ITEM: Armando Castagna is, arguably, the best rider Italy ever produced. Giuseppe Marzotto may have a thing to say about it, but let's agree it's Armando, right? Having said that, it doesn't mean much, and that's no real slight on the Italians, it's just a reflection of the balance of power in world speedway over the years.
Now, though, Castagna is one of the most important figures in the speedway universe. As head of the FIM Track Commission he will nominally control all speedway activities held woldwide, and is only answerable to the FIM President (whose job I'm sure he has half an eye on, in any case). This power, ligned with Castagna's considerable experience in the sport (unlike some of his predessors) and the huge regard in which he is held by speedway people all over the world, should mean that he will have little trouble pushing through any reforms he deems necessary.
But what does this mean for the speedway world? You might expect Castagna, as a rider from a nation often marginalised in speedway terms, to become a champion of the rest of the world, and not consolidate the power of the Poles, Swedes, Danes, and Brits. The appearance of two Argentinean rounds of the world under-21 championship in 2012 was no doubt due to his lobbying - Castagna spent many a winter keeping in shape on South American tracks - and it may be that the outposts of the speedway world may be brought more inside the umbrella.
In this way he can be seen as a similar figure to UEFA President Michel Platini, who is keen to spread football's wealth and influence more equally around Europe, to the extent of hosting the European Championships in 20 host cities in various countries, rather than one host nation. However, one of Castagna's first acts was to take the 2013 rounds of the same under-21 championship away from Argentina - and also from Latvia - on the grounds of safety and logistics, so it cannot be assumed tha he will be a friend to the smaller nations regardless.
The removal of the Latvian and Argentinean finals takes the under-21 championship down to just three rounds, which Castagna argues is ample enough to decide a fair championship. This must be a worry for BSI, parasitical organisers of the Speedway Grand Prix series, which has grown to an unwieldy and problem-causing thirteen rounds in the last two seasons. If Castagna is satisfied with just three rounds for the under-21s, it cannot be assumed that he will be happy to keep the SGP in its present, bloated form, especially as - unlike the old one-off World Finals of old - the chances of a rider from a smaller nation (unless he is backed by big money) reaching the upper echelons of the sport are as remote as ever.
We may also see changes to the Speedway World Cup, again organised by BSI, to ensure greater participation from a wider range of nations, rather than the same, usual suspects. You can't help but feel that recent football world cups have benefitted from new characters shaking up the status quo, and recent appearances in the SWC by the USA, Slovenia and Latvia have been welcome, if ultimately doomed.
It's too early to tell exactly what Castagna will do, or what kind of Commissioner he will be, but it's certainly fun to speculate, and it definitely makes a pleasant change to have a speedway man deciding the ultimate fate of our sport. These are fascinating times we live in.
ITEM: So the cat is out of the bag, where it had been hastily restuffed a thousand times, and Eurosport have been officially announced as the new broadcasters of the SGP & SWC. Obviously details of the deal have not been released but it's hard to imagine a broadcaster with a reputation for not paying for footage stumping up anywhere near the cash Sky were paying to BSI. However, keeping the series on air is a sensible move on BSI's part, because out of sight does so often equal out of mind.
There has been a largely positive reaction from British fans, who will now be able to watch the events live from their sofas without having to buy expensive new equipment or find a hooky feed on the internet, especially given Eurosport is free-to-air with most basic packages on satellite and cable in the UK. Some are trumpeting their decision to cancel Sky, as is their right, as if they'd won some great moral victory over an evil empire (forgetting that they're all evil empires these days, and that the events they're so keen to watch are backed by a "sports drink" linked with deaths and marketed to teens who could really do without it...)
However, it shouldn't be forgotten that, before Sky, we pretty much had nothing in the way of televised speedway in this country. The old one-off World Final may have eventually made its way onto the BBC somewhere, and Channel 4 showed the odd bit of footage as part of a "isn't this weird?" documentary here and there. Oh, and Eurosport used to show random meetings from the continent, which is how most of us became fans of Heinrich Schatzer and Zoltan Adorjan without ever seeing them in the flesh.
Sky brought league speedway into our homes, and all the good and bad things that came with, but they brought speedway into our homes. And I'm a great believer that, unless she really done wronged ya, ya dance with the one what brung ya!
Don't get me wrong, I'm no massive fan of Sky's business practices, and they've pretty much ruined modern football. But, at this time, British speedway needs them - it also needs to negotiate its own deals, cutting out Go-Speed, but that's a topic for another time - and we need to remember that before we waltz off into the moonlight with Eurosport, our new darling.
I've appealed before for people to keep the faith, and I'll do so again. Enjoy the fact that you'll be able to see the moribund GPs on Eurosport but also celebrate Sky's support of our bread and butter action. We'll miss it when it's gone.
ITEM: All being well, I should have seen two speedway meetings by now. All wasn't well, though, and I've seen none, and all because of this bastard weather. The usual comments have come out, mostly along the lines of starting the season too early, but those of us with slightly longer memories (ie, more than 11 months) remember that the weather is usually pretty good this time of year.
I would agree that the season did perhaps start a week too early, although all of the three meetings scheduled that weekend were run, and two of them provided good entertainment in reasonably-clement weather, but mid-March seems a perfectly reasonable time to start things. Besides, with Easter a moveable feast, and Good Friday a big day money-wise in the calendar, promoters have to be prepared to open their doors as early as March 21st if they want to take advantage of it, and probably before that if they want their team ready to race.
The weather is speedway's eternal foe, although some tracks cope better with the rain than others. Whether covers are the answer is still up for debate, though they'd certainly help in a good percentage of cases, and nothing short of a roof is going to be foolproof (although I wouldn't put it past speedway to rain off an indoor meeting - oh, wait, it's happened before, hasn't it?). What we need to do is be patient and understanding and trust that those who promote speedway actually want to make money out of it and will only postpone meetings if they think they can't provide an entertaining - and safe - spectacle.
Am I annoyed that I missed out on the Brandonapolis and the East Midlands Bowl clash between Leicester and Coventry? Hell, yes! Do I blame the promoters for not running those meetings in the conditions that were forecast? Not one bit. It's just something we have to put up with and enjoy what we do get to see all the more when it actually arrives.
So, third time lucky this Friday - Coventry vs Dudley in the Travel Plus Tours Trophy at Brandon. £10 to get in and a local derby to boot! And it'll be all the sweeter for having had to wait for it...
ITEM: Ivan Mauger retied from "public life" today, giving health concerns as his primary reason. Although the cynic in me may point out that "public life" seems to entail $hilling his book around and living off past glories, there's no doubting the massive career the man had, and just how dominant he was in his prime.
Now that the National Speedway Stadium seems a little closer to becoming a reality - and I will be buying an edible hat sometime in the future - I wonder if some money can be found for a statue, bust, or memorial plaque to commemorate his career, preferably ouside the confines of the stadium to entice curious passers-by?
Speedway seems to shy away from is history a little, when the rich period of the past is there to be mined to the benefit of the current encumbents. This year is the 85th anniversary of speedway beginning in this country, and the 75th top flight league season, but both will seemingly pass unmarked. Sad.
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