Hawk127

Yes that was it and unfortunately I witnessed that one standing on bend 2. Getting old so the memory is not what it was but that was one of the worse crashes I have witnessed and the silence while they attended to Mark was awful.

Did they also run one from Felixstowe or am I imagining that?

I think you might find that the local residents behind the pits area of the stadium and East Suffolk council who are very strict objecting to music and bars added to which the curfew which in itself is amusing. The bikes can race but I believe they cannot use the tannoy system to announce results. Years back the meeting overran and while they raced to the end of the meeting no announcements. It is amusing though that the bikes noise lasts minutes whereas a stock/banger meeting races go on relentlessly for several hours(with short breaks to clear the track) but it always seems that the complaints are about speedway. The plus points are the planned changes to the stands and track and historically the fact that the speed weekends have regularly attracted thousands of supporters, so a GP can easily be accommodated albeit hotels may be an issue for overseas travellers as most are in the centre of Ipswich and i don’t believe that they have direct public transport links to the stadium so that is something that needs to be considered for punters staying in the town centre or arriving at Ipswich Station. I believe that it can be a decent venue for a GP and those who have a downer on Ipswich holding the event should wait and see. Don’t base views on what has been, RC has ambitions and he has a point to prove so let’s give him and his team a chance. Remember he only rents the stadium from Spedeworth and if he has convinced them to make the changes then don’t under estimate what can/will be done.

That was a decent meeting this evening and thanks to all the riders who made it worth watching and thanks to the guys who provide the links so that we can watch some of the best speedway available in Europe. Onward to next weekend.

Most can argue on here the rights and wrongs as to ability of each team competing in this league and the Aces have been smart so you cannot knock what they have done but each team can only perform against who turns up on race day. Ipswich failed to use home advantage and that sums up the position. I really do not believe that the majority of Ipswich supporters have an axe to grind and accept that this season has been a make do and hopefully every team and possibly a few more can re-group for next year. The Aces have been smart and deserve a crack at winning the title and most on here look forward to a competitive final and a safe outcome for the riders who go all out to entertain.

Pretty tame affair from a t v presentation aspect and those on the terraces look like they are attending a wake compared to the enthusiasm and gusto of a Polish meeting. This type of presentation confirms why, apart from Poland, the sport should not be shown live. This is not going to attract punters.

God help the sport if they think Ipswich is a venue that should hold a round of the GP. Ideas above their station comes to mind. Speedway has lost its way if those in charge seriously think that Foxhall Heath is a creditable venue for the sports premier event. Stranger things have happened.

This is a far cry of how things use to end and it is a shame for those who turned out tonight for the last meeting of the season. The Aces have also been short changed as the second leg is a non event and if it were possible it would better to save money all around by not running it and the Aces await the opposition from the other leg. Why waste money on opening up the stadium to run a meeting which has nothing riding on it and will no doubt cost the club money.

The Aces deserve the win, the Witches are a shadow of what they used to be and this is not what the play offs were meant to be about, the climax to an exciting campaign of racing but not what you have on show today. No wonder the punters have left in droves and thankfully terrestrial t v is not showing this live or otherwise. Excuses will be forthcoming but frankly memories of what use to be far outweigh what is served up now with a piss poor league and too many outside factors influencing the quality of league racing. It is not entertainment it is an endurance test.

Does it matter given they are the best available and Joe Public ha not got a clue as to the standard and hierarchy in the sport in the UK. Speedway in the UK does not and cannot compete with any other league in Europe but those viewers who tuned in and looked at the event found something different but they have not got a clue as to who the riders were and at this stage it is all about attracting punters. You could have conference league riders but it is all about four riders on bikes with no brakes going head to head on powerful machines that would scare the sh.t. From the average bike rider. if packaged in the right format viewers will follow. Trouble is the presentation needs honing to sell it as a great form of entertainment and not chase the idea that it should be shown live as spectacle. Live televised meetings are the achilles heal of speedway and no sensible promoter would suggest that the live meeting are the answer. Any punter who attends a live meeting recognises that t v transmissions are a disaster and the armchair audience simply accept what is served up which compared to the Polish t v offering is in the UK rubbish

Seems very encouraging and the reasons behind not showing the Premiership play offs makes sense but given that the final tends to draw in the crowds I would have hoped that an edited version could be shown on ITV as a round up to the season and whet the appetite for 2027. Also interesting to read Phil Lanning’s views on the subject. This also has some merit with a weekly round up rather than live meetings but the main thing has to be to get the sport in whatever format on a free to air channel to reach the biggest potential audience.

That was a decent meeting and the young lad who scored 15pts is the next Zmarzlik. His style is good and with the right support I am sure he is one to watch for the future. Some real talent and it would be good to see some of these lads in the UK even if it is an test match series which would give some of these lads up and coming UK riders a chance to compete at another level.

A proud moment for Lambert and it was the most sensible decision to call off the+meeting with so much at stake. A decent enough meeting and a superb final is on the cards in two weeks and hopefully all the competitors staff safe in the meantime given so much is at stake. So much good racing and competitive challenges ahead with Poland and the GPs it is the ultimate end of season climax.

Just look at the event from the 10th to the 13th September at the Northampton track and see how the whole period is organised with the punters in mind whereas speedway is organised around the participants and the punters are not even considered. Agree that the drivers pay to compete but you give a good few hours of entertainment that appeals to a whole range of ages and Spedeworth go out to treat the punter to an event. Speedway does not even come close in this country and until the views of the a few change and the promoters get an idea of what it takes to promote, it will continue to attract less and less punters. Speedway is not value for money from an entertainment perspective and is run by fickle promoters who have fickle riders who dictate what when and how things go on in terms of the track. I would rather pay £20 on a banger/stock car meeting knowing it will be on then rock up to a track for speedway only to find that a cat has pissed on bend four and it is not suitable for racing according to the riders. Chalk and cheese when it comes to entertainment and value for money, hence the only speedway worth watching at this time is the Polish scene who know how to put on a meet.

It will not happen. Those that run clubs and decide when to race are in control and the punters can go screw themselves as not one promoter or club owner gives a fig as far as supporters are concerned. It will not happen but clubs like these second rate businesses deserve to be boycotted and frankly UK speedway is not what it was when clubs were run by professionals and not the cowboys who seemingly think they are the future of the sport when in reality they are bringing it to its knees. To every promoter, the message is ‘you are shisters’ and you would not have survived back in the day when the sport had a modicum of respectability but each one of you have brought the sport to its nadir. I hope you are all proud of your efforts because few if any supporters believe you have the sports interest at heart. Thankfully real supporters have credible options to follow and the UK features way down the rankings when it comes to following this once great sport.

Sums up succinctly why the sport is not credible in the UK and it needs to reinvent itself and stop pretending that it should be a full time occupation for riders when the club owners treat it as a hobby and it is about time some riders got the message. Most are not good enough to justify it as a full time job where you want to earn over six months an annual salary. Those riders gracing the UK tracks are simply not good enough to qualify as speedway professionals but are OK to race having honed certain skills but that does not justify the riders demands. Go back to part time and stop expecting everyone to owe you a living.

That was a decent meeting. Never let the fans down and off track entertainment allegedly. Almost up with WWE😄 . Thanks to both sets of riders for putting on a good show. Hopefully the supporters continue to follow the sport and that does not fade because if the Polish supporters get bored because of the lack of big hitters coming through to take over from the Dudeks of this world then speedway has a problem. Onward to the next round.

In the company that team GB are riding it is unfair to criticise the riders. Yes they could have pulled a few different moves to gain points but they are riding the machines not us punters. I am not disappointed with the performance and Robert has shown that we can produce top quality riders. Special mention to Leon Flint who has put his heart and soul into the meeting. Overall a good contest and the guys have not let team GB down. Perhaps Scott should be the next manager of team GB.

In the company that team GB are riding it is unfair to criticise the riders. Yes they could have pulled a few different moves to gain points but they are riding the machines not us punters. I am not disappointed with the performance and Robert has shown that we can produce top quality riders. Special mention to Leon Flint who has put his heart and soul into the meeting. Overall a good contest and the guys have not let team GB down. Perhaps Scott should be the next manager of team GB.

More interest in repeats of Neighbours as opposed to a league meeting from the upper echelons of the speedway in the UK and to put it on an entertainment channel where on fools believe in the outcome of a competition with so many flaws is tantamount to deception. Those who take part believe that they are doing the punter a favour yet ask the terrace personnel and they may say otherwise. The feel good factor does not cross the broader spectrum of entertainment and each promoter or owner fails to understand this and the chances of reaching the appeal of the likes of WWE are a pipe dream with the current custodians running the sport into the ground. It is never going to happen. At best it is a ‘has been’ sport and no one seemingly wants to know how to get it up the chain of notable events. You can but despair.

Unfortunately those that run the sport and the club owners have no respect for the punters and call off matches to suit each one’s financial agenda and the availability of riders who may or may not want to ride on a particular evening because it interferes with one’s personal life. In years gone by with regular weekly meetings it would take a monsoon to call off a meeting yet today if a cat pissed on one corner of a track it would be abandoned. Speedway is not a credible sport in the UK and those in charge wonder why the numbers through the turnstiles are falling. Each one of you ask yourself this, would waste your hard earned money (does not apply to the gifted tax payer money to migrants or asylum scroungers and the hard done by illegal visitors to this country ) on the probability that a meeting may be on. When you have a number of factors that weight heavily against the chances of it going ahead, why would any one waste time effort annd hard earned money to venture out to any track that simply could not care less about the punters. On many occasions I have driven up the A12 in rain at around 18.30 to Ipswich and phoned through and on some occasions the meeting has been on and others because of the down pour it was called off and that was justified Today no one gives a fig and that is because the sport in the U K is no longer a serious contender for spectators and those in charge have brought this on themselves. Top league racing in the UK is a joke. One piece of advice to those in charge, take a look at Poland and work out where you U K promoters got it wrong

Back in the day riders turned up with bikes strapped to the boot of the car and poor Terry Stone regularly turned up at Rayleigh with dirty bikes seemingly having some sentimental value for the dirt of Bradford, Canterbury, Eastbourne etc. Eventually he took on board the point and eventually turned out for each meeting with spotless bikes, you could eat your dinner off the mudguards. Those were the days because as you said they rode in addition to the main job and it could earn them good additional money. For anyone old enough, after a meeting at Rayleigh the riders all met up at the Blinking Owl Cafe on the A127 and many a supporter joined them. It was a better time for the image of the sport and while the racing may not be as fast and furious as today, it was competitive and young riders were given chances that only today’s youngsters can dream about. Some made it others battled through but you got to see an aspiring young newcomer take on a heat leader and my abiding memory is Rayleigh versus Boston and Ivan Miller a grass track rider beating Arthur Price a heat leader for Boston. Compared to today’s homogenised offering the sport in those days offered opportunity and a chance for success on a level playing field with bikes that were basically the same and anyone old enough will remember riders winning a race on the ‘track spare’. It just would not happen today and more is the pity.

That meeting was out of the top draw and what an away win with Lebedev entertaining as usual. Great afternoon and early evening racing. Thanks to those providing the links.

That meeting was out of the top draw and what an away win with Lebedev entertaining as usual. Great afternoon and early evening racing. Thanks to those providing the links.

Yep so far off the scale but we do have some good riders who in the rights hands will make it. The problems are that we have no one with the real experience to coach them. They need discipline, training and hard graft but no one is setting down the minimum standards to achieve success and you have a few riders whose egos do match the skills and have not done the ground work to see them become competitive. Flashy vans and expensive kit does not make a decent rider.