Vince

But also quite a lot less grip until/ unless you get a lot of rubber laid down. I think most Speedway riders are surprised how different it is when they have a go. They expect to be able to turn in like a Speedway bike until they try it (although there are places it can be done). It's a different sport in the same arena but a mistake to think that one takes less bottle than the other especially at the higher levels.

Like Speedway when the racing is good it can be brilliant, when it's bad not so much. There are a few DTRA meetings each year and worth a visit if you are in travelling distance. Entry for spectators is usually free and there are a lot of races from little kids through old blokes on vintage bikes to the Pro class who are seriously fast. Dirt Track Riders Asscoation the home of Dirt Track racing in the UK

I'd disagree, it gets very tight and there is a lot of pushing and shoving at times. 12 riders go into the first corner and sometimes the fastest are starting from 20 yards behind the front guys and have to get through any way they can. It's different to Speedway and brakes are used but that doesn't make it gentle any more than MX is (and yes I've done a fair bit of both and had a go at Speedway even if I wasn't very good)

Well I've been around the flat track scene in the UK for a fair few years and clearly still know sod all! Very impressive result by Ashton Boughen, I honestly didn't believe it was possible to get to that level so quickly coming from Speedway.

Speedway riders generally go pretty well straight away but then have to adapt their style to consistently be at the front against good riders. Good riders use their brake both into and out of corners and the tyres make it very different to riding Speedway. Ashton will need to do very well indeed to be in the top 6 in this competition. There are some very good riders including Sammy Halbert a rider who is still competitive at the top level in the USA but doesn't get it all his own way in the FIM Championship. Ashton will be doing very well to be the 3rd best British rider behind Tim Neave and Jack Bell. Edited to say that I have since read that Gary Birtwhistle is also entered so Ashton will have a great season to be 4th best Brit. All these lads have a lot of experience and while you can be reasonably competitive coming from other motorcycle sport flat track needs specialist skills to be at the top.

Sorry I never saw this post at the time. MotoGP is (like F1) prototype bikes featuring all the latest technology and rider aids available, in my opinion the pit crew are at least as important as the rider or at least the relationship between the two is. WSB are production based Superbikes but with a great deal of tuning to improve perfomance, much cheaper to run than MotoGP . BSB are again production based Superbikes with some tuning to aid performance. However the rider aids are very limited indeed so with the extra power they must be a real handful meaning rider skill is at a premium (not that they are better riders than the other classes just their skills are more 'traditional'). In my opinion the best of the lot.

Add to that how does the average motorbike mad kid know where and when these sessions take place? By contrast they can buy a Trials or MX bike and race or practice every weekend without driving more than an hour from home. In my opinion if you want more Speedway riders the clubs have to associate with Grasstrack clubs and find some fields for kids to go practicing in. Probably a biased view as I'm from the south and all the practice tracks are a long way away but I can't see anybody from my area getting their kids into Grasstrack or Speedway as things are currently.

I did go to Brighton once and it was OK but can't imagine there were too many people there from outside Speedway and not much to attract them.

And just for comparison SGP - FIM Speedway

Arenacross World Tour I think Speedway can run a decent number of events purely because it is a team sport. However I do think they need to run far more at weekends, many more people now seem to work outside of the normal hours so can't make meetings even if they want to. For one I can very rarely go as I work nights so only Saturday and Sunday are possible for me. Somewhere along the line though they need to adapt so that the youngsters want to come, not kids but those in their 20s and early 30s. They will spend money but they need more than 15 races, they need a night out and Speedway stadiums could do that in the main as they have a bar which could be lively enough to make it worth their attending.

Most certainly not, the vast majority of MX events are held in a field with relatives watching and the riders footing the bills. Even the MXGP series is nothing like the Arenacross. However things like the enthusiasm shown by the presenters, the involvement of kids and getting the crowd wound up could be done for next to nothing. I've been to many meetings where the commentator brings every bit of excitement back down to a nice controlled level of boredom. The lightshow etc and pre event promotion would work well for SGP. It is also significant that very few of the riders would have been paid to be there on Saturday, the bulk of them will have paid to enter (or their teams will have)

£59 per seat at what I think was the price for the majority.. I think the cheapest were £44 and the view from anywhere would have been pretty good. The most expensive VIP tickets I didn't look at but imagine somewhere between extortionate and daylight robbery ☺️ Hence why I said bigger events and especially the GPs. They are in it to make money though so these events must be turning a decent profit. As above, but a lot of the enthusiasm shown by the promotion would cost next to nothing and would make for a more exciting night out. I'd guess in that hall you'd be looking at 250m max or maybe 200m with air fences. I went to the Classic car show a few years back at the NEC and as best I can remember some of those halls were bigger and could have a reasonable track built in but would need stands built as well. What the cost of those halls are though I have no idea. I reckon a small track with a few top riders at this time of year and with the same presentation could work well if filled to capacity like the arenacross. Just looked it up and capacity in that hall is 15,600 which would be a better atmosphere than a half full Cardiff.

Just got back from the Arenacross at the NEC Birmingham and thought it worth mentioning a couple of things. Firstly Dan Bewley is a respectable motocross rider, it was only in the whoops which are Supercross specific really that he was losing time in a decent Pro-AM class. Secondly the presentation compared to even the Cardiff GP was so much better. 3 good presenters who ramped up the crowd and kept the interest going between races, probably all a bit shouty for an old bloke like me but the youngsters lapped it up and sport needs the likes of them more than the likes of me for the future. Lots of flashing lights, loud music and freestyle MX/ girls dancing with fire and a guy chucking free kids T shirts randomly into the crowd all accompanied with encouragement for the crowd to make a lot of noise and be involved between races and while the track was graded. (Graded incidentally by the son of Ace of Aces Promoter Ian Barclay) All in all despite decent rather than great racing we came away having had a great time and Speedway could take some lessons from the Promoters of this series. Might not be practical for every meeting but a lot of what they did could be applied to the bigger events and most certainly the GPs.

I'd have thought the big problem for him getting back into Speedway would be finding the money to kit himself out. It's not cheap needing a couple of bikes and a van plus plenty of spares even if his old riding kit is still OK. Sponsors aren't going to be queuing up for him and even with some help it's a big ask for somebody who has had no income for years. It's not exactly a steady income at the best of times. Personally I would think his rehabilitation would be better served by finding employment with a steady monthly income to get his personal life on track. If in 3 years or so he has saved enough to fund a return to racing that would be the time to take the risk.

Bit difficult when they're all self employed.