Bellamy, Postlethwaite & Olsen dominate SGP Earnings again in 2008

Once again, the end of the 2008 Speedway Grand Prix sees Paul Bellamy, John Postlethwaite and Ole Olsen comfortably ‘earn’ more money than anyone else with some connection to the series. Remember these are the ‘fat cats’ with the business acumen and marketing genius not to be able to manage anything as simple as a pile of shale. (I understand that even the printing of the German GP programme was beyond the pay grade and competence of the organisers with the cover printed in Danish and the line up printed in the scorecard was from the Swedish GP!)

The prize money earnings for all the speedway riders who take part in the series remain pitiful, though not so small that many don’t have to think twice before they shun some or all of British Speedway. The list below lists total prize money earnings for the series in pounds (though prize money is paid in dollars) and also per Grand Prix. It is supplied courtesy of Charles McKay and exchange rates varied throughout the season but averaged $1.8=£1

N. Pedersen £45,990/£4,180
T. Gollob £41,791/£3,799
J. Crump £40,531/£3,684
H. Andersen £39,236/£3,566
G. Hancock £38,826/£3,529
L. Adams £36,392/£3,308
A. Jonsson £28,198/£2,563
R. Holta £27,350/£2,486
S. Nicholls £24,928/£2,266
F. Lindgren £24,417/£2,219
L. Dryml £22,660/£2,060
B. Pedersen £22,188/£2,465
C.Harris £21,447/£2,144
K. Kasprzak £21,108/£1,918
N-K. Iversen £20,823/£2,082

Once you get outside the top six riders, poor earnings collapse dramatically for the remainder of the series field. It’s worth noting that the guaranteed minimum payment any rider finishing in the top 15 places can earn per GP is $3,400 (or £1,889). This should be an easy task for the so-called “top 15 riders in the world” against makeweight reserves and wild cards. However, this news makes these figures look even worse if you consider that through the fruits of their efforts K. Kasprzak earnt himself an extra £29 per meeting – a paper round for a fortnight would earn this nowadays – while C. Harris earnt himself an extra £203. For their managerial brio, personality and long-term vision for the sport, there can be no argument that Paul, John and Ole deserve the biggest rewards.