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Looks like he will have his work cut out catching the Aprilia’s this season. Big weekend for him as he is the king of COTA.

Co-inciding with Speedway Star's unmissable Season Preview issue, which will offer details of ALL the tracks and teams...... Worry-ye-not, folks. It's happening!

There is a BIG team announcement coming from Northampton next week 👍🏻

I guess what it means is that some of the serious stuff hasn't yet been sorted They are certainly taking their time i can understand the team not being announced until it's complete though

Best News I've heard since it was reported that Spurs are in talks with a possible new manager called Adolf!!!! You couldn't make it up....

I'm from Northampton but my expectations are low. As long as they get the bikes in front of a crowd at both Franklin's Gardens and Sixfields, and have something in the Market Square a couple of Saturdays before, they should be alright. There's something to be said for THIS IS HAPPENING VERY SOON! rather than THIS IS HAPPENING WEEKS AWAY, PLEASE MAINTAIN YOUR EXCITEMENT! However, people often make choices about where to spend their money in advance. I'm just happy to have a local track again.

Big launch on Talk Sport... 'Arry being interviewed for half an hour by Hawksbee and Jacobs... Every morning on the Sports Breakfast they read out last nights results... BetVictor the main sponsor of the Premiership with a £500k sponsorship.... Every meeting BetVictor do "specials" so fans can have a bet, with one of their comms team going on Talk Sport each afternoon of a meeting, covering the bet builders available and the oversl odds.. Channel Five showing live Premiership Speedway, and an hours worth of magazine programme each week... Sorted.. Making Speedway Great Again...

Disappointing no Brennan I agree. But they are all new suits for all riders just very similar design. You can tell by the 75 years anniversary logo on left chest on all not just the new guys. You can see it clearly on one of the pics of king. Mayfield wording also on arms.

They would do a Rune Holta and take out a polish licence

Agreed 99.9% on here want this to be a resounding success that means the club can carry on for many years, the worry as the same 99.9% have said is it seems to be the standard speedway operating model of lets just open the gates on opening night and they will turn up. This semi works at existing tracks as the wealthier owners can underwrite the losses but its been a very slow death by a thousand cuts for the last 40 years, people on here desperately want it to succeed the concerns are it seems the owners are following the current operating model that we all know doesn't work unless you can cover losses elsewhere Poole and Ipswich excepted.

Rule one broken already. In all the years Louis has been promoting, no rider has ever missed press and practice and he would never allow it. Same kevlars as last year also, so cost cutting has already commenced where the returning riders recycle their kevlars from last year.

I agree don’t think there is many “ panic merchants “ .Its seems a strange way to start a new venture.Maybe they know there are thousands of fans just waiting for the nod to turn up on the night.🤔🤞

I think "panic-merchant" is a bit of a stretch. As far as I can tell, nobody on here is actually from Northampton, so technically it isn’t "our" club and I suppose, in that retrospect, none of us should care. But we do care, and that is the point. It isn't about panicking; it’s about genuine concern from people who have a lifelong investment in this sport. The Star article might have made perfect sense to some, but for others, it still leaves a lot of silence where there should be activity. If pointing out a total lack of engagement or questioning a "wait and see" approach is considered demanding, then so be it. But most of us aren't looking for excuses to moan, we’re looking for signs of life in a sport we want to see succeed. There is a massive difference between being a "forum merchant" and being a concerned fan who understands how a modern business should actually communicate with its customers.

Just a quick update as a Sky TV and TNT subscriber. I was prompted to add HBO Max today. I can see all the SGPs from last year available to stream, and have watched one to test it. I can also still see the TNT channels in the usual channel guide. So, as long as TNT is still showing the SGP series this year, then I expect to be able to watch it from either location. Obviously, if you subscribe in a different way you will need to check your own options.

Not a bad idea Mike personally I think if the top 4 UK clubs joined it would be a better proposition to sell to the public, the other 1 or 2 remaining prem clubs could drop down to the championship and it would still allow the 3rd heat leaders/second strings to double up in the championship to help with the lower leagues expenses and allow said riders to top up their coffers also.

Just a quick update as a Sky TV and TNT subscriber. I was prompted to add HBO Max today. I can see all the SGPs from last year available to stream, and have watched one to test it. I can also still see the TNT channels in the usual channel guide. So, as long as TNT is still showing the SGP series this year, then I expect to be able to watch it from either location. Obviously, if you subscribe in a different way you will need to check your own options.

The Star article made perfect sense to me. Without naming names, it answers enough questions to satisfy all but the most-demanding of forum panic-merchants.

Strange I spoke to him yesterday at length and seemed quite a nice guy. But then not crossed him yet I suppose

Going on previous promotions from the past and their ideas of wisdom they may go as ackney awks running out of Brafield to tap into the former east London fan base

Is it Northampton?

It would be great, however, Poland would destroy every other league due to the money they pay out... Every "decent" rider would choose to ride over there... And any rider not riding over there, would happily leave their non Polish team and replace those who did... I think a UK/Scandinavian League could work though, particularly if/when Poland force in the one extra league rule... A more similar renumeration package across the three leagues and this would bring variety... Use the Danish model, (five rider teams), and you could get 22 teams, meaning 21 home meetings... It would also give a true "Elite" UK league for the UK teams to race in... And would mean "Polish wages" wouldn't need to be paid to attract Polish top riders,(like happens already in Sweden and Denmark)... As an example. Northampton opening in such a league would capture the imagination of the locals far more than a six team UK league would, I would suggest...

The prospective promoters are having a meeting with the stadium owners tomorrow, not sure what’s to discuss at this late stage but anyhow they have decided on a team name, wonder how or even if they can bothered to tell us plebs their wonderful news ?

That approach would be kind of understandable if the first meeting were six months away, but it isn’t and it wasn’t when the news was first announced. If they truly know what they’re doing, then fair enough; time will tell. They may well have a five-year plan in place to go from strength to strength, but in the meantime, the silence isn't doing much to build momentum.

The ultimate for me would be to make it 1 team per rider across the continent and introduce continental competition. Would allow UK to return to preferred race nights and introduce more TV deal opportunities, increase the number of meetings against different teams (more variety) and chances to see the best riders across the world when they compete in continental competitions.

I was going to use the BSP one... And put an advert in the Speedway Star....