Lakeside 2017

[TonyE 822]

I just cannot see how Leigh Lanham and National Development League can fit in the same sentence. Surely, the purpose of this level is to bring young riders on.

 

Leigh provided me with great pleasure during his 'golden years' at the Raceway but this league is no place for him.

[Sings4Speedway 3,251]

Morley is 9.22 & Zach is 8.59. 12.98 left for the final 3 so you could go with 3 pointers at reserve and Nathan Stoneman.

 

Stoneman & 2 x 3 pointers would fit perfectly and make a very solid heat leader trio however it would force either Bowtell or Hunter to be at 4 which would add quite a bit of pressure onto the third heatleader. That said if the reserve picks are good then its shaping up to be a pretty competitive side.

[GWC 495]

I just cannot see how Leigh Lanham and National Development League can fit in the same sentence. Surely, the purpose of this level is to bring young riders on.

 

Leigh provided me with great pleasure during his 'golden years' at the Raceway but this league is no place for him.

Sorry but must disagree as the lower leagues have a history of using 'experienced' riders along side young riders.

Eastbourne made a habit of it for years and I think Leigh has an awful lot to offer the sport at NL level, at least David Mason is still involved as is Tony Aitkin.

Edited December 16, 2016 by GWC

[waco 1,026]

Would like to see Jack Smith 6 pointer as third heat leader with stacks of room to improve.... with then one 4 pointer and one 3 pointer allowing Hunter to start at reserve..I Think one strong reserve is important .....

[GWC 495]

With Steve Boxall announced at Plymouth I'm amazed at the number of riders in the NL who have had a connection to

Rye House the majority having started their career at the club in one way or another.

Just a shame so few progressed beyond this league.

[marko 956]

On the subject of older riders in the NL, im sort of against it BUT if they are their to help bring on the kids and not just their to earn a few quid at the expense of others I'm okay with it.

Amazing how Ben is still only 22, he will be very hard to beat around Arena, given he has taken the scalps of some very good riders in the past.

I like where this team is going currently, to make a success of the NL I think the promotion need to important factors, 1. a young team full of racers who are their to race and not just to ride and 2. setting a realistic price for the pleasure of watching said team, I think £13 is about right going by what most teams charged last season, for some sitting on the fence your going to need that hook of it being more affordable to get them down their to see what NL speedway is about, once you have them then the money will continue to come in, its better to charge say £12 and have people come once and then maybe every match than attempt to charge say £15 and put people off and therefore never getting anything from that particular section.

[waco 1,026]

Personally I think they would get a.lot more people if they all charged £10 at this level,....Money could be a deciding factor and bearing in mind they will be competing against Rye House at the top level,,,for the areas fans

[stevebrum 6,835]

Just want to wish Zack all the best.

Was a great joy watching his first season and I hope he can continue on his improvement next season.

[Ben91 1,743]

With Steve Boxall announced at Plymouth I'm amazed at the number of riders in the NL who have had a connection to

Rye House the majority having started their career at the club in one way or another.

Just a shame so few progressed beyond this league.

 

Plenty of riders have progressed in the sport after being at Rye House during the early stages of their careers, Edward Kennett, Danny King, Jason Garrity, Tai Woffinden etc. are the standouts off the top of my head. Boxall and Bowen are back in the NL but both have been PL riders for the majority of their careers, Boxall flirted with the EL and really had the potential to be decent top level rider in Britain but for one reason or another it never materialised.

 

Strong top two for the Hammers, two good prospects further down the order too, although I can see two three pointers if they want to have a decent third heatleader.

[Guest]

 

Plenty of riders have progressed in the sport after being at Rye House during the early stages of their careers, Edward Kennett, Danny King, Jason Garrity, Tai Woffinden etc. are the standouts off the top of my head. Boxall and Bowen are back in the NL but both have been PL riders for the majority of their careers, Boxall flirted with the EL and really had the potential to be decent top level rider in Britain but for one reason or another it never materialised.

 

Strong top two for the Hammers, two good prospects further down the order too, although I can see two three pointers if they want to have a decent third heatleader.

 

Other graduates from Rye House over the years have included Gerry Hussey, Wally Green, Mike Broadbank, Brian Brett, Colin Pratt, Gerry King. Or were their eras too far back to be recognised?

Edited December 17, 2016 by Guest

[E I Addio 15,861]

On the subject of older riders in the NL, im sort of against it BUT if they are their to help bring on the kids and not just their to earn a few quid at the expense of others I'm okay with it.

Amazing how Ben is still only 22, he will be very hard to beat around Arena, given he has taken the scalps of some very good riders in the past.

I like where this team is going currently, to make a success of the NL I think the promotion need to important factors, 1. a young team full of racers who are their to race and not just to ride and 2. setting a realistic price for the pleasure of watching said team, I think £13 is about right going by what most teams charged last season, for some sitting on the fence your going to need that hook of it being more affordable to get them down their to see what NL speedway is about, once you have them then the money will continue to come in, its better to charge say £12 and have people come once and then maybe every match than attempt to charge say £15 and put people off and therefore never getting anything from that particular section.

As they charge around £13 for a stock car meeting at Arena without having to pay the stocks drivers anything I think £13 must be about the rock bottom figure to put a spedway meeting on, although I agree that if it creeps up to the £15 mark it could be off-putting for some.

Ultimately it's going to be a winning team of racers that keeps the crowds coming, assuming they are attracted in the first place after being used to the top league. It's a big gamble and I am still not sure if Cook has made the right decision, but it could take off and I hope it does. I think Kelvin will be a key factor. Lakeside are probably the only NL club with anyone as experienced as Kelvin closely involved with rider development and if his experience can be converted into ability by the riders there is scope for some of them to make a big Improvement.

I haven't seen a lot of NL racing but from what I have seen some of them are incredibly naive on even some of the basics, which is perhaps understandable given their limited experience, but if they are prepared to listen to Kelvin and learn it will be a great opportunity to accelerate their careers.

[Nathan Mole 13]

Don't forget Eastbourne, who have Martin Dugard to help out riders with all they need including equipment

[00000 1,279]

 

Other graduates from Rye House over the years have included Gerry Hussey, Wally Green, Mike Broadbank, Brian Brett, Colin Pratt, Gerry King. Or were their eras too far back to be recognised?

Some of those are going a long way back. 1950s?

 

Recognise Brett, Pratt and Broadbank from the 1960s

[Ben91 1,743]

 

Other graduates from Rye House over the years have included Gerry Hussey, Wally Green, Mike Broadbank, Brian Brett, Colin Pratt, Gerry King. Or were their eras too far back to be recognised?

 

I was listing riders that are active still.

[westhamboy66 599]

As they charge around £13 for a stock car meeting at Arena without having to pay the stocks drivers anything I think £13 must be about the rock bottom figure to put a spedway meeting on, although I agree that if it creeps up to the £15 mark it could be off-putting for some.

Ultimately it's going to be a winning team of racers that keeps the crowds coming, assuming they are attracted in the first place after being used to the top league. It's a big gamble and I am still not sure if Cook has made the right decision, but it could take off and I hope it does. I think Kelvin will be a key factor. Lakeside are probably the only NL club with anyone as experienced as Kelvin closely involved with rider development and if his experience can be converted into ability by the riders there is scope for some of them to make a big Improvement.

I haven't seen a lot of NL racing but from what I have seen some of them are incredibly naive on even some of the basics, which is perhaps understandable given their limited experience, but if they are prepared to listen to Kelvin and learn it will be a great opportunity to accelerate their careers.

Personally i think it ridiculous to expect people to pay £13 for NL speedway. I do watch a lot of NL stuff at Kent, Mildenhall, Eastbourne and Rye, I will miss the NL racing as it was a good filler for non PL days at Hoddesdon and it is a far better product than many who don't watch it assume but it does fall into a price category that shouldn't be near £13. Of course there will be another cost of a programme where if i were running at this level i would opt for a race card only which would reduce the costs. I wish them luck and hope they succeed but to do so they must have a top quality side but it looks a bit top heavy to me otherwise the fans won't go near the place