Humphrey Appleby

Whilst Wikipedia can be a good reference for getting background information, it's not a scholarly journal and often contains inaccuracies. As anyone can contribute text, it's subject to the principle of he who shouts loudest wins out, regardless of how informed they might be. I certainly wouldn't rely on Wikipedia as the definitive answer for who invented speedway, but I suspect in reality there's not a single answer. As with most things are commonly supposed to be invented by someone, it's usually a gradual evolution from a variety of origins and involving a number of people (sometimes completely independently from each other).

When does a long track become a speedway track, and when does a grass track become a dirt track, and vice-versa? What actually makes something 'speedway' as opposed to another form of oval motorcycle racing? I don't claim any particular in-depth knowledge of this subject, but it seems improbable there wasn't speedway-type racing prior 1923 as practical motorcycles had already existed for at least 30 years by that point.

Wouldn't mind an excuse to visit the land of the long white cloud again, but March isn't a good time for me to travel to the other side of the world. Still, I've got plenty of frequent flyer miles, so might do it if work schedules permit.

Of course it has something to do with IMG/BSI. Their business will be affected if riders start pulling out of the SGP because of the Polish rules. Somehow I doubt the FIM are doing this off their own bat.

So basically we're pretty much back to the old WTC format, despite the claims the SWC would take things to another level. Even the venues are the same...

Has anyone got any more details about this proposed competition mentioned on the Poole website? http://www.poolepirates.co/news.htm

The FIM have given scant regard to the impact their multitude of competitions have had on domestic leagues, and now they get upset when the boot is on the other foot...?

For some reason the other thread about wildcards is locked, so let's post the question here.... It's been reported elsewhere that BSI are taking legal action against the 'one GP rider per team' rule in Poland on the grounds that it's 'ruining their business'. Anyone know more?

Base it on the best 2 out of 3, or something like that.

That the premier competition apparently can't find new riders worthy of inclusion each year, is surely a tragic indictment of the SGP and the sport as a whole. I'm not suggesting to bring back the World Final, but that used to have hundreds of riders trying to qualify and had there not been a daft qualifying system for years, most of the riders would have been worthy qualifiers. Hancock, Crump and Gollob will hang up their leathers at some point, and riders will simply have to be found to replace them. Quite honestly, I'd also rather see some new faces even if they're not in their depth, because one of the things that made the SGP so boring a couple of years back was because it ended-up being virtually a closed shop.

It's small beer compared to the amounts that the FIM and IMG/BSI are making out of the SGP, and a situation that wouldn't be tolerated in most other sports. Maybe F1 is an exception, but in that case the teams still receive millions. GP dates might not have much effect on Poland or Sweden (although they will start to have an impact on Poland if the SGP expands any more), but star riders can still get injured. Football clubs fought a long battle with FIFA over compensation when their players were on international duty, but in the end FIFA had to concede on this. This is not about being a Little Englander at all, but questioning why promotions and clubs everywhere are not rewarded for training and employing the riders used by a private company for its own profit. I also wonder how many GPs really make the host promotions/clubs any money, given the stated need for local subsidy in some cases.

Putting aside the issue of whether a NZ GP is good for the sport in the NZ for a moment, most sane British fans realise the BEL is now well down the pecking order of rider priorities. That isn't the real concern, even if the BEL is still one of only three or four professional leagues where riders can make a living. The more pertinent question is where is the money from the SGP going, because the unlike the prestige events of virtually ever other sport, little or no money is filtering back to the local tracks or clubs. It's quite amazing how national speedway authorities have failed to question this, far less how it's been allowed to happen. I don't think asking where several million pounds worth of payments to the FIM have gone makes one a Little Englander, nor why the SGP promoters are given pick of dates whilst the riders make their livings in national competitions. It seems a very strange setup to me, and if speedway had any sort of serious profile, would undoubtedly be one that would attract more attention.

It isn't just this round though. It's the other 11 rounds as well...

All very well, but then it should either provide the pinnacle of prize money, or be generating money for the lower echelons of the sport (as international cricket does). The SGP does neither, and would almost certainly not exist without the domestic professional leagues. Really? And how much money has it made for speedway in the past 12 years? Who knows about speedway beyond its own limited fanbase?

Wasn't talking about the NZ GP, but the further expansion that was mentioned. As it happens though, the NZ GP does fall within at least a couple of European league seasons.

Why does it need expansion? It's overly long as it is, and more rounds will disrupt the paying competitions. If the SGP needs to go to different places, then reduce the number of rounds in Poland, Sweden and Denmark.

And those were channels that Virgin established when they fell out with Sky over how much they were expected to pay for the free Sky channels (e.g. Sky One).

There's a reasonably large speedway scene in NZ (albeit more than just solos), which gets fairly mainstream coverage in the country. I'd imagine they're going to NZ though, someone has fronted up the cash, but it's by no means the worst place to have a GP.

Lest we not forget that a New Zealand GP was announced once before (in Wellington?), and ended-up being cancelled. Personally though, I don't think a NZ GP would be a bad thing, although late-March isn't brilliant for the British and Polish leagues.

The BEL doesn't need to consult with other leagues because they pretty much take the dates that are left after IMG/BSI, Poland and Sweden have had their pick. As for IMG/BSI consulting with leagues as to the dates of any GP, I very might doubt it. The FIM grants them priority and everyone else just has to firt around them.

There would be very few countries able to compete then. You need a minimum of 6 or 7 riders per team if you want to use a straightforward match format, and there are probably only 6 or so countries that would be able to put out a competitive side on that basis.

I didn't suggest that I agreed with the joker rule, but I think it's a minor issue compared to the rest of the things that are wrong with speedway. I'd prefer to see tactical subs in the SWC, and unlike league competition, I can't imagine it would cost any more as the prize money is pre-determined.

No, SCB is right. DRS is available during a race and gives a potential advantage to a car behind another. It can only be used when a trailing car is a certain distance behind, but it's somewhat analogous to the joker in speedway.

I suppose it comes down to how one defines what speedway actually is, and even then, it seems highly probable that blokes riding in circles on a dirt surface must have come soon after the invention of the motorcycle...

Australia is listed as being affiliated to the FIM in 1975, so presumably they were a team in their own right then. New Zealand is a bit of grey area as they had their own federation which was an affiliate of the ACU (as for example, is the Scottish ACU). However, the MNZ website says itself that Kiwis rode as British riders until 1983, so presumably their WTC win was technically as the 'British' team.