fatface

Are these still available?

It does looks good and it's a sensible move to have a test event. My favourite bit is Paul Bellamy at pains to point out "This is not a direct result of Warsaw" Maybe not. But this costly video producton for PR purposes almost certainly is "a direct result of Warsaw"

Normally agree with you too :-) As I understood it, Ole Olsen's company were responsible for the starting gate in Warsaw. As for Vojens, I understand the track covers were ill-advisedly removed four hours ahead of Saturday's scheduled start-time. So Sunday morning's racing might have been good. But it's not much compensation to the thousands that were already on flights/ferries home or to TV companies with holes in their Saturday night schedule.

I think the time has come for him to move on or be moved on. He is one of the sport's true legends. So I hope it can be done gracefully and respectfully with a phased handover of his responsibilities to a younger head and body with perhaps an ambassadorial role thrown in to sweeten it? Or if that's not possible, then its time to hand him his cards. He will be 70 next year and the time is coming sooner rather than later when he needs to go anyway. Warsaw put him on thin ice. That ice cracked in Vojens.

*Sigh* Of course they won't. The turnover from regular use of the stadium for league speedway and other leisure activities is critical. But to eliminate the GP and SWC - the biggest events the stadium will ever likely host - as any significant factor in the business model is plain nonsense.

Thankyou kindly for the due respect. It is greatly appreciated. Might I also offer you my most sincere due respect too... Let's have a look at some of our maths. ME: Gate Receipts - conservative estimate of £650,000 weighted to lower ticket price and even allowing for less than capacity and not including middle price - also based on 2012 price. YOU: £400,000 cost for GP based on...erm... I hope you haven't costed this based on the New Zealand GP? I would have thought it pretty obvious, but I'll say it nonetheless. Staging a GP across the other side of the world with 16 European based riders and their teams, their equipment and European officials might just be a tad more costly than a European-based GP. Even you must agree with that. Again, to bang on about it for the umpteenth time - you haven't taken into acccount profit from sponsorship, TV, food, drink, merchandise, hospitality, programme sales. As another poster wisely points out, you also didn't take into account the sale of the previous Torun track in paying for the new stadium. I'd be interested to see what your breakdown of this 400k is. Just in case you forget - which I'm sure you won't - volunteers form the bulk of the workforce at any major sporting event. With your budget, they are surely in for a cracking lunch. So when you talk about not investing money, I think it's wise you keep any of your money to yourself. You're business acumen wouldn't really serve you well. To say the hosting of SWC or GP - the major events in our sport - is not a factor when these stadiums are built is getting towards bonkersville. Some more maths for you...top ticket prices for league meetings in Torun are £14.50 in the main stand and £3.40 in the cheaper seats. Using the same calculations as above for the GP, that's maximum gate receipts of £85k for a league match assuming - and its a big assumption - it's a full house. Now, tell me again that the hosting of GP and SWC do not greatly influence finance decisions in building these stadiums when they generate a minimum of eight times as much in gate receipts alone. Let's hope the team at Belle Vue are sharper financially when the National Stadium hosts regular SWC (maybe GP, maybe even EC events?) in the coming years. Not just to make the most of hosting 6,000 crowds in front of television audiences, but also showcasing the sport to potential sponsors on those occasions, who might be interested in investing in the club on a regular basis. Due respect to you Sir.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record. The initial construction of these stadiums is less likely without regular GP or SWC events. Of course, regular league speedway is the bread and butter. But without the big income driver of regular World Championship speedway and the obvious benefits to local economies, why would city councils put their money in their pocket in the first instance? As you rightly point out, there are a few stadiums in Poland who could fall into this bracket. Not all will get a big event every year. But it's worth noting there are four major events across GP and SWC in Poland this year. Three more if we also take into account SEC pairs and individual. On GP trips to Torun and Bydgoszcz the flights from London are full and getting a hotel room is not easy. It may well be these are brilliant holiday destinations and they are buzzing every weekend. But I someohow doubt it. None of us know the exact numbers behind GP finances. So we can all speculate til the cows come home. But let's take Torun tickets as an example. As I said above, I paid £100 a ticket (actually it was probably a smidge over). Let's say there are 3,000 others who buy the same top price ticket. Racers and Royals says he pays £30. I'm sure there is also a middle tier price, but let's be really conservative and say that's the price for the rest of the 12,500 seats. On gate receipts alone, you are talking £650,000 for that one night - at a conservative estimate. Now, I am aware there are plenty of associated costs. Remember those are all in zlotys though (also zlotys to build the damn thing)...considerably cheaper than UK prices. Unless BSI is taking a Bernie Ecclestone-esque fee, there is decent profit there. And this doesn't even take into account most of the crowd drinking, eating, merchandise, programmmes, hospitality, sponsorship etc. On Togliatti, I'm with one of the posters above. I suspect BSI would love to take the event to Russia, but ridiculous red tape issues - possibly with taking non EU riders there? - have so far prevented it.

Thankyou. Yes, they were main stand tickets. Still, taking into account the more expensive seats for the GP for every ticket and it being a complete sell-out, I think we can agree gate receipts are massively higher than for a regular league fixture.

I certainly don't recall Munich being a roaring success with 50k fans there. But I would be interested to see evidence otherwise from an old cutting? It is a strange example to cite as a defence of the one-off event. It was arguably the worst field ever, with the worst ever racing. I didn't say GPs at Leszno and Belle Vue, so that's a misquote. I did say World Championships - taking into account GP and SWC. I stand by the argument the cornerstone of new stadiums have been the promise of World Championships speedway. For example, I've been to the Torun GP twice. Tickets for the actual speedway were over £100 each for my dad and I. It's a chunk of money, but it's a one-off treat and to these speedway fans, entertainment-wise it is a really high quality night out. Each time it has been a 15,500 sell-out. I don't know the prices of regular league fixtures, but I reckon they're a fair bit cheaper. As a conservative estimate I'd say the Torun GP generates the same gate receipts than at least 10 league fixtures do...most probably more. And that's just gate receipts. That doesn't take into account beers, food, merchandise, hospitality packages, programme sales etc bought by those 15k people. Add to that the accomodation, eating out, shopping, visitor attractions costs over the three days and that's probably at least another £500 between us into the local economy. Would I ever go to Torun were it not hosting a GP? Never in a million years. There are thousands more visitors like me. Add it up, that's a lot of zlotys. I've not even touched upon the value of media profile, extra sponsorship income. Now, think again, would stadiums like this ever be built and supported by the city council had it not been hosting World Championship speedway? Belle Vue will be exactly the same. Sure, they need to have a regular bread and butter income. But World Championship speedway is the real sweetener that gets projects like this moving. Manchester City Council are very unlikely to have invested so heavily without any promise of it otherwise. I don't say Belle Vue will hold a GP (though I wouldn't entirely rule it out), but you can be sure they will host the SWC final within a couple of years of opening and at least one SWC event every year thereafter.

I thought I was being clear enough. Maybe not. It was a good move. To take the GP series to the Polish capital was the right move. 50,000 also thought so. As for the execution? Utterly dreadful. BSI deserve a kicking for this and they are certainly getting one. But do I think they should shy away from hosting ambitious events at major international stadiums? Absolutely not. Has the GP series progressed since they first became involved in 1999? Unquestionably. It's fair to say that for many people this is one cock-up too far. I can understand that. The lesson has to be learned and this must never, ever happen again. It certainly cannot be allowed to happen in Melbourne. Crappy though it was for everyone who attended the Warsaw GP, there will be other Polish GPs for years to come and tens of thousands will attend. If the same happens in Australia, you can safely wave goodbye to any future GP down under.

It's a good time to kick the GPs if you are someone who hankers for a time when Barry Briggs was world champion, the Beatles were number 1 and you could get ten pints, a bag of chips and bus home for two bob. The more reasoned thinkers will look at the bigger picture. Has BSI made mistakes? Absolutely. In particular, the PR post-Warsaw was abysmal. Where they right to take the sport to the biggest stadium in speedway's most popular country? Yes, it was bold. but the right move. It's a great shame it didn't work out this time. They need to take full responsibility and serious lessons need to be learned. Are they right to try and broaden the world championship to new markets like Finland, New Zealand, Australia? Of course. Not all will be a roaring success. But ambition is good. The easy short-term solution would be to stage meetings in tried and tested permanent tracks to an ever-dwindling hard core. Has the experiment to take the sport into big stadiums with temporary tracks been successful? By and large yes. Cardiff alone has given the sport some of its greatest nights in the last 15 years - arguably even in the sport's history. It's very easy to say, 'we used to get 90,000 at Wembley in 1821'. Where we actually came from was our one-off World Championship Final being played out in front of crowds around 20k at places like Bradford, Pocking and Vojens with delayed coverage on some satellite station no-one watched. I have to smile when people quibble about whether Cardiff gets 40k or 45k per year. If someone had told you in 1994 that twenty years later, a well-established British Grand Prix would be taking place every year in the Millennium Stadium consistently attracting a crowd 40k, all covered live on Sky Sports at peak-time Saturday night, I think you would have thought they were dreaming. Furthermore, were it not for the success of the revamped World Championships in the form of the GPs and SWC and the subsequent economic benefits and increased profile, it is very much less likely stadiums like Torun, Leszno and the new Belle Vue would be ever be built. The promise of hosting annual World Championship events is huge foundation stone for those projects ever getting off the ground.

Thierry Hilaire(ious) was always good for a laugh

Can't believe no-one's had the balls to give Bolek Proch a place in this team.

Ales Dryml and Les Rum-sey to bring some booze to this party-loving team.

Bruce Cribb?

Mike Lee and Kelly Moran as joint captains

Mark Lemon Mike Bacon When he's wound up, Nicki Pedersen is a Danish Blue

Genuine nice guy who seemed to know everyone in grass track and have time for them all. I was spannering for an admittedly poor rider in the late 80s and Lew would always have just as much time for him as he would for the big stars like Wigg and Schofield. Small in stature, but a giant of his sport. RIP.

Like it?! It was the greatest programme cover in speedway history no less! :-)

Interesting discussion. Of the top riders I have seen, I think Tony Rickardsson and Bruce Penhall could have cut it in any era, be it the relative disadvantages of the past or advantages of the present. Both brilliant motorcyclists who could do the lot. I also agree with an earlier poster that standards in all sports rise. But I also think that's not necessarily a good thing for all sports. Snooker is a good example, I used to quite enjoy it when a century was a real thing of note. Now it's pretty hum drum. And as soon as one guy gets a chance, most of the time he wins the game. As a contest, it's less tactical and therefore less interesting. I also think golf and rugby league are other sports where the finesse and creativity has been overtaken by sheer power due to fitness and technology. Does it make them a better spectacle? For me, no. Football I would say is better. Old matches can look really pedestrian in retrospect. As for whether the spectacle of speedway has increased as riders and technology has improved, well I'll take a rare seat on the fence on that one and say sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I've never heard that story, Care to share?

Erm, wasn't it his first ride where he packed up? Bit early to say he looked rider of the night wasn't it?

I am always pretty skeptical when it's suggested Jessup was robbed. It's one thing to score 11 points when racing pressure-free knowing your chance has gone. It's quite another when the pressure cranks up race after race with the World Championship gradually edging towards your grasp.

I think pig-headed is the right term for this. There's plenty of valid points made above to demonstrate the GPs have not been part of the reason for the decline. Indeed there is plenty to suggest they have given our World Championship a boost from it's dying days of the old format. Yet, you conveniently ignore those and stubbornly plough on with nothing to support your argument. Go back to 1994 - the last year before the GPs. The top riders rode in the UK and we were down to 21 operating clubs (28 today). I don't recall this as being boom time for Britain or the World Championship. Do you? Where I do agree is that league speedway in this country has declined - majorly in the EL. Do I think the answer is to throw loads of money at top riders to bring them back? Well, the Emil Sayfutdinov experiment at Coventry didn't work. Last year we also had a British World Champion in the league. Did this result in big crowds wherever Wolves rode? Quite simply, British Speedway has to offer good racing, decent facilities at a good value. Can it justify exorbitant fees for top riders without big crowds? I don't think so. For me the answers are going without GP riders and regionalisation. This will level out the competition and free up some funds to improve facilities and the overall experience. Currently a night at EL speedway might involve watching uncompetitive 'racing' between riders that are poorly matched on ability from a crumbling, weed-infested terrace and peeing against a brick wall in the dark. In 2015, that's not good enough and that's why families spend their time and money elsewhere.

BSI only took over the commercial rights of the GPs in 2000. I believe from 1995-1999, the BSPA organised the British GP and showcased our sport at Bradford, Coventry and Hackney. Actually that is commercially more lucrative than one World Final at Bradford every five years. Don't know about you, but I don't recall this as a particularly golden era where the funds flooded to the development of British Speedway. Do you? The BSPA didn't have the vision/acumen/balls (call it what you will) to stage a World Championship event on a grand stage like the Millennium Stadium. Like them or not, BSI did. Not true. Don't know about you, but I attended a fair few World Championship meetings in the early 1990s. I went to British and Overseas Finals at Coventry, a World Semi at Bradford and World Finals at Bradford and Wroclaw. Problem is, only about 5k came to any of those qualifiers and about 20k to those finals. They were also tucked away on satellite TV when hardly anyone had it. I was in the hard core. But the World Championship was clearly struggling. I saw it with my own eyes. I've been to a few Grand Prix events in recent years and some of them - particularly in Torun and Cardiff - are miles and miles better than the World Championship events under the old format in the 1990s. Thousands must agree as they also attract much bigger crowds.