mikebv

Next years plan will definitely be known... (You would hope)... With the play offs pretty much sorted (dont think they count average wise do they?), it would be an opportune time to prep for next season for those clubs...

My initial reaction was "one big league"... But, when you analyse how many riders will be needed I am not sure it could work... Even a 12 team league would need 60 riders, running on five per team.. And, if all the "top riders" went then that would leave around 70 required from the current set up... Is there 70 riders who want to race here, or good enough to race here if UK based? "One big league" would mean several meetings per week for some, and many overseas riders (even the journey men), wouldn't all sign up for that, thus meaning more riders required to replace them.. "One big league" seems to be the organic solution, but logistics would suggest it cannot happen..

I have always been surprised that Poland chose Friday, Saturday and Sunday for what is, after all, something part of the entertainment business.... Who would have thought that the weekend would attract the most attendees...? Same with the GP's .. Monday or Thursday for me should have been the call...

The sum of UK Speedways, fit for purpose in 2025, marketing campaign is.... "Bring a friend".....😁

In fairness... The promoters put demands on them to have the best kit... Which costs several thousands for two bikes minimum... To help them win something they shockingly then devalue by using such a ludicrous operating model.. An incredible business plan.. Personally, I think they should keep the top riders and reduce the "middle order" and the "RS"... As, the top riders must bring a few more in than would ordinarily go... As everyone knows, a struggling business needs to either increase turnover or reduce costs... Now, given increasing turnover seems to be a challenge, then cost reduction has to be the way forwards.. And the easiest and quickest way to do that is by reducing head count.. However, a business with seven employees wouldn't lose its top two people, as that would close the thing down... Instead it would make savings further down the line, and hope the top two would drive enough turnover... For me, five man teams, no make weights, all over 4.5 point average... That would release seven 3rd HLs/SS's immediately to potentially cover either as official "squad riders" or short tern replacements... With a six team top league, not a bad starting point to bring some desperately needed credibility..

I know most get covered their costs by other outside income than points money... Therefore, surely that should be "boom time" for the clubs shouldn't it? Big names, potentially no costs, so just sit back and watch those stands fill up... Kerching .. The reality of course is something different... NB And if sponsors do cover all the costs, I suppose the question must be.. Why is it around 20 to 25% more expensive to watch Speedway now than it was pre COVID in 2020? Maybe that is a bigger reason for the current crowd levels than the level of riders on show?

They have already had riding here, or brought in over the past two seasons... Woffy, Emil, Doyle, Bewley, Kurtz, Fricke, Holder, Lindgren, Holder, Janowski, MJJ,, Zagar, Kvech, Lidsey and B Cook... All either Ex World Champs, or GP winners, some being multiple GP winners, some are GP riders, others being well known names, or Polish top tier riders.. And most tracks have seen no increase in crowds, with some actually showing less... Yet their costs have increased by using these riders... How do you afford even more "top level riders?" so your crowds can magically grow?

I had a vision of someone reading out the statement at the monthly PZM meeting... And the reaction from all there being like that Smash advert from the 80's....

Leicester 6/1.... Worth a punt I think...

The crowds dropped in big numbers whilst the likes of Trick, Pedersen, Hancock, Crump, Adams, Loram, et al, all rode over here... The fact that most left when the Sky money ran out suggests that this was the only thing keeping them here... Meaning crowd numbers alone were not enough to pay them what they required... Therefore, their presence didn't deliver enough attendees to justify the outlay required without Sky money... The same has happened since the "top talent" has come back... Great to see them ride, but they are not, at most tracks, bringing extra fans in through the turnstiles... To the many millions around the country who have never heard of Speedway, Robert Lambert will mean as much to them as Simon Lambert..

Not many successful entities use an operating model that they used 50 years ago... With their reason for doing so being... "We did it 50 years ago"....

100% agree, however... UK Speedway has put themselves into such a position that they need these riders more than the riders need UK Speedway... There is simply no deterrent as UK Speedway cannot afford to have one...

That will certainly teach him.... And, be a lesson for anyone else who may think about doing something similar... I think we can all agree... This type of thing won't happen again...

The riding style of today gives little room to pass... They enter turns now pretty much sideways, whereas they used to go into them almost grass track like, with left foot forwards and then hooking the bike up when it hit the dirt... Meaning the rider behind had options... Now there is no dirt so riders can just fly into the dust knowing they won't get fired off anywhere, by hitting any grip... The tyres too are conducive to slick circuits whereas the hard compound ones used years ago were conducive to grippier circuits.. At a track like Sheffield, any rider going in to a bend sideways, and riding a two thirds track, will mean there is very little space outside him to go around, and with no grip on the kerb, it means little opportunity to pass, especially at the speed they go there.. Several tracks have widened their bends to give more entry and exit lines, and give riders behind potential room to go around opponents who have locked up, filling a large portion of the turn... The reality is with the modern riding style, the more circular, wider circuits provide the best racing, and converting a more oval, narrower one, into this design isn't easy... Sheffield actually has the shape, but probably needs at least three metre's taking off the inside given how the air fence has impacted the racing there...

One of the key plusses for watching Speedway at the NSS is the fact that the Aces do, so many times, get out gated by their rivals.... And then use their set ups to reel in their opponents. Set ups based on the home advantage every team has... The challenge for the Aces lies away from home where such starting costs them greatly, given the much less opportunity to pass that most other tracks offer.. Sheffield last night was fast, with the riders riding out wide on the one dirt line, which in itself is exciting to see, however, from a TV perspective it looked very much like follow the leader with lots of races having four riders equidistant apart riding over the same part of the track... A track with bends just too narrow, and too slick, for the straight line speeds generated, which negates passing opportunities... The NSS also provides grip on the inside up against the kerb for pretty much most of the meeting which provides another passing opportunity that many other tracks seem to struggle to provide...