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The track i visited in the 1980s which hosted WTC rounds (ect) ( Lee took Penhall from the back in one round) was far superior to today's track.

No truth in the suggestion whatsoever.

The press release didn't have the disclaimer - look at the club website The disclaimer was inserted and only published by the BSPA. Usually, these processes take place quietly in the background but this season the BSPA – through its Press Office – seems keen to have a pop at both Eastbourne and Birmingham by continually posting this statement on their website. How they think it is helpful to the establishment of a new business in a higher league, god only knows. No doubt the Press Office have been told what to do but they should grow some and tell the bigwigs (being polite) to forget it.

And by having the ref firmly on your side and MPT's injury....

Who is better on his average ? Linus is a decent rider...

In the late 90's there was a request for riders to be allowed programable ignition systems, which would auto do the settings for different stages in the racing. A vote was held with all league riders, and there was a majority of riders who didn't want such an extra expense. So when I knew that Seemond had a switch on his bars, I knew it was an attempt to change the ignition setting from retard at the start gate, to normal after the first bend. I pointed this out during the meeting, hence why Seemond stopped using it, but after the referee refused to do anything about it, Seemond went back to using it and won his last race. They definitely worked. Just a pity that at a later year 2002, Davey Watt hadn't used one and he might have reached the first bend with everyone else. Instead of tootling around at the back for the 3 rides we allowed him.

Sorry but I don't use or have any desire to use Facebook, so alternatives are most welcome.

Correct decision then. It’s never been a secret.

The chance of the land at Ashfield ever being built is very slim due to the fact the land is believe to be contaminated, it was an old railway works and lots of stuff was dumped there hence the name Ashfield and not fit for housing also there is a fault underneath. Just ask the owners of the houses behind the 3rd and 4th bends. The initial planning permission was rejected by the council and the developers only got it through on appeal but the home owners have had many problems with two of the houses having to be almost rebuilt due to subsidence.

I thought we were supposedly vulnerable in heats 13 and 15 in 2018 - yet not only did we make the play-offs but we won the Premiership trophy too.

Just out of interest who made these “pit comments” at Undera ?

So a new major sponsor comes on board and the press release has the disclaimer, 2 months before the seasons due to start that the team running in the second tier is still subject to approval! Must have big names flocking to have their brands represented with such an organised governing body!! Should be shocked but it is the BSPA we’re dealing with!

You cant help yourself what has sponsors got to do with us, but you have to bring us into it again prize buffoon of the highest order.

Rather than a track closing surely an open licence is the next best option? the BSPA should 100% encourage any track to operate from training tracks upwards!

Don't forget the track staff, officials, St.Johns (or whoever) would also like to get a cuppa and/or to have a pee!!

That sounds terrible imagine regular speedway on regular nights during the summer, even worse if it was first week of May until end of August, all those dreadful nice warm evenings with reduced threat of rain and the whole of September reserved for Play Offs, Cup finals etc. Thankfully everyone will see sense and run erratically, enjoy the Easter weekend washout and embrace the rush of fixtures before the cut off dates / freezing their toes off watching the season wimper out in late October.

There isn't anything like the money or global appeal in speedway as there is for even Rugby League, and I'm not convinced Canadian teams in RL makes much sense. Certainly people have lost interest in Super Rugby since it added the teams beyond its core base, and the huge time differences make the whole thing a bit of nightmare for television. League speedway is really only run in Europe so time zones wouldn't be the same issue, but a European competition would only make sense if some decent television or sponsorship deal was secured on the back of it. You couldn't really run such a thing on the expectations of crowd revenue, and I'm not convinced the likes of Poole v Falubaz Zielona Gora on a cold Wednesday night would really have as much appeal as Poole v Swindon for the average fan, although you could maybe stage away 'tours' as a couple of matches at a time which might appeal to some fans. I don't honestly think Poland would have much to gain from this nowadays, and it would appeal more to those national leagues where a team or two would like to run at a higher level of competition, but there aren't enough teams in their own country to form a league at the desired level. I actually think it more likely that British teams would run in the Swedish Leagues than the Polish ones. The time to have done a European League was 20 years ago when there was more equality between the three or four main leagues and cable and satellite televisions were looking for cheap content. It would also have been a good opportunity for those leagues to have taken control of the SGP and SWC and run those competitions for their own benefit. But no-one wanted to look at the big picture, speedway is now way off the radar as a marketable sport and everyone within the sport is just fighting over scraps these days.

Some good views on here. I really do like the idea of a Euro Super League. Could it work? In current circumstances probably not. But maybe, just maybe. It would have to be franchised and administered and marketed by an independent body affiliated to the FIM. The BSPA or other national bodies would never be allowed to run it. I like some of the comparisons to Rugby League which now has French and Canadian teams involved. Before Super League and Sky Sports investment, RL was a rough n' ready northern sport played in the middle of winter and followed by a die-hard fan base. Pretty much could be said for speedway these days. However since Super League was launched, it's franchising and marketing has brought a whole new fan base to the sport and also enjoys huge media exposure. So how about if for Speedway? Such a competition could still run alongside the domestic leagues and most importantly the Grand Prix series. There would have to be brand new teams (or in this case franchises) set up to successfully market such a competition to a wider audience. 8 teams - say 2 from UK, 2 from Poland, 2 from Sweden and 2 from Denmark. You could possibly make it 9 by inviting a franchise from one of the other main speedway nations on a yearly basis providing they meet strict entry and financial criteria. So that would be 8 home meetings over the year and of cause probably 1 more depending on a Grand Final play-off series. As someone has rightly pointed out I don't think fans would mind spending £20 admission to see 15 action packed heats featuring the best riders in the world (I love the idea of Woffinden, Cook and Lambert as the heat leaders). It would also have to do away with stupid team points limits. Some will say what about the away fixtures? - Nobody will want to travel over? Wrong. Not every meeting no, but some fans would want to travel over to say Poland or Denmark and make a long weekend out of it. I remember going over to Perpignan in France a few years ago and the city was rammed with 3000 Leeds Rhino fans there to see their team take on the Catalan Dragons. Broadcasting rights and big sponsorship deals would be key for such a competition to work but if left in the hands of the right management this could be done. Maybe such an idea is just a fart in the wind, but if Speedway is to generate a new fan base with a new exciting future could such a competition be the cure? Cheers

Exactly what is sought by TV and sponsors though, a Euro League. A continental audience rather than national and therefore many more people to sell to. It would have to be FIM endorsed as the national federations are unlikely to relinquish control even if it could raise the profile of the sport. 12 to 14 teams should provide enough fixtures so that the gp riders only ride in the one league providing some much needed credibility. It's the only way in which league speedway including gp standard riders could be delivered in this country, albeit restricted to one track and 11 to 15 meetings per season.

As a buyer from day one and a 'subber' for many years, to be honest I was thinking the same but hesitated to to comment as the mag does excellently what it says on the tin and deliberately doesn't cover the modern era, which it isn't about. But, yeah extending the timeline upto 1999 is a good idea I think. Just keep on doing what you're doing, Tony....

Personally, I think there's enough of the 70's and 80's yet to cover that there is no need to stretch the timeline. Whilst most of the big name riders have been covered, often its the (relatively) lesser lights who have the more interesting stories to tell. For example, the recent Tony Lomas interview was fascinating, particularly his memories of Charles Ochiltree.

One year from now, the beginning of the 90's will be 30 years past. I think Backtrack started in 2004, only 14 years after the end of the 80's, so I guess there is a case for expanding the coverage into the 90's. Personally, I would have little interest in the 90's because the decline was well and truly beginning and things would never be the same again.

Top 4 Sheffield Redcar Edinburgh Somerset Workington to do a Sheffield and finish bottom , they would have been top 4 if they had got Rasmus Jensen back strange they didnt sign him up again.

Top 4 1.Sheffield 2. Somerset 3. Eastbourne 4. Redcar Bottom 4 Glasgow Newcastle Scunthorpe Birmingham

Was a little drunk, but what a race, what an atmosphere. https://www.facebook.com/groups/429093583853900/permalink/1683352338428012/