Its been another action packed week in the world of British Speedway and I don't think we can ignore the events surrounding the British Final at the National Speedway Stadium in Manchester this past week.
Firstly, congratulations to Dan Bewley who claimed back to back wins in the competition, and a ride of true scintillating Dan fashion off bends 1 and 2 to decide the winner very early in the race. Steve Worrall, who now claims the number 16 race jacket for the Grand Prix at Cardiff, what an experience it will be for Steve to take his place alongside riders like Bartosz Zmarzlik, Martin Vaculik and Leon Madsen. Ben Barker, probably never fancied for a podium position, but took full advantage of tricky track conditions, conditions which he really revelled in.
And well done to the rest of the field who got on with racing, against the odds on a track which had took some heavy rainfall just prior to commencement, and got on with the task ahead. It probably wasn't the best spectacle in the world, but full credit to everybody involved in the meeting. You won't see many sports where the Meeting Steward will roll his sleeves up, broom in hand, and help prepare the track for racing. Full credit to Phil Morris.
But we cannot ignore the lead up to the meeting, the riders pulling out, forcing competitors to take late notice bookings to ride in the meeting. We shall come to Richie Worrall soon, suddenly becoming everybody's favourite rider for his outspoken views, but lets just focus on the others. Lewis Kerr pulled out injured late on, having just come back from a broken collarbone, I messaged Lewi in the morning to wish him good luck. He informed me that he had aggravated his collarbone lifting his bikes into his van for the meeting. Lewi is a proud man, and has probably come back much earlier than some expected, and wouldn't take this decision lightly. He has a full schedule still ahead of him with Sheffield and Oxford, and needs to protect the long term as much as the short term. He won't have made this decision on a whim, he wants to be British Champion as much as the next man.
Rory Schlein had a nasty spill at Berwick on Saturday evening, forcing him to miss the rerun of heat 15 with a twisted knee. Rory has been riding with numerous niggles this season, and again, would only pull out as a last resort. Craig Cook, also pulling out through injury, loves riding Belle Vue. Only a year ago, he took the bronze medal and I'm sure would have loved another stab at being the Cardiff wildcard.
What can we say about Richie Worrall? Love him or hate him, and I truly love him, spoke his mind live on BSN cameras on the streamed meeting between Glasgow and Plymouth. The first astonishing comment was that he was never asked to do the British Final? Should a rider be asked? This should be the centrepiece for any British rider and an honour. It does beg the question though that, are riders like Tai Woffinden and Robert Lambert asked, or just assumed they won't ride? But why would Richie say no, he must have strong feelings to pull out of such an event. He coined the phrase, "the British lightweight final" He didn't agree with it, even down to the draw itself. Personally, in my opinion, they should draw from 1-16, and pull named riders from a bag. For example, the first name out of the bag goes at number 1, 2nd ball at number 2 etc. It does feel like riders further down the alphabetical list are being penalised for beginning with a W.
He went on to say, to be World Champion you have to win 10 rounds. Fair point. Now, I don't think anybody is suggesting we have a 10 round British series, but should we follow suit with Poland and have a 3 round series? It not quite as laughable as you think. He stands with Scott, Nicholls I presume, and mentions other riders who have questioned the identity of the British Final. He talks about a product, and that is exactly what it is. Products need to change over time to keep it more appealing to the audience. Opal Fruits became Starburst, Marathons became Snickers, why can't a British Final become a multi round series?
The sport needs to generate a revenue, as he points out, otherwise what is the point? I applaud Richie for standing up to authority, if he doesn't do it, then who does? The riders need to drive change, otherwise nobody will.
I have pointed all this out, but I am a classic fence sitter. So much so, I will be picking splinters out of my derriere for months to come. But I am open to change, and actually thinking about it, why wouldn't this be more exciting?
So much so, I am also willing to attempt to drive change. I am in the midst of a proposal which I will be sending to the powers that be. I have obtained documents, and basic research, to support my argument. I'm not saying my proposal is the "way forward" nor do I expect it to be approved or even fully considered but I am not a fan who sits on social media moaning about anything and everything, without putting my neck on the line trying to achieve a better future. As fans, speedway is in our blood, and we want a perfect future, but 1 man's perfect future isn't the same as another. Its called an opinion, we can all have one. But why, as fans, can we not attempt change, it's what I'm attempting to do. If some of it comes off, fantastic, but if nothing comes of it, at least I've tried and I can hold my head high.
But thank you Richie, you can hold your head high, as a mainstay figure of the sport attempting to force change, kudos Richie, kudos.
As always, I would love to have some feedback, positive or negative, I take it all on board, and try to improve myself. I hoped you enjoyed the latest episode with Chris Morton. Some early technical difficulties but what a man Chris is, a living legend in British Speedway. Check out the pinned posts on our Facebook page to donate to charity for Mort's Mighty Mission in aid of the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund, a cause myself, Rob and Cain support whole heartedly ourselves and a fantastic charity.
Finally, best wishes for a speedy recovery to our Friend of the Show Nicolai Klindt who had a terrible crash in Poland this weekend. He's been in fantastic form and certainly didn't deserve his season to end in this way. We look forward to seeing you back in 2024 Alan!
For now, enjoy your speedway, wherever you go, and remember to support your local club, they need you. Hopefully back next week as long as Richie Worrall keeps entertaining us.
Nathan
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