mikebv

They were in a position where they had to put a team together when everyone else had started well ahead of them.. The averages given to their top two at the time were more to help them look competitive, and get decent guests, than actually reflect on their actual capability... Getting Brum to the tapes at the start of the season was the major priority for all, and they were never going to say "this team is wooden spoon material" in press releases, even if most followers of the sport could clearly see they were.. Birmingham simply doesn't have enough people interested in Speedway enough to turn up each meeting, similar to a fair few other places... Fair play to all involved for giving it a go and keeping it going...

I would have said so... Many predicted it.. Bartek riding there I presume made those in charge of the event think that it would stimulate some interest.. However. You get to see him ride every week on Polish TV, and once a fortnight in the GP's, so hardly any "mystique"... Too many meetings in one place means not many will visit from elsewhere for all four due to the overall costs, and to expect Aces fans to fork out for 4 meetings is folly... Wroclaw had the same issue with a lack of crowd for the qualifiers... Should be two meetings, one final over two days... Charge £60 for both days, £35 for one.. I reckon 6,000 or so would have paid sixty quid... And only one night in a hotel if travelling from elsewhere.. Some decent marketing would have helped though... Did all the money go on a stand that won't get used till Saturday?

Hard to sell something not many have any interest in.. Would have been better seeding GB, Poland, and Aussie to the final and running a qualifier somewhere else and then running a two day final with 7 decent teams. The vast majority of fans there were alwaays going to be Aces fans given you have four meetinngs in a week.. Some local marketing may have helped too...

I am surprised... You couldnt move in Manchester for SON advertising...

Joey Tempest...?

But apart from that?

No Kabbadi to show. ?

And end with... "We need to keep the regs as ambiguous as possible so we all can interpret them as we would like when we need to make changes, that way we always get to do what we want"... "PS. And no one takes what we do too seriuosly anyway, do they? So, just as long as we get reasonably competitive meetings on each night, all is ok"...

Get some sawdust down... The lads out in boiler suits... And the Captains doing a few laps each to spread around the slop, and we would be all good to go by half three...

A new beginning for Speedway coverage...

Thank goodness the "GP Stars" are back... What would we have done without them?

Freddie would be down as the Rising Star.....

Poole have a winning team and the crowd turns up... They don't have a winning team and they stop going in the same numbers... The racing standard doesn't seem to be so much of a factor as to crowd size, unlike at many other tracks....

I have said many times... Literally tens of millions of pounds will be, and have been, spent in the top two divisions in particular, on riders who clearly haven't grown the sport in the past two decades by their presence... Yet, a pittance on marketing, which may have delivered better results... And also there has been a complete reluctance to "try something new" when "same old, same old" clearly wasn't (and still isn't) working... The (previous) NDL seemed to be the most successful and best ran league by a considerable distance... Maybe someone should reflect on why that was....

Doing well this year is Scott... Kerching!!! And his average doesn't move either does it? He will be getting Premiership winners and runners up trophies at this rate.....

It did... He was out running. ..

Yes... And have a wicker shopping basket on the front...

And play offs are won on aggregate... The Aces have had some close calls this year at home so a big win delivers a much greater chance of qualification... Riding against the opposition reserves several times a night will certainly help him...

One of the few tracks you dont fill your programme in by bend three, lap one..

Missed the pristine white shirt to be honest...

Magic moments are created in almost no time at all... I thought the meeting was excellent (Tai's injury apart), with razor sharp reflexes on show and riders riding inches from the fence... And plenty of passing and very close, hard racing... Exactly what you pay for.... And. You get to see lots and lots of Phil.... Mmmmmmm, lovely... GP Speedway...

Black Leathers... Monkey masks... 2 valve engines.. 3 shilling to get in, and still have enough for 20 Woodbine and a fish supper on the way home..

How good was that? GP Speedway... And some still moan....

Wow... What a first lap... These lads are different class aren't they?

There are enough reasons to see the sport as a bit Mickey Mouse, so to see a team make changes suggests the title may be worth winning... And in any professional sport, you should need to perform to keep your place rather than having an average level that fits a bigger plan.. Well done to the Aces, I can see this kid having a big future...