So, you are new to Speedway or want to take a refresher? Read on and in this short guide, you will learn enough to hopefully persuade you to come and see a meeting at Reading Speedway (or elsewhere if you must!) and enjoy what you see. Like all sports, the more you know about it the more you can appreciate it's subtleties. So, please come along and take a look. Speedway supporters are a friendly bunch in general, so ask someone if you don't understand what is going on. Work through the following topics and maybe even print out this guide before attending a meeting (match).
Speedway bikes are fundamentally very simple in design. There is a light frame with the minimum of suspension. The engine is 500cc and runs on methanol. There is only one fixed gear (modified by changing the rear sprocket) and no brakes! The track is a vague oval shape with two straights and 4 bends (I know it can look like 2 big bends but it is considered 4!) and is covered with shale. These bikes are capable of moving from a standing position to 60 mph is around 3 seconds so there is plenty of power there! To slow down, and get round the bends, the riders pitch them sideways and slide them into the corners, which is aimed at reducing speed while still providing the drive to move the bike forward around the bend. Basics of a race (or heat)
A race consists of 4 laps and typically it has 4 riders, 2 from each team. The rider who comes first gets 3 points, the second rider gets 2 points and the third rider gets 1 point. No points for coming last I'm afraid. You will need to understand rider bonus points at some stage but this doesn't count towards the team score.
From a spectator's point of view, we believe that the great thing about a Speedway race is that you can get a view of the whole track, so wherever and whenever there is some overtaking, you should be able to get a view of it.
Home riders wear Red and Blue helmet colours (the better rider typically has Red). Away riders wear Green and Yellow helmet colours (the better rider typically has Green).
There are (invisible) gate positions when the riders line up at the tapes for a heat. They are numbered from the inside (nearest the centre green) from position or gate1 to 4. Gate 4 is often considered the worst gate (as it makes the rider in line with the longest route around the 1st and 2nd bends) but this is not necessarily the case based on track conditions and the individual rider's style. Some useful basic rules to know are:
When officially called by the referee, a rider must get to his starting position within 2 minutes. If not, he is excluded.
The rider must not touch the tapes with his tyre. If this happens he is excluded, but has the option of going off a 15-metre handicap in the re-run.
OK, here comes the test. In a particular heat (and referring to the helmet colours), green comes first followed by red, blue and yellow. The heat result is a draw with both teams gaining 3 points. Spectators refer to such a result as a 3 all heat. Other options (assuming all riders finish and are not lapped) are 4-2 or 5-1. Typically, when writing the scores in the programme, the home team is written first. So, if white is followed by yellow & black in winning and coming second, this is represented as 1-5.
Reading Racers are a team in the Elite League - how does the league work?
There are currently 3 leagues in Speedway. The top division is named the Elite which has most of the world's best riders competing every week. The 2nd division is named the Premier League. The 3rd division is named the Conference. There is no automatic promotion and relegation between the divisions.
At the start of each season, each club has to construct a new team of 7 riders with the total of each rider's average not exceeding a maximum figure, which in 2007 is 42.5 points (excluding bous points). You can think of this as building a fantasy team - only it is a little more difficult for the clubs as they have to sign up real people! This system has some advantages and disadvantages. Its main advantages are to try and keep the meetings (that what each match is called) & the league itself competitive. At the beginning of each season, in theory at least, each club has a more or less equal chance of winning which keeps interest for all teams supporters (not like the football Premier league where you know at the start that the winner is odds on to come from half a dozen clubs). On the down side, it can mean a lack of continuity of riders in the team. Typically the league champions have to remodel the team in the next season, as riders averages will have increased so that the total exceeds the limit.
In the Elite League, each club plays each other club home & away twice. There are 2 points for a win and 1 point for a draw. In addition, the scores of the two meetings are added together and the winner on aggregate gets an aggregate point. The winner of the league is the club with the most points.
We want team work - a rider can get personal bonus points
Remember that in an individual heat, there are 2 riders from each team and the rider who comes first gets 3 points, the second rider gets 2 points and the third rider gets 1 point. This is correct and counts towards the score. However, if as a rider, you follow your team-mate home (except when you come last!), you will be awarded a bonus point which increases the amount you are paid (yes, the more points you get, the more you earn!). This is to encourage riding as a team with no thought as to the individual that comes ahead of his team-mate.
You may often read the term in Speedway article where a rider is referred to as scoring something like: 10 (paid 12) - this means he has scored 10 points plus 2 bonus points, but will be paid in his wage packet for 12 points.
A rider's average
A rider's average over a period in time is the total number of points scored (including personal bonus points) divided by the number of rides with the resulting number multiplied by 4. So, if over a season, a rider rode in 500 heats and scored 800 real points and 200 personal bonus points, he would have an average of ... no guessing .... 8.0. What is the maximum average a rider could have? If he was a god, he could rise to the dizzy heights of 12 points.A rider's average can be a little more complicated than this, especially for team building purposes. If you move between the leagues, your average will be adjusted to reflect the difference in the quality of riders. You can have an assessed average if you have not ridden for some time or indeed you are new to the league - typically the lowest assessed average you can have is 3 points. So, what are the positions in the team - Heat Leaders, Second Strings and Reserves?
OK, so we built a team of 7 riders and they have rider numbers from 1 to 7. There are no centre forwards in Speedway although there is normally a Number 1 leading the line!
Three of the riders (those with the best averages) will be the Heat Leaders. These are the riders who should be favourite to win heats and are the stars. Rather like Cricket, Speedway clubs often look abroad for a star heat leader to add some glamour as well as quality to the team. Heat leaders usually have race numbers 1, 3 and 4 or 5 with the top two heat leaders taking the 1 and 3 slots.
Two of the riders who have the lowest averages will be the Reserves. They get rider numbers 6 and 7.
The remaining two riders (somewhere between the reserves and heat leaders in quality) are named the Second Strings. They get rider numbers 2 and 4 or 5.You should also understand that this isn't always the team for the whole season. Firstly, there are permanent changes, for example if a rider performs badly over a long period. Secondly, there are temporary changes (for one meeting) when a rider is injured or unavailable. This is a bit complicated, but you will hear the terms Guest rider and Rider Replacement. 15 heats - that makes a meeting (match)
A meeting in the Elite League consists of 15 heats (races). These are not randomly put together, but are carefully crafted to combine the heat leaders, second strings and reserves in various combination and gate positions. There are heats where each rider should stand a chance of winning. For example, heat 2 brings into competition the 2 reserves from each team and the best rider in heats 8 and 14 are second strings.
Another key heat is:
Heat 15 is the nominated riders race, where the best performing riders on the night race against each other. The team manager chooses the riders.
Each rider (unless declared injured) must have at least 3 rides in a meeting. A reserve can be used as a substitute in any heat and if a team is 10 or more points behind after heat 6, a tactical ride is allowed. This is where the losing team manager can nominate for one of his programmed riders to race for double points from the starting gate. When the team manager makes this decision it will be announced over the PA that the rider is nominated as a tactical ride (thus going for double points). The rider in question will also done a black and white coloured helmet cover, which makes the move more visible and does add a little to the excitement. A riders points will only count for double if he actually beats an opposing rider, e.g. if he finished third and his team mate is in last place, then teh points will not be doubled. However if he wins the race and his team mate follows him home in second place then the traditions 5-1 heat advantage becomes an 8-1 heat advantage. This can result in a team coming from 10 points behind to just 3 points in one race. A team manager is only allowed to nominate ONE tactical ride during a match.
On rare occasions, you may also see a Tactical Substitute being named, which can only be used once and the team must be trailing by at least 8 points in the match. This allows a team manager to put in better rider to substitute for a worst performing one. The nominated rider is handicapped 15 metres at the start, but any points he scores are counted double.
Any extra (double) points scored when using a Tactical Ride of Tactical Substitute will count towards a riders and team total in the meeting, but will NOT count towards a rider's average.
Recording the score in the Racing Card
Speedway is a sport with bursts of excitement as each heat takes place. Don't worry however, there is usually plenty to do in-between each heat as most spectators fill in the Racing Card that is included in the meeting programme. After every heat you need to firstly record the team heat score (5-1, 4-2 etc) and add up the teams aggregates score. Then you can move onto recording the heat time, and individual points, not forgetting to flag each rider's bonus points.
Modified from an article originally written by Dave Willcox
