A reduced or absent 2026 Speedway SGP Series providing short term relief to British Speedway?

[IainB]

48 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Agreed Cardiff started out well as did much of the Grand Prix when it was created but post covid the crowds at Cardiff were well down and the year Dan Bewley won it on a dreadful track killed it stone dead in my opinion it was so bad like going into a Michelin starred restaurant and being served up a cold back street kebab most would never be going back.

I would prefer the old one off world finals back but can't see it happening so long as Poland pulls in the crowds and they have monster on board they will carry on for a while yet. 

The GP series is here to stay, it's an opportunity to showcase Speedway around 10 times a year instead of once. Also monster are not as on-board as they used to be, they tend to sponsor riders these days rather than events or the series itself. 

[foreverblue]

2 hours ago, YeOldPitGate said:

Agreed Cardiff started out well as did much of the Grand Prix when it was created but post covid the crowds at Cardiff were well down and the year Dan Bewley won it on a dreadful track killed it stone dead in my opinion it was so bad like going into a Michelin starred restaurant and being served up a cold back street kebab most would never be going back.

I would prefer the old one off world finals back but can't see it happening so long as Poland pulls in the crowds and they have monster on board they will carry on for a while yet. 

And unfortunately the SGP2 was even worse that year, track kept breaking up, they even closed the roof to keep the heat out, unbelievable really for the UK but the next year which was very poorly attended it was much better and I  thought a decent meeting. Having it in Manchester does not have the same appeal and it is a shame the sport does not seem to be able to support a larger venue more in keeping with what the event should be in this country.

Edited Wednesday at 02:26 PM by foreverblue

[Littleze]

I went to Cardiff for the 2nd time, I believe it was 2yrs ago, when the track was an absolute disgrace, I can’t even recall who won it, I took a mate was a long time lapsed Speedway fan, it was embarrassing, crowd levels poor and I felt the day around the City centre was muted/lowkey. So when they have the infrastructure the basics (track) lets it down. The whole sport needs to grow from the basics, professional, credible, modern stadia, unaffected by weather as much as possible. The trouble is it needs money + more, and I don’t see where that comes from, the sport has had this before and it’s gone backwards. I don’t want to see some fat bloke over 40 with an ill fitting top, as the start matshall, or a bloody traffic cone stopping the tapes from sagging, or track staff smoking.. blah blah.. image, respectability, perception counts for a lot. I’ve said this before on various platforms - to a letter in the Speedway Star many years ago. AFTV was started by one guy essentially, with nothing to sell other than fan views, this channel has daily podcasts, interviews etc. if the powers that be can’t sell a product, their club, riders etc, to the world on various social media platforms in this day and age, the *cough “SPORT” has no chance, all it/we do is reminisce, was it much better years ago.. to some degree yes, but probably not as much as we think it was. It needs to be an out an competitive sport, or be a contrived entertainment (which is what has been for many a year) Anyway…

[TigerIain]

10 round series announced with a double header at the NSS.

Guessing there won't be a stampede to join the Premiership after all

FIM Speedway - News - 2026 FIM SPEEDWAY CALENDAR REVEALED https://share.google/5nxGEhmaKlpAQiBlM

[mikebv]

14 minutes ago, TigerIain said:

10 round series announced with a double header at the NSS.

Guessing there won't be a stampede to join the Premiership after all

FIM Speedway - News - 2026 FIM SPEEDWAY CALENDAR REVEALED https://share.google/5nxGEhmaKlpAQiBlM

Ahhhhhh....

But apart from those TEN GP's there isn't any more....

Edited 10 hours ago by mikebv

[IainB]

Daft topic anyway... smh

[SPEEDY69]

On 11/12/2025 at 3:30 PM, Littleze said:

I went to Cardiff for the 2nd time, I believe it was 2yrs ago, when the track was an absolute disgrace, I can’t even recall who won it, I took a mate was a long time lapsed Speedway fan, it was embarrassing, crowd levels poor and I felt the day around the City centre was muted/lowkey. So when they have the infrastructure the basics (track) lets it down. The whole sport needs to grow from the basics, professional, credible, modern stadia, unaffected by weather as much as possible. The trouble is it needs money + more, and I don’t see where that comes from, the sport has had this before and it’s gone backwards. I don’t want to see some fat bloke over 40 with an ill fitting top, as the start matshall, or a bloody traffic cone stopping the tapes from sagging, or track staff smoking.. blah blah.. image, respectability, perception counts for a lot. I’ve said this before on various platforms - to a letter in the Speedway Star many years ago. AFTV was started by one guy essentially, with nothing to sell other than fan views, this channel has daily podcasts, interviews etc. if the powers that be can’t sell a product, their club, riders etc, to the world on various social media platforms in this day and age, the *cough “SPORT” has no chance, all it/we do is reminisce, was it much better years ago.. to some degree yes, but probably not as much as we think it was. It needs to be an out an competitive sport, or be a contrived entertainment (which is what has been for many a year) Anyway…

Can't believe none of you remember the absolute awful tracks which were presented at world finals in the 70s and 80s.  Wembley was never good but didn't stop the crowds did it.   Need to look elsewhere for reasons for the decline in fan numbers and you mention some of the things here.

Edited 9 hours ago by SPEEDY69

[Ben91]

The novelty value wore off with Cardiff. It was originally a showpiece event, it just became the same thing year on year. Particularly off the track. It’s an overexposure issue, similar to what we get in league Speedway now with the same riders having multiple teams and multiple meetings against the same opponents making up the calendar. 

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. People miss things when they’re not constantly there, they take them for granted when they are. 

[mikebv]

2 hours ago, Ben91 said:

The novelty value wore off with Cardiff. It was originally a showpiece event, it just became the same thing year on year. Particularly off the track. It’s an overexposure issue, similar to what we get in league Speedway now with the same riders having multiple teams and multiple meetings against the same opponents making up the calendar. 

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. People miss things when they’re not constantly there, they take them for granted when they are. 

100%....

I stopped attending regularly about five years ago as by Monday I had watched so much Speedway on TV over weekend!!!

I can see GP riders riding Friday, Saturday and Sunday if a GP weekend...

Dozens of times a season...

Therefore, when they appear over here "in the flesh" then the "wow factor" simply doesn't exist...

BZ will 100% get me to the two GP's at the NSS as he doesn't appear over here too often..

In the halcyon days of the sport, the likes of PC, Ivan Mauger, Ole Olsen, Anders Michanek, etc etc may only appear once or twice at your track, hence they pulled in a crowd of several hundred more than average...

Nowadays that "mystique" doesn't exist...

[SteveLyric2]

Many people on here and elsewhere don't seem to have a clue about the costs of hiring a stadium like Cardiff for 10 days or so - and thats before the cost of laying a track and then dismantling it afterwards.

The stadium would take into account any lost revenue (bars, hospitality, franchises etc) on the 'dead' days, aside from the days that speedway actually takes place in front of a (mostly) paying audience!

[1 valve]

42 minutes ago, SteveLyric2 said:

Many people on here and elsewhere don't seem to have a clue about the costs of hiring a stadium like Cardiff for 10 days or so - and thats before the cost of laying a track and then dismantling it afterwards.

The stadium would take into account any lost revenue (bars, hospitality, franchises etc) on the 'dead' days, aside from the days that speedway actually takes place in front of a (mostly) paying audience!

The big problem has been that the Welsh tourist board withdrew its support of the event which provided for greatly discounted stadium costs. 

[Roger Jacobs]

2026 GP calendar:

1. Landshut, May 2
2. Prague, May 23
3. Manchester, June 5
4. Manchester, June 6
5. Wroclaw, June 20
6. Malilla, July 11
7. Lodz, August 1
8. Riga, August 8
9. Vojens, September 12
10. Torun, September 26

[Littleze]

7 hours ago, SPEEDY69 said:

Can't believe none of you remember the absolute awful tracks which were presented at world finals in the 70s and 80s.  Wembley was never good but didn't stop the crowds did it.   Need to look elsewhere for reasons for the decline in fan numbers and you mention some of the things here.

I don’t disagree with what you say, but different times, different choices, expectations etc, plus they were one offs, not a gp series. I paid for travel, hotel and tickets + anything else.. the minimum I expected in 2023 is a track you can race on, they couldn’t even turn or tried to in some races. 

[RoundTheBoards]

On 11/6/2025 at 3:59 AM, Spidvej said:

Looks like the charming individual calling my post “garbage” doesn’t know their facts.

Well that didn't age well.    Looks like @1 valve did know their facts, and rightly called out the garbage!