with shale still on it which could be a novelty for some.. Simon Wigg always said "you get served your starter before you have the main course in a restaurant" when he suggested having the "juniors" on first... Let those who want "two courses" go and pay the "deal price" and let those happy with "one course" pay the normal admission cost...

The last time I went to a similar double header was a couple of years ago when they were riding CH in the 2nd meeting and it got cancelled because they were faffing around so much that the rain cloud that was heading to the stadium all afternoon finally deposited its contents on the track, that was the match that got me blocked from their Twitter account lol. From memory it was only £3 or £4 extra and as I'd never seen NDL racing before and it was CH I thought it was good value as a taster. After that debacle I shall not be attending another double header, totally happy to pay £17 to watch the seniors, junior racing is just not my thing. I understand that for many who attend the cubs meetings this will be an attractive meeting. For me it's just too much of a marathon, no doubt the track will be dry and dusty after a few races and I can see this dragging on and on. I also notice that the away fixtures at Berwick, Newcastle & Eastie are also double headers and I shall also be giving these a miss if the price is in the same region. If the club can't afford to run the cubs as a stand alone outfit should they be doing so. Perhaps I'm wrong and they'll get a bumper crowd, I hope they do and as punters we'll all make our own individual choices.

I don’t think there are many people who have the spare cash to spend £26 on a speedway meeting plus all the other costs involved, travel etc. A lot of people have been unable to work for a long period of time and funds are low. Also I don’t think it is the most attractive fixture. If you have the cash and you want to go . . .then enjoy. However, I think it is overpriced for most.

I remember seeing him ride for the Czechs at the reshaped narrow Canterbury track in 1987. He certainly took no prisoners that night!

I,m looking to go to this meeting as well, hopefully another week and the restrictions can be relaxed in Glasgow.

The Lions promotion have made a big mistake in charging £26 for this “double header” where the second fixture is an NDL match up. I know 6 folk not going because of the cost and there will be more no shows from those who normally attend Lions fixtures.

A lot of people gave Poole more than a chance and the reason for that is the inactivity of a number of the home riders in competitive matches - The Eagle’s first match last Saturday was rained off as was their second at Kent last Tuesday - So going into yesterday’s match 4 of the team had not had a competitive match so far and could understandably be ring rusty (Richard Lawson, Eddie Kennett, Kyle Newman, and Jason Edwards) - Lewis Kerr had ridden in 2 Premier matches as had Tom Brennan and Drew Kemp - On the Poole side Danny King had 2 Premier matches as had Steve Worrall with Rory Schlein having one - I assume Danyon Hume and Stefan Nielsen have not been in competition this season but stand to be corrected if they have - And were the 2 young Aussies riding back home earlier on this year? - But this would have been their first visit to Arlington - I’m also led to believe that Eddie Kennett has a very young son and we all know how much that takes out of you - Eastbourne will improve a lot as the season progresses and along with Leicester, Glasgow, Redcar, and Poole will be up there battling it out - Don’t be hard on any rider at this stage of the season as they are all trying to get back in the swing and for some it will take longer than others - Be glad British speedway is up and running and enjoy the sport we all love -

One of those riders who were never destined to be a World Champ, but seemed to ride every race as if it was his last... You would never feel short changed watching Martin Dixon.. Best wishes to him.

Regarding the meetings. I can only see 2 wins for us. If we don't i will be disappointed