Vince

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.

Gotta say Newport under Tim Stone was another that supported the principles of the league.

I'd imagine controlling a weight limit would be an issue, only solution I can see is a set of scales that riders go over when leaving the track but it's an added expense for promoters who are already struggling. Anything that could stop the fence lifting should be investigated I'd have thought.

200BHP on limited electronics probably lessens the issue though 😊

I'd be in favour of a two part weight limit, one for bike and one for rider. Firstly it could be relevant to safety on a couple of counts. Riders starving themselves can't help with their strength or injury resistance. Then I remember seeing a clip of Tai saying that he ran smaller boots without the insert so he could run a smaller steel shoe to help keep the weight down. If they will go to those lengths what other safety protection are some sacrificing? Would riders be wearing more protective armour and padding if the weight wasn't an issue? A higher weight limit for bikes could also help with costs, lightweight fixings and components are always going to be more expensive than standard stuff.

About time too, if you want a rider as a club asset then you should pay him a basic salary and sick pay when he is injured. Crazy system that worked against so many young British riders for years. Only surprising thing was that it never got challenged in court where it would not have stood a chance (or maybe there was a challenge threatened and that's why it disappeared?)

Might be worth contacting Interspan, might be he can repair your box or maybe even put one of his products in your case. Contact - Interspan-Ignition

After a long time on small bikes and away from British tracks I think it's a huge ask to expect anything much from him in the first year. The way bikes spin up and wheelie in BSB is a long way from what he's used to and many of the tracks very different to the GP series. I think hes a quality rider and year 2 would see him have some success and year 3 (if he's allowed that long) might see him challenging for a title.

I liked Jamie well enough as I knew him in his mid teenage years and he was a tidy enough rider at NL level. With Phil Morris in his corner he could have and should have gone on to be a decent PL rider. However at times he would just disappear despite being given several chances to put things right by Tim Stone and Pete Towersey. He was well known as somebody not to cross in the rougher area of Newport I was told by quite a few people and most certainly in the Mallet era stopped the local thugs from raiding the Speedway stadium on at least one occasion A shame he's ended up where he is today but we all have choices to make in life and some seem pulled towards making all the wrong ones.

I've seen more than one rider instructed to do this if their team mate isn't in front after the first lap!

While Poland is often held up as the ultimate in league Speedway is it really what we want in the UK? It's easy to think everything is wonderful over there but there are certainly financial problems for quite a few clubs. Some of those who don't have problems have dubious funding sources. I get why you are so against guests but just have a different opinion and I don't see it as a major problem for UK Speedway.

I disagree, can't see any major sponsorship deal being scuppered by the use of guests. If guest use were sold by virtue of Speedway needing the system because it is so dangerous and the injury rate so high it is impossible to keep a reasonably level playing field without them it could even be seen as a positive by some brands. Where it would be a more difficult sell could be if guests are used to cover riders who are competing elsewhere.

I have an old 2V manual but no mention of ring gap. We always went for 2.5 to 3 thou per inch of bore in chrome bores with air cooled engines if that's any help.

I had an electric trials bike for a while, it was very impressive in most ways. Lack of power/ torque won't be a problem, there is a MX bike due to start being delivered anytime now that has various power settings but capable of producing 80hp. With electric motors that power can come in right from cracking the throttle if you want it to. The Trials bike and I believe the new MX bike came with assorted power maps as well so it can be equivalent to anything from 80cc to 500cc. I've seen electric bikes in flat track races as well and there is no doubt the lack of noise seems to detract from the spectacle. However with lack of noise comes a lack of complaints from neighbours as well so I am sure it opens up the possibility of motorcycle sports happening within towns again which is something that Speedway desperately misses. Indoor Speedway on a variety of surfaces is also far more possible. I would imagine one problem will be cost for a while yet, the Trials bikes are all but double the price of a petrol one and the Stark Varg MX bike is £10k which is a lot nearer a sensible price but still expensive for a Speedway bike. There is a possibility though that you could have series from kids through to GP's using exactly the same setup with different maps and bikes lasting for years with next to no maintenance. A lot of plusses but the big minus could be whether fans would ever accept quiet Speedway. Following the fuss about silencers and then further noise reduction (some seem to think the bikes are quiet now) I very much doubt that they will.

Don't think there's been any sidecar Speedway in the UK for a while now but I did see on Facebook that there will be a series in 2023 with a practice taking place soon on the Isle of Wight.

Try telling your car insurance company you wouldn't be racing if you didn't try and pass! Racing and road driving are vastly different things.

I don't think so, quite often see collisions where neither rider could have done anything different and still be racing. Generally the rider on the inside clips another rider and gets excluded. But very often there was a gap there when he started the pass but the rider in front changes line slightly. Neither one is at fault.