Sings4Speedway

Interesting wording in the NDL announcement. "no rider who has achieved a CL average of 4.00 or above will be eligible to take part". That reads as in ever achieved over 4 in the CL....wil try and compose a list later but means a lot of 'big' names pushed out of the NDL....and in reality a decision long overdue.

and definitely not telling them what they want to hear whilst he gets track time for his boy? The Thompson twins were nailed on to sign for Brum according to many, even when they arrived in Leicester suits people were still convinced because they did so many laps there. Riders will take whatever they can get.

To be fair the majority of NDL riders aren't looking to make a profit just cut their losses. Free practice is one thing but the fixtures then need to be held on more hospitable dates, namely weekends. Try telling a rider that he needs to invest heavily every winter, use multiple holiday days for midweek fixtures and be dictated to when/where they ride. There is a sport wide problem of paying more than clubs can afford but if the move is towards an amateur format it won't be practical to run a nationwide league.

Keeping fingers crossed that improvements work out. Many clubs have fallen foul of soft/boggy areas and suffered poor opening meetings after improvements.

Nothing officially announced yet but Mildenhall statement said they would have been the only standalone team in the NDL (so gave it a miss). Shame really as the return at Iwade was actually a decent success (few blips) but sadly costs and limitations on top up income have cost another team.

The issue was completely caused by Michael, his on track antics made his as popular as a fart in a lift with other riders and off track he is simply unpleasant. McGuinness has plenty of ability but certainly thinks he is better than he is, the names been about for a few years but in reality he gets occasional rides in the U24 league and a few spuns in Denmark.

Huge difference between the two riders. West looks a nightmare, ask anyone on IOW. Better bet would be Brayden McGuinness, Zischke looks head and shoulders above those two though.

The questions are 1. is there 1000+ interested fans within the Brum catchment area? 2. Would 'the right team' be affordable on 1000 fans a week? Its great saying we have doubled our attendance but if the cost of running the side has tripled Brum are no better off.

If the fixtures get lined up to create a couple of mini northern tours it could add to the gate, Glas/Edin/Redcar friday night, Worky Sat pm , Scunny sunday....

Obviously theres funding been found behind the scenes etc but last year figures of 1000 gates for break even and 4-500 actually attending. Looks like even more needed this year, has any club ever increased its average gate 200% in a season? I admire what Tolley is doing (living his personal dream) but i fear he has become very blinkered, that said i will be first to congratulate should this become a success.

Agreed entirely. No protected heats just let the riders compete, some will succeed sime will fail thats how the sport (should) work. The reduced limit is almost doing what its supposed to which is bringing new riders in and pushing those at the top creaming the easy money out.

The irony that you decide to pop up and pick holes in probably the most positive post i have made about Mildenhall in years

Nailed it plus how many tracks chuck a mascot out for a few laps prior to a meeting, yes less chance of accidents but still a chance. Bang the '2nd half' out first, allow spectators the chance to arrive early and watch or just arrive closer to main tapes up and bang the meeting through (even set a 30 min mini meeting curfew). Main event then goes off on the advertised time (as if that ever happens) and if the actual main curfew is getting close the main meeting gets pushed through at a better rate rather than non stop hanging around.

Given the losses/extra funding to get a team to the tapes in 2023 and uncertainty about the quality of product for 2024 a year out is a wise move. Gain funding from hosting a few open meetings, maybe gauge interest in a CL side for 2025? Things have needed to change at Mildenhall so no bad thing.

Didn't used to happen when the MDL was present at more tracks. Cancellations due to curfew were common despite huge amounts of time wasted during the meeting. Youth rounds have supposed to happen at top clubs before but swiftly cancelled and never restaged....don't see it being a lit different this year (unless there are fines for those who don't)

yes because that went so well last time.....

Boxall got 4 years (still seems light for a 2nd offence), Richie somehow gets off with 9 months and will be welcomed back with open arms just like Boxall was after a few lairy amateur meetings. Fines and bans aside a bigger punishment would be sticking two points on their averages for each league to make them a much tougher prospect to sign in the future, potentially actual average plus two for the next two seasons to avoid the inevitable manipulation.

Often the issues faced by each club are very different and therefore its not always a one solution fix all. Mildenhall struggle to prepare a consistent surface given the time and equipment available plus the crowd figures and fixtures vs rent demands just don't align. Joining Nora still wouldn't realistically offer an expanded fixture list and is likely to bring in lesser crowd levels if the level is NDL/NDL Lite. Kent on the other hand have much more realistic rent demands to meet and decent local support plus less travelling means potentially a more prosperous route forward in the Nora league. The co-operation between clubs and tracks rather than the in fighting that has plagued the BSPL' tenure will hopefully see a few green shoots of progress...

and yet the ghost teams supporters were turning up and paying CL and PL admissions at hosting tracks just to watch the 2nd half, the actual ghost development teams got not one penny from the admission and it still wasn't good enough for the host clubs. 20-30 supporters might not sound like mega numbers but in a sport where attendance is on the downturn every little helps.

A lot of calls for the 2nd halves to return and aside from the mega list of reasons why it failed previously (driving out ghost teams, rising costs, midweek fixtures, it goes on) the big reason why they are unlikely to feature again is there is no progression route without the NDL. At one point there were decent numbers of amateurs travelling big distances over a season to compete in the second halves (check out the stats 8-10 years ago), riders who were throwing good money at their own personal dream of getting a shot in the NL one day. Why would anyone do that now? Would anyone honestly recommend speedway to a friend a hobby/sport to get into? There are currently dozens of kids that are to come of age in the next year or two that will either get no shot or will have to bridge the gap between youth level and CL level, can anyone honestly see that going well? For British speedway to survive another 10 years it needs new blood to replace the ageing riders who might eventually retire, that means a NDL supported by higher division clubs/BSPL or a Nora league that can operate with the blessing of the SCB/BSPL as a complementary product rather than an opposing one.

Same as happened to the NL, the product became too much competition to higher tiers so dropped to make the others look better (rather than improving the offerings of the higher divisions) no the CL looks a better product than the Prem it will be cut back. Whilst not the worst for team place competition and potentially riders willing to ride for less what will happen is that at the end of the season there will be other riders who end up on inflated averages. Kerr on 8.6 after a 40 limit season vs a.nother on 8.6 after a 38 limit season who did better?

Throw in hefty question marks surrounding the futures of Plymouth, Edinburgh & Birmingham in the coming seasons. The custodians of the sport for the past 15 years should hang their heads in shame. No need for a NDL as there won't be a sport to progress into in 5 years time. Cheers UK Speedway it was fun while it lasted.

Even if it does happen there will be more guests than on Parkinson for the Royals. An injury ravaged side travelling away in October when most riders are ready to pack up for the season. Also no incentive for Kent to get the match on as its pure outlay on their side. Hard to promote from a Worky perspective too as a dead rubber match against half a team on a likely cold day is hardly appealing. Will be interesting if the mafia step in and say it must be run or if they will just happily take the fine from Workington.

Cheers found it. The preceeding section makes reference to unattached 3.00 riders but guest section does not. As ever rule book is flawless. "must be in a current NDL team declaration or any unattached rider eligible to race in the NDL "

Thanks. Certainly interesting to know, thought perhaps that wouldn't count as the signing date had passed and the greensheets haven't been updated but always nice to learn something new every day.