Joining a movement to help British speedway to survive

[wrighto74]

If you want to be part of a range of projects and initiatives aimed at helping to keep speedway in Britain alive then by all means visit http://www.speedwayunited.org as we use the findings from the British Speedway 2030 report which is being serialised in Speedway Star this month to come up with strategies to help the sport nationally and at club level.

Many fans are frustrated and feel disenfranchised, unable to make any impact with what can feel like a sport run by people who are not listening. Let's make it hard to ignore fans and others with something to offer. For this we need numbers, people signing up to join Speedway United, subscribe to updates etc. and we also need action which may start small but evidence what coordination, collaboration and connection can do. 

During the course of my research for the Speedway Star articles, I don't see a magic solution to bringing in new fans or sponsors/backers, or to stopping tracks from closing but I do see passionate people who work hard and often subsidise the clubs to keep the sport running. Together we can do more for the sport and being active in ways that can help is a great way to stop feeling unimportant or distant from the sport you love.

[BangerBoy]

Watch out Labour might be looking

 

[SteveArena]

New people will never be interested in speedway as the rules are too complicated or stupid for them to be interested. Guest riders you have to explain that it would be like in football Haaland being injured so Man C can use Isaak from Liverpool in their next game!  Newcomers roll their eyes and say that is crazy.

Speedway needs an independent group of people to come in and start again with the rules team building etc.

[Vince]

11 minutes ago, SteveArena said:

New people will never be interested in speedway as the rules are too complicated or stupid for them to be interested. Guest riders you have to explain that it would be like in football Haaland being injured so Man C can use Isaak from Liverpool in their next game!  Newcomers roll their eyes and say that is crazy.

Speedway needs an independent group of people to come in and start again with the rules team building etc.

I honestly think that not only are guests necessary but should be used to market the sport. Tell people that Speedway is so dangerous and so many riders get injured that it is necessary to sometimes use the limited number of available riders to fill the gaps.

Speedway is losing a marketing tool that could attract newcomers by not making a big deal out of it being mad, bad and dangerous in my opinion. Who cares if people only come to watch the crashes as long as they pay to get in and keep coming back?

Guests only irritate existing fans I can't imagine anybody not attending their first meeting because of it.

[mikebv]

52 minutes ago, Vince said:

I honestly think that not only are guests necessary but should be used to market the sport. Tell people that Speedway is so dangerous and so many riders get injured that it is necessary to sometimes use the limited number of available riders to fill the gaps.

Speedway is losing a marketing tool that could attract newcomers by not making a big deal out of it being mad, bad and dangerous in my opinion. Who cares if people only come to watch the crashes as long as they pay to get in and keep coming back?

Guests only irritate existing fans I can't imagine anybody not attending their first meeting because of it.

Won't bring any major sponsors money in though by advertising that..

Nor major TV companies...

What you could get away with in 1976, you can't in a 2026, 24/7 instant digital media world..

And all team sports get injuries with many of them eg Ice Hockey and American Football being "dangerous" (even Cricket have had deaths from players getting struck, as sadly has Football recently), and none of them use it as an excuse to not only borrow from opponents, but even sometimes improve their team by doing so..

Edit. And whilst saying "We need to share each others riders due to how dangerous the sport is", might get some interest, "We need to share each others riders due to p*ss poor fixture planning" might not scan so well...

More than half of all guests used last season were, (once again), used not to replace injured riders..

Edited Friday at 01:23 PM by mikebv

[truthsayer]

54 minutes ago, SteveArena said:

New people will never be interested in speedway as the rules are too complicated or stupid for them to be interested. Guest riders you have to explain that it would be like in football Haaland being injured so Man C can use Isaak from Liverpool in their next game!  Newcomers roll their eyes and say that is crazy.

Speedway needs an independent group of people to come in and start again with the rules team building etc.

Compare Motorbikes

 

To be honest, I think anyone coming into speedway with fresh eyes would wonder why it is even a team sport.

In other forms of motorsport, team and manufacturer championships exist but are secondary. It is all about the individual championships in the eyes of the fans.

Team variations of singular sports do exist, but they are typically novelties that happen once a year like pool's Mosconi Cup, the World Cup of Darts, the Motocross of Nations and so on. Speedway is fundamentally an individual sport which is being dressed up as a team activity. Maybe you could get away with it in the '60s, but audiences just don't buy into it these days. Speedway GP is our pinnacle and a format we can all buy into. Every other format is just contrived.

I genuinely don't believe speedway is a credible team sport. I am sure there is a place for team competitions, but not as the lead product. We need to get more individuals participating, and the idea that the only real way to participate is by joining a 'professional' team must be a barrier to entry for so many. Maybe working on developing a product for participants will encourage more people to get on their bikes and ride. That in itself will be a massive boost for the speedway economy.

Team speedway is basically a bunch of individuals riding around in a circle. Seven represent one team and seven the other. At the end of the night you add up the scores and the seven with the most win. While the connoisseur can appreciate team riding, there really is so little of it in evidence as to be worthwhile to the casual fan.

[Deanomachino]

1 hour ago, Vince said:

I honestly think that not only are guests necessary but should be used to market the sport. Tell people that Speedway is so dangerous and so many riders get injured that it is necessary to sometimes use the limited number of available riders to fill the gaps.

Speedway is losing a marketing tool that could attract newcomers by not making a big deal out of it being mad, bad and dangerous in my opinion. Who cares if people only come to watch the crashes as long as they pay to get in and keep coming back?

Guests only irritate existing fans I can't imagine anybody not attending their first meeting because of it.

I enjoy watching crashes in any sport,always have always will and I say yes push the danger element as a selling point although to be honest there are far more dangerous sports than speedway but yes push it but guests are not an acceptable way to to run a team sport, the tribal aspect is the way to push a team sport, it’s why millions follow football and speedway is no different although you wouldn’t know it the way it’s run 

Edited Friday at 01:58 PM by Deanomachino

[SteveArena]

Trying to explain rider replacement to a new comer aswell!  They would think why cannot they just use a squad rider to make it a 7 man team.

Other complicated rules aswell.  It is a great idea keeping speedway alive but the Gen Z lot will not be regular supporters.

[Byker Biker]

16 minutes ago, SteveArena said:

Trying to explain rider replacement to a new comer aswell!  They would think why cannot they just use a squad rider to make it a 7 man team.

Other complicated rules aswell.  It is a great idea keeping speedway alive but the Gen Z lot will not be regular supporters.

Just go back and read the press report on Rising Stars, average of Rising Stars and average of ex Rising Stars then who can guest for a Rising Star or an ex Rising Star and then a rider who is not in a current 1 to 7 but is under 21 - cuffing ell!!!

Now Mr Blue chip sponsor we are going on tv and 'Arry is going to explain the Rising Star rules to you, yes that's right it has eff all to do with riding a Speedway motorcycle!

[Vince]

On 11/13/2026 at 1:57 PM, Deanomachino said:

I enjoy watching crashes in any sport,always have always will and I say yes push the danger element as a selling point although to be honest there are far more dangerous sports than speedway but yes push it but guests are not an acceptable way to to run a team sport, the tribal aspect is the way to push a team sport, it’s why millions follow football and speedway is no different although you wouldn’t know it the way it’s run 

I think sometimes people who race motorbikes tend to forget just how dangerous it is, not in terms of actually dying but as far as what most people consider bad injuries. You ask the vast majority of people how many broken bones they've had or how many times they've been knocked out and the answer is likely to be in the 0 to 1 range and many of those who answer 1 will be a broken finger or toe which we tend not to include. However anybody who races bikes has been stood around laughing about crashes and injuries with their mates at a meeting and (if you're lucky like me) thinking I'm glad I've never broken a femur.

Normal people don't sit in the pits until the end of an event with a broken collarbone because they don't consider it too bad and know there isn't much the hospital will do anyway 😂. Normal people are horrified at the thought of breaking a bone.

I agree on the tribal aspect, without it Speedway would already be gone. You only have to look at attendances for individual meetings, if they don't feature really top riders, are testimonials or out of season the fans aren't interested. Another reason for the decline, people find it far harder to be passionate about a team from a town 60 miles away from theirs.

[Deanomachino]

5 hours ago, Vince said:

I think sometimes people who race motorbikes tend to forget just how dangerous it is, not in terms of actually dying but as far as what most people consider bad injuries. You ask the vast majority of people how many broken bones they've had or how many times they've been knocked out and the answer is likely to be in the 0 to 1 range and many of those who answer 1 will be a broken finger or toe which we tend not to include. However anybody who races bikes has been stood around laughing about crashes and injuries with their mates at a meeting and (if you're lucky like me) thinking I'm glad I've never broken a femur.

Normal people don't sit in the pits until the end of an event with a broken collarbone because they don't consider it too bad and know there isn't much the hospital will do anyway 😂. Normal people are horrified at the thought of breaking a bone 

Speedway I believe is one of the safer sports out there, even compared to grasstrack and to be honest crashing is a real buzz, it’s the following pain that’s the bad bit, I broke a bone in my back and had a few issues for a couple of weeks with it but it was no big deal and was back at work driving the same week all be it struggling to get in and out the van, I also broke the top of my shoulder bone off which gave me a bit of grief lifting in my arm over half way up but again no big deal, they both hurt like hell on the day but I will say this neither of the pain from those injuries compared to the pain I suffered from gout a couple of years back, that was another level pain, I think motorsport riders/drivers are too focused the next race to think about the inconvenience of an injury and it doesn’t really register and they don’t have time to dwell on it 

[gjcone44]

every time i crashed i was more worried about the damage to the bike. 😁

[truthsayer]

7 hours ago, Vince said:

I agree on the tribal aspect, without it Speedway would already be gone. You only have to look at attendances for individual meetings, if they don't feature really top riders, are testimonials or out of season the fans aren't interested. Another reason for the decline, people find it far harder to be passionate about a team from a town 60 miles away from theirs.

This is part of the problem and the vicious circle speedway is stuck in.

Individual meetings are not popular because the die hard fans that are left are generally following teams. But speedway as a team sport is dying a death and being killed from all angles: not enough riders, not enough venues, fans aging out... It's not attractive as a proposition to appeal to new spectators and it's a matter of when, rather than if, league speedway is no longer viable. You can tweak team speedway all you like, but I just can't see it making a comeback in the 21st century.

IMO the sport needs a new product, or products, either instead of or (more likely) as well as the current offerings. It needs new products to make it appealing to new participants, new sponsors and new spectators. The problem is that these don't come overnight and the diehard fans don't want change.

I get the dilemma. For me, modern speedway needs to be appealing as a participation sport and as a relatable individual sport, where personalities can be developed and promoted. Team speedway can still exist, but it needs more. You see other sports adapting to make themselves more TV friendly and team speedway has failed as a TV sport. I don't know what the answer is, as it needs someone with deep pockets and a big gambling heart to even give it a go.

[Vince]

1 hour ago, Deanomachino said:

Speedway I believe is one of the safer sports out there, even compared to grasstrack and to be honest crashing is a real buzz, it’s the following pain that’s the bad bit, I broke a bone in my back and had a few issues for a couple of weeks with it but it was no big deal and was back at work driving the same week all be it struggling to get in and out the van, I also broke the top of my shoulder bone off which gave me a bit of grief lifting in my arm over half way up but again no big deal, they both hurt like hell on the day but I will say this neither of the pain from those injuries compared to the pain I suffered from gout a couple of years back, that was another level pain, I think motorsport riders/drivers are too focused the next race to think about the inconvenience of an injury and it doesn’t really register and they don’t have time to dwell on it 

That's the point though, I've broken my fair share of bones over the years and while we don't think it's a big deal most people think it is crazy to take those risks. I bet if you lined up a Speedway team and listed all their injuries over their time in the sport while we might think it not so bad most people from outside motorcycle racing would think it incredibly dangerous. For most people a broken back isn't a bit of a nuisance but a life changing injury and a risk they would never take again.

My missus broke her wrist quite badly falling off a horse, only bone she has ever broken and she has barely got on a horse since because to her the reward isn't worth the risk. I broke my tib and fib quite badly at Leicester in my first flat track (first race of any type for a few years), was on my own so drove home and my main concern was whether I could be back for Coventry in 5 weeks time. My missus just doesn't understand it despite seeing a husband and two sons racing and I don't think most people would so we should be highlighting it.