MajorMauger

The lack of investment and potentially purchasing stadiums in the 70's and 80's when possibly some speedway promoters could of done could of resulted in more speedway tracks still operational in present times but then again the speedway promotion owning Somerset speedway didn't save that place did it? - Anyone that has an asset that can potentially make them financially secure and wealthy for life will soon forget about trying to prop up small profit margin/loss making speedway outfits and stadiums however much they enjoy the sport. Norwich and Southampton were two of the biggest speedway operations in the early 60's yet both were sold to property developers. In the mid 1990's Cradley was probably the best supported track in the Country and the stadium was owned by people that in the past had run the speedway yet they ended up with the same fate. I'm afraid evolution has a lot to do with speedways current plight. In the late 60's when speedway had a major uplift in popularity many people who spectated in the immediate post war boom period from 1946 - early 50's were still about, nearly every large Town or City had at least one Greyhound stadium operational which in the most were ideal for installing a speedway track, most working class people had more disposable income combined with cheaper admission prices, persons WITH a TV only had 3 channels rather than the hundreds available today and the leisure market wasn't nowhere near as saturated as it is today. Also the advances in health and safety from the 1970's onwards has escalated costs as well as the engine and bike advancements which has resulted in running speedway tracks and participating in speedway being out of reach to more and more people than it used to. - While mistakes have been made which in fairness probably anyone would have done I can't see being realistic, how speedway racing in this Country would/could have taken a different path. That said most sports in this Country don't make money and rely on enthusiastic benefactors to survive. The present dilemma is that a 5 team top flight is not sustainable while the 2nd tier which is just about sustainable doesn't want to see its products undermined to prop up the ailing top flight. - British speedways been here before in 1990 and 1994 and the 2nd Division in them days ended up being seriously compromised to help the top flight. - The only way I can see things working out is one professional League with 5 or 6 person teams regardless of GP rider availability and teams running on their preferred racenight. Surely theres enough free Fridays and Saturdays from late March to the end of September to work around the GP's?

Even little Buxton, another currently defunct track looking to reopen that you've wrote of, in the peak district Hills (quite literally go there and see it, its a very unique venue!) would get more than 150 fans let alone Coventry one of the best supported teams in Britain who I estimate would average at least 2000 fans a meeting in their 1st comeback season ! Mr/Miss/Ms or whatever you are can you please inform everyone what links you have to Clark Osbourne cause while I understand if speedways not your cup of tea, your constant campaign of slagging the sport of on a forum dedicated to the very sport you deride is tiresome, not helpful to anyone and stinks of someone involved with organisations looking to make money out of building houses on speedway stadiums?

Most football clubs lose money that is a fact. I'm not comparing football with speedway but one thing the two sports have in common is rich benefactors propping up clubs. I'm just suggesting that those doom and gloom mongers who say that speedways finished cause its losing money isn't looking at sport across the board in this Country which mostly loses money.

From left to right - Len Silver team manager, Marvyn Cox, Jens Rasmussen, Ian Clark, Nigel Sparshot, Mel Taylor, Simon Wigg. On bike, obviously Hans Nielsen.

Well Central Park has two spare days a week, presumably one of them is a Monday night, the night the Kings used to race there? Would make an exceptional top flight speedway venue in an area that supported 3rd Division speedway in decent numbers at the same stadium. No doubt the rent would be high but surely worth asking about?

Your sound stinks like someone with little speedway knowledge other than a deliberate attempt to belittle the sport for an ulterior reason - Your something to do with Brandon Associates and/or Clark Osbourne? Your totally oblivious to the history of Buxton speedway, what it stood for and was about! Buxton never got more than 2-300 on a good day. It operated on a shoestring budget and was an ideal track for the lower cost 3rd tier and helped to produce many riders by propping up the 3rd Division. - Most of the crowd were fans of senior tracks getting a Sunday afternoon speedway fix. I'm sure it will continue in a similar vein if it reopens next season.

Speedways in 90% of cases (tracks) is loss making but the same can be said for all football clubs in the UK. I think a report the other year stated that the average losses for Championship (2nd Division) football clubs was a 6 figure fee a WEEK! Norwich City who average 26,000 crowds lost £25M last season while Ipswich Town who average just under 30,000 crowds lost £38M! Rebuilding Coventry speedway stadium will happen if the owners sell up or decide to lease it out. Investors are in place but I suspect it will take a compulsory purchase order from authorities to make this happen. The plans for a new Wimbledon speedway track are I believe on an existing motorsports facility and persons with the available finances are involved. Can it happen? - Long shot but got a chance for sure with the before mentioned necessary finances and the aim to build it bit by bit starting at grassroots level which I believe is the best way for new tracks to reopen. Buxton speedway site still exists in situ, is only grass roots so doesn't need the usual huge cash influx to reopen and anyhow persons with finance are behind Laurence Rogers reopening plans. - Decent chance of coming back although I'd prefer they are called their traditional Hitmen nickname! Northampton has interested parties I believe and this is going to be a hard sell I suspect at a venue that hasn't ever staged senior level speedway, last had junior League/ training level speedway in the late 60's and is a few miles out of Northampton. - Maybe would be better suited to 3rd Division, training track level? As for Swindon speedways future, I'm sceptical given Clark Osbornes history and get the impression the new track plans are just a staged farce to ensure the old Blunsdon stadium which currently has protection gets demolished for housing. I assume the local Council are aware of all this and won't allow Blunsdon to be demolished until the proposed new site has been running League speedway for at least a season. - While Blunsdons car park has been built on and houses surround it, alternative parking for fans if it reopened is available at Businesses nearby so I still feel that this venue is the best place to reopen Swindon speedway AND greyhounds which both have been well supported in the Town. - I get the impression negative poster R87 knows more about Clark Osbourne that most I suspect?! I agree that speedway in the UK is on the wane and has been since the mid 70's but it is certainly not down and out. The sport like the allegedly mass money making football has always required rich enthusiasts/ investors to prop it up and will do so for as long as it continues.

Hitmen is a wonderful, completely original nickname that should be kept. Wouldn't it be better for any MDL team running out of Buxton to be called the Bulls or even better - Buxton Shotguns?!

That is a cracking line up for non League Iwade speedway! Lets hope speedway can return to Eastbourne and bid to build on Arlington gets turns down and the stadium sold to persons interested in keeping the stadium as it is!

Whilst I hope that speedway returns to the Showground grandstand or not, obviously it would be better if the grandstand was used! Is the grandstand still able to be used again?

Keep signing!

John "Tiger" Louis getting better almost lap to lap in his formative years 1969 - 1972!

Mildenhall?

One of Englands finest, and without doubt Ipswich Witches greatest ever rider. In fact theirs no doubt whatsoever that the emergence of the at the time 28 year old John Louis as a Foxhall 2nd half speedway rider near the end of the 1969 season who before had never sat astride a speedway machine before, then almost unbelievable rise up to 4th in the 1972 Wembley World Final 3 years later and top level service for the Witches until his 1981 departure to Halifax moulded Ipswich into one of the hotbeds of speedway. Johns swansong as a rider was as King's Lynn number one in 1983-84 when despite being in his 40's, well past his best and in an era when the top flight of British speedway was the strongest League in the planet he topped the teams averages in both seasons. R.I.P John Louis.

100% which goes back to what I said in my earlier post, speedway racing has been open to both males and females since 1988 so quite simply if a girl is the best option then she will get the ride! Unfortunately I feel Celina Liebmanns inclusion in the Comets team is a PC stunt rather than her being the best option!

Great to see Workington speedway back at their natural level although I suspect the team may need strengthening at some point to avoid attendance levels dropping. I've never seen Celina Liebmann live in a meeting but from what I can make out from following her results over the last few years is I'd gauge her level at about a 7-8 point NL standard but a bit short of being competitive at Championship level. She needs 10 meetings to try and give herself a chance to get better but I'll be surprised if she lasts the season, though I hope she proves me wrong! I don't get all this recent clamour over females racing in speedway because the sport along with its cousins grasstrack and longtrack were made multi sex sports way back in 1988. Back then a handful of girls briefly rode for junior teams and Simon Cross' sister Julie Cross rode at Telford before many years of no girls until Jessica Lamb rode a few meetings in the 3rd Division in the early 00's.

If the laws of the land are applied Osbourne and Co will be severely reprimanded for the planning breaches and the current application for change of use will be thrown out. A question for those who may know - With the stadium carpark now built on would it be possible for speedway to restart at Blunsdon stadium without such a facility? - Where would supporters park?

Just noticed this! At my age computer basics get the better of me sometimes! Can I move my post into the Swindon stadium thread?

If the laws of the land are applied then the planning breaches will be brought up and the changes of use proposed will be thrown out. A question to those who may know - With the old stadium car park now built on would it still be possible to stage speedway racing in front of four figures at Blunsdon Stadium without the car park? - Where would supporters park?

100%! Right decision to call it a day.

Not an easy man to get on with at times with his draconian, old style headmaster like management/ people skills but together with his wife he was a very good speedway administrator and manager. The fact the highly efficient Tony Mole employed the husband and wife team over a number of years at quite a few tracks speaks volumes. The indoor ice speedway meetings he promoted with Ian Thomas over many years and at many venues and different Countries were a big success and became a regular part of the speedway calender. Graham also had a decent racing career but like others have rightly stated, his riding abilities went under the radar somewhat mainly I think cause he rode in the 70's/80's golden period for British speedway when Britain had 3/4 times as many riders as they do now and spent many years at Hull Vikings when he was team mates with legends like Ivan Mauger, Barry Briggs, Kelly Moran and Dennis Sigalos. Presently British speedway could do with more riders and Managers as good as Graham Drury was.

Most fans of closed tracks stop going to speedway, its proven. If even half of the defunct tracks fans went to other tracks then in theory Birmingham would be getting at least 2000 a week watching them already with Perry Bar being inbetween two of the best attended tracks in the Country of years gone by in Cradley and Coventry! In speedway terms Wolves were one of best attended tracks in the Country but I bet that no more than 2-300 of them at the most will go to Birmingham this coming season and that is even for odd visits. Fairplay to Tolley for putting his money where his mouth is but he is clutching at straws with weak teams and the only way he'll reduce his losses would be to have a team challenging for the title.

Mike Parker was everything you say he was! Speedway certainly would of been in a much worse state if the Provincial League of the early 60's and the new Second Division which started in 1968 hadn't actually occurred! In terms of being a ruthless Businessman closing down tracks, its easy to judge when its not your own money being lost. You can be the biggest speedway enthusiast in the World but continually losing money loses its appeal after a while. Mike Parker obviously got out of running loss making tracks as soon as he could and sold on the profitable ones eventually as well. You've only got to look at the publicised huge losses currently being incurred by Nigel Tolley in keeping speedway going at Birmingham to see that investors looking to make money out of speedway tracks in this Country wouldn't touch the vast majority of tracks with a bargepole. In years to come he won't be getting many plaudits for it as most would of forgotten it or are not around anymore to give them. I take it Mr Tolley must have a very successful Business away from speedway to subsidise the huge losses?

My dream League set up in the UK would be 3 Divisions, British League, National League and Conference League of 20 teams each!

I'll be surprised if she attains her 4pt assessed average but she is no dud, I reckon she'd be a 7-8pt averaged rider in the NDL. Good luck to her!