Chris116

Chris Harris confirmed as a Panther on BSPA website by Buster, seven days after it was originally announced on the BSPA website. Must be a slow day for news!

The tide must have been out for longer than usual!

In my opinion it has been shown time and again that one season proves nothing. Riders can take one season or five seasons to make the grade and move up the leagues.

The Belle Vue stock car promotion, Startrax, have stated that they are not even considering the NSS as a possible replacement. Living in London I am far more concerned that during my lifetime I have seen cars and/or bikes at Wimbledon, West Ham, Harringay, Walthamstow, Romford, Crayford, Hackney, White City, Earls Court 2, Rayleigh, New Cross, Staines and Arena Essex. They have all been redeveloped meaning the local population increased while the amount of local entertainment decreased which is almost as stupid as railway lines being closed in the 1960's just as big new housing estates were built around the now closed stations and then the politicians wondered why there was so much traffic causing grid lock.

The Hi-Edge Raceway is a tarmac oval but Kirkmanshulme Lane is a shale track so transferring fixtures would not be to Hi-Edge but another shale track and the Hi-Edge promotion would not allow the Belle Vue promotion to run on the Buxton Speedway track even if the Buxton Speedway wanted to have the cars on their track.

Forward planning for next year, maybe?

As the adverts for financial services always say - Past perfomance is no guarantee of future performance. But averages are a useful guide and the way team building has to be done so they have their place.

My last visit to the Racewall was in May 2003 so things could have well altered since then. I was assisting with the commentary and throughout the weekend Ray Gunn and his family made me feel very welcome supplying me with bacon rolls and tea. Tragically Ray was killed in the Saloon Stock Car Scottish Championship in what became the last race of the weekend. Ray is the only driver or rider I have seen killed at a meeting and that afternoon still haunts me to this day.

At Cowdenbeath they have a proper fence around the football pitch on the inside of the Racewall track. The two meetings held at the old Wembley had a barrier round the football pitch but at the second meeting an F1 car jumped the barrier and went end over end across the grass with the front bumper digging holes in the pitch, that was the end of cars at Wembley!

In 1960 Ronnie Greene told a large group that included my father that there was no way Stock Cars would ever be allowed at Wimbledon and in September 1962 the Formula Two Stock Cars made their debut at Plough Lane with Stan Ingle winning the second Spedeworth World Final. Sadly it was the same day as that years Speedway World Final at Wembley so my parents took me to Wembley and we went to the Stock Cars at Wimbledon for the second meeting, the first time we had seen non-Control Board racing. I would agree it is most unlikely but NEVER say NEVER!

Cowdenbeath Racewall is around a football pitch and they have solved the problem of cars on the grass by having a full safety fence on the inside of the track. The posts slot into suitable holes and are removed for the football. The resulting holes then have a short post under a flat plate which covers the hole. Seems to work well and keeps the cars off the grass very well. Maybe a similar solution could be found for NSS if stock cars were to race there but from comments on the Startrax website the stock car promoter has not even considered the idea at the present time.

On that subject the flats that are being built on the site of Wimbledon stadium are looking as though they will soon be finished but the area where the football stadium is going to be built is empty! I fully expect that AFC Wimbledon are going to find they don't get the stadium they have been looking forward to for the past decade. The developers have been sponsoring the football club and my bet is the sponsorship will end just before the building starts meaning AFC Wimbledon will not be able to afford it. At that point the developers will be rushing back to get a change in the planning permission so they can drop the stadium and build more flats.

Startrax, who run the Stock Cars at Belle Vue (and also used to run Stoke) have had a very bad end to 2019 but have said that they have not even thought of trying to run cars at the NSS as there would be more problems for them they want. They are still expecting to be able to run for the first half of 2020 at Kirkmanshulme Lane and will be continuing their fight to force the supply of a new stadium or at the very least ground to build one on. As was proved with Wimbledon, they have an uphill fight but fight they certainly will.

Do we or the council trust the present owners to do what they would have to promise based on previous events?

So what happens to the current three standalone clubs? We know that Plymouth want to go into the Championship but would Mildenhall and Isle of Wight be able to make the move and if not that would mean the loss of two tracks and being fair that is speedway shoting itself in the foot big time. The sport needs more tracks not fewer.

Kent Kestrels?

Why did you say it's a pound and then look for someone who is free? I want a free argument and I want it in the NDL Poole 2021 thread that is bound to start to ensure total domination by Poole.

I like speedway and stox about equally. I would love both the bikes and cars to return to Oxford but it is simply not possible as there is no space for a pit area for the cars. When the cars last ran many of them were parked on the wrong side of the road and the police allowed them to be driven across the road which is of course totally illegal. I don't think that would be possible nowadays.

I agree that figure is dreadful and would never support bad treatment of any animal but I would like to hear both sides of the arguement. It is possible that the person I met was one of only a few who did it the right way.

I wonder how the Peta spokesperson thinks the cars are going to have any pit space? I have only ever known one trainer in greyhound racing and after all I had heard about the way the dogs were treated it was very good to find that they were treated as well as any pet dog is. I can well believe that some trainers do do things the wrong way but Peta should not tar all trainers with the same brush.

They have said that they will race their home meetings when the senior team is racing away so riders can't really be in both teams!

116 pages about Poole 2020 in the Premiership section seems to prove facts are totally irrelevant!

NDL points limit set at 39 for 2020 which is an increase.

I hope the stand alone clubs can arrange a three team tournament using as many riders as possible per team. Maybe a points limit to force use of all riders over the three rounds with every rider having to race in two out of three.

BSPA statement:- BRITISH Speedway’s National Development League will come to the tapes with seven clubs next season.The third tier AGM was concluded on Monday where substantial work was completed in order to balance the needs of stand-alone sides and those who operate in the NDL in addition to their senior outfits.The league is delighted to welcome the Armadale Devils as a new entry for 2020, bringing regular NDL racing back to Scotland, whilst regrettably losing Cradley Heath and Stoke from the competition due to their publicised stadium issues.Armadale join stand-alone clubs Isle of Wight, Mildenhall and Plymouth along with Belle Vue Colts, champions Leicester Lion Cubs, and Kent – who remain in the NDL alongside their entry to senior Championship level.The stand-alone clubs will compete in all three full team competitions, whilst Leicester will also defend the KO Cup, and two major events will also be coming to each of the stand-alone venues.The points limit for NDL team-building rises to 39.00, and a change from last season sees the elimination of the 2.00 minimum average, which has now reverted to 3.00.SUMMARYNDL Clubs: Armadale, Belle Vue, Isle of Wight, Kent, Leicester, Mildenhall, Plymouth.NDL Format: 1 home, 1 away – play-offs to decide the league title for the top four.NDL KO Cup semi-finals: Leicester v Isle of Wight; Mildenhall v Plymouth.NDL Trophy: Isle of Wight, Mildenhall, Plymouth (1 home, 1 away)MAJOR EVENTS (Dates to be confirmed)NDL Riders’ Championship: MildenhallNDL Pairs: Isle of WightNDL Fours: PlymouthThere will be three British U21 Qualifiers in 2020, these to take place at Isle of Wight, Mildenhall and Plymouth.NEW RULES FOR NDL TROPHY MEETINGS* Immediately prior to the meeting, the away team manager will select two races between Heats 5 and 12 inclusive where the highest-averaged rider from each team in that race will start from a 15-metre handicap.* Between Heats 5 and 12 inclusive (except for the races pre-selected as above), an additional tactical option is available to a team six or more points in arrears who can, on one occasion, select gate positions for the following race.British Speedway Chairman Rob Godfrey said: “A lot of hard work has gone into the arrangements for the National Development League, and as an association we are very keen to preserve the three tiers of British Speedway.“We have had to strike a balance between the interests of the stand-alone clubs and those who run in the NDL in addition to their senior teams, and we believe the outcome of the AGM is that those needs have been met for all clubs involved.“I’d like to thank all the clubs for their co-operation. It is a big commitment especially for those who are running two teams, and it is particularly pleasing to see NDL racing returning to Scotland, so I congratulate the management at Edinburgh on taking their place at this level.“We were very keen to ensure the additional meaningful fixtures that stand-alone clubs require beyond the regular league programme, and the various events that are heading to those venues means that should prove to be the case.“The NDL is a highly valued division in British Speedway and I am sure we can look forward to another excellent year of racing in 2020.”