De Ja Vu

Over the 80 years, or 81 if believe Droylsden rather than High Beech staged the first British meeting that speedway racing has taken place in Britain, many different methods have been tried by the powers that be to improve the racing for the spectators, when the majority of fans all know that all you need is 4 riders of similar ability racing on a well prepared track.

The Sheffield promoter, Neil Machin, tried the latest “improvement” during the Sheffield v Hull meeting on 8th May 2008 his being that when a team went 6 points behind their riders could choose any 2 gate positions. The Speedway Star, dated 17th May, reported “the man behind it, Tigers boss Neil Machin says a proposal to draft it into British league racing will be tabled at this winter’s annual conference, “We felt it was a tremendous success” he said “It was extremely novel to see riders from the same team lining up alongside each other but it did what it was supposed to do and produced some excellent racing and kept scores tight”

Mr Machin’s idea may well be adopted next season but I am sorry to have to tell him that he wasn’t the first person to think along these lines.

The Speedway World, dated 21st January 1953, in a report of the meeting of the second division promoters stated “a revolutionary plan to cut down home advantage was submitted to the meeting by Mr Ernie Wedon (Yarmouth). He suggested that the visiting riders should be given choice of positions in all league matches not the choice of No 1 and No 3 or No 2 and No 4 but the change of taking both inside positions if wanted. Undoubtedly revolutionary but a scheme which would definitely give visiting riders more advantage and provide better team racing. It got the necessary backing for recommendation to the Speedway Control Board”

I assume that the SCB didn’t approve Mr Wedons’ idea but it appears to me that Mr Machins’ idea is, some 55 years later, a variation of it and it will be interesting to see if Mr Machin has better luck than Mr Wedon or will we have to wait until 2063 to see a further variation of the Wedon/Machin idea being presented to the SCB.

Looking back at speedway magazines from the 50’s I came across other ideas on how racing could be improved and maybe Mr Machin or some other promoter could look at them and suggest how they could be updated for the 21st Century and maybe presented to the SCB.

The Speedway Gazette of 8th December 1951 reported that George Allen the Bristol promoter wanted to stop processional finishes where there was no interest because of the fast man in front by the use of a “ ’points area finish’ which meant that the first riders must finish within a stated distance of each other otherwise the third placed man would lose his points”

Processional racing continued to be a problem and Ken Brett the West Ham manager was reported in the Speedway Gazette dated 12 December 1953 as saying the solution was “ have two starting gates with the second one being just over a bikes’ length behind the existing one. At the first set of tapes in positions 1 and 2 would be the second string riders while behind them in positions 3 and 4 would be the heat leaders. This arrangement would be reversed for alternative races, with the heat leaders in positions 1 and 2 in the next race but still at the rear set of tapes. Both gates would of course be synchronised so that the tapes well up together. All four riders would gate at the same time and so in most cases the front pair of riders would reach the first bend before the heat leaders.”