All Activity

He’s from Halifax. Do you reckon he could do something for the Dukes while he’s at it …

To be honest it doesn’t really matter what his reasons are,he will be missed but he either wants to be a part of speedway or he doesn’t, sentiment doesn’t solve anything,all that matters is the club is brought by someone and the sport moves forward in a positive manor with Ipswich involved of which it isn’t doing at the moment

I can’t see Guy Nicholls buying the club. If Louis can’t work with the BSPA then Nicholls hasn’t got a chance. In any case Nicholls would want things his way & wouldn’t put up with the way speedway is ran. I think when. Guy pulled the plug on Sheffield he was certainly looking to concentrate on Ipswich as a sponsor with Louis as owner. Whatever has happen it’s happened in the last few days.

Reading the statement towards the end Louis did say that he would clarify things in a few weeks so who knows.

The problem is given the current state of things you would have to give the club away its worth nothing, if anyone takes it on they don't know if they will have anyone to race against in the top tier, drop down a league and maybe get some SGP 2 youngsters over the fans might stick with it they might not if they don't you can set light to 100k minimum. Mr Nichols hasn't made his money by being reckless.

"Some things no longer align for me, and unfortunately it is time to step aside"... Suggests not

You are right, but Berwick is a lot nearer to Scotland than Leicester!

The 'other league' only functions as it is the 'other league' The current Premiership finances a significant proportion of Championship riders Once that structure is gone it may not be so rosey And it seems you want to see Belle Vue , Ipswich, Leicester ,Kings Lynn and Sheffiekd closed to 'protect the product' rather than accommodate any of them Well if there is only room for 9 teams then it should be the best 9 - which wouldn't mean the liss of those 5.......

Just a thought here. Tru Group have finished their sponsorship of Sheffield. Reason for that was explained they want to concentrate on backing Ipswich. Could it be that Guy Nicholls has offered to buyout Chris Louis at Ipswich with an offer Chris Louis could not turn down.

They've not owned the company for 77 years, the family have been involved (rider, manager, promoter) for a decent portion of 55 years, he said 77 between them and many of those were overlap.

I get that but it would be nice to know what has triggered these terms of events and even then to try and fix and weed out the problems behind the scenes whether it's a personnel issue or something else if nothing is ever said nothing can ever be done or acted on.

JJ also confirmed for Opole in Poland. A bit of careful weekend fixture planning will be needed.

Why ? He's made a decision he and his family have owned the company for 77 years, (it said in the press release) , maybe just maybe they want their family/ private times back , yes it's a shock but people with businesses sell up / retire all the time

In a nutshell, there aren’t enough teams. Simple as that...

Think I read previously that this has been looked at fairly recently but there’s a rule that means it can’t happen as it’s too close to Kings Lynn?

Looks like a pilots fan is jealous of the possibility of batch returning to the comets 😁

I was there last night, only the fact that Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins had stepped down got mentioned at the beginning, then Ritchie and Danny King went on to say how sad they were etc. But definitely no revelations as to why it had happened. They were keeping very shtum about it.

I was there last night, only the fact that Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins had stepped down got mentioned at the beginning, then Ritchie and Danny King went on to say how sad they were etc. But definitely no revelations as to why it had happened. They were keeping very shtum about it.

As an aside, I see Swaffham raceway is for sale at £1.6m so if someone has deep pockets you have a ready made arena and probably a better chance of gaining punters rather than Northampton albeit I guess Kings Lynn would not be happy but hey, it could be for the good of the sport so some sacrifices need to be made. No one really complained when you had several tracks operating in London at the same time. It says the current owners would consider leasing it.

Hey Dean, I've been posting as much recently. I don't have an affiliation to any club in particular, I'm just a Speedway fan who subscribes to BSN. Over the past couple of years I must admit I've enjoyed the Championship matches more than the Premiership. The matches seem to be more grittier and the riders generally appear to have more commitment. People seem to slag off Plymouth but the racing always seems to be close and not strung out. The matches involving Glasgow, Redcar, Poole etc are always worth watching. Variety is the spice of life and one league could give British Speedway a real shot in the arm. Belle Vue away at Edinburgh, Sheffield away at Plymouth etc. Something new for a change instead of the same old, same old etc. Finally, this forum is getting more depressing by the day. I realise there are major obstacles to overcome but what is happening at the moment is just maybe what the sport needed, a massive shake up! I visited my doctor recently as I've been feeling down, fed up and depressed. Is it the cold damp weather or the fact I've just been made redundant etc. After speaking to my doctor at length, he advised me to come off this forum! Just joking.

Exactly a little bit of clarity wouldn't hurt would it, but then again this is the whole problem with this sad excuse of a sport in the UK

So I'd be rather interested to know why Chris Louis and Ritchie Hawkins were not happy with the 2026 league structure. As described above by the BSPL chairman.

And why exactly has it happened? Is it Because there aren’t enough teams ? The sport is bankrupt? .The bspl couldnt force the likes of Glasgow and Poole to join the league putting themselves at finical risk? the tv money has gone as have a couple of big sponsors ? There is a snobbery towards the championship from some clubs ? What is it ?

Grasping at straws, are they saying farewell to Chris and Ritchie or to the club?

Will Louis out a statement to put people more into the picture about why it has happened?