Speedway
15 Motor Sport 
/ Betfair Education / 24 April 2008 / Leave a comment
Speedway (with thanks to avid Betfair customer Stephen Watkins)
Regularly broadcast live on Sky Sports and popular in central and eastern Europe and Scandinavia, speedway riders are often proclaimed the most courageous of all - their bikes have no brakes and only one gear! Racing on tight oval dirt-tracks, each race takes about a minute to complete the standard four laps. Four compete in each race, and naturally on such tight circuits, leading into the first bend is a huge advantage.
The major competitions offered on Betfair are the British Elite League and Grand Prix events. In League competition, nine teams compete over a season in home and away matches (double series of fixtures - 32 meetings each). Two riders from each team take part in each race, with the home side wearing the blue and red helmets against the green and yellow & black quartered helmet of the visitors. There are 15 heats with points scored in each race (3,2,1,0 pts for first through to fourth) to decide the winner of each match.
For further details about scoring and rules, visit the British Speedway website. Betfair offer Match Odds and Handicap markets on the Elite League and televised Premier League matches. All matches go in-play which is when the betting gets very interesting.
What to look for:
Home advantage for in a match is usually around 6-10pts, but the away teams are given extra incentive - victory on the road is worth three points on the league table, rather than two at home.
Tactical plays. Each team brings reserve riders who can be used to replace injured riders or a rider performing poorly. When a team has fallen at least 9pts behind, to keep the tie competitive, they can use a 'joker play' worth double points. The scheduled rider using this play (single rider, not team) then scores double points on that race. A second tactical play (usually the substitution of a better rider) for double points is allowed, but the sub must start from a handicap of 15m.
Team news is just as important in speedway as it is in other sports. Check out the team websites to confirm the line-ups for the next race.
Grand Prix events are individual events run over the course of a season to determine the Speedway World Champion. The format for a Speedway Grand Prix has changed for the 2007 season. Sixteen riders take part in each Grand Prix and over the course of twenty heats each rider will race against every other rider once. The top eight scorers advance to a semi-final and from each semi-final the 1st and 2nd placed riders will advance to the GP final. Winner and Top 3 markets are offered on each event by Betfair. For more details on rules, schedules, and scoring, visit Speedwayworld.
Speedway on SkySports - TV schedules and news
Other handy sites:
