Interesting point

[paulk]

I thought i might share a email i recieved recently with you all it was from one of australia leading speedway promoters / track owners, i wont mention names or place as to protect there privacy
it was in regard to a letter i sent off a few days ago , asking for my permission to have it printed here in aust with david tapp and in the uk with speedway star peter white . i wont go into the full details of the letter other than it was to do with australian / international speedway riders attitude of late to not only the aust fans but to track officials promotors etc there seems to be a real bad attitude of late regarding many aust riders returning to aust in the uk/ europe off season to ride in aust season many past few years have shown zero interest which in turn has not only let down promotors and fans alike , the promoter agreed 100% with my opion saying most the young international riders now have little or no interest in riding here in australia during our season ( unquote ) even thought it was the australian tracks that allowed them to learn and applly there trade other than the big dollar 3 round australian title there is very little interest in any australian speedway to this new breed of rider due to the fact there earning such big money now in europe the common excuse regarding australian speedway is its been a long season i need a break so i wont be riding this year in australia , and to make it worse when they do ride here they feel they can argue or dispute any decision by the stewards and abuse anyone thats involved with the club, now this has only happened over the past 5 years or so since the big money from the european clubs has flown into there pockets, the biggest loser is the australian speedway fan and the promoter now this i must say doesnt cover every rider but its a big percentage, the likes of mildura leight adams has for the past 15 years riding in the uk and europe and still always commited himself to the australian speedway fan by riding all our season as well giving back to the sport that helped him become the international superstar he is now , but he is the old breed the new rider is about money and if it isnt there here in australia he not interested in riding here and what worse is he as atitude about it all . the reason i brought this all up was a recall someone made a comment on a posting about quote ( we dont even get payed for it) well maybe thats a good thing even if there was the money there to pay us would it just spoil the sport anyway like it has done to speedway , pocket bikes us guys we just love to ride our bikes biggest complaint is we cant get enought track time to ride and where willing to pay for it, we have no interest in the money side because there is no money to be had in pocket bike racing next time you get a chance to go to a big speedway meeting probaly next year now (solo) have a good look in the pits you wont find to many guys taiking to each other its all about money if your bike breaks pack it up and put it back in the van because no one will help you out with a part or jump in to give you a hand as i have always said pocket bikes is about the only sport left where the guy next to you will go out along side you ride his *** off to beat you but when your back in the pits he will be the first to help you out if you have a problem or loan you his bike for the next race you wont find another sport anywhere left in australia thats offers that type of mateship . what we have in pocket bikes we may be small in numbers and we all have different views and opions but we are all united on 1 thing we love pocket bike racing and we wont the sport to grow into something alot bigger and best off all we will ride knowing to well win or loose there is no money to be made from it, that itself shows you the commitment we have to the sport, but im personaly optomistic for the future because the guys left in pocket bikes now are all die hards who have done the hard yards and from where we are now it can only go one place thats up

[imdying]

Originally Posted by paulk

I thought I might share with you all an email i received recently. It was from one of Australia's leading speedway promoter / track owners. Ii won't mention names or place as to protect their privacy.

It was in regards to a letter I sent off a few days ago, asking for my permission to have it printed here in Australia with David Tapp, and in the UK with speedway star peter white. I won't go into the full details of the letter, other than to say it was to do with the Australian / international speedway riders attitude as of late, to not only the Australian fans, but to track officials promotors etc.

There seems to be a real bad attitude of late regarding many Australian riders returning to Australia in the UK / Europe off season to ride the Australia season. Many in the past few years have shown zero interest which in turn has let down promotors and fans alike.

The promoter agreed 100% with my opinion, saying "Most the young international riders now have little or no interest in riding here in Australia during our season", even though it was the Australia tracks that allowed them to learn and ply there trade.

Other than the big dollar 3 round Australian title, there is very little interest in any Australian speedway to this new breed of rider, due to the fact there earning such big money now in Europe. The common excuse regarding Australian speedway is that "It has been a long season and I need a break, so I won't be riding this year in Australia". To make it worse, when they do ride here, they feel they can argue or dispute any decision by the stewards and abuse anyone thats involved with the club!

Now this has only happened over the past 5 years or so, since the big money from the European clubs has flown into their pockets. The biggest loser is the Australian speedway fan, but also the promoters.

Now this i must say doesn't cover every rider, but its a big percentage. The likes of Mildura Leight Adams has for the past 15 years been riding both in the UK and Europe, and still always committed himself to the Australian speedway fan by riding all of our season as well, giving back to the sport that helped him become the international superstar he is now. But he is the old breed; the new rider is about money, and if it isn't here in Australia, he's not interested in riding here. What's worse is he has an attitude about it all.

The reason i brought this all up was a recall someone made a comment on a posting about "We don't even get payed for it". Well maybe that's a good thing; even if there was the money there to pay us, would it just spoil the sport anyway, like it has done to speedway?

As pocket bike guys, we just love to ride our bikes. The biggest complaint is we can't get enough track time to ride, and we're willing to pay for it. We have no interest in the money side because there is no money to be had in pocket bike racing.

Next time you get a chance to go to a big speedway meeting, probably next year now (solo), have a good look in the pits and you wont find to many guys talking to each other. It's all about money. If your bike breaks, pack it up and put it back in the van because no one will help you out with a part, or jump in to give you a hand.

As i have always said pocket bikes is about the only sport left where the guy next to you will go out along side you, ride his *** off to beat you, but when your back in the pits he will be the first to help you out if you have a problem, or loan you his bike for the next race. You won't find another sport anywhere left in Australia thats offers that type of mateship. What we have in pocket bikes, we may be small in numbers and we all have different views and opinions, but we are all united on one thing: "We love pocket bike racing", and we want the sport to grow into something a lot bigger. Best of all, we will ride knowing to win or lose, there is no money to be made from it.

That itself shows you the commitment we have to the sport, but I'm personally optimistic for the future, because the guys left in pocket bikes now are all die hards who have done the hard yards, and from where we are now it can only go one place, and that's up

That's a long read!

[coolmodee01]

thats well said

what paul posted above is where most sporting roots start and where they end up....... look at all major sports in aus afl nrl hell ama motocross started as a backyard event every year eva watched on any given sunday it shows you the roots of motocross. the dedication we show now for our sport is once what they did untill money was involved
to be honest i dont see alot of people on this site with the attitude of paul and maybe thats because of the split in the classes cag vs. euro i dont know.
we have a similar split in china vs. jap bikes in the pitbike scene mind you most are pretty happy to help a fellow competitor out at a race but again there's no money in our sports just the love of the game.

good read paul thanks

[jmac01]

All this talk about prize money is a bit academic don't you think? The money in speedway comes from the takings at the gate right? How many thousands of people are going to pay for a ticket to watch cags race? The only place that prize money is going to come from is the riders, so if people still have money to burn after building their bikes they should feel free to have a friendly wager amongst themselves rather than adding to everyones cost.

People's generosity with parts and know how comes from their desire to beat their rivals on the track in a relatively fair fight rather than riding by themselves and taking home a meaningless prize. I don't think thats about to change, nor do I think that mini moto riders are the only people in the world who are willing to risk their own result in the name of sportsmanship.

[coolmodee01]

you would be amazed the small mindedness of some people in sport mind me there's good and bad in every lineup

[morty]

Ahhhhh.... seriously there's always some of anything in a group...!!!
In reality.. the only money riders see, is maybe something they save on sponsorship.. then the majority of the riders do it all on their own.. & I'm tellin ya some of the best riders cant even see themselves makin all the rounds of the Aust titles because of their financial situation amongst other things.. remembering its just a frkin hobby costing several thousands of $$$ to attend all the rounds...
Iv sold a cag I used at a round of the titles, told competitor teams the exact setup of my 40 & 50 Cag Race Motors, given out many free parts & advice, this wouldnt change if I won anyting, if anything it'd prob allow/motivate me to do it more.... Cause at the end of the day, I just want more people to RACE!!!!!
Saying there was $400 extra on each class made.. You could have .. 1st place = $100, 2nd place = $65, 3rd place.. $35..=$220 & put the remainder back into the clubs... This woundn't be unreasonable to me... But this is purely hyperthetical at the moment as, well we'l just wait & see tomorrow morning, & if prokart run it......
Well, maybe we'l let claw discuss it with them, nah jk, but it would never be an option I'd say!!!
& as I said before the money as huge a pile as it could be for pocketbikes at the moment would be nothing compared to the thousands it cost to attend the meets.... maybe if it was around $3500, othawise it'l only be cheaper to attend!! LOL ...it'l never be the motivation for me to ride against you guys... It's always be.. To Whoop Your Butts!!!!!

& coolie, there's heaps of freebies, info, parts, flyin around this forum between riders.. just doesnt get posted!!!

morty

[TheClaw70]

Originally Posted by morty

Well, maybe we'l let claw discuss it with them
morty

And why not? Because i'm just a racer and they wont listen to me. I don't claim to want the series, i just want to have a go. Nothing else.

Besides, the date is called and i'm going. Are you Mark?

[imdying]

Originally Posted by morty

Saying there was $400 extra on each class made.. You could have .. 1st place = $100, 2nd place = $65, 3rd place.. $35..=$220 & put the remainder back into the clubs... This woundn't be unreasonable to me...

Naw, money isn't any good... you can get that anywhere. What ya want is a dirty big trophy that you get to keep, can't buy those

[TyD]

Originally Posted by imdying

Naw, money isn't any good... you can get that anywhere. What ya want is a dirty big trophy that you get to keep, can't buy those

Yes you can.. didn't you see the "Cleveland Show" on wednesday night???

Cleveland's wife made one for her son rocco and one for Cleveland..

And they have places where you can get trophies made, it's called a trophy making place or something.. you give them money they pop a trophy out their you know what..

[jmac01]

At pooraka we used to race for a can of coke. But if you beat good riders to get it, that was some tasty cola.