Nostalgia

[LagutaRacingFan]

This brings back a lot of teenage memories for me.

Speedway peaked between 2000 - 2015.

The decline started when Matt Ford shafted Coventry and Peterborough.

[Sir Sidney]

16 minutes ago, LagutaRacingFan said:

This brings back a lot of teenage memories for me.

Speedway peaked between 2000 - 2015.

The decline started when Matt Ford shafted Coventry and Peterborough.

Speedway peaked a long time before 2000. 

The decline started way before that. 

[LagutaRacingFan]

17 minutes ago, Sir Sidney said:

Speedway peaked a long time before 2000. 

The decline started way before that. 

Sorry, I wasn't around back then.

Edited Monday at 10:28 PM by LagutaRacingFan

[Sir Sidney]

1 minute ago, LagutaRacingFan said:

Sorry, I wasn't around back then.

I won't hold that against you! And I do understand where you are coming from.

I started going in 1969, and, even though crowds were much bigger than the 2000's, if I read programme notes from back then promoters were bemoaning the large drop off in crowds compared to the 60's and 50's. 

I'm sure there are many more knowledgeable forum members who could put numbers to it, and when the real decline started

[stevebrum]

On 8/22/2025 at 6:01 PM, Teromaafan said:

The only trouble with fans these days is getting them through the turnstile! (…..and I don’t mean because they are too fat).

Just threaten to close down and they will flock to the last meeting.

Birmingham tonight was ‘sold out’ (except it wasn’t according to fans inside the stadium) and people were turned away. I know, I was one of them.

Wolves last ever match I’ve never seen a crowd like it as well. 
it seems the only thing that works. 

[macky]

Sometimes you remember the stupid things that happen, as a Canterbury supporter four very stupid memories come back. 

when the supporters on the coach had a whip round to buy Mike Ferreria from Coatbridge so he could ride that night. The time the coach driver was declared as our number 8 at Berwick so we didn't get a fine for not having enough riders, An injured Bob Spelta shouting abuse at fellow Ausies at Crayford and  a Crayford supporter telling him he should try riding if he thought he could do better, with Bob pointing out he got ten points last time he was there. But the highlight must be the time Barry Thomas started his bike in the back of the coach full of supporters  while on the motorway on the way to an away match. Frightened the life out of everyone including the driver.   Good times.

 

[False dawn]

1 hour ago, macky said:

Sometimes you remember the stupid things that happen........

I remember Rick Miller at Coventry ending up in a race on his own when the other 3 were all excluded. He completed the 4 laps but was showboating with wheelies etc. He, himself, was then excluded for not making a bona fide attempt to race.

You couldn't make it up.

[False dawn]

7 minutes ago, False dawn said:

I remember Rick Miller at Coventry ending up in a race on his own when the other 3 were all excluded. He completed the 4 laps but was showboating with wheelies etc. He, himself, was then excluded for not making a bona fide attempt to race.

You couldn't make it up.

And on a related point. If we're getting nostalgic, I don't remember, back in the day, riders pulling up just because they are at back. Bona fide attempt to race? Pulling up on lap 2 and then riding back to the pits after the race has finished! It annoys the hell out of me. There was even examples of this on show last night at Perry Bar. In former times I can remember meetings taking place on wet circuits that would never take place now. Riders would get filled in and then complete their 4 laps, well off the place, without goggles. 

I think I'm a dinosaur.

P.S. I don't watch much league racing in Poland. Do riders "pack up" at the back there? I suspect the Polish managements wouldn't put up with it.

[IainB]

7 minutes ago, False dawn said:

And on a related point. If we're getting nostalgic, I don't remember, back in the day, riders pulling up just because they are at back.

Annoys the hell out of me this does! And we get to see quite a lot of this with Drew Kemp at Leicester, even if you're not going full bore at the back you should at least be on the pace(ish) at the back, who knows what's going to happen to the riders in front during the rest of the race... it shows a really poor mental attitude.

[Grachan]

11 hours ago, LagutaRacingFan said:

This brings back a lot of teenage memories for me.

Speedway peaked between 2000 - 2015.

The decline started when Matt Ford shafted Coventry and Peterborough.

 

11 hours ago, Sir Sidney said:

Speedway peaked a long time before 2000. 

The decline started way before that. 

 

For me, speedway's real decline began when they introduced such things at double point Tactical rides and 39 point points limits. I'm not sure when that was now. Maybe around 2000-ish?

These, for me, caused a big reaction, and I remember going the following season and being surprised at how much crowds had gone down as a result. I don't think the sport ever really recovered from these "adjustments".

The big irony with these, if course, is that it was Ipswich (the team that everyone now sees as the powerhouse strong side) that were very influential in such things being brought in because they were struggling with weak sides.

Nowadays I struggle to get through a meeting on the TV. I'm sure that losing my team (Swindon) has a part to play in this, but I really do look at the sport on a Monday night and wonder why it is so boring. Is it just my own interest dropping off, or has it genuinely become that?

I grew up loving speedway, and going to Swindon, Oxford and Reading where huge crowds would bait each other and the atmosphere would thrive on it. I guess I blinked and the World changed.

 

 

 

Edited yesterday at 09:34 AM by Grachan

[topaz325]

My first year watching Speedway , 1978 Derwent Park Workington v Berwick...

The smell, the speed, close to the fence within touching distance to the riders...

Brian Havelock (my first favourite rider), Ian Hindle etc..

Oxo drink, meat and potato pie, Cheese crisps...

[macky]

I started going to Speedway in 1967 and went every week from 1968 onwards to Canterbury, Reading, Oxford, Eastbourne,Arena/Lakeside but stopped going after Poole decided to buy their way to the top every year. I firmly blame Matt Foord for the decline of speedway over the last few years. Also the other promoters for allowing all of the underhand shenanigans once the play offs started. Grand prix riders signed to replace second strings, Chris Harris riding in more play off matches than any other rider. This destroyed the remaining credibility of speedway. I'm afraid that it will not regain credibility back in the near future unless there are huge changes. I do not believe the general public will ever accept speedway all the time riders ride for two or sometimes three different teams, this just does not compute with any possible newcomer.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

6 hours ago, False dawn said:

And on a related point. If we're getting nostalgic, I don't remember, back in the day, riders pulling up just because they are at back. Bona fide attempt to race? Pulling up on lap 2 and then riding back to the pits after the race has finished! It annoys the hell out of me. There was even examples of this on show last night at Perry Bar. In former times I can remember meetings taking place on wet circuits that would never take place now. Riders would get filled in and then complete their 4 laps, well off the place, without goggles. 

I think I'm a dinosaur.

P.S. I don't watch much league racing in Poland. Do riders "pack up" at the back there? I suspect the Polish managements wouldn't put up with it.

It did happen back in the day, I can remember Neil Evitts doing it at wolves in the latter stages of his career and it really annoys me and last night even though musielak is a friend he annoyed me too, it’s unacceptable imo, it doesn’t happen in Poland because the 3rd place rider will only get paid a bonus point if he finished behind his partner and ahead a finished 4th place rider so it’s respect from the 4th place rider to finish, there was an race a few weeks back where Nicki Pedersen pulled up on last lap while 4th and didn’t cross the finish line and went back to pits so the rider who finished 3rd didn't get paid a bonus point and it was not popular with other riders and fans alike 

Edited 19 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE

[YeOldPitGate]

17 hours ago, Sir Sidney said:

Speedway peaked a long time before 2000. 

The decline started way before that. 

I started going in 1985 and probably finished going regularly in 1991/2,even in 85 you could see things were on the turn Penhall who was a massive draw had retired, Dennis Sigalos who was the heir apparent had a bad ankle injury and was never the same again retiring soon after at a young age.

Mike Lee was never as good on his post 85 come back and had several stop start years before leaving the scene, PC, Chris Morten, Dave Jessup, Tiger Louis were all towards the end of their careers.

The Lynn team only really had Bob Schwartz as a top rider with the odd flash of the real Lee but we got battered most weeks home and away all be it the crowds in general held up pretty well but it just seemed at that point a lot of the big names had left or were past their peak.

The Sky deal should have been the big reset but as others have said the money flowed out to the number one's with nothing reinvested into the general infra-structure.

We have also lost a lot of big names in the last 5-10 years as well Crump, Ward, Hancock, Gollob, Adams just a few off the top of my head.

Such a shame as the last four heats of the world team cup a couple of years back show that on a decent track with top riders what a quality sport it still can be.

 

[False dawn]

6 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

....it doesn’t happen in Poland because the 3rd place rider will only get paid a bonus point if he finished behind his partner and ahead a finished 4th place rider so it’s respect from the 4th place rider to finish....

Respect! Wow. There's a word you don't hear very often. Certainly not in a racing context.
Actually, on reflection, I was struck by the mutual respect that Sam Masters and Bomber have both spoken about on air recently. But it is rare none-the-less

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

45 minutes ago, False dawn said:

Respect! Wow. There's a word you don't hear very often. Certainly not in a racing context.
Actually, on reflection, I was struck by the mutual respect that Sam Masters and Bomber have both spoken about on air recently. But it is rare none-the-less

Actually it’s not rare, the rider circle is a very close community, yes there is the exceptions but on the whole they do respect each other and on the whole are all mates, you always want to beat each other especially your own fellow countrymen but it’s just racing, away from the track you find some even socialise together or train together and airports tend to be a bit of a gathering place for the international riders, at the end of the day they all share the same mechanics, tuners, flight organisers, sponsors and ultimately are all in the same game so yes respect is definitely there, I always respected everyone I was on a track with even the ones I didn’t like and it’s pretty much the same for all riders 

Edited 11 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE

[bellevueace]

7 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Actually it’s not rare, the rider circle is a very close community, yes there is the exceptions but on the whole they do respect each other and on the whole are all mates, you always want to beat each other especially your own fellow countrymen but it’s just racing, away from the track you find some even socialise together or train together and airports tend to be a bit of a gathering place for the international riders, at the end of the day they all share the same mechanics, tuners, flight organisers, sponsors and ultimately are all in the same game so yes respect is definitely there, I always respected everyone I was on a track with even the ones I didn’t like and it’s pretty much the same for all riders 

This does seem to happen far more than back in the day when riders were loyal to their teams it was their club, and there was a real rivalry riders we,rnt seen stood in the opposite side of the pits chinwagging with rivals, there was far more altercations between them that created real atmospheres but they were not rivals one night and team mates the next. No wonder we dont see the characters of yesteryear.

[singy13]

51 minutes ago, bellevueace said:

they were not rivals one night and team mates the next.

Major comment there bellevueace. It's most certainly a factor that alienates the non speedway fraternity.

And despite my best efforts to persuade some folk to attend speedway it makes it so difficult to sell the sport.

In the 1970's, my early start to speedway fixes, you wouldn't see any riders plying their trade with two teams (go on prove me wrong) in fact guests were minimal with R/R the injury option, mostly.

I know riders need to make a living but sadly it has cost speedway big style and the future is grimmer than ever.

[MARK246]

On 8/25/2025 at 11:51 PM, LagutaRacingFan said:

 

The decline started when Matt Ford shafted Coventry and Peterborough.

As said by others on this thread, the decline started earlier, but without a doubt,  Matt Ford caused the sport more problems than the contributors on this forum care to admit