British final 15th August

[RoundTheBoards]

Can someone ask Kelvin Tatum who Will Kurns is?

 

[Aries]

8 hours ago, WookieboyDon said:

Emma is ace. Alongside the GPs, she does work for Leeds United and also for one of the horse racing channels.

 

Always bright, bubbly and professional. She does a mega job. 
 

I thought all in all it was a good product tonight, tv show wise. I do think a little more could have been done in commentary for anyone new to the sport but most of all…

 

…someone should have said something along the lines of “If you are new to speedway and enjoyed this evening, there are speedway clubs around the county you can visit for the first time. Go on to the British Speedway website to find out your nearest track and head down there to experience it in the flesh.”

This is something Nigel Pearson excelled at. Used to bang the drum for speedway and plug meetings at various tracks at every opportunity he could when he was commentating. Sadly missed.

[Aries]

8 hours ago, WookieboyDon said:

Emma is ace. Alongside the GPs, she does work for Leeds United and also for one of the horse racing channels.

 

Always bright, bubbly and professional. She does a mega job. 
 

I thought all in all it was a good product tonight, tv show wise. I do think a little more could have been done in commentary for anyone new to the sport but most of all…

 

…someone should have said something along the lines of “If you are new to speedway and enjoyed this evening, there are speedway clubs around the county you can visit for the first time. Go on to the British Speedway website to find out your nearest track and head down there to experience it in the 

Edited 10 hours ago by Aries
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[Rob B]

Catchup is now available on ITVX app. If everyone could watch at least few minutes on that, as the viewing figures are more viewable for ITV.  
They won’t really know who was watching on freeview etc last night. 

[YeOldPitGate]

What was the final crowd like , difficult to tell when watching it on tv , better/worse than previous years ?

[Rob B]

13 minutes ago, YeOldPitGate said:

What was the final crowd like , difficult to tell when watching it on tv , better/worse than previous years ?

Probably similar to last years Monday but worst then other years. Saw more fans from other tracks like Redcar etc this year probably being a Saturday, but was lot less Belle Vue fans, just in the small area I stand in could name 30 or so regulars that weren’t there. Mainly probably because of no Bewley and then being on ITV topped it off. 

[OveFundinFan]

2 hours ago, Rob B said:

Catchup is now available on ITVX app. If everyone could watch at least few minutes on that, as the viewing figures are more viewable for ITV.  
They won’t really know who was watching on freeview etc last night. 

I watched it live last night on ITV.....but it was not easy to find by any stretch of the imagination. Just perseverance.  Seeing as this was a return to live TV viewing one would have thought ITV/ITVX could have promoted itself better.

[Fromafar]

5 minutes ago, OveFundinFan said:

I watched it live last night on ITV.....but it was not easy to find by any stretch of the imagination. Just perseverance.  Seeing as this was a return to live TV viewing one would have thought ITV/ITVX could have promoted itself better.

Are you saying you can’t find ITV in your Tv! Surely not .

[OveFundinFan]

Just now, Fromafar said:

Are you saying you can’t find ITV in your Tv! Surely not .

 

Just now, Fromafar said:

Are you saying you can’t find ITV in your Tv! Surely not .

I was streaming on the tv, I was on ITVX app, but wasn't easy to find, not even using voice command for "British Speedway Championship" or even more basic "speedway"

[bororedlion]

14 hours ago, ShanoXtra said:

Glad you replied as I thought I was going crazy with that reply and where I insulted him enough to go on a rant 🤣😂

Back to this final, I feel it’s a waste of a wildcard given Charles wright was useless in the last GP at Belle Vue. I would have preferred either of the other two but hey ho! I don’t like lambert either so that’s a bad result for my liking as he just comes over from Poland and takes the crown. 100% prefer Bewley to him. Must be an Ipswich thing 😂
 

To be fair - after that interview fair play to the guy. I just hope he takes this chance with both hands! 🙌 

Charles Wright has earned the right regardless,

Unlike Tom Brennan who was just given the wild card at this year's and managed a total points haul of 5 points over 2 days . Did nothing to earn the right for it.

[TheScotsman]

Since it's such a love in about having the British Final on telly, I must say I thought it was a bit of a bore.

3 hours plus was well dragged out.

Lambert was always going to be head and shoulders above everyone else.

It was pretty much him against a bunch of Championship standard riders - some of them reserve level.

Maybe if the format had been cut down to 10 riders or so (and Lambert brought along for some exhibition rides!!) it might have been better.

It was probably not a good event for a live tv relaunch. Maybe should have kept that for a League Riders Championship or something.

And there didn't seem be much pushing of the sport, i.e. regular (?!) league speedway across the country etc.

And I didn't hear much about the bikes - 500cc / no brakes / no gears on a loose shale surface. But there was a bit of random stuff like - changing setups and changing coils.

And there was just no atmosphere at all.

 

So If I was new to the sport (as opposed to someone who started watching decades ago but gave up attending 8 or 9 years ago, even though I have a track about half an hour drive away) I don't think I would be bursting a gut to watch another one or try to find somewhere to watch it live.

[PhilTheAce]

I guess going forward the British final should just be a match race between Lambert and Bewley. Sod all the other GB riders eh. 

[Neila]

1 hour ago, OveFundinFan said:

 

I was streaming on the tv, I was on ITVX app, but wasn't easy to find, not even using voice command for "British Speedway Championship" or even more basic "speedway"

On the app scroll to live TV lots of options come up ITV 1,2,3.4 etc click on ITV4 then watch live and enjoy 😄

[tyler42]

The British final field comprised three riders who double up between the NDL & Championship Leagues; in Scott’s case, RS in the top league as well. 

Ten riders who double up between the Championship & Premier League

Two riders who ride only the Premier League

One world-class rider who does not ride in the UK 

Conclusion: Yes, compared to the old British Finals, a very weak line-up indeed, but the BSPA have wanted to water down both leagues to make them as close together in standard as possible. Well, I think we can safely say that they have achieved that. So we can't moan at the quality of the line up. It is what it is.

[Arthur73]

The British Final being not as competitive is not a failure of creating riders now, it was a failure of creating riders 15 or so years ago. 

Charles Wright was the only rider aged between 31-39! 

11/16 riders were aged under 26. Most grand prix riders are around 30. British Speedway actually has a decent future. Brennan and Flint ride in the 2nd and 3rd polish leagues regularly. Rushen and Cairns are some of the best U19 riders in the world. 

Maybe ITV will see the youth of the riders as a positive. Although, likely the viewing figures are the decider 

[Daniel Smith]

21 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

I guess going forward the British final should just be a match race between Lambert and Bewley. Sod all the other GB riders eh. 

It's more than that. The British Final is a clear indication that the "fast tracking" of Rising Stars isn't delivering in the Premiership. Rushen showed he could be the next to come through after Bewley & Lambert, but what else is there??

All those years of riders given Rising Star (or past equivalents) positions to have only Bewley & Lambert cut it is nothing short of failure.

Could be argued that giving youngsters a job in the top league with minimal effort stop the hunger and drive to be the best they can.

These kids should be hitting heatleader positions in the Championship on the regular before getting reserve spot in the Premiership. 

It's the only & best way to sort the wheat from the chaff.

[Noelinho]

5 minutes ago, Arthur73 said:

The British Final being not as competitive is not a failure of creating riders now, it was a failure of creating riders 15 or so years ago. 

Charles Wright was the only rider aged between 31-39! 

11/16 riders were aged under 26. Most grand prix riders are around 30. British Speedway actually has a decent future. Brennan and Flint ride in the 2nd and 3rd polish leagues regularly. Rushen and Cairns are some of the best U19 riders in the world. 

Maybe ITV will see the youth of the riders as a positive. Although, likely the viewing figures are the decider 

I suspect ITV were paid to show it, but regardless we want to get to the point where they want to show it.

It may not have been the most exciting meeting, but that’s also how speedway goes sometimes, so for anyone thinking that’s an issue, I think it’s a red herring. You get boring matches in football, rugby, cricket… boring motor races, and millions watch people smack a ball slowly around a massive garden with sand dunes 😄

I think it was decent enough, although it did look like Olly Allen had been kidnapped at times.

[Noelinho]

10 minutes ago, Daniel Smith said:

These kids should be hitting heatleader positions in the Championship on the regular before getting reserve spot in the Premiership. 

It's the only & best way to sort the wheat from the chaff.

As long as there are two main leagues, rising stars should be in the Championship. Progression to the Premiership should be on merit vs the other options.

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv]

7 hours ago, Aries said:

This is something Nigel Pearson excelled at. Used to bang the drum for speedway and plug meetings at various tracks at every opportunity he could when he was commentating. Sadly missed.

 

7 hours ago, Aries said:

 

Better to say it twice than not at all - very much the point of the comment 👍

[OveFundinFan]

I not as close to speedway as used to be in the 60s/70s, took an interest again on 2013 to now but mostly GP's.       I am thinking that last night was a reflection of how British Speedway looks at this moment in time. Ok, Dan was missing, but that's still only 2 at world class level. A handful of 30+ has beens who can still mix well at times, a few 22+ who are taking time to make it, and a good number of young uns that have a lot of promise.      Apart from Dan, what British riders were missing that could have made a difference to the spectacle?       Even if Dan would have been fit it would make it a 2 rider shoot out, so in a way I glad Dan wasn't there  (as much as I like him) because it have a young one a chance. Last night would have been something special for those young ones, and hopefully a boost for the 22+ age group.

Edited 29 minutes ago by OveFundinFan
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