GWC

Did I read correctly Josh Auty has signed ….

Perhaps then Poole can help to bring him on and not discard him if he doesn’t meet their expectations! His home performances were in most cases good and strangely his poorest was against Poole (0 from 3 rides) for Edinburgh.

Are Glasgow going to sign the Poole team from under their noses? I hope this Basso kid lives up to expectation otherwise there’s going to be a lot of disappointed people! And it must be the first time another club has ‘profited’ from Poole.

Oxford will be racing at their historical home so it is their name to use. Im not sure where Northside is but as long as they represent the town of Workington - unless someone owns the name legally that is.

Emil Grondal did similar at Rye House at PL level and look how he turned out. If he scores 4 home and away then he’s done ok.

He would be fine in our league

My first visit there in 2005 was a challenge just to find the track! Driving through someone’s yard full of construction equipment and trailers wasn’t very welcoming! I’m thinking the locals aren’t too friendly to the speedway as I recall.

Improving the lot of the NDL and making it easier to then move into a championship side seems more logical than this pointless announcement.

Not a bad game show contestant either!

The guy who developed Central Park originally had plans to get Sittingbourne into the football league. Then got into difficulties and I think Gillingham were then interested. Its remained a ‘white elephant’ in some people’s eyes with dogs the only income until speedway was introduced. Its a terrific venue but I think speedway came too late to it to have any sustainable life especially with a hostile council and restrictive operation.

It shouldn’t be the case but the sport is too elitist (and expensive) for there to be a constant supply of talent. I followed Rye House for many years and their policy was to produce their own riders probably to the detriment of the club success wise but not entertainment.

Rely on other tracks to produce riders it’s the proven method that Poole have operated for years!

I don’t think any region has suffered more than the south east - all London tracks gone and Essex Kent Surrey Sussex and Herts without a league team. This would have been unthinkable even 10 years ago.

I really hope the bspl get behind this as the south east has become a waste land currently for the sport.

Well if they now want to rock up over here then if they are no more expensive to employ than who we current have then fine. Otherwise why jeopardise your finances for a ‘name’ on a team sheet.

I think the RS facility was needed last season so that the riders got a guaranteed team place rather than be used for team building and then dumped when averages change. I don’t see so many young riders coming through currently and the RS of last season should be nailed on for team places now. Maybe in a season or two the facility will reappear if the talent comes through.

If it’s no rising stars next season then it looks like it’s been shunted into the long grass to accommodate the riders who will lose team places where clubs have folded.

How many still fill in a programme or buy one at all? A lot of people I see are not aware of averages or team positions and what they mean. It’s racing that is the attraction for many whether it’s heat 2 or heat 15. A radical move would be to combine the leagues give clubs the chance to race on their chosen day. Reduce rider costs but less income so would hasten the sport to a part time activity. We won’t see the likes of Woffenden or Lambert or Bewley but hopefully will produce riders to fill their place.

Averages are now pointless in a shrinking sport where allocation of riders to teams is more important not a restrictive outdated practise.

More GP’s bigger prize money and throw in Polish league then most riders will be staying put and ignoring other leagues.

And it took a ‘totally’ independent report by Lord Shawcross in 1964 to bang promoters heads together and bring about the amalgamation of the leagues producing the British league in 1965.

Who knows which tracks will open next year but if we do attract back overseas riders then the Premier will have to remain intact.

Well they might but can clubs afford them now. UK speedway in a perilous place now and would throwing £000’s at Doyle put numbers on the gate to pay for him. With riders retiring I would expect a consolidation of the leagues otherwise it’s a farce.

If DU continues then it must be used as a cost saving and not, as Eastbourne found out, a blank cheque for riders.

If he has a normal commercial van policy the contents isn’t normally covered. If he insured through someone like Doodsons who are racing insurance specialists and might give additional cover for bikes but spares unlikely.