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Post by Wiseowl on Feb 1, 2009 20:11:21 GMT 12
racing from 2-after 11 pm.  unbeleivable. with a cash-cow derby and large family crowd on hand, what were they thinking? do meanee try to run to a timetable?  This subject repeats itself most times at the same tracks year in and year out.. .........Just run to a better schedule & get the meetings over SOONER.. I see nothing wrong with Derbies...its just that when you have tracks AWAY from city centres... they think they can just amble along at a snails pace....all too familiar. Hmmm... W C E M A S .....Sound familiar......They always Always amble along And here on this Board people are wanting speedway to get more profession.....Yea Right Cheers Wiseowl |
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Post by hammered on Feb 1, 2009 20:19:46 GMT 12
the stands are always full during a derby (good number of cars last night also). No need to get rid of them at all! It is just a shame that it was so late, and probably not having the first stockcar race till 10pm didn't help.
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Post by MadMarty13B on Feb 1, 2009 20:20:42 GMT 12
I often ask myself - "is it time for the demo derby to get the heave-ho from speedway?" thats the heading on your post...says it all open wheel man You sir Marty, have a stigma about open-wheel classes, I have travelled many miles to watch ALL forms of speedway over the years, oh and even sponsored your oh-SO-successful trip to Nelson a few years back  Unfortunately my preference for open wheelers doesnt sit well with you, and you seem keen to make your feelings known about that - something that just adds to a reason NOT to follow those other classes as much as I used to! Madmarty good for New Zealand speedway - I think not!  Way off topic here now....... Sdemon common SD dont twist things you know my statement was made in the fact you have publicly showed your contempt for contact classes especially Stockcars and Superstocks , I on the other hand like all classes and have never run a class down. Now back to the topic,the meeting ran from 2 because thats when the Solo's and Sidecars ran all their Qualifying,it was spread put a little 36 degree plus heat,riders in leathers etc plus a dry track |
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Post by MENTL1 on Feb 1, 2009 20:51:41 GMT 12
racing from 2-after 11 pm. unbeleivable. with a cash-cow derby and large family crowd on hand, what were they thinking? do meanee try to run to a timetable? Hey team dont take this out of context but the meeting was advertised to start at 7pm (which it did for all classes) if you where lucky enough to get there early like myself who didnt even know that they were starting the bikes early it was just an added bonus, It was like I was getting something for nothing as all I was going to do is turn up early and talk crap till 7pm rolled round ;D but instead I got to see racing which was fantastic! I get to save my talking crap till teams!  |
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Post by sonic33 on Feb 1, 2009 21:21:43 GMT 12
I thort most tracks used the derbies for a "nothing meeting". That being they knew they were going to get a good crowd and could throw a few hundy (or more at sum tracks) for derby prize money and make a killing from the gate.
Championship meets often run late and to throw a derby on the end of a double championship seems strange. You have your championship crowd and your derby crowd. Getting both there at the same time would suggest both want different things and may not have gone home happy.
I stand somewhere in between. I will watch a caravan derby but not a normal derby. I use that to get out before the masses do. I would rather a high impact (professional classes with good numbers) meet with a class or two dropped and an early derby. That way you might get sum derby spectators back at another meet.
Willie at Bay park does it right in my opinion. They have good classes and really push the races through. 15 races a caravan derby and normal derby done and dusted by ten. No championships on the same night. The race race programme regulated by changing the laps of the feature races, feature races were fastest off the back. Great racing by 5 classes with good numbers and a couple of derbies, before ten. And for Willie he apid a grandish to each derby and normal prize money to drivers and had a half to 3/4 full stadium.
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Post by percy on Feb 1, 2009 23:09:14 GMT 12
I will agree with the sentiment of the post that 11pm is too late to be running a family speedway meeting. It's important that we get meetings finished at appropriate times for our target audience.
I think curfews are one of the best things to hit the sport and largely have a positive impact at the tracks that have to enforce them.
On the second point I believe that Demolition Derby's certainly have their place in the sport. Not on championship nights but on standard nights where perhaps your normal patron wouldn't be too impressed with the racing. They do attract the crowds and are an event enjoyed by a variety of spectators from what I've seen. They are also a good source of revenue for SNZ.
I could be bias having driven in a couple of derby's
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Post by eddiek on Feb 2, 2009 0:36:59 GMT 12
Not at all, Percy - there is a place for boganesqe racing, and the tracks need to attract the crowds somehow. Fireworks and derbies are the two biggest crowd pullers out there.
An ideal derby meeting - as per how I remember them before I got involved, had the demo derby at the end (well, where else could it be?), stocks, a-grades, streetstocks, saloons and modifieds. Fast stuff and contact stuff. Family friendly and concluded relatively early.
This was how I remember them at Waikaraka in the late 90s... and I loved every second of it.
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Post by Abb0 on Feb 2, 2009 4:08:24 GMT 12
My 2c as a Derby competitor for several years.
They are great but I think the problem was to have a Derby at the end of what appears to have been a big championship night. To start it after 11 is pretty late.
Having said that, someone else said that the first Stockcar race wasn't until 10pm which seems to show that the meeting was running a little behind schedule?
And to those who are saying that Derbys should be done away with, it'll never happen. They are big crowd pullers which means $$$, which is the bottom line.
But more than that they are also a way of getting people involved in speedway. No, it's not "traditional" speedway (or is it?) but it gives people the chance to get out on the track and have a go which could lead onto "real" speedway.
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Post by woodart on Feb 2, 2009 7:44:31 GMT 12
My 2c as a Derby competitor for several years. And to those who are saying that Derbys should be done away with, it'll never happen. They are big crowd pullers which means $$$, which is the bottom line. But more than that they are also a way of getting people involved in speedway. No, it's not "traditional" speedway (or is it?) but it gives people the chance to get out on the track and have a go which could lead onto "real" speedway. ,, couldnt agree more, as much as I love sprint cars and stock cars, I realise that derbys will always have a place in NZ speedway, the ultimate feeder class. |
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Post by mike004 on Feb 2, 2009 7:45:55 GMT 12
That sounds like a pretty late night but it happens from time to time. As for Derby's, I had my first last year on second night of wos, big crowd, and it seemed most stayed to the end. Loved the contact, now having a skid in the 45r soon, cant wait. Great way to get people into the sport. Perhaps business house Derby's could be something tracks could try. Dont buy the bogan thing either! ;D
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Post by DTM1 on Feb 2, 2009 7:56:49 GMT 12
Personally,scraping the skidmarks off the neighbours toilet with my toothbrush and then brushing my teeth has more appeal than the thought of a demo derby.
However,its obvious to a blind man that they pull the crowds and i imagine they will continue to do so for as long as they are scheduled.
Watching Sdemon throw a few toys could give a derby a good run in the entertainment and spectacle stakes.
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Post by Abb0 on Feb 2, 2009 18:53:39 GMT 12
Personally,scraping the skidmarks off the neighbours toilet with my toothbrush and then brushing my teeth has more appeal than the thought of a demo derby. Hmmm, I think you have problems far greater than the dislike of Derbys ;D ;D |
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Post by wolfysmith on Feb 2, 2009 20:23:32 GMT 12
This topic has raised two very interesting points. Firstly whether having demo derbies as part of a normal meeting format adds an value to a normal speedway meeting and the second issue that has been touched on is the length of meetings.
With regards to the first point, I can see both sides of the argument. Demo Derbies are a 'gimmick' in as much as having a monster truck at a meeting or dropping a car from a crane. The actual value to a speedway meeting in racing terms in nil. However, the simple fact is that DD's attract a bigger than normal crowd because friends and families of the competitors will come along to see the family/friend/work colleague in action. It's an opportunity for the promoter to attract descretionary income from punters who, on every other weekend of the year, would not go to a speedway meeting. This additional income may well help to keep the gate prices you, as a committed race fan pay, down each month. The other point to consider is that of those who never attend a meeting but go for DD, might well like what they see from the classes racing and decide to come back again the week after. A bit of guesswork as to whether this actually happens but it would be interesting to carry out a bit of market research at a DD meeting to see whether these 'newbies' would attend again and if not, why not.
The other issue touched on is the length of meetings. Not something that is restricted to NZ. A much debated point here in the Uk especially when some tracks run meetings well past mid-night. For me, the ideal length of any meeting should be restricted to three hours. You have to remember this is a family orientated sport and whilst the die-hards amongst us may well be happy to sit/stand for hours watch endless classes race, for families who are not so committed and just want a nights entertainment, after a few hours the kids will become bored (no matter how good the racing is, kids have only a certain attention span) and will want either go home or start roaming the track, which in turn means mum and dad have to occupy the kids attention, which means that they don't enjoy the racing. The result is that instead of speedway, next week it's the movies where they know the film will be over in an hour and a half.
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unbeleivable. with a cash-cow derby and large family crowd on hand, what were they thinking? do meanee try to run to a timetable? 
Unfortunately my preference for open wheelers doesnt sit well with you, and you seem keen to make your feelings known about that - something that just adds to a reason NOT to follow those other classes as much as I used to! Madmarty good for New Zealand speedway - I think not! 
