flagrag

There is no doubt that 2020 will be a learning session for the Thompson twins and some meetings will be better than others. However they were beating rider like Flint,Bickley,Jenkins,Lawlor,Kemp,Palin on a regular basis both home and away. The one thing that they do need to is toughen up a bit on track and stand their ground this is something I am sure that their winter training will be focused on.

As featured in the press release Leicester Lions will not start their home official fixtures until the Thompson twins are eligible to ride. There will be Cubs meetings and a challenge match. Now that Newcastle have been confirmed their participation the league fixtures can be planned and if there is a substantial amount of away fixtures before mid April then short term options will be looked at depends on which clubs want to ride Leicester and when

Both Joe and Dan are academically very clever lads and they do not need to do Speedway they do it because they love the sport. The last I heard was they were going to continue into further education after their GCSEs in May as they want a good background when their Speedway careers have finished. They come from a very stable and supportive family who are investing into the twins Speedway even in 2019 they had good sponsorship and expect they will obtain more for next year to improve equipment for Championship racing. As has previously been stated they have had lots of advice and guidance with Tai and Rory Schlein which I am sure that will continue next year and I know Tai is keen to get them out to Wroclaw to have practice sessions with the Polish juniors and in the sparring matches once they are 16. Stewart is correct in his statement the way that the 2020 Lions team has been built there is little pressure on them and unless one of them really hits heat leader form they will remain at reserve

Team is all sorted and so far just one person has got it correct. Certainly will have an Australian feel to it

My understanding was that the BSPA Directors were not satisfied with the business plan that Plymouth put forward and that couldn’t guarantee the required bond would be lodged by 31/12 Also for the Chairmanship some clubs wanted Damian Bates to do it but with his business interests couldn’t commit to it.

When you say production do you mean company to produce the coverage for Eurosport or OB provider ? If it’s the latter I am not at all surprised as they have such a bad reputation of trying to get OB facilities on the cheap and then being slow to pay the bills. As I have previously said Eurosport are best to just operating on the basis of taking world feeds and then broadcasting them like they do with Cycling,Tennis and Snooker. When they are the host broadcaster they have a poor track record a recent Darts event is a prime example outbid BT sport to an event and it went from UHD 9 camera production in 2018 to a 3 camera basic HD with no slo mo as simply wouldn’t pay the required fees in 2019. Skidder- Do we really want coverage like we had for Skybet a few years ago ? To attract and keep sponsors it needs to look good and be well produced

I presume from that comment that means Saint Media who have previously done UK and SGP coverage don’t want to do it. I wonder if it’s the usual Eurosport way not wanting to pay the money to get the product to air. I have a feeling that we may be going to see a downgrade product on screen to what we have previously had. Do hope that I am wrong and that Eurosport are prepared for this and can offer higher quality coverage and not budget basic coverage.

Nothing to do with Poland but think you will find them riding their Speedway away from the South Coast in 2020

BrizHeathen- I do hope that you and the family will be a regular at Beaumont Park in 2020 and I do think it will be a good move for your boy. As confirmed at the Leicester end of season presentation team plans are well advanced with some familiar faces set to return along with some new exciting riders to join the club. Let’s remember it’s a long winter so fans and management are still enjoying the success of 2019

Don’t think you will find that Douglas or Morris will be available to Poole in 2020 unless some last minute changes happen.

From afar- Question is do you run in a Premiership with 4 teams around 1hr away So possibly 8 local derbies home and away but then have increased operating costs and midweek racing. The alternative is to run in a weakened Championship with a lower points limit with no real local meetings

Steve the Lion spot on linking up with his best mate Josh Pickering it’s a shame as at one point they were looking like both being Leicester bound for 2020

The Thompson twins case is an interesting one as others have said they don’t 16 until late April so which clubs sign them will have to go with other 3pt riders to start the season. Also both of the twins are very intelligent with one wanting to be a Vet at some point in his life. The family are keen for them to get good formal qualifications at school so ideally they were looking at doing NL only in 2020 until exams were over in June but with the future of that league in doubt this may not be an option. Both Joe & Dan are very skilful motorcyclists and can have a good future in Speedway and I know Tai is going to help them further later in the winter once he is back and is keen to get them out to Poland at Wroclaw practising once 16 to practice with the Wroclaw juniors

It is for that reason why a current Championship club are undecided which way to step as on paper looks good idea to be in Premiership but need to be sure that they can get a good competitive team together.

Brizheathen- Nick Morris would be a good signing at Leicester and I am confident that he could overcome his recent demons with the track as he used to be amazing around Beaumont Park. It’s also nice and local for you to come and watch him as well

I hear that there may be another surprise team going up in 2020 if the deal is right for the club and can be sure to be able to get a good number 1

nagy1 It has to be remembered that Sarj agreed to sign for Leicester in 2019 he was sent the contract, local sponsorship was renewed, the club chased him for two weeks to get the signed contract back and kept saying that he had forgotten and would do it. Then 3 weeks later Leicester found that Glasgow had come in and offered a deal that was too good to turn down and were offering him near heat leader money. So quite obviously the Leicester promotion were annoyed hence the stance of you want Sarj you have to buy him. It all ended well for Leicester they got a transfer fee and moved for Ellis Perks instead who has been brilliant all year and did a lot more than James would have done I feel.

So happy for the Lions unbeaten at home and now the League title

BT did want to keep British Speedway but the BSPA decided to go with Eurosport offer as it was 5 rather than 3 years and Eurosport pushed about how they could show it free to air in UK along with possible European coverage. I really would like to know who advised the BSPA on the deals and hopefully it was not for a large fee. There are advantages and disadvantages to both broadcasters BT Advantages- Household name channel, Lots of promotion and advertising alongside prime sports, Flexible with scheduling to fit in with rain offs, UHD coverage, large social media presence and crucially committed.Happy for clubs to do own filming and post video online . Catch up service a good production budget Eurosport Advantages- 5 year deal, possibilities of Pan European coverage, free to air on Quest on limited occasions. It does worry next year in particular that Speedway will get bumped due to over running more core sports to them and with the Olympics even more so. Also Eurosport do not have a good track record of being the host broadcaster and are better in just taking another broadcasters feed like they do with Snooker,Tennis,Cycling,Olympics

As I have said previously I do think this is a backwards step for British Speedway especially being tied into a 5yr deal. Eurosport are a minor tv channel and Speedway will not get the dedication it got from BT and the coverage will not be as comprehensive. I just hope that the money was so much better than what’s BTs final offer was otherwise an even worse decision.

Jake Allen could have been used if Leicester had wanted to, Steve Worrall scored 8 last time at Glasgow in a rain curtailed meeting and 17 in the Championship shield meeting. However as myself and others have said I don’t think 12 is enough and Glasgow to win overall by 16-18 . if had been the other way round Leicester would have been confident of overhauling that deficit. For Leicester to have a chance need Perks and Proctor to bear MBA and Sam Jensen along with mountain to take points off Bailey

It will be tough for the Lions to keep this lead and can see why Glasgow are confident if we had lost by 12 away we would fancy chances of pulling it back. Leicester will need to be at their best and pick up points from the middle order of the team if they are to be crowned Champions. I do hope that I am wrong but have a feeling that the dropped points in ht15 could be crucial in the aggregate score

No not at all MD the forecast as is typical this time of year is very changeable. Leicester will be doing everything they can to get the meeting on with track work starting like last week before sunrise then preparing the track for racing. The Leicester promotion can see that they will get a larger crowd than having to run it on Thursday night so financially it’s better for the clubs it’s just a shame that if they are successful in winning the league it won’t be in front of their own fans

Not sure Sunday is an option as it would effect two other meetings as would take 3 out of National league riders final and also 3 out of the Year Wolves vs Peterborough fixture plus a lack of available guests with some riders saying they are finished for the year. I expect it to be midweek apart from Wednesday due to the England vs Denmark test match. From a a Leicester perspective I hope it’s not Monday or Friday so it does not clash with the Lions Cub fixtures at Kent and Belle It is also Leicester’s dinner and dance on Saturday so that’s not an option. I noticed earlier that forecast for Leicester has changed now with heavy rain here tonight and into Saturday morning then showers in the afternoon

It also has to be remembered that if rain forces the postponement of Glasgow or Leicester rounds of Championship final the restaging date is Sunday which then also rules Nicholls,Proctor and Douglas out of the Wolves fixture and Perks,Bickley,Bailey and Lawlor out of National League final