Welcome to the latest installment of Asked & Answered, addressing a selection of your questions about all things speedway.
Jean, from Cumbernauld, asks:
Delighted to see Ashfield being chosen for some individual speedway events which previously never got north of the border. Are we likely to see any stars of the future among the MITAS Youth Championship riders on 10th April?
Thanks Jean, hopefully the answer to your question is yes!
The British Youth Championship has been running since 2004 and is proving to be a stepping stone for young up and coming speedway riders who have aspirations to reach the very top.
The likes of Kyle Howarth, Josh Auty and Adam Ellis have all ridden in World under 21 finals having come through the system.
In addition, former Youth Championship participants include Robert Lambert, Josh Bates, Jason Garrity and James Sarjeant who have all graduated to ride in both the Elite and Premier Leagues.
British speedway had been crying out for this sort of system for a number of years. Many felt that we were sadly lagging behind our European counterparts – especially the Danes who seemed to have an endless supply of talent coming through their much revered junior speedway scene.
With exciting plans to open a speedway academy based at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium and Berwick recently announcing that a similar venture will hopefully be operational by mid summer the future of youth development looks promising.
To put things into context it’s worth looking at how British riders have performed on the big stage since Peter Collins tasted World Championship glory back in 1976. During the thirty five years that followed Great Britain has only managed to produce three world champions: Michael Lee (1980), Gary Havelock (1992) and Mark Loram (2000).
In the same period USA managed six successes: Bruce Penhall (1981 & 1982), Sam Ermolenko (1993), Billy Hamill (1996) and Greg Hancock (1996 & 2011).
Our friends from across the Atlantic have undoubtedly produced some of the sport’s greatest riders but when you compare each countries domestic scenes it seems incredible that we have performed so poorly.
Thankfully, Tai Woffinden has managed more recently to restore some respectability with success in 2013 & 2015 – Greg Hancock sealed his place amongst the sport’s greats with his third title in 2014.
The Elite League draft system was met with mixed feelings when it was introduced and we now have a similar system in the PL with every side having to track a British rider with an average no higher than three points at number seven.
It certainly feels like the amount of track time being enjoyed by some of the riders already mentioned is proving beneficial with Jason Garrity now established in the main body of Coventry’s team and Adam Ellis has started the 2016 season like the proverbial train.
So are we seeing the development of a new breed of British riders who can compete on the world stage thanks to us having a proper youth development program in place?
We sincerely hope so. Make sure to come on down to the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium on Sunday to see if you can spot our stars of the future!
Next up is Redcar Bear who asks:
If Scotland gained independence from the UK would there be a Scottish Speedway Association and what 1 rule would you change from the British Speedway rules?
Hi Mr. Bear and thanks for this constitutional grenade! Your question begs another question – would our ‘North East’ cousins be coming with Scotland or staying with lower England? And yes, you can read that in a speedway sense or in terms of national government.
In fact the British Speedway Promoters Association is just that – a self-governing association of promoters, appointed by member clubs. Whether any change of national borders would impact on the association would be down to (i) Any member clubs that might or might not want to leave; and (ii) Whether the Management Committee and/or full association was minded to kick any clubs out.
Obviously even Asked & Answered can’t know how that would turn out, should your scenario ever occur. For what it’s worth, we think (i) is unlikely and (ii) highly unlikely.
As for making up a new speedway rule – now that’s our kind of fun! How about riding the opposite way round from heat eight on? Or handicapped starts in all races, with higher-average riders setting up further back on the ‘grid’?
Seriously though – and drawing on a previous Asked & Answered question – one thing we would like to consider is a rolling, three-season team average limit. Or indeed anything that would help avoid the situation where clubs are commonly left with little choice but to change the majority of their team each year. This mitigates against fans building up a lasting relationship with their favourite riders, not to mention breaking young hearts each time a fan-favourite is let go, albeit for sound points-balancing reasons (aka James Sarjeant leaving the Tigers at the end of last season).
Much as we’d miss racing against the Bears, we already miss ‘oor’ James!
Finally Michael, from Knightswood, asks:
I recently returned to watching the Tigers in 2015 having followed the club at Shawfield. We came close to silverware last season and have started the new campaign well, will we win some trophies this year?!
To quote team manager Stewart Dickson, ‘that’s the plan!’
However, like any sport the margin between success and coming up short can often be tiny. The Tigers have started the season well as you say but it’s still very early days.
Elite side Coventry came north boasting former world number two Krzysztof Kasprzak and GP star Chris Harris so to come so close to winning the match was extremely encouraging for the home side.
In addition, defending league champions Edinburgh were brushed aside with relative ease in the opening league cup fixture. The winning margin of 56-37 made a few people sit up and take notice – in truth the winning margin could have been greater. The Monarchs can thank Sam Masters for a true captain’s performance.
But quite simply the prizes aren’t handed out until October so a lot can happen between now and then.
A number of sides look like championship contenders so we can undoubtedly look forward to a sizzling summer of speedway! So what teams are going to be in the playoff shake up come Autumn?
Peterborough have opened their league cup campaign with a crushing win over Scunthorpe at home and a hard fought draw on the road at fancied Sheffield – it’s hard to see a weak link in the Panthers line-up.
Newcastle have added the precocious talent of Robert Lambert to their side along with established Premier League performers Steve Worrall, Matej Kus and Ludvig Lindgren. It will take an exceptional performance for anyone to come away from Brough Park with anything in our opinion and they will be looking to pickup a few points on their travels.
Despite stumbling at home to Peterborough the Yorkshire Tigers managed maximum points away at Scunthorpe and must be hoping for better luck with injuries in 2016 having lost number one Simon Stead early in the 2015 campaign. With the likes of Stead, Jason Garrity and Josh Bates in their line up, Sheffield should definitely be entertaining visitors!
It’s probably a measure of the incredibly high standards that Edinburgh have set in recent years that their nineteen point reverse at the Peugeot Ashfield Stadium feels like a disappointment. Loosing their strongest pairing in Craig Cook and Justin Sedgmen was always going to have an impact on the Monarchs due to their exceptionally high levels of performance on a consistent basis.
With one eye on the future they have introduced Jye Etheridge to British racing and hopes are high that Erik Riss will continue to improve after a solid debut year in 2015. Sam Masters, Ryan Fisher and Kevin Wolbert need no introduction so top end firepower doesn’t appear to be an issue for the holders – much will depend on how their youngs guns perform.
So the $64,000 question – who do we think will be crowned as the top team in 2016?
Ask us again in October!