All Activity

i think 99% on here wish them all the best Phil and would be more than happy to be proved wrong and it ends up being a resounding success. My worry is that it seems to have been rushed without any testing for public appetite for the Sport in Northampton. Given how hush hush its been I can imagine 99% of the Northampton population have no idea anything is even going on with the new season weeks away. Over the years I have seen numerous promoters come into speedway loose a bundle of money then exit a year later, if the other promoters are all going to chip in you still have a situation where Leicester and Sheffield both lost money last year, Lynn and Ipswich maybe made a small profit ?, Belle Vue no idea do they make money or operate at a constant loss. But you still have at least two of the five above who might be being asked to shell out a contribution on top of expected losses for 2026 and no tv money either. I would be delighted for anyone to say to me "i told you so" this time next year and i want to see the sport thrive but think it will need another Tolley character to finance a large chunk of it. Your way better connected than myself so hopefully the venture will be in experienced, long term planning, wealthy hands.

Do not think that is an issue, there will be a few teams built that way.

Early to mid March at the latest.

Will only be able to put together a team of 6 pointers as that's all there is. No top riders interested in riding in UK, especially without TV. Could be like KL last year with Mulford/Harrison as RS?

That’s good to hear Phil. People have said on here one extra track makes little difference but I totally disagree. One more/less club in a division with a high number of clubs I agree makes little difference, but the lower number you go, the bigger difference that one club makes. A six team Premiership is far far better than a five team Premiership no matter what some naysayers will tell you. Just hope they can put something decent together team wise to make it a reasonable success. Nobody wants a weak marooned team at the bottom that everybody else is beating every week

I’d fully expect Thorssell and Nicholls to swap positions after the first set of Green Sheets. RE King, agree with you there although to be fair to him, he’s still very good around Ipswich and after a sea of change, they may have wanted a semblance of continuity. A better signing for Ipswich than he would have been for anyone else.

What we say on here will have zero effect. I for one will be going, when the Lions aren't racing, as it's only an hour down the road but it's very high risk. I can see the first season being a relative success, due to novelty factor, the limited fixtures these days and probably most importantly the catchment of defunct and existing tracks (Leicester, Coventry, Peterborough, Oxford, Birmingham) all within an hours travel. Good luck to 'em 🤞

Ben Morley & Eli Meadows just been announced.

Completely agree, the negativity on here has been pretty staggering. At least let it happen before slagging it off! Its been happening for a long time, all the best to everybody involved.

Northampton is happening so lets get behind it and stop being negative about it. good luck to them

all this just so his son got a track to race at when hes old enough. what a father

Spot on he is the key if someone can get him motivated again, he does seem to go better when he's not number one, it looks a solid side and if the rumours are true of the Swede coming back on a buttons average they should have the best reserve in the league all season long. The only thing I personally think is there might have been a better choice than King on his average I understand he's been a great servant but he will do well to maintain his average this coming season.

Is Greta free that weekend ?

I’m personally glad about that. Not a fan of the same people running two clubs in the same division.

He definitely is, but Ipswich will have to find a way of getting him motivated and back to his best which was only a couple of seasons ago. In Sheffields title winning season, he topped their averages over the season above Woffinden posting a season average of 9.35 with bonuses. That comfortably outstrips anything Doyle or Emil posted in Ipswich’ title triumph last year. Things then started to go downhill which began with the farcical situation at Kings Lynn where he looked uninterested, then picked up an injury, and then completely disappeared. Then last year he rarely hit the heights, but then again it was a bit of a car crash situation at Birmingham where they all struggled as a team, and they all knew it was the clubs last season. Maybe it’s just a case of two wrong moves and clubs for him. He’ll now be at a well run club (or WERE, remains to be seen if that’s still the case under new owners), and riding in front of a good crowd every home meeting which absolutely does make a difference to riders. Let’s see if that gets him going again because there’s no doubt about it, Musielak is a fine rider capable of much more than his current average. He’s good to watch as well when he’s in the mood and on song. Has ridden Ipswich well in the past too.

Anders Thomson, Freddy Lindgren, Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley all had a lower average in Poland last year than Jason Doyle, and yet Doyle had a poor year here in the UK. Poland is and has always been, a terrible indicator of what happens in this Country average wise. Thorssell has shown a liking to tracks over here in the past and even if he’s regressed as a rider since then, that is negated by the fact the league he would be returning to has been watered down. Thorssell is more than capable of a 6.5 average in this league, so anyone that grabs him on a 4.5 is getting a two point average jumper right off the bat.

At the rate they are going, Manchester City will be found guilty before the fixtures are out...

And Dollars to be spent

It's all about the money !! In 1997, both Stock Cars and Speedway were kicked out of Odsal by the Bulls as the Super League had recently come into existence and Sky were throwing money at it, so they no longer needed the rental income. Plans for a fully enclosed 'Superdome' were published, which obviously would have made motorsports unfeasible. From 2012 to 2017, the Bulls went into administration 3 times, also dropping out of the Super League in 2014, and the 3rd one ended in liquidation. The Bulls that exist now are a completely new entity formed in 2017. During that first period of administration the RFL had to step in and purchase the leasehold on the stadium to help keep the club afloat. At the end of the 2019 season, they were still struggling financially and could no longer afford the rent so they moved out to Dewsbury for 2 seasons, leaving the RFL with an empty stadium. During the winter of 2020, the last Stock Car promotion to run at Odsal (Startrax), negotiated a return to Odsal with the RFL and made agreement with the Bulls to come back in with them. Allegedly, this was very beneficial to the Bulls, as rumour is that they had fallen out with the Dewsbury chairman and were going to be homeless in 2021. Since the return, the pitch has never met the minimum size specified in the rule book, but the RFL seemed happy to overlook this. However, now they have been 'promoted' back to the Super League, it has become more of an issue. Unfortunately for Stock Car racing, this promotion means the Bulls will be far better off financially, and it also coincides with the Bulls taking over the leasehold on the stadium from the RFL, giving them far more control over what happens. Despite the Stock Car promoters still having several years on the lease agreement, they are no longer welcome at Odsal, and I believe legal proceedings have taken place, but the rumour is that this was more about compensation than any possible return. The fact is, that without Startrax reopening Odsal in 2021 (a massive gamble as we were still under Covid restrictions at the time), the Bulls would not be playing there now, and would certainly not have been in the position to be rejoining the Super League. Then their fans wonder why all stock car fans are wishing for them to get relegated, go bust, or both !!

Mayfield are not the prospective promoters at Northampton. Foam fence ordered. Plenty of work to be done.

It also surely isn’t really practical to run NDL meetings on the busiest night for the Championship, as so many riders will be unavailable, it’s possible that 8 of the 9 sides could be racing at the same time. In other news, Jody Scott on the Bears Facebook Live tomorrow night and also revealing the date for the U21 Final. Monday 7pm

Because the new stand on the pits turn has supporting legs that are very close to the outer edge of the track. The likelihood of a stock car going over the fence is far less than that of a speedway rider, and even if they did they would be protected by the car they were in. I know that riders clearing fences doesn't happen often, but it does happen, and therefore the risk could not be taken.

I think there should be a march organised around Rugby next weekend, to protest for the release of the Premiership fixture lists. Get Amnesty International involved, surely this illegal detention must be drawn to the national attention!!

Apparently Bradford bulls kicked out the stock car people because the rugby league said for them to be a super League club, the pitch had to be, and remain a certain size at all times, they would not allow them to lift the corners in any circumstances. This dispite the stock cars bringing in upto 10k people into odsal every 4 weeks or so spring summer and autumn, , and the rugby club benefiting from food sales and rent

Sounds like Hayley Stadium Newport, don't want anyone else to run it, set it on fire !