New silencers delayed

British announce delay as Poles reject silencers

By Graeme Bailey   Last updated: 19th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

New silencers delayed
There are several riders who have already blown a lot of engines, which is probably due to the new silencer.

Freddie Lindgren
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The British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA) have ruled that the introduction of new silencers, due to be used from the start of this season, will be delayed.

The BSPA, who run the sport in Britain, have ruled that due to issues over testing the new silencers - which significantly reduce the noise of the bikes - they would delay their introduction until May 15th.

However, in their statement the BSPA insisted that they did still plan to bring in the silencers.

The BSPA statement read: "Following the Management Committee meeting on Tuesday, 16th March, 2010, and following discussions with the SCB, it was decided that riders now have a choice of silencer.

"They can use the permitted homologated silencer, as utilised in 2009, or the homologated silencer for 2010, in accordance with the 2010 SCB Rules & Regulations.

"This is in response to concerns to allow for the 2010 silencers to be adequately tested. This will remain in place until 15th May, 2010, when the SCB Rules & Regulations will be adhered to, pending discussions with other major speedway federations.

"The SCB has been requested to issue a supplementary regulation which will be forthcoming in due course."

Polish rejection

The news comes as the Polish authorities opted against bringing in the new silencers for the 2010.

However, head of the Polish Motor Union Andrzej Witkowski has been angered by the stance.

"This is proof that we, the Poles do not care about the environment," blasted Witkowski.

"After all, the European Union is pushing for the FIM to introduce a new silencers, because they not only reduce noise but also reduce emissions."

"The biggest problem, however, is that regardless of our decision in competitions under the FIM, also in the team World Cup, you need to use it."

Krzysztof Cegielski, head of the Polish riders union, has backed the decision, insisting the sport is not yet ready for them.

"All the big stars have complained about the new silencers. We must fight to use the old ones everywhere," he said.

"We should only introduce the new one when we are ready. It must have years of major tests."

Grand Prix star Freddie Lindgren also admits he is concerned about the new silencers.

"The new silencer gives unprecedented conditions on the bike," he told the Swedish media.

"The engine is much worse. Also the engines get really hot. There are several riders who have already blown a lot of engines, which is probably due to the new silencer."

Sweden are also believed to be considering their position, their motor sport chief Christer Gustavsson of SVEMO says: "We have some time left before the season starts in Sweden, but we follow all the time what happens."

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Comments (8)

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John Wakelin says...

as with dave johns comment I live 1 mile away as the crow flies form the redcar bears speedway , I had the envirommental people in to monitor the noise with sound equipment, I was given the knock back stating that it did not break any regs,, the noise that the speedway generates is to me and a lot of other residents ,( who can hear the racket from as far afield as 3 miles),is totally unacceptable, ,working in heavy engineering all my life ,legislation came in to wear hearing protection to protect us from noise, so how on earth can the speedway people get away with not applying the new silencers to the bikes as soon as possible, ,and do us all a favour and give us some well deserved peace and quiet , adults and kids alike.wether we sit in our back gardens or want to get the kids to sleep.

Posted 15:41 7th May 2010

Dave Johns says...

i live a mile from redcar bears track and have complained often about the horrendous noise from that track. i do not see why i should put up with the noise in my conservatory/garden after working in a noisy enviroment for 8/10 hours! at least i have the option of hearing protection at work. the noise keeps the grandkids awake when they are here and i will continue to complain about the noise

Posted 15:51 6th May 2010

John Woolley says...

I think that we have to accept that there will be changes forced not only on Speedway but any other activity where it is perceived that there is issues regarding pollution or noise, at Stoke we have had a 9.30 curfew in place for some time now due to complaints from residents living nearby even though the track was there before any residential properties were built. If we dont comply our sport will die it's as simple as that,having said that common sense has to be applied you can't just introduce equipment that is not fit for the purpose if the new silencers aren't up to the job their introduction should be delayed until the problems have been ironed out, if you owned a Jag would you try to fit a Transit exhaust on it?

Posted 22:41 11th April 2010

Ian Cameron says...

I first went to speedway at the age of 18 months, at the time my family lived a stones throw from Wimbledon Stadium,in those days the bikes had no silencers,full stop.In my opinion these new silencers destroy part of the atmosphere of watching Speedway.So I will not be going to a live meet ever again.As they say nothing lasts for ever,I understand that more than ever as I near my 55th year.I love this sport ,but in future I'll just be watching on Sky,

Posted 13:58 22nd March 2010

Nick Yeomans says...

You only have to look at the problems with diesel engines,new emission rules have forced Caterpiller to stop prodution of engines for highway use,I remember the trouble I had with hth BSPA silencer on my Jawa in 76 and then every year after that until I hung up my leathers in 97,people do not understand you cannot put new products straight on old stuff,I can tell you this get it right before forecing riders to use these silencers. Up the Potters .

Posted 02:15 21st March 2010

Rob Craven says...

Regardless of the problems caused with the engines, the introduction of new silencers are bad for speedway. Part of the thrill of speedway is generated by the noise. Speedway engines sound quite unlike any other racing engine out there. I remember going to Belle Vue in the days of the old Hyde road stadium, when exhausts were straight through and being under & behind the main stand, when the first race was starting. Those old long stroke JAP engines were quite something and you could feel the thob and roar of those engines through the wooden floor of the stand, and the with the smell of castrol R oil, the anticipation was incredible and part of speedways identity. As speedway becomes sanitized it loses its appeal. The FIM should stick to what it knows best, and leave speedway, a completely unique motor sport with unique equipment alone.

Posted 20:20 20th March 2010

Chris Bennett says...

all i can say was at peterborough on monday for the first match of the season and i saw crumpy and ulrich both blow up a engine with these new exhausts you can physically see a difference they are much smaller in diameter than the old king exhausts i believe this is putting too much back preasure on the exhaust and the engine the engines arnt being able to breathe properly and disperse of the heat and gases freely through the new exhaust also this means all this preasure is getting pushed back into the combustion chamber and the engines just aint taking it, also with these new exhaust on the start line at full chat on the throttle their back firing more this also aint gunna do the engines any good yeah it makes the bikes quieter but come on add the sums up for the riders slightly quieter bike for the cost of a engine every meeting this might not be exact figures but it sure looks like its gunna end up this way.

Posted 01:09 20th March 2010

Joe Connor says...

In all industries new products are only introduced after exhaustive testing. We have to introduce new silencers but all the questions have to be answered before introduction, if the change of silencers is not right, is this going to cost riders ? (engine problems), something they can do without in these hard times, cause clubs like Birmingham problems and cause a lot of negative publicity for a sport which is eco friendly. A quality program for the testing should be set up immediately to ensure none of this happens. The noise tests could be carried out quickly, and with good tuners to understand what's happening to the engines.This is a major change in the sport, a very important one that we have to get right to ensure a sensible outcome, making sure we avoid having an expensive and embarrassing conclusion. An FMEA could have been used before changes were implemented and some of the answers to the questions we are now asking would already be available. To support Birmingham's case, would it not be the best place to do most of the testing. Mighty Monarchs for the league

Posted 14:29 19th March 2010
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