Why is speedway in decline?

[Crump99]

On 7/9/2026 at 12:15 PM, Mick Bratley said:

I’ll also add, taking a victory lap after winning a race. Riders, just bloody do it, it costs you naff all and you’re doing it for the people who contribute towards your wages. Take it a step further collect the team flag every time and take that on your victory lap with you.

100% 

[Crump99]

On 7/8/2026 at 11:26 PM, Mick Bratley said:

The thing that annoys me more than anything is that it costs nothing to fix certain aspects of the sport, for example rider presentations/introduction's before a meeting, every single meeting I have been to this season has been an absolute shambles. All tracks should have a riders briefing meeting before every meeting telling the riders exactly how the introductions are going to take place and what is expected of the riders.

Helmets off lads, and no pissing about before, during or after you’ve been introduced.

[TheWellBehavedWorrall]

A couple of things I think are worth mentioning after speaking to my mate this morning.

For context, I took a friend along last night for his first ever experience of speedway.

I’ve already joked about his thoughts on the poor choice of music, so won’t include that.

The wait between heats 14 and 15 was around 25 minutes. Granted, they had the kids race and the Ben Fund collection, but he’s new to the sport and had been made aware the meeting was over as a context, so that’s quite a long time to wait for a race that lasts less than a minute. I think that needs better organised.

Didn’t see a rider FWIW. Had a tenner in hand, but no rider came around the back straight. The woman next to me said the same thing. We saw Stuart Coleman (not a wider, but carrying a bucket nonetheless) pass a couple of rows ahead but no rider. Bizarre.

Last thing - he was having a laugh about me having to fill out a programme because I don’t when we go to the football. So, twice, I let him fill out the programme and twice, the announcer made mistakes with who finished second and third. I’ve actually mentioned this before on here. It’s basic stuff.

Time will tell if he’ll be back, but all in all, he said it was a good night.

No doubt he found parts of it amateur though. Like the music, the hanging around, messing up the times, etc.

[gjcone44]

was he interested in the times ,thats a bad sign.😁

[marko]

Trouble is though parts of the sport ARE amateur, maybe semi pro at best but they charge professional prices.

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, gjcone44 said:

was he interested in the times ,thats a bad sign.😁

"Shut up! I can't hear the time!"....😁

[Mick Bratley]

On 9/26/2026 at 1:02 PM, TheWellBehavedWorrall said:

Almost crazy how much this resonates with me.

The Glasgow promotion get so much right, but the music is AWFUL. No word of a lie; it’s a combination of 80s gay disco and an 18th birthday party in the early 90s.

I took a friend along for his first experience of speedway last night and he enjoyed it, but he couldn’t stop laughing at the music. It just didn’t match the occasion.

Play-off semi-final, a heat that could decide the finalist, four bikes, no brakes, tensions high… and they’re playing Wham’s Club Tropicana.

I 100% agree with this. A playlist should be planned for every meeting and none of the above should be anywhere near it.

[ArthurRudge]

On 9/26/2026 at 1:02 PM, TheWellBehavedWorrall said:

Almost crazy how much this resonates with me.

The Glasgow promotion get so much right, but the music is AWFUL. No word of a lie; it’s a combination of 80s gay disco and an 18th birthday party in the early 90s.

I took a friend along for his first experience of speedway last night and he enjoyed it, but he couldn’t stop laughing at the music. It just didn’t match the occasion.

Play-off semi-final, a heat that could decide the finalist, four bikes, no brakes, tensions high… and they’re playing Wham’s Club Tropicana.

I have to agree we watched a match recently at Glasgow we were cracking up in the stand it sounded like 80's porno music 

[bigcatdiary]

I think the biggest problem is providing a track that promotes and encourages racing, several racing lines and enough grip to enable riders to actually race and overtake others.

Most tracks either cannot be bothered or haven’t got the skill to do the job, poorly prepared tracks that are not properly watered and offer no grip or different lines and just provide tracks that are effectively a gating exercise with little or little chance of passing or entertainment.

Local tracks to me Kings Lynn and Northampton are classic examples and Ipswich isn’t much better but offers much better viewing and at least free seats to all.

If the spectacle is exciting and entertaining it will attract supporters, if it isn’t and just provides boring processional gate and go with smelly toilets and lots of tractor racing it morphs into just another Kings Lynn and nobody bothers to go.

[bigcatdiary]

I think the biggest problem is providing a track that promotes and encourages racing, several racing lines and enough grip to enable riders to actually race and overtake others.

Most tracks either cannot be bothered or haven’t got the skill to do the job, poorly prepared tracks that are not properly watered and offer no grip or different lines and just provide tracks that are effectively a gating exercise with little or little chance of passing or entertainment.

Local tracks to me Kings Lynn and Northampton are classic examples and Ipswich isn’t much better but offers much better viewing and at least free seats to all.

If the spectacle is exciting and entertaining it will attract supporters, if it isn’t and just provides boring processional gate and go with smelly toilets and lots of tractor racing it morphs into just another Kings Lynn and nobody bothers to go.

[Aries]

51 minutes ago, bigcatdiary said:

I think the biggest problem is providing a track that promotes and encourages racing, several racing lines and enough grip to enable riders to actually race and overtake others.

Most tracks either cannot be bothered or haven’t got the skill to do the job, poorly prepared tracks that are not properly watered and offer no grip or different lines and just provide tracks that are effectively a gating exercise with little or little chance of passing or entertainment.

Local tracks to me Kings Lynn and Northampton are classic examples and Ipswich isn’t much better but offers much better viewing and at least free seats to all.

If the spectacle is exciting and entertaining it will attract supporters, if it isn’t and just provides boring processional gate and go with smelly toilets and lots of tractor racing it morphs into just another Kings Lynn and nobody bothers to go.

You’re right it isn’t. Let’s hope that vastly improves after the winter track work.

[40-38]

On 9/26/2026 at 7:16 PM, mikebv said:

"Shut up! I can't hear the time!"....😁

The irony in that is at Leicester you genuinely can't hear anything, so I never do hear the time, or the result, or the interviews for that matter. The speaker where I stand packed up early this season, have they fixed it? Nope. And even if they do fix it the PA has all the quality of an old Working Men's Club. What do they play after Leicester win; Glad All over by the Dave Clark Five. Cutting edge it isn't.

[Bagpuss]

3 hours ago, bigcatdiary said:

I think the biggest problem is providing a track that promotes and encourages racing, several racing lines and enough grip to enable riders to actually race and overtake others.

Most tracks either cannot be bothered or haven’t got the skill to do the job, poorly prepared tracks that are not properly watered and offer no grip or different lines and just provide tracks that are effectively a gating exercise with little or little chance of passing or entertainment.

Local tracks to me Kings Lynn and Northampton are classic examples and Ipswich isn’t much better but offers much better viewing and at least free seats to all.

If the spectacle is exciting and entertaining it will attract supporters, if it isn’t and just provides boring processional gate and go with smelly toilets and lots of tractor racing it morphs into just another Kings Lynn and nobody bothers to go.

Racing is only a small part of it though. The racing in the 70's was no better than now and if it was just what happens on track then Workington, Scunthorpe, Glasgow and BV would be bursting at the seams for every meeting.

It's a jigsaw puzzle with loads of bits missing - irregular meetings, doubling up, guests, flimsy call offs, lack of variety, poor presentation, no atmosphere. Most people will want a professionally presented, VFM, enjoyable night out and that really shouldn't be difficult to deliver.

[mikebv]

6 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

Racing is only a small part of it though. The racing in the 70's was no better than now and if it was just what happens on track then Workington, Scunthorpe, Glasgow and BV would be bursting at the seams for every meeting.

It's a jigsaw puzzle with loads of bits missing - irregular meetings, doubling up, guests, flimsy call offs, lack of variety, poor presentation, no atmosphere. Most people will want a professionally presented, VFM, enjoyable night out and that really shouldn't be difficult to deliver.

Spot on..

Each club has more than enough punters in total to be far more successful financially...

The problem is not enough of them see Speedway in the UK as something that is worth attending regularly...

Richard Coleman said that if every track has just 300 more each meeting it would be a totally different landscape..

Each track I would suggest has far, far more than 300 punters who attend on a Bank Holiday, or a Play Off, or a Cup Final..

Tens of thousands of fans still take a keen interest in the sport, it's just that what UK Speedway provides doesn't engage them enough to pay circa £25 a time to watch it..

They just need to (finally), listen to the reasons why these people don't attend, and fix them..

You don't need huge marketing to try and encourage thousands of "newbies" just get those who follow the sport to attend more regularly by just turning it into a proper sport worth winning .