The rules of speedway

An area of some mystery for most of us and most new seasons bring a rule change or two. When you think you can understand what's going on something changes and its not always for the better - at least that's sometimes the fan's view.

Helmet Colours

Take the green helmet colour - not popular with a lot of fans. After all those years when white was perfectly satisfactory and still is in GP's we have to change to green. Not the easiest of colours to see under some floodlights. Why ? Don't think I've heard a satisfactory explanation - I'm not buying the one about its easier to see on TV - we all remember the old snooker joke - for those watching in black &  white the pink is behind the blue! I think its more likely to do with a dangerous development in the sport - betting, something that was banned in speedway for years. I don't think its coincidence that the helmet colours now correspond to the coloured buttons on your TV remote !
And a new one for this year the all-yellow helmet colour !
At least someone at the BSPA realised that under floodlights the yellow/black combination doesn't look that different from the white/black tactical rider helmet colour known in some circles as the daft hat. Only pity was that they never thought to tell the riders! Thats why a lot of them started the season with the old yellow & black, never mind they were given special dispensation to comply by the 1st May - how kind ! 

Tactical ride/substitute

Introduced under various titles in the past the joker, golden joker or tactical double has to be the most unpopular rule change in recent times. Three years ago when it was used in the cup matches it was disliked, so in true style the BSPA introduce it across the board for all matches. And after all the negative comments made by supporters in previous seasons its still in place.There was just the minor alteration for 2005 that a team had to be 9 points behind before a tactical ride could be used. However a tactical substitute where a non programmed rider goes off a 15m handicap to score double points can still be used when 8 points behind.

Despite the criticism from fans - you guessed it its still in place for 2006 !! But of course there has to be, in the true traditions of the BSPA, a minor alteration, this season you don't get double points for beating your own rider. so no double points for a third place then - what a masterstroke - not sure what happens if the tactical rider is allowed to win by his team-mate, no doubt it will all become clear after the season starts !!

 I never understood how this particular piece of wisdom equates to improving the credibility of the sport and hoped, along with many others, no doubt, that it would be dropped for this season. 

A lot of supporters have always believed that this rule puts speedway firmly in the "it's a knockout bracket" and I tend to agree. Maybe I'm wrong perhaps speedway is the pacesetter? The football league could well take the idea on board and allow a nominated player's goals to score double when his team is more than two behind. Cricket could also benefit with a batsman's runs scoring double when his side is falling too far behind. It could be a major step forward. Er well maybe not.

What is the idea behind the rule anyway? We are told it is to eliminate the use of tactical substitutes against the second strings and reserves. Apparently some thought was given to swapping heats 5 and 8 around to prevent this. The bottom line though is money saving - giving your top riders extra rides is too expensive  !

Len Silver was I understand originally credited with this masterpiece, you have to wonder what he had been drinking - it would be worth trying a pint! 

Guest Riders

One positive change made last season was the restriction on the use of guest riders. The guest facility will be available only for a team's no.1 rider. Now any rule that reduces the number of guests has to be a plus in my book and in a good number of other supporter's books as well apparently. Rider replacement would be the only option available for other full team members. The use of guests is really difficult for people outside the sport to understand and does make the whole thing look 'mickey mouse'.  In fact the parallel with football has been drawn on a number of occasions - imagine Arsenal borrowing players from Man Utd - it just couldn't happen.

Two Minute Rule

This rule - I always thought was there to ensure that riders did not hold up a meeting and to ensure the timeliness of the races. However exclusion under this rule guarantees an even longer delay when the replacement rider has to get himself ready and another two minutes is given. I have heard it suggested that the two-minute rule should be that if you don't get to the tapes in time, you're out - with no provision for a replacement rider. However in 2005 the rule was changed to allow the excluded rider to go off a 15m handicap. but this didn't really seem to do anything to reduce the sometimes excessive delays between races.

Start Times

If you have ever looked at a rule book you will see that regulations ........ Clearly state that the published start time shall be the time of the first race. How often does that happen ? The parade and rider introduction is not the first race - just thought I'd make that point if there are any promoters reading ! The ref has the discretion to delay the start but I know of some tracks where the start time of the first race is consistently 15mins after the published start time - what's that all about then ? - its certainly nothing to do with Sky ! And while we are on the subject of timing, the rule book clearly states there will be five minutes between each race. Where is this rigidly applied ? - answers on a post card please - it would also be interesting to note which tracks draw the meetings out on a regular basis and what the longest time taken to run a meeting is - lets name and shame.    

Re-admission

Another rule where promoters interpretation in some cases differs quite markedly from what is published in the rule book. My learned friend Mr S. Bear took issue over this matter some time ago in the pages of the national fanzine "The Voice" While the rule was interpreted in a number of slightly different ways by most promoters, the promoter who rewrote it for his track has now moved on ..........and it looks like Belle Vue fans are quite happy about it - there certainly seems to be a lot more of them this season !