The FIM, motorcycling’s governing body, and its new speedway promoting partner Discovery Sports Events have today outlined their vision for speedway competitions over the next decade.
The combined vision, which includes details of new event formats and a new SGP-branded pyramid structure to begin next year, comes at the start of Discovery Sports Events’ time as the sport’s sole global promoter, running until 2031.
From next year onwards, all speedway categories will be unified under the new SGP brand that the duo has now unveiled, from the Speedway Grand Prix itself down to SGP4.
The decade-long partnership between FIM and DSE, which is set to start in January next year, was agreed in October 2020 after a competitive tender and builds on an existing partnership between the pair that first began in 2015 and initially only covered the promotion of the FIM Endurance World Championship.
For the first time since 2017, reformatted versions of the FIM Speedway of Nations and the FIM Speedway World Cup will return to the calendar.
DSE will oversee all operational and commercial aspects of speedway, across both broadcast and sponsorship sectors, and will also work with local organisers on maximising attendances and hospitality opportunities.
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By GlobalDataThe series and its new promoter have identified five key priorities in terms of the vision for speedway.
These include: improving the sport’s year-round narrative by raising the international profile of drivers; extending the sport’s distribution across both TV and digital platforms; enhancing fans’ experience, both at events and on-screen; widening the global footprint through new venues and events; and supporting juniors further.
In terms of structural changes to the SGP calendar from next year, in 2022 the extended season (running from April to November) will include 12 rounds over two continents, featuring 15 permanent drivers and one local ‘wildcard.’
The action for each race will all take place in one 24-hour stretch, from Friday to Saturday afternoon.
The new speedway calendar will, both parties have said “see the sport develop a sustained and consistent narrative through the season, as well as each category being able to gain maximum revenues.”
In terms of broadcast coverage, discovery+, the media giant's over-the-top streaming site, will be its main partner across countries it is active in (a range of markets in Europe), while the linear Eurosport channels will also be allocated rights in some territories.
Jorge Viegas, president of FIM, said: “I would like to welcome the new promoter, Discovery Sports Events. They presented us with a long-term vision to develop this spectacular discipline over the next decade.
“Speedway has a huge potential to grow, not only in terms of attracting a new generation of riders but particularly in terms of reaching new territories outside of Europe.”
Francois Ribeiro, head of DSE, added: “Speedway has great foundations, a super fan base and we see significant growth potential. We won’t change anything about the nature of the sport.
"For the first time in its history, Speedway at all levels will have a single international promoter, from grassroots-level up to pro-level.
“Discovery Sports Events will benefit from the truly global scale of Discovery Sports to grow Speedway’s global audience across discovery+, which will become our premium home of Speedway destination for fans, but also across Eurosport and domestic free-to-air channels owned by Discovery in key speedway markets."