Hawk127

Could another issue be that the cost of entry to the sport is now so prohibitive that you really need rich relatives to help fund all the equipment needed to get you started. Lots watch a sport and some may think I will give that a go but the old traditional route in via grass track seems to have long gone and not many teams have local lads racing for them who have come good and the local punter can relate to them. You do not need a fortune to buy cricket gear etc. Today speedway teams are in name only as you have seven individuals racing to try and make a living. The individual riders championships are being bemoaned by many because ‘my team’s rider’ is not in it. Stick the top 16 or 20 riders with the top averages in and if one team have four or five riders so be it as in reality they are only wearing a race jacket of the paymaster And at simply self employed individuals plying their trade at any track that will have them. Not a criticism but an observation.

Agree but you also have those sites who show it for free. Several were streaming the SGP2 today and yesterday’s event so the income is not what it should/could be. It would all come down to the income versus cost and I am sure someone on the forum may have an idea of what the outlay is for a GP. Perhaps the expectation of what the event ought to be like rarely fulfils what most want and a poor racing spectacle such as this weekend really brings it home.

I would suspect that may be the reason why it is probably not financially viable and if no one is prepared to bridge the gap of the cost of putting meeting on versus income from all angles including spectator revenues then it is unlikely to happen in Manchester.

Luckily many lost the will to live in terms of finding the viewing platform. Whoever thought Eurosport/ Discovery was the best option for promoting the televised side worldwide was on ‘the sauce’ the day/night they agreed the contract. Alas the track failed all, riders, fans who paid good money to watch it live in Cardiff and the t v spectators. You really hope that someone could get it right in terms of promoting what can be a spectacular sport but sadly no one on planet earth has a clue any longer. Only the Poles seem to know how to make it work, the rest are just hangers on. Well done to all the riders who came through the meeting, the tenacity is a credit to each one.

A real diamond of a rider and perhaps all the more reason why he should be in the Cardiff GP this year. A loyal servant to British speedway and the last of the all out entertainers who more often than not gives the supporters the thrills they look for in a speedway meeting. Some of the up and coming throttle merchants could learn a thing or two about tenacity and craftsmanship of a good speedway rider.

Await Ritchie’s analysis of the teams performance with interest. The Aces seem to have exposed the weaknesses in the Witches but it might just be a minor hiccup. Sad that a team of quality rides can only muster 30 points.

Rewarding failure sums it up. Last year they knew what the outcome would be. It is all about doing the right thing and clearly you are one of those who goes along with the thoughts that some parents have who feel deprived on school sports day when despite the offspring coming last they deserve the same as the winner If you want to make the rules up on the hoof, at least have the decency to tell those who may score points what the rules are before they go chasing an impossible win. I wonder how many would have rode as hard and chased points if they had known this was a possible outcome. Have the decency to state that in the event of the meeting not be completed it does not matter what you score last year’s winner will go through to the GP in the event of riders having equal number of points on the board. Still that does not justify giving it to a rider who failed to make any impact on the night the wild card.Even if you take the rider averages he does not deserve it and if he was any sort of genuine sports competitor he would have declined. But no he did the dishonourable thing and as a result Chris, Dan Scott and others have been screwed. Why would any of the scorers bother competing now. Who knows what result would be if it was rained off again. No wonder speedway is not considered a credible sport in the U.K. I suspect if this had been in Poland, all riders would have been called back to complete or restart the meeting this evening. Those who could not make it would be replaced.

Ellis is big enough to do the right thing. He did not and took advantage of the situation and for that reason he has no moral fibre. Others tonight deserve to go through. He does not and for that he is a scumbag.

Ellis has no moral fibre in him. He was well beaten tonight and should have declined to accept the wild card when riders far better then him were more worthy of the nomination. He has no conscience and seemingly will screw anyone. I hope he can sleep at night.

The only reasonable option is re-run the meeting. This decision is appalling.

What a piss take. Ellis does not deserve it. No wonder this sport is considered a joke. Why bother holding this meeting if those in charge consider this a real option.

Typical of this sport, treat the supporters with contempt, make the fans stand around, t v cannot get answers then film riders laughing and joking once some sort of decision has been made but hey let’s screw everyone. Says it all about the racers and those that run the sport. Two fingers up to the paying punters and the t v audience and while those who have very few skill sets to manage over powered bikes on tracks not suitable to what they are using as tools of their trade, everyone else has to put up with the piss poor attitude that most riders have towards the paying public. It might be difficult at Manchester this evening and because of their delay this holding up racing this is not an isolated incident.

Why not re-run on Thursday or Friday before the GP. I am sure one or two tracks could accommodate the meeting. Just tell the riders to turn up or else.

Shame that the weather has intervened but do the broadcasters understand the sport and the need to get on with the racing rather than take an ad break. It is a minority sport and no one is probably interested in the ads.

P poor support on the terraces. Sad really that speedway and and event like this has fallen to such depths and you have to wonder how you drag it up from the nadir that it seems to have reached. What do those in charge need to do to reinvent this spectacle.

Congratulations to Australia. Shame about the track support. If any new people tuned in and saw the p poor crowd you would wonder why it is given airtime. A decent nights speedway but no one can be proud of the on track support. Sums up speedway.

No they are not consistent enough to be described as on the pace. They and Neil etc think they are but in reality they are NDL level in terms of the international platform. Look at how other nations have progressed and yet GB have gone backwards. Maybe in five to ten years from now they could be competitive but that might be wishful thinking. Until the idiots in charge in the U.K. recognise what a cock up they have made in terms of managing the sport and fully getting behind the riders, team GB will struggle.

No just recognise where they stand and stop having the powers that be build up mediocre riders and start from scratch. GB riders can rise to the top but at this moment they not on the pace and those in charge are doing these lads no favours. The riders are OK but they have a long way to go to be good.

Good final race and both pairs deserved to be in the line up for the last race. Not a bad evenings entertainment and hopefully team GB can take away some useful tips.

Back to basics, team GB are not as good as they believe themselves to be and the powers that be need to stop pretending that GB are a force to be reckoned with. Let the youngsters mature over time, they need to grow into a force to be reckoned with, but at the moment they sit behind many of those on show tonight but can learn.

Not as good as the GB team think they are and the management need to take a look at themselves. GB really do not deserve to qualify but will probably win the get out of jail card. About time the BSPL got a grip and stop chasing the crap they talk about. No rider worth it wants to race in the U.K., as a nation we need to re group and start from the bottom up. What you have now is all too fragile.

What I do not understand is that on the Eurosport SON page where it tells you how to watch it says ”Stream the Speedway of Nations live and ad free on Discovery+ With live action on Eurosport 2 and via Eurosport.co.uk.” Does that mean it is also on-line in the u k but not on TV?

Yep, seen it and agree it is a bad as the British version.. While the racing has its moments it is not top draw in terms of a spectacle it is a poor relation. While the meetings can entertain, they offer mediocre competitive racing and those riders competing are not top level but nevertheless do manage to put on a show. Just do.not over sell, the product, it is second rate.

Agree and that is why this sort of televised meeting is an embarrassment. We should go back to part time riders and racing on nights that stadiums will make the most in terms of income. We cannot compete with Poland or a number of other European leagues in terms of presentation and quality. It is only the promoters who think otherwise and frankly are pissing money up the wall on chasing something which will never happen in this country. That ship has long gone but if those in charge want to go on kidding themselves, carry on losing money you fools. You have dragged the sport to its nadir and for what purpose.

Having watched the Polish matches yesterday this coverage is embarrassing and the track/ support is amateurish and you wonder why they bother televising matches. The commentary is second rate and now you have The old duffer giving it his best. What a load of crap and it is only heat one.