mikebv

If I was a rider riding in Poland I would go and live there... One reason being if only national flag carriers end up flying in and out, it will cost a fortune to get there and back.. And travelling by road will take hours, and will not be much of a preparation for their next meeting, regardless of whether they drove or not.. And I am pretty sure the Poles wont allow any of their riders to be travelling by road several thousand miles the day before the meeting, or even possibly on the day itself, after the rider has completed his UK meeting either 24 or 48 hours before... Could be a bit of an issue as you say given we are but a week or so away from the start of the season..

As we have said almost since time began... Having a decent crowd helps drive the overall evenings entertainment level massively... If your crowds are low then you solely rely on the racing to keep everyone coming back... A very ordinary meeting is raised many, many notches by a big crowd size... Maybe Brum should close the inside stand which means everyone watches together from outside? Even 600 people or so stood side by side will generate some atmosphere (noise), and increase the positive memories delivered by the night out you had watching Speedway, which can only be good for potential repeat visits to be made... If Wolves had all their track open to the public then the atmosphere wouldnt be anywhere near the same, which would be a negative for their club and those repeat visits would invariably drop..

Old heads would be those like Tony Atkin who still slide a bike... The riders you mention would be Div One or Two.. And if Div 3 is the most viable for the most teams then that would be absolutely fine... As water finds it level so should UK Speedway... Then build from there...

3 Leagues, six man teams, or maybe five if needed to provide excess riders for replacements.. Div One - Fully Pro.. Div Two - Semi Pro.. Div Three - Old Heads/New Riders/Paid expenses to cover running costs.. Clear demarcation within the leagues to drive aspirational growth and ambition.. Guests allowed (if needed), but not within same league, only up or down leagues.. As a rough rule of thumb. Fanbase 1000+ = Div 1 Fanbase 600 - 1000 = Div 2 Fanbase <600 = Div 3 With the number of teams per league set structurely according to income based on fanbase/sponsorship.. No cherry picking what league you want to ride in so you can use riders which are "too good" for that level... And start delivering leagues that actually mean something to win, and encourage growth and development for both riders and teams, and, ultimately, the sport itself..

"It'll be alright on the night"... Or maybe a few weeks after...

There are enough riders to produce one big weaker league, if the heat leader talent was shared around .. With riders ranging from HL level to 2 point reserves, with six man teams being introduced if needed to be... However... That would end doubling up for far, far too many riders to ever be considered...

Wasnt it just over 8 point averages not allowed to DU? ie Minimum restrictions..

And heaven forbid they reduce the amount of riders per team to create "subs on the bench".. Or put clear standard demarcation between the leagues to create aspirational growth, and keep interest in the leagues through relegation and promotion.. The current way is the "only way" now given so many riders need two jobs as a minimum, and that they will have got used to the income over the past years of minimally restricted DU'ing... And even more so it will be "the only way" given Div 2 promoters can use Div 1 level talent each week without the pressure of ever having to ride in the top league, with the extra costs that this brings... If it ain't broken why fix it?

HOME results certainly... Luckily, there does seem to be a fairly large percentage of fans who attend Speedway that are not too bothered about the result but just enjoy the racing.. Hopefully they will stay on board regardless of any teams' competitive level.. Seems daft though to not align each time better considering no promotion or relegation exists, as that alone would increase the entertainment level and keep more people interested... As we know, using averages alone, given their subjectivity, won't do it...

If Vlad gets his way in the Ukraine, he might end up being Russian in the not too decent future....

Maybe Greg Hancock could make a return and ride for Wroclaw? Cant be too many other options I would think of the desired level...

Years of manipulation in trying to out do another team has driven many a fan away... As has the adhoc Mickey Mouse teams put together using ridiculous rules... And all to try and win something that such manipulative behaviour and self inflicted nonsense, renders any trophy of no real value.. You could say "you couldn't make it up"... However UK Speedway actually have... Absolute crackers that some teams will come to the tapes with little chance of being competitive given the tiny size of the sport, and it's ever decreasing numbers...

It isnt too difficult to share around the rider talent pool is it...? Which is far more important to the survival/development of the sport than any single team winning any of the trophies on offer.. Lose a team and 600 to 800 fans minimum a week are gone... Where as a trophy winning team wont get anything like that in increased admission numbers...

Surely after being out of UK Speedway since 2013 he should get a reduction?

Every league could have the same... If every rider was listed on here and you had to grade them one to seven, and put ten riders in each grade, I am 100% sure that the vast majority on here would agree on around 90% of the riders with the other 10% being a close call within two grades... Therefore, why not do the same when compiling the teams? One rider from each grade per team... Still use rider's averages, and keep a mean average maximum team points total to ensure no team can pick the best riders from each grade..,

100% re Div 2.... Best of both worlds currently, loads of Div 1 riders and the best of Div 3, and can ride on any night of the week, except Monday and Thursday, using the weekends which is a key time for the entertainment industry.. Standardised engines are for me one of the two major ways to reduce costs... The other (less popular I am sure), being "just pay less" to semi pro riders... Use standardised engines for league racing, sealed units, and similar to F1, any replacement parts must be itemised and records kept of each key part within the machine... Any changes can be viewed on Zoom, Skype etc and signed off by scrutineers watching, and then confirmed as still legal at the next meeting when the riders arrive with the bike.. Two basic GM bikes and machines per rider is what? £10k? And if any rider wants to compete at international level then they can do this using whatever level of machinery they wish to do so... Meaning, if they want to spend £30k (and often well above) on machinery replacing a box standard bike with best clutch, best carbs, best handlebars, best furry dice etc etc, to pursue individual dreams (which has very little in the way of positive impact to crowds at club level), then they can, but this kit wont be allowed to be used in domestic Speedway...

Maybe ominous for their GP places? Or maybe being a mainly individual sport they will be allowed to ride under a non Russian flag, like other individual sports have done.. I would imagine the Polish League's will also be monitoring their suitability for League racing too.. Although, that would leave huge holes to fill for their teams, especially given no top level replacements would be available..

Agreed, so give up fixed nights and ride on any evening or day when enough of the top riders are available... I do laugh when people blame Poland for so many of the UK issues... "How are they allowed to get away with it? "They shouldn't be allowed to implement these restrictions" etc... Restrictions? The UK is the ONLY domestic Speedway league which runs on Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat and Sunday... The UK is the ONLY domestic Speedway league that chooses to run head to head directly against FIM meetings... So who is getting restricted? In short. The UK ride SEVEN evenings a week. Some restriction... I do think it is 'very convenient' to blame Poland as let's be honest, the fixed race nights plan was supposed to ensure the top riders could ride over here, and this was done well before the Poles put the restrictions on, and guess what? They didn't come over.... In reality. The fixed race night is in place in the UK so the sport can stil have more than one league and appear "structured" and also ensure some promoters feel that they operate st the "highest level"... However, the only way to compete at this "highest level' is to use exactly the same riders from the two levels below... Which is a 'happy coincidence'' given it also ensures 'x' number of riders don't miss out on any meetings going.... Monday to Sunday...

You can only presume those who have picked this as the first meeting must know broadly what Birmingham's team will look like? Who just said at the back "They should tell Birmingham what it is then!" I am sure they will have tried to pick a meeting that won't contain too many juniors or guests, first up...

Fixed race nights are only in place to ensure the 2nd Division has a certain level of rider, and that this certain level of rider gets the chance to ride for teams in two leagues... Surely therefore, it would be better to run the odd meeting without the likes of Dan Bewley and other top riders, and make the most of the opportunities brought when they are available... As has been shown for decades. Guests and RR are a fundamental part of the sport with or without fixed race nights, so just carry on as normal. (As this will happen anyway)... Ironically non fixed race nights might actually help get a fair few top talents back, riding on a flexible ad hoc basis. Use Monday and Thursday's as "core nights" if needed, but try and work around the agendas of the top riders and race on other nights where possible... And if some meetings have to take place without them, then so be it, (been like that for ages anyway)... A team with Fricke and Bewley for example, whilst not the level of Ipswich with T Rick and Gollob et al would still generate a fair bit of interest I would suggest... Even if it was for only 70% of the meetings... There will be plenty of RR and Guests next season, there always is, so make it a part of the plan not a reactive fix, and try and get a few "big names" over here even if only for the odd meeting or so.. Hopefully the PCMM will show what is possible crowd wise when you get "big names" together...

"Declassified down to the same status as the other minor leagues"..... Kapow! Smack! Blam! Freudian slip?

To be fair to them... Most times they show transparency it highlights so many glaring issues that they immediately get lept upon, with all the obvious issues being called out... Thus rendering their operating plan wide open to ridicule... Therefore, much better to keep as much as possible "in house" and try and fudge their way through...

The Price Point is interesting for me.... £22 standing, £24 and £27 for seating.... That calibre of rider on show, so early in the season, 'should' get 2500 or so I would suggest.... And if so, over £50k income would be a good return for a domestic Speedway meeting... Got two £24 seats bought....

If it was away meetings he missed I doubt the Aces would have bothered too much, if at all... He would have been at the NSS most Mondays so home crowds would have been good... And, let's be honest, that is the key priority in Speedway, as it helps ensure survival. In fact, going away with an NDL reserve would probably save a fair few quid, so the best of both worlds... For decades many a team have gone away missing their best riders but (miraculously), always seeming to have their best available for home fixtures, so it wouldn't be anything new... Whatever has prevented it happening, it's a shame for British Speedway as a team with Fricke and Bewley would have been a crowd puller wherever they went...

Biggest crowd of the season, inclusive of even if they reach the play offs, I would say if that is the line up... Monday evening or not....