British Final Belle Vue Monday 12th May Live on TV

[False dawn]

4 hours ago, R87 said:

Can't get why anyone would want to see Harris riding in a GP again.  He's had enough chances over the years.

Forget the past. Bomber is value for money wherever he rides. And let's just exam the facts. He was that close to being crowned British Champion on the same track the GPs are going to be run. 

[Triple.H.]

22 hours ago, Waspman said:

When u see tnt promote the sports for summer i don't see speedway

I don't know if you do  but if you watch other live sports on TNT I'd hazard a guess that it gets a mention here and there, just like BSB etc got mentioned last night.

Maybe you should try the glass half full approach.

 

[IainB]

16 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

I badly worded it. 

Or worded it badly 😉

Realistically it's Belle Vue or nowhere for a UK SGP, surely. 

[Triple.H.]

21 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

Lawson is on a par with Wright, he could've been wild card if he was willing to ride. Very disappointing he chose not to ride in the British final. 

Watching that final, you could see how much being British Champion meant to them all (as it should be). Brilliant stuff from all four riders.

Should be in the licence that if chosen you ride in the national championship. No opt out option on the form.

[IainB]

4 minutes ago, Triple.H. said:

I don't know if you do  but if you watch other live sports on TNT I'd hazard a guess that it gets a mention here and there, just like BSB etc got mentioned last night.

Maybe you should try the glass half full approach.

 

The @bikesontnt TwitterX account didn't even mention the opening GP over that weekend. It's hard to be glass half full when you're working with an empty glass. 

[YeOldPitGate]

Final bit of nostalgia 1991 british final Coventry, as an aside I used to watch Lynn when we were the whipping boys, Campbell, Redgeling, Courtney, Woods and only Bob Schwartz who was top league standard.

Bill Barker took over and we had Lance King, Bo Peterson, Rich Knight, John Davies, Allan Johanson we looked powerhouse first meeting with this team we must of had 3-5k in, but in true Lynn style it all fell apart Bo Peterson went from unbeatable round Lynn to average at best, King started like an express train but got injured to many times, and John Davies couldn't ride the track and would ride so wide he would be in Peterborough and leave a gap the size of the Watford gap that the opposition would toodle past.

Brilliant days when I was in late teens early twenties would be back there again in a heartbeat.

 

 

[IainB]

1 minute ago, Triple.H. said:

Should be in the licence that if chosen you ride in the national championship. No opt out option on the form.

That seems to be the way with other nations governing body's, meaning compulsory return for many riders. 

[Triple.H.]

11 hours ago, Garry1603 said:

A video of the final race should be kept permanently on the GB Speedway website. When any potential new fan looked at that, they couldn't fail to be impressed. A fantastic race with no quarter given by all four riders.

When you watch it again, you can almost imagine them smiling under their helmets - they were having fun out there!

 

The video should be sent to every Sports editor of any TV and Radio station on the land plus every newspaper. Before anyone questions the radio suggestion all stations have social media so video can be shown.

[Triple.H.]

11 hours ago, Steve Shovlar said:

Completely forgot this event was taking place. Just watched it this morning. First impressions. Did they forget to advertise it? Virtually no one there. A real issue. Belle Vue have hosted the British Final for quite a few years now and clearly the locals don’t want it anymore. They simply can’t be arsed to come out. Time for the event to come further south or try a different venue.

But countering that was the racing last night which was excellent, and ended in a final which was top drawer. There’s no doubt that the track is the best in the UK, but if fans don’t come out what’s the point? Are we going to be embarrassed by a really small crowd at GP this summer? I hope not but let’s hope it’s not a repeat of the empty stands we saw there last year for the WTC or what ever it was called.

Thought it was Bewleys to lose but Lambert had other ideas and won it well in the end. Great final. 

 

You're so far up your own backside that I bet when you brush your teeth you can see your face where your tonsils should be. 

If its not Poole it's not worth knowing about 

That's your mantra.

[mikebv]

52 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Here's the link to the world team cup meeting I mentioned at Lynn looks like it was 2011 the place was packed I also remember going down to Ipswich for the bank hol meetings when you would get 5-6k in looking at the Ellis/Thomson vid barely a thou there again Monday nights, same riders each week, more competition for the dollar are just nails in the coffin.

I will say fair play to the promoters for all the flak they take they aren't in this game for the money lord knows how much Tolley must have lost but I would bet 500k to a mil isn't far off.

Ironically they spend, as a collective well over a million on riders each season, yet sod all on making their product known to even locals never mind the wider population...

That huge investment would be far better used as "prize money" and advertise this total amount of cash as the total that can be won for the season..

eg "One Million Pounds Prize Money To Be Won In British Speedway".....

A bit of creative advertising maybe, but based on the truth...

 

 

[mikebv]

39 minutes ago, Triple.H. said:

You're so far up your own backside that I bet when you brush your teeth you can see your face where your tonsils should be. 

If its not Poole it's not worth knowing about 

That's your mantra.

It cannot be ran at Poole...

As everyone knows, the people of Poole only go out on Wednesdays....

[YeOldPitGate]

To be fair to the Ford's they are probably the best promoters of Speedway in the last 20 years (digs aside )the big mistake they made was not unloading the club when Holder and Ward were in there pomp and Sky were still involved, from memory they held out for two big a money.

The problem now is even they would struggle to give the club away for virtually nothing given stadium under threat and anyone following them probably won't be so successful and most likely will be covering losses of 50-100k per season from end of season one.

[szkocjasid]

Comment from Leon Flint on his FB page "riding after every track grade is difficult" I've never understood why that would be? I remember hearing similar things in GPs.

Even if it's harder because you don't know how the track will ride, it's the same for your 3 opponents! Likewise if it's easier going out in the last of each batch of races, it'll be easier for your 3 opponents too.

Should it not logically get easier for the number one draw as they'd get used to riding after the track grades but their 3 opponents only get to experience that once?

Edited 23 hours ago by szkocjasid

[Bojangles]

11 hours ago, False dawn said:

Forget the past. Bomber is value for money wherever he rides. And let's just exam the facts. He was that close to being crowned British Champion on the same track the GPs are going to be run. 

But so was Charles Wright. In fact, he was that little bit closer...

[DaveWayne]

17 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I’ve just seen a post where mildenhall stock cars apologised to local residents for the traffic congestion caused by the crowd that turned up to their stock car meeting, apparently a lot bigger than they were expecting and they were expecting a big crowd,2 sports relatively similar and often sharing venues and in some cases fans so my question is what are they doing right and we are doing wrong ? Is it pricing ? Is it stockcars understand what they are and understand their fan demographic ? For some time I felt like we are trying to be something we are not, like a F1 without the money and that’s not what speedway is or will ever be, last night was the perfect package watched by nobody in relative terms, the stocks run a run of the mill meeting and get 1000s 

As someone who follows both 4 and 2 wheels on the ovals, I thought it worth responding to this.

The meeting at Mildenhall was actually Bangers, not Stock Cars. They are very different formulas and different types of racing.

Attendances vary depending on the formulas racing and the level of the meeting. On average probably very similar crowds to Speedway, but some meetings can fill a stadium.

This particular meeting was far from 'run of the mill'. Although it wasn't a major title race it was one that attracted attention due to the type of meeting it was with all the cars being pre-1990. It was a 2 day meeting with over 300 cars booked in, giving fans a chance to see rare cars being raced, stay overnight at the track for a good social, and the weather was superb for the time of year.

With regards the comment from someone else about Odsal looking empty. It has a capacity of over 20,000 so even a 4-5,000 crowd makes the place look sparsely populated. For some of the less popular meetings they only open the stand on the home straight (which I believe holds around 3,000) as this reduces stewarding costs. A youtube video shot from that stand would then obviously show very empty terracing.

[SpeedwaySlider72]

9 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

Comment from Leon Flint on his FB page "riding after every track grade is difficult" I've never understood why that would be? I remember hearing similar things in GPs.

Even if it's harder because you don't know how the track will ride, it's the same for your 3 opponents! Likewise if it's easier going out in the last of each batch of races, it'll be easier for your 3 opponents too.

Should it not logically get easier for the number one draw as they'd get used to riding after the track grades but their 3 opponents only get to experience that once?

It may be the same for all 4 in race but only Leon had to go after every track grade so had it 5 times. 
 

You say it is hard to read the track after each grade and with the water going down it can be tricky for a rider so not enjoyable draw at all. 

[SPEEDY69]

9 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

Comment from Leon Flint on his FB page "riding after every track grade is difficult" I've never understood why that would be? I remember hearing similar things in GPs.

Even if it's harder because you don't know how the track will ride, it's the same for your 3 opponents! Likewise if it's easier going out in the last of each batch of races, it'll be easier for your 3 opponents too.

Should it not logically get easier for the number one draw as they'd get used to riding after the track grades but their 3 opponents only get to experience that once?

If you are known for making starts it's a little easier but for those riders who rely on having a chance to pass it is a little tougher if the track is bit wetter.  As ever, it can also be a good excuse. 

[Fromafar]

9 hours ago, szkocjasid said:

Comment from Leon Flint on his FB page "riding after every track grade is difficult" I've never understood why that would be? I remember hearing similar things in GPs.

Even if it's harder because you don't know how the track will ride, it's the same for your 3 opponents! Likewise if it's easier going out in the last of each batch of races, it'll be easier for your 3 opponents too.

Should it not logically get easier for the number one draw as they'd get used to riding after the track grades but their 3 opponents only get to experience that once?

Leon has found his level.

[singy13]

15 hours ago, YeOldPitGate said:

I think sadly for the sport it will be a continued managed decline if Birmingham and Sheffield don't start next year

While it has been often publicised about Brummies future being dodgy.  I must have missed reading the bad news about Sheffield being in similar danger?........Hopefully both can continue for many years.

[crescent girl]

On 5/13/2025 at 10:17 AM, PhilTheAce said:

to much being said about the small crowd,  one small crowd in 8 years of the final being at belle vue, was always going to happen at some point, 

 

why would people travel to belle vue 4 weeks before they will be for the GPs.

 

im sure next season the numbers will be back higher for the british final with no GP at belle vue 

Oh?  While l accept your post wasn't well worded, it poses a hypothetical question......

Where would the British Grand Prix be staged if BV isn't for any reason available?

Edited 9 hours ago by crescent girl