Nigel Pearson - Sky Sports Expert

Do we need the stars?

Sky Sports' Nigel Pearson brings us his latest column

Posted: 04th November 2008 20:08

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I'd also like to see the return of the aggregate bonus point. It was one of the best rules introduced in the sport in the mid-eighties and worked well.

Nigel Pearson
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I've got mixed feelings about the absence of some of the top Grand Prix stars from British racing.

When I first started supporting speedway as a youngster I was brought up on the likes of Ivan Mauger at Hull and Erik Gundersen at Cradley Heath - they were my heroes.

But going into the 2009 season it seems we will see less Grand Prix riders then ever before.

Whilst I admit it's disappointing, it's simply a sign of the times and I still believe British Speedway has a great opportunity to put down some solid foundations for years to come when club bosses get together at the AGM in Spain later this month.

Quite frankly I am surprised it's taken this long to see so many GP riders depart British racing. Back in 1995 the Grand Prix was introduced and I'm a massive fan of GP racing - but I also have a passion for the sport in my own country.

And it wouldn't surprise me if some of the riders not performing well in the GP, who are also absent from British racing, start making advances to British promoters in June for more meetings!

Riders wages appear to have gone well over the top - but I don't knock one single rider for that because these guys deserve every single penny.

However, the commercial sponsorship isn't there and, quite clearly, the turnstile clicks cannot justify rider wages which add up to a tidy sum in certain cases.

Big stars not needed?

Next season we will see a top flight with riders such as Chris Holder, Leigh Adams, Adam Shields, Niels Kristian Iversen, Bjarne Pedersen and Chris Harris as the top men. Is that really such a bad thing?

It should also enable tracks like Coventry and Eastbourne to have more continuity throughout their season. In Eastbourne's case, why not stage a league meeting at 3pm on a Saturday so people can be home in time to watch that night's GP on TV? That sounds like a great Saturday to me!

Coventry could race every Friday when there is a Grand Prix against those teams who don't have a GP star in their ranks.

And there is nothing to say the league won't be competitive. It was better last season than in 2007 and there is no reason why it cannot be better again in 2009.

I'd also like to see the return of the aggregate bonus point. It was one of the best rules introduced in the sport in the mid-eighties and worked well.

But I also like the idea of an extra point for an away win - so why not go down the route of BOTH the aggregate bonus point and an extra point for the away success?

There are interesting times ahead for our sport. Let's hope the guys at the BSPA come up with the right formula to provide us with good, exciting and competitive racing in 2009 both for fans watching at their local track and on Sky Sports.

Also I am featuring in the new Sky Sports Speedway Q&A so if you have any questions please send in by clicking here.

Comments

A. Hawkins says...

Nigel for many years I have agreed with you on most things speedway but on this issue I have to disagree. The reason being is that as a life long speedway supporter like yourself and many others the sport seems to deal itself a trump card and make things difficult for the sport and the supporters. Let me try and explain, for many years the worlds best riders came to ride in Britain because it was the most competitive league in the world. Names like Penhall, Nielsen, Gundersen, Jan O Pedersen, Rickardsson, Hamill & Hancock to name but a few (notice all world champions) big names in the speedway world came to cut there teeth because it was the best. On the back of this we had our own world champions in Gary Havelock & Mark Loram. In the late 90's the sport really took a massive stride forward in popularity and then came Sky coverage and the Grand Prix series things were really on the up. Teams limited to 45 points, three heat leaders of which two were Grand Prix Riders, a strong second string and two young (mostly british) reserves to experience racing at the top level and being around best riders in the world. You would turn up as a supporter looking forward to heat 13,Crump & Adams vs Hamill & Hancock etc plus you would see a healthy second string of riders trying to make it to the next level and like wise with the young reserves. The interest in the Elite this year must have declined considerably both viewing figures and supporters going to meetings. The Elite League should be the best against the best but its more like the Premier League that used to be. Poland has got it right now just like we used to so why do you think every rider now wants to race in Poland. Lets hope they get it right otherwise speedway in this country will slowly creep back off the radar like so many times in the past. You want big crowds and increased popularity then you have to have to showcase the best riders in the world! Thats my opinion

Posted 16:18 6th November 2008

Michael Hackett says...

I now think the long awaited crisis that everyone thought would happen with the introduction of the GP's has now started. There are now to many factors for the GP boys to miss out the elite league. The one that really stands out for me as a spectator of 30yrs is the name "elite". How can this be named in such a way that suggest the finest riders in the world race against eachother in teams every week when the truth is that some of the finest riders race against eachother in 1 out of the 15 heats. As a spectator i feel a little short changed by this so i can also feel a little sorry for the GP boys to as they want to have the highest quality opposition when they arrive at the tapes but ( with all due respect ) they dont get it. I love speedway and have done for a long time but if we want to attract or at least keep the big name stars in our league set up the "powers that be" really need to change the way in which the sport is run and promoted through out the leagues and remember without the supporters there is no speedway.

Posted 14:27 6th November 2008

Kenneth Evans says...

I would like to see more British riders in the E L. There are too many foreign riders here, we must give our riders a better chance to succeed and get more British riders in the G P. At the moment we are a third rate speedway nation because of the influxe of riders from abroad.

Posted 20:53 4th November 2008

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