mikebv

And when the meeting is sold out (as a few have been), well in advance, it seems crackers to not add on the streaming for those who haven't got tickets and maybe also interested neutrals from around the country/globe who want to see some Speedway... Bank Holiday Monday would have been "prime time" you would have thought to get an audience...

Move back up next year and you will get him as a second string....

Ohhhhhhh.!!! So close Geoff... Well when I say 'close'.... You got the bit about Bewley right...

Maybe they could put the NDL matches on first...? It would clearly gauge the enthusiasm for it as if you want to watch it you will be there... It would also mean those who didn't want to watch it could pay to get in after Heat 15 of the NDL match with the break to get everyone in giving time for the track staff to redo the surface... I would also suggest the track wouldn't be allowed to become a dust bowl if the seniors rode the second meeting, and there would be every focus in getting all the heats completed which sometimes has appeared to be a secondary consideration when the 'junior meeting' is second on... The NDL lads would also get a chance to race a circuit with shale still on it which could be a novelty for some.. Simon Wigg always said "you get served your starter before you have the main course in a restaurant" when he suggested having the "juniors" on first... Let those who want "two courses" go and pay the "deal price" and let those happy with "one course" pay the normal admission cost...

I would also suggest that running so many double headers is also down to a lack of confidence in their NDL offering to deliver profit if ran 'stand alone'.... And to be fair to those who say that they are not going, it is a risk on the part of the promoter... Expecting to have someone pay £26 when they are not interested in 50% of what is on offer could be seen as a risky strategy.. On the other hand, to some, thirty races for twenty six quid will be seen as good value.... I suppose the proof of whether right or not will be in the outcome... Will thirty heats of speedway for £26 appeal to enough punters to offset the missing fans who feel £26 to watch only the fifteen races they want to watch is too much...?

You would think that with so many meetings being 'sell outs' due to Covid restrictions that they would stream it... Particularly on a Bank Holiday with so many people off work...

It's Friday.... It's Five to Five.... And it's....

One of those riders who were never destined to be a World Champ, but seemed to ride every race as if it was his last... You would never feel short changed watching Martin Dixon.. Best wishes to him.

Bewley riding for Wroclaw early Sunday evening... Going to have to get their skates on.... Wont get much sleep I would think!!!

Got a good job in Oz and due to the pandemic didn't want to risk being stranded over this side of the world should anything happen re restricted travel...

"Hi Bartosz, what kind of guarantee would you be looking for to ride for us? Bartosz tells them... "Really? Well I think that sounds like something we could definitely do, or at least get very close to, and I am sure we could find a sponsor to make up the difference if needed".. Bartosz confirms his terms... "Errrrrr..... Oh, sorry Bartosz, I thought you meant that was for a night, not a race!".. "You haven't got Jamrogs number have you?"... Phone goes dead....

Decent team.... Easily top four in the Championship this year given the standard..... Oh, hang on a minute.....

Somerset, Rye House, Lakeside, Coventry and Buxton were all owned at one time by the Speedway Promoters weren't they? Somersert currently, and Rye and Coventry not long ago... Buxton still is owned by the promoter there I think.. And Workington could very much still be in existence if it hadn't (ironically), had been so successful and been allowed to have ridden on nights when it could get it's best crowds.. It says much that the owners of the tracks tried to promote the sport then let someone else have a go and pay them rent instead..

Presume they must have someone lined up or otherwise you wouldn't get rid so quickly... If it is Doyle (and I can't think of anyone else), then will there need to be two changes.? Doyle did initially say that Sweden didn't offer enough meetings when compared to the UK so he signed for Swindon... Edit. NKI could also drop Sweden and ride here, but I wouldn't think he would improve KL that much from where they are now given his form over the past few years..

Could Sheffield sign Cook for Thursday away meetings?

Given the state of the sport would you want to let it out and get a few grand rent, which may disappear at any moment given the current track closure run rate,, or get a fair few hundred thousand, or maybe even more, in one go...? I know what I would do....

And when something unforeseen like Covid smashes the 'umbrella' businesses that has subsidised the tracks year in year out, (be it as a 'plaything' or because it was tax favourable), then the sh1tstorm really begins...

You would hope that the closure of yet another track would make those running the sport take notice and ponder "does anyone amongst us actually really think we are doing things right"? Unfortunately it is hard not to think that the first thought of some when hearing the news was "quick get on the blower and see if we can sign 'so and so'" for next season".... I think that is now seven tracks gone in the past four or five years... In no particular order.... Coventry, Buxton, Rye House, Lakeside, Somerset, Workington, and Stoke... With only a rarely built new stadium saving Belle Vue from joining the list this year and Swindon still waiting for 'summer' to start so the builders can build their new facility... WOW!...

My first thought too... Basic facilities but excellent racetrack. . Couldn't someone have made it work at NDL or Championship level..? Another one bites the dust unfortunately...

Get 14 riders down to a track.... Make the most experienced two the team captains for the night... Line the remaining 12 riders up against a wall... Get the two captains to turn away and the ref can randomly number the lads 1 to 12.... Each captain then takes it in turn to shout out six numbers... Two full teams of riders guaranteed.... And doing it this way will also mean no one feels upset, depressed or anxious at being picked last because it will be random selection.. We are all winners here....

When i used to go I had exactly the same outlook... ie "just watch the racing, the result doesn't matter"... Gradually though I eventually decided I couldn't justify the outlay for me and my lad (and its £37 quid this year)... To be honest, being surrounded by those who happily colluded with promoters that what we were watching was a 'proper sporting contest' also used to wind me up too.. "If they are wearing the Ace of Clubs then they are my team"....

Especially if it's a designated seat with social distancing restrictions around it.. It could be sold again at the next meeting and two people have the same seat.. Add in another rain off and three people might have the same seat.. Be like a circus balancing act... Let's hope all have had both vaccines..

Spot on.... And in reality that is SIX teams racing on Saturday nights.. (Unless any of the above race against each other obviously which lowers it a bit).... I presume the FIM/FIME seem to think that by publishing its calendar well in advance, that this should be sufficient for UK promoters to use common sense and work around it, and not race league meetings needing Guests on the same nights which destroys the credibility of the league?... How very dare they come to such a conclusion, don't they know how Speedway is ran in the UK.. ... NB: Maybe we could run more meetings on Fridays? Oops. Forgot, we once did that and it wasnt 'universally' liked was it?

So the cost of flights and tests were ok last week for Dan Bewley to get to the NSS a day after racing in Poland? And Jack himself after riding in Poland the same weekend.. Amazing isn't it how it worked out ok then? Also amazing is how when a No1 is missing it always seems to be not at his home track but when riding away? I wonder if it was a Tigers v Witches fixture if their number one 'drawcard' would have been missing? Still, I suppose they have that many fans attending that one or two more deciding 'enough is enough' won't be even noticed... Just like those who already have given up over the past decade in particular seemingly haven't been noticed yet...

They had pretty much a 'free pass' this season.. They could have tried some new operating model with six or five man teams based on UK domiciled riders who are not riding overseas... They could have tried a new heat structure, they could have ran with less heats but reintroduced a full 2nd half for juniors... They could have done lots of 'experimenting' to see what worked and what didn't... Instead it's the same old, same old... A gift horse looked fully in the mouth.... Takes some doing to waste a 'free pass'....