Vince

Great news that Kawasaki join Honda and Suzuki in backing riders entering the British Flattrack Championships. http://www.dirttrackriders.co.uk/#!Team-Kawasaki-Dirt-Track/c9we/8952BB3F-FCF9-464C-9A47-6EEBA211AC3A

Some years ago my lad attended a training school run by Nicki Pedersen. You would never meet somebody who is so different to his public persona. He clearly enjoyed working with the kids and couldn't do enough to help, he worked on bikes, push started kids and explained everything really well. All this in some pretty horrible weather, shame to ruin the image but he is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. Bloody ruthless on the track but one of the riders I would always be happy to pay to see ride.

I really don't like Darcy Ward but he is one of, if not the, most naturally talented and skilled riders I have ever seen. Ole Olsen was my pet hate as a kid after he nearly took my arm off slamming his car door when I tried to get his autograph. I was a kid so the fact he had just had a terrible World final was no excuse in my eyes, nowadays I think he deserved a bit of slack :-)

I can't agree with that at all, riders are well aware of the risks but think it's something that happens to other people. The day you start to worry about getting hurt is the day you should give it away. The old saying still holds true: Riders aren't scared of racing they are scared of not racing well.

I would have thought a 'modest success in financial terms' within a sport that is completely failing in financial terms in every other area is a very good achievement. Suggests that they are doing something very right in an exceptionally difficult market.

I went to a few Wembley World Finals, fantastic events, great atmosphere and generally poor racing is the way I remember them. Bad luck with your programmed gates was enough to prevent you being World Champion, not now! In my opinion there is no way in the world that Speedway was more cut throat in the 60's and 70's than it is now. Riders these days ride over their limits far more often and are harder on each other than they ever were in the 'good old days' as far as I am concerned. Lots of things wrong with modern Speedway but the commitment and ability of riders is none of them.

The problem is that even if the Star gave a complete breakdown of income and expenditure people would argue about every detail and say they only printed what they were told!

The 2014 fixture list is now available at http://www.dirttrackriders.co.uk A little bit of luck with the weather and it should be a great year, nice variety of tracks including a very fast half mile, last year saw record entries and there is a vintage class added this year (bikes not riders I think!). Can't wait for the season to start. Generally spectators are admitted free or at a minimal price. It's different to Speedway so if you don't expect that's what it will be like you can normally expect some good racing with 12 riders going off 3 rows. Something very different with the Dirt Quake event at Kings Lynn, lots of fun with all sorts going on as well as whole races full of bikes you never would have expected to see on a Speedway track.

Personally I read the Star for results and articles about Speedway. Generally the important things are reported with a positive slant which is fine by me. I have no interest in News of the World type articles involving Speedway, there's enough negativity and guesses reported as fact on here to last anybody a lifetime!

Can't believe you would suggest that MP's might want a fee! Obviously expenses would have to be covered, something in the region of a years mortgage payments and a nice holiday should cover that.

I would think Mauger was the biggest draw in my past with the likes of Penhall, Olsen and Briggo running him close. Recently I would feel much the same about watching Adams, Crump, Gollob, Holder, Ward, Harris and recently Woffinden. They won't generate the same anticipation because the crowds are so much smaller but they are more exciting to watch than the first list in my opinion. These days riders seem to be on the very edge so much more often than in the past.

It also shows that on a very trick track where he was the specialist the top riders could more than give him a run for his money. If the then highly unfair one off World Championships had been held at Costa Mesa he'd have been a favourite, anywhere else and he wouldn't have been in the hunt for a podium in my opinion. Had he dedicated himself to riding in Europe it might have been a different story as he was clearly talented.

Makes you wonder how they attract so many riders that they need to run 100 races, guess the guys actually doing the riding don't se it your way!

I really like big, fast tracks however I have seen some brilliant racing at Eastbourne and some very poor racing at Peterborough but have also seen the situations reversed. I believe the best thing about British Speedway is the variety of track shapes and surfaces those 'quirky' tracks tend to be the places where second strings and reserves get to beat heat leaders. My opinion is that rider safety is the most important thing and it should never be left to a ref who has never ridden a bike to decide whether a meeting is run. However some riders are notoriously fussy and wouldn't ride anything except perfection given the choice so with the way the weather is in this country there has to be times when tracks are difficult. I also think ragdoll64 has a valid point about perfect racetracks not always providing the best meetings and explained why very well.

It's a hell of an achievement to get so many races run, I have been to many amateur meetings and am impressed when they run half that amount. Must be a cracking team running the meetings.

You are also getting some money from, and exposing the sport to, a significant amount of people who would never normally go to Speedway live.

Tai was the best rider in the Gp's over a whole season and therefore the best rider in 2013. Second best in my opinion was Sayfutdinov and Ward probably not top 3.

Could it be that the other revenue streams were separated from the Speedway? I have no idea but if all that is on offer to any potential Promoter is the Speedway with none of the sites other activities it seems possible.

If the BSPA can't sponsor them then why can't the club that holds their registration and will collect the loan fee? Considering riders are self employed it is difficult to see the difference between them and the club that might sign them and drop them a week after the application is successful anyway.

Could riders be sponsored by the BSPA or the club that owns them to avoid the situation of not knowing where they are riding in time. Could be the only positive of the asset system!

My biggest hope for this year is that the promoters get behind the spirit of the draft system, give it time to work and don't try to find loopholes. Then that the PL see it as something they should introduce for next year.

This is my last word on the subject because we now really have moved away from anything to do with the original subject which I will happily keep discussing as I see fit for as long as I want to do so. Yours wasn't an alternative comment, it was a criticism that the post I made was not relevant to the subject. I then replied (debated!)stating why I thought it was. I also pointed out that you had made what I viewed as a very out of place posting in the items for sale section. I was not trying to stifle genuine debate but avoid being told what I can post by somebody who is guilty of doing worse. The items for sale is exactly what it says not a place for debate at all. There is a years gone by section for exactly the sort of debate you want to haveabout equipment costings. If you want to continue 'debating' the point do so by PM and save everybody else from reading this tripe.

I think you perhaps missed the point that it is an 'items for sale' section not a place for discussion about prices from 50 years ago! I think you may also have missed the point, again, that this thread is about Peter Collins views on the current state of Speedway. That then moved on to attendencaes which are at the heart of the sports problems. Then onto why those problems exist, all relevant as far as I can tell. Everybody else seems to be happy with the way the thread has evolved, if you're not then stop reading it.

Peter Collins wrote in the Star about the current state of British Speedway, which is still what we are discussing. Read the items for sale topic about two bikes for sale and tell me my post here isn't more relevant than yours on there!

How many spectators buy tickets to watch the pub matches that run all over the country every week? That would be a fairer comparison to league Speedway. Football is the national sport and can attract spectators almost despite itself, loyalties and promotion of the sport begins in the cradle in millions of homes, no other sport can compare.