mikebv

Ummmmm Errrr... Grassy Arse.

Time for the staging country and the next four nations in the rankings to be seeded... Then, on the Wednesday have just one meeting for the rest who can have two meetings previously to qualify for the Wednesday meeting.. With the top two going through to the final... In the Qualifiers they could include an Independent Russia like the Olympics allow...

They get 3000 watching them in Argentina he said... A UK promoter would kill for that!!!

Kelvin's Argentinian translation is brilliant...

He had two coats ... But. One was brought to give to anyone else who turned up...😁

Businesses exactly the same .... Those empty seats tell the organisers everything they need to know about their promotion and organisation of this event.... The same can be said about over here. Listening to those who are no longer attend, but still follow the sport closely, is far more important than the feedback of those who still do attend .. As there are many, many more of the former than the latter.

Because they need every rider possible to fill up the teams...

And then between themselves and sponsors pay riders the kind of money that they need to pay for, and maintain, those bikes and vans. Money far in excess of what the sports crowd levels and financial income can justify... And all to try and win something that they then systematically destroy the very credibility of due to using a truly ludicrous operating model for a pro sport... Imagine a couple of promoters taking the UK Speedway business plan and operating model to the Dragons Den programme, and asking for investment...? The Dragon's response would resemble those Martians in the Smash adverts of the 70's...

Let's hope they deliver.. A truly unique adrenaline fuelled sport that can deliver a great night out... Undermined by a dreadful operating model infrastructure... Will they ever realise this holds them back? Let's hope they finally, do..

Fantastic result.... Fantastic two meetings... How do they serve up so much fantastic Speedway without those so important, necessary evil, guests? 😁

The fans certainly don't feel the same ...😎

Pipe dream I know... But, just Imagine beaming this, at a UK level, from BBC or ITV every Sunday? Incredible entertainment....😎

Afternoon Nigel..

The whole system isnt fit for purpose Dean... Promoters will spend literally hundreds of thousands on riders, whose names will resonate hardly one iota locally with anyone outside the Speedway bubble. . Yet hardly anything in comparison to their riders on marketing locally which may bring fans in.. Simon Lambert? Robert Lambert? To the vast majority of the country, neither are known... They then also seriously undermine their own competitions with a series of self inficted, completely foreseeable issues, which often then result in some contrived, Mickey Mouse solution, which does nothing but further alienate an ever growing number of a frustrated fanbase . Self undermined competitions by the way that they then pay out huge money (in relation to the sports level of following) to try and win!! At the very peak of the sports success, only the very top riders had the financial packages to be fully pro... Now even some NDL riders see themselves as pro Speedway riders .. A ludicrous operating and business model has been allowed to grow unchecked for decades . However its probably too late now to reign it in and control it collectively I would imagine... As there will always be at least one promoter who will spend big to satisfy their longing for a trophy that their very own organisation does it's level best to devalue.

They will want everyone to be equal... But some will still what to be more equal than others..

And guesting has become the all too easy go to solution for missing riders... You don't need to develop riders to a certain level when you just share around the ones already riding at that level on an ad hoc basis... A "troupe" of usually the same riders earn more money, and clubs can even improve their teams by using them.. Everyone (short term at least), is happy... Long term? With Brexit also now also impacting visa's, a lot of challenges ahead as an ever ageing "mid level" rider base will inevitably one day wind down their careers..

More of a "D" shape with pretty short straights... A great race track until air fences, which narrowed it... I used to watch "reserve/juniors" level riders, absolutely fly around there on a Thursday evening, who then looked like complete and utter novices on the Friday at Kirky Lane with its tighter turns ..

UK Speedway does have a particular unique capability for shooting itself in the foot doesn't it? 😁 A fantastic adrenaline fuelled sport that gets undermined, (it appears at almost every turn), by some self inflicted Mickey Mouse nonsense delivered by the sports' custodians . Running qualifiers (that would still determine final positions as to who rides who), AFTER the Semi's have been completed? Tick... Running a play off semi final in Div 2 knowing riders would be eslewhere, so ending up with 3 guests for one team? Tick... Running a semi final of the flagship Div 1 competition 48 hours before the biggest meeting of the global Speedway season, knowing riders will be focusing on that major meeting? Tick.. The racing is, for me, as good as I have seen at any time in 55 years of watching... What a shame the nonsense around it undermines it so badly...

Bumper Crowds for the "War of the Roses"...

But to be fair.... They do it so well.... Mickey Mouse has nothing on them... The League Winners are already out of the competition that they just won!!

Can't blame the Ipswich riders for not giving it everything tonight, especially given they have much more important meetings ahead...... I am sure the Ipswich fans on here will 100% agree and support their riders... And I whole heartedly endorse none of them saying that any riders on show tonight are a disgrace to the sport for not giving their all... Well. The ones who actually turned up and were not "poorly" obviously..

Do they get to choose their opponents for the semis? Or is it just the fourth team?

Maybe Manchester City could get one of their (ahem), "sponsors" to put some money in??

It is sometimes a good thing that no one outside the "Speedway Bubble" takes it seriously isn't it? .. Screws up any chance of its growth and development, but at least it saves the embarrassment that scrutiny would bring...

Matt Ford was someone well ahead of the curve... He realised that he could run 2nd tier Speedway using around three quarters of 1st tier riders... Thus charging less for pretty much the same product... Yet, plenty seem to moan about him....??? Maybe more Matt Ford's and the sport would be far more pro active and successful?