Sings4Speedway

Ive always been an advocate that if you are good enough then you are young/old enough. The higher the quality of the league the higher quality of rider you will produce. Both Tedham & Woods have had a few years in the league now and are both still 3 pointers. I can see the sense in opting for the younger rider as they have longer to develop and some riders develop slower than others.

Drop me an invite if you do plan one. I'd love to create a kind of "flash mob" for the hard work everyone on the Island is doing. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could get everyone who was thinking of visiting to go for the same meeting? Boost the gate by 50-100-200 who knows? Would certainly keep Barry & team busy greeting all the first time visitors

Not really any riders available or willing to use up the points? Slightly strange choice as I thought if it was a 3 pointer it would be Tedham. That said if any rider deserved a little luck this season it's Sam so I wish him well.

Definitely hope Bristol can run from Swindon this season and create more opportunities for developing riders plus add a little value for money (in some peoples eyes). I don't think Somerset are as keen on running development league sides as they once were and have seen the Exeter SDL side relocate to Plymouth for the 2018 season.

There will always be pluses and minuses to a team running solely in this competition. A team has to either nominate an intended team under the 39 point limit at the start of the season or pick a team of riders on form but come in under 39 points as the season progresses or use a selection of unattached riders. For Cradley & for entertainment purposes the route the club is taking is probably the correct one as there will be a competitive side out each time and continuity will at least bring a side together that fans can relate too on a regular basis. Obviously this all falls over if Cradley reach the final and the rider reverts to their original club. As proven last year the concept of producing a dream team is one thing but creating the unity and fighting spirit plus creating racing partnerships is another. As ever i would rather see two well matched sides on track creating entertainment than a meeting where the result is practically decided before tapes up. Providing the Northern group serves up good racing and keeps the Cradley fans entertained there is hope that the Team can survive as i fear if a spectacle is not produced interest will wain and the famous name may be lost again.

Definitely nice to see some positives from the AGM with (potentially) additional teams in each league. Bristol at Swindon is exciting as its a new host venue whilst the return of Kings Lynn is another major plus. Hopefully all the TBC's will get sorted so the leagues can begin to prosper again. Shame that Milton Keynes are currently homeless again having been around since the development leagues started it would be a great shame if they were forced to not participate this year.

There have been several complaints about the noise at Kent over the years including several made on weeks where speedway wasn't even running. I feel any like these should be immediately dismissed as there is clearly an agenda rather than genuine concern. Sadly some people are only happy when they are trying to make others miserable.

Does anybody know if/when these are scheduled to take place? Or if they have is there any information coming from them?

Not been announced anywhere yet and Stoke cannot fit him i with the points left. Must be either Belle Vue or Coventry although with Cov running on a sunday also i guess he is Manchester bound.......

Must be signed somewhere as its been far too quiet about him. Im guessing Belle Vue would be a bit too far so i guess Brum or Cov.......unless he want another unattached season?

Wouldn't have fitted at Stoke anyway (not that you were implying that) with another 3 pointer at reserve it leaves 5.4 to finish the side. Luke Ruddick on 5.31? Nice to see a fresher approach at Stoke this year.

There is absolutely nothing that says Layne cannot be a good speedway rider and a music star however In My Opinion to succeed at something and to truly reach your full potential takes dedication and full commitment. Even at solely NL level riders need to find 1/2 days a week to work on bikes, plus hold down a job and include some level of fitness regime all of which prove very time consuming but are required if a rider wishes to achieve their potential. As for annoying you that's your concern. This is a forum for opinions, often peppered with rumours, insider information and gossip. It's certainly not to be taken too seriously or forming personal vendetta's.

Presentation is huge and speedway have it very wrong (although many new attempts appear faddy). The other issue is Speedway & its fans don't know what they want it to be? Is it supposed to be an afternoon/evening out with excellent entertainment like a social event or is it supposed to be a quick fix and hammered through as quick as possible with a few thrills like an illicit rendezvous ?

Exactly why not make a night of it, offer further entertainment. You have juniors & second halfers who turn up all over the country and ride for free just to be rushed through and treated like dirt. Providing the curfews are not in danger why not run another 15 heat match with second half riders? No money to pay out just track time. Or invite the sidecars? Anything extra to present a better value evening. If you can prevent the current culture of everyone streaming out of the stadium immediately it might create a more unified atmosphere

Problem is as stated by some already Speedway is neither family friendly or extreme for the modern generation. Family friendly means clean well kept stadiums, good viewing for adults and children alike and toilets that do not disgust people. You then need a team that is prepared to interact with the fans, be around pre-meeting and not rush off after like all do now. For the extreme side things are just not that dramatic to the instant generation. They want to see the thrills & spills, ideally in a 2 minute clip max and then move onto something else. Attention spans are short, anticipation is unnecessary technology has created an instant society and minority sports will continue to struggle. There are plenty of grand ideas that could be used to promote the sport, demo's that could be put on with almost rehearsed racing which will have short term gains but all the while everyone is focused on saving the immediate the future is slipping further away.

Not sure where all the no interest in Speedway has come from? Shanes has been riding NL since 2013 so covering plenty of UK miles along with his Grasstrack & Longtrack commitments. Poole obviously would be a benefit to him as it would make local sponsorship easier to come by but with new bikes being built & 10 engines on his work bench id say its likely he knows he has a Premiership berth somewhere.

Fair point probably more valid to compare Zmarzlik with Kelsey Dugard.....oh wait Layne could easily up his average if Speedway is his first priority and not trying to become a music star but if he continues to spread himself thinly over several fads he will remain a 4 point something rider. As for why are the Poles so good......thats a whole other topic

Ties with Holder? Either way its not a positive start from Lynn or Lambert. He is going to really have to deliver this year otherwise there will be serious questions asked about his commitment and the promotions decision making.

Much depends if he used his bikes in the Prem & Champ last season or had separate? If he used the same bikes they will be 80? meetings old and in need of decent investment to refresh them. If they have only done one season in the Prem then with a little TLC they should be fine for another year. Im surprised that promoters don't have conditions regarding the amount / quality of machinery that a rider uses at the top level? Either way it doesn't sound like he is a happy camper so id expect this saga to continue along with some dubious sick notes.

I personally like the approach of picking 7 riders up front rather than picking the form riders at the time that fit under the points limit. I guess it kind of works to Cradleys advantage if they name a team up front built to 39 points and then they all up their averages before the NT matches are completed? That said if a rider is unavailable for any reason Cradley had better be able to use a guest as if a team that can pick from a large pool of riders still has to use RR then there is little hope left for the sport.

Trevor Heath? In fairness his replacement only lasted a little bit longer and was then replaced with a Mr James Shanes.......

"Notable" riders without a released team place include Dwyer, Halder, Greenwood, Halsey, Armstrong, Hunter, Bowtell, Knight, Wilson & Harris although not sure any combination would keep pace with the teams already announced.

From my perspective its all about value for money and being entertained. Even following NL at the cheaper end of the scale i picked my meetings this year at Kent as i was becoming bored of big home wins with limited entertainment. Im not going to visit every week just because a meeting is on i want to be entertained. Its also down to false economy as i didn't think twice about the fuel in the car going to Peterborough just the entry fee but i did receive good entertainment with the racing in return however i couldn't justify it every week. Speedway fans are no longer happy to blindly hand over money whenever any team visits they want a two sides of equal quality on a track that can produce decent racing and they will be happy. The formula is simple and yet its still often messed up.

Not seen any NL racing at Leicester since the National Trophy days but with positive comments from the NLRC i suspect there is certainly some good value entertainment to be had viewing the revised Coventry team. With Peterborough & Mildenhall potentially running on the same Sundays it might have an impact on a few undecided travelers but if Stoke were running on the Saturday night before a Leicester/Coventry match it could certainly be a tempting weekend.

Will be a good indication this year where GB is on the world stage with drodz wroyna and co in the premiership. If they set things alight its a further worry.