Showered in Shale

Heat 9 thrills at Sky speedway broadcast

2010-04-14T17:28:00.000+01:00

Mentions of the wonder of HD are strangely kept to a minimum during the Coventry versus Poole meeting televised live on Sky Sports from Brandon Stadium. In terms of exciting racing and/or passing after the first bend (in any race), there were very few moments where viewers would benefit from the additional focus of HD so it’s rapid fall from favourable mention is, perhaps, understandable. After eight processional races, there’s finally some drama in heat 9 when the “spectacular Ben Barker” treats us all to some speedy overtaking. Nigel hails this brief uplift in drama with typical understatement, “and that was one of the most dramatic races you’ll see. That was one of the most dramatic races you’ll see anywhere in the world – Polish league, Swedish league, British league – that’s why we love it!”

What to love is always a good question? Perhaps someone to admire is Rory Schlein, who threatens to overtake Davey Watt on the third bend of the last lap of heat 12 (but doesn’t!). That said, we take our kicks where we can so, contractually you have to suspect, Rory’s valiant effort is professionally appreciated by the Boys in their usual understated ecstatic fashion.
[Kelvin] “Whoa!”
[Nigel] “What a race it is here!”
[Kelvin] “That was one of the races of the night so far!”
If the definition of an exciting race is massively expanded to include processional races that nearly include an overtake then this one is, indeed, truly magnificent! I only wish I could get HD on my laptop. Kelvin knows what he’s just seen “super speedway out in front but the Pirates in control”.

Before the meeting starts, Nigel & Kelvin sensibly ignore the likely foregone conclusion and, instead, vainly try to talk up the possible closeness of the encounter. Though we’re collectively likely to run the usual full range of emotions from Y to Z, Kelv kindly still identifies the key to success, “if Coventry want to win this evening, they need to take advantage of inexperience among some of the Poole riders.” This is flawless logic until you think about it since only the Poole reserves Madsen and Mroczka have no experience at Brandon Stadium. Nigel has no doubts as to the psychological and tactical significance of the reserves race, “you know, you get the feeling – I know it’s a little early – this heat number two could be the defining one of the meeting”. First time out said “defining” race only gets as far as bend one before Madsen falls. Kelvin squeals insightfully in truly bonkers fashion, “just not enough room on his leg – they unsettle him and vroom down he goes” Using his extensive speedway experience, Kelv immediately identifies what HD fails to pick up, “Madsen still not very happy. His steel shoe is off!” Whoops! Kelvin immediately corrects himself, “His chain is off!” A bike powered by steel shoes would, surely, be a sight to see in HD. Luckily, Nigel brings his extensive first hand knowledge of the motorway network to bear to aid our understanding of this example of first bend bunching, “that first bend was as busy as the M6 in rush hour”. Whenever I travel on the M6 - even at the dead of night (let alone the rush hour) – I usually see more than four cars, so lucky Nigel. Even at midnight on the much, much quieter M6 toll road, there are more vehicles than claimed. In the rerun of the notionally ‘inexperienced’ Poole reserves first ever completed competitive race (heat 2) at Coventry defies these particular pundits imaginings when they race comfortably away to an easy 5-1! Sam Ermolenko grabs race winner Leon Madsen for a post race interview way too dull to relate, though Leon does manage to provide the first live swear word (I hear) of the HD speedway era (“my first time was shit!”). Maybe this word isn’t swearing anymore on Sky Sports? Nigel definitely fails to issue his usual fulsome apology to potentially offended members of the Monday night Sky speedway congregation.

To be fair there were also some other overtakes after the first bend in some other races - mainly inadvertently brought on by mechanical failure amongst the Bees riders. On the back straight during the second lap of heat 3, Ben Barker slows dramatically (having failed to turn his fuel on according to Kelv) – in the blink of an eye, Watt and Ward pass either side of him. In the absence of any genuinely dramatic racing, what could have happened frightens the rubbernecker in Kelvin, “good crikey – that could have been a big, big accident”. After four heats with the score at 5-19, the meeting’s well and truly over as a contest. Even Kelv’s cheerful mate Moley would struggle to continue to enjoy it, “there’s Moley – he’s loving it! He’s loving speedway 2010!”

Fortunately, Kelvin’s skill as a forecaster hasn’t deserted him over the close season. After the ‘No Sheet Sherlock’ section where he picks out his key men (Kennett and Holder – what insight!), Kelvin puts on his widely admired profound voice before the first race to tell us, “Harris is nigh on unbeatable around here” thereby guaranteeing Bomber last place. The mental strength Josh Auty demonstrates as he rides to a creditable first heat second place amazes Kelv, “especially when you think of the psychology behind him! Four world class riders chasing round behind him!” Hum. Let’s see: Doyle leads (he’s ahead of Auty), Auty himself is second, Holder is third (world class rider 1), Harris is fourth (world class rider 2 but a teammate so not chasing him). So, all we’re missing are the two other “world class” riders behind Josh? Actually, come to think of it, six rider races – with four of them from Coventry – would definitely entertain and might have enabled the Bees to rack up enough points to make this a closer contest.

As the meeting draws to a conclusion, after hugely tiring relentless bonhomie and faux excitement, Nigel lets the cat out of the bag, “To score less than 40 on your home track is pretty damaging!” It finishes 39-54 and that includes a tactical ride (albeit partly induced by a stack of mechanical problems)! Quite who or what is damaged so early in the season isn’t made clear. Is it Coventry’s EL winning credentials? Crowd levels? Team spirit? The Elite League?

Long haired Davey Watt, looking daily more like a ranch hand than a speedway rider – if viewed from behind you wouldn’t know whether (as the saying goes) to fight it or fark it - sums the situation up succinctly. “Yeh, I guess all the people at the start of the year saying we were good [pause] were right!” HD or no HD, Moley’s love of speedway or otherwise, already it seems that the 2010 Elite League has a structural problems at its heart that team averages no longer solve – namely, one team (Poole) presently has exceptional strength. Unless injuries or serendipity intervene, no amount of hyperbole from the Sky commentary team will be able to disguise this brute fact as the season progresses. Even with lashings of HBS, televising huge wins from Wimborne Road is going to make dull (HD) viewing for the neutral, while seeing Poole win away – or nearly do so - in HD most weeks won’t set the pulses racing (though there might be the Sky commentary team holy grail of last heat deciders). Never mind that by mixing things up and, finally, showing teams other than Poole means that we viewers are, effectively, just watching the make-up-the-numbers EL also rans fight amongst themselves for the podium and/or Play-off places.

Possible alternative means of entertainment are on hand! Alun Rossiter could be televised in HD each week (“that man has a yo yo night at every speedway meeting”) from every track instead of - or along with - the speedway. He loves the camera and the camera loves him – well, probably not quite, though the way he plays up to it is fun. Riders move clubs all the time so it wouldn’t be a problem if Alun is also in a different pits each week. Though, that said, it’s always more entertaining to see Alun’s expression and to hear his thoughts when it’s actually his team that underperforms. What still makes it so delightful to watch is that each new setback is treated by Alun as a surprise occurrence unrelated to his possible influence on the situation.

Last night Alun – the man Bomber describes as a “fiery character” - wastes no time in letting Charlie know he’s the sharper knife in the drawer, “unfortunately you don’t have to be a brain surgeon to tell me my bottom end’s too weak!” After acknowledging his weak bottom end, Alun’s apparently in the process of trying to replace his injured number two, Christian Hefenbrock – rather than the reserves you’d assume to be his “bottom end” - with a mystery Polish rider. Though, he’s had first hand experience with unmotivated Poles and the accompanying lack of team spirit they can sometimes bring (in the 2007 EL Play-off final), Alun’s keen to get back in this particular metaphorical saddle and try them again. “We’re trying to do it but I’m banging me against a tree…..everyone knows it’s a Polish rider but, unfortunately, with the President dying he can’t practice and they like to practice before they come. He doesn’t want to come until he feels he’s ready so it’s been a bit of a nightmare, one minute he’s coming and the next he isn’t, and that’s very frustrating for us!” Even when frustrated, Alun smiles the photogenic smile of a man with a temporarily “weak bottom end” or else he gurns away - Kelvin fashion - frequently throwing his head back or holding it in emotional anguish (invariably in the glare of the cameras). It’s either do that or bang his head against that tree.

Even though his team management responsibilities during the meeting should fully occupy him, Alun still manages to hear or gets to know what’s being said about him live on the telly. News of his self-absorption apparently hasn’t got through to Charlie, “you said I was running about like a lunatic and that I’d dropped me head but I never drop me head!” [I bang it against a tree]. Davey Watt might wear an age inappropriate baseball cap with an oversized peak but the always incisive Sam Ermolenko teases out Alun’s preferred (but invisible) headgear of choice.
[Sam] “You’re gonna have your thinking cap on”
[Alun] “I’ve had it on since Lakeside!”
Rosco then fesses up yet again about his “weak at the bottom” problem – why this wasn’t this spotted during his successful close season bedding in months isn’t raised – before he acknowledges he’s “certainly got a lot to do and a lot to think about!”

Though it failed a few seasons back when they experimented in the shed they alleged was his workshop, Kelvin could be called upon to enliven any dull HD speedway broadcast with some of his favourite topics! These include: technical detail (that no one knows they should care about); track conditions; the always available what-I-claim-they-did-in-my-day segments; miscellaneous name checks of his career; discussions of the ambient temperature or general metereological conditions pertaining to the meeting (or journey there); crowd/rider/team manager psychology as well as, of course, refereeing decision prediction and analysis. All these are seamlessly included in the broadcast from Brandon so, elsewhere, only really need to be slightly expanded to fill the time and provide yet more cutting edge entertainment for the armchair audience. Kelv covered most of these topics with trademark effortless élan: -
Rosco explains what’s behind Edward Kennett’s mechanical difficulties (“we just found out it’s the magic eye – we’ve fixed it”): “it’s not the first time I’ve heard about electronic ignitions playing up”
Chris “looks quite passive” Holder explains his slow start and his measured approach to the track/meeting (“the track was heavy and I didn’t want to try to kill meself, know what I mean?...it’s a long season, I’m not going to kill myself”): “I’m slightly confused by his criticism of the track early on…..the best way to deal with track conditions is to attack it but he decided differently!”
“You can see the uncertainty in Davey Watt – he was digging around by gate three, now he’s digging about by the safety fence!”
On Rosco not being Swindon through and through, “he has a connection to Coventry, of course, he rode here when I was here!”
“It’s chilly up here”
“If they do go down fighting to the Poole Pirates, I don’t think their fans will be too unhappy!”
“He’s half a lap behind which isn’t what his team manager wants – he wants him half a lap ahead”
Kelvin identifies Edward as Coventry’s key rider “Edward Kennett has got to kick on!” Two EK races later, Nigel notes, “that man is having an absolute nightmare – no points from two rides”
[replay 1] “I’d be very surprised if it wasn’t all four back” [replay 2] “If anything Sitera is the one causing the problem” Ref decides all four back, “Yeh, not surprisingly really”

The really trump entertainment card whenever Kelvin commentates is, of course, the way live broadcast work often detaches his words from reality or what he meant to say. As always, this famously leads to malapropisms and redundancies aplenty. But, in the same way they claim on Monty Python that an infinite number of monkeys in front of an infinite number of typewriters might type out the complete works of Shakespeare, the odd insight does sometimes sneak out of Kelvin’s mouth! It’s only fair we should acknowledge them:-
“Unfortunately for Sitera, he was the sacrificial lamb on the outside”
“Alun Rossiter, once again, riding the rollercoaster of speedway!”

Keen to defy the evidence of our own eyes, Nigel insists mid-meeting, “it’s been an incredible night in many ways” Sadly, its all been too incredible for him to bother to classify! By the end, even Nigel can’t shine the object any longer (“there’s been the odd bit of decent racing”) so, instead, looks to the future and the start of the SGP next weekend in Leszno. According to Sky – skilfully ignoring that only three different riders (Rickardsson, Crump, Pedersen) have won the thing during the last nine years or, even, that most seasons the winner is obvious to all way before the end of the series - this 2010 series will, apparently, magnificently rise above the dull as ditchwater norm. Mostly because of the incroyable excitement generated by newbie’s Chris H and Tai W along with the racing zest provided relative newbie Emil S (“the young guns are in the GP this year – I can’t wait!”). N&K gleefully bang on about these “young guns” completely forgetting only five minutes beforehand Nigel said, “sometimes we expect too much of our young riders”. Helpfully, to get us in the mood, those lovely Sky speedway people kindly prepared a package of ‘highlights’ to thrill us with. Admittedly this version looks streets better than the horror film inspired frequently shown BSI/IMG SGP Cardiff commercial but, nonetheless, this clip still verges on sabotage rather than promotion. Over some random, poorly chosen images the Sky team overlay some key phrases – apparently chosen for their banality, clichedness or inaccuracy rather than mystery or excitement.
OLD GUARD
NEW GUARD
If this were a game and you had to complete or extend the series, this would then be:
MUD GUARD
Or possibly
RIGHT GUARD [recognised brand name sponsorship opportunity alert!]
Maybe to reflect the age of the ‘superstars’ of the series
HOME GUARD
We’re then told
STARS WILL RISE
Actually don’t moons and suns rise? Surely stars are just there? They’re definitely born.
SUNS WILL SET would have been more astronomically correct
GET READY FOR IT
This must be a reference to the prodigious drinking Nigel and Kelvin will do as they’re released from their usual Saturday night purgatory of the Sky studio in Isleworth in favour of a piss up in Leszno (“no doubt about it – we’re both going out there, so it’s going to be a good weekend, Kelv!”)
WHO WILL PREVAIL
Shouldn’t this have a question mark after it? Ignoring this is a series so only a rider’s cumulative score really matters, I’m guessing not Chris, Tai or Emil. Then again, this might be another drinking in Leszno reference?

The SGP is so tremendously important to Sky that they’ve relegated it to Sky Sports 4! Whatever is that? As the name suggests, it turns out to be the fourth of the Sky sports channels and, most significantly, this amazing event WON’T be broadcast in HD (Moley, probably, won’t be there either)! However, despite this disappointment, the really big question is not who will win in Leszno but how early will it be this season before a GP disappears “behind the red button” in 2010? Hard to believe, I know, but even on satellite telly there are obscurer channels than Sky Sports 4! The dreaded phrase ‘behind the red button’ effectively consigns the programme in question to the satellite equivalent of banishment into Siberian exile (and, surely, is a clear signal to advertisers that they’re only going to reach an even smaller segment of this audience of obsessives). Even if the racing doesn’t live up to the grandiose expectations of the commentary team, at least, in the absence of HD, it will be broadcast with mandatory lashings of HBS.

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2010-04-11T18:14:00.001+01:00

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HD adds lustre to seating, team suits and Sky revenues

2010-04-11T17:52:00.000+01:00

People say that the sports programming shown exclusively on Sky Sports has historically been the real engine of subscriber and revenue growth for the Rupert Murdoch owned Sky satellite channel. Premiership football has definitely driven many people to sign up with Sky Sports who otherwise wouldn’t have done so and, if its boosters and/or press releases are to be believed, Sky are delighted with the success of their speedway programming. Again, even if assumptions are dangerous, this must mean that showing speedway has both attracted more subscribers and/or reduces cancellation rates during the summer months.

Subscribing to Sky Sports for the duration of the speedway season isn’t cheap – eight months at £36 (thirty six whole English pounds for low definition!) costs £288 – more than enough to buy a season ticket to watch at your local speedway club every week! Multiply this cost by the 100,000 viewers we so often hear about and that’s £28.8 million or a lot of delight. Though not traditionally seen as a golden goose, looked at in subscription terms alone, the speedway audience isn’t to be sniffed at! Actually I’m pretty amazed, given some of the dire processional Elite League and SGP meetings they regularly televise that their audience remains so robust. Obviously such huge sums also raise the question of the terms and value of past, present and future contracts British speedway negotiate with Sky.

To milk the fatted calf some more, Sky Sports recently announced that from this (2010) season - speedway would be shown in HD! (be still my beating heart) HD presently costs an exorbitant £46 per month! If everyone “upgrades”, then that could generate another £8 million and take total speedway subscription revenues to a cool £36.8 million! These are the kind of figures that leap off the page in the way that HD allegedly makes the action do! Worryingly for Sky and their HD initiative is their previous history of failure with heavy handed initiatives made without plausible reason let alone satisfying verifiable consumer demand. For example, who can forget their insistence on the use of GREEN HELMET COLOURS? Ostensibly so the camera could pick out the riders ‘better’! This really stands out as an ignominious failure and, thankfully, is now rescinded! Perhaps, HD will be the exception that proves the rule and might actually drive more new or lapsed fans through the turnstiles as well as provide greater enjoyment?

All the talk of HD along with the chance to see some of the closer racing that’s the hallmark of televised Premier League speedway meetings prompts me to fire up the laptop and wear the 3D glasses I got the last time I went to the cinema. The only glasses usually associated with the Sky speedway coverage are the rose tinted versions issued as standard to the commentary team for use during any and every turgid meeting. However, with my 3D glasses on, the chance to see Nigel P and Kelvin T in Avatar coloured bright blue is really too thrilling a prospect to miss. Maybe I’ve misunderstood the HD concept but the pictures from Hertfordshire reveal not only is Nigel his usual pale and interesting self but even worse – shock, horror - Kelvin is nowhere to be seen! Can the world still turn safely on its axis without Kelv gurning excitably (“whoa! I say!”) away live about the brilliance of EL speedway on a Monday night? It’s been a while since I watched speedway on Sky but this level of wholly unnecessary change is unconscionable.

My initial thought – and its only a personal impression – is that this HD lark isn’t all it’s been cracked up to, is it? I’d hoped that with the glasses on, these processional races we all know, love and see as the hallmark of Sky Sports speedway Elite League meeting coverage would massively improve. Sadly it still looks just as processional as it always did, even when the Premier League teams race. One bright spot - thankfully, with the steadying influence of Chris Louis beside him, Nigel didn’t feel the need to compete with Kelvin’s squealing orgasmic excitement every time nothing much happens or threatens to happen but doesn’t. Though Nigel can’t see the action in HD, he’s always keen to let the viewers without this technological innovation know exactly what they’re missing out on when they watch in low definition (LD), “great to see both teams looking so smart in their team suits in high definition!” Wow! We all find team suits so absorbing and the most exciting thing about speedway – and now we can see them even more clearly! It’s a miracle!

Something else that’s also exponentially better in HD is coin tossing. Always the showman, Len Silver sets great store by igniting the imaginations of the youthful fans of tomorrow by throwing the £1 coin used to toss for gate position at the start of the meeting into the Hoddesdon crowd! For major meetings, the investment doubles and a £2 coin is used. Sadly, Sky fail to capture this drama in either HD or LD so I’m left feeling cheated sitting there in my 3D glasses. Luckily, the producer’s much more on the ball for the breathtaking spectacle of the heat 15 £2 toss of the coin. Sadly, this all goes badly awry and the natural cliffhanger drama of this potentially mega significant moment quickly loses its lustre. Ever the professional, and not at all happy with the initial original toss, Charlie Webster demands more tossing but can’t persuade Graham Drury.
[Charlie] “£2 it’s usually 50p! Are you going to call?”
[Graham] “Let me spin it first!”
[Charlie searches to find coin] “Tails”
[Graham] “We’ll have gates one and three”
[Charlie] “You’ve got to do it again!”
[Graham] “Why do I have to do it again?”
[Charlie, second toss] “Heads!”
[Graham] “Heads?”
[Charlie, ponders possible decisive third toss of coin] “Okay, we’ll go with the first time”
[John Sampford] “We’ll have Sundstrom on one”
[Graham] “No! We’re on one!”

For Nigel, even the seats look good in HD, “I’ve got to say that the new seating that they’ve put in on bends one and two and bends three and four is looking lovely!” Fortunately there are no more bends for Nigel to admire at this speedway track or we could have been there all night savouring their newfound glory. Monday night televised speedway is invariably littered with opinion, hyperbole and bombast masquerading as (unsubstantiated) fact. Indeed, every week Sky Sports broadcast the speedway in High BS (HBS). However, not only do Sky break the speedway mould with the arrival of HD but – rather controversially and, hopefully, they’ll soon stamp it out – but they broadcast the words in Low BS. In LBS, actual facts are mentioned! So, highly unusually, we do actually learn something new from Nigel – albeit only tangentially related to speedway, namely (apart from their glory in HD) these seats were bought from “Walthamstow Greyhound Stadium”!

When Rye House promoter Len Silver’s first interviewed, it’s impossible not to notice that he’s dressed for HD - even his always super smart hair looks more primped and bouffant tonight? Understandably enough, Len Silver proudly walks tall in the knowledge and glory of Sky’s decision to broadcast (in HD, has anyone mentioned that?) from his stadium. Initially, I’m also pleased that - without Kelvin - that the words that back up this new fangled HD Sky speedway coverage is much more ‘normal’ and restrained. When Kelvin has access to the microphone it must somehow egg Nigel on towards wilder flights of fancy and hyperbole that the on track action and the (HD or LD) pictures we get at home just don’t merit. By Wednesday night’s broadcast from Wimborne Road in Poole, normal HBS service has been resumed – so each and every turgid processional race or dull first bend overtake is relentlessly hammed up as the most amazing piece of speedway action every known to man. Sadly, HBS is the house style. If we apply the HBS approach to a domestic matter, say the delivery of the local free weekly advertising newspaper. If broadcast live on Sky, Kelvin & Nigel would compete with each other to hail this delivery as a cross between Moses coming down the mountain with the 10 Commandments mixed in with the invention of the printing press and the completion of the complete works of Shakespeare. We all understand that their job is to polish the product and falsely claim lustre even when it’s absent (or, even better, if it’s actually there).

In addition, the Sky contract to televise Elite League meetings means there’s a structural commercial need to hype the product since it’s their bread and butter for eight long, often turgid, months. So, for the meeting from Hoddesdon, rather than praise a competing attraction – say, the Premier League meeting from Rye House that you only show once in a blue moon – you underplay its importance in comparison with the EL product. Looked at cynically, this surely – along with staff absence - must have been a factor behind the low key LBS presentation we enjoyed. Even stranger, given the sheer number of suspect, dodgy or wet tracks that Sky’s televised racing from over recent years, is the criticism that Rye’s track came in for when barely a peep is usually heard about our regular diet of sub-optimal EL tracks.

This understatedness doesn’t seem quite fair on poor ole Leaping Len or, indeed, the quality of the Premier League product. On Monday you also could have been forgiven if you thought HD stood for Heavy Damnation as apparently everyone lined up to give the particular foibles, peculiarities and essential characteristics of the Hoddesdon track a good kicking. If the track is the stage, then the talking heads on Monday’s broadcast strongly gave the impression that few exactly relish the Rye House scenery. Damned with faint praise is almost as good as it got for Len’s circuit on a channel known for its excessive hyperbole and needless exaggeration! Before the ‘racing’ started, Nigel did confidently say, “the track looks absolutely perfect”. After that things went badly downhill commentwise about the track, its contours, the surface, the primacy of gating and the nature of the racing it usually provides quicker than a novice skier on one of Len’s Silver Ski holidays. There were numerous examples of this reverse HBS:
[Chris Louis] “Small and slick are the types of track Jason [Lyons] races best on”
[Graham Drury] “we’ve already seen that starts are vital at Rye House”
[Graham Drury] “at Rye House it’s all about engine set up and engine preparation – it’s renowned as a slick track and I’m sure Len Silver wouldn’t mind me saying that”
[Linus Sundstrom] “it’s very important to have a good jump ‘cause it’s so short to that corner”
[Chris Louis] “oh, Luke Bowen’s up over the edge {of bend 1 burm}”
[Steve Johnston] “seems to be one of those sort of tracks – not a lot of passing”
[Steve Johnston] “you’ve got to get out of the gate first. It’s much more important here than anywhere else!”
[Chris Louis] “I just think the outside isn’t going to work”
[Aaron Summers] “Yeh, Rye House isn’t my favourite track…the starts are so slick here”
[Justin Sedgman] “it’s just been watered and it’s too slippery”
[Chris Louis] “it’s all about the start”
[Nigel Pearson] “once he took the lead he was never going to be caught”
[Nigel Pearson] “I think the home track advantage could swing things”
[Len Silver!] “I’ve got some new riders who haven’t weighed up their home track to get the advantage”
[Steve Johnston] “you can’t team ride at this track like you can at a lot of places”
[Steve Johnston] “I think everyone’s shown if you make starts you can win, you just need to get the damn thing out of the start!”
[Nigel Pearson] “Rye House are brilliant here!”

Should any new or lapsed Essex or Hertfordshire based fans have seen Rye House versus Birmingham on the telly and thought ‘gosh what a great evening out for the family’ or ‘blimey I didn’t know speedway was still on’. Then this sustained negativity is bound to give them immediate pause for thought or, worse still, stop them going full stop. Usually, getting your product on the telly results in greater demand not less. Monday’s night’s comments on the track were like reverse Viagra – damping ardour rather than boosting it. A couple of hours of explicit or implicit knocking comment certainly isn’t going to have anyone flocking through the turnstiles. Especially so when anything shown on this obscure satellite channel rarely garners negative editorial content of any type or description. Indeed, on almost all satellite telly, serious structural problems are usually presented as virtues (‘your pants are on fire’ becomes ‘you can save on your central heating costs’)

Complaints from the riders, commentary team or promoters, let alone those on the British Speedway Forum, that this was a slick, gaters track that serves up processional racing completely fails to acknowledge the 11 overtakes that the meeting served up for the fans in LiD (live definition), LD (low definition) and HD (high definition).

Another very noticeable and positive feature of the meeting is something Nigel always does effortlessly well (and in an engaging manner) – namely, effortless segues into mentions of other speedway leagues, clubs, news and forthcoming events. In a few brief minutes, Nigel managed to seamlessly mention Cardiff, the Super 7evens, Somerset, Glasgow, the PL pairs.

However, this triumph aside, the nature of live broadcast programming dictates that mistakes will be made and, rather enjoyably, strange phrases invariably escape.
[Nigel] “Graham Drury watching on, looking at his programme”
[Nigel] “it’s not just Birmingham where noise is a bit of big issue – it’s everywhere given the popularity of the sport that’s grown so much with Sky!”
[Nigel] “Birmingham look good on paper!” [Chris] “Yeh but we’re not riding on paper!”
[Nigel] “Leethan Ekberg”
[Chris] “Lee-nus Simpson”
[Nigel] “one of the sport’s characters – even wrote his own autobiography – well worth a read I’m sure!”

Some phrases Nigel uses are pre-prepared – old favourites like “Lyons ready to roar” and “he roared to victory” get trotted out like long lost friends whenever Jason ‘Lyonsy’ Lyons rides. On the subject of long lost friends. Nigel joyously welcomes Moley in similar fashion to Kelvin’s OTT greetings, apparently under the mistaken impression that Moley is a real, long lost but fondly remembered relative “a reminder that we are in HD throughout the season – as Moley’s reminding us there – great to have Moley back on board for the new campaign” If this is back on board, I’m a Dutchman since Nigel completely freezes poor ole Moley out for the rest of the meeting preferring instead to talk with Chris Louis. It also has to be said that Kelvin’s the only one to share a real rapport with Moley and their repartee together really does bring an extra dimension to Kelvin’s work and the coverage of the sport. I expect HD will enhance their relationship further. In Kelv’s absence, there’s also much less talk of set ups and engines. However, Graham Drury (“Yeh, the EF’s that have taken place on the track – we’ve had three engines go in the pits”), Jason Lyons (“I just noticed after the race that me bike had a bit of a rattle”) and Linus Sundstrom (“I try to do my best in the workshop and the track”) do try to redress the balance.

Charlie Webster is now in her second season in the pits and, unlike the close personal style of research undertaken by Suzi and Sophie, she’s sufficiently motivated to succeed in her work to attend non televised meetings (for example, the Ben Fund meeting recently held at Rye House). On the hoof, spur of the moment interviews are difficult to conduct with ease. Charlie’s certainly quick on her feet chasing round the pits, though this doesn’t provide much practice for her sponsored run in the London marathon for the domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid Foundation (sponsor her here). Mostly, Charlie succeeds though sometimes her usual run-sight-aim-fire technique is ignored in favour of run-first thought-fire-reflect
[To Chris Kerr] “Can I ask you what it’s like to be the only American in the Brummies team?” A: Apparently not an issue
[To Johno & Aaron] “You’re just having a chat away there together”
[To John Sampford] “You just put it perfectly – if you didn’t have an engine failure you’d have won”

One thing the 100,000 speedway subscribers still don’t appear to be is attractive to advertisers! Either the advertisers know we’re already spent up on the exorbitant monthly access charges (& HD flat screen tellies) or, alternatively, the viewer profile is much more CDE than AB. If you look for major product adverts during the commercial breaks, you’re going to wait a long time! However, come rain or shine, there’s always the guarantee that there will be endlessly repeated HBS adverts for the speedway extravaganza that is the Cardiff Grand Prix. It’s on slightly later this year (July 10) so we’ll all be exposed to the joys of the latest advert for longer than humanely necessary. Quite who the agencies are that BSI/IMG chose to produce these horror shows isn’t known though I expect not only are they cheap but, within the advertising industry, this brief is probably viewed as one step from a suicide note or unemployment. The clichéd nature of the visual images chosen finds an echo in the narrative voice chosen to say, “atmosphere like no other” and “pride passion drama”! Understandably, possibly for trade descriptions reasons, there’s no mention whatsoever of speedway - the product supposedly on show – or, indeed, racing. Nonetheless the horror film inspired voiceover brilliantly combines the theatricality of Monster Mash with the mock heroic beyond the grave intro voice from the Michael Jackson thriller video and leavens it all with the gravitas of the narrators usually found on straight to DVD slasher ‘B’ movie soundtracks. Once the formal adverts are over, the informal adverts for Cardiff - masquerading as informed comment - spill endlessly from Nigel and Kelvins mouths. Sadly, these puffs don’t sound any better in HD.

Like bald men fighting over a comb, Premier League fans and promoters are always keen to stress the superiority of the product they serve up a weekly basis compared to, say, that provided in the Elite League. Graham Drury makes a strong case, “both Rye House and ourselves have put on a Premier League meeting fans and Sky viewers can be proud of – we’ve got the best league – and, hopefully, fans will want to come and see us!” Cognisant that the staple Monday night fare is Elite League racing (and that he’d like regular work as co-commentator or pits colour man) Chris Louis closes the programme with a rather political HBS editorial summary surely mainly crafted with the producer rather than accuracy in mind. “Yeh, sure, Premier League is entertaining and they’ve put on a great show for us but the difference is the start and the professionalism!”

Attendance Queries

2010-01-31T21:52:00.005Z

Attendance figures for the 2008 and 2009 Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) series have finally been released from where they’d been held in a file marked ‘Top Secret’ inside the BSI/IMG bunker located on the outskirts of London. A quick first glance indicates that the SGP World Championship outlook remains cloudy and its popularity with fans is (for the first time) in decline. Indeed, even according to these BSI/IMG figures, fans prepared to pay at the turnstiles to see one or more of the events has decreased in aggregate. Worse still, upon closer inspection, these figures don’t easily allow comparative analysis, let alone that they also raise doubts about both their accuracy and the methodology used to compile them.

Firstly, these attendance figures remain - as they have done traditionally - suspiciously rounded. Is it really that likely that only two out of the 2009 SGP events don’t have smoothed attendances that end in 000,00 or 0? Experientially and statistically, this smells like stinking fish.

Secondly, questions remain about whether these headline figures released by BSI/IMG refer solely to customers who actually paid for their entry to the various events that make up the SGP series! Indeed, suspicions remain that the inclusion of complementary giveaways along with press & other gratis attendees have possibly inflated the attendance figures. Though, to be fair, lack of fan enthusiasm combined with the need to portray the stadiums as crowded on TV are possibly a factor behind the need for such giveaways. Nonetheless, standard practice in pretty well every other ‘professional’ sport – many of whom IMG either manage or promote - is to list the PAYING customers rather than artificially boost the total attendance figure with these ‘false’, non revenue earning additions. For example, when Sunderland AFC publish the attendance figure for any individual match, it includes all paying customers (season ticket holders & via the turnstiles). They don’t include SAFC administrative or playing staff, friends, directors, press, refreshment kiosk staff, ice cream vendors, programme stallholders, Police, medical & security staff, prize winners or, even, gratis/comp tickets etc. Not only would it be disingenuous to do so but, more significantly, it would mislead both sponsors and advertisers who’re prepared to support the club based on the level of guaranteed television exposure (in addition to the value they attach to audited/verifiable numbers of fans actually at the game).

Lets go back a few steps to interrogate these recently released SGP attendance figures. The Speedway Star (July 5th 2008) reported critically upon the decision-making capabilities of the Cardiff SGP referee, noted the frustration of involved riders and also stated, “42,187 other people in the stadium concurred with them”. Compared to the (suspiciously rounded) figures reported for previous GPs at Cardiff, this was at that moment a NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD. However, amazingly, BSI/IMG now subsequently report that, in fact, the 2008 figure was 42,600. Where on earth did these 413 extra people suddenly come from? Possibly they exist and have justifiably been added to the spreadsheet. Who can say? There’s certainly a variance. Whatever the explanation, at this late stage how fantastic that the wondrous brilliance of the event allied to the magnificently innovative BSI/IMG adverts to promote the Cardiff ‘experience’ ensured that greater success than stated in the trade press was achieved! Nonetheless it’s strange that the specialist press would get such specific detail wrong?

If 2008 became increasingly super wonderful, then Cardiff 2009 was even more amazing with a reported attendance of 43,000 (nothing randomly ‘real world’ like, say, 42,937 or 43,236, but exactly dead on 43,000 people attended). Sadly for the World Championship, even after all these post-hoc revisions, reported overall attendance for the whole SGP series showed a decline of 7.3% from a reported 186,972 in 2008 to 173,309 in 2009.

Worse still - somewhere along the line - the attendance spreadsheet compilers appear to have lost track of some important but understandably disgruntled fans….
Few can forget that after the mismanagement that resulted in the fiasco of the Gelsenkirchen postponement, all tickets (but no travel costs) were refunded to badly let down fans. It was reported at the time (Speedway Star October 18th 2008), “Bellamy revealed they’d sold 11,500 for Saturday’s event, a disappointing figure following the near 20,000*[* doh! it says 25,000 in the BSI/IMG figures] last season” and “as a gesture of goodwill [these fans] will be offered a free ticket to a BSI-promoted event [namely, Gothenburg, Copenhagen or Cardiff] in 2009”. Questioned in light touch fashion by SGP series Press Officer Philip Rising (Speedway Star January 17th 2009), Paul Bellamy lashed out against misinformation, inaccuracy and rumour on the Internet about SGP generally and the Veltins Arena debacle in particular. He also categorically stated, “ticket sales were not that bad, we would have been alright. We would never cancel an event because of poor ticket sales. They only make up a portion of the revenue, there is TV money**, sponsorship and, of course, the reputation of the series”. [my italics]. By midsummer (Speedway Star June 6th 2009), with a hint of self-satisfaction, it was noted that the offer of compensatory replacement tickets “pledge” for one of three BSI-promoted events had been “honoured”. A delighted Bellamy burbled, “we have distributed over 6,000 tickets for the Swedish, Danish and British GPS to fans who were at the Veltins Arena”. Interesting the same issue also noted about the 2009 Gothenburg GP, “BSI were happy with the 15,000*** [***doh! 15, 236 in the figures] attendance on Saturday”.

Sooo, though assumptions are often the mother of all mess ups, it appears though 11,500 tickets were “sold” for Gelsenkirchen, in addition to their refund only 6,000 or so fans could be bothered to get a FREE ticket for the 2009 SGP series (despite a choice of three ‘attractive’ SGP event locations). One explanation could be that the postponement and its financial aftermath left fans short because it wasn’t properly compensated; thereby, prompting these fans to never ever want to watch the SGP live (in person) again, even for free! Possible draft headline we won’t see: Mismanagement of German SGP drives 5000 fans from the sport. Or, possibly, the publicly quoted figure of 11,500 was another approximation that could be subsequently revised to suit. Either way, the total figure for 2009 might need to be adjusted by circa 6,000 to read 167, 309 or, maybe, has been under reported and should be revised to 179, 309! Given, that suspicions that these figures might (or might not) include comps/gratis/giveaway tickets already, then any existing or potential sponsors would be advised to give such attendance figures a random percentage reduction (of their own choice) before they make any decision to invest. Clearly no business invests solely on the basis of the criteria of attendances but it could be a factor in their decision making process.

Also, when 41 of the BSI/IMG contractual demands given to the prospective Gorzow organisers as conditions to stage part of the SWC were revealed in the Polish press**** - something potentially relevant to these unanswered questions about the veracity of attendance figures – they included the requirement, “BSI will also be given, free of charge, 250 tickets for the best seats on the Main Stand”. Given the small size of this venue, BSI contractual demands elsewhere in the larger, modern stadia they advocate for stagings of the SGP series could be higher. For fairness, even if we just stick to this benchmark of 250 an event for every location in the 2009 SGP series, then 2,500 attendees could possibly also already be included in the 2009 aggregate figure of 173,309. Obviously, BSI demands for such perks could have remained constant for 2008 & 2009, so the net comparative effect might actually negligible. Nonetheless, such ongoing philosophical questions about the accuracy of the figures quoted remains unanswered. In the light of the uncertainty about this information, advertisers and sponsors might still possibly need to apply a further haircut to the attendance figures.

Even more wonderful than the uncertainty that surrounds them or the ongoing playfulness with said SGP attendance figures is the news that in 2009 - at both Parken and Bydgoszcz - more fans were reported in attendance than the SGP website advertises as the maximum capacity of the stadium holds for either speedway event!***** At the time of writing, the BSI/IMG website claims the capacity of Bydgoszcz is 17,000 (2009 reported attendance 18,000) and that Parken is 28,000 (2009 reported attendance 28,600). Obviously both these stadiums can adapt (increase/decrease) the capacity of their facilities according to the demands of the event to be staged there. However, though only a “portion of the revenue” BSI/IMG earns from the SGP is “ticket sales” you have to assume that the capacity the SGP website reports actually bears some vaguely ‘accurate’ relationship to the ticket numbers they intend to sell? Particularly at Parken which is, after all, a “BSI-promoted” event!

Given that BSI/IMG have secured the future rights to the SGP under licence from the FIM for the long haul, isn’t it time the FIM properly investigated what on earth is going on to produce such possibly discrepant reported attendance figures? Some investigation of this particular aspect wouldn’t go amiss before perceptions that the “reputation of the series” has been damaged gains any unnecessary credence?

** to be discussed in another blog shortly

**** thank you to Roman Chyla for his translation into English of the article that appeared in the Gazeta Lubuska that he posted on the informative Yahoo speedway email forum (speedway@yahoogroups.com)

***** taken from an article on the SGP that appears in the Spring 2010 issue of The Voice. (published quarterly - annual subscription £10) For more information contact on 0208 397 6599 or email stuart.towner@blueyonder.co.uk

Shale Snapshots 2009 (pt.2)

2009-12-23T19:23:00.003Z

Shale Snapshots 2009 (pt.1)

2009-12-23T18:46:00.003Z

A single random image has been chosen from every speedway event I attended in 2009 (every British speedway track was visited).

Observer Sports Books of the Year 2009 - "honorary mention" for Quantum of Shale

2009-12-06T18:39:00.002Z

"Finally, an honorary mention for Jeff Scott's Quantum of Shale: More Tales from the Shale (Methanol, £20). Scott writes extensively (one might even say obssessively...) on Speedway and Quantum is of his usual high standard. Needless to say if mud and noisy bikes don't interest you then neither will this, but if they do, Jeff's the man."

Quantum of Mud, Showered in Mud, Mud Britannia, Shifting Mud and Mud for Breakfast are all still available

Speedway Grand Prix 2009 - Rider earnings

2009-10-30T08:59:00.001Z

The fastidious Charles McKay has now collated the cumulative Speedway Grand Prix prize money totals earned by each rider during the recently completed 2009 season. They make pitiful reading for many riders concerned and also their accountants (but do accord with the derisory levels set by the FIM rules and regulations). Based on these figures alone, it can’t be even vaguely economic for most of the riders to compete in the series if, for example, you only factor in their increased travel and equipment expenses.

British Speedway also continues to pay a high cost each season in terms of intermittent and/or selective rider absenteeism during the course of each ‘long’ season. But the ongoing damage could also potentially be even more catastrophic long term - particularly if the self-interested cries of anguish from the ‘top riders’ that the British Elite League season is too long, that there are too many meetings ridden on different nights etc gains enough credence to eventually lead to structural change and, effectively, the abolition of ‘top tier’ weekend racing in Britain. Effectively such a change would merely be to accommodate the narrow commercial interests of the SGP circus and its field of notionally ‘world class’ competitors. We often hear about the packed schedule of riders who compete in the British, Polish and Swedish leagues (to name but three). Obviously, these demanding itineraries are compounded for all riders who chose to compete, qualify to compete or - in real grace and favour, true tug your forelock feudal fashion - get picked by the speedway experts found within the SGP/IMG management team as wild cards. (Blindfold pin the tail on the donkey sometimes looks a preferable wild card selection method in comparison to the informed deliberations of the small coterie of experts drawn from this particular inner circle).

Of course, the decision (once picked or qualified) to compete in any SGP series is the riders' right as self-employed workers but , ultimately, not really sufficient reason or justification to throw away eighty years of racing tradition in this country. We hear so often nowadays about the need to adapt – aka a convenient shorthand for the idea of ‘fixed’ Elite League racing nights - that you could half suspect it’s become the speedway equivalent of a Buddhist chant. Often without apparent irony, there’s wild talk of meaningless Elite League fixtures from riders (or their tame press representative advocates) who, nonetheless, conveniently forget that they also compete in the many turgid rounds of the borefest that the SGP has become. Clearly some promoters who operate midweek tracks will be in favour of such change to shore up their strategic, competitive and (possibly) financial positions. Bizarrely, some promoters even advocate, tacitly or implicitly, a measured form of entente cordiale and compromise with the SGP. This, despite the fact, it’s only ever been a parasitic one-way street, never mind the long held perception that the SGP couldn’t give a monkey’s about British Speedway and remain sanguine if they or the riders take the proverbial. However, it’s an unavoidable and incontrovertible fact that most well attended sports in this neck of the woods (and practically all countries elsewhere) pretty well all take place over the weekend or, at least, the extended Friday to Monday weekend that television sports coverage has gradually foisted upon us all.

A reasonable question could be posed, namely ‘why does British Speedway have to suffer (any more than the BSPA directs) by further compromising its traditions?’ Particularly when this appears to be for an independent commercial party with no connection or investment in British Speedway. If this were a detective novel or murder mystery, any half decent investigator would automatically ask ‘who really benefits from this?’ Based on the figures below, it’s clearly neither the majority of the riders nor British Speedway that emerges financially triumphant. If the siren voices for radical change (and supposedly moving with the times) are heeded, would the reduced EL fixture list so many are apparently in favour of demonstrate a pragmatic way to work round the SGP elephant in the room? More likely, it would be a bodged solution too far and signal itself as the precursor to the further inexorable decline of an already diminished top tier racing product?

Rider
1 Jason Crump $101,600 £67,811
2 Emil Sayfutdinov $84,300 £53,388
3 Tomasz Gollob $72,650 £47,225
4 Greg Hancock $60,200 £39,130
5 Andreas Jonsson $58,550 £39,263
6 Nicki Pedersen $54,650 £35,775
7 Rune Holta $53,750 £34,852
8 Kenneth Bjerre $53,050 £35,080
9 Fredrik Lindgren $52,150 £33,894
10 Hans Andersen $51,650 £33,581
11 Leigh Adams $49,500 £32,445
12 Sebastian Ulamek $46,350 £30,207
13 Chris Harris $42,350 £27,595
14 Grezegorz Walasek$41,950 £27,355
15 Scott Nicholls $38,500 £25,761
16 Neils K Iversen $13,900 £8,938
17 Antonio Lindback $12,000 £7,736

Promotion/Relegation Meetings 2009

2009-10-21T18:12:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to the Edinburgh Monarchs for triumphing through the Premier League Play Offs for the second successive season to again take part in the promotion/relegation meetings that could potentially see them join the upper tier of British Speedway. They certainly look to have put together at team that, on its present top-notch form, could stand a chance of doing so. Obviously, on their day they all go well at the Scotwaste Arena and a trip to Kirkmanshulme Lane will hold no fears for the majority of the team. Clearly, on a regular day-to-day basis, there is still a difference (in equipment investment and to the first corner?) between the perceived standards of Elite League and the Premier League. This was evidenced by the comprehensive drubbing the Monarchs received from Wolverhampton who, last season, were apparently completely demoralised and but a pale shadow of the team that’s subsequently torn up trees this season. Nonetheless, they still swept their erstwhile challengers aside and only an optimist person would bet otherwise for the forthcoming Monarchs versus Aces meeting.

No one can deny that the visit of an Elite League team to any Premier League will, weather permitting, draw a big crowd especially if there is something more than pride to (notionally) race for! With a couple of in form riders - people like Kevin Wolbert (who through accident or foresight will start the 2010 on an assessed average of 7.00 rather his higher ‘real’ average) and Ryan Fisher - plus a roster of talent that includes Andrew Tully, Matty Wethers and their latest secret weapon of the rider who sounds like a new but obscure martial art, Kalle Katajisto, Belle Vue will face more of a battle than Wolves did last season.

Even if we ignore on the ongoing encroachment of residential properties moving inexorably towards the Scotswaste Arena or rumours of site visits from supermarket surveyors keen to plan a possible future for this land, there are number of significant factors that indicate the promotion/relegation opportunity is much more a theoretical than a practical possibility. Though there’s the incentive of the nowadays increased Sky payments due to each Elite League team, all that glitters isn’t necessarily gold never mind that it’s widely accepted that increased rider costs will automatically swallow a big proportion if not all of this apparent satellite television bounty. Should the unthinkable happen, there would then be the complication of the Monarchs regular race night. This is currently a Friday and they’d quickly find themselves in the same boat as other Elite League clubs like Lakeside and Eastbourne. Whose fixture lists and gate receipts allegedly suffer from the ongoing deleterious impact of the increasingly boring but unreasonably demanding Speedway Grand Prix series events and its mandatory pre-meeting practices. Should any Friday night EL club stubbornly continue to run their League meetings on SGP weekends then the ‘stars’ of said same series would, most likely, not ride so fans would understandably think twice about the increased admission costs just to see something equivalent to what they have now (and nothing like what it says on the tin).

All these issues exist even before we take a brief look at the present geographical distribution of the Elite and Premier Leagues. Belle Vue are the most northerly of the Elite clubs and effectively have no local derbies while, if the Premier League split into regional North & South groups, the preponderance of ‘northern’ based clubs would probably find Stoke (38 miles from Belle Vue’s track) in the Southern group! In Quantum of Shale (a lovely present for the speedway fan in your life) as long ago as June 2008, Monarchs fan Ronnie Trotter expressed concern during a visit to Smallmead about the likely financial impact of lost revenues. “So, even though this year is a good year to go up for the big payment, our nearest club would then be Belle Vue and we’d lose the derbies against Glasgow plus the meetings against Workington, Newcastle and Berwick! So it wouldn’t be economically viable to even think about.” Even if you don’t include Redcar speedway in this list (which, given their location and support you should), based on their 2009 fixtures the Monarchs would lose the finances generated from four home meetings against Glasgow, three home meetings against Newcastle plus two home meetings against both Berwick and Workington. Who knows what the realities are of the actual income these local/regional meetings generate for the promotion? They’d certainly be missed! One thing is for sure: a couple of visits from, say, Lakeside, Eastbourne and Ipswich that the current Elite League structure (assuming no revamp over the winter months) dictates definitely isn’t going to produce such robust crowds for the Monarchs promotion at the Scotswaste Arena. Especially once the initial enthusiasm for visits from such top tier rival clubs fades.

For Belle Vue, the situation might possibly be the reverse of that faced by the Monarchs since ‘demotion’ to the Premier League would immediately eliminate the Sky payment but also significantly reduce their rider costs, provide much greater variety of visiting teams and many more regionally relevant meetings. Recently Belle Vue suddenly showed shockingly awful form over the first three heats against Ipswich in their last vital Elite League meeting on September 28th to, thereby, effectively guarantee their participation in the lucrative promotion/relegation meetings. If history suddenly repeats itself, Edinburgh riders could find themselves needing to lose races rather than win them in order to ensure that a possibly fatal financial ill wind doesn’t wreck their club.

All things considered, the smart money (if there is such a thing in speedway outside the SGP) remains on the Aces. While the concept of promotion/relegation meetings just about remains plausible, beyond its revenue raising and entertainment potential, at best the reality of its practice and execution looks ill conceived. For many speedway fans, whether neutral or partisan, the C word (for charade) will remain the abiding description, irrespective of any enjoyment derived from the clash of these two speedway clubs.

"Speedway is broken" claims Matt Ford

2009-10-11T17:46:00.001+01:00

Far more relevant to the future of the Elite League level of the sport and its overall reputation than the Internet debate over the post Heat 15 goings on at Arlington last night*, Matt Ford’s interval comments appear to have attracted little consideration or attention.

In a wide-ranging chat with Kevin Coombes, Poole Promoter Matt Ford appeared to call for the resignations or removal from future involvement of key but unnamed figures within the upper echelons of the sport. His comments upon governance were along these lines: “[British] speedway is broken…..we need some drastic changes….we can’t carry on the way we are. We need to do something! The same people who’ve been in charge need to step aside and changes have to be made…I sincerely hope that there will be changes!”

Quite who exactly Matt refers to is open to conjecture but such public comments clearly highlight that dramatic changes to the governance, structure and organisation of (at least) the upper tier of speedway in Britain are both needed and likely during the coming months.

Calling for unspecified changes is all well and good but after he’d identified that the future governance of British Speedway is a task “beyond any one man” alone, Matt Ford then proceeded to praise both Jon Cook (“has some fantastic ideas about how to take the sport forward”) and Jonathan Chapman (“not everyone’s cup of tea but someone who really cares about speedway”).

Prior to his outburst, Matt Ford also confessed he’s been “speaking to Bob [Dugard]” about the future of the Elite level of the sport before the meeting. During the latter part of his interview, Ford went onto attack the surprise mid-season decision to reduce the number of available Elite League play off places from six to four. “Things have to change – they can’t go on the way they are! People in glasshouses can’t just change the rules half way through the season. Ipswich and Eastbourne should both have been competing for play off places not having the rules change half way through the season because some people want them to!”

* After a tough financial outcome to the 2009 season for the club had again been raised, Bob Dugard identified a possible last gasp solution, “I’m just gonna fine every rider who was fighting here tonight £10,000!”

Lovely Review by Peter Oakes of 'Quantum of Shale' in the Speedway Star

2009-09-05T07:32:00.001+01:00

If Jeff Scott wrote regularly about football, cricket, horseracing
or rugby union, he would almost certainly be a household name.

He might even grab a spot on Strictly Come Dancing and would certainly be a regular guest on the sofa of the proliferation of chat shows that litter the TV schedules.

But Jeff’s chosen sport is speedway (although he has
published a mainly pictorial reflection of his personal support
for Sunderland FC) and that makes him little more than a peripheral
literary figure, although one of his previous offerings was so well
received outside the shale inner circle that it was nominated for
Sports Book of the Year.

Anyone who has read any of Jeff’s previous offerings – Showered in
Shale, When Eagles Dared, Shifting Shale and Concrete for Breakfast,
among them – will know exactly what they are getting for their £20.
A lengthy, prosaic tour of the country as he drops into most tracks and spends his time chatting mainly to those unsung figures from behind the scenes.

The first few sentences of Quantum of Shale set the pace and accurately précis what you will find in the remaining 318 pages.
Let me quote: “With the new speedway season only four weeks
away, the chance to get back into the swing of things arrives in the
Midlands. Well, to be exact, at the Coventry Sports Connexion Centre
in Ryton-on-Dunsmore. Usually the sports centre on the outskirts of
Coventry is the regular weekend home for dog shows, car boot sales
and is also famous as the Coventry City FC ‘Sky Blues’ training ground,
conceived and implemented by Jimmy Hill. However, this particular
Saturday – after the long dark winter nights of the close season – it
leaves speedway fans spoilt for choice with two different events taking place simultaneously at the same location.

“Inside a spacious sports hall is the 2008 Speedway and Grass Track Show that, the pre-show advertising in the Speedway Star boasts, will enable you to casually mingle with riders – albeit only ones from Coventry – as well as have your photo taken with the Eazy Oils Racer girls. The advert in the Star foregrounds the lure of these girls dressed in tightly fitted clothes and claims that fans should ‘come along and start your 2008 season!’.”

This, then, is where Jeff’s 2008 season began – and it ends at what could yet turn out to be Reading’s last ever meeting, their End of an Era event on October 19.

In between the two calendar extremes, Jeff’s ports of call include
46 other events, as diverse as High Beech, Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium, Sheffield (four times), Sittingbourne (on three occasions, probably for no better reason that it is relatively close to Jeff’s South Coast base) and Kidlington.

Kidlington? Perhaps you had better buy and read the book to discover this unlikely location which is hardly pinpointed on the majority of speedway fans’ itinerary! Almost every page – and there are a total of 336 of them taking into account the colourful cover, end pages, content, acknowledgements and afterword – takes you on a different journey, a powerful mix of whimsy, the lyrical, and chocolate coated barbs.

Scott has a happy knack of getting people to open up in their conversations, possibly because they know their words will simply be part of a lengthy narrative rather than plucked from obscurity and hardened into headline grabbing intros.

His is definitely from the prosaic Sunday Times school of journalism than the hard knock style favoured by The Sun and Daily Star. He does unearth some gems, however, with discreet revelations from several promoters and once you have ploughed through every word you will know far more about what happens behind the scenes than you did.

If you want to know what Sheffield’s Neil Machin really thinks about some of the BSPA decisions; how much Lakeside charge for advertising and sponsorship; which rider leaves tomatoes on the side of his plate; and who does, or perhaps doesn’t, wear red knickers, this is the book for you.

A brilliant, compulsive read.

[presently the book is £19 and postage free for UK customers on Amazon]

More Kleenex Venues Rumoured

2009-08-03T09:02:00.001+01:00

After the borefest of the Latvian GP, it’s hard to get excited about tittletattle in the Star claimed to be “whispers from the corridors of power” that trails notionally ‘exciting’ news that the SGP might expand into Russia in 2010 and, in as yet unspecified years ahead, to “India, Asia & Australasia”. All these countries or regions have huge potential audiences but presently remain blissfully unaware of the erstwhile glamour of speedway meetings held on substandard one off tracks (or the thrills of the gate position draws). The commercial logic of the opportunity to cash in on the popularity of the new Golden Boy of the SGP, Emil Sayfutdinov, in his home country is sensible enough. Doubtless, the sale of television rights and advertising will continue to be extremely lucrative for the organisers and, of course, the real purpose of the protracted, anodyne nature of the format, field and itinerary. However, unless admission prices fall dramatically, BSI have a poor pedigree in filling stadiums when they expand the frontiers of their series or, for that matter, building vaguely acceptable tracks inside the well equipped modern stadia their business model (unsubstantiatedly) proclaims as the future of speedway spectating. Even when they did release unaudited attendance figures into the public domain, the trend was mostly relentlessly downwards. In 2009, the evidence of our eyes when watching on the telly and continued rumours suggest that this trend towards indifference and non-attendance has taken firmer, perhaps fatal, hold.

A glance at the history of the series under BSI management when it comes to ventures into pastures new is even more informative since they appear to often stage expansion legs of the series at ‘Kleenex’ venues* before they then run away with their metaphorical management tail between their legs. A third venue has previously been added (Chorzow) in the most fanatical speedway spectating country in the world – Poland – only for attendances to then plummet by 20% in 2003! Not so impressive when you recall the then economic boom in Eastern Europe, let alone the aforementioned incredible popularity of the sport there. Less obviously, BSI explored then still nascent Holta Effect with a venture to Hamar in Norway and defied expectations to survive three years there (2002-2004) before its demise as a venue. Nonetheless, even at its height, fan numbers weren’t impressive though the fall off in demand by 25% in its last year of operation was undoubtedly an impressive, albeit sobering, number.

The use of the word “Australasia” in the Star puff hints that putative future venues might not be located in Australia but, possibly, New Zealand. In the context of the distances involved, time zones & population numbers, this would be a brave decision even before the lesson of the single staging of 2002 Sydney GP enters the equation.** Faced with a potential German language audience of 140 million people, BSI somehow failed to enthuse them but did attract debacles in Germany like foreign embassies in London garner parking tickets. Showcasing their reverse Midas touch, Gelsenkirchen remains fresh in the mind – technically a one off in staging terms – and, years before that particular fiasco, the Berlin leg of the 2001 series was hailed as the future but then conspicuously failed to be repeated. Failure to progress beyond the fanfare of opening, let alone robust sustain extensions of the series is a familiar characteristic of SGP brand extensions. Best not to hold our collective breaths about the sustainability of “India, Asia & Australasia”.

In business terms, key business lessons remain to be learnt: namely, that it appears on past performance that the SGP run by BSI isn’t scaleable (investors, advertisers & IMG management please note!). Obviously, TV pictures are location irrelevant though hackneyed shots of the chosen venue city can sometimes provide a one off publicity angle with some pleasing pictures for additional background. Think Sydney Bridge rather than downtown Daugavpils. Talk of heading off somewhere exciting new sounds good in the trade press, makes the management look go ahead or (more) important and looks even better in the business plan financials. However, it can’t disguise some the current problems with the SGP series: notably, boredom and predictability brought on by a tired format shown too frequently to a lessening fan base. Repackaging the same rubbish differently (with the addition of “new faces” to provide a veneer of change) is hardly innovative management, let alone strategic development of a speedway product that effectively has no competition! It takes some doing to own and run a monopoly to its detriment with such panache.

If there really is a need or demand for BSI to break new markets as well as spread the gospel of the SGP message and entertainment, then surely the management should looks to places run by despotic, repressive or highly controlling regimes more culturally suited to their regular embrace of jingoism (at Cardiff, for example) as well as their style of communications and governance. Countries with regimes similar to Burma, North Korea, Iran and China would welcome the exposure and business class managers of BSI, since they’re already familiar with highly controlled media where the messages are often at sharp variance to the reality of the lived experience. Such countries would welcome the international coverage and understand the need for the air brushed, sanitised, ‘hear no evil, see no evil’ reporting that characterises representations of the SGP product. Some additional fawning sycophancy wouldn’t stand out locally but the overall SGP ‘entertainment’ package would delight large blue collar audiences with a comparatively poor standard of living already well used to rudimentary incomes and entertainment levels from their ‘despotic’ regimes. Sure, religion and politics might be issues (along with the start girls) but travel to such locations would (for once) really be thinking out of the box and, hopefully, might break the unfortunate run of ‘Kleenex’ venues that have previously plagued the SGP series expansion efforts.

*In American Football, a Kleenex Play - like the tissue it takes its name from - is useless after one use (appearance)
** In Quantum of Shale, Glyn Taylor comments on some deal breaking management costs behind the recent abortive attempt to rekindle SGP interest in Australia

Irene Best

2009-07-30T12:05:00.000+01:00

The charming and friendly Irene Best has sadly passed away. Proud to be from Newcastle and even prouder of Newcastle Speedway, Irene typified the warm welcome you receive in the speedway office portacabin at Newcastle Stadium (aka Brough Park). Even more importantly, her love and dedication to the sport typifies the unassuming modesty of so many speedway fans who genuinely respect the handlebar heroes who thrill them and enjoy to the full the sense of belonging and community that the sport engenders. She’ll be sadly missed by many people.

From Concrete for Breakfast

In the passageway outside the speedway office is the small kitchen manned by volunteer Mrs Irene Best who looks after one of the key tasks at the club – making the tea and coffee! Traditionally, you’ve barely arrived in the building before she kindly enquires if you’d like any refreshment. “I’m a lifelong supporter of Newcastle Speedway. I came along as a child before the War – I can’t really remember it. It must be raining the way that phone keeps ringing off the hook! I just took to it – I lived locally at the bottom of Fosse Way. There was the war in 1939 and in 1946-47 we had Ken Le Breton – the White Ghost. My husband was more into grass tracking. I’ve never followed any other sport. Of course, our only child has come all his life and doesn’t know any other. He’s a man of 46-47 now, Robbie – he’s the Track Manager. Of course a lot of people give him a lot of help, I mean my son works full time as well as doing that. Monday was always our race night. The promoter I remember the most was Johnny Hoskins in the 1940s and 50s. I’ve seen some good riders come and go over the years. In the 60s there was Mauger. Of course we had the young Kenny Carter – we had Ole Olsen and Anders Michanek. All told we’ve had six or seven World Champions. Apart from my family, it’s my one and only love! And I’ve made some good friendships over the years. And the Owen family – Tom Owen, not Joe, is my favourite all-time rider. He’s a gentleman – and still keeping in touch with me!” At that moment we’re interrupted from our brief trip down memory lane by the arrival of one part of the club presentation team (and club Finance Director), Andrew Dalby, and also by George English who happens to open the door of his office at that moment. “Ee, George, the place is crawling with Sunderland fans! What’s happening here?” George rolls with the punches in life and speedway, so a few more Sunderland fans is just something you have to take in your stride, “I can’t blame him he doesn’t live here but this one [Andrew] does!”

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From Quantum of Shale

In the small kitchen directly outside the door of the speedway office, Irene Best is notable by her absence, not least because she oils the wheels of a successful meeting with an endless supply of cups of tea and coffee. Her son Robbie is the track curator at the club and rejoices in the grandiose title of Circuit Manager in the club programme. Later, I bump into Irene who, for the first time as long as she can remember, has had to miss some Diamonds meetings at Brough Park because of a bad back, “I can’t remember when I last missed two meetings! We’ve had some great riders here…..[pause] Did you see the World Team Cup? It was like seeing the Danish Diamonds – Kenneth Bjerre, Bjarne Pedersen and Nicki Pedersen all started here!”

“We are all entitled to an opinion though, in some cases, it is better to defer to those who know best…the riders”

2009-07-26T19:23:00.003+01:00

For those of us outside the charmed circle of speedway bigwigs and journalists who receive press releases from the BSI Press Office, we have to suffice with the thin informational pickings provided by the cleans whiter than white SGP website. Occasionally the SGP Press Officer, Philip Rising, selectively responds to real or imagined comments about the quality of the product on offer to the fans. As usual, Cardiff provoked a healthy postbag at the Speedway Star offices and prompted a “Point of View with Philip Rising” (July 18th issue) notionally in response to a letter from David Sturge. His repost conflated separate comments about the track prepared (“rubbish”) for the 2009 event and the quality of the staging venue itself.

Though we again still don’t have official attendance figures, those who did watch (or, indeed, race) at Cardiff we were treated to an event staged on track widely acknowledged as way better than the eight previous years. We can return to why it has taken so long to prepare such a track shortly but first let us savour the selective memory of Mr Rising’s appeal to the ultimate authority in these matters. He notes, “we are all entitled to an opinion though, in some cases, it is better to defer to those who know best…the riders.”

This sounds a reasonable enough point to make until you recall that for many years the riders have pointedly highlighted that the quality of the surface needed significant attention. This was for many reasons and these included it short-changed the viewing public, placed luck & chance ahead of skill and, most recently, verged on the dangerous. Rider and fan complaints about track quality have been the order of the day after many of the Cardiff stagings. Here are some relatively recent comments offered by the riders after the 2007 staging of the Cardiff event.

Hans Andersen: “the track was really, really rutty…it cut up badly…it broke up and became very hit and miss”
Jason Crump: “the track was a bit rougher than I’d hoped, probably a bit rougher than everyone had hoped”
David Howe: “I always struggle with deep ruts”
Tomasz Gollob: “I was just unable to master the track surface”
Jaroslaw Hampel: “the track surface is not very different to what we had used to ride in the previous years”
Greg Hancock: “the track was so demanding….although it makes the racing more interesting, it can make superstars look like amateurs at times”
Scott Nicholls: “it was like a minefield in places, you couldn’t see the ruts”
Nicki Pedersen: “The atmosphere at Cardiff is always fantastic, and it is great for the fans, but it is the worst track in the GP series. It cuts up so badly & you just can’t see the ruts…on a normal track you see the ruts coming”

Far from listening or learning from these comments, the BSI management sailed on regardless to oversee the preparation of an even more deleterious surface for the riders to race upon for the next Cardiff (2008) staging. The riders were even less happy with these conditions.

Leigh Adams: “it ruts up & it makes it dangerous”
Nicki Pedersen: “if this is going to happen again next year, I’m quite sure the riders are going to stick together & they’re going to end up with no events here in Cardiff”
Greg Hancock: “I hate to say it, but it was probably one of the worst tracks we’ve seen in Cardiff..I don’t mind the track being a little rough, it makes it more exciting, more fun & more technical, but it’s still got to be safe….I like it to be a little rough because it makes things happen, but not to a dangerous level and tonight was beyond that, it was dangerous & you saw a lot of crashes”
Krzysztof Kasprzak: “this track is terrible…I’ve heard the more experienced riders want to meet before the Czech GP to discuss the issue. I believe they will tell the organisers they will not race if such a track like Cardiff appears again.”
Tomasz Gollob: “the whole evening was bad for speedway. How can you call it any other way if riders fell off their bikes? What can you say when the eventual winner crosses the finishing line perpendicularly…safety first, and that was missing tonight”

Whether it was the threat of rider action or basic common sense that prompted change we will never know. However, that the solution was always close at hand and ‘easy’ to implement evaded the renowned management team behind this event who, instead, preferred to continue to invest in the wrapping rather than the present. For example, great play was made about the often pitiful and anodyne aural entertainment on offer rather than bother to try to fix the problematic track itself. It beggars belief that BSI ignored the opinions from the riders Mr Rising now suddenly valorises as authoritative. After plaudits for the 2009 event, a breathlessly excited and self-congratulatory Mr. Paul Bellamy reportedly commented that the SGP organisers have now finally invested in 4000 tones of ‘high quality’ Derbyshire shale (and brought in the required associated equipment needed to tend and install it properly). This is worthy of belated congratulation and so too is news that they will store it at Cardiff Docks so they can reuse it every year. However, ‘how come this took so long?’ would be a better question to ponder rather than castigate the temerity of readers letters? We could learn whether this decision was some deluded cost saving or just another example of teacher knows best? Mr Rising doesn’t give us the benefit of an insight into why such decisions took until the ninth year to arrive at. It’s all the more perplexing, given the huge revenues and profits generated by the Cardiff event alone, never mind that the shale was reputed to only cost in the region of £35 per ton and the storage costs aren’t likely to be killing (never mind that they’re both tax deductable expenses). Again, the organisers appear to historically have been penny wise but pound foolish at the expense of the competitors and fans alike.

If those paying customers (aka the “fans”) who cavil are peremptorily told by the Press Officer of the SGP series it’s “short sighted” to blame the (billiard table-esque almost shaleless) track for the lack of excitement and overtaking in 2009. Then, surely, it’s even more “short sighted” that such a simple and economical remedy with regard to the quality of materials used can have been ignored by the SGP management for the previous eight years to the detriment of their own flagship signature event? Though past performance indicates that this is unlikely, maybe now is the time for the organisers to do more listening to the riders and/or the fans if they wish to improve their SGP series before it wanes further?

Kenny Smith 1954-2009

2009-07-14T19:24:00.004+01:00

From Scunthorpe Press Release

13th July 2009

Kenneth Ian Smith 1954-2009 R.I.P.

After a near three-year battle against throat cancer, Kenny Smith, the Scorpions’ Team Manager, died on Monday morning at 6.15 a.m. at his home in Yarm. Over recent weeks his condition had deteriorated but after being told he only had days to live early last week he pledged to lead his side one last time. On Saturday his courage was on show for all to see as, unable to walk any significant distance, he was taken around the track on the back of David Howe’s bike for two emotional laps of honour.

Kenny’s grandfather was one of the pioneer riders in the 1920’s and he began his own racing career in grasstrack before taking up speedway in the late sixties at Doncaster. However, he will be best remembered for his days in team management at Newcastle and over the last five years with Scunthorpe. After being involved at Middlesbrough he switched to Newcastle when the Teesside club’s Cleveland Park track closed. Newcastle Promoter and Team Manager, George English, soon made him Assistant Team Manager and Kenny took responsibility for the Newcastle Gems when they entered a side in the Conference League. During that time there were few young riders in the North who hadn’t been influenced by Kenny and after the Gems withdrew from the Conference League Kenny offered his services to us at Scunthorpe.

Early links with his past saw Byron Bekker and Ashley Johnson join the club but he had an exceptional talent for managing riders. He was well-respected by his riders and that is no small feat in the adrenaline-filled cauldron that is a speedway pits when charged with the onerous task of taking away a riders’ opportunity to earn a living. Ever since Kenny joined Scunthorpe Speedway it has benefitted from Kenny’s unswerving passion for the sport and our club. His commitment and dedication to the club was rewarded in 2007 when he became a co-promoter and the club could have never wished for a greater ambassador.

A devastated Scunthorpe promoter Rob Godfrey commented: “Kenny has been a great friend and we knew his death was coming but that doesn’t make it any easier. It was an very emotional night for all concerned on Saturday and we are all devastated at losing him. It has been an honour to have Kenny in our lives for the last five years. He was a great inspiration to me and he touched the hearts of so many people. He will forever be a part of Scunthorpe Speedway.”

Sheffield promoter Neil Machin was one of the first to join the wave of tributes to Kenny. “One of the conditions of Scunthorpe moving into the Premier League was that they had a good man in charge as team manager. I recommended Kenny. He was dedicated to the sport and it was a mark of his courage that he was at Scunthorpe on Saturday.”

Somerset General Manager Dave Croucher added “Kenny’s passing is a great loss to the sport and I am sure there will be many hundreds of riders, officials and staff at tracks all over the UK who will miss his company and have happy memories of this lovely man.”

Kenny’s funeral will take place on Tuesday, July 21, starting with a service at the Eddie Wright Raceway from 10 am. The funeral itself will be held at Woodlands Crematorium, Brumby Wood Lane, Scunthorpe, from 11 am. No flowers but donations are welcome to be made to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Cards can be sent to: Scunthorpe Raceway Ltd, 157 Moorwell Road, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN17 2SX.

For further information contact:

Robert Godfrey
Scunthorpe Speedway
157 Moorwell Road
Scunthorpe
DN17 2SX

Telephone: 01724-848899

or visit the club website

From Concrete for Breakfast

The place is already a hive of activity in the pits, on the track and in the general environs of the club grounds. On the way to the loos I bump into Scunthorpe Scorpions team manager, the endlessly hail and hearty “Kenneth Smith” (as the programme calls him), who’s so smartly dressed in jacket, collared shirt and tie that he could easily have just come from conducting some local Sunday School services. He’s always affable and chatty whenever I meet him and looks fit and healthy. I mention this only because the Speedway Star reported that he’s recently ‘battled’ with cancer. Last time I saw him I studiously didn’t mention it – I understand the last thing you need if you have cancer is prurient albeit well meaning curiosity about the exact details and the present state of play - but this time I do. Kenny makes very light of the situation and appears genuinely embarrassed that public record of the news has somehow made him unnecessarily the centre of attention when his preference would have been to keep it quiet. Almost predictably given his attitude to people and life, he couches his comments in the language of good fortune, opportunity and respect for the skills of all the medical practitioners he met as well as concern for the worry and stress that it’s caused his family and friends. He has a strong life force about him and an easy confidence, allied to a self-deprecating sense of humour that can only come naturally rather than be affected. “When the news came out in the Star, I didn’t know until the phone rang and I was asked if I was selling my Long Track bikes. I’m not but when I asked ‘why?’ they said, ‘well you won’t be needing them any more!’” After some more chatter, Kenny bustles off to get on with something he loves and relishes – his speedway duties.

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On the subject of dreams, the Scunthorpe riders have come out on their bikes for a victory parade to celebrate their convincing triumph. One of those on a machine is Kenny Smith who cuts an incongruously dashing figure in collared shirt, jacket flapping along with his ponytail. He pootles past grinning broadly and smirkingly catches the eye of his partner Julie Harrowven stood on the grass hillock in the knot of Scunny supporters, “that was to wind me up ’cause I told him I don’t want to push him in a wheelchair!” The backstory, as they’ve started to say in fashionable media circles nowadays, is slightly complicated since it mixes Kenny’s desire to beat his illness and pay tribute to a deceased young rider and his family. “He often says to me ‘I just want to ride four laps’. He wants to ride in the David Nix memorial meeting – ’cause he was there that night – but when he had his glands out it weakened a plated shoulder. He’ll make light of it and I know how good he is on a bike but if he needed to correct things, he’d be too weak to do it since the operation and that’s what I worry about!”

From Quantum of Shale

In the bar of my hotel, I bump into Scunthorpe team manager Kenny Smith ….[He] remains his usual cheerful, outgoing and clubbable self. His hair is tied into his trademark ponytail …an ex- speedway rider himself, Kenny takes a practical and sympathetic approach to young men he manages directly as well as those he’s previously worked with.... “I spoke to Charles Wright at Redcar on Thursday and asked him, what had happened there. He told me, ‘Auty had elbowed me first time out so I returned the favour’. I told him, ‘Lots of people will elbow you,’ and, he knows that.... At Scunthorpe Josh and Tai used to race all the time against each other when they were on the same team! I told them to ride as a team now and race each other in the World Final – as you’ll have plenty of time then!” Kenny has a casual modesty about his own racing career and skill as a rider. He has some unrepeatable stories about riding with Malcolm ‘Mad Wellie’ Holloway and some good stories about his experiences with Dave Mullett. He’s curious about what will happened to Reading speedway with the closure of Smallmead and also fondly recalls his days riding at Tilehurst. Various reminiscences from his time as a rider round the tracks blurt out, “I was taught how to ride at Exeter by Vaclav Verner. He said to aim at the fence and, then, brush your back wheel off it – woomph! Vaclav used to say his wheel only lasted eight meetings. We used to get up to all sorts. I remember Dave Kennett knocking me off (to break my wrist or arm) when he was really aiming to knock off second placed Dave Mullett – but I’d suddenly accelerated into that position! It’s different now to when I was a rider with lots of new tracks that we didn’t have then”

“It’s amazing how honest most people in speedway are. I got called to the gate at Scunny for a man who’d lost his wallet and I lent him £10 and the promoter said, ‘You’ll never see that again!’ And I said, ‘I’d have helped him anyway.’ The next week I was called back to the gate and repaid my money, he paid his entrance fee twice and spoke to Julie about a donation [£75] to the Riders’ Support Fund. I told him, ‘Take your cheque back, it wasn’t so you’d donate!’ He wouldn’t and the man even refused to give us his name (“just Alan”) for listing in the programme.”

Sometimes I watch the Speedway Grand Prix whether I want to fall asleep or not

2009-06-14T09:34:00.003+01:00

Riders and some pundits have rightly complained that the Speedway Grand Prix series organisers (“BSI – an IMG Company”) wish to stage the various meetings on sub standard tracks that sometimes verge on the dangerous. There have been some real shockers, so thank goodness last night that round four of the Speedway Grand Prix was staged on the ‘best’ track so far. Actually, thinking about it, it’s been so dull entertainmentwise (again) this year that the random, unpredictability that a track like a rutty ploughed field at least creates some much needed drama and spectacle. Admittedly, last night, Nicki Pedersen – who increasingly becomes a Kevin Phillips look-a-like - was again unlucky when the track was the primary cause of his exclusion (it wasn’t exactly clear from the pictures and Polish commentary but was Emil Sayfutdinov spitting at him or merely giving helpful suggestions?). It makes a change from Nicki’s ‘victimisation’ by those naughty referees but effectively concluded his defence of his title (according to him, anyway, when interviewed immediately afterwards), unless injuries intervene above him in the table.

It’s impossible to deny that the meeting presentation in pictures for the telly/interweb is slick and professional but, sadly, the racing ‘product’ served up really is – bumps induced drama aside - relentlessly as dull as ditchwater. No amount of provocatively blown kisses from the start girls can disguise (or Kenneth Bjerre dressed in his bright yellow nuclear decontamination kevlars) that the racing mostly bores and that this series concept looks in terminal decline. Almost every fortnight, we get treated to the same riders (except for Emil S) manfully labouring through yet another thrill-less qualification process to then finally grind their way through the knock out stage to completion. Nicki’s exclusion aside, there was possibly one thrilling race, little or no passing in an ongoing series of follow my leader processional races. Even when we got to the semi finals, the extent of the drama was a tapes exclusion and a modicum of on track aggression. Even the notional excitement of the rise of the young challenger – and my doesn’t he make a compellingly charismatic interviewee - effectively ended as a possible narrative for this series, if the SGP press office and assorted boosters are honest. Injury notwithstanding, the 2009 series appears destined to be Jason’s (and good luck to him) after what the Speedway Grand Prix – Official Website calls his “majestic” victory.

Even the SGP Official Website reflects the dullness of the series but, magnificently, takes it to a whole new level of torpor! If Ole Olsen’s supervision of the track preparation suggests that he’s a fifth columnist sent by parties unknown to sabotage the ‘credibility’ of the event and the ‘reputation’ of the organisers, then he definitely has his counterpart as webmaster for the ‘revamped’ BSI/IMG site. They say don’t put lipstick on a pig but whoever is in charge of their interweb ‘presence’ quickly demonstrates that they can’t even manage that! Doubtless they do have one hand tied behind their back because as series organisers, they really only exist to sell television rights (find sponsors and sell commercial breaks etc) so can’t give away the Crown Jewels of the racing action for free to casual punters. However, while the dullness of the graphics and design is an artistic crime that deserves punishment but whoever came up the various content ideas should order a taxi. It’s so bad and there are so many mis-steps, it’s actually really compulsive viewing with almost car crash levels of dullness that completely fails to engage or thrill the casual surfer. I can’t help drinking in the full glory of the thing but who would voluntarily linger when life is so short? We do get to see a series of rather wonderful videos:

We have the thrill of the live (yes, live) draw. At least, the square building blocks used are an innovation but apart from that it’s dull with a capital D. The format stays roughly the same for each round – some notable buffer Bank manager type figure with no real connection to speedway makes the draw while one of the start girls has been dragged in a day early to dress skimpily and simper alongside said important middle aged person. Round 1 was, I think, drawn by HRG from Heroes (it’s a shame Sylar doesn’t get to go to the BSI/IMG management meetings), the second was drawn by someone impersonating a mad professor dressed for a court appearance (actually the Mayor of Leszno) and Friday’s featured some bloke with unexplained managerial connections to the latest modern staging stadium. He adopted a quizzical glazed throughout that suggested he’d been sedated in preparation for an unpleasant minor cosmetic operation. The draw did open with a modicum of drama when he shakily placed the first building block drawn in the wrong position. Unbelievably, we also get a running commentary and so thrill to news like, “it’s the first time that Grzegorz Walasek hasn’t been at number 16 this year!”

The really condescending thing about this live draw is that it’s supposed to counter grumbles and allegations (who felt these were important enough to actually make?) that draws previously weren’t transparently done. But also, more laughably, the fanfare round this new found openness supposedly illustrates the integrity and probity of the organisers. Remember, these are the very people who have yet to publish their own 2008 attendance figures (never mind ever have them independently audited) or still have yet to reveal the results of their investigations into a speedway meeting not held eight months ago! Another function of this live draw is that anyone who actually attends the meetings in person, this season can buy a glossy, overpriced programme that fails to include the race card for the event! Admittedly, the organisers selflessly provide all purchasers with an insert but why bother when you can have the fun of filling it in yourself (after you’ve downloaded said document template for free here)?

After the live draw, later in the day we can further excite ourselves with videos of some rider interviews where they give their reactions to practice or the news of their gate positions. There’s a Zen Groundhog Day quality to the repetition of the question, ‘ so XXX, how was your practice today?” With such investigative reporting on display, it’s hardly a surprise that all the riders confess the track is heaven on earth. Luckily the gate position questions can be a tad more exciting, “Jason Crump you start in heat 4 with the red helmet colour – what do you think of that?” Sensibly Jason masks his ecstasy and instead sounds like he’s reading from a ransom note while held at gunpoint, “with the draw I’ve been given, I’m starting inside and moving out!”

Even more likely to kill off the interest of the casual server is the highlights package served up afterwards by “BSI – an IMG Company” to showcase the thrills of the speedway events they organise. Quite what the thinking is behind the random fast moving selection of arty images (without recognisable narrative) overlaid with a horrid soundtrack that probably intones some key subliminal motivational messages but also informs us endlessly something along the lines of speedway’s version of “I have a dream’. Actually, it’s some guff about, “sometimes it’s hard to be a man/world champion/customer service representative” [delete as appropriate]. It’s hard to navigate in this sea of awful tosh, let alone determine whether the sound track or the montage of evocative images is the most brilliantly surreal. Still, as they say, all this coverage and publicity means speedway is the winner!

Elite League Reverse Ferret?

2009-05-26T09:10:00.001+01:00

It’s not that long ago that the tablets came down from the 2007 BSPA Annual Conference mountain. We then learnt that the Elite League promoters were to self administer some tough tasting medicine to address both team strength inequality but also build a more viable long term future for the upper tier of British speedway! There was natty talk of a Three Year Plan and dramatic news came in the form of a reduced points limit that would force teams to discard some of their ‘star’ higher paid riders. Jason Crump was axed by Poole to reduce their strength and the Speedway Star gushed, “Matt Ford is hoping he has set an example for others to follow by throwing his weight behind the revamped structure of the sport…he believes it’s a sacrifice which had to be made for the future benefit of British Speedway after freely admitting the top flight had lost its way last season [2007]”. Fans might have cavilled at the watering down effect on the quality of riders on display prompted in part by these decisions but Dr. Ford only had medical metaphors and the strategic interests of the sport at heart, “I’m looking at the bigger picture which is the sport in general and major surgery was needed to bring the Elite League back into a more competitive structure. It’s a case of short term pain for long term gain.”

The credit crunching economic climate and the ongoing deleterious imbalance of revenues to costs in the Elite League (and elsewhere) prompted the 2008 BSPA Annual Conference to endorse the validity of the Three Year Plan while it glanced 80 years into the future and looked at the future legacy for as yet unborn generations. Its website quoted an excited person or persons unknown (probably Peter Toogood or publicly gung ho anonymous Working Party member), “Our wonderful and exciting sport has built 80 years of heritage in the hearts of our nation, and we are pleased to be at the pinnacle point of re-building its foundations to make for another 80 years and beyond of action where our aim is to capture the hearts of a new generation.” Known for his business acumen and careful husbandry, Chris Van Straaten endorsed the financial maturity of the collective wisdom of the trade association, “Our decision and faith to start the three year plan last season was endorsed by all the Promoters during a conference where one of our main concerns was to protect our fans and the sport from the effects of the current economic climate.”

Ever loyal, the safely ‘protected’ fans only vaguely murmured at the further dilution of the EL product for 2009. There would definitely be no AJ, Greg or Jason. Most teams would only have two ‘real’ heat leaders occupying the three heat leader positions but the future was in the process of being safely brightened. The narrative helpfully suggested by many promoters (as though reading from a pre-prepared script) was that there would be less disruption from GP riders, closer racing and (just add water) a new generation of stars would arise. All this was hopefully true and would also have the added benefit – along with other equalisation measures like the innovative league points structure – that it engineered closer meetings between more evenly matched, mutually competitive teams. Anecdotally some closer early season EL meetings have been proclaimed as evidence of the perspicacity of this vision. However, the comparatively greater absence of so-called “GP stars” only served to further highlight the changed nature and built to tighter budgets conception of the EL. If you closed one eye, it was possible to pretend that there was consensus and a limited egalitarianism with measured forward planning had triumphed over narrower, individual commercial interests that have tended to force the sport lurch from one bodged solution to compensate for yet another set of unintended consequences.

In even plainer terms, the monopoly position enjoyed in the EL by the Top Three successful clubs like Poole, Swindon and Coventry could notionally be threatened by the middle tier and even the ‘smaller’ clubs like Belle Vue, Eastbourne, Lakeside and Ipswich who’d in recent years occasionally find themselves condemned to the general vicinity of the basement. With the Three Year Plan in place, the upper echelons could now (theoretically) be reached by any club without busting the bank, while measured upward progression was possible if not fully back on the menu. The vicious circle of increased costs, on track struggle reflected by reduced numbers through the turnstiles looked like it might be partially broken and replaced by a more virtuous circle of co-operation and support among the EL promoters and clubs. Sadly, team changes news during the last week has seen the Three Year Plan unofficially declared dead on arrival before it’s even reached half way stage, let alone fruitition. The latest round of the speedway arms race has replaced the recent phoney armistice. In a superb example of the reverse ferret, Dr. Ford has suddenly changed his suggested cure and this revised diagnosis has seen Hans Andersen sign for Poole (now that he’s able to fit within their points limit) and, frequent points purge victims [with their unenviable forced selection choices between Hancock/Hamill & Nicholls/Harris] Coventry, have temporarily re-signed their own asset Scott Nicholls. Commitment phobic Matej Zagar has ventured to Blunsdon and more surprise returns to British speedway (“I love the fans but there are too many meetings”) are forecast to follow.

Indeed, if just for commercial reason of regular Sky appearances, more EL teams will have to ape the trail that the market leaders blaze. If any EL team is now to seriously compete for end of season ‘glory’, then “star” riders and what we’ve so often been told are their ‘inflated’ running costs are once again firmly back on the agenda. How long before we see AJ, Jason, Nicki, Greg or, even, (and wouldn’t it be wonderful) Tomasz back riding here on short term contracts only too happy to metaphorically kiss the badge and give their ‘all’ for ‘their clubs’? While it might look good stuff from the terraces, at a stroke it wrecks the oft heralded back to basics EL cost structure, condemns all clubs on a tight budgets to large unsustainable overdrafts and shifts the sport back as the plaything of those with deep pockets or the most vaunting ambition.

This might be the logic of the market – look where this has got the English football Premier League and banking – but ill behoves the trade association that is the often-factional BSPA. Even if it weren’t a recession, toothless governance and an ‘I’m alright Jack’ approach surely shouldn’t be the approach advocated by the collective in the cold economic and sporting light of day? Though Wolverhampton presently appear to buck the trend with a more considered approach to their 2009 rider selections, will they or teams like Belle Vue, Eastbourne, Lakeside, Ipswich (let alone any team brave enough to accept promotion from the Premier League) realistically become EL Champions while this approach to long term strategy and team building exists?

Even Cheesy Costs Too Much in 2009 for BSI Speedway's Showpiece Event in Cardiff

2009-04-30T22:04:00.003+01:00

A snippet about entertainment at Cardiff that appeared in the lengthy coverage of the Prague Grand Prix (the first of the 2009 series) in this week’s Speedway Star inadvertently yet again reveals the desperation of the cost-cutting measures that BSI Speedway appear keen to undertake. Arguably, it also signals they have already planned for 2009 Cardiff revenues and/or attendances to decline from previous levels.

Since the inaugural Cardiff Grand Prix, the organisers have dictated that our pre and mid meeting entertainment should be of the cheesy faded, fallen star variety they apparently deem appropriate to the collective emotional and cognitive outlook of the average speedway fan. Though they might not be everyone’s fifth choice of musical artiste, the performers we’ve seen have enjoyed some element of name recognition and, often, a reasonable sized back catalogue of their own previously successful material.

To name but a few, some of the artists we’ve seen at Cardiff have included: Bonnie Tyler, the late great Edwin Starr, Belinda Carlisle, Chas & Dave, Tony Hadley (without Spandau Ballet) and Tony Christie. (We'll ignore X Factor losers like the McDonald Brothers or Ray Quinn) Obviously, there have been equipment problems (and some pitiful spiders with legs on stilts) but the veneer of genuinely wanting to put on a show at the Millenium Stadium has remained intact. You also have to think that all of these haven’t come (too) cheap. John Postlethwaite and his esteemed management team have hummed their cheesy, retro tune and we’ve dutifully sung along. This year - along with the traditional poor track surface, predictable format and field of participants - we’re informed that we’re now going to be treated to the pre-meeting entertainment sounds of a Queen tribute band!

Next year the ongoing logic of further BSI Speedway cost cutting at the SGP would dictate that the entertainment offered will probably decline even further to become karaoke with some extra coloured flashing lights. *

Why would anyone even think to bother to book a Queen tribute band? Hold on, actually, companies founded by John Postlethwaite have some previous here (and probably thinks “We are the Champions!” is the ideal signature tune to accompany BSI Speedway PowerPoint presentations of the SGP financials to IMG). Indeed, it’s less than three years since BSI Reading (during their ill starred attempt to ‘revolutionise’ the Elite League via their rebranded ‘investment vehicle’ of the Reading Bulldogs) tried and completely failed to entice/entertain the 2006 EL Play Off Final (first leg) crowd with – a Queen tribute band! If it’s good enough for Smallmead, I say it’s good enough for Cardiff. Obviously, I have no idea of the band booked then will be the one we get to witness at Cardiff. There are so many tribute bands, after all.

To give a flavour of what’s in store here’s a snippet – that also features dedicated Oxford Speedway trackman Nobby Hall - from my book on the 2006 speedway season Shifting Shale (now available for a bargain £10) that captures something of how the band at the Cardiff GP might sound:

“Far from seeking to innovate when it comes to the choice of music played to the punters at the premium speedway meetings they stage, the BSI as an organisation appears to pride itself to only offer music stuck in a time warp for a certain bygone era of mass entertainment. At Cardiff they at least have the decency to make ironic or slightly fey choices – though I must admit that the 2006 combination of Bonny Tyler and Tony Christie did appeal in a kind of kitsch-cum-retro type way – but tonight at Smallmead as a crowd we appear to have become trapped at speedway’s equivalent of Guantanamo Bay. We’re definitively a captive audience as we wait for the action to start and BSI Reading appear keen to infantilise us as well as beat us into psychological submission with some loud, garish and atonal music we haven’t actually chosen or can’t turn down. In fact, we have no choice but to sit passively and listen since it drowns almost all conversation. Judged by his coat, maybe a Queen tribute band is in fact John Postlethwaite’s favoured choice of music to relax to, though, much more likely, they’re somehow related. If none of these explanations apply, they’re probably just a rather condescending reasonably priced choice of what they think speedway fans would like to listen to. Whatever the reason, the lead singer greets us with a cheery “Hello Reading!” as though he’s mistaken this gig – so strongly redolent of an end-of-the-career booking - for the headline slot at the Reading Festival rather than its reality of the centre green at Smallmead. It must be a nightmare engagement - the chance to play to the older demographic in the form of an audience of uninterested speedway fans who really just can’t wait for you to stop. The volume is set at deafening so we’re all along for the ride, except for those with adjustable volume on their hearing aids. Sadly the singer affects to persuade himself, if no one else, that we’re actually all here to specifically see him and the band. He frequently implores us to rise above our default setting of catatonia throughout the ’gig’. “If you want to boogie feel free!”, “Show your hands” and “sing it” are uttered/screeched with apparent sincerity and great regularity, though without any appreciable impact. Apart from a touching lack of awareness, another factor that disrupts the performance is an apparent unfamiliarity with the basic lyrics and mechanics of the Queen oeuvre. “I’m going to sing something – sing it back to me” requests the lead singer before he noisily murders the rather appropriate choice of Another One Bites The Dust. Nobby isn’t impressed, “I can’t hear myself think, let alone speak”. With a few more failed imprecations to action or reaction from the stunned captive crowd, the band launch into the most famous Queen song of all which tonight, I think we can call, Bulldogian Rhapsody. Nobby shouts above the cacophony approvingly, “They’re all out of key now!” When the singer fails to simultaneously hit the high notes and introduces some unusual quavers into “mama, I just killed a man” you really hope that his mum isn’t here or, worse still for long-term future embarrassment of the whole family, isn’t a Smallmead regular as she’d never live down the horror and the shame of this execrable, almost post-modern performance that unintentionally verges on so-bad-it’s-good levels of irony.

Nobby shouts, “They’re better on Stars in their Eyes than here”. A short while later he points out a celebrity a row and few seats away, “that’s the dog that was on TV at Peterborough last week”. Boy, it is a cutely distracting dog and it sits throughout with its paws on the handrail to apparently follow each race with an intensity that is almost as absorbing as the on-track action. Before we get all the blessed relief of the loud roar of the bike engines rather than the loud violence of the ‘music’, we endure a final fruitless appeal from the lead singer, “come on Reading – big finish” before they grunkily segue into an atonal unintentionally post punk version of the Queen standard Radio GaGa. Nobby shouts wittily, “It’s all been GaGa!” At a different volume there might be a career for this band on the chicken-in-the-basket pub and club circuit but based on this display, to paraphrase Alan Partridge, their music would be better suited to the less discerning “spinal cord in bap” crowd.

When they finally mercifully kill the set, the silence is golden……”

* This might not be such a bad idea since I’m sure the always enthusiastic, good value and professional Cardiff presenter Kevin Coombes would definitely draw a considerable crowd into the stadium early to hear him croon a few choice numbers. If we could sponsor him and the monies raised were given to the Speedway Riders Benevolence Fund then things might really take off! And, indeed, also vaguely give something back to speedway rather than line BSI Speedway’s pockets.

Unanswered questions & secrecy mar launch of 2009 Speedway Grand Prix series

2009-04-24T22:21:00.005+01:00

The new series of the Speedway Grand Prix is about to get underway but, arguably, finds the glamour of its start marred by cost-cutting, secrecy and prevarication. Sadly, the fanfare over the arrival of a new website for the Speedway Grand Prix fails to paper over the vexatious issues and unanswered questions that still beset this ‘competition’ run by “BSI Speedway – An IMG Company”. Weirdly, the look and feel of this new all singing and dancing website mixes a kind of corporate German 70s porn aesthetic with something altogether more funereal. Perhaps, unconsciously, BSI Speedway want to acknowledge the great impending unsaid of its terminal decline?

Whatever message BSI Speedway tried to send to the world via cyberspace this lunchtime, we were allowed to witness the live draw (be still my beating heart) for the Prague Grand Prix tomorrow night. Well, actually I couldn’t as the flow player refused to load on two different browsers but, afterwards, I was able to thrill at written version of the keenly awaited gate position and helmet colour news. All this activity indicates that the 2009 series is again about to start to widespread UK media disinterest. This is fortunate for the organisers since serious questions remain unanswered about the ‘success’ of the series or even the quality of information provided by BSI Speedway.

The astonishing achievement of a cancellation of an indoor meeting because of the impact of the weather remains a reminder of the management expertise and ability the organisation can call upon. Only a few months back, Paul Bellamy blithely told the Speedway Star that the news from the Gelsenkirchen post mortem remained shrouded in mystery because of unspecified “legal issues to be resolved”. This still remains firmly swept under the carpet and, despite the ongoing public relations disaster of Gelsenkirchen debacle, no member of the management team has yet provided the promised update or done the decent thing and resigned.

The derisory offer of free tickets to 2009 SGP events for severely out of pocket fans has inadvertently revealed that BSI Speedway will only actually stage three meetings in the series themselves during 2009 (Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Cardiff, I believe). We must assume the rest remain franchised out under the SGP brand umbrella to locally based promotions or stadium owners. BSI used to stage four meetings but the addition of Gelsenkirchen to their roster proved way beyond them and now is no longer part of the series calendar. The oft-heralded strategic success of the indoor stadia revolution lauded by BSI now looks to be hype or a possible misstep.

If the series is really the success that BSI Speedway imply and/or claim, you would imagine that the attendance figures for the 2008 series would have already been published by the F.I.M. by now? They certainly have been published by the F.I.M. in the past but, mysteriously, this information remains absent from the public domain for the 2008 series and, obviously enough, notable by its absence on the newly revamped BSI Speedway website! Though, at least this is consistent since this revealing detail remained unacknowledged on the previous iteration of their website. How the series can think it might be taken seriously in the wider media when suddenly attendance figures stop being produced is a public relations question we can all guess the answer to quite easily. To be fair, we have heard that Cardiff attracted 42,187 (a wonderful 920 or 2.22% up on 2007 but only 0.45 % or 187 up on 2002). Suspicions remain that this is probably the biggest success story of 2008 SGP series for BSI Speedway but, without the figures for the other events, we have no context to judge this either way. Under the management of “BSI Speedway – An IMG Company”, the jewel in the crown of world speedway did achieve a real first. Namely, it exhibited early but severe recessionary characteristics way before the credit crunch had really hit elsewhere and long before it had begun to decimate other industries and/or entertainment businesses. This is quite an achievement when you, effectively, run a monopoly business without any serious transnational rivals!

Though in the past these lamentable average attendance figures lacked any real independent verification (and ignoring the worry that so many weirdly symmetrical numbers were included that you’d have to assume that these were ‘rounded’ figures not exact ones) - there was the additional issue of whether these figures actually referred to ‘paying customers’ or might (or might not) also include discounted admissions (and/or comps) to inflated often pitiful totals. Whatever, the specifics of their tabulation, BSI Speedway’s (“An IMG Company”) continued failure to publish the 2008 attendance figures for the SGP series can only fuel rumours that the popularity of the series is in terminal decline with paying customers prepared to go to watch the action at the stadiums themselves. This waning interest would be a rational reaction given the predictably stale, same old, same old* nature of the series that’s served up nowadays. Of course, this lack of interest has been compounded by the staging doubts raised by the Gelsenkirchen fiasco, never mind the mixed message sent by the recent dramatic cost costing to the Super Prix prize money by the organisers. If a few tweaks to the website are breathlessly heralded as breaking and significant news, it’s reasonable to assume that if there had been an improvement in overall fan attendances that we’d have heard about it somewhere!**

Still, with the management team they continue to employ, you have to wonder if BSI Speedway (or, indeed, IMG) really care about in the flesh speedway fans that bother to turn up at these events beyond some standard lip service? A teaser video on the new website for the 2009 boasts “brutally fast machines”, “wheel to wheel racing” and “no brakes”. To the background sound of portentous Home Counties mansion man style classical music, great play is also made that “something is coming” That “something” is probably yet further damage to the remaining credibility of the management team at BSI Speedway, while the popularity of the once vibrant series declines further amongst the true fans who can be bothered to actually attend these meetings. Sadly, the armchair fans the sponsors can reach have become the target audience and they’re not going to care either way whether they watch monster trucks or speedway rider’s battle for supremacy.

* Obviously the Prague GP win for 19 year old Russian rider Emil Sayfutdinov shakes up the old boys network of the established order and adds a degree of unexpected excitement. The SGP remains essentially a parasitic organisation that borrows other peoples assets (or hires the self employed dependent upon your PoV)and uses them thoughtlessly. The SGP has yet to invest in or pay for the development of any speedway rider, let alone a SGP one! It continues to use the pitiful F.I.M. pay scales so if Emil's arrival onto the SGP scene does manage to boost attendances, television and/or advertising rights revenue - he (like all the other participants) definitely won't be able to retire on the prize money he earns.

** The publicly available average attendance figures we do have for SGP series (until 2007) exhibit a five year trend of decline from 2002 and, even if you accentuate the positive, the slight ‘rise’ in average attendances per GP in 2007 remains below 2002, 2003 and 2005 levels.

Savage 83% Super Prix Prize Money Cut Announced

2009-04-02T23:00:00.004+01:00

It was only last year that the Speedway Grand Prix ‘organisers’ boasted on their website about the ludicrous concept of the Super Prix events. It was another of those new fangled revolutions that nobody had asked for or could really see the point of, despite hollow protestations that this “finale” would add to the drama of the SGP.

On the modest, self-styled “Number 1 website for League and World Speedway”, the Super Prix already has the stale whiff of the online equivalent of yesterday's chip wrappers. It boasts, “New for 2008 FIM Speedway Grand Prix Series is the introduction of four Super Prix events offering an additional prize purse of $200,000.” The prize money offered then was allocated as follows:
1st: $120,000
2nd: $40,000
3rd: $25,000
4th: $15,000

Under the headline ‘Not Super’, this week's Speedway Star reveals, “there will be no Super Prix finale with a big cash pot to conclude the 2009 SGP season”. However the lucky winners of three Super Prix rounds in 2009 – staged in Gothenburg, Copenhagen & Cardiff – will receive “double the normal prize money”. Wowy Zowy!

Let’s just remind ourselves of how pitiful the official F.I.M. Placing Prize money per meeting is for the SGP riders:
1 $11,000
2 $8,200
3 $6,900
4 $6,000
5 $5,250
6 $5,100
7 $4,650
8 $4,500
9 $3,850
10 $3,700
11 $3,650
12 $3,600
13 $3,550
14 $3,500
15 $3,450
16 $3,400
17 $2,100
18 $2,100

So, the SGP organisers have effectively announced an overall cut in prize money of 83.5% (S167,000). Strangely - as at April 2nd 2009 - the news of this savage reduction had yet to be relayed on “Number 1 website for League and World Speedway”. Now, the only way a rider can earn more prize money this season that it was possible to earn for victory in a SGP single race last season is if they win every single GP meeting of the 2009 season.

Hopefully, we’ll soon be able to read a full account of this decision on the SGP website Maybe this could be posted along with news from the long awaited allegedly sub judice investigation into the Gelsenkirchen fiasco. Quite what these savings from the prize fund will now be used for remains a mystery. However, thankfully we are informed, “the idea of a Super Prix bonanza race has not been scrapped”.

British Sports Book of the Year 2009 Award Ceremony - News Update

2009-03-18T19:20:00.002Z

In a glittering awards ceremony held at the swanky Park Lane Hotel, Piccadilly, the great and good of the sports and publishing worlds collided at the annual British Sports Book of the Year (2009) Awards.

Gaby Logan along with a huge variety of sportsmen and sporting men provided additional glamour. These included Bob Willis, Graham Poll, Ed Smith, Frank Maloney, Brough Scott, Mick Fitzgerald, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Owen (rugby player) and Paul Canoville and, from those great supporters and patrons of British Speedway, Sky Sports’ very own Jonathan Sim.

There were six categories announced at the event and, sadly, my nomination with Concrete for Breakfast in the Best Biography section didn’t win through! Though this accolade deservedly went Christopher Hilton’s Regga - his book on Clay Regazzoni.

Many books were praised but there can only ever be a limited number of winners. Some of those spoken about highly deserve a place on any bookshelf and these include:
When Friday Comes/James Montague (Mainstream)
The Accies:Cradle of Scottish Rugby/David Barnes (Birlinn)
Bob Woolmer’s Art & Science of Cricket (New Holland)*
Don’t Mention the Score/Simon Briggs (Quercus)
Black & Blue/Paul Canoville (Headline)

*There’s something in it for everyone since it, apparently, ranges from forward driving technique to sex and the test cricketer

Many of the speeches and comments were often both touching and witty, particularly those by Christopher Hilton and Paul Canoville!

I was delighted to receive my nomination and believe that I was the only self-published author to attend. This is quite something in itself but I was even more honoured to tacitly represent and showcase British Speedway at such a high profile sports occasion. Hopefully, the members of the press in attendance will give speedway more thought and coverage in future!

Everyone puts a brave face on afterwards if they’ve not scooped the top prize. As the author I’m delighted but, as the publisher, I’m gutted! And vice versa.

None of my books would ever have happened without the help, encouragement and support of so many people involved in British Speedway. Thank you!

With sincere apologies to everyone I’ve missed (sorry), I would like to reiterate the acknowledgements section of Concrete for Breakfast:

“I mentioned earlier that I have been overwhelmed with help and kindness. I hesitate to name everyone as, inevitably, I will make a mistake and miss someone I’m extremely grateful to, so, with sincere apologies to those who I do manage to miss out I would like to thank the following people: Peter Adams, Rachael Adams, Graham Arnold, Stephanie Babb, Mike Bacon, Paul Bailey, Graeme Bailey, Andrew Baker, Robert Bamford, Nick, Johnny, Bev, Molly and Colin Barber, George and Linda Barclay, Derek Barclay, Dick Barrie, Phil Bartlett, Norman Beeney, John Berry, Mike Berry, Alun Biggart, Ray and Mark Blackwell, Joyce and Malcolm Blythe, Richard Bott, Bob and Greg Brimson, Jim and Steven Brykajlo, Brian Burford, John Campbell, Alison Chalmers, Karen Chappell, Steve Chilton, Jon Cook, Graham Cooke, Kevin Coombes, Dougie Copland, David Crane, Lucy Cross, Dave Croucher, Jonathan Chapman, Keith and Cheryl Chapman, Martin Dadswell, Andrew Dalby, Paddy Davitt, Gordie Day, Nigel Dean, Anita Dennington, Alan Dick, Chris Durno, Tim Durrans, Graham and Denise Drury, Steve and Debbie Dixon, Neil Dyson, Svend Elkjaer, George and Joan English, Dave Fairbrother, Ben Findon, Richard Frost, Cory Gathercole, Chris Gay, Chris Geer, Trevor Geer, Arnie Gibbons, Bill Gimbeth, Darcia Gingell, Rob Godfrey, Mike and Anita Golding, Mick Gregory, George Grant, Rob Griffin, Andy Griggs, Nobby Hall, Keith Hamblin, Tim Hamblin, Steve Hilliard, Liz Hunt, John Hyam, John, Jordan, Karen, Mark and Judy Hazelden, Jim Henry, Andy Higgs, Mike Hinves, Richard Hollingsworth, Dave Hoggart, Charles Howgego, Paul Hunsdon, Lynn Hunt, Mike Hunter, Tony Jackson, Sue Jackson-Scott, Wendy Jedrzejakski, Adam Jennison, Edward Kennett, Elvin King, Tim Lang, Jo Lawson, Mark Lawton, Sheila Le-Sage, Kevin Ling, Gary Lough, John Louis, Roger Love, Joanna Lunde, Michael Max, Tony and Susie MacDonald, Ella MacDonald, Phil Mackie, Ian and Jean Maclean, Neil Machin, Lee Maclaughlin, Julie Martin, Martin Mauger, Iain McBride, Dennis McCleary, Charles McKay, Allan Melville, Steve and Sarah Miles, Howard Milton, Jayne Moss, Martin Neal, Bill Norris, Peter Oakes, Paul Oughton, Brian Owen, Gordon Pairman, Shane and Anji Parker, Dave Pavitt, Michael Payne, Nigel Pearson, Rob Peasley, Di Phillips, Mark Poulton, Andy and Win Povey, Colin Pratt, Dave Rattenberry, Julie Reading, Dave and Margaret Rice, John Rich, Gareth Rogers, Laurence Rogers, Wayne Russell, Craig Saul, Mark Sawbridge, Sid Shine, Len and Hazel Silver, Andrew Skeels, Derek Smith, Phil Spence, the late Tim Stone, Tony Steele, Trevor Swales, Shaun Tacey, Dave Tattum, Caroline Tattum, Peter Toogood, Stuart Towner, Ian Thomas, Tony (Grandad) Thompson, Stefan Usansky, Dave Valentine, Chris Van Stratton, Peter Waite, Barry Wallace, Nick Ward, Paul Watson, Alf Weedon, The Reverend Michael Whawell, Bryn Williams, Scott Wilson, Cameron Woodward, Ashley and Jane Wooller, Dave Wright and Malcolm Wright.

To pick out anyone in particular would be invidious. However, I owe so many ‘thank you’s’. The book wouldn’t look as lovely as it does without Vicky Holtham’s design and artistic skills, along with her stubborn persistence. There would be many more errors than there are without the diligent proofreading of Caroline Tidmarsh and Vy Shepherd along with speedway fanatic Billy Jenkins who has kindly encouraged and advised in so many thoughtful ways. Graham Russel has shown tremendous pedantry and knowledge to wrangle with my words to convert them into some sort of sense. My true friend Sue Young has encouraged me often in so many things and really saved me when I needed that most – for which she has my eternal gratitude. Of course, without the love and guidance of my parents – Mary and Alan – none of this book or so many other things would have been possible. Finally, you can never have too many teachers and I was lucky enough to have been inspired to write my speedway books by a truly great teacher, poet, musician and wit – Michael Donaghy. He remains greatly missed.”

With additional special thank you’s for Ian McMillan, Richard Whitehead and David Willis.

Selected Highlights from the 2009 British Speedway Regulations

2009-03-09T14:07:00.002Z

They say speedway is a simple sport. Basically, four riders on four bikes racing four laps around an oval track. The dense type and complexity of the 64 page speedway rulebook says otherwise and, though it laudably aims to outlaw cunning and manipulation, each year yet further amendments arrive.

Nowadays this rulebook often confuses the officials and the promoters, so new or novice fans will most likely struggle. You can find the new regulations for British Speedway here and they’re well worth detailed consideration in the comfort and safety of your own home.

Below are some of those that just jumped off the page.

SR 3.4.1.2
“No protest can be lodged against a Statement of Fact (see Nomenclature) pronounced by the Referee or SCB Officer or any other executive official”

Definition of Statement of Fact = “A Referees Heat decision, a technical ruling, an MC decision regarding a Team Line-Up or eligibility of a Rider in a Meeting”

So there is no appeal against a ref’s decision on heat finish. Or, even, any grounds for appeal MC [Management Committee] decision: for example, team line-up or eligibility of a rider in a meeting. Known, unofficially, as the ‘Phone a Friend’ amendment, this regulation merely formalises current practice.

The regulations also confirm that the SCB Consultant Administrator can make binding “on the day” decisions.

SR 4.2.7
Riders can now also obtain written rulings about whether medication is permissible via Internet.

There’s no longer any excuse for accidentally using Night Nurse.

SR 6.5.2 & App A
“Each Competitor must supply and use an Environmental Mat, (one for each motorcycle taken into the Pits) which measures a minimum of 1.80 metres x 0.75 metres”

So, this year, speedway has notionally gone ‘greener’ with its specification of the size of environmental maps. Mandatory fines have been introduced – these are £100 in the EL, £50 in the PL and £25 in the NL

SR 7.4.6
“Applications for a Testimonial, Farewell or Benefit Meeting on behalf of a Rider must be made to and approved at the BSPA AGM or GC”

Same as it always was really but still fraught for some riders who’re due or deserve a testimonial.

SR 8.1.2
“Riders returning from injury involving any form of concussion (or having been diagnosed by a Track CMO as being concussed during a previous Meeting) must have clearance from the SCB Medical Advisor”

We all applaud the bravery and resilience of the riders but common sense should, sometimes, prevail.

SR 8.2.1
All meetings must have a “2nd Medical Treatment facility”

SR 8.3.1
All medical staff can have no other responsibilities during a meeting

SR 8.5.h
Medical staff must have familiarity with “ALL varieties of clothing and equipment worn by competitors” and be trained in their safe removal

Riders will still have to dress themselves prior to a meeting and, if they [fingers crossed] remain uninjured, undress themselves afterwards (unless willing volunteer help is on hand)

SR 9.2.1.1
All new tracks constructed after 1st January 2009 must have an air fence.

SR 9.2.4.1
“A line 4-metres from the Inner edge of the track must be marked to signify the area inside which all Personnel on the Infield must stay during track maintenance (Track Staff carrying out their duties, e.g. track grading are exempt)”

This will be difficult to police unless every track ensures the centre green is marked with clearly drawn four (and ten) metre exclusion zones. I’m not sure what the penalty will be for the inevitable infractions or who will levy the punishments. This would imply that anyone who breaks this regulation is, by their actions, uninsured!

SR 9.2.4.2
“Essential personnel must also stay inside this 4-metre line during racing whilst non-essential personnel, e.g. Presenters, Start Girls etc. must remain at least 10 metres inside the Inner edge of the Track during racing”

A second exclusion zone will need to be marked on all centre greens (are all of them big enough?). Again what the situation with infractions is remains unclear. Sounds like sponsorship from Spirograph is just round the corner, never mind that the only way for mascots or excitable presenters to get close to the riders as they cross the finish line will be to stand on the terraces.

SR 10.43.1
Rear chain guards must be without holes or slots cut into it

SR 13.2
The National League requires a Development licence which, at £70, costs £23 more than the Amateur licence required for last year’s CL.

Given we’re crying out for up and coming British speedway riders, increasing the cost of participation doesn’t quite seem the way to find or encourage the young stars of the future.

SR 14.1
“The ANNOUNCER/PRESENTER's role is to provide Spectators in a strictly impartial manner with information they need to reasonably understand and enjoy a Meeting. Referee’s racing decisions, instructions and statements must be announced as given by the Referee. Under no circumstances should s/he make comments that gives the impression that a protest has been/is being made against a Referee's decision, that incites any section of the crowd, or comment on any matter that is sub judice and is responsible for the comments of any person being interviewed that does not hold an SCB Licence / Registration.”

Given the stringency of the above, this still appears to be very much in the ear of the beholder and is seen more often in the breach than the observance. Though lengthy, it’s a shame that the speedway authorities haven’t chosen to ban irksome and unnecessary commentary by announcer/presenters during the race itself (particularly on the last lap)

SR 14.2
The Clerk of the Course must have “no financial involvement with the promotion”

Unofficial investment via a third party remains an option

SR 15.13
A ‘revolutionary’ league match points system has been adopted that will distinguish speedway from almost any other sport you care to name.

“Winning Team:
Home win by 7 or more points = 3 Match points
Home win by between 1 and 6 points = 2 Match points
Away win by 7 or more points = 4 Match points
Away win by between 1 and 6 points = 3 Match points
A Draw:
Home Team = 1 Match point
Away Team = 2

Match points Defeated Team:
Home Team = 0 points
Away Team losing by 6 points or less = 1 Match point”

This innovation will make the Duckworth-Lewis method in cricket appear straightforward. All this will be hard to represent in an easy to understand sound bite or represent meaningfully table. Many promoters, fans and officials will struggle, so heaven knows how Kelvin & Nigel will cope with all the permutations during their frenetic live commentaries

SR 16.4.1
There will be no money spinning Play Off between the bottom two of EL this season.

SR 17.4.7
“Should a Guest Rider be permitted (see SR 18.1.4.5)* then that Rider must be in a current NL squad**.”
* i.e. NL allows guests only for their No 1 (identified by their CMA)
** each NL team can have a squad of eight riders

SR 17.4.7
“Commonwealth Riders as permitted (see SR 17.3.2.2), subject to a maximum of 2 per club are limited to ride for a maximum of 2 consecutive seasons which must be with that same club. They cannot ride for an EL/PL Team under any circumstances, even as a Guest.”

Wonder how long before someone tries to make the case to the MC that their Commonwealth rider should be treated as an exception?

SR 18.1
“Team Line-Ups must adhere to the following, unless an exception is detailed on the BSPA approval of a Team Line-Up:
a) The Top Rider (by CMA) must ride at #1.
b) The 2nd to 5th Riders (by CMA) can ride in any position 2 – 5”

SR 18.1.1.
For the first time, Team Manager’s must provide written evidence that they have notified each other of their line-ups five days prior to the meeting

Home team nominate first and the away team then have to respond within 24 hours.

It’s rumoured that to maximise programme sales (or to ensure extra writing for everyone whose brought a blank scorecard), one customer unfriendly innovation will be the lack of accurate team line up information until just before the tapes rise. Unlike previous custom and practice, club websites will only list their riders alphabetically rather than release their actual position in the increasingly mysterious/sacred team line-ups. Under the regulations, they will have had this information for four days previously. Rather find ways to attract more fans through the turnstiles or to fight the impact of the recession on the appeal of speedway to floating fans, the media and potential sponsors, the boffins have come up with this solution to the threat of the internet and the lost programme sales it’s reputed to engender.

SR 18.1.1
These written notified line ups then cannot be changed (unless, of course, they can. But only if the moon rises in Aquarius, you know someone on the MC or other such matters. See SR 18.1.2 for more information)

SR 18.1.2
Hugely complicated list of exceptions for which a “facility” [to replace a missing rider] may be granted

Interestingly, NL allows a facility for “any absence” e.g. clearly intended for work commitments but, obviously, subject to huge and creative ‘manipulation’. Headaches, weddings, important vet appointments for sick guinea pigs, parents evenings etc will doubtless probably all figure during the course of the season.

SR 18.3
The old seven day rule to stop guests riding at the same track week in week out has now become the 180 hour rule. Genuinely cunning solution to an intractable problem though, next year, this will probably become 250 hour rule to account for promoter sophistry as well as the enforced vagaries of the fixture list caused by Sky meetings and bank holidays

SR 18.4
For RR’s, NL doesn’t restrict just to the rider directly above. E.g. No.1 can take an RR ride for missing No. 3 in NL.

SR 18.5
Tactical gate switch (after heat 4) only permitted in Knock Out Cup competition

SR 18.6
The Conference League has been renamed the National League apart from where the rules describe the play off system where it becomes the National Development League (this sounds much posher, more lustrous and like it might result in the discovery of a future British speedway World Champion)

SR 18.b.3
The top six sides will take part in the EL play offs – only the team who finish 7th or 8th will be deprived of further action - with meetings now always staged over two legs. These will additionally be operated under a handicap system where the top four teams have bonus points added to their aggregate scores in the quarter finals/semi finals (1st = 10 pts, 2nd = 6pts, 3rd = 4 pts and 4th = 2 pts). The top two teams don’t contest the quarterfinals and no handicap points adjustments apply to the Final. The highest placed team always has first choice of opponent (the highest remaining team has next choice in both quarter and semi finals) and first choice of which leg they wish to ride at home.

This adds real complexity and makes the new scoring system appear sensibly boring in comparison. In a nutshell, this has most likely been introduced to enthuse Sky, maximise revenues (remember those admissions price rises from some clubs in 2008?), never mind that the reality remains that the top two in the EL are definite to make the final unless they really, really screw up.

SR 18.b.5
This regulation covers the “Golden” Heat rules introduced to decide selected tied meetings. Hugely complex but, essentially, first team to get a heat advantage wins. Quite when this will be used I’m not exactly sure (I expect during the play offs). If done properly, this could actually be the speedway equivalent of a penalty shoot out and might well appeal to potential new fans who’ve never previously had an interest in speedway!

All rules and regulations remain Copyright (c) 2009 The Speedway Control Bureau

Return of the Blunsdon Blog

2009-03-02T21:37:00.002Z

It's back! Older but wittier and wiser after it's much needed sabbatical.

Though the shale never really left his shoes, Swindon speedway blogsmith Graham Cooke is back at his keyboard to take you behind the scenes to, once again, see the rich tapestry and cast of characters that is the Wonderful World of Track Curation, Wiltshire style

To live the Blunsdon curatorial dream vicariously (and experience Robins fulfil their tag as the pundits favourite to march to Elite League glory in 2009) , click here

Unresolved Legal Issues Cloud Gelsenkirchen Post Mortem

2009-01-15T19:21:00.004Z

Widely seen as the man with the real brainpower in the team of all talents that makes up the BSI management team, Paul ‘Really Important’ Bellamy (Managing Director BSI) has kindly deigned to be savagely quizzed on the SGP (including the Gelsenkirchen fiasco) in this week’s Speedway Star. Billed on the front cover of the magazine as “Bellamy in the dock”, it’s a surprise to find that Philip Rising – who financially benefits from the FIM/SGP circus as the SGP Press Officer - conducts the investigative analysis and questioning! In speedway, we don’t expect Watergate levels of independence but, surely, this is only one small step removed from John ‘Very Important’ Postlethwaite conducting things? Hang onto your sleuthing caps, in fact the questions posed do sound suspiciously like the speedway equivalent of the oral cuddles recently administered by West Ham, never mind that they’re sometimes relentlessly anodyne enough to have been composed by the BSI Press Office team.

Actually, to be fair, Paul Bellamy’s bare feet are grotesquely beaten Midnight Express style by Philip Rising in a vain attempt to puncture the complacent management speak and elicit some vaguely honest answers. Indeed, we quickly learn that the fabled oft promised “post mortem” has finally started – hurrah! We’re goggle eyed to discover it’s “still an ongoing process but a number of valuable lessons have been learnt”. Blimey! What are they? (‘Don’t talk to strangers’? ‘Look before you leap’? Cover your shale?) Sadly, this “post mortem” is still mostly a case of Not In Front Of The Children because of ominous sounding but unspecified “legal issues to be resolved”.

Still, during the “process”, probably conducted in an identikit office building in Southern England, souls have been cleansed. However, while the information “gleaned” from “considerable time and energy going over everything” is digested, we’re reassured by news that luckily “no stone is being left unturned”. We can all sleep safe in our beds tonight knowing that Our Man with the Plan, Paulie Bellamy, along with The Man with the Vision, Johnny Postlethwaite, are on the case and will safeguard the interests of the fans and speedway alike.

BSI have decided (and also have sufficient “ambition” to “achieve”) that the quality of indoor tracks could be an “ongoing process” worth a look at possibly solving – costs willing - before they’ve been in charge for a decade. Fortunately BSI have experience, “we know how tracks perform under conditions” and Paulie B boasts they’ve “put in 18 temporary tracks” over these past years. True enough – pretty well all of them execrable, some unrideable but then, every cloud has a silver lining, so let’s luxuriate in the congratulations of the riders for the one they finally got right in 2008 in Copenhagen. Doubles all round!

Mr. Rising reveals that, apparently, “conspiracy theories” have erroneously claimed that “poor ticket sales” led to the cancellation of the 2008 Gelsenkirchen GP. Paulie elegantly dismisses these rumours out of hand as “false” and we believe him (“ticket sales were not that bad, we would have been all right”). I don’t know of anyone worrying if Paulie B or Johnny P were “all right”, though questions have been raised about their competence, people skills and customer relations. Paulie then accidentally reveals that all speedway fans are really just fodder, “we would never have to cancel an event because of poor ticket sales. They only make up a portion of the revenue, there is TV money, sponsorship and, of course, the reputation of the series.” (Just because IMG spectacularly overpaid for said “reputation” appears to fool Paulie into an inflated idea of its worth that, sadly, we won’t see tested in the open market).

Interestingly, Concrete for Breakfast (p. 274) has this quote on Gelsenkirchen 2007, “They say the staging costs at any Grand Prix varies between £230,000 and £280,000 – that was £280k excluding prize money. It was never expected to make any money. They say the attendance was 25,000 but they gave away loads of tickets just to boost the numbers because the capacity is 66,000.” Unless things altered dramatically in 2008, then the German GP was always budgeted to make a loss! So really, Paul Bellamy provides us all with a whole new definition of “all right” for the Credit Crunch Age. Namely, “all right” = financial loss, it’s definitely one that the next edition of the Oxford English Dictionary should incorporate forthwith.

Through diligent questioning, we learn Paulie’s favourite colour is green (the colour of money) but also of the hierarchy that affects speedway at the Grand Prix level since Paulie B reveals that speedway fans are “really important” but “our TV partners” are “very important”. In fact, the TV partners ensure that live SGP flickers unwatched on televisions in sports bars in 30 countries or its highlights packages get shown during the dead of night in 100 countries. Paulie calls these “new markets” and, note the use of the singular, where the SGP finds a “new audience” (something that sounds suspiciously like a patient in a coma).

Later there’s a wonderfully post-modern moment in the questioning when, without apparent irony, Philip Rising queries whether Ole Olsen has a conflict of interests with regard to the SGP 2009 round to be staged at Vojens. These baseless allegations are rightly denounced by Mr. Bellamy with some piffle about the “Danish market” thrown in for good measure to make things sound well thought out.

Like a new philosophical theory, the interview answers Paulie B provides are all too linguistically complex to drink in all at once but will be revisited when the “post mortem” results are finally announced.

No Room at the trough - SGP Rider Pay Rates frozen in 2009 (at 2005 levels) again

2009-01-05T22:18:00.006Z

The recently published FIM Speedway World Championship Grand Prix Regulations 2009 make interesting reading (listed as regulation 077).

Unluckily for the riders, their pay rates remain frozen for 2009 (just like they did in 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005). The FIM have again produced an extremely comprehensive 39-page document that covers everything from the specifics of the helmet RAL Traffic colours to the type of fuel to be used.

Sadly, the FIM aren’t responsible for BSI IMG’s pay rates (or shale storage arrangements) so we can’t learn if Messrs Postlethwaite, Bellamy and Olsen remunerations have also been frozen! I think we can safely say it’s unlikely that still they have to get by on 2005 levels of pay. But then, to be fair, quality expertise rarely comes cheap.

The placing prize money per SGP meeting is listed below. It’s worth noting, that these are the magnificent rewards that have so focussed SGP riders minds and led them to lose regard for the intensive race schedule of British speedway meetings.

01. US$ 11,000
02. US$ 8,200
03. US$ 6,900
04. US$ 6,000
05. US$ 5,250
06. US$ 5,100
07. US$ 4,650
08. US$ 4,500
09. US$ 3,850
10. US$ 3,700
11. US$ 3,650
12. US$ 3,600
13. US$ 3,550
14. US$ 3,500
15. US$ 3,450
16. US$ 3,400
17. US$ 2,100
18. US$ 2,100

Some other rules and regulations catch the eye:
“Riders who do not wish to practice may however sign on, no later than 15:00, on Race day” [077.3.8 Signing on]
“Practice is not compulsory” [077.6 Practice]
“The travel and hotel expenses are included in the prize money (Art. 077.10.5)” [077.10.1 Travel and hotel expenses]
“For the Race Director, a single or double room must be reserved for 3 nights and paid for by the organiser” [077.10.2 Hotel accommodation]

Some of the financial penalties in the 2009 rulebook [077.12.3 Fines] are pleasantly quirky:
“Arriving after the start of Heat N° 1” results in disqualification from the meeting (fine US$ 800)
“Ungentlemanly behaviour towards any persons” has two levels of punishment: “with words or signs” (fine US$400) and “with violence” (fine US$ 800)
“Riding number jackets not worn during the Parade, Prize-Giving Ceremony, Press Conference, in the Pits and during TV interviews" (fine US$ 400)
“Riding number jacket not worn during the race” also results in disqualification, while riding with “front fork cover not fitted on the motorcycle from the meeting” (fine US$ 800)
“Team member not wearing a team colour uniform” (fine US$ 400)
“Lost or forgotten pass” (fine US$ 40)
“Riders are responsible for their team members”
Failure to keep shale dry (fine US$ 0)

Incredible Special Offer: £5 for 2008 Yearbook!

2009-01-01T15:36:00.003Z

Exceptional New Year book offer:

Methanol Press SPEEDWAY YEARBOOK 2008
Edited by Robert Bamford
67% off! - was £14.99 now £5.00
272 pages Paperback

The indispensable companion for the 2008 season for speedway fans everywhere - edited by respected speedway author and historian, Robert Bamford.

It’s comprehensive, definitive and packed with useful information. The book covers all British Leagues – Elite, Premier and Conference – as well as all major meetings in Britain and Internationally along with complete coverage of the Speedway Grand Prix Series.

It also includes a review of the 2007 season along with a profile of every British League team, 74 black & white photographs, detailed track information as well as the ultimate speedway resource - the acclaimed and comprehensive Rider Index!

About the Author
Since attending his first meeting over 30 years ago, Robert Bamford is the best-selling and most published speedway author of his generation.

Other great offers:
Shale Britannia 34% off! - was £15.00 now £9.99

Shifting Shale 50% off! - was £20.00 now £10.00

UK orders only. Postage and packing charges apply

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Early Christmas Joy from BSI

2008-12-22T08:20:00.003Z

After mismanagement and cost cutting apparently ensured the cancellation of the Gelsenkirchen Grand Prix in October, “Paul Bellamy, Managing Director of BSI (Speedway)” [as he’s snappily known] read from a prepared statement in the bored manner of a speaking clock to signal the emotional depth of his frustration at the inconvenience caused to the fans. Airily, he instructed us to look forward not back, “what we want to do now is focus on the event next weekend” in hope that we’d all quickly forget his pitiful managerial performance.

If the time for analysis and recrimination weren’t then, when was it that lessons would be learnt? The Speedway Star told us, “BELLAMY and [Rob] ARMSTRONG were positive and adamant to all they talked to that the show must and will go on. The time for a post-mortem is not now but must wait until the 2008 World Championship has been concluded.” Unless I missed the post-mortem announcement, it’s now been nearly two months since and we haven’t heard a dickey bird.

If we assume for once that figures issued by BSI are occasionally trustworthy, then there were over 11,000 “supporters” let down by BSI’s bungling (though in the weeks before the event rumours had ticket sales estimated at 5,000). Apart from a weak apology and the promise of a few free tickets for 2009 SGP events, most “supporters” were left seriously out of pocket. Many spent a minimum of £300+ per person going to Germany for a meeting that never took place. Any organisation that respected its customers, would have found some means to offer appropriate recompense, mitigate the loss or give a credible explanation. Even late news of compensation or the outcome of thorough ‘investigations’ would make a nice and unexpected Christmas present!

However, instead this week we witness the hapless Bellamy pretend to play Santa with the announcement that BSI will move the start time of the 2009 Cardiff GP back two hours. I stand to be corrected but the “customers” haven’t demanded this action and only a minority of those who attend the meeting actually book accommodation. Still Mr. Bellamy acts as if he’s a cross between Santa come early and a guest presenter on Watchdog, when his statement gives us some frankly unbelievable blather about doing so to possibly save “supporters” the unnecessary expense! Or, what the supportive Speedway Star termed, “a move specifically designed to combat the price of hotel accommodation in the welsh city”. What self-serving guff Bellamy spouts, particularly when – as noted above - only months previously his organisation completely failed to consider (let alone deliver) any serious offer of recompense to “supporters” for exorbitant travel, hotel and subsistence expenses going to Gelsenkirchen for the BSI fiasco.

Adding yet further flatulent insult to injury, Bellamy then goes on to self-deludingly fly in the face of more facts with the claim, “and in a way the British GP has been a victim of its own success…as the popularity of the event has grown it has been increasingly difficult to accommodate the fans wishing to stay in Cardiff on the Saturday night.” Even ignoring the strong likelihood that in 2009 attendances at Cardiff will decline, a brief glance at recent Cardiff attendances shows us that the trend is anything but a uniformly upward “success” story (nor has there been any significant theoretical increase in hotel room demand) since 2002:
2001 32,000
2002 42,000 (up 10,000)
2003 40,000 (down 2,000)
2004 35,251 (down 4,749)
2005 40,000 (up 4,749)
2006 40,000 (flat)
2007 41,267 (up 1,267)
2008 42,187 (up 920)

In bald terms, despite relentless boosterism on Sky and in the speedway press, from 2002 BSI have taken six years to show a net increase of 187 fans! Superbly illustrating the parallel universe inhabited by the BSI management team, at the time of the takeover by IMG John Postlethwaite, Chief Executive, BSI, commented: “I’m delighted all the hard work we have put into growing world championship speedway as a team has been noticed by a company of IMG’s stature. Myself and the team are extremely excited about realising some of our future growth plans that would not have been possible if we had continued independently.”

Back on planet earth, if someone tried to excite you with news that your pay would increase by less than half a percent (actually 0.445%) over the six years of an unsustainable economic boom, you'd definitely find that pathetic! If only the cost of admission to the Cardiff GP (or the programme) had only shown the same percentage uplift then I’m “supporters” would attend in greater numbers and be happier about an event staged each year on a shoddy and/or dangerous track surface.

Even worse for the credibility of anyone hailing themselves as a victim of their own ‘success’, demand for Cardiff based hotels clearly hasn’t exactly burgeoned in the manner implicitly suggested by Mr. Bellamy! Indeed, I’m not sure (and I expect BSI aren’t either) what proportion of the crowd actually does stay over in Cardiff? Indeed, given considerations of geography and cost, we can safely say that the majority of the “supporters” don’t stay overnight in Cardiff so, unless BSI isn’t being straightforward, what’s all the fuss about*?

What the ‘thinking’ by the BSI management team, this definitely fails as a publicity stunt to distract from or mitigate the public relations disaster caused by numerous “supporters” wasting their hard earned money travelling to an event that the organisers couldn’t manage to put on. However, it probably reads well in the monthly report Paul writes for John Postlethwaite and Rob Armstrong**.

*It’s old news too! In the Coventry v Poole programme dated 4th July, the anonymous ‘Buzz’ column noted that “rumours were rife” that the 2009 GP would start at 5pm.

Also if we assume that visitors from outside the country are the most likely to need to use hotels when attending a ‘foreign’ GP, then (except for Polish fans) the strength of the euro versus the pound will already have dramatically reduced Cardiff rooming costs! Thereby removing the notional reason for the earlier start time.....

** Interestingly on the IMG World website, their Press Room (where they carry all major announcements)fails to mention the changed start time. The BSI management team will need more dramatically newsworthy and attention seeking initiatives in future if they are to attract the attention of their corporate masters (and speedway fans).

Concrete for Breakfast Short Listed in 2009 British Sports Book Awards

2008-12-12T17:50:00.004Z

My latest book on British Speedway, Concrete for Breakfast, has been short listed in the prestigious category of BEST BIOGRAPHY in the 2009 British Sports Book Awards run by the National Sporting Club.

Chosen from a strong field featuring books on boxing, F1, Golf, speedway, cycling and the Olympics, the winner will be announced in London on 18th March 2009.

Exhibiting one of the first signs of madness I commented to myself on this blog, “None of my books could have been written without the stories, comments, advice, help and support of a huge number of people from within the speedway community. It’s an honour just to be short listed for such an acclaimed prize but also to get the opportunity to try to publicise the rich tapestry that is modern British Speedway to a wider audience.”

The book can be ordered postage free (in the UK) during December here

Short List.

Boxing A Cultural History by Kasia Boddy published by Reaktion Books
Concrete for Breakfast More Tales from the Shale by Jeff Scott- Methanol Press
Arnie and Jack -Golf’s Greatest Rivalry by Ian O’Connor- Yellow Jersey Press
Sex, Lies and Handlebar Tape- Jacques Anquetil by Paul Howard- Mainstream Publishing
Regga- Clay Regazzoni by Christopher Hilton- Haynes Publishing
The Austerity Olympics by Janie Hampton- Aurum Press

About the Book
Concrete for Breakfast
Jeff Scott
Methanol Press
304 pages (200 small black & white photographs)
Paperback
£20

Tears & Glory Review

2008-12-05T13:33:00.002Z

The task of any speedway historian isn’t an enviable one – no matter how eventful the subject matter - since there’s only so many ways you can describe a race, a meeting or even a season. This difficulty has been elegantly overcome by Arnie Gibbons in his account of the 40 year history of the Reading Racers Tears and Glory: The Winged Wheel Story.

Obviously, as you’d expect, this book is a treasure trove of historical information and statistics on the Berkshire club – for this alone - it would be worth purchasing. Any speedway book that also promises to and does cover the “walk outs, sit downs, fight, crashes, drugs, shopping, law suits, battles for control, transfer requests” is going to get you to turn the pages quickly.

However, where Tears and Glory really comes into own is in the thoughtfulness of Mr. Gibbons’ presentation of each year - both within it’s speedway context but also because of his keen eye for quotidian detail drawn from elsewhere that he weaves into the narrative (including the wider context of the social, political and cultural life of Britain or, indeed, the town of Reading itself). These snippets and nuggets of quirky information really sets the book apart. In what other speedway books would you learn about the local newspaper reporting of the ‘pretty ankle competition’ held at the Huntley & Palmers Recreation Club Gala or gain such insight into matters like road infrastructure developments in the Smallmead area?

The rigorous approach to each chapter taken by Mr. Gibbons will interest anyone with a curiosity about speedway rather than just those with a connection to the Reading Racers. For example, by far the longest chapter in the book deals with the events of 1984 and what he terms ‘speedway in crisis’ or, at least less melodramatically, could be called a significant turning point for the sport (from which it arguably never fully recovered). It’s chapter includes all you’d expect on the Racers season plus the implosion of the leagues, the Sunday People bribes scandal and Michael Lee fiasco coupled with other issues like four teams riding permanently with a guest rider that season.

We all know speedway is a hugely dangerous sport and Mr Gibbons fully respects and acknowledges this since the book is dedicated to (and movingly covers) Denny Pyeatt and Geoff Curtis - Reading Racers stars who both lost their lives racing.

Overall, Tears and Glory is a thoughtful and well researched book that should find its way onto any speedway fans bookshelf. Every club should have an Arnie Gibbons.

To order your copy click here

An apology: Steve Skerry (aka Skezza)

2008-11-26T17:49:00.005Z

In a recent post, I may have given the impression that Steve Skerry saw his Speedway from Skezza blog as an online opportunity to blow smoke up the collective bottoms of the BSPA and BSI/IMG (whatever they're called this week).

While his research still remains heavily influenced by and/or dependent upon the Speedway Star, he's clearly far from toothless and, judged by recent comments, definitely his own man

Tom Garnell replies

2008-11-20T11:44:00.002Z

My interviews with various people behind the scenes at Eastbourne this past season included the following comment from Kevin Coombes. "I fell into it by accident when car sharing to work I heard that the regular presenter Tom Garnell had went away for two weeks to watch F1 racing. I had my opinions on his personal style and said to my friends I could do a better job."

Tom Garnell has kindly written to me to set the record straight and given his permission to reproduce his comments and memories. His reply is below:

"Mr. Scott

I was rather surprised to find myself mentioned in a recent speedway blog of yours looking at Eastbourne published last month. It is over 16 years since I gave up the announcing job and I hardly expected anyone to remember me, let alone criticise me.

I started announcing during Gareth Rogers reign at Arlington. I had done some broadcasting with Gareth on Radio Brighton and he asked me to stand in for Tony Boyce while Tony went off to attend a Formula One Grand Prix, he did that not me!! I 'miked' the Under 23 Championships with someone on the centre green. It was reasonably successful and Gareth asked me to understudy Tony. I did the odd meeting that season and then took over the following season as a lone announcer. I fell out with Gareth over his ruling that I should not announce the results of the National League, the league the Eagles were then in, but give details of Oxford, the Dugard family were involved in Oxspeed who ran the Oxford club, in the British League. So I left, I can't remember who took over.

When Wimbledon transferred to Arlington the new promoters showed an interest in my returning, they apparently liked my style, even if others obviously didn't.

I did the job with Jon Cook's support until a big blow up at a meeting with Reading. In one heat the Reading pair started off the wrong gates. I pointed this out to the Referee who ordered a re-run. Bob Dugard was very upset, Paul was involved in that heat, and stormed up to the box to castigate the Ref. I suggested that the spectators were the second most important people in the stadium after the riders and as Reading were down to three riders plus a couple of kids and the Eagles were miles in front a re-run was right. Bob demanded the Reading riders be disqualified and told me, in no uncertain terms, to shut up or ship out. I finished the match but resigned. I later did one joint meeting with Kevin Coombes at Jon Cook's request, but it didn't work out so I never did it again.

My idea of announcing is obviously different from others. I was first and foremost there to inform, line-ups, results etc. At one time Dave Norris' father Peter was my roving reporter in the pits and would tell me why X or Y had retired. I would tell newcomers something about the sport. I would also try to entertain in some areas, music and speedway related anecdotes, not always appreciated. I used to highlight the stadium facilities, I knew it was sometimes difficult for visitors to find their way around a strange stadium.

I was never a Centre Green clown, Gareth Rogers used to moan at me for not being 'known' by the supporters, but I am not very outgoing so I didn't want to become a 'face'.

I often got into trouble for not mentioning the teams' sponsors. Some people didn't like my music and the Grandstand Bar didn't switch on the loudspeakers until the meeting started. This did result in one amusing experience when a heavy rain storm 10 minutes before a meeting caused the meeting to be cancelled. I announced that and the whole stadium emptied, except the grandstand bar. As I was about to leave the phone rang and I was asked by the barman when the meeting would start. I enjoyed telling him 'next Saturday'.

I was often congratulated by referees, especially Frank Ebdon, for reacting quickly to crowd incidents, for example the use of bad language or the danger of physical violence between spectators.

I have written to you because I just wanted to set the record straight. I was very irritated when a friend googled my name to check on something else I'd been involved in and saw that reference in your Kevin Coombes on your blog. It seems that I was the only person to have a negative mention.

I would add that, unlike announcers before and after me, I received no money for my efforts. My wages were a cup of tea and a Kit-Kat bar at each meeting plus an extra copy of the programme to write out properly after my original programme was mullered during the meeting.

So you can post whatever you want but please don't be too critical of me for doing my best.

All in all I did the job to the best of my ability and in my own way. Others may disagree, but after 16 years I must have left some impression.

Tom Garnell, Announcer Retired."

Bellamy, Postlethwaite & Olsen dominate SGP Earnings again in 2008

2008-10-31T08:40:00.003Z

Once again, the end of the 2008 Speedway Grand Prix sees Paul Bellamy, John Postlethwaite and Ole Olsen comfortably 'earn' more money than anyone else with some connection to the series. Remember these are the ‘fat cats’ with the business acumen and marketing genius not to be able to manage anything as simple as a pile of shale. (I understand that even the printing of the German GP programme was beyond the pay grade and competence of the organisers with the cover printed in Danish and the line up printed in the scorecard was from the Swedish GP!)

The prize money earnings for all the speedway riders who take part in the series remain pitiful, though not so small that many don’t have to think twice before they shun some or all of British Speedway. The list below lists total prize money earnings for the series in pounds (though prize money is paid in dollars) and also per Grand Prix. It is supplied courtesy of Charles McKay and exchange rates varied throughout the season but averaged $1.8=£1

N. Pedersen £45,990/£4,180
T. Gollob £41,791/£3,799
J. Crump £40,531/£3,684
H. Andersen £39,236/£3,566
G. Hancock £38,826/£3,529
L. Adams £36,392/£3,308
A. Jonsson £28,198/£2,563
R. Holta £27,350/£2,486
S. Nicholls £24,928/£2,266
F. Lindgren £24,417/£2,219
L. Dryml £22,660/£2,060
B. Pedersen £22,188/£2,465
C.Harris £21,447/£2,144
K. Kasprzak £21,108/£1,918
N-K. Iversen £20,823/£2,082

Once you get outside the top six riders, poor earnings collapse dramatically for the remainder of the series field. It’s worth noting that the guaranteed minimum payment any rider finishing in the top 15 places can earn per GP is $3,400 (or £1,889). This should be an easy task for the so-called “top 15 riders in the world” against makeweight reserves and wild cards. However, this news makes these figures look even worse if you consider that through the fruits of their efforts K. Kasprzak earnt himself an extra £29 per meeting – a paper round for a fortnight would earn this nowadays - while C. Harris earnt himself an extra £203. For their managerial brio, personality and long-term vision for the sport, there can be no argument that Paul, John and Ole deserve the biggest rewards.

Profiles of some of the people behind the scenes at Arlington

2008-10-26T13:23:00.005Z

All over the country each speedway club has volunteers who give up many our to the sport and the club that they love. Without this unpaid labour many clubs couldn't run or function as well as they do. I like to think that my books have given an airing to many of the neglected but important voices that make up the sport and make it the vibrant community that it is. Obviously, we wouldn't have anything to go along to without the riders, promoters and officials but the fans and helpers are also as essential and vital part of the speedway community.

This season again I was lucky enough to be Writer in Residence at Eastbourne Speedway club. I was initially invited by Bob Brimson and was able to carry on under Martin Hagon. This season I wrote a weekly column for the programme (edited by the patient, kindly and knowledgeable Mick Corby) called 'Left, Left, Left and Left Again'. These are the snapshot profiles that appeared.

Ashley Wooler – Mechanic
A casual glance into the pits on race night – home or away – will quickly reveal it to be a hive of frenetic activity, frantic mechanical work and occasional raised voices. In rare moments of calm, you’ll find Cameron Woodward’s mechanic, the taciturn Ashley Wooler, rolling or smoking one of his trademark cigarettes. While he watched the new slim line Cameron Woodward pose for photos on a windy and drizzle swept centre green, the modest Ashley took a few moments to fill me in on the motorbiking pedigree that brought him to pit lane every week on race night.

“I came to Arlington as a toddler in the late 50’s, early 60’s because my dad Phil – being a local farmer – used to rotivate the track for Charlie Dugard. So really I’ve been coming here for as long as I can remember. I always come, even when I was racing myself but only a couple of times a year then. I started road racing as a sidecar passenger in 1976 and my second ever race was the Isle of Man TT. I did seven years running there before I retired in 1983 and took up show jumping. It wasn’t long before I was back racing on motorbikes again with off roadside cars. I did the British Championship Enduro’s and won three championships in the late 80’s, early 90’s. I forget the exact dates. Then I took up motocross in 1992 and, on exactly the same day that I took it up, I remember Martin Hagon and I lining up on the start line together. I worked my way up into the Top 30 and then was in the Top 10 for the rest of my career. I won a few things in Britain and did the GP’s as well for three years. In my last season, I went abroad 30 times but I retired at 40 because I decided it was time to stop! My all time favourite victory was when I was the 1992 Weston-super-Mare Beach race – that gave me a lot of satisfaction, mainly because I’d been trying so hard to win it!”

“I started coming to Arlington every week again but looking over the fence at everyone else doing things wasn’t for me – I had to get involved. Eventually I became Andrew Moore’s mechanic in his second year here, after he’d come back from his broken leg. Now I work with Cameron. I only do race day because I’m only a volunteer – I don’t get paid unlike some of the superstar mechanics who, obviously, do a lot more of the daily preparation that I don’t do. I’m going to do some of that this year for Cameron. To succeed in life, speedway or any form of motorcycle racing – it takes hard work and determination and Cameron has got loads of that. My main ambition for Cameron would be to stay safe. When I first did the TT’s older, wiser riders used to give me advice about how I could be safer – they’d have been the age I am now – but I didn’t listen. Looking back on it, I was really lucky. Safety is so important. I’d also like Cameron to work hard to improve his average this season –if you get those two things right, everything else will come with it. He’s worked hard on his fitness and lost five kilo’s and he’s lost another five off the bike, well thrown it off by getting rid of some nuts and bolts and that. The mental side of things is crucial nowadays if you want to get to the top and I’ve a close friend – Kevin Hollister of KHR – who runs some motocross workshops. He’s very good at getting his head round things and has tried to advise Cam with some positive thinking. He sponsors him but they’ve become friends now. Cam has a good few sponsors now [proudly shows me the list of them on the arm of his Cameron Woodward sweatshirt] but then that’s only natural because not only can they see his potential but you only have to spend a minute with him to see his friendly attitude. It’s genuine and he’s unaffected – Cam is always very grateful for any help and always lets everyone know. His parents should be very proud of how they’ve brought up their son. I’m sure he’s gonna get better and better – he deserves to excel with his attitude and hard work – but the main thing is staying safe.”

Alan Boniface – Track Shop Worker
I had hoped to interview Eagles track shop manager and Brighton fan, Martin Dadswell, but he refused citing shyness and the fact that his assistant Alan Boniface had greater longevity of service at the club as well as a wealth of stories. A nod is as good as wink, so I was able to grab a man the Argus dubbed in 2005 “the Sam Ermolenko of the Hellingley Lions” in recognition of the fact that he still regularly and wholeheartedly competed at cycle speedway – aged 47! “Cycle speedway is exactly the same as speedway except we don’t have engines. For many years, there was a natural progression from one sport to the other. Great names like Ronnie Moore and Ivan Mauger did it – everyone did it – Len Silver and Kevin Coombes too. There used to be a really close connection between the clubs I remember in 1970 when the Eagles came and raced against us with a side that included Dave Jessup along with Dave and Gordon Kennett. There was also a race in aid of the benefit of Matt Woodford who crashed at Stoke and broke his neck.”

“I was first brought along to Arlington aged 11 by my mum, Brenda, in 1969. She went with my step dad Reg Fox, who’d been going since the 50’s. We came every week and used to sit up the top of the old scaffolding stand, they had on the back straight before they had the one they have now. Looking back, they’re good memories, good days and the riders were close to the fans. Speedway was much more controversial then. It’s faster nowadays, of course, but it doesn’t make it better does it? Why do they need lay down engines – what was wrong with the old uprights? We went to all the home meetings and pretty well all the away ones because my dad used to do the coaches. We’d always take two or three coaches all over the place but going to Rayleigh, Romford, Crayford and Canterbury stand out. Canterbury were our deadly rivals and all hell used to break out; that said, there was always controversy even when we rode against Workington. It’s funny what you remember from back then – there was the time Terry Stone of Rayleigh had a fight with Bob Dugard on the centre green because he slightly wet him with the hose. Or when the coaches got smashed and we had to get a Police escort out of Canterbury because Bob knocked Ted Hubbard off.”

“I still hate to miss any meetings but it’s not the be all and end all it used to be. It’s a different era and the atmosphere is not the same. People have other things to do and many of the generation of fans who started when I did, don’t come any more. There used to be 5,000 here every week and you thought nothing of it. Just like cycle speedway (I eventually packed up at 47), coming here to Arlington to see the speedway has been my life. All the friends I’ve made and the camaraderie – it’s been unbelievable. You just can’t beat it – it’s hard to describe. The action, the adrenalin, the smell, four blokes going hell for leather and putting their lives on the line! The biggest disappointment in life used to be when it rained on a Sunday morning! I like collecting and I have so many things from over the years – for example, I have 2,500 photographs from 1969 alone. Mick Corby used to put my photos in the programme asking people if they could identify the odd mystery person. They couldn’t, of course, because we already knew (almost) everyone except for these mystery ones. Though it won’t go back to how it used to be, I have to say that this season feels different and more like old times after the disappointments and set backs of last year. There’s speedway people back in charge now and, hopefully, with a team of young riders – mostly British riders – still to reach their full potential we’ll get some of the excitement back. Hopefully, people will hear about it and start to come back like they used to!”

John Strudwick – Training Instructor
When Eastbourne “first started in the second division in 1969”, John came to watch with a friends neighbour and has been coming ever since, “apart from a brief spell hooked on Barry Sheene in his prime and I got back when my uncle George died and we brought his son Keith – who rode for Eastbourne Juniors – down to cheer him up!” John is much more of a man of action than words but soon warms to the theme of his speedway life in and around Arlington. “I rode speedway between 1978 and 1981. At my best I got to what is now conference league reserve and my claim to riding fame is that I used to regularly beat Mark Loram! Mind you, he was only about 14 at the time! In late 1980, I had a crash and broke my knee joint (tibia spine) and was put in plaster from top of my thigh to the tip of my toe. While I was in plaster, I went to watch at Sittingbourne - then known as Iwade - only to get run down by a young girl who had lost control of her bike. From this I sustained a broken thighbone, gained two metal plates and 13 screws plus I had to take six months off work. I then retired and went back to watching it every week, hoping from then on it was safer than riding!”

John then stayed on the other side of the safety fence until 2000 when start marshal Alan Rolfe “invited me to give him a hand on the starting gate – to grade the track and that. In 2001, I started helping out at the junior track, and for the last four years have been a licensed training instructor along with Colin Ackroyd who had to stand down at end of last season. I firmly believe it’s important to catch the youngsters early, as they are the seeds of our sport – not even the grassroots – for the future. Even if they don’t go on to become a speedway rider, for every one that rides we usually get two adults and more children coming along and getting the bug, if only to watch. The sport always needs new fans but needs British riders even more. In the past it has been very difficult to get promoters interested. This year I’m a training instructor along with Martin Dugard and Martin Hagon, so there’s already an awful lot more interest in the youth side of the Eagles and to run a junior track on Saturday afternoons. With support and backing from the promoters – Martin and Martin and their willingness to help out – I’m personally so much more enthusiastic! Plus what we have here in the senior team is exceptional – it’s Team England, really.”

John also helps erect the air fence at Arlington. “We come down on a Thursday night and, with five or six colleagues and friends, we erect it. Jon Cook agreed to second half racing as quid pro quo for putting it up and taking it down. If we get a full team of volunteers (10 people), it takes nearly three quarters of an hour to take down. It’s a filthy, horrible job that has to be done and we’re always looking for volunteers who want to play an important part at the club. I also co-ordinate the second halves – they just don’t run themselves – it involves work on the night checking licences and the like but also at home on the phone and doing paperwork. My opinion is that access to tracks for the youngsters – the riders of tomorrow - is the biggest issue facing the sport. You have Eastbourne, Sittingbourne and Scunthorpe, plus the good work of the Southern Track Amateur Speedway Club who run 15 events mainly at places like King’s Lynn, Newport and, recently, Rye House. But still there’s a lack of support overall in speedway for youngsters and my big worry is if it disappeared! People really don’t know what they have until it’s gone.”

“I must say, what I like about speedway is, that as a supporter, you can wonder through the pits and talk to the world’s top riders - unlike most other motor sports, well any sport. You always make friends at speedway. I almost had to give up speedway (including retiring my son, Niall) last season when my wife, Annette, was diagnosed with cancer. But, with a lot of help and support from some good friends, I was able to continue. And to those friends I would like to say a big ‘thank you’!”

Kevin Coombes –Announcer/Presenter
Kevin started on the microphone at Arlington in 1993 and hasn’t looked back since then in his speedway presentational career! Widely recognised for his innovative work in the sport, nowadays he’s also the voice of the Cardiff Grand Prix for the fans but it might not have turned out like that. “I kind of found Arlington Stadium by accident in the late 70’s when my family were driving by in our Ford Corsair and heard all this noise. I first saw an Individual Knock Out Cup competition in second halves called the Golden Snowball. I got through the turnstiles for free - as no one was manning them – was totally hooked and like a little kid in a sweet shop. After that Sunday afternoons were always special with big crowds. There were all those brilliant riders who wore the Eagles colours: Kelly Moran, Ron Preston, Bobby Schwartz, the two Standing twins Dean and Darren, plus Floppy, Deano and the two Dugard’s. We used to travel on the road so I heard what other people were doing as far as speedway presentation as concerned. I fell into it by accident when car sharing to work I heard that the regular presenter Tom Garnell had went away for two weeks to watch F1 racing. I had my opinions on his personal style and said to my friends I could do a better job. I had some microphone experience as a DJ with my mobile disco, so it was time to put my money where my mouth was. Obviously, I was very nervous! It was a junior meeting in 1993 – the Arthur Nutley Memorial Trophy, won by Paul Dugard. Apparently Bob Dugard said ‘who was that doing the mike?’ and said he wanted me. I’ve been doing it ever since. I knew I didn’t want to do it like they did at other tracks then – two guys talking to each other forgetting about the crowd – I decided I could do it as one person provided I had great communication with box. Luckily I have Barrie Geer who’s brilliant, no gifted at what he does and makes my job so easy to do properly. He has been doing it longer than I have - since the mid-80’s when he was working under the watchful gaze of ‘Mr. Arlington Stadium’ himself, the great Charlie Dugard. You have to strike a balance and try to get it over to the fans what’s happening in the pits and also let them know what they want to know. You need the riders to be approachable cos you’ve got a job to do as well as them! I’ve got a very good rapport with the home and away riders that’s been built up through trust over time. I have enormous respect for what they do to entertain us. I love the sport and wish I could do it myself. The closest I came was a weekend training school at Arena in 1991 run by Greg Hancock. The bikes had big cowhorn handlebars and I wore Rick Miller’s leathers – so my speedway claim to fame is I’ve worn his race suit! But, for me, Eastbourne has been in my blood for years and I love nothing more than to see us win. I can recall all the big meetings, the real high’s: the KO Cup Finals we’ve had here against Cradley Heath and, obviously, when we won the League in 2000 against King’s Lynn with 6,500 fans, plus the World Cup qualifier with Team GB against Poland. However, cos of my work on the presenting side I have to be even handed and seen to be sitting on the fence. Which I do! If I can I introduce a little bit of razzmatazz to go with that served up on the track. At the end of the day, I’m just a speedway fan – albeit a hugely privileged one – I’m not a radio broadcaster, I was just a mobile disc jockey who happened to be in the right place at the right time who also loves this sport and Eastbourne. I don’t ever get jaundiced cos speedway really does it for me! It’s so unpredictable and exciting! Just to see it live and to smell it always delights me. Two minutes before on parade I take deep breaths, focus, think which way to go and then we’re off. And I’m doing the best job – a job I love – in the world!

Cameron Woodward - Rider
Cameron’s electrifying start to the 2008 campaign in England is also complemented by riding in Poland this season. I caught up with Cameron after he’d had an intensive day of cleaning the thick clay based East of England Showground mud from his bike for some insights from his initial forays into Eastern Europe to hone his skills as an all round speedway rider.

“I’ve been to Rzeszow (it’s said Jej-Joff) twice so far, once for a practice and once for a meeting. It’s not a permanent thing because I’m a back up rider in case any one is injured or out of form. I have a two year deal and I’ll do Open meetings and practice meetings along with as and when I’m called into the team. They have signed some Polish juniors too but my aim is to try to get better and better on these quicker tracks to make the case for my selection. It’s also a chance to really get to know each circuit well, which has to be good experience and good for my future in Poland. The Pole cats fly round there and it’s so competitive!”

“Davey Watt’s has been invaluable in providing advice about all sorts of things from the people, the tracks and set up’s as well as what to do about a few Polish managers talking to me about becoming my agent. Rzeszow ride in the hardest Polish league and the other ‘foreigners’ in my team are Scott, Kenneth Bjerre, Roman Povazhny and Matej Zagar. They’re looked on as a small club but get 10,000 at their home meetings and between 7,000 and 8,000 at a practice meeting! I went to Poland for the World Cup meeting two years ago as a mechanic so got a taste of their fanaticism then so I knew they were passionate but it’s still incredible. The stadium is unbelievable and they have an elevated pits. Below that is a whole workshop where they have everything you can imagine from lathes, mills to engine tuners. At the moment, they’ve supplied me a bike. If things go well, I will ship a couple of bikes and engines out there. I fly from Stansted on a Sunday, stay overnight after the meeting and fly back the next day. So, it’s an experience off the track too. It’s a bit hard with the language barrier and, though they’re not, they always sound like they’re arguing whenever you listen to them. They’re very friendly and can’t do enough for me. During the season, my diet can’t be as strict as it is in the summer [in Australia] because you can only get what you can get when you’re travelling and racing. They have really tasty food like spicy sausages and stuff.”

“I’m keen to carry on learning and getting better everywhere I ride. I rode in Sweden last season for a second division club and did eight meetings. It was cool and where I was racing, they weren’t big clubs but I’m learning my trade and learning the [Swedish] First Division tracks. The plan is to do well in the lower league, win some races and get my confidence up. They ride on a Thursday night so it’s a bit of a gap filler when I haven’t got an Elite League meeting to go to. There are quite a few tracks that ride here on a Thursday – Swindon, Peterborough and Poole – so, obviously, Eastbourne is always my priority then. I’m taking over two bikes next week. Wherever I ride I want to win but, just as importantly, I want to learn and gain experience. Things have started well for the Eagles, we’ve got a great team and I just want to carry on doing my part for us!”

Mike Hinves - Photographer
“It’s a privilege to be able to watch any speedway meeting from the centre green” so says Eagles track photographer Mike Hinves. Like many who spend their time behind the lens of the camera, Mike shuns the spotlight whenever he can and quietly gets on with his job. Asked to sum up what he does in a few words, Mike thinks for a moment and then modestly notes, “I just try to help people out”. He started going to watch speedway in 1976 when he went along to watch the action at White City, “when the license came to Eastbourne in, around, 1979 we came down then and followed Gordon Kennett and Kai Niemi. At the end of the 70s, start of the 80s I was one of the blokes who stood by the starting gate. Well, we had to stand next to the rider in case they stalled or, if anyone fell, you had to pull them off the track if you could. I was the man in the blue overalls, then.” After an initial spell with the track staff, Mike “went round with Lee Richardson’s granddad, Eric, when he mechanicked for Kelly Moran. We used to travel with them sometimes and load up the bikes and just help with things like that. I took Kelly to the airport before the World Final and was generally just a nuisance.” Helping riders out with transport or the offer of overnight accommodation near to Heathrow – “our house is open house for the riders. Five years ago we had most of the Eastbourne team stay after the Wolves meeting before they flew out to Sweden” - has become a popular habit for riders and a tradition within the Hinves household. “Speedway has become a way of life for us. We travel as a family. My daughter Lauren (18) went to every Eastbourne home and away meeting last season – she’s been brought up with it since she came as a baby aged three months – and, along with my wife Bev, we’ve just been making a small contribution to something we love.” Understanding in the Hinves household has to be the order of the day since a quarter century of photography has created a substantial archive of material. “I started working in speedway photography in the mid-80s when Kelly Moran moved away from Eastbourne after Russell Lanning took over as co-promoter here. Originally no one was prepared to do it, so I did the work for the Star and a few of the local papers that cover and support speedway in Sussex – the Gazette, the Herald and the Argus. Anything that helped promote speedway and the club as well as show them in a favourable light was always going to be good to be involved with. I’m happy to do it at my expense, as it’s something I love and definitely find fulfilling. Since the move to digital it’s much easier to store material nowadays but, all my years spent during the develop and print era of photography, means we have quite a few boxes stored at home! I reckon roughly two million [photos] would cover it. This morning [at Poole] I took 350 and that’s just about average, I’d say.” Asked what the sport could do to make things even better and become more popular, Mike answers diplomatically, “You haven’t got enough paper to write down what could be improved! Let’s just say that people should remember that without the riders we wouldn’t have a sport. Maybe a sensible starting point would be to take some of the bureaucracy out of it!” When it comes to the Eagles, Mike is ebullient, “there’s much more a buzz about the place this year – people seem much more into it and, if we avoid injuries, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we did really well this season!”

Mick Corby – Programme Editor
Mick went to his first meeting at Arlington in 1962 on a Saturday night aged 14, “It was rained off – it should have told me something!” The journey there from Brighton took some dedication, “the only way to get there was to walk to the train station, get the train to Polegate, walk some more, get a bus to Hailsham and then walk to the stadium. It took the best part of a couple of hours. It was well worth it, though. Not that you’d recognise the place from back then – it was a basic track with a corrugated iron fence. I thought the racing was brilliant along with the smell and the noise. Bob Dugard was riding then, in non-League meetings that ran every fortnight then they ran spasmodically for a few years and I went everywhere round the country to watch speedway. I was a regular on Saturdays at Wimbledon – we first went there when Bob was riding there – and then, in 1969, Division 2 came to Arlington. So I saw the cream of Division I one night – Ronnie Moore was my favourite of all time because he was brilliant and totally without controversy – and the up and coming riders at the weekend.”

Mick has been a world record holder and appeared in the Guinness Book of Records as part of the team that set a bar billiard record (120 hours 15 minutes) on 30th May 1973 at the ‘Royal Hussar’, Brighton. “It was beaten the following week but the book had gone to press by then. There are all sorts of complex rules – things you can and can’t do - a bit like speedway really. Only a few weeks later (June 20th) I caught the meningitis that caused my paraplegia. I was in the wrong place at the right time!” Having got a real taste for speedway, Mick took it much further in 1986 when he “got involved with the consortium behind Boston speedway” after a couple of cycle speedway mates “asked if I wanted to become part of things. They ran for a season and half during a period when top riders like Dave Jessup, Gordon Kennett and Kevin Jolly dropped down a division and upped the ante cost-wise. “Most fans really have no idea how much goes into running a whole track, the stadium and a team. It is a phenomenal and all consuming job. There is just so much to organise and do. At Boston, I ran the junior team in the second halves. When Gareth Rogers took over at Eastbourne in 1988 for three seasons, I started to help with the programme. In 1991 we didn’t run at all and in 1992 the Eagles were reborn! I then got really involved as Junior Team manager on and off until this season when John Strudwick has taken on things. I was purely a manager and organiser because really ex-riders should always do junior coaching. These riders will be the lifeblood of the sport but, sadly, we don’t have enough coming through nowadays. At Eastbourne we’re lucky with our location and the facilities and benefit from the genuine enthusiasm of Martin Hagon and Martin Dugard for the youngsters, as they really believe in the need for their development. But the chances for them to ride has really reduced in this country since many clubs don’t own their stadiums, there are also noise restrictions and curfews so it’s become more and more difficult. Never mind that youngsters have so many alternative things to do and choose from - I’d love to be young again and have all those choices. There has also been the rise of Moto-X, which is really an individual thing whereas speedway is, ultimately, a team sport where you have to have more commitment and dedication. Not just the travel but also all the preparation and cleaning. We need more riders but some are so talented – riders like Edward and Lewis – that they would have by-passed the second half system of any era. You’ve got to provide the structure so people can have a chance to ride, that’s the measure of success not necessarily the outcome. That said, I’d like to think I’d helped Bobby Eldridge and Shane Colvin make it in the Premier League as well as some others at Conference level.”

Mick is modestly proud of his work as Eagles programme editor. “The club won the Best Programme Award in 2005 - good for everyone concerned – and when you get into a routine things go swimmingly. I’m lucky because I have a good working relationship with Les at Fineprint and the contributors, especially Kevin Ling, have been brilliant. I also do the Sittingbourne programme, which is the complete opposite to Eastbourne but each are enjoyable in their own different way!”

“People say how much faster the sport is now and how much better the racing was in the past but it’s still a very exciting sport as it is. I have travelled all over the world to watch speedway, including some of the more unusual countries staging meetings. It’s been fascinating and you make friends, of course. Then, that’s speedway, standing on the terraces in the sunshine with good friends putting the sport and the world to rights.”

Sid Shine – Supporters Club
Sid went to watch speedway in the late ‘40s at Harringay where his favourite rider was Vic Duggan “’cos he rarely got beat”. Work, National Service and family then intervened for half a century and his interest “fizzled out”. During these years, Sid was the Head Reader at Greenaways - the printing firm who have been printing for the Royal Family since Queen Victoria was on the throne and later, the Government and the Bank of England were among the Company’s clients. This thereby gives Eastbourne speedway a connection to the wedding of Charles and Di as Sid worked on all the Ceremonial and Marriage documents, including the Order of Service along with the Processional details for July 29, 1981. He also worked on Prince Andrew and Sarah Fergusson’s big day on July 23, 1986.Keeping some sort of order in pit lane after it closes to the public on race night is a doddle in comparison.
Sid’s involvement in speedway was a thing of the past until a trip to the South Coast with his wife 13 years ago included a trip to Arlington, which saw his enthusiasm re-ignited (“We liked Eastbourne and tried a trip to the speedway”). He lives in Bethnal Green, but “I’ve been coming to Arlington ever since the Hackney track closed, but I still have the memory of that amazing left hook from Craig Boyce to floor Tomas Gollob.
“Within a year, in the late ‘90s, I was helping with the then Supporters club but creating a regular Newsletter, which contained stats on all the riders – it was all mainly Martin [Dugard] really, he was the star! It died out after a year or two. Then Sheila Maskell (who has been helping out for over 50 years!) asked me to help on gate 7, which is the one closest to the pits that all the riders use to get in and out of. It’s a great job watching the comings and goings, and I enjoy the atmosphere of race night and find all the different people you get to meet very friendly.
“I produce the riders signing sheet for each Home match which, to my knowledge, isn’t done anywhere else. It’s something the club has to do for insurance as well as health and safety purposes. Signing-in applies to all riders and staff from both teams. I also compile the team statistics and supply all the Eagles riders with their individual stats so they can see how they’re progressing during the season.
“This season, with the help of Martin and Charlotte Hagon, Chris Watts, Dennis Isaac (of Meridian Marquees) and Nick Walker, we have set up the Supporters Club again and, so far, it has been going well with over 70 members. I’d urge everyone who loves or follows the Eagles to join up! It’s great value at £5 per member or £10 for a family (of up to 4 members) per season. There are all sorts of benefits from joining, apart from helping the club, as it is there to help the riders and the members themselves.
“Along with Chris Watts, we started the 50-50 Club, which is very well supported, helping not only first and second half riders, but also encouraging the youngsters on the training track. The ‘Rider of the Week’ gets a medal and a certificate to acknowledge their accomplishment and to encourage them to try to do better. Chris and I have given out over £2,000 so far from the 50-50 Club.
“I also keep a record of all the Second Half riders at Arlington so that at the end of the season the Top Two will receive a cash bonus from the 50-50 Club – last year the Top Two each received £50 each.”
With the arrival of Martin Hagon as joint promoter at the club, Sid has noticed many positive changes but worries that the lower reaches of the Elite League and the upper echelons of the Premier League are gradually becoming closer in terms of the standard of riders, though still not quite inter-changeable. “I think we need a bigger sized league of, say, 15 or 16 teams who would race home and away only once a season. People would see more teams and, possibly, that would bring them back to the sport in bigger numbers. With more teams in the Elite League we would possibly see missing top riders like Michael Max, Nicki Pedersen, Rune Holta and Tomas Gollob back in this country. Even if that doesn’t happen, I would like to see Knock Out Cup that combines all the Elite and Premier teams. It may not work out financially but it would certainly add interest and get people talking!”

Brian Owen – Sports Reporter
Brian started his career in local journalism in 1987 in Horsham and started to cover sport from 1990. He moved to The Argus in 1998 as a sub-editor and, since he gained this foot on the ladder, has gradually increased the portfolio of sports he covers for the paper. As well as speedway, he covers Albion (as back up to Andy Naylor), writes the rugby page (“not a professional sport in Sussex”) and used to cover both the cricket (“until it got too much”) and basketball (“until they packed up”).

When John Freemantle covered the speedway at Arlington, Brian was the office-based sub-editor, “I felt I knew most of the names and the recent history before I ever set foot in the stadium because I’d been back in the office doing it all every week.” Since 2005, speedway has been his beat as reporter so he’s got to see behind the scenes at nearly every Elite League track in the country. “Eastbourne has the best feel to it of all the Elite tracks because of the buzz, the atmosphere and the vantage points you get as a journalist. I suppose it’s because it is a proper motorised sports stadium whereas some of the other clubs are only tenants in stadiums built for different sporting purposes. Oxford seemed on borrowed time when I went – I suppose it was on a downward spiral by then – and never knew quite what to make of Reading. I really enjoyed Coventry as it seemed like a real speedway club and Swindon felt like a good operation too! Arena felt awful when I went but I haven’t been back in the Jon Cook era and everyone says it’s different now. In an ideal world, it would be good if everyone had their own stadium but it’s not going to happen really!”
“I think speedway should have a set race night – the weekend is the obvious time of the week to stage meetings and, when I first started, I thought everyone raced on a Saturday night as that would be most logical. When you think about it, football still mainly kicks off on a Saturday at 3pm except for fixtures changed by the telly. So, everyone just about knows where they stand. The GP’s a problem and I know Bob Dugard talks about getting rid of all the GP riders but I also know people who just go to Arlington to watch Nicki or Scott, nowadays. From an excitement point of view, you want riders who struggle from the gate and have to fight their way back through the field. People like Lewis or Chris Harris. Nicki was always exciting to watch in the GP’s (not the Elite League as he was gone by the second corner most of the time). I really enjoy watching Scott now. I really didn’t know how good he is. He’s fascinating to watch and you really couldn’t beat the recent Swindon meeting for excitement. Nicki Pedersen is the most professional sportsman I’ve come across in any sport not just speedway – his preparation and organisation for everything is world class.”
“From a journalistic point of view, the best thing about speedway is the access to the riders (and the promoters). Everyone is open and honest – they say what’s on their mind rather than what they think they should say. I suppose the mentality of someone who wants to race at high speed on a bike without brakes means that they’re going to be interesting people to talk to. They always come up with something different. They’re generally less guarded about what they say than other sportsmen, though there are exceptions everywhere. Quite often I speak to them straight off their bike after Heat 15 and the lap of honour. It’s a high octane sport and they say what they think rather than half an hour later say some more measured and bland! You only have to glance at the Speedway Star to see all the strong opinions and arguments nearly every week to know that everyone is very up front. It’s a hard old sport and, looked at from the outside, it seems inevitable that you’re going to get injured. People who don’t know the sport have no idea about the travel involved let alone how they ride through a pain barrier no one else would even think about putting up with. It’s very enjoyable to cover for The Argus and I always look forward to a thrilling Saturday night watching the races!”

Sheila Maskell – Gate 7 Steward
A familiar face to anyone who has walked through or past gate number 7 at Arlington will be that of Sheila Maskell who has worked there for the last thirty or so years. That entrance gate is the one closest to the pits that all the riders, mechanics, officials and guests use to get in and out of on race night. Locally based in Cowbeech six miles from the stadium, Sheila has been coming to Eastbourne speedway for 53 years ever since she left school (“I came on my own and met friends here – it’s a very friendly sport”). She fell into her regular involvement with the club three decades ago, hasn’t looked back though she has seen “too many changes at the club to remember them all. My job is to look after everything to do with this gate. I get here about 3pm on race day and stay until after Heat 15. I don’t stay for the second half any more. I have to sign in all the riders, mechanics and second halfers so that they’re insured and legal at the stadium as well as help with whoever else we have to look after coming through on any night. Tonight we have all the Sky people so that adds to things. There are others who try to sneak in or say they should come in but they don’t! Mainly I know them who comes in and those who don’t. Obviously, there’s the riders in the team. But, equally, we get lots of old riders come over here: Mike Sampson, Dave and Gordon Kennett, Malcolm Ballard, Roger Johns and, of course, Trevor [Geer] still works here. Nicki Pedersen was my favourite because he always speaks to you and it’s nice to have Lee Richardson back as he always speaks too and is sociable, plus he’s one of the old boys who used to ride here when they were youngsters. I have been to some other tracks – my husband Chris has taken me to Arena and Poole - but they’re nothing like Arlington, which, I suppose, has spoilt me. I’m not sure what makes a good speedway club or stadium but, one thing is for sure, you need to have seats. I just love the general atmosphere at speedway and seeing all my friends. I just like coming over and it’s much better than just sitting at home. My younger brother [Ray] is interested too and he sponsors three of the riders and used to be the mechanic for David Norris. Not sure what we could improve here although I wish we’d get our team decided earlier in the [close] season and not wait to the last minute so we don’t have any real choices left and get the rubbish!’”
While we speak Sheila multitasks – signing people in, waving, makes suggestions, offers instructions and scampers about to ensure a small child is safely out of harms way from a reversing vehicle. She has a word for everyone but does her work with matter of fact efficiency. The arrival of Scott Nicholls with his partner, Sophie Blake, and their daughter causes brief excitement. Everyone is officially signed in along with managing the most important item on gate 7 tonight – a Get Well Soon card for Chris Louis (“he’s here tonight for Sky so we can give it to him”). Sheila has the last word, “I can’t always remember what happened three weeks ago but I would never forget to come here on a Saturday (or whatever days we do) because it’s such fun and so friendly here!”

Ross Woodward – Speedway dad
When your son rides a high powered speedway bike without brakes for a living, it’s understandably bound to cause the odd parental anxiety. Cameron Woodward’s parents have the added complication that they live thousands of miles away in Australia. On his trip over to England, I caught up with Ross Woodward to find out how come their son is now making headway so successfully in the sport in this country. “I went to speedway in Mildura as a teenager but didn’t go regularly and I knew of Phil Crump before he went to England. My younger brother Graham had a motorbike wrecking shop – pulling parts off bikes – and he built a junior speedway bike for one lad one season. Cameron came round to the track to have a go on it aged 11 or 12. He had a few crashes on the day and was given advice by Jason Lyons who we knew through his dad, the late Rodney Lyons. Cameron and I both agree that the reason we have so many good junior and senior riders coming from Mildura is down to Rodney and Jason. There’s a huge list of them – off the top of my head there’s Jason Crump, Leigh Adams, Travis McGowan, Mark Lemon, Cory Gathercole and Tom Hedley. Cameron will be able to tell you more. Jason’s a thorough gentleman who helps everyone who needs it, including the away riders. He spots faults or notices if you’re doubtful about something and corrects it in a nice way!”
“It helps that we have an open policy at the Mildura track which means so long there’s two adults minimum in attendance, on any day you can access the track to practice as long as you like and use the facilities as well as the water truck, tractor and the like. Our senior track is 300 metres and we have a junior track too. Rodney was always there to help Cameron and anyone else. He was made a Life Member of the Mildura Motorcycle Club (and also the Aussie Rules Football Umpires Association). You only get nominated for these things because of the respect you’re held in by your community – the fact that he was elected a Life Member of two sports that shows how genuine a man he was! He’s still really sadly missed by everyone [he passed away in 2007].”
“I’m blessed with the best wife and three kids, so we used to travel as family (wife Jenni and daughters Kerryn and Kendall) to junior speedway to watch and support Cameron. Before that all I did was work seven days a week. In addition to being a speedway rider, Cameron is a fully qualified plumber but he has no ambition to return to the trade! I couldn’t be more proud of him – he’s a long way from home and has a lot of responsibility but I always knew he’d do well as he’s got good character and is a very honest person. He’s been here for a few years now and proved his independence as well as developed a sense of humour. I think the reason so many of the Aussies thrive here is – unlike the Brits, Poles, Swedes and Danes – they’re so far away from home that they can’t go sooking [translation = whinging and moaning] home to mum and dad. They just have to get on with it and make the success they can. We visit every year but Cameron is making his own way. The biggest shock about speedway in this country is how quickly the meetings are all over and done with here. At Mildura we start at 4.30pm and leave at 11pm, longer at an away track like Tamworth where it starts a couple of hours earlier and often finishes at midnight. There will be 70 events [of various motorcycle disciplines] raced during that time but then we don’t have to prep the track every four heats as, once it’s done, it stays good all night in Australia. I must say that at Eastbourne Cameron has been made really welcome. The people are fantastic; it’s marvellous how super friendly everyone has been! The promotion invited me out and I was amazed with how laid back and normal they were. Then, it’s a very professional operation here with tantrums or pretensions.”

Lee Richardson – International Speedway rider
We all know that most talented speedway riders eventually get to ply their trade in the major speedway leagues throughout Europe (Britain, Sweden and Poland) along with some minor ones like Denmark. In recent years the rise of Russian League speedway has added a whole new dimension to the travel itinerary of the ‘foreign’ (and even the home grown) speedway riders who compete there. One such rider is Eastbourne captain, Lee Richardson. “It’s a really long journey but it depends which way I’m going. If I go after a Swedish meeting, I’ll fly from Stockholm to Copenhagen (one hour) and then from there to Moscow (three hours). I’ll then take an internal flight to Samara, which is another three hours. After that it’s a drive of about an hour to ninety minutes to get to the track of my club, SK Turbina Balakovo. If I go from the UK then it’s four hours to Moscow and then on from there.”
“We all know Russia is a big country but not many people know that there are 11 time zones, more than any other country in the world. Balakovo is in the European part of the country, so in Russian terms it’s not too bad, there are two tracks, Togliatti and Salavat relatively close by. And Chervonograd in Ukraine isn’t a major problem, that isn’t too far from Poland. But the other League track Vladivostok is a different ball game altogether, in the Pacific region known as Primorsky Krai. They’re seven hours ahead of Moscow time, which is itself three hours ahead of UK time. They share the same time zone as New South Wales in Australia to give you an idea of the time difference we’re talking about! When you get there your body just doesn’t know what time it is. Vladivostok takes eight hours on the Russian national carrier airline, Aeroflot (they have nice new planes).
“When I arrive in Balakovo, often I just have a sleep for an hour or so and then I have to race. I take my kit bag with all my racing gear in it along with an engine, seat, exhaust, clutch and carburettor with me – oh, and my mechanic! – while they supply everything else including a chassis and the rest of the bike. Once you get outside Moscow – like all capital cities it’s very cosmopolitan – it’s really a pretty intense experience and a bit of an eye opener. They have no middle class really to speak of – everyone is either extremely rich or extremely poor. High profile people run the clubs themselves and there is a lot of money surrounding Russian speedway. The fans themselves don’t have much money though but are very committed. This year there are more meetings – about 20, I think – and their season runs from April to October. Obviously, a lot of Russians ride there – I think they’re really going to make big strides as a speedway nation in the coming years – as do lots of Poles. Though we’re obviously all very busy with the leagues we ride in regularly already, it’s definitely the case that more and more foreigners, not just the Poles, are riding there now. Togliatti have Nicki Pedersen and Ryan Sullivan (who now lives in Poland), while Salavat have Tomasz Gollob and riders the Eastbourne fans will know like Sergei Darkin and Renat Gafurov. In my team we have recognisable names like Protasiewicz, Gizatullin, Povazhny and Walasek. Anyone who underestimates the quality of the races or the meetings will get a shock with just how competitive it’s become, let alone when they realise how much it’s really growing. It’s a hell of an experience. Everyone is very friendly and I get on well there. Obviously, some things are very different. Their food is alright too – I tasted it once and enjoyed what I ate until I realised I’d just eaten cows tongue! Mind you, you’ll eat anything when you’re hungry!”

Roger, Maureen, Mark and Paul Bruton – Refreshment kiosk staff
Based in his kiosk close to the pits, Roger Bruton and his wife Maureen have worked at Arlington on speedway nights for the past 22 years. “We weren’t new to it when we started because we had a shop in the High Street Precinct in Hailsham.” Like the sport itself has changed, the diet of speedway fans has altered over the years, “people make much more health conscious choices nowadays. Five years ago we hardly sold a bottle of water but it has become really big, though coke is still number one. We’re quite selective with what we stock generally and our philosophy is always to keep prices at a level that is affordable, fair and realistic. A cup of tea is 60p - something I’m told compares very favourably with prices at other stadiums elsewhere – and remains very popular (ours is the best at Arlington). The sport has definitely got more professional over the years. The riders have better equipment and there’s more track safety with the air fences. I think in some ways the sport has now caught up with how professionally things have traditionally been done here at Arlington. Margaret and Bob Dugard have always put in a huge amount of effort to provide an extremely well run track and stadium. Nowadays, Sky coverage has helped the profile since the sport has become more media orientated. But it has also been a mixed blessing since it’s had a bad impact on the domestic season with the disruption caused by the GP’s. Another worry over the last decade is the lack of talented, young British riders coming through the system. Here at Arlington, Martin Hagon and Martin Dugard make the facilities available for youngsters but very few tracks have that attitude or give that opportunity. It’s not just practice on the junior track or second halves but occasional proper meetings where they can ride on the senior track. Both our sons started out on the junior track over the back and our eldest son, Mark, progressed on and rode speedway here at one time as well as at Coventry and Long Eaton.”
Maureen Bruton adds, “we used to watch all the time then, though I used not to be able to look and thought he would fall off all the time. He was a bit of a tearaway and did have a nasty crash where he broke his pelvis. But he did ride again and he loved doing it, but really you can’t go out and enjoy yourself and also excel at speedway, can you?”
Based elsewhere in the stadium in the ideally placed kiosk that overlooks the third bend (with hair that appears to have inspired Adam Skornicki), Mark Bruton fondly recalls his time as a rider, “I first started as a rider in 1985 (aged 12), then had a break while I played some football before I started riding again at around 14 or 15. I’m proud I got to ride here and at a few other clubs. If someone would give me the sponsorship, I’d ride again tomorrow! To be honest with you, I think it’s got a little bit easier nowadays. When I rode each team always had three good heat leaders – for example, here we had Martin, Dean and David – whereas now it’s more like one or two really good ones plus youngsters. This season Eastbourne are on the up though I’d like to see us a bit stronger at reserve. Though, to be fair, James Brundle was starting to come good and then he has his accident. I know from experience (when I had my fractured pelvis), that injuries can set you back. That said, I still love it and stood here every week, not only do I have the best view in the house but I’m working too!”
On the opposite side of the track round at the kiosk close by the start line, Paul explains why he didn’t follow his brother into the sport, “dad made me stop speedway because I was a bit of a lunatic! I’ve been doing this on race night for the fifteen years since. I think the racing is much better nowadays than it was as rather than hugging the white line and being boring, more riders go round the outside. My favourite all-time rider was Bobby Ott – he was always on his back wheel – and Nicki was brilliant but whether he was my favourite, I don’t know. I’ve been to quite a few tracks when I used to ferry my brother about, so I’ve seen how they do things elsewhere at places like Poole or Coventry (including a British Final there). We’ve got things good here and things have lifted this season. I think it’s gonna be close this season and we’ll make the Play Off’s, if we do something at reserve. If not, we won’t.” Every single Bruton family member has assured me that the tea served at their kiosk is genuinely the best on offer in the stadium. Paul isn’t in doubt either, “theirs is very good but mine is by far the best cup of tea at Arlington.”

Edward Kennett – Grand Prix Wild Card
Since Martin Dugard’s wild card selection some years ago and David Noris more recently, Eastbourne haven’t had an English born rider compete in the blue riband event of the speedway calendar, the British round of the Grand Prix series. Whereas Martin won at Coventry, Edward will journey to the indoor circuit at the magnificent Millenium Stadium in Cardiff and ply his skills in front of 40,000 enthusiastic fans. There will be an added incentive to win since this is one of the four Super Prix rounds of the Grand Prix series. Some of those inside the stadium on June 28th will have come from East Sussex to loudly cheer on Super Ted, the already vastly experienced Hasting born rider who is still only 21 years old and still has the majority of his speedway career before him. Though this is a vital step in the career plan he has mapped out for himself, Edward is determined to follow the successful lead of Martin Dugard’s previous wild card triumph to ignore the associated razzmatazz of the day and just get on with the job in hand. “I’m just going to adopt my normal routine that I do for any meeting. We’ll go as we are! We’ll take two bikes with two set-ups and engines. This season I’ve changed engine tuners and Craig Boyce does mine now but he’s more than that as he offers advice too, given he’s been around he can provide the insight of an ex-rider at many tracks. I speak to him about things and took him to the British Final too. In the pits, I’ll have Chris [Geer] on the tools as well as Cameron [Woodward] and me dad will also be there, of course. My family and friends will also be in the stands but they would have been anyway. During the winter I worked hard every day on my fitness with lots of running and the like. I eat sensibly but don’t get obsessed enough to analyse my body fat percentages like, say, the Danes who’re pretty different to us. Obviously I take confidence from the fact that I’m pretty good indoors and Jon Cook has said some nice things about that in the Argus, which gives me that bit more of a boost and some additional belief that I can carry on my past Brighton Centre indoor form onto the Millenium Stadium. I’ve been there before as a reserve and the only real difference this time is that I’m older and more experienced, plus I’ll get all me rides. Obviously, I’ll still try to appreciate things on the day but really I’ll just be normal and not put any pressure on myself. Hopefully, I’ll make a few starts and, if I do, then may be I’ll become the first British rider to win a Grand Prix race this season! Who knows? My ambition is to qualify to be a full time member of the Grand Prix series. I’ve reached but I’m still to race the semi final stage of the 2009 qualification process. It would be really nice to do the whole series and to be an integral part of the thing throughout. The top 16 boys are the best in the whole world, so Cardiff is going to be a taste of that! On the day I’m just going to be myself, surround myself with good people and enjoy the experience. I’ll try my best and see where that takes me – the next day I’ll be back racing again at Arlington and we’ll all know what has happened by then, won’t we!”

Barrie Geer – Sound Manager (and Incident Recorder)
Another member of the Geer dynasty at Arlington - along with brother Chris (mechanic to Edward Kennett) and father Trevor (Eagles Team Manager) – is Barrie Geer who each race night has the best view in the house perched in race control overlooking the track (and start line) stood next to the referee. He’s the extremely capable right hand man with access to the race times and results with his finger permanently on the musical button. Barrie works seamlessly to ensure that his race day partner in crime, Eastbourne Announcer/Presenter Kevin Coombes, provides us all with information and entertainment we need during any meeting. With his dad riding for the club, Barrie has been coming along to Arlington on race day for nearly 28 years now - ever since he was a few weeks old baby. “I’ve grown up with speedway, it’s in built and in my blood. I’ve been coming for as long as I’ve lived. My earliest memories aren’t of my dad riding because I don’t remember that but of Martin Dugard, David Norris and Dean Barker when they all started out for the Eagles. You could say that I’ve seen speedway from all perspectives given I’ve been a fan, ridden for a short while [five years] and now work up here with the ref, stood with a great view of the action. It’s a unique and privileged position. I’ve been doing the music since 1992 when Wimbledon closed down and the licence moved here. I was 11 when I started and there have been many changes in the presentation on race day since then. Back then we had a tape deck in a little room at the back of the box. Actually, I wasn’t allowed in the box because Charlie Dugard had a rule that insisted that you had to be 16 to be allowed in it. So I used to hide out the back. All we used to have was a tape deck so the job just involved pressing the play button, the stop button and turning the tape over. Now we have all this [waves at a control panel that wouldn’t be out of place at NASA), so I’ve progressed from that to a mixing deck, cd’s and a couple of tape decks. My job is to blend the music into the overall presentation, make sure Kevin has all the information and detail he needs to do his job, do the scoreboard as well as to sound the buzzer and play the various jingles we have around the two minute warning time. Though I pre-exist Kevin working here, we hit it off from the outset and have always been a good partnership. It really works. You notice the difference when other people stand in for him because the timing and interaction changes. You always know what Kevin is going to do [I don’t ask if Barrie had predicted Kevin’s bright red shorts] and, there’s no doubt, he does the presentation excellently. We’re definitely a partnership and sit down together before the season starts to discuss how we want things to go, what we want to achieve presentationally as well as talk about the soundtrack. A lot of it is my music but it’s collaboration. Another part of my job is to complete some of the official paperwork – I record the exact detail of each and every incident on the track during a meeting – and along with some other forms, afterwards this get sent off after each meeting has ended. I also record the race times and update the scoreboard throughout the meeting. Stood next to the referee, I’m privileged to get a unique, panoramic viewpoint that no one else gets, plus I can watch the ref’s work and still see the action first hand. Apart from the introduction of lady officials, over the years I can’t say there have been many changes in referees really. If I could change anything about the sport myself, I would get rid of the double tactical as well as appoint an independent body to govern the sport. When the promoters come together now, they all still really have their own interests at heart and this sometimes takes you down the wrong direction. From here I’ve seen many riders take to the track in Eagles colours and I’ve got to say, for me Martin Dugard really stands out. For everything he could do on the track really, but particularly his trademark cut backs. When I was growing up, Bobby Ott was definitely someone else who stood out. I never saw anyone ride like he did, hanging off the bike like that! It was fantastic to watch!”

Alan Rolfe – Start Marshal
One of the most familiar and distinctive race day figures at any Eastbourne speedway meeting is Start Marshal, Alan Rolfe. Before every race he goes through an elaborate series of mimes and gestures to encourage often recalcitrant riders to efficiently take their allotted place by the starting tapes. Growing up in London, Alan didn’t come to his first meeting at Arlington until 1969 during a time when the club raced fortnightly in the Southern League. “The start used to be on the other side of the track from where it is now but moved this side in 1970. I took over as starter from Roy Prodger in 1972 before that he used to drive the tractor and do the starts as well. I’ve done 36 years now and have missed only one meeting in that time because I was on holiday (it was a Wednesday).” Alan’s wife Kath also works at Arlington and on race day is mostly to be found in the speedway office by the turnstiles. “When we got married on a Saturday in 1969 we came to the speedway on the Sunday and then went on honeymoon!”
“I’ve been doing it so long that I’ve seen the fathers ride and now I’m seeing some of their sons ride too! Obviously, I’ve seen a lot of riders but I don’t have any favourites. In this job, you have to treat everyone the same whether they’re a home or an away rider. If they’re in the wrong place, I move them – it’s a simple as that! I’m so unbiased it’s scary! They’re just four riders sitting there and I have to ensure that everyone is lined up correctly at the tapes so that the referee can run each race properly. Obviously, the riders can’t hear me with the noise of their bikes and with wearing crash helmets, so you have to let them know what you want them to do with the odd touch, gestures or signals. It works well. Another part of the job is to count the laps and wave the appropriate flag - yellow to indicate the start of the last lap and, of course, use the chequered flag as each rider crosses the line, if they finish. I do this with Terry, who away from the track works at a golf course as a green keeper, and we work well and closely together. I have run the odd five-lap race twice (or maybe three times, if you count my first ever one on TV). That was a bit suspect. That was embarrassing. There’s no excuse but these things happen. The televised meetings present their own challenges with all the cameras and that, particularly as they like to get close up shots of the riders just prior to the start. It’s just another meeting in the end, though I do dress slightly differently so wear a tie. The first time they came to film here, I did have a brandy - for the only time - before a meeting to steady my nerves!”
Away from the track, Alan has been equally loyal to his employers, “I’ve only worked for two garages in 31 years.” Alan can’t stay away from Arlington, even when there is no speedway on. “Kath and I also come to stock cars days at Arlington too. We virtually come together as a pair and enjoy helping out in the car park. We go back a long way with Bob Dugard and whether it has been at White City or here, he’s always been great to work with. At the stock cars we talk a lot of stock car people into coming along to the speedway. A lot of the locally based riders have started to come along to watch too – well, Lee, Lewis and Edward, who has had a go. We used to run stockcars on the inside of the track but since we rebuilt the outside track in the 80s the two sports go their separate ways. We could learn something from stock cars – I think we should have solid starts rather than shale. It would save all this digging and kicking about that the riders do that achieves nothing. I doubt it’ll happen but it’s an idea.”
“Genuinely, I just love it here and each meeting just flies past in no time. I have a unique view but, as I’m working, you don’t really think about it with a job to do. I have no thoughts of retirement but referees have to finish at 65 and, if we last that long, in theory we go at 70. So, I’ve got plenty more years yet and I intend to enjoy them to the full!”

Pavel Vana – F.I.M. Referee
I caught up with Czech international referee, Pavel Vana, in the pits when he was a guest of the club for the meeting versus Belle Vue. He’d come over to England to watch the Cardiff Grand Prix and to take in a couple of other speedway meetings while he was over here. He comes from small village Kratonohy near Hradec Kralove, which is located in the Eastern Bohemia County area of the Czech Republic. Originally Pavel was an agricultural engineer before working for the biggest insurance company in the country. A love of speedway was inculcated in him from an early age by his dad and he has been going to speedway meetings since he was seven years old. “You know in 1975 my father brings me for the Czech Golden Helmet and I saw exciting riders like Barry Briggs, Ole Olsen, Anders Michanek and Ivan Mauger race. From this time I have only been looking for speedway meetings and I have travelled to watch them everywhere I could. I have been to see them in UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden but also, of course, in the Czech Republic. I do about 15 domestic meetings a year as a referee and go to watch another 25 as a fan. Being a referee is a very hard job! When everything is okay you are a happy man but sometimes you are a very wrong man. People can always see things from another view within the stadium and that is a problem about the job. There are so many opinions but the referee has the one that counts, whether or not it is always right.”
Pavel refused to be drawn on the performance of his refereeing colleague from Poland’s performance at the Cardiff Grand Prix, “yes, er, it is very hard to say. It is a big meeting and there is a lot of pressure every moment. I know many referees and we all know how hard the job is. As usual there was a very nice atmosphere at Cardiff and it is a big event. Personally I prefer the Junior meetings when the young riders are starting out on their careers and showing their best! I did the Under 21 World Championship semi-final at Rye House and it was a brilliant meeting. Last week I was in Italy, where they competed for seven championship places and we had three different run offs. It all adds to the excitement – it’s real and it means something to them rather than being just another meeting!”
“I first came over to England when I was 20 and went to the Canterbury Crusaders stadium as it was the closest to Dover. It was closed in 1991. Since then I have made 25 visits to England for the best speedway racing is here. I went to the 1992 Overseas Final at Coventry – in fact, I have been there many times to see the GP in Coventry. I think I have been to about 15 stadiums here. It’s hard to say the one thing I enjoy about watching speedway here. It’s all of it from the track and the pit staff and everything going together for making the good meeting! I will always be coming back many more times to your country as a referee and a fan. I’m always made very welcome. I’m looked after here this time by your Michael Corby who, like many speedway fans, is a nice, friendly man!”

Ray Maskell – Rider Sponsor
Living locally in Cowbeech Ray Maskell first came to watch speedway at Arlington when his Eagles fanatic sister, Sheila, brought him 35 years ago. Right from the off, he caught the speedway bug and for many years watched from behind the safety fence. “I was a fan until six years ago when I got involved with Dave Norris as his sponsor. Obviously, I’d always been interested in speedway but the chance to support a local rider through my business was something I’d wanted to do for a while and, when the chance came, I took it to become his main sponsor. As a sponsor you get that bit more involved and also get to see behind the scenes on race night. From there things progressed and eventually I spent a couple of years as his mechanic. That’s a real step up in involvement terms because you’re right in the thick of action throughout the meeting and with Dave often riding in Heat 15 the adrenaline pumps until the end of the meeting. There’s often considerable time pressure as not only do you have to ensure that the bike is completely ready for each race. You’re often also changing things during the meeting as you go along in the light of the experience of previous races or, even worse, if the bike has got damaged at all. I only did race night rather than maintain the bikes during the week like some others do. Dave and I worked together really well. We were quite chatty during the meeting and developed a good understanding. The best memory was when Dave went to the Cardiff Grand Prix (in 2005). They say competing in the GP’s is the pinnacle of a riders career but the atmosphere when you walk out into the stadium as the mechanic is electric and something I’ll never forget and I didn’t even ride! Because I travelled round to all the other clubs I got to see what it was like everywhere. Poole was always a good track to go to and so was Wolverhampton, mainly because you were under cover (which always helps) and they had the better facilities. You can’t beat Arlington though in my opinion for overall professionalism and it’s so friendly. Since Dave retired I haven’t been involved on race night as a mechanic but I still come down and mingle with riders and stay in the pits. You get the atmosphere and it’s more relaxing but I do miss the adrenaline rush. I enjoy gardening and walking but I’d still like to mechanic again if the chance came up. I have the experience and I have quite a technical background.”
“I’m local (I live in Whitesmith near Lewes) and I like to support local clubs and local people. I sponsor Edward and Lee, I think highly of them but mainly sponsor them because they’re local lads really. They’re always popping in and, for the business, they often put people straight onto me if that’s what’s needed.”
“I don’t know what I’d suggest to improve the sport as so many things spring to mind. It’s definitely getting more and more expensive as a family sport but I think the big worry is that it’s going to get more like football with a big gulf between the good and bad ones, the rich clubs and the poor ones. We need as many clubs as possible being able to win the league each year if the sport is to survive in the long term. Like many people, I know on race night that there’s no place I’d rather be and I’d always want that to continue!”

Jane Wooller – Club Physiotherapist
Like speedway riders serve their apprenticeship to become stars of the shale, so it is with physiotherapists. The lady with the magic sponge and healing hands at Eastbourne is Jane Wooller who studied for three years at college before undertaking another year of intensive therapy to gain her qualifications. Physiotherapists are a rare breed within the sport and only a couple of other practitioners spring to Jane’s mind. “I love my job! And who wouldn’t, not that there’s many of us around. There’s Kevin at Belle Vue and massage/sports therapist Karen at Swindon who’s very holistic and pretty popular with the riders but not Rosco. Speedway is a dangerous sport and injuries are part and parcel of their lives. Some are very serious and require hospital treatment, whereas others I can help with on the night or between meetings. The typical injuries I get to see and treat on a regular basis come from the daily cut and thrust of speedway racing. Things like stretched ligaments, pulled muscles as well as bruising where they go out and get bashed. When I first started it was something new to the riders and there was some understandable initial scepticism but that was soon overcome once they’d had treatment or heard about it from other riders. I have a good rapport with the riders – obviously, particularly our riders but also those from other clubs who’ve ridden here for us or guested. For example, when Billy Janniro guested for us at Oxford a few years back, he got quite bashed up so between races I offered massages (along with soothing words) and he went out won a couple of races he otherwise might not have won, let alone rode in. The other week Edward Kennett came off at Lakeside and got gravel rash when he ripped his kevlars. Though he made nothing of it at the time, when I saw how bad the bruising was by the Saturday, I insisted on washing and dressing it properly. Many riders often make light of proper injuries and ignore day-to-day lumps and bumps but they now know that I can do something for them. Whether it’s treatment for physical injuries or even to let off steam if they want a verbal punching block. In the heat of the moment in the pits, feelings can run high and things can definitely get fraught so I have to be a keen judge of human nature to know when you can talk and when you should shut up and stay away. You learn through experience. They all know that I’m there for treatments and even for a bit of psychology just talking to them to boost them up, say after they’ve rode a good race but got a poor result that doesn’t reflect their effort. They all take me seriously, which is nice, and I genuinely think that we have an advantage and know that other clubs would benefit from the advice and skills of their own physiotherapist. I also try not to mother them but I can’t help it when they get hurt! That’s the hardest part, particularly as the riders at Eastbourne are such a friendly bunch and, with all the travel and time spent together, you do get close. Obviously, like every club, we have skilled medical people in attendance at every meeting to immediately judge and treat any race injuries so, though I often go out there straightaway, I don’t like to add to the crowd of people that surrounds any fallen rider. I keep my distance, despite my concern, and just observe so I can help when it’s most effective. Looking at the wider picture, it would be good if we could keep a settled management team so that the team knows that the same people and faces are behind them. Martin Hagon has come in and done a stonking job from the outset. He’s been learning quickly but most of all, really cares passionately about the club. He’s fitted right in with Martin and the rest of the Dugard family who’re, obviously, Eastbourne through and through. I’m very positive about what they can achieve in the future!”

Les Fineing – Programme Printer
Les first got involved with programme printing at Eastbourne in 1997 when he used to do the covers. In discussion with Jon Cook, Les later suggested that he could get better quality photographs and produce the programme to a higher standard by offset printing. Taken at his word his company Fineprint were soon involved with the Eagles on a weekly basis throughout the speedway season. “I started sponsoring the club in the second season that Terry Russell was there. SCV Vans were the number one sponsor, I was number two. I donated the programmes that year but couldn’t afford to keep doing that so now the club pay me for my work but because I’m an Eagles fan they get it at a discount. We got the Programme of the Year award in 2005 but the main thing is to produce a quality product that’s informative for the fans, carries the news well and showcases the club sponsors effectively. I enjoy working with Mick Corby – the programme editor – who does a great job very professionally and is easy to get things done with on time. I also do the programmes for Swindon and, last year, I did the Lakeside one which, I honestly think, should have been Programme of the Year if the judging was done fairly. Whatever was ultimately decided, I think pretty well everyone could recognise it was a quality document.”
“I’ve never sponsored a rider but always the club, I suppose you could say that I support the Eagles as a team. That said, I always look out for the youngsters like Cameron, Lewis and James because the young blood coming through is the future. I first started watching speedway in 1969 at Brooklands - which was where Romford rode. That was when I began my apprenticeship and could spend my own hard earned money going along to speedway. In 1978 we moved from Plaistow to Eastbourne and I soon came along to Arlington. From my early years, I particularly remember Paul Woods and Eric Dugard but, because I had a young family, I could only come occasionally in fits and starts. Speedway has always appealed to me – all the usual things from the fast intense action to the sound and the smell. I enjoy the atmosphere we have at Arlington. I’m a loyal Eagles supporter first and the club programme printer second. I enjoy watching from the pits but I still prefer to sit in the grandstand with the people I’ve always sat with. So, the community feel we have at Eastbourne is a significant factor with me but the most important thing is that it’s a true team motorsport - where team riding is a crucial part of the equation not just individual glory. I once had a go on 50cc bike on the training track and went over the handlebars with quite a thump. Martin Dugard was there and he said ‘what a great tank slapper’. I’ve always had the greatest respect for the lads who, when it comes down to it, take personal risks for our entertainment. They’re unsung heroes to my mind.”
“If I had the chance to change anything I really don’t know what it would be. I think Sky has brought a great profile to our sport but also taken some bums off seats too. This year I haven’t got it any longer and I think I’ve enjoyed my speedway better! Just to see it once a week in the flesh has brought the original pleasure back for me, just like it was in the old days when I first came along to watch the racing. Maybe we’d be better off without the coverage of the GP’s because then more people would have to get out of the house to watch it live and they’d possibly enjoy that better. They definitely would if they came to Arlington on a Saturday!”

I would like to thank everyone who kindly gave up their time to be interviewed and, hopefully, I'll finally catch up with many more members of staff and volunteers who I missed (or were unavailable) this season.

Isn’t it time you bought my latest book Concrete for Breakfast? Why not treat yourself or the speedway fan in your life. Makes the ideal birthday, Christmas or thank you present!

Skezza Speaks

2008-10-18T08:22:00.003+01:00

The Daily Mail has wholeheartedly joined the Internet age with various blogs on its website and, quite amazingly, one of these is dedicated to speedway! It’s called Speedway from Skezza with a masthead that features a photograph of a youthful looking member of the newspaper staff. Albeit one with an irksome matey nickname, gel in his hair, suspiciously darkened eyebrows and the hint of a 12 o’clock shadow. Vanity in tonsorial matters isn’t a crime but, judged by his first contribution (October 3) on the need to “freshen up” the Speedway Grand Prix, poor research is definitely a failing. This first post immediately marks him out as a journalist with Jonathan Green’s light touch level of insight and understanding. Perhaps, before he fulminates to all and sundry another time in true Glenda Slag fashion, Skezza could first venture out to some of the speedway tracks in this country rather than just hold forth after a brief glance in the pages of the Speedway Star?

As far as I’m aware, in the speedway world only Philip Rising so far has rather self-interestedly advanced the suggestion that the GP Qualifying Series shouldn’t any longer contribute three riders to the SGP series. This appeared recently in the pages of the Speedway Star and Skezza immediately slavishly toes this particular party line. There’s no accounting for ambition and, if ingratiating yourself into the speedway hierarchy requires starting at the bottom (and lavishly kissing it), then Skezza is well on the road to becoming Philip’s amanuensis.

Ironically, given the fiasco of the event in Gelsenkirchen, Skezza appears to labour under the misapprehension that the organisers of the SGP are marvellously efficient business people with a proven track record of staging well attended speedway extravaganzas (that have nowadays become just a little tired round the edges). Apparently, all that’s needed to reinvigorate things is to dump the Qualifiers, invite some exciting up and coming young speedway talent and, hey presto, everything is bright and shiny again. There are many problems with the SGP but unfortunately this particular ‘problem’ wouldn’t make the Top 10 Issues To Solve List for the hapless BSI Speedway management team.

The far from subtle commercial subtext of the Rising campaign concerns the control and exploitation of the speedway World Championship brand. Presently, BSI Speedway - the wholly IMG owned company in charge of the SGP – promotes and runs the series itself while controlling all the commercial rights. Most notably the lucrative television rights along with advertising/sponsorship under the notionally watchful eye of the FIM. However, given the noises off voiced by Philip, this probably isn’t a sufficiently profitable enough trough for BSI snouts to be thrust into without still coveting total control of the product. While the qualifying event remains under the auspices of the FIM to administer/run, then BSI Speedway only get to pick 13 of the 16 riders who compete at each event. If apologists can ensure that the qualification process ends – with the notional fig leaf of advocating the ‘greater good of the sport’ through meritorious young rider development – then the cash cow is forever there to milk without notional oversight or restriction. Quite whether League speedway in Britain would survive and prosper under such an ‘enhanced’ regime doesn’t enter this particular equation, especially while there’s money to be made and fans to be exploited. Even if they’re not true, rumours already abound that the sponsor monies for riders appearing regularly on the telly are so lucrative for competitors that a rider could ‘buy their selection’ for one of the grace and favour places BSI Speedway control and so become a full time member of the series. The very idea that such an opportunity exists (even if in reality it doesn’t) wouldn’t happen with a more transparent system but should worry anyone concerned at the integrity of the SGP ‘brand’ (whether fans, IMG or even BSI Speedway).

Going back to Skezza’s blog, he notes something that’s structurally hard to avoid “the world championship is in need of being freshened up with some new faces as the same old riders reaching the final really undersells the value of the sport.” It’s undeniably true that there are always the same top five or six riders battling it out among themselves. For want of a better word, many people find this lack of change “boring” (implicitly so too does Philip Rising) – though it must be noted that BSI Speedway already select the majority of these riders and surely a company that allegedly can’t be bothered to spend a pittance to their own cover shale as it lies outside the stadium in Gelsenkirchen has massive question marks hanging over its ability to organise even the most basic of tasks. These are, of course, the marketing geniuses who elected to stage the final event of their own SGP series - in a country with no speedway tradition to speak of - on the same night that 76,000 people were attracted to World Cup qualifying football match (Germany versus Russia) held only a few miles away in Dortmund! (And, after a decade in charge, surely it’s not asking too much for exciting racing never mind that the championship venues and format aren’t endlessly tinkered with?) Given for some time now that the same riders are always competing at the top end of the championship table, this also indicates that most newcomers invariably can’t mix it at the top level, never mind that this championship effectively sorts out the metaphorical men from the boys. Pick almost any rider outside the top six and, though they’ve invested in the paraphernalia of the SGP - staff, tiptop equipment (and gained sponsors) - they’ve invariably gone backwards! This is undeniably the case for Kasprzak, Harris, Nicholls, Lindback and now even Pedersen (B), who’ve all ultimately found the step up to the plate too big a leap to really manage.

Ultimately, BSI Speedway wouldn’t really care if no one turned up to watch – other than from a window dressing point of view – since every meeting is heavily sponsored and the television rights already pre-sold. The riders are almost equally expendable (and interchangeable) from the BSI perspective since there is also a steady stream of them desperate to take part. For some years, BSI Speedway have patently operated a ‘if your face fits and you come from a country where television rights are lucrative’ grace and favour selection policy (cf. Nicholls, Harris) and thereby manage the more notionally ‘exciting’ Yo Yo riders who fail to ‘qualify’ with a top eight finish. In this greater context, surely it’s not too much to ask that the GP Qualifiers remain even if it denies the organisers to cherry pick absolutely everybody in the field? When an important speedway competition is run in cavalier fashion by a company facing questions marks over its competence as well as about the calibre of staff and decision-making, then allowing due process for three riders from round the world to qualify for a boring tournament should surely be a necessary evil.

Let’s for a moment allow Skezza and Philip their fantasy selection of Holder, Pavlic and Sajfutdinov (or Woffinden). Surely this would be a disaster for the confidence and long-term development of these riders? Even if one beats the odds to succeed, then the others would most likely have their confidence destroyed (like so many other promising riders before them) in the white heat of SGP competition against the top six established riders. Surely, at some point, BSI Speedway and their boosters like Philip and Skezza owe some duty of care to the sport, riders and fans? Fine, serve up as much processional racing as you like on often dangerous or shoddy tracks in nice stadia but surely the mook – riders, fans and probably now also even the sponsors (if judged by their handing of Gelsenkirchen) - deserve more respect and consultation rather than continued contempt?

2008 Live Speedway Season on Sky grinds to a close

2008-10-14T08:45:00.001+01:00

Except for Poole fans, the so-called Grand Final second leg was always likely to end in anti-climax. Though the Pirates have lost at home this season, a Lakeside team ravaged by injuries was hardly going to repeat this medicine or thrill first time watchers. Incredibly, only moments into the broadcast Nigel Pearson – probably contractually – has to claim, “Lakeside are not here just to make up the numbers!” In the sense that it took them seven heats to get into double figures this was undoubtedly true. Elsewhere in the stadium, Sarra was at her coquettish, flirtatious best but still couldn’t prise a smile from Pirates captain, Bjarne Pedersen. Amazed that a televised Sky meeting didn’t totally decimate the crowd, her praise of “a packed house for you tonight” had the Dane come over all wistful about times gone by, “yes, it’s nice to see it can still happen”. If a full house is the exception not the rule in Poole nowadays then heaven help less well blessed clubs. In a case of the pot calling the kettle black, an unselfaware Kelvin later remarks of Bjarne, “not always the most exciting figure you have to say!”

The meeting opens with a couple of 5-1’s and is effectively over for any watching neutrals from that point onwards from an entertainment point of view. Nigel soon marvels excessively during yet another follow my leader, processional race at the notional “exhibition of team riding we’re getting.” Things are so desperate that hyperbole levels are immediately changed from stun to kill by the fourth heat when Nigel ignores history to exclaim, “this probably is the best Poole team ever!”

No live broadcast would be complete without some of Kelvin’s trademark stutters, mispronunciations, malapropisms or basic errors about the rules. Tonight is no exception when he celebrates with a roll call of the many Pirates glories of yesteryear with a magnificent unforced error, “we saw in 03-04 when Tony Rickardsson and Leigh Lanham spearheaded the team”. Such mistakes are infectious as later Nigel gurgles, “they’ve had some fantastic riders down the years – the likes of Johnny Rickardsson”.

If this were a boxing match, the referee would have stopped it after only a few heats but, as this is speedway, everyone has to endure a full dose of the entertainment. Notorious for her in depth research and knowledge but apparently confusing him with Rosco, Sarra informs Matt Ford, “not many people were tipping you at the start of the year”. Dark haired this season, Matt politely corrects her, “to be fair, we were favourites.” Half way through the meeting, Sarra collars Bjarne who cracks a brief smile before unemotionally stating (in the manner of a speaking clock), “it’s amazing, a dream come true.” By now used to how taciturn some speedway riders can be when interviewed live on television, Sarra regularly splatters her own questions with ready made observations (“you did it for the fans”) that require no reply but just hang there to create the effect that she’s interviewing herself.

With the meeting mathematically won after heat 11, the Pirates riders go wild and celebrate the league crown before the meeting has ended. Whether this is quite cricket to do before the end I don’t know but it gives time for yet more leaden interviews with personnel from both teams. Before that, Nigel stretches credulity beyond breaking point and leaves himself in a minority of two (along with Kelvin), “quite frankly, not many people expected them to be so dominant on the night.” Even though he’d been a sponsor of the club in the ‘wooden spoon years’ prior to assuming ownership (and even the 2008 Elite League table shows nine defeats), Stuart Douglas unbelievably claims, “we’re not used to losing” before coming over all Arnie-esque, “I can promise we’ll be back!” He then goes on to add, “I think we’ve done very well to be here tonight - especially with our injuries. I’m not making excuses with our injuries but it ripped the heart out of the team!” [It was touching to catch glimpses of a convalescent Adam Shields in the pits] Later we learn - from a studiously magnanimous Jon Cook - the contemporary era Lakeside version of Arena’s speedway club history, “the club was on its knees when we took it over, two wooden spoons and a reputation for being perennial losers!”

Things are so dull in heat 12 that when Pedersen (B.) and Davidsson (D.) ride different racing lines – one inside and the other outside – Nigel froths, “there was almost, er, a bit of telepathy between those two riders!” Kelvin likes to find something tenuous to worry about throughout every meeting and, with the Sky speedway live broadcast season nearly at a close, masterfully notes, “you know it’s not always easy to keep your concentration when you win a championship half way through a meeting.” Strangely enough, he could be speaking for all non-Pirates fans comatose on their sofas at home. Even Nigel can’t be bothered to shout excessively during the racing tonight nor does Kelvin feel the need for too many orgasmic "whoo's" or “whoa’s!”

The broadcast closes in a welter of staged images of ersatz celebration but still manages a slew of predictable interviews. “President of the BSPA” Terry Russell presents medals to the winning team only. Chris Louis lurks on the centre green, telling us he’s “down here with Matt Ford and his two children Sam and Dan”. While Sarra makes the fatal mistake of assuming Zorro doesn’t have a quick wit in his third or fourth language, “how does it feel second time around Magnus?” Her investigative efforts are rewarded when she gets one of the first honest replies to any of her anodyne questions this season “I dunno – do you?”

13th October Poole 60 Lakeside 33 (aggregate 108-75)
Poole crowned Elite League Champions

Monty Python redux

2008-10-12T21:17:00.003+01:00

Taken from Holsted Speedway newspage:

The charge by the calling off from VM to speedway racing can be risk that run into a tocifret millionbeløb. Gelsenkirchen Earth risk to be vådt , catching decent locates that out to Guds available nature. Wet earth is difficult that do dry , catching decent to cold oktobervejr throw that in at a dance giant phases except wind and except chance of , that the sun can be assist. The teach has Ole Olsen and popular at the back VM - the batch actually done. They knew that naturally good to confound. Therefore should they swear by , that they no getting throw they tons earth into a cause or a warehouse.

So had Ole Olsen no needed that walk the hard walk from his provisionally bureau at Comfortable Bullring and up to press conference - the room to advertise the saturday calling off from årets 11. and last VM - department. A scandalous from precedence were a reality. A painful by the sport , there experience ditto by five år the paper to Göteborg , when decent too had constructed a desperate orbit and be at liberty to scratch a VM - run. At that time were that no Ole Olsens and his they , there had constructed the track , that stood awash. However saturday were that Olsens liability. And there were no water at the track. The danish legend should define whole speedwayverden and they fans underway to Gelsenkirchen , that VM - finance were counted away.

At a orbit by grip at! It was absurd. The årige sønderjyde had that no good. Fear by additional problems the lust forth from him , when he be at liberty to scratch friday practice. The was exposed to to saturday morning , however again exposed. »Det deals no about , that vi runs declines that cart at the track. Vi can be whole single no. Decent cant turn the bicycle said VM storfavoritten Nicki Pedersen saturday dinner. Minutes forinden had Ole Olsen , his they and a handful speedwayledere gone a turn at they tons earth. It was that that go for somebody svamp. Olsens forstenede face said all. A extensive calculation The calling off to Göteborg spend the organisers round eight millions features. The account to Gelsenkirchen can presume to be bigger. Expensive proves that too that displace course to polish Bydgoszcz , where VM - the gold actually proves definitely at saturday.

It is a permanent orbit , however except grip by. On the other hand is the track so good drænet , that a regnvejrs - calling off is utænkelig. Runs to ryttergården were fattede. They've frequently proven that go to a run , that the nature by kaskader from rain has got cancelled. However that walk were that weirdie. There's in spite of everything cover by rain at Comfortable Bullring. The rumours run. Were that actuals precisely , that decent had mixed the earth last week out of to a fierce regnvejr? Could that real apply , that the much earth only had come out to the nature and no under cover the paper course to Gelsenkirchen last year.

The saving at rent from a warehouse sounded absurd little to relationships to million lejemålet at that good-looking german phases. »Nej , the earth aren't been mixed out to rain dismiss Ole Olsen , there there admit , that the much earth no has had grip by themselves. Elendige a dagsbaner »Vi spending earth to endags - the tracks to Copenhagen , Card Göteborg and Gelsenkirchen. It has forever come without That doing that very likely no next walk. It is a long way from first time , that there's problems by a dagsbaner. They're burly that build , however prior by the sport prestige , because they build at heavy phases to heavy cities. In that way has the sport moved themselves from the fields and into velkendte the bullring. The thing is , the earth no ”sætter” themselves , catching the ultimate throw in at they heavy phases get days ante course.

It has granted a lot of punching track and elendige speedwaybaner by boil and mad runs to result. By årets sections to Göteborg and Card that they latest instances. The thing is only the , that Ole Olsen again and again builds a fantastic orbit to Parking to Copenhagen. Incomprehensible by menigmand , catching that no can be cause themselves deal in Card Göteborg and actually to Gelsenkirchen. »Denne earth from Gelsenkirchen is accurately the equal that vi spending to Copenhagen. The difference is , that it is hot , catching vi runs to Parking to june. The earth responds weirdie. It is a lifelike material explained Olsen. Normally is there after a press conference lots of age to gash question and hyggesnak.

However the hearty sønderjyde travelled themselves at once after last question and went purposeful against the outcome. Expressive to the face. Ahead awaiting hard work by that pile a run afoot to Bydgoszcz. Than not a soul success termination at season vil get speedwayfolket to that forgetful skandaleweekenden to Gelsenkirchen. By five år the paper be at liberty to decent scratch VM - course to Göteborg on account of a elendig a dagsbane. The charge by the calling off can be risk that run into a tocifret millionbeløb.

(Not my translation but still more informative than BSI Speedway managed themselves)

BSI Speedway fails to organise brewery celebration

2008-10-11T15:38:00.005+01:00

Ignoring that it’s a further embarrassment for the sport in the eyes of the outside world, the cancellation of the final Grand Prix of the 2008 at the “splendidly-appointed Veltins-Arena at Gelsenkirchen” has to raise yet more serious questions about the competence and visionary management of the organisers, BSI Speedway. It must also cast doubt upon their avowed strategy to extend the geography of the event and to always try to stage speedway meetings in modern plush stadia (without a speedway tradition). It’s amazing to think that a meeting held indoors (with a track that slides in and where the roof doesn’t open) can somehow manage to be postponed at all, never mind to do so at the last minute for the weird reason of adverse track conditions. However, there were clues something bizarre might happen since only last week the Speedway Star foreshadowed concerns about the staging in obscure but telling comments about missing coaches of fans from German clubs, “word from Germany is that the novelty factor has apparently been quick to wear off.” In 2007, though it looked much smaller on the night, the attendance was claimed by the organisers to have been 18,000. Only a few weeks ago unsubstantiated rumours swirled that advance ticket sales for the 2008 event had fallen by around 70%.

Looked at historically, it’s only a few years ago that BSI bungled a meeting in Ullevi that had to be abandoned (and staged the next week at the same venue) with track problems after a few races, while it was only in June that they were happy for the Cardiff Grand Prix to proceed, despite protests from the talent, on a sub-standard track that collectively the riders held to be dangerous. It was a miracle that no one was injured.

Clearly, the ability and reputation of BSI Speedway to stage good, safe racing in one-off venues large stadia continues to lie in tatters. In any normally run businesses, after such a catalogue of errors the senior management would be sacked or offer to resign. It remains to be seen if either Paul Bellamy, Ole Olsen or John Postlethwaite have such old fashioned integrity.

Judged by the statement issued and reasons given publicly, such honourable behaviour from the BSI Speedway management team remains as likely as 'dry' shale in Gelsenkirchen, while the explanations given by BSI Speedway appear both laughable and barely credible. Paul Bellamy said {with my italicised comments in brackets}: “We are very sorry for all the fans [we make so much money from the television rights sales and sponsorship monies they’re only there as window dressing anyway] who have booked tickets [I won’t mention hotel costs or travel expenses incurred] and were looking forward to a great night of speedway [based on last year, this is unlikely]. If there was any way we could have put this event on we would have [ticket sales were pitiful but we can sweep it under the carpet since we’re insured for its cancellation], but the decision of the FIM Jury with regard to rider safety is paramount [though we rarely listen to them] and we fully support this decision [it conveniently gets us off the hook].

“We now need to focus [we hear no evil and see no evil in BSI-world] on the event next weekend in Bydgoszcz [amazing it was free at such short notice] and make sure the final Grand Prix of the season is a great event [ticket sales won’t be pitiful there] for everyone involved [on our staff cocking this one up], in particular the fans [of Tomas Gollob].”

The following official comment also appears to raise more questions than it answers: “Following adverse weather conditions last week [where? when?] and during the construction of the track [is Ole Olsen up to the job? Doesn’t he have state of the art equipment?] at VELTINS-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, the FIM Jury has decided [thank goodness we can say it was them] it is necessary to postpone [we can claim the insurance] the 2008 FIM German Speedway Grand Prix due to track safety concerns.”

Many fans will be hundreds of pounds out of pocket and, after having been forced to waste a weekend in Germany, they’ll find it very expensive to book a last minute trip to Poland where (strangely) many key hotels are already fully booked. Luckily BSI Speedway will delight them with their wonderful “goodwill” offer: “All ticket holders will be refunded their ticket money and, as a gesture of goodwill [be still my beating heart], will be offered a free ticket to a BSI promoted Grand Prix of their choice in 2009.”

Overall, it’s a pitiful performance by BSI Speedway who have – if you believe their story - clearly either failed to employ competent staff (Ole and his team) or contingency plan for the weather and shale storage. Another school of thought would hold that this again signals the contempt BSI Speedway hold for the intelligence of speedway fans (build it and they will come; give any old excuse) and insults the fans who’re prepared to pay good money on travel, accommodation and tickets to watch the often pitiful spectacle served up at meetings staged on a one-off tracks. Finally, if we ignore the happy coincidence of the availability of the stadium at Bydgoszcz, then it’s revealing that BSI Speedway have chosen to restage the meeting at a PROPER speedway track in a country with a tradition of speedway fanaticism. Consequently, the atmosphere will be great, the racing won’t be held back by the awfulness of the track and, so, will excite the fans there and those watching at home. This raises the question - why can’t racing on proper track surfaces be the future policy for all Grands Prix? Sadly, the answer with BSI Speedway is always to dress mutton as lamb, exploit the disposable fans, bank the money and present self interest as the common good.

***********************************************************************************
On his website Nicki Pedersen commented:

"It's a huge scandal for speedway. I mean, we have all looked forward to this race, to give all our fans from all over the world a spectacular show. Instead we now have to explain how a final in the World Championship could be cancelled because of rain on a indoor track. That's a scandal and for speedway it's a big blow. All riders are frustrated by this situaion. We work hard every day to give our best, but unfortunately it's out of our hands to decide how to make the tracks"

Shock Slow Down Announced by Graham Cooke

2008-10-03T21:30:00.002+01:00

The speedway websites that you just have to look at throughout the year are few and far between. While the British Speedway Forum is a guilty pleasure, one must bookmark site is the always informative and wide-ranging speedwayplus. While the other is the Blunsdon Blog written by Swindon track staff member, potter, renowned speedway wordsmith, ex-teacher (of 25 years) and all round nice bloke, Graham Cooke.

Using but not abusing his privileged but hard earnt out of hours access to the sport, Graham has provided many wonderful insights into the often peculiar workings, rich characters and interwoven intricacies of speedway. He’s been an excellent guide to things you thought you knew about already but didn’t really or things you’d just assumed happened without ever considering how, what, who or why! And I haven’t even mentioned the unique photographs that Graham scatters throughout each blog.

Along the way Graham has travelled away from his beloved Blunsdon with BBC Radio Wiltshire and also to Sweden. He’s not hidden his obsessions with Sarra Elgan or Rune Holta and his affection for many other riders, such as Travis McGowan or the always immaculately turned out equipment owned by Sebastian Ulamek.

Without breaking confidences, he’s also shone a light into darkened corners and onto some essential but often overlooked speedway dramatis personae. Namely, the many different unsung volunteers who, behind the scenes (like they do at every club in the country), give their labour to keep the Swindon speedway show on the road on a weekly basis at Abbey Road. Regular readers of his comments and musing will be familiar with a wide variety of his co-workers along with their many idiosyncrasies and foibles.

The “hidden side of speedway” we’ve been shown is both glorious and mundane, everyday and extraordinary but invariably shown to be human in scale and ambition on the Blunsdon Blog. But, then, that’s what you’d expect given Graham’s own generous view of people and life also informing his perspectives on speedway. Eschewing spitefulness in favour of warmth, Graham has preferred to see positives even when others might not have been so sanguine. That hasn’t meant that he’s been afraid to show things as they are and, the fact that he doesn’t see his job as to blow smoke up some *****, has sometimes led to discomfort among the more easily irked. However, you characterise his approach, it has definitely been popular and the volume of visitors to the site has grown exponentially.

Though in the hands of a lesser writer you’d worry about the problem of repetition, in Graham’s case even well-worked topics and themes come over as fresh and each blog is filled with gems and engaging minutiae. The recent Robins defeat typifies his genre and prompted Graham to note:

“Later on in the evening Gary [Patchett] makes the comment of the night that has all of us doubled up. Having been covered with the dust cloud that descended upon us after the first heat, he comments that we now all have suntans like Terry Russell.”

So, the news that Graham is to reduce his writing and activities on the Blunsdon Blog is a disappointment and, hopefully, just a temporary decision! His tales of the shale have been essential reading these last couple of years for all keen followers of the handlebar heroes on show in this country.

Let’s hope Graham will soon end his “slow down”, get back out on the real and metaphorical track and, once again, line up at the tapes!

Qualification conundrum

2008-10-03T08:03:00.004+01:00

Given that the Speedway Star and the Speedway Grand Prix appear wedded at the hip, it’s astonishing to read some reasonably strong criticism of this event within its pages (both on September 13th as well as the subsequent meeting report on September 20th). Let alone to find that the chief critic is Philip Rising! Beyond some cavils about the odd refereeing decision, reports usually indicate that everything is invariably wonderful with the SGP so what on earth can have provoked his ire? To the casual observer there are many likely candidates ranging from: the boring predictability of the event in recent years; the endless almost obsessive tinkering with the rules in true rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic fashion (this year producing the situation where the GP winner doesn’t necessarily leave the stadium with the most points); the danger to rider safety posed by either the weather or one-off tracks: the poor state of one-off tracks; its declining popularity signalled by falling attendances; the failure of the ‘excellent stadium facilities attracting huge crowds’ speculative model advocated by Bellamy/Postlethwaite to bear fruit; the predictability of the knockout stage line ups; the frequent choice of poor quality also rans as wild cards to appease local audiences and television companies; the condescending marketing of the events and tacky presentational gimmicks. The list is a long one from the sublime to the ridiculous and everyone has their favourite hobbyhorse. Though it might be a trick of memory, ignoring this worrying list, mine is that the cutthroat nature of racing appears to have dramatically declined in the last few years. Even the first bend cut and thrust with its perceived do-or-die zeal appears to have vanished in favour of a blander professionalism. It’s a decline in excitement that implicitly acknowledges the demands of this particular speedway circus requires the consistency of regular attendance rather than the genius of superlative daredevil all out racing.

Anyway, the “questions” Philip Rising raises aren’t of the disinterested variety that usually concern of an ordinary fan but the anxieties of someone instrumental in the formation, set up and structure of the SGP who sees the signs of its wane because of the way it’s run today. Philip has a key role within the warp and woof of the SGP due to his position as the Grand Prix Race Director’s Assistant (this doesn’t sound senior but is), never mind his influence as the managing editor of the Speedway Star. Amazingly, given what concerns could legitimately be raised, Philip turns the telescope round to look through the wrong end and blasts away about his worries concerning the quality of the assembled field for the GP Qualifying Final BEFORE it has even taken place.

Though I’m not sure where these have been asked or aired previously - except possibly in the rarefied circles of the management ranks of the SGP and IMG/BSI - Philip wasn’t afraid to pre-judge, “already questions are being asked about the quality of those who will get through no matter who they are”. It’s a damning judgement of the months of effort and expense put in by the sixteen riders who’d competed in many rounds in different countries to get that far. Who exactly was asking these “questions”? It certainly can’t be the fans as the Speedway Grand Prix style under the management of Bellamy, Olsen and Postlethwaite has been to tell them what they want and what they’re getting rather than engage in any form of proper market research or debate. But then, nowadays, the fans like the riders are incidental dressing to the real business of the series - the sale of television rights and advertising spots.

Looking to what bugs Philip about any qualifiers from this event could be summarised in a nutshell as:
1. Proven track record of non-success in GP
2. Too old
3. Qualifiers unlikely to be a “force”
4. Behaviour, deportment and “outstanding credentials” – apparently needed on & off track!
5. Need for youth
6. Random capricious nature of who actually qualifies

Philip puts these allegedly widely held concerns in almost lawyerly language, “Sunday’s field at Zielona Gora includes a number of riders who have already raced in the SGP and who, in all honesty, might be considered past their best.” He then later rhetorically asks, “Would any of these riders actually enhance the 2009 SGP? Or would it be better to inject some fresh new talent into the series, riders like Holder, Jurica Pavlic, Tai Woffinden and the exciting Russian Emil Sajfutdinov?” I agree these riders should be given their chance to shine on this stage but the risk of burn out remains incredibly high. You don’t have to think hard to recall riders who’ve been selected to take part because of their ‘promise’ and then signally ‘failed’ to make an impact or justify the hype. You only have to think of the exaggerated expectations that surrounded Antonio Lindback or Matej Zagar when their latent talent and entry into the SGP immediately saw them erroneously tipped in the pages of the Speedway Star as potential future world champions.

At it’s most basic the present organisation of the SGP prizes consistency over the whole event rather than rewarding brief examples of flair. A qualifying competition run over a number of rounds similarly values consistency, albeit with the added zinger (nowadays removed from the ‘World Championship’ SGP itself) that one poor night will lead to elimination. This might not be ‘fair’ – and clearly is disliked by the SGP advertisers and organisers – but that’s a more authentic version of speedway and the one that until recent years held sway for many decades.

It’s only recently that the SGP has managed to avoid the severe loss of credibility to its erstwhile ‘World Championship’ credentials that the fact of it being an invitation only event caused. How can someone claim to be World Champion after winning an event for which there is no qualification process? Even now, over 80% of 16 regular places are by invitation only (albeit with the fig leaf of a justification that they ‘qualified’ from the top 8). Remember that this is an often over-hyped competition where the wild cards and reserves are chosen by the organisers without need for explanation or scrutiny merely to maximise local interest in the fans/media in the staging country rather than on overall talent. Invariably these riders don’t ‘entertain’ or add to the ‘quality’ of the racing but are just fodder to make up the numbers. It’s worth remembering that the SGP hierarchy don’t have a good track record in identifying speedway talent. It’s only a few years ago that they got egg on their faces when they decided to deselect Hans Andersen (allegedly to punish him because of displeasure at notionally critical but accurate comments he made in the Danish press) only to then find that he made their considered evaluation of his comparative speedway talent look silly when he then excelled as wild card and beat many of the ‘regulars’ that BSI had preferred to entertain the paying public with. If he’d been allowed to compete for the whole series from the start, he’d possibly have been World Champion. This combination of youth, skill, determination and results might never happen again in his career, so Hans might find himself in retirement robbed of glory but the petty non-speedway based decisions of those in charge.

Even more damaging to the SGP concept in recent years is the sheer predictability of the line-ups in the knock out stages. The same riders appear time and again (I would note too that they’re invariably aged 30+) and you could almost pick them beforehand. The rest of the field scrap merely for the minor places in the hope that their season long accumulation of points will ensure they make the top 8 or get so close that they have a convincing claim to get preferment and thereby receive a mulligan from the organisers for entry into the event the next year. If Philip’s stated concern is the quality of the field, then he already has problems with the sheer number of passengers who’ve already been selected to take part.

Perhaps one solution is that these riders could be replaced with the “fresh young talent” he’s already identified? We do have to bear in mind that the ambition of these stars of the future has to be set in the financial context of the huge investment in equipment (bikes, staff and off track equipment) contrasted to the pitiful pay rates on offer at each meeting, even for the winners (these rates are truly shocking, paid in a weak currency [US dollars] and have remained frozen for many years at the same level so have even been eroded by inflation). Interestingly, even within the pages of the Speedway Star this summer Chris Holder has expressed reservations about becoming part of the SGP in the near future on the basis of the sheer expense of the investment in bikes, staff, logistics and equipment as well as the realisation that this will ramp up his complex travel schedule yet further. Only this week, Bjarne Pedersen lifted the lid on the difficult cost equation facing any rider outside the top 10 places and, by extension, highlighted the pitiful rewards accruing to riders who ‘fail’ in the SGP when compared to the cash filled pockets of the organisers. Just recently within its pages, Kenneth Bjerre has stated that – aged 25 – he deems that he is still probably many years from his ‘prime’ as a Grand Prix rider. If we look at the 30+ average age of all competitors, let alone that of the final qualifiers, the evidence appears to bear out the claim that experience trumps youth on a regular basis.

The canard that’s usually trotted out here to justify things is the usual ‘what about the sponsorship they’ll get?’ Well, while the real speedway superstars have the installed base of staff and equipment along with the financial muscle to protect their positions, which sponsor in their right mind really wants to associate themselves with a rider who’s eighth or above in the ‘World’ in an event that attracts little real print or broadcast media coverage and effectively remains an invitation only event? (I’m ignoring the dog that hasn’t barked here – namely the ongoing embarrassment of the failure of the SPG to attract really authentic and generally ‘known’ brands to partner with them)

If quality was really the aim then lets take Philip at his word and dump the proven passengers who’ve shown that they won’t win a series or, most likely, even a GP round. Instead, lets just limit the field to 8 competitors and include only those five or six riders who perform at pretty well every GP plus some young talent for the future to leaven the mix? The racing would be more high calibre, less predictably processional and arguably more competitive. It’s a logical outcome based on Philip’s stated concerns.

One last thought – if objects may be closer than they appear in the mirror, then the past is also a foreign country. It’s useful to cast our mind back to a ‘What if?’ moment – in this case from Heat 9 of the GP Challenge in Lonigo on the 17th October 1999. The silly orthodoxy in those heady days often saw riders eliminated when they finished third or fourth in certain races. This race saw a line up of Gollob (J), Loram, Richardson and Sawina. After the first lap Sawina lead Gollob with Richardson third and Loram fourth. In the remainder of the race the joy of randomness (allied to luck and skill) saw Sawina suffer an engine failure and Loram pass Richardson and go on to later qualify from the event for the GP series proper. Who’s to say that Mark Loram couldn’t have passed two riders if there had been no engine failure? Nonetheless, the point remains that a combination of circumstance and ability saw Mark through the event and then go onto win the Grand Prix the next year (without actually winning any round). Without the GP challenge he wouldn’t have done so and, using Philip’s criteria, would have never been World Champion since he was surplus to requirements!

Lastly, with their track record, can we really trust the men in suits to pick the entire field for the SGP according to their inclinations and retain any last remaining vestige of credibility for our sport in the outside world?

Mouse that roared like a tadpole

2008-09-29T14:41:00.003+01:00

Tonight sees the sudden death stage of the Elite League season with the play off semi finals at Lakeside and Poole. Arguably the spectre of elimination makes this the most exciting part of the finale and, you’d have thought, that this would be a public relations gift for both the BSPA and the Sky Sports Speedway publicity department to showcase the sport in an attractive light. Unfortunately, the ongoing mushroom principle of speedway public relations continues to be in full force. Some doubt has to exist as to whether the Sky/BSPA strategy of ‘keep everyone in the dark, feed them manure and see what comes up’ really works?

A glance through the sports pages of the Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Star, Daily Express, Times, Guardian and Independent reveals the trademark level of inertia that characterises the BSPA’s media publicity departments’ promotion of significant events in the British speedway calendar remains truly pitiful. There is an article by Peter Oakes about the Speedway Grand Prix – notably Jason Crump riding through the pain barrier with a broken foot, his tears and his mathematically incorrect but possibly tactical acknowledgement that Nicki Pedersen will be World Champion – but apart from that there is, as usual, nada.

A glance through the television pages of the Sun, Daily Mirror, Daily Star, Daily Express, Times, Guardian and Independent reveals that there is minimal cause for guarded celebration! Only because the Sky Publicity department have sufficiently roused themselves from their season long torpor to finally ensure that television listings editors act on the news that the thinking man’s Jeremy Clarkson – the broadcasting colossus that is Jonathan Green – has left for pastures new! And has been replaced by the all-together more relentlessly matey team of Nige and Kelv. Indeed, the switch to colour presses by the Independent has provoked the first mention I’ve seen of said news. Rather than keep the thrill and spectacle of the play offs secret, the correct teams have even been identified by name in the Express, Mirror and Star!

However, someone still remains somnambulant in the Sky Sports Speedway publicity department if judged by the letter I received this weekend with clippings of the television pages of the Radio Times for September 15th and September 22nd. These claim the Sky broadcasts will be “presented by Jonathan Green with expert analysis by Kelvin Tatum and Chris Louis”. How exciting. And whoever would have thought of contacting the biggest selling telly listings magazine in this country with the correct information? Apparently this error continues in this week’s edition of the Radio Times too but wasn’t sent as they wished to use it for the purpose for which it was intended. The card enclosed also poses some pertinent observations:
Bonkers!
Ineptitude…..?
Indifference….?
Ignorance….?
Sky Speedway PR really are…..?

Surely it’s not asking too much of the Sky speedway publicity team that they should promote the sport along with their own programmes and staff?

Rub of the Dice

2008-09-26T18:55:00.000+01:00

22nd September

The best that Nigel Pearson can come up with to excite the armchair audience with (as we scoff the pizzas he claims as our staple diet during speedway meetings) is the less than thrilling news that “both sides need victory for different reasons”. If all that glitters isn’t gold, then this isn’t quite the case either as prior to the meeting Swindon were almost definitely assured of third place in the Elite League unless rivals Ipswich went on to produce a series of astonishing results in their remaining meetings. Given they’ve recently been unable to replicate their early season form and the first of these “vital” meetings was away at Peterborough, this all looked highly unlikely. On the other hand, Coventry had flirted with relegation but with a shock last heat decider triumph at Arlington had already made their season secure with a guaranteed mid-table placing. Obviously these facts wouldn’t deter the Sky Sports Speedway presentational team from claiming this meeting was going to be another earth shattering, thrilling nail biter, despite evidence to the contrary and some rain prior to the meeting. Hans Andersen confirmed conditions were a bit of a struggle, “it’s a bit patchy with the rain that came down just before we started” and later reveals the true state of play, “there’s only one line on the outside and Bomber’s the only one brave enough to use it!”

In the pits, as always Sarra ‘Sherlock’ Elgan was keen to ask and answer her own challenging questions. Along with her trademark pout and furrowed brow to indicate the gravity of each question, she’d started to wave her arms during the interviews as though trying to land planes on an aircraft carrier. Flailing her arms like a windmill, she quizzes Troy Batchelor, “how important is it for you to win to secure third place?” Adopting his usual wide eyed but casual manner, the young Aussie doesn’t convince when he claims in an unemotional voice, “we’re all pumped up!” Apparently this heightened sense of anticipation in the Swindon camp is because, “we’ve got some new riders!” This claim is a bit of a mystery since of the ‘new’ additions to the team Seb Alden is a shop soiled rider having previously plied his trade for the Robins, while Pavlic has now ridden enough for the club to find himself in the team proper rather than down at reserve. Still, if it excites Troy then that should be enough for us at home.

Hans Andersen wins the first race and Sarra soon elicits (“are you enjoying yourself here you seem to be?”) a positive response from the Dane (“I am!”) as well as news that he has been re-born (“it’s kick started my career once again”) at Brandon. In the den of mutual congratulation that is the Brokeback commentary booth, Nigel also feels some quasi-religious fervour when he delights in the sight of up and coming Ben Barker, “another one who gives us hope for the future”. Kelvin has also been impressed with young Ben, “I like his attitude when interviewed”. Sadly, Ben’s bike packs up before he can make any further positive impression in heat 2.

Fortunately to enliven a dull, lacklustre end of season meeting, idiosyncratic Scots referee Ronnie Allen (61) is on hand to interpret the rules in his own way and so eschews all four back and instead excludes Troy Batchelor from heat 3 when he falls in the first corner. Kelvin’s flabber is gasted and, raising himself to his full height and displaying his legendary knowledge of the rulebook and the vagaries of first bend bunching, this decision is immediately denounced as a “MISTAKE!” Usually toys would be thrown from Rosco’s pram but, for some reason, news of the exclusion is slow to filter through to the pits, so instead of tantrums we’re treated to the sight of Troy methodically preparing for the rerun rather than rushing to his toolbox in search of spanners. Much as the Sky team pretend to be outraged by bad language, tantrums and heat of the moment over reactions, the loving almost pornographic way the camera lingers over such incidents and, of course, the endless slow motion replays of crashes betrays these as the real box office draw of each and every meeting rather than the racing itself. With faux outrage at the ready, Kelvin can barely mask his disappointment at the lack of reaction from Troy, “I don’t think he even realises he’s been excluded!” Temporarily in Sarra mode himself, Nigel Pearson notes, “this hasn’t been communicated to the pits!” before his commentary partner and Sherlock wannabe snaps back with lightning insight, “that’s why there’s been no reaction!” Even when the news finally filters through reaction remains totally muted. Rosco – who’s famous for his on screen petulance, love of the cameras and wild comments – comes over all Zen and goes off for a few “deep breaths”. While Troy decides to concentrate his energies into preparing for his next race, “the ref’s the boss and I can’t do anything about it”. Crestfallen but making the most of a bad situation with no ‘unexpected’ swearing to apologise for, Nigel codedly praises Troy’s “mature attitude” while an exasperated Kelvin moans, “it’s not the attitude I would have had!” Talk of Kelvin’s hair trigger emotions allows the commentators to bond further in their booth and Nigel comes over all misty-eyed and wistful recalling visions of Kelvin in the pomp and grandeur of his wild eyed, (possibly foul mouthed) temper tantrum days of yore.

The racing is so follow my leader and overtaking seems as likely as an intelligent post race question in the pits from Sarra or Sam that Kelvin ids soon forced to talk about his second favourite topic – the track. Tonight we’re told in a serious voice, “track conditions – I HAVE TO REITERATE – are not easy!” Apparently at a meeting we’re not seeing on our screens at home, Detective Inspector Tatum continues, “so far THE EVIDENCE WE HAVE is that the racing has been top drawer!” I’d hate to see bottom drawer if that’s the case! A Carlsberg moment follows when the third heat is eventually rerun, “Chris Harris – you know what he’s like when he hits the front – he’s PROBABLY the fastest rider in the world!” We know that Kelvin likes to exaggerate but surely Nigel or someone should have a word when the hyperbole gets this out of control?

If Ronnie Allen’s first ‘controversial’ decision irked Rosco, then the second quickly causes him to break his vow of silence. This happens in heat 6 with the exclusion of Mads Korneliussen for a tapes offence when his helmet visor snags the tapes just as they rise in the attempted first running of the race. Rosco is straight to the pits phone where the Sky cameras and microphones await his explosive reaction. Stupidly, he tries attempted sarcasm and imitates one of Sarra’s rhetorical questions, “he’s caught the tapes with his helmet, you can’t exclude him for that!” “I can” replies Ronnie before adding “it’s a tapes infringement” in the quiet, patient voice of someone who realises that the person they’re speaking with isn’t playing with a full deck of cards. Elsewhere, Kelvin knows his own mind, “I have to say that is an ERROR!” In the pits, the camera cuts to show us two middle-aged men (Russell, T. & Rossiter, A.) in red anoraks speak animatedly. Unnecessarily, Sam explains the scene but adds nothing to our understanding, “the boys are having a discussion”. Once his chat with Terry Russell has ended, Rosco remains pretty measured, “I think Ronnie’s got a few rules up his sleeve.” Unfortunately, for both Alun and Kelvin a brief glance in the British speedway rulebook would confirm that Ronnie is correct. If he’d been less camera shy, perhaps Sky could have found the time to let him explain rather than keep the viewers labouring under a misapprehension?

Though excluded, apparent lack of communication in pits has Mads Korneliussen once again briefly line up at the tapes – thereby delaying things further - before being finally sent away. This could have been gamesmanship or understandable confusion but, with Rosco in charge, it’s hard to tell given he already had the distraction of wild conspiracy theories on his mind. Nigel almost tuts over this aspect of the debacle, “this doesn’t do the sport any favours to be honest” while Kelvin avers, “it’s a slightly messy situation”. When the race is finally run, Allen and Andersen win with some ease though Nigel can’t really take pleasure in what he’s seeing, “this is team riding though, to be fair, they don’t really need to do it!”

In the absence of tension, Nigel has to clutch at any straws of consolation he can invent, “the race for third place could come down to two points difference”. While our hearts collectively race at this prospect, Ronnie Allen continues to plough his own furrow to perk up the entertainment on offer. Heat 7 has Chris Harris come to grief on the first bend but, unlike Batchelor, he’s surprisingly not excluded. Tactically for professional hyperbole reasons every week Kelvin claims to be surprised by something mundane he’s seen for our benefit as the armchair audience. Usually this storm in a teacup is stuff like a bad choice of gate position, racing line or a minor mechanical problem. However, tonight his ire is comprehensively stoked by the referee, which definitely saves the effort of inventing an imaginary bogeyman. “I would have thought the ref will exclude Chris Harris…[he doesn’t] well, SORRY, HE’S GOT IT WRONG!” Nigel expresses faux concern for Alun Rossiter’s blood pressure and mental equilibrium, “well, Alun has had his patience tested – though he’s a lot calmer this year!”

In their speedway coverage, Sky Sports pride themselves on their presentation. A key component of which is the roving camera in the pits, there to capture the unguarded ‘real’ moments of instant reactions from the participants under stress. This evening, they inadvertently capture live on film the hugely influential speedway figure (and Swindon co-owner) Terry Russell with his hands metaphorically down the knickers of British Speedway. It’s a real pulling the strings of the puppet moment when we see him on the pits phone and, as if he’s just come from the set of the latest Guy Ritchie epic London geezer film, hear him instruct/advise the referee, “we’ve had two bad ones – so try and level it up for us will ya?” If the published rules are that the referee won’t speak to riders but only the team manager during a meeting, why did Ronnie even take the call? Nigel lifts the metaphorical carpet and quick thinkingly whistles a happy tune to distract us from the implications of what we’ve all witnessed, “Terry Russell had to step in there” he claims before celebrating the way Terry brings “a calming influence with the referee”. This makes it sound like both Ronnie and Alun are thundering around the place like runaway mad bulls. After this inadvertent brush with the media spotlight, Terry drops into the background and resumes helping old ladies across the road for the rest of the meeting.

The production team and Sam Ermolenko do manage to find Rosco who warms up sufficiently to further develop his conspiracy theme and fulminates in King Lear-on-Prozac fashion against injustice. “Ah well, what can I say? I think there’s some sort of conspiracy…it’s absolutely pathetic! …People wonder why I’m like this on Sky!....you can see that, you’re a rider, that is shocking!.. you’ve got a guy up there and we’re focussing on a bloke up there – Ronnie Allen – not the riders!” Actually, we’re focussing on the team manager not the riders but still we know what he means. Ultimately, Rosco has no choice but to threaten the ultimate sanction, “I ain’t gonna speak to him ever again!” It’s a vow of silence that he completely fails to keep during the remainder of the meeting, “I don’t want to talk about it but the ref spoilt the meeting tonight!”

Though injuries in heat 8 (“I think Seb has broken his collarbone and James has bashed his hand”) and bad luck also play their part, Swindon do fall away against Coventry during the latter stages of the meeting. Understandably so given that they’re already in the play offs and the result of the meeting is comparatively meaningless. Nonetheless, Alun clearly knows who the villain is, “well, it was going well until a certain person tried to change the goalposts!” He does perk up in Sarra’s company enough to flash his teeth and flirt, “I’m doing a Nick Faldo now and giving away my secrets!” It’s a weird Freudian comparison for Rosco to make given the proven incompetence of Faldo as a team manager and motivator of talented individuals. Though, of course, Faldo did excel as a competitor during his playing albeit without popularity [the old golf joke was: ‘every time Faldo says ‘good shot’ they build the eighth Wonder of the World’]. Oblique talk of the Ryder Cup allows Nigel to wear his golf glove with pride and try a shockingly weak pun, “was that Alun Rossiter’s sandwich order then?” In true relentless bonhomie style, Kelv splits his sides ‘laughing’ at this verbal dexterity, “a ha ha ha ha ha!”

Ever vigilant about foul language, Sherlock couches her questions to Rosco with particular care, “things seem to be conspiring against you – and don’t swear!” “I won’t swear” flirts a hurt Rossiter. Never needing a second excuse to find a plausible explanation, a taciturn Leigh Adams picks up on the well worn but unproven discrimination theme in almost every interview (“we’re racing eight guys tonight!”). Leigh has by his own high standards been under par tonight (“it’s not ideal”), so Kelvin seeks other explanations for the dropped points, “there’s been a long gap between heat 6 to heat 11….he’ll be a bit chilly.”

Luckily to pass the time and liven things up for us at home, Nigel noted down some ready drafted phrases to drop into proceedings when the opportunity allowed. When Troy Batchelor’s first three races find him pointless we learn, “yet to complete a race or score a point – a night of misery for the Batchelor Boy!” Rosco’s battle with his emotions also earns frequent sympathy, “Alun Rossiter trying to stay calm, trying to stay cool, trying to stay focussed”. With apparently every red anoraked member of the Swindon Robins management team present in the pits and in the limelight, we also learn, “co-owner Gary Pratchett is there looking at James Wright – the situation is being carefully analysed”. Nigel has retired his frequently used “to be fair” linguistic tic for the evening but his inner policeman instead surfaces with the “questions” version. “The questions will be argued late into the night” [are questions argued?] “Well, questions will be asked – did Chris Harris punish himself?”

The thinking man’s Tony Millard, Kelvin Tatum has also hit a rich vein of form on the word play front. With sixteen points between the teams before heat 11, he expects inspiration from the Swindon number 2, “if Wright could get away it would be an inspiration for the Robins…[seconds later he’s shown riding third out of the second bend] yeh, not unexpected”. Later when predicting what will happen when looking at a replay of a race he’s just seen, the Kelv tells us authoritatively “he’s gonna have a quick look, a long look in fact!” While sight of Troy B in a black and white helmet leads Kelv to praise Rosco’s managerial acumen, “he’s gonna give it a rub of the dice” before he worries about the standard of equipment the young Aussie will ride, “that bike’s running like [pause to catch his swear word] awfully!” Looking ahead to the climax of the season, he comes over all Zen, “well, you can never wait for play offs”. Probably his most profound thought of the night is “well, you know, sometimes sport can be cruel”.

22nd September Coventry v Swindon (Elite League B) 52-43

Tough Spokes & Slow Bikes

2008-09-12T07:54:00.002+01:00

8th September

Leading up to the latest televised broadcast, the Sky Sports Speedway publicity office had worked their usual communicational magic to minimise the armchair audience. The Speedway Star told us that we’d get to see the ‘relegation’ clash of the titans that is the Belle Vue versus Wolverhampton meeting from Kirkmanshulme Lane. In a season where the sport has been hit hard at the turnstiles and the weekly attendance of every single fan has assumed yet greater importance, no promoter is going to want to see the traditional many hundreds knocked off the normal weekly attendance figures by blokes in sharp suits based in London spreading (and then failing to correct) false rumours of the chosen televised fixture. While over at The Sun - a Murdoch sister company, let’s not forget – the Sky speedway publicity communications team have again failed to get through once again. Though, to be fair, another possibility is that the Sun sports and television desks have become so inured to matters of the shale that they can’t even be bothered to identify the teams on show any longer. Indeed, in the paper they claim the show will feature “another top meeting from the Elite League”. Even more upsettingly for those armchair fans who’ve set the video to record the speedway, there has been a last minute switch from Sky Sports 1 to the equivalent of satellite Siberia, Sky Sports Extra.

The Murdoch Empire way is to endlessly promote sports events for which Sky have the exclusive broadcast rights. The Murdoch papers do this ad nauseum with football (just recall the so-called Premiership Super Sunday) and you’d have thought that would be standard practice in the Sun/Times/Sunday Times to relentlessly promote the speedway on Sky, if only a half decent relationship existed. Someone the Sky Speedway publicity team could take a lesson from is Nigel Pearson who gives a masterclass throughout the broadcast with endless mentions of Andy Murray and tennis. I can’t imagine that speedway fans are also one of the obvious natural constituencies of tennis fans but that doesn’t deter Nigel from banging on about the Final of the US Open following the speedway (exclusively on Sky Sports 1). It doesn’t float my boat. However, it’s mentioned enough for Nigel to deserve a pay rise, contract extension or future tennis work to add to the eclectic portfolio of sports he already covers. Though militantly Scots, Nigel quickly claims Murray as “British” in an attempt to appeal to the latent patriotism of any wavering speedway fans.

Sat with my wrongly pre-prepared Belle Vue versus Wolverhampton programme poised at the ready (generated from the always wonderfully informative Speedway Plus website), it’s quickly apparent that for the second successive week we’re going to be treated to a meeting from Peterborough. They say you can’t get too much of a good thing. That’s doubly true tonight with Nigel and Kelvin perched at the ready in the revolutionary innovation that is their state of the art window-cleaning booth. Their spin is that we’ll be overjoyed to see a clash of top versus (nearly) bottom at the East of England Showground, though maybe it’s really just a desire to see a meeting staged there when it’s not raining? Whatever the reason, Trevor Swales nails his colours to the Rick Frost mast when he later praises the “new owner, new club, new era”. Though this phrase reminds me of my old work, where whenever there was another disastrous strategic change (usually meaning more work, less people and morale through the company) management talk would invariably turn to stock clichéd phrases like “there’s a whole new spirit and culture about the place”. You could argue that at Peterborough, the proclaimed optimism is genuine with all the talk of lancing boils possibly sincerely meant. Recent years has seen a variety of self made men become new promoters and arrive at Elite League clubs believing that they can revolutionise the sport, only to quickly find that the hard reality of living the dream can be a massive drain on their finances. Hopefully, Rick will enjoy some longevity and reward at Peterborough rather than briefly flare like a soon to be extinguished firework on the Elite League speedway scene. One of the first steps taken under new management has seen the return of Ryan Sullivan in Panthers colours to captain the team. The shrewdness of this decision is immediately hailed by Nigel (“he really is a club legend”) and Kelvin (“Mister Peterborough they call him”) without meaningful analysis, though even they have to acknowledge the question marks immediately raised about his approach and attitude by his recent poor performance versus Eastbourne (three points from five rides). This was subsequently explained as a result of a “bad case of toothache” in the Speedway Star. Ryan probably just needs to be more – what Kelvin calls – tenacianos in future.

After we’ve been treated to the usual ‘weakly’ introduction to the teams – where the revolving graphics make the riders appear to have been modelled on Cluedo cards (rather than the much more impressive talking version you see on the NFL coverage shown on Sky) – talk turns to the shock news that this season the Elite League apparently operates a system where an away team gets three points for an away win and some sort of (notional) promotion/relegation play-off exists! It wouldn’t be live speedway if the weather (dry tonight after strong rumours of a wet weekend) and the track conditions (“I’m going to reserve my judgement” says Kelvin authoritatively) weren’t immediately discussed, though thankfully tonight it’s kept in comparative check. The first few heats are processional and fail to feature anything that could be described as overtaking after the first turn. Of course, you wouldn’t guess this (“it’s fast, it’s furious”) from the excitable commentary and Nigel whoops with delight (or relief?) after the first real passing manoeuvre (“have we got a meeting on or what?”) before he predicts, “we’ve got a magnificent night of speedway ahead!” “Early doors” we do see Magnus ‘Zorro’ Zetterstrom in action, though he opts to wear a crash helmet rather than the new Swedish crown that so slightly shocked Kelvin (“he’s the new Swedish champion, of course, slightly surprising”). At reserve, Karol Zabik (or “Carol Zorbik” as Middlo calls him) makes a quick return to the Panthers team from the injury he sustained in late August during the same home meeting versus Lakeside that also sadly saw Adam Shields so badly injured. Nigel admires Karol as a rider, “on his day, he can beat the best” and Kelvin agrees, “yeh, it’s a few years since I’ve seen him ride in the UK”.

The action in Heat 2 prompts Nigel to try out one of the tongue twisters he’s invented to catch out German spies who’ve infiltrated themselves into the Peterborough area (“to be fair it’s fair to say”), while in the pits blonde Sarra Elgan uses her full armoury of rhetorical questions and gnomic statements to conduct some of her famous incisive interviews. She tells race winner Freddie Eriksson, “you’re the only ever present Poole [sic] in the Elite League this season”. Later doors she grills a very South African sounding Henning Bager with, “is it good to give something back to the crowd?” The early racing is so processional that during heat 4 Nigel clutches the dramatic straw of Zabik and Vissing failing to team ride, “it’s almost like they’re racing each other!” Never afraid to make up new words, phrases or emotions, Kelvin claims, “I tell you what, the home fans must be in cuckoo land!”

Some things never change, consequently Kelvin can’t rid himself of his desire to blather on about arcane technical or mechanical matters, the track or his tourettes like mania for saying “literally” at every opportunity. Working so closely together with his presentational partner in crime, Kelvin has also become infected by the perennial Pearson trope of “to be fair to him”. Though an addition to his linguistic armoury, sadly he doesn’t combine these two key phrases together in a single sentence. We do learn after two races “to be fair to Chris… the track is riding better than it looked”. Talk of the weather is never far away (possibly because the window cleaning booth is so high in the sky it nearly touches the clouds) prompting Nigel to observe, “Yes, speedway is like cricket, like one of those other sports”. Manfully trying to build up some more non-existent excitement at the spectacle of the early heats, Nigel focuses on the mechanics of the scoring procedures, “it’s getting to that stage of the season where every point is vital” (“yeh, right!” chants Kelvin in true bored parrot-in-crime fashion). Kelvin prefers to concentrate on the real mechanics and nearly wets himself with the excitement of Chris Holders return to the pits “for last minute adjustments” during “the two minute warning”. As we’re shown hands fumbling with a bit of Holder’s machine obscured by his advert laden bike cover, yelling orgasmically Kelv exclaims, “It’s a carburetion problem! This is real drama, real panic! Clearly it’s either running too lumpy or..” We never learn what else Kelvin surmised it could have been as the problem is almost immediately fixed and Holder returns to the tapes with over a minute still remaining of the time allowance. Nigel issues a heartfelt apology for the swear word I freaking missed, “if you heard a few words of panic you may have been offended by, we apologise for that!”

No sooner has Nigel demonstrated his mathematical prowess as well as expressed glee at the ‘excitement’, speed and smooth running of the meeting (“we’re only a third of the way through – we’ve had five races already”) than disaster strikes at the start of heat 6. A fishtailing Davey Watt gets caught in a first bend sandwich with the Panthers riders but during the clash gets his foot painfully caught in Lukas Dryml’s back wheel. Donning his metaphorical white coat and immediately demonstrating the technical expertise that Sky have hired him for, Kelvin informs us, “it’s clearly his right foot or his right leg!” The next moment Kelvin amazingly admits on air that he may be fallible, “I was looking across from here in the commentary position and I thought it was Ryan Sullivan” [who caught Davey Watt’s foot]. This admission of error is arguably a real first for Kelvin after nearly a decade of live broadcast speedway. Even more revealingly, he’s also acknowledged that the oft repeated claims that the Sky window cleaning booth gives the so-called “best view in the stadium” is demonstrably false. The welter of revelations are soon lost when Kelv rises to the occasion and brings the full force of his speedway riding insight to bear on the situation, “you know, that looked totally innocuous – I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d broken his foot!” We’re then collectively treated to lots of footage of Davey Watt as he remains prostrate on the track surrounded by medical staff in yellow fluorescent clothing who haven’t rushed quite so quickly to the diagnosis Kelvin feels in his water may be true. Given how Sky’s maitre d in the pits, Steve Brandon likes to gruffly pride himself on barking out orders to try to ensure a smoothly efficient and promptly run meeting, you can almost sense him itching inside his headphones wanting to clear Watt from the track to allow the racing to restart and to protect the overridingly important schedules and planned advert breaks.

Still, the health and “safety” of the riders is always notionally ‘paramount’ to the Sky speedway people, so instead of dumping Watt onto the centre green we all instead have to settle for some trademark magisterial insight from Kelvin. Presented with a picture of a back wheel with broken spokes detached from its bike he burbles, “you can see where his foot has gone!” After the remarkable news that “those spokes are not easy to break, they’re tough” it’s only a brief moment before the ultimate comparisons are made – namely to numero uno and the accidents Kelvin has suffered himself. “Well, I’ve had some high speed crashes..[blah, blah]…but I’ve also had an incident like Davey Watt and I was out for six months!” If Kelvin were a character from Dad’s Army he’d most likely be a unique combination of Fraser and Mainwaring. Fortunately before we learn more about how Kelvin cleaned his bikes, organised his potting shed cum garage, what he wore under his kevlars or how he renewed his van insurance policies, the camera cuts back to the pits.

Stood there some distance away from the on track ministrations to his stricken colleague, Chris ‘he’s a talented twenty year old who should really get a wild card place in the 20089 Grand Prix series because he really has the talent to go all the way’ Holder is consulted about his view of Davey Watt’s injury. Holder is a naturally modest and supremely laid back individual. After a slight mechanical gremlin that nearly had Kelvin cream himself on air, Holder nonchalantly admitted, “I left me brain in me toolbox – I left me choke in!” To say, he’s phlegmatic would be an understatement, “I think he’s just waiting to get his bike right!” It’s a diagnosis Kelv dismisses out of hand, “this is SERIOUS for Davey Watt to stay down....tell you what, Chris Holder is a bit more confident that I am!” When Davey finally gingerly gets up and is helped back to the pits by medical personnel, Kelvin confirms the evidence of our own eyes, “Davey Watt can’t put his weight down on his foot!” The excitement of on the hoof medical diagnosis also catches Nigel but he’s unable to get a word in edgeways. Kelvin has sensed some of the valour of wartime in the situation, “he’s determined, he’s courageous – half the battle now is whether he can get his boot on!” If we stop a moment for perspective, as viewers we’re all sat a home listening to a debate about whether someone can get dressed again. In the detailed style of a porn movie, we’re treated to a full frontal, lingering shot of Davey’s foot, “oh, I can see the swelling on the bridge of his foot!” exclaims an excited Kelvin. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a broken metatarsal – a footballer’s injury!” Nigel tries to interrupt with some news of his own football injuries but is cut off in mid-jumpers for goalposts, “sorry to interrupt, I tell you what as a speedway rider, all your weight goes on your right foot!” Before the medical analysis can continue, the two-minute warning sounds and Daniel Davidsson makes his way out as the reserve replacement for Watt. Kelvin still has feet on the brain so blurts out, “Daniel Davidsson has very big boots to fill!”

Even the rerun of Heat 6 remains eventful when, with the Panthers poised for an almost certain 5-1 that will extend their surprise four point lead further, Lukas Dryml comes to grief under his own volition. Kelvin really can’t believe it, “Dryml went down – that really is a fundamental mistake!” It’s such a major booboo that Epsom born Kelvin Martin Tatum MBE suffers a major attack of the literally’s when perusing the full horror of this unexpected fall on replay, “and there literally he just slides off by himself…literally the bike slides away from him.” Kelvin has kindly blushed on behalf of Lukas, “I imagine he must have been embarrassed about that to be perfectly honest Nigel – that really was a schoolboy error!” In the pits, Sarra is keen to quiz the taciturn but unsighted (as he was leading the race, doh!) Panthers Captain Sullivan about the ‘nailed on’ 5-1 transmogrifying into the disappointment of a drawn heat. Always keen to give the impression he charges by the word for every interview he gives, Ryan doesn’t initially respond to Sarra trying to put words into his mouth (“yeh, I guess he lost it a bit”) before motivationally noting, “you’re right if he has really messed up”. It’s difficult to see how this interview sheds light on the situation at hand – effectively a chat between someone who didn’t see it lead by someone who didn’t understand what they’d seen, broadcast live.

Immediately afterwards, Nigel is forced to dip into the handy ‘Ready Drafted Commentators Platitudes Handbook’ - discarded by its previous owners Tony Millard and Jonathan Green - for a few choice bon mots of hyperbole. After trotting out some guff about “this fascinating Elite League showdown”, Nigel – a keen Spice Girls aficionado - is forced to flash his own metaphorical (XXXL) version of Geri Halliwell’s knickers with loose talk about how the total absence of British riders from this meeting leaves his mood “tinged with sadness”. Kelvin needs no second bidding to froth on patriotically about Johnny Foreigner, “well, that’s another story and something we talk about all night!” Thankfully this doesn’t happen as Nigel – using the breathing-and-British criteria favoured by Jim Lynch in recent national team selections - wracks his brain (out loud) for a prospective British Dream Team for 2014 and briefly name checks some young up and coming British speedway prospects. It’s a short list and, almost as if he’s taken a swig of truth serum rather than his usual diet coke, Nigel blurts out a confession, “we have, of course, given Tai Woffinden the big hype all year here on Sky!” Suddenly keen not to be seen with his hands on the strings that hold the puppets, all talk about Tai ‘It’s a mans sport’ Woffinden is dropped when Kelvin saves the day with some trademark blather, “young Polish and Swedish riders come over here desperate to make their mark in British speedway!” [Golly, it almost makes me want to jump to attention and salute] I think Kelvin is trying out his variation of the tried and tested Middlo Ambition argument – namely that British riders keen to get ahead should forego their speedway apprenticeship (and the so-called ‘easy money’) in the Conference and Premier leagues in favour of really ‘testing’ themselves against the ‘big boys’ in the Elite League. Ignoring the financial implications and industry failure rate for the riders in question - or the fact that unless you’re supremely talented, most promoters/team managers will restrict any new or struggling rider to three rides and cut them from the team at the first opportunity – this appears to pass the obligation onto the riders whereas we all know that it’s the promoters who prefer to put finance first as well as staff their teams with ready made foreigners rather than have the patience to grow their own talent! Indeed, even the two most highly praised young riders in contemporary speedway (with Australian accents) – Chris Holder and Tai Woffinden – have chosen to come through the ranks and ply their trade outside the Elite League to properly serve their apprenticeships.

After the drama of Davey Watt’s foot, the real or imaginary talking points rapidly dwindle. Chris Louis informs us “you can get hit by heavy dirt” at the Showground – indeed the unlucky Davey Watt had already demonstrated this in his first ride. Since they’re enjoying another good season likely to end in their triumphant crowning as Elite League champions, Nigel wastes no time when he takes the sensible career option to enthusiastically praise the overall professionalism of Poole Speedway club. Something he ascribes to the brilliance, visionary leadership and general acumen of Matt Ford and the mysterious Giles Hartwell. [who he, Ed?] The Pirates didn’t look on the pace to start with (with the exception of Zorro) and the subsequent loss of Watt along with a couple of shock zero’s for Holder and Pedersen as well as an engine failure while leading for Zorro means that tonight probably isn’t going to be their night. After heat 9, the Panthers are ahead 33-21, which allows the visitors the chance to exploit the tactical option of a double points ride. One possibility would be to hand it to Bjarne Pedersen immediately or, alternatively, use Chris Holder in the race after. Nigel describes these scenarios only to be told by the not easily fooled Kelvin, “that’s heat 11, we’ve got heat 10 to come first.” The decision not to use Bjarne taken by Neil Middleditch is questioned by Nigel, “I know you can never predict the result from a race…but if Poole don’t take the tactical ride in heat 10 and the Pirates get 5-1”. Perhaps the commercial team could work up a new jingle to excite those unfamiliar with speedway on Sky –“it’s a white knuckle ride through the regulations!”. Sod’s Law dictates that the chance has gone before it’s barely arrived when a Pedersen-Skornicki maximum heat advantage scuppers the tactical option. Looking into his crystal ball, Kelvin ponders the internal monologue raging in Middlo’s tormented mind, “I wonder what Neil Middleditch is thinking here – he’s thinking I can’t use the tactical ride.” Sarra tries to get to the bottom of the decision that the window cleaning booth based commentary team strenuously avoid identifying as a goof. Initially Middlo is in denial, “Bjarne said to me the bike’s not quick enough” before joking, “they’re getting on our weaknesses, the team manager one of them.” With the Pirates still trailing by eight points, a mathematically challenged Sarra tries to be optimistic, “another 5-1 in this heat, could even it all up!” [Er, no, they’ll still be four points behind]

Still avoiding critical comment about Middlo like the plague, Kelvin instead seizes upon the reported Slow Bike Justification even though we didn’t actually hear Bjarne himself utter such an explanation. Nonetheless, it’s taken as gospel. “It might have gone slightly A-RAY in the previous race but obviously the bike’s got more belief than the rider! The bike’s gonna win it whether the rider likes it or not!” Judged by Kelvin’s usual hallmark say-what-I-see-as-an-ex-rider meat and potatoes commentary style, this poetic flight of fancy is an unexpected journey into the rarely explored recesses of his imagination. Nigel is hugely appreciative of his partner’s sudden flight of fancy and, with another win for Bjarne in heat 12, takes the chance to offer his own on air tribute, “and to quote Kelvin Tatum, maybe Bjarne Pedersen will have as much self belief as his bike – what a great line that was Kelvin.” “Ha ha, tee he, thank you!” It gets even more mutually appreciative in the window cleaning booth with each passing week but, before it turns all Brokeback Mountain, luckily the camera cuts to Sarra for an interview with a taciturn Bjarne in the pits. There he’s hectored about the ostensible slowness of his bike prior to heat 10.
[BP] “To be fair to me we did a few adjustings on the bike.”
[SE] “Is it all going to ride on the final heat?”
[BP in a bored voice] “Yeh, probably”

Despite protestations and hyperbole to the contrary, the meeting peters out as a home win. Kelvin thinks this may be due to the “stability of a new owner”. Poole have had dreadful luck though Nigel notes, “let’s balance it out by saying Peterborough don’t have [the ill] Danny King!” Sarra’s ongoing search for a meaningful or incisive question provides some entertainment. Long after any notional ‘drama’ from the ‘incident’ has evaporated she still continues to try to grill Middlo about Davey Watt’s foot, “What’s the latest? Have you heard anything since the last time we spoke?”

8th September Peterborough v Poole 47-43

Tenacianos

2008-09-02T08:25:00.005+01:00

The converted window cleaning booth that serves as the Sky speedway commentary booth has certainly been going back to its roots in recent weeks. Recently it has been another week, another meeting staged in the rain for the benefit of Sky television. I always understood that "rider safety" was always the number one priority for everyone, never mind that both rain and drizzle significantly impairs visibilty for the riders. It's difficult to imagine that any cricket match would be played in bad light, yet only a week after Adam Shields was injured there, the show must go on the notoriously fast Peterborough track in less than ideal conditions. Though Kelvin claimed that riders would invariably be keen to race since "once the bike's dirty, you have to clean it anyway", this doesn't really bear scrutiny unless, of course, they allow this to happen in hospital car parks nowadays. If you're briefly injured or out for the season, you'll get more than enough time to look after your equipment or consider your lack of earnings.

Perhaps if cricket was staged in bad light, everyone would bowl dolly drops. Too many matches played like that would undermine the integrity of the league tables, yet at speedway it's apparently okay to undervalue the results and slither round the track just ensure the contracted weekly race is run. Ridden is probably the operative word rather than raced and we all like to see a speedway ride rather than a speedway race.

Peterborough was staged in safer conditions than previously at Poole, yet the feeling remains that the paying public are somehow been short changed. Still, Sky's desire to ensure their advertisers are always happy does have its strange benefits since at a rain lashed Wimborne Road, we were treated to the sight of Kelvin and Nigel getting soaked (as well as Jason Crump working as an unofficial referee cum shop steward). Sadly, this exciting camerawork was mostly missing last night at the East of England Showground.

With speedway now apparently an all weather sport, hopefully we can soon abandon the close season and replace it with speedway riding throughout the winter?

Though, the spectacle isn't of the calibre you'd expect in dry conditions, there's always plenty of entertainment on offer from Kelvin. Whether it's pointless technical insight ("sometimes after the practice laps the chain needs tightening"), the excessive use of the word "literally" or the relentless bonhomie and joviality of his interactions with Nigel - despite the naysayers, the high cost of a Sky subscription remains remarkably good value. Worth the month's fee alone last night was Kelvin's invention of a wonderful new word - tenacianos (said "ten-naysh-ah-nos") - while burbling on about the ostensible speedway skills of Henning Bager. Perhaps the viewers (literally) need their own increased reserves of tenacianos to put up with the same increasing tired format of the rider interviews, one sided meetings and hyperbole every week?

If Kelvin can add words to the English Language, then Nigel isn't afraid to apparently steal some pronunciations from the Tony Millard speedway thesaurus. Without Tai Woffinden to religiously tongue bathe for a couple of hours, kelvin and Nigel switch their attentions to the latest/"new" great white hope that is "future Grand Prix star" in the making. Consequently, Jurica Pavlic gets the full treatment. Sadly, he doesn't live up to his (justified) billing or relish his first trip to the Peterborough track in the rain but we're still treated to Nigel's version of his name "Yur-reek-ka Pav-litch"*. Given, professionalism in a speedway commentary context requires that the presenters frequently have to pretend that they're close to orgasmic and that a dull workaday meeting is the best race ever in the history of the sport, perhaps it was only a matter of time before a speedway rider was associated with a major scientific breakthrough?

The discovery of gravity and that speedway can go ahead in the rain is surely already enough entertainment to justify an increasingly expensive monthly subscription to Sky?

* I'm told that the rider's mum says "you-rizza" when she pronounces it

More Praise for 'Concrete for Breakfast'

2008-08-01T17:48:00.001+01:00

'A masterpiece of observation and writing. I swear his books get better and better'
Peter Oakes/Speedway Star

To order your copy, click here

Is the recent Cardiff GP 2009 Advert Misleading?

2008-07-17T16:44:00.000+01:00

An incredible four days after the 2008 Cardiff GP ended, the organisers are so desperate to further swell their coffers that they’re already trying to put their grasping hands inside the British speedway fans less than bulging pockets with a so called ‘special offer’ for next years event! Not yet migrated to the seemingly endless back page advert in the magazine, this marvellous opportunity drew itself to my attention through an advert in the Speedway Star (dated July 5 2008). If adverts for Christmas get earlier each year, then they really have nothing on the GP organisers deeming 361 days to be sufficient advance notice. Possibly, you may have rushed to the phone (or onto the internet) to take advantage of the widely advertised “BOOK EARLY and get up to 10% OFF! * Book before 1st September 2008” special offer for the 2009 Cardiff Grand Prix.

However, they say that all that glitters is not gold and, sadly, once again like with the organisers 2008 ‘special offer” on closer examination things aren’t so special and, like many other claims regarding this event, also aren’t so accurate. Apart from the headline news of the new ‘cheaper’ ticket price band of £29 – an initiative which makes a virtue of the real difficulty of trying to get rid of the ongoing year in, year out problem of the huge number of unsold seats in the upper echelons of the Millenium Stadium – the sad fact is that practically all the proper ticket prices for 2009 will be more expensive than 2008. Never afraid to milk the cash cow of the Cardiff speedway fans with ticket and programme price increases (or, this year, with a ‘safety’ campaign with non-flammable air horns), the organisers have increased prices by between 2.5% and 3.5% with the exception of zero price inflation for the £70 ticket.

Predictably, the “up to 10% OFF!” claims of the advert mask a more complex picture where pre-September 1 2008 savings vary from an incredible 0% through to a higher than claimed (in the advert copy) 13.3%. Judged by their own previous standards, we should be told this in a shouty typeface.

Administration doesn’t appear a strong point with the organisers if judged on the fact that the online order link doesn’t appear to work (as of July 17th) on their own website. This only leaves the option of paying through the nose by calling a premium rate 0871 number that earns them more money or pretending to live outside the UK and ringing (01159) 934126. Also don’t get caught out like I did last year when I booked early as this transaction subsequently bizarrely appeared on my credit card statement as “air phone” (what the goodness is that?!) and I mistakenly cancelled it as a rogue billing, thereby losing my early bird ‘discount’.

The cheapskateness (or maladministration?) of failing to have ticket sales appear sensibly on credit card statements from day 1 is nothing compared to the ongoing miserly payments to the notional stars of the show (if we ignore claims on Sky satellite television that it’s really the wondrousness of the crowd) – the riders themselves. Whatever, the real or claimed attendance levels, the 2008 Cardiff GP will probably have grossed millions for the organisers (nowadays owned by a multinational company whose international sports marketing expertise we have yet to really witness) that will fail to find its way back into British Speedway (let alone the grassroots of the sport in this country) or the riders pockets. The publicly available order of merit (based on points gained from the five GP’s of the 2008 series so far) – that unfortunately still doesn’t list the traditional top three earners of Postlethwaite, Bellamy and Olsen - allows us to calculate what the riders have been paid. Based on a variable pound-dollar exchange rate (of $1.86-$1.90 to the pound), the figures supplied by Charles McKay show total YTD earnings and the average per GP for each rider*:
N. Pedersen £19759 (or £3951 per GP)
T. Gollob £19178 (£3835)
J. Crump £17883 (£3576)
G. Hancock £15868 (£3173)
L. Adams £14996 (£2999)
H. Anderson £13796 (£2759)
R. Holta £13500 (£2700)
A. Jonsson £12939 (£2587)
F. Lindgren £12044 (£2408)
S. Nicholls £10950 (£2190)
N.K. Iversen £10127 (£2025)
L. Dryml £9969 (£1993)
C. Harris £7688 (£1922)
K. Kasprzak £7555 (£1888)
B. Pedersen £6640 (£2213)
L. Tomicek £3732 (£1866)

The only winners again, here, are the organisers (particularly if you assume all events with the possible exception of the one in Germany) makes a profit from the combination of admissions revenues, advertising sales and sponsorships along with the all important television rights sales.

Though clearly for the lucky four riders who randomly find themselves in the lucrative Super Prix race in Gelsenkirchen, when looked at in the context of the rather pitiful actual monies paid, the danger to their career and season earnings that the condition of the Cardiff track presented to the health of the GP riders seems not worth the risk. Ignoring that the riders also have questions to answer about their participation, one of the real problems facing British Speedway is how (on an ongoing basis) the staging of the GP’s emasculates certain Elite League teams and, thereby, the Elite League itself as well as the credibility of some fixtures to the long-term detriment of the sport in this country.

No matter what pride and satisfaction that can be taken from the staging day itself – the quality of the racing isn’t always the best, after all - surely the question remains can British Speedway survive on a long term basis if it doesn’t lance the boil of the true impact of the GP series upon the sport in this country? As many have noted, a more meaningful accommodation with the GP series remains urgently required.

(Quite what this is or will be has yet to be decided though some far from disinterested ‘leading’ speedway figures have suggested the need to switch to fixed mid week race nights for Elite League racing. Strangely, often those making these suggestions already run and enjoy the happy convenience of staging their weekly meetings in mid-week. Such suggestions would have greater authority as truly being founded on the future best interests of the sport if these suggestions were for the days each week that really would maximise attendances – namely Friday and Saturday!)

*With thanks to Charles McKay for his diligence and calculations.

Talking Points Galore

2008-07-14T18:45:00.000+01:00

2nd June

The lure of another visit to Monmore Green Stadium proves irresistible for the Sky Sports cameras, which tonight sees the visit of Swindon. Though, we’re often rightly told that British speedway would be comprehensively up the Swanee River without the oxygen of publicity provided by the glare of the cameras, the Sky speedway publicity office have repeated shown themselves as incapable of interesting the national print media into coverage of League speedway and, along with BSI or whatever they’re called nowadays, can only just about barely get occasional mentions into print (and then usually just of the Cardiff Grand Prix). What makes this lack of coverage of the Elite League all the more pitiful is that News International companies frequently and institutionally cross promote themselves, particularly when it comes to sports franchises they supposedly regard highly (you only have to think of the manufactured invention of Super Sunday in the soccer to see this is the case). Clearly, the Sky speedway office have failed to impress their counterparts at The Sun and the Sunday Times as every year speedway barely gets a mention in their annual free sporting calendar pull outs. Even worse, the Sun television pages tell us that tonight, and I quote, “Jonathan Green presents from Monmore Green” Obviously, my heart missed a beat at the thought of his immediate return and the chance to thrill to his unique presentational skills once again, let alone see him ride the new window cleaning cage cum sea container studio with attached hydraulic lifting device. At best this must be another miscommunication among sister companies or, at worst, a further worrying sign that something is badly still lacking from the Sky in house speedway publicity team.

On site in Wolverhampton, Kelvin immediately resumes projecting brilliance and perspicacity onto his ‘new’ presentational and commentary partner Nigel Pearson, “yeh, both teams are desperate for points, as you rightly say.” I’d “rightly say” this could get a little wearing if it carries on through the summer. Still, we’re treated to the immediate revelation (hold the front page) from Kelv that speedway teams apparently aren’t so keen on losing, “they’ve lost three times at home already and they wouldn’t want to do that all season!” This is earth-shattering news, indeed.

For once rather than just say it, Nigel can accurately claim, “already after heat number one, we’ve seen some interesting speedway between these two sides”. The interest has been provided by the clash of Fredrick Lindgren - as we now must more formally call him (rather than Freddie) – and Leigh Adams, which the Australian wins with an aggressive swagger when he cuts across his rival as he sweeps from the fourth bend to the finish line to win. Seeing his role to article the evidence of our own eyes, Kelvin notes, “there was a bit of feeling in that!” Nigel is in full accord, “I think he was making a point for sure!” and Kelvin agrees with his agreement, “definitely, no doubt about it.” Sadly for the armchair audience, the drama of the night has been exhausted with this race though that doesn’t stop Nigel proclaiming every race as iconic race of the decade – starting with heat 2, “great speedway early on at Monmore Green stadium…and, again, an interesting speedway race!”

In the pits, the clairvoyant and relentlessly histrionic ex-World Champion and so-called expert interviewer, Sam Ermolenko, starts his first interview of the evening with a high quality unforced double error, “I’m sitting here with Neil, I’m sorry Leigh Adams!” Ignoring how he could mistake Leigh for anyone else, we can all plainly see that Sam is actually stood up for the duration of this exchange. Leigh is sufficiently annoyed to be both sarcastic and even drops too much mention of the ‘royal we’ that increasing litters his descriptions of himself racing. Swindon fans often try to claim that Leigh is so used to thinking highly of his back up team that he inadvertently praises them at every opportunity by linguistically including them as “we” in his every statement. Fredrick has enamoured himself to Leigh who critiques his skills obliquely and entertainingly, “I dunno what was wrong with his bike it just kept turning left! It must be a bent frame or something. But we got revenge in the end…..he made a lot of mistakes and he wasn’t that quick. He should have just concentrated on his own race instead of mine!” Thankfully, no early mention is made of the notorious (soon to be legendary?) team spirit that has been engendered in the Swindon team under the expert tutelage and charismatic leadership of the new improved 2008 version Alun ‘Rosco’ Rossiter. Instead, Leigh shocks us to the core with the revelation that the Robins philosophy is to “just keep racking up the points”.

Elsewhere in the pits, Sarra Elgan focuses her extensive range of questions and full charm onto Fredrick but, if this were a boxing match, fails to land any punches. Rather than get what Sky had hoped – an impassioned denunciation of Leigh Adams – we’re instead treated to some dull mechanical repartee.
[FL] “I’m sluggish with my engine and I’ll have to get it fixed”
[SE, overly anxiously] “Can you get it fixed by the next race?”
[FL, smirks] “For sure, I’ll be doing my best and I think so.”
[SE] “You had a win against Belle Vue last week – that must give you some confidence going into this race?”
[FL gives non-committal reply]
[SE] “A win tonight could see you guys rise, er, two places up the league. That’s an incentive isn’t it?”
Fredrick’s lack of enthusiasm indicates that, er, perhaps it’s not.

Back inside the window cleaning cage that nowadays doubles as their ‘innovative’ commentary-booth-cum-gantry, Nigel makes the talking point the talking point (‘plenty of talking points so far and some good speedway”) even though there has only just about been a solitary one of these, so far. The view from this new commentary position is allegedly magnificently panoramic but, because of poor camerawork, the armchair audience is reduced to Nigel having to draw verbal pictures for us of things we actually don’t get to see. “And the riders having a few chats – Korneliussen chatting with Edward Kennett causing him to shake his head”. Nigel delights in what he’s seen (even if we haven’t always seen it too), “it’s tuff and it’s ruthless, it’s that’s kind of meeting” while he savours Edward Kennett “enjoying life by winning races”. Kelvin frets about Sebastian Alden who “didn’t get to on parade” after he had bike problems in the pits. The ongoing evening class style philosophy lessons that are the post race interviews with Neil/Leigh Adams continue, “Yeh, I made the start which is, obviously, a good beginning to any race!”

The riders in the sixth heat had barely made a complete circuit before Nigel declares they’d indulged with “plenty more talking points in the first lap of that race”. They must have been exciting because not only have these “talking points” completely escaped me but also Nigel instead decides to thrill us with news of something that’s not happening, “and that rain is still not with us, thank goodness!” While we wait excitedly for some precipitation, Sam entertains us with one of his trademark interviews in his distinctive American twang that subliminally cries out ‘let me talk to you excitedly as though I’m trying to sell an obscure but duff product at 3am on a regional hospital radio in the middle of nowhere’. Fredrick gets the full Sam rhetorical closed question treatment, “talk us through this one Freddie [clever signifier to say I used to ride here and know this guy from way back so I can be all pally with him], you made a good start!” Entering into the spirit of things, Fredrick gives a reply of stunning banality, “yeh, I made a start and from there it’s pretty easy and I get in the corner and the bike takes me forward!” (No, you don’t say?) We’re then collectively shocked by the revelation, “you really need to get your back wheel into the edge of the dirt!” If we don’t watch out, next they’ll be filling the fuel tank with methanol and putting tyres on the wheels. Nigel is thrilled with Sam’s investigative powers and exclaims, “it’s always good to hear the views of Sam talking to the riders!”

Given his close connections with the club for Nigel to note that Wolves “have a couple of weak links in the side” things must have reached a pretty pass. To distract attention, the window cleaning cage team flourish the news that the Great Britain speedway team manager (allegedly appointed on a temporary contract without bothering to interview other likely candidates), Jim Lynch, will announce his initial World Cup squad of 12 riders! Though this initial large sized band of patriots will be whittled down to a much smaller number of riders (and, most likely, a totally predictable team) in time for the competition, the sheer size of the squad enables Jim to pick more or less any British rider presently plying their trade in the Elite League. It also allows Nigel and Kelvin to cast around for unlikely candidates competing at the meeting. Kelvin lights on Chris Neath, “I have seen him go round here triffic”. A well made point but not much use in Denmark where the play off and final rounds of the competition will be held this summer. Nigel seizes on the news of this possibility to talk up the excitement no one knew they felt, “well, we’ve got the Great Britain squad announcement and we’ll see if Chris Neath makes it into that!” Though he’s a whole hearted and honest rider, such a selection would definitely tell us something about the state of the sport in this country, if these suggestions were to prove correct.

Just before the commercials we’re told, “it’s too close to call, 22-20 Wolves lead Swindon.” I’d have thought “too close to call” meant the teams were tied? On our return, Nigel and Kelvin have been scratching their heads and casting round for something tendentious to praise or big up to the armchair audience as a “talking point”. The recent decision to design and commission a hydraulically adjustable window cleaner cage to serve as the commentary booth clearly needs the immediate application of some special full on Sky Sports speedway hyperbole to describe/justify its usefulness. Deciding against highlighting how he can see migrating birds flying past or deliveries at other buildings on the surrounding industrial estate, Nigel throws himself into the task with a somewhat tortuous set up for his partner. “Plenty of talking points and Kelvin, here on our studio overlooking the first and second turn, we’ve got a great view of the track and you’ve made an observation about what you’ve hearing in terms of the engines as they roar past!” This opportunity to apply his expertise as an ex-rider and describe some arcane technical matters to an uninterested but small audience of dedicated fans delights Kelvin, who raises himself to his full height on his Sky perch and fixes the camera with what, in the world of magic, would pass for a hypnotic gaze. “Sure, you know the gearing on the bike is crucial to a speedway bike and, of course, here tonight with the extra grip on the track, they really need to [I temporarily lose the will to live at this point and miss a few words – I imagine about the need to ride quickly or such like]…you can hear the bikes aren’t revving enough and that’s creating an extra problem with the engines power band and they’re struggling! I for one would have come back from my first ride and I would have instructed my mechanic to put on a much bigger sprocket which would enable me to accelerate harder through this grip!” Ignoring what a delight it must have been to be Kelvin’s mechanic when he came back into the pits and “instructed” you, this apparent mission-to-explain-things-you-didn’t-know-you-wanted-to-know-about appears to have got completely out of hand. Soon we’ll have Nigel and Kelvin bringing in instruction manuals from home and reading them live in a serious sounding voice to less than rapt viewers. Maybe this is a new initiative dreamt up by the Sky Sports Speedway publicity people to attract the fickle, hard to reach iPod generation aged 12 to 30 that speedway struggles to connect with nowadays. If I were they, I’d thrill at a description of engine noise that manages to mix the effects and interest levels of physics detention with the thrill of a sermon from your dad on the perils of underage and/or unprotected sex.

An endlessly enthralling aspect of the allegedly commanding views the commentary partnership enjoys from on high is the ability to “see” things. Ignoring, we all thought that they could do this before, the mere use of their eyes from an elevated position is an endless wonder to them both if judged by how often they talk about it. That said, it’s mentioned so often you can’t but wonder if there is a charity fundraiser based around its frequent mentions? Or, perhaps, some Sky bigwig hasn’t quite bought into the beauty and brilliance of the window cleaner cage so needs continuous on air reminders of the sheer wondrousness of the thing? Nigel gasps, “and I can just catch him from the corner of my eye from our high position here” while Kelvin continues the team chortling with some irrelevant technical guff, “I can see from the commentary position, it has really moved the dirt”. Another aspect of being perched on high like our very own speedway equivalent of Statler and Waldorf are the technical issues it causes the production team. Previously, a cameraman could stand on the ground and film the boys in the booth but now they’re a couple of feet up in the air the viewers could, heaven forefend, be treated to endless upwards camera shots of Nigel and Kelvin’s groins. Instead, nowadays for some shots a remotely controlled camera is suspended from above them in the metal work of the cage. Consequently, we’re treated to the sight of frequent glances upwards to speak to the camera, thereby creating the impression that in previous lives both presenters were particularly narcissistic budgies fascinated with their dangling mirror!

When in doubt (or if things get dull), then the team invariably turn to the hardy perennial of that wonderful combination of track conditions and the weather. Nigel is of the opinion, “and conditions are not that bad” because Leigh Adams was “going close to the track record in his second ride”. Leaving aside that the quality of the race is often poor when a track record is set, Kelvin is super quick to echo the validity of his partners’ insight, “a rider of his class could get close”. Nigel’s eyes occasionally deceive him into the belief we’re witnessing a “fantastic race” (something that Kelvin invariably echoes and gurgles enthusiastically along with too) when we’re not, but with a time of 54.55 seconds his surmise is proved correct. “In fact, we’re getting confirmation that he did break the track record”. Until they moved to the “best view in the house” of the window cleaner’s cage, Nigel would have been sat higher up and in close proximity to the referee and timekeeper so this news would have been much more instantaneous. Kelvin is delighted too and quickly marvels at his own perspicacity, “oh well, there you go…er no, as I say, a rider of his ability can utilise the conditions to give him plenty of riding speed!” This apparently is truly marvellous entertainment, particularly when Nigel is quick to remind us, “they said it was going to rain by 8 o’clock.”

For the next few heats, Nigel gets stuck with the linguistic trope of riders “giving everything”. So, we learn, “quite clearly Edward Kennett is giving everything as a guest” only for him to then find “James Wright – the young man from Cheshire [a variation on “from down the road in Stockport” mantra we hear when he rides at Belle Vue] – will give everything!” The Great Britain World Team Cup team selection under the diminutive Jim Lynch isn’t fixed in stone (yet). On principle, Nigel explains the tortuous process in an animated and excited voice (“the preliminary WTC squad of 12 is whittled down to eight and then five for the World Cup”) before he thinks aloud, albeit somewhat rhetorically, “I wonder if James Wright will be in that GB squad?” Taking his cue from this querulous question, in the pits Sam quizzes James who isn’t initially playing WTC ball, “yeh, I’m pretty peed off, I just didn’t have the legs from the corner.” Sam switches to speculating about future prospects for James (“even Jim Lynch is keeping an eye on you and you must be hoping to be in that squad”) and, so, is rewarded with a “yeh”.

Back in the window cleaning booth, a spill for Edward Kennett while “giving everything” has Doctor Kelvin again draw himself up to his full height to pronounce, “it didn’t hurt him too bad - but it did unbalance him”. Balance isn’t something the Sky editorial and production team want too much of if it can be helped at all, so a bit of incident has Nigel metaphorically rubbing his hands, “we love great racing and we love controversy!” Sadly for the armchair viewers there is little of either to really see though, obviously enough, every race is talked about as though it’s close to the most amazing speedway race ever. Kelvin at one point recalls the adverts of his youth and confuses the riders with Tonka Toys, “these boys are tough, these boys are strong, they ride in different leagues around the world but every race they go into they do so with passion and commitment!” Clearly, this latest claim would even stretch the credulity of any simple minded but trusting persons, since many of the more well travelled multi-destination riders often appear to only go through the motions as though they’re dialling in their rides (oh, it’s Monday, it must be Wolverhampton). Fortunately, Leigh Adams is around to entertain and, when interviewed afterwards, cuttingly dismisses his erstwhile rivals abilities in a quick sound bite, “yeh, I knew David [Howe] would be round the inside – that’s all he does here!” It’s fortunate he can be so articulate and bitchy as the level of the question quality from Sarra isn’t from the top drawer, “were you slowing down?” “Yeh, big time” is followed by the non-revelation set up observation, “you set a new track record in your second ride.” Rather like a politician faced with an awkward constituent, Leigh answers a completely different question, “to be fair to him, the track is tricky – there’s too much grip on the inside.”

Though, even the riders are now mentioning the track, the racing remains dull like the sky so, for added excitement between the races, the commentary team only really have eyes for the weather. The aura of the window cleaning cage must have subliminally infected Nigel – rain equals no work for window cleaners and speedway riders – who notes the “decent crowd watching the racing and the rain has held off as well!” Distractingly enough, Nigel has to commentate on the odd race between his ongoing weather reports about the lack of precipitation. News that it’s “good to see Edward Kennett enjoying riding a speedway bike and doing it superbly” quickly segues into further meteorological delight, “the rain has held off!” Referee Paul Carrington rushes through the heats, which suits the Sky scheduling and, as Nigel explains, “it’s a quick old meeting tonight ‘cause rain was threatened but it’s stayed away!” When the promised rain does eventually arrive and, even at home, during heat 14 it is very visibly raining – no mention is made of it until just prior to heat 15 when Kelvin offhandedly notes, “it has been drizzling.” (We have to take our understatement where we can on Sky speedway).

This lack of ongoing rain updates is probably because another conversational trope has hove into view – namely the fascination with the need for last heat deciders. Before heat 14 with the scores tied at 39 each, Nigel ponders, “will this take us to a last heat decider?” and Kelvin maturely restrains himself, “well, it could easily happen, Nigel!” In reality, he should have said ‘unless there’s a 5-0 in this race then of course there bloody well will be!’ An advert break reveals that some speedway event is about to take place in Cardiff later in the month. One that, we’re breathlessly told, will feature “Belinda Carlisle, a free style motorcycle display, fireworks and much, much more!” It would be exciting if all these were combined together but, doubtless, they’ll be run individually. Strangely no mention is made of the major part the traditional execrable track plays in bringing danger into the equation and adding to the atmosphere of the night.

Back at Monmore Green Stadium, the coin toss provides some further much needed excitement and Sarra has created the cognitive environment that can treat a chat about the lack of phone activity by Swindon into something approaching an intense philosophical debate. The question “and no phone usage here this evening?” enables the 2008 version of the reformed Alun ‘Rosco’ Rossiter some much needed and valuable camera time as well as chance to display a modicum of wit to go along with his on screen display of his teeth. “That’s right, we don’t do phones this season!” Sarra’s chat with Peter Adams thankfully has returned to its monosyllabic norm, though earlier he had complained, “the opposition turn up with a view to winning and that confidence is a difficult thing to handle.” Desperate for the illusion of a close contest to remain, despite the Swindon lead, the pending appearance of Leigh Adams and justice dictating that a Robins win will most likely be the predictable outcome, Nigel gamely talks up the excitement felt in the pits by the Wolves riders at the Wolverhampton management choice of gate positions. “The word will have got back they’ve got gate 1!” Even more improbably, Kelvin gets carried away on the quickly rising tide of hyperbole about the determination of the Wolves riders, “and ride like their lives depended on it!” Based on this display, there will be no need for a memorial service.

2nd June Wolverhampton v Swindon (Elite League) 42-48

Behind the Scenes at the Cardiff GP with the Blunsdon blog

2008-07-01T18:55:00.004+01:00

For a unique perspective you really can't find anywhere else about what really goes into making the Cardiff GP the best attended event in British speedway - visit the Blunsdon blog here and read Graham Cooke insightful account. Comes complete with splendid photographs.

Wonderful Times review by Ian McMillan

2008-07-01T09:19:00.000+01:00

The Times review by Ian McMillan, 28th June 2008

THERE ARE CERTAIN sports that seem to be shaped by their histories and their settings just for the purpose of lyrical description: county cricket, with its long afternoons in the sun, its trundle to the pavilion as the rain threatens, its slowly changing scoreboards and its dozing gents and ladies reading the newspaper under hats made of straw; professional football, with its drama and its excitement and the painful way that glory can turn to farce in the instant it takes someone to miss a penalty under floodlights that glow like jewels.

There's a literature of mountaineering and sailing, and novels have been written about horse riding and rugby league and tennis. But speedway? Speedway as a source of poetic prose and philosophical discussion? There's certainly been a bit of a speedway-shaped gap in the shelves marked Sporting Literature. Until now, that is.

Jeff Scott's new book Concrete for Breakfast is possibly Speedway's War and Peace, or its Ulysses, or, in some of the chapters, its local newspaper gossip page. It's the epic by which all other books on the sport (there aren't that many, let's be honest, and Scott has written most of them) will be judged.

Scott is writer-in-residence at Eastbourne Speedway and he has a love/hate (or more accurately obsession/exasperation) relationship with the sport. He has previously published a couple of fine volumes, Showered in Shale and Shale Britannia, that take us inside a society that often seems hidden from view unless you're a fan, and now in Concrete for Breakfast, he takes us on an odyssey across the 2007 season, to every stadium that staged the sport in a year that was blighted by the soaking summer and the inevitable feeling that here was a way of life heading for some kind of sunset.

As Scott explains in his foreword, Concrete continues his examination of the philosophical quest “What is speedway?” and the answers come tumbling out in a prose that possesses a kind of petrol-driven Dirty Realism, as though Raymond Carver had decided to turn up at a speedway meeting in Swindon on a dank March day with his notebook.

The picture that Scott paints is of a knowledgeable but shrinking community; as he writes: “the typical speedway supporter remains loyal but drawn from an ageing demographic that probably spells disaster for the longevity of the sport in the medium to long term”. Later he talks of a particular enthusiast's “links to the salad days of the sport when it was wonderfully vibrant and truly a national pastime”.

The book does seem at times to be simply a catalogue of one more rain-spattered visit to one more mist-covered stadium, where one more gang of self-deprecating and bantering volunteers are waiting to prepare the track for one more afternoon of minority sport. Did I mention the rain and the mist from Sittingbourne to Scunthorpe? I think I did. “Nowadays it's a minority sport served up in often decaying and poorly equipped stadia”, as Scott writes, mistily.

If you persist with Concrete you come to love the people whom Scott writes about and you come to share his enthusiasm, and a little of his exasperation. You see that in the end this is more than a book about a pastime that happens to be down on its luck. It's a book about the persistence of the human spirit, about the odd juxtaposition of hours of hard physical work involving a family of volunteers who have been involved with speedway for years, and moments of extreme physical danger with fragile parts of the rider's body inches from the unforgiving ground.

What Scott is really good at is detail, sacks and sacks of gorgeous detail, and a love of the specific and precise language of speedway, with its lay downs and dirt deflectors and double point tactical rides. He has a keen and sympathetic eye for human failings that somehow seem to be magnified around the track.

In one chapter, for instance, he describes the visit of a well-meaning BBC team representing the Reading and Writing scheme to the Isle of Wight meeting. The BBC Radio Solent presenter's dress “indicated that she thought a speedway meeting might have something in common with a world premiere”, and there's a splendid evocation of a race that Scott relates as “both a collector's item and typifies the rough-and-tumble, needs must, show-must-go-on attitude that is one of the enduring appeals of speedway racing at Conference League level”.

Scott makes the sport seem somehow down to earth and heroic at the same time: “The initial running of the race has Brendan Johnson knocked off on the first bend and a rerun called by the referee for first-bend bunching...it would be safe to say that he appears not to be at all happy and, though normally a placid young man, it should be noted that he has martial arts expertise...”

Read this book for a glimpse of a lost tribe, for an examination of collectivism and individuality somehow working together, for endless descriptions of English weather, and for a brave attempt to pinpoint a particular branch of human endeavour that often seems to be far from the centre of things.

Concrete for Breakfast: More Tales from the Shale by Jeff Scott
Methanol Press, £20; 302pp

New Team for the Window Cleaning Cage

2008-06-21T08:19:00.000+01:00

May 19th

The post-Jonathan Green era on Sky Sports immediately dawns with a Matrix type moment in the first few seconds of the broadcast when Nigel Pearson brazenly rewrites history with the claim, “Kelvin Tatum alongside me as always!” Clearly for most of the last decade, Nigel has been mostly hidden away unseen in the dark confines of the commentary box, while Kelvin has performed in front of the cameras with the professionally amiable Mr. Green. Come the revolution, Nigel has seized his chance to showcase his undoubted knowledge and professionalism as well as bask beheadphoned in the limelight. Indeed, the Sky speedway powers that be (if such people exist) have taken the strategic decision to combine commentary duties with the ‘colour’ work between heats. It’s a reasonable enough presentational device and one that has benefit of saving the weekly cost of employing Jonathan to come up with his alleged insights and notionally exemplary link work. If the press office were pushed or the media interested, based on the permanent absence of Green (J.) let alone Millard (T.), the story could be headlined “Sky Speedway dramatically slashes headcount and costs!” Possibly this has implications for the future in terms of their possible interest and commitment to British speedway. (Perhaps, one day they could choose to save yet more money by the simple device of buying in the rights to televise live speedway from the supposedly higher calibre Swedish and/or Polish leagues and then overdubbing this?) It’s certainly something to be asked or, at least, borne in mind by the speedway authorities when they assume their usual somewhat prostrate negotiating position during the contract renewal discussions. What has also noticeably changed is the on screen dynamics seen by the viewer which has instantly gone from the couple on the edge of a divorce towards the much more laddish and, dare one say, enthusiastically geeky atmosphere that Kelvin and Nigel engender working together.

Given Sky control the message and the medium, apart from unveiling the new on screen partnership, the coverage omits all mention of cost-cutting but instead focuses on the debut of the snazzy new red multi-purpose (and hydraulic) commentary booth. In fact on closer inspection this turns out to be an aluminium pole temple-cum-gazebo structure modelled on one of those window cleaning cages they use to clean high rise building windows with a bit of red metal incorporating the new poor man’s swoosh Sky speedway logo [wonder what inspired that idea?] stuck on the side sat on top of a hydraulic lifting vehicle. Kelvin prefers to call it “the whole new look studio” before somewhat speciously claiming, “the view from up here is sensational!” Nigel immediately joshes with a playful smile haunting across his features, “you don’t have a head for heights!” This repartee straightaway sets the likely tone of the new Pearson-Tatum commentary/colour live broadcast combination as one that will mix self-congratulation, insight and hyperbole – possibly allied relentless mutual appreciation and wonder albeit boosted with greater speedway expertise now that Jonathan has departed. But what of the new “studio”? A fraction of the cost savings from letting Jonathan go (and find pastures new elsewhere) has been reinvested in what looks like a rather unstable metal monstrosity that Sky have painted a small section of in this season’s speedway corporate red colour but also attached to a hydraulic lift mechanism that allows it to rise from ground level to a greater height. It’s difficult to estimate exactly how much this elevation actually is – probably no more than two or three metres – but still sufficient for Kelvin to wax lyrical about the spectacularness of the panoramic views provided. He would be great to take on holiday since he’d appreciate the slightest undulation in the Netherlands as equivalent to the spectacular contours of the Andes.

If we examine what this means logically for the viewers in terms of spectacle the answer is the square root of nothing as the camera angles and positioning pretty well remain where they always were on previous visits to Monmore Green Stadium. In the case of Nigel, he has actually exchanged the best view in the house – invariably perched high above the track in the eyrie of the referee’s booth – for one that is significantly less panoramic. Admittedly Kelvin (who makes these grand claims), though already a tall man can now watch proceedings from a higher perch than he did previously. Maybe this magically improves his insight and appreciation of the action, thereby obliquely benefiting the viewer stuck at home, especially if it manages to improve the overall quality of the word pictures he tries to paint during his increasingly excitable commentary. Quite how this additional insight will be fitted in during the sixty seconds of action already filled with orgasmic shouts of appreciation to greet the dullest of on track manoeuvres or relentless aggrandisement of the thrill of the spectacle remains to be heard. Admittedly, perched in their new look booth somewhere between what looks like the second bend and the pits, with this new arrangement Nigel and Kelvin find themselves closer in distance terms to the actual action on the track. Given that often what they say defies the evidence of our eyes, this ultimately provides no viewer benefit though this proximity to the pits does have the side effect of drowning out some of their insights because of the additional background noise from revving bikes!

Like all innovations, the new situation must be presented as a huge improvement so, while we’ve lost the entertainment provided by Jonathan verbalising his stream of consciousness live on air, this has apparently been replaced by frequent allusions to the improvements the window cleaning cage has wrought in our enjoyment. These will be something to listen out for in the following weeks. Apart from the joy of their new cage, some traditions never die away – namely the need to talk the whole thing up from the outset. The riders have barely crossed the line to complete Heat 1 before Nigel assures us of the “entertaining speedway” and reminds us, as if he needed to do so, “and, of course, we always like a close meeting!”

If proof were needed that only the wrapping on the present has changed while the overall gift inside remains the same, then Kelvin’s ongoing obsession with the inappropriate use of the word “literally” continues apace. Presently based at reserve, Swiderski provides a potent weapon for Ipswich - albeit one whose massive improvement in 2008 has apparently signalled a revolution in his equipment preparation as much as his riding ability – and is something that Kelvin admires hugely, “he’s clear already and literally disappears!” Now that would be revolutionary television, though it would complicate the Ipswich Elite League campaign if he really were to vanish mid-race. Another ongoing trait is Kelvin’s assumption that he either really knows the rulebook or, alternatively, understands what it should say. A case in point happens in Heat 4 when the in form Swiderski falls on the second bend and is excluded by the referee, Dan Holt only for Kelvin to get this decision confused with the rules that apply to tape touching. He pipes up, “interesting to see what the Ipswich team manager Peter Simmons does here, of course, he could have another go from 15 metres back!” This piece of bonkersness provides the first test of the diplomacy skills of the newly founded relationship. Previously the formula was that Jonathan would say something totally stupid and Kelvin would immediately snap back a correction through gritted teeth or reply as if talking to a mentally challenged child. Now with Kelvin infected by a virulent strain of foot-in-mouth syndrome, Nigel responds with a pregnant pause before the programme cuts off for a commercial break. On the return, without so much as a hint of apology or an educative correction to benefit the armchair audience, the Matrix immediately reasserts itself when Nigel merely says, “he’s excluded from the rerun, three riders only.”

The rerun provides a win for David Howe (“he loves the track here”) while the sight of Jarek Hampel taking second place has Kelvin come over all starry eyed about the recent Leszno Grand Prix where he had been ‘awarded’ a wild card, “it was certainly an opportunity for him to perform in front of the world speed [sic] again!” With Wolverhampton ahead 18-6 and apparently strolling to a comfortable victory, Nigel has to dig out some of his trusty ‘thinking’ blather about the alleged competitive closeness of the Elite League, “I think only two teams have a perfect home record so I think the EL is a lot closer than it was last season.” The meeting turns dramatically upon the events of Heat 5, which sees both Wolverhampton riders excluded for separate incidents. Nicolai Klindt has endured a tough start to the season with misfortune allied to occasional haplessness that continues when he rushes to complain to the referee about his decision. As Klindt scrabbles around for the necessary equipment to pursue his complaint live on television, Nigel notes, “he can’t even find the phone!” When he does find the phone, the rules dictate that the referee won’t speak with him, “Dan Holt is saying he won’t speak to riders, he’ll only speak to team managers.”

Afterwards, when someone authorised to speak with him does get on the blower (namely Pete Simmons from Ipswich, the tallest team manager in speedway), Dan testily refuses to be rushed, “I’m gonna see the replay first!” Sadly, this statement indicates the casual insidious nature of the increased influence of Sky on British speedway because surely we should be asking what on earth is the referee doing being unable to make his own decisions based on what he’s witnessed like he has to every night of the week without cameras? Over the sound of revving engines that all but drown out his words of wisdom, Nigel comes over all patrician with his carefully couched querulous noises off about the ‘debate’ that could surround the decision to exclude Niels-Kristian Iversen, “I can see both sides. Some ref’s give the exclusion and others order all four back that’s where we should have some consistency for ref’s - I’m not criticising the decision in any way, shape or form [oh, yes, you are] – some ref’s give the decision and others don’t!” N.K. Iversen isn’t happy with R. Miskowiak’s plunge from his machine. First of all he replays for our benefit earlier contact in the race, “he took my F***ing leg in the first corner” before raging about the fall in question itself, “I didn’t change my line, I kept my riding line…I think he could have easily stayed on the bike if he wanted to!”

To signal the benefit of the on screen changes, Kelvin has clearly tactically decided to be super oleaginous throughout the broadcast with his new partner in crime, “you’re dead right, Nigel” repeatedly tumbles from his lips with little or no provocation. The most platitudinous comment (there are clouds in the sky/look there’s a speedway rider/he’s narrowly won the line) is greeted enthusiastically as if it’s magnificent insight and wisdom, “he just won by a bike length and you’re dead right!” Nigel chooses to mirror this bonhomie in his own manner, namely with some tactic laughter and jocularity. Kelvin innocently says, “look how he’s having to hang onto it” and Nigel reacts as if he’s on the film set of the latest Borat movie with a polite “Ha! Ha! Ha!” Luckily to break the ongoing love-in Sarra Elgan has cornered Jarek Hampel, “you’ve brought it back to one point!” Looking like he has no idea what on earth the woman is going on about Jarek launches into a few pre-prepared thoughts on the need for speed when racing and particularly his speedway philosophy with regards to throttles, “there’s only one thing, I need to keep the throttle much more on went I get into the corner, there is only one way to go faster so I try to do this on next time!” Clearly gaining some confidence from Sarra’s interest and further conversational questioning about something vaguely related to speedway, Jarek continues, “it’s a lot of you, difficult tracks in England so, er, I mean, I am very enjoyable to be back here.” Jarek is interviewed again later and tells a breathless audience, “we have to remember meetings go heat by heat!”

The bonhomie has fatally infected the pits interview crew in the form of Sam ‘I’ll make up a lengthy rhetorical question in an excitable American voice’ Ermolenko and Sarra Elgan, who’s only happy when ‘questioning’ riders by a revving machine. This is helpful as it masks the lack of insight or interest the questions fail to provoke from the riders. Sam even sounds doubtful, “and we’ll go to Sarra and see what she’s coming up with in these pits right here”. Later we learn she has massive hands, “Sarra’s got another one of the Ipswich boys in her hands.” Actually, this segues into one of those delightful broken English interviews that Swiderski leavens with the brilliant, “you know every time I try frightening.” Continuing with the double entendre’s Freddie Lindgren is told by her, “you pulled it out when you needed it there, Freddie.”

Back raised ‘high’ above the track in their innovative commentary booth, otherwise known and seen as a window cleaning cage, Nigel spends some time telling us what to think, “you people watching speedway on Sky Sports and enjoying the action!” Shortly afterwards he claims in an unusually subdued monotone, “yeh, fascinating speedway here at Monmore Green Stadium” before assuring us, “when you look at the drama we’ve had, the scoreline doesn’t tell [shout?] the full story!” No broadcast would ever be complete without some literally’s that never were from Kelvin, “the foot rest has literally lifted Johno’s bike in the air” or, for that matter, a refereeing controversy. Tonight’s ref is “young” Dan Holt and when his moment of fame arrives after a Heat 10 pile up, he tells the nation, “I have to be honest it was a real tough decision”. It must be playing on his mind because we also learn, “it was a real tough decision”, “I’ve taken a look at it closely” and “it was a real tough decision” in the first thirty or so seconds of his live on air adjudication. Ales Dryml thought it was an easy decision, albeit one the referee got wrong when he didn’t exclude Freddie Lindgren, “I was in front and he turned left on me!” The boys remain phlegmatic men of the world in the face of carnage, “we always see injuries in speedway, it’s part and parcel of the sport.” Kelvin immediately echoes this insight, “you’re telling me!”

The Ipswich onslaught results in some collective head scratching on the Wolverhampton side of the pits. We’re treated to a lengthy shot of taciturn Wolves team manager Peter Adams stood forlornly on his own laboriously filling in his programme while Nigel voices over the scene with, “Peter Adams explaining to Hefenbrock what’s needed!” Rather than deal solely in suppositions Nigel and Kelvin actually consult Peter directly about his plans, “we’re carrying too many passengers – the only thing we can do is put Freddie in off 15 metres)”. Nigel is in no doubt about his own perspicaciousness, “to be fair Kelvin, I did lead you into that by saying Peter Adams was speaking to Iversen when he was asking him about putting Fredrick Lindgren in off 15 metres”. Given, we can scarcely hear Sarra’s questions and Nigel is perched a few metres in the air in a modified window cleaners cage, then unless he’s a clairvoyant or a lip reader then this was a supposition based on knowledge of the dynamics of speedway rather than hard fact.

Still a few minutes watching any live speedway broadcast quickly reveals hyperbole trumps fact every minute of the day. Whatever the reality, Kelvin is like a dog let off his lead with his perceptive new partner and relishes the greater chance to parade his speedway experience it provides. Plus, it’s easier to embrace relentless over promotion and hype rather than have to cope with the handicap of a partnership of perpetual foolishness of the kind he’d previously been saddled with on a weekly basis when partnered with Jonathan. After Swiderski beats Lindgren in Heat 12, Kelvin goes into enjoyment overdrive, “Whoa! Wow! That was fantastic! What a performance” and then proceeds to manufacturedly laugh like a hysterical schoolboy at one of Nigel’s trademark weak jokes. In fact, the Tatum laughing voice is in big, chortling use tonight. So, too, is conspicuous praise (“as you rightly say Nigel”) or its close cousin delight mixed with praise (“and that’s a triffic move as you say Nigel”).

Eventually, the rampant Witches win (“great team spirit in the Witches camp!”) while Nigel commiserates with the disconsolate Wolves faithful who’ve endured yet another defeat, “the British sporting mentality is you want to see your team win!” I’m not sure this is the best ever example of what illustrates the Bulldog spirit or winning nation psyche, particularly as I can’t recall any sport where any nation (or team) relishes defeat as their primary approach or objective. The meeting closes with a glance at the league table. We’re supposed to look at the highflying position Ipswich occupy but, instead, my eye is caught by the team apparently in sixth place – BELL VUE. It’s only a small error but is indicative of the Sky Sports approach to speedway, lots of hype, glitz, investment and glamour but often prone to basic factual errors (rules, camerawork and now team spelling) that undermine its intentions and cloud its reception.

19th May Wolverhampton v Ipswich (ELA) 43-48