The BenFund Bonanza (and other things)

ITEM: Aaaaaaand we’re back! Sunday’s BenFund Bonanza – which has established itself as the traditional curtain raiser to the British speedway season in the way that the Charity Shield once did for football – was a massive success, with a huge crowd enjoying good weather at Leicester’s Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium.

It’s tough to estimate crowds anywhere near accurately, but I’d say there were a good 3,500 packed into Beaumont Park – which should make it the biggest crowd for a domestic meeting since 2012’s Lee Richardson Memorial Meeting at Lakeside. With prices considerable but reasonable (take notice of that, BSPA!), programmes selling out, and collection buckets added in, it’s not inconceivable that a six-figure sum was raised for the BenFund. Well done to all who organised it, and thanks to everyone who attended.

Of course, being Leicester, the action wasn’t always top notch, and truly exciting races were at a premium. That isn’t the point at meetings like the Bonanza, where the riders are racing for free and warming up in every sense, but that doesn’t stop some of the usual moaners who still, bewilderingly, continue to go to Leicester having their say and dooming the promotion (for the five-hundredth time).

I’ve used this blog before to attack their guff, and it’s a shame that an event like the BenFund Bonanza brings them out of their dank, dark holes once more. I’ll repeat now what I said then (and really it applies to anyone dissatisfied with the way their club is run): unless you are in a position to buy out the owner, or know someone who is, you have to work with them as best you can, or else walk away. Even accepting that what the promoter is doing to your club is harmful, nothing will accelerate that harm (and risk eventual closure) more than negativity. Be constructive, not destructive.

Different race tracks provide different levels of excitement. If I’m honest, Leicester is amongst the worst for that, but by no means in a world of its own. But speedway is speedway and I felt the entertainment I got for my money on Sunday was, even without allowing for the charitable status of the event, value for the money I paid. You may disagree.

It’s a shame that a minority can sour what was a fantastic day out. Yes, there were issues – only two pay windows for such a big crowd chief amongst them – but it was a massive success for a very good cause. Everything else pales into insignificance. I’m sure if Alan Wilkinson or another fallen hero needs something from the BenFund he won’t first ask whether the racing was decent at the event where the money was raised!

So start the season as you mean to go on. I’ve not been more excited for a new season for many a year and I’m determined – despite the obvious issues hanging over a Coventry fan’s head – to continue that through to October. Join me.

ITEM: Emil Sayfutdinov will not be racing in the Speedway Grand Prix (SGP) series in 2014. That’s a sentence that many expected to be writing a few weeks ago, but not for the reasons it seems the Russian has for exiting the World Championship race.

When the FIM suspended its draconian punitive action against the European Championship (SEC) last month, the focus was rightly put back on the chase for the title, possibly the most open in years with half a dozen riders able to challenge for the championship. Amongst them was Sayfutdinov, who was unlucky not to win it last season, with only Adrian Miedzinski’s poor decision making (and not for the first time) coming between him and a serious tilt at the title eventually won by Tai Woffinden.

The announcement last week, then, that Sayfutdinov had sought to cancel his entry into the SGP, came as something of a shock. The organisers of the SGP series put out a press release stating that Sayfutdinov was struggling for fitness, and had financial issues related to a dispute with his former EkstraLiga club Czestochowa. While there is some truth in the latter – although a court has lessened the amount Sayfutdinov has to pay Czestochowa to a maximum of £20,000 – videos posted on Sportowefakty show the Russian taking part in training sessions for his new club Torun, and boasting of his fitness.

Indeed, Sayfutdinov was moved to issue his own statement denying he was injured, and he will line up, as expected, in the first round of the Eurosport Best Pairs tournament later this month, a week before the SGP begins in New Zealand.

The real story is that there are two reasons for Sayfutdinov’s decision, linked to each other and neither would probably be an issue on their own. Firstly, it costs a rider somewhere in the region of £70,000 to compete in all twelve rounds of the SGP. Tai Woffinden, as World Champion, took home around £75,000 in prize money – scant reward for lifting the trophy. It can be – and certainly is by the organisers and their apologists – that competing in the SGP enhances a rider’s reputation, which they can turn into monetary gain through open bookings and sponsorship. Still, it must be said that for a professional sport a net gain of £5,000 for becoming world champion is scant reward. Indeed, the total prize fund is just over £1 million – much less than the gate receipts for Cardiff alone.

The other thread is that, in signing for Torun, Sayfutdinov has come under the auspices of Slawek Kryjom, who also happens to be the sporting director of the SEC. There is still a political game being played behind the scenes between the FIM, BSI (who organise the SGP on their behalf), FIM-Europe, and OneSport (who do the BSI job for the SEC). One of the main contenders for the World Championship pulling out because the organisers do not make it pay is a huge public relations coup for OneSport, especially when that rider is happy to compete in their competitions (which, it must be said, pay far better for less effort). Sayfutdinov’s Torun colleague Tomasz Gollob has also ruled himself out of any participation in the SGP series, which adds fuel to the fire, but Chris Holder and Darcy Ward – also at Torun – have not. There is no direct evidence that Kryjom induced Sayfutdinov to make the decision but speedway is speedway and assumptions are already being formed.

Whatever the truth, there needs to be a coherent plan acceptable to all parties going forward. I doubt Sayfutdinov will be the last rider to decide the SGP doesn’t pay unless changes are made, and I also doubt that OneSport – and Poland – can be allowed to ride roughshod over the rest of the speedway world. Wars are ugly things, seldom with any useful outcome, so diplomacy is of essence here. And soon.

ITEM: Thanks to Sky Sports launching their ticket agency for televised meetings without informing the BSPA’s PR team last week, the prices for the Elite Riders’ Championship at Coventry on March 23^rd were revealed before the SpeedwayGB site had a chance to put a spin on them.

Although the BSPA should be applauded for allowing under-11s in for free, and charging 11-16yr olds only a fiver, the worst fears for the adult prices were realised and the usual £25 slapped on the tickets. Worse still, those who attended last season’s fiasco at Swindon (and who were promised a discount at this meeting as compensation) get only a free programme, whether they want one or not.

This is a massive own goal by the BSPA. The meeting is being staged at an uncomfortable time for travelling fans – 6pm on a Sunday – and is televised on Sky Sports. The riders featured will, because no exclusivity clause has obviously been invoked, be riding at other meetings in the days before and after this meeting which have lower ticket prices, and the hardcore support from the Coventry area will be choosing between a local derby at National League level on the Friday (the on-track return of Cradley Heath) and the ERC – and that’s if they aren’t regulars at the ice hockey which is entering the race for the play-offs!

Still, the pointy heads at the BSPA must know better than everyone else, because they’ve stuck to their guns. If I were more cynical (and I understand that some of you will find it hard to believe I could be more cynical) I’d wonder if there wasn’t an agenda to kill off the competition, as they did the KO Cup. And if I were less charitable, I’d hope that they reaped what they sowed – a small crowd and a loss-making exercise.

However, speedway cannot afford to make a mess of these things and so, although I won’t be attending myself (it’s above what I’ll pay for any sporting contest), I hope there is a decent crowd there, because otherwise it will look terrible on TV. Fingers crossed, eh?