Rob Dyer 116 Posted January 30, 2023 Taken from the new Nora Speedway League Facebook page today: A BRAND-NEW SPEEDWAY LEAGUE - the first for more than a quarter of a century - is set to launch. And it will welcome competitive team racing back to the Isle of Wight. Three other clubs, Plymouth, Sittingbourne and Cradley Heath will compete in the summer-long Nora Speedway League (NSL). The Isle of Wight will welcome back team racing after they dropped out of the National Development League at the beginning of 2020. Completing the 2023 starters are Plymouth, Sittingbourne and Cradley Heath. The Devon team will be a separate club to the Championship Gladiators and the new NSL Sittingbourne Crusaders will race at Iwade totally unrelated to Kent Royals. The Heathens, who have been without a permanent venue since their Dudley Wood Stadium home was sold for a housing development in 1995, will be a fully funded nomadic side, racing both home and away at each of the other circuits. The Nora Speedway League has already attracted a league sponsor in the form of Nora 92 and will be known as the Nora 92 Speedway League in 2023. The NSL is a major boost to the sport’s grass roots and organisers hope it will be a fertile nursery for Great Britain stars of the future. Club bosses have already agreed rules and regulations and insist the priority is to combine competitive racing with entertainment from the minute fans enter the stadium to their last step out on the way home. There will be a number of ground-breaking innovations that will set the NSL aside from other competitions with the introduction of a revolutionary handicap system that was successfully trialled on the Isle of Wight last year. Founding promoter Barry Bishop said: “The Nora 92 Speedway League will help develop riders even further with a focus on entertainment and value. In addition to this, it will be a league to encourage new riders into the sport by allowing them to be part of the meeting from an early stage while keeping a firm eye on the bigger picture of helping riders go on to great heights in the sport in the UK or abroad. What the league is not about is taking anything from the brilliant work of the BSPL’s National Development League; we are here to complement it, in a way that works for our businesses with the product that we want to put on under the guidance of Nora. The Nora 92 Speedway League is a natural follow on from the two successful Nora speedway seasons staged on the Isle of Wight in 2021 and 22, and at other tracks around the UK. Each team entering the league will consist of six riders who will get five rides per meeting. The league will make use of rules that have been tested over the last two seasons on the island to encourage rider development while focussing on entertainment. These rules which deviate from regular speedway will be included in matchday programs but are expected to include Team Manager selection to handicap opposing team riders and rider selection across all three of the last heats”. Bishop added, “We’ve proven that riders who come to the Island and participate in our meetings have shown considerable improvement over the last two seasons and the Nora 92 Speedway League will help develop riders even further with a focus on entertainment and value. My partner Martin Widman and I are so excited to be able to take the style of the Nora meetings we stage from the Island to the mainland and we are extremely grateful to stadium owners allowing us to rent their venues for this exciting new venture. The fixtures will be released as soon as possible and with most clubs, except the Warriors, running at the weekend we believe it is a brilliant opportunity for riders to get on track with the Nora 92 Speedway league for some fun time speedway. We would all like to thank Nora 92 for becoming the leagues sponsors in our fledgeling season and we are delighted they are on this journey with us. Hopefully, the fans and sponsors will welcome the teams to their hearts and get behind them all. We’ve worked so hard to ensure that we are ready for this and websites and social media will be online soon and, of course, team announcements. Hold on to your hats, this is going to be great. Please keep up to date with everything Nora Speedway League initially via our Facebook page “Nora Speedway League”. Lastly, we’re delighted to be finalising the 2023 agreement with Wightlink also and we will make a statement on this in due course.” NOTE: The last new national league competition to be launched was the British Academy League (now branded the National Development League) in 1994. and this from the Wightlink Warriors website: More Team Speedway For The Warriors In 2023 As Founding Members Of New League The Wightlink Warriors promotion have been beavering away during the off season with plans for another summer season of shale track action at the Smallbrook Stadium in Ryde – and there will be an exciting addition to the weekly fayre as the Warriors are in line to be founder members of the newly formed Nora Speedway League. The league – which has attracted sponsorship from Nora 92 will be known as the Nora 92 Speedway League - will feature the Warriors, Plymouth, Sittingbourne and Cradley. Warriors’ co-owner Barry Bishop said, “We are delighted to participate in the Nora 92 Speedway League which focuses on entertainment and value while looking to develop riders’ futures. It would seem that track time in the UK is becoming a precious commodity and we are only too pleased to allow our riders the maximum track experience that we can. Martin and I are just so excited about this, and we know the league will draw on our experience from the last two seasons to offer a new style of Speedway. We cannot wait to get going. The Nora 92 Speedway League will be complemented by a Knock-Out Cup too, and as well as the cup we hope that other innovative meetings including a Nora Riders Championship will also be possible. 2023 looks to be a bumper year for riders, fans and sponsors as we plan our full programme of action at Smallbrook Stadium including the Island Masters, Uprights, Ladies, MSDL, Flat-Track, Pairs, Handicap and more. This is an important year for us as we take the Warriors team off the Island again and we will soon be announcing team members, managers, fixtures and more.” Tapes up on the 2023 Speedway Season is expected in June. 6 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*JJ 512 Posted January 30, 2023 Are you also going to invite some of the old 'nomadic' development teams: Long Eaton and Milton Keynes come to mind? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fortythirtyeight 841 Posted January 30, 2023 6 hours ago, *JJ said: Are you also going to invite some of the old 'nomadic' development teams: Long Eaton and Milton Keynes come to mind? Boston and AMSA ride at Scunthorpe in the British Amateur League using the same format, perhaps they would be interested ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Petecc 352 Posted January 30, 2023 One question, who is running the league? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fortythirtyeight 841 Posted January 30, 2023 3 hours ago, Petecc said: One question, who is running the league? Which one ? The IOW version or the British Amateur League ? which is run at Scunthorpe by Richard Hollingsworth, who runs all the amateur events there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Petecc 352 Posted January 30, 2023 2 hours ago, Fortythirtyeight said: Which one ? The IOW version or the British Amateur League ? which is run at Scunthorpe by Richard Hollingsworth, who runs all the amateur events there. The Nora league. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fortythirtyeight 841 Posted January 31, 2023 18 hours ago, Petecc said: The Nora league. Then it will be Barry Bishop or Widman one assumes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
25yearfan 476 Posted February 5, 2023 I wonder if currently dormant tracks like Eastbourne and Buxton could enter the Nora League? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fortythirtyeight 841 Posted February 5, 2023 28 minutes ago, 25yearfan said: I wonder if currently dormant tracks like Eastbourne and Buxton could enter the Nora League? If you read the latest news from Eastbourne then it’s championship only from the landlords. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
25yearfan 476 Posted February 5, 2023 Yes I did read that but like I said on an Eastbourne thread would the Arlington landlords be tempted by the Nora League organisers renting the stadium a few times during the summer so an Eastbourne team could compete in that League? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HGould 2,213 Posted February 6, 2023 10 hours ago, 25yearfan said: Yes I did read that but like I said on an Eastbourne thread would the Arlington landlords be tempted by the Nora League organisers renting the stadium a few times during the summer so an Eastbourne team could compete in that League? I may have misunderstood the article and the very specific wording but it's my understanding from reading it that Barry (Bishop) and Martin (Widman) will PROMOTE at all 3 NORA League Venues. They will enter in to specific LEASE agreements with Iwade and Plymouth so that they are leasing the Tracks for NORA League and that therefore it avoids any "conflict of interest" for the Iwade and Plymouth BSPL Promotions in being involved in what some may label "breakaway". Ths differs from some other Tracks (Scunthorpe and Redcar) who run NORA but in the true Amateur Training and less formal league sense and presumably no paying crowd but Riders who pay to ride. So, unless the Owners of Buxton and Eastbourne Stadiums as an example are prepared to enter in to a 3rd Party Agreement with Barry and Martin the option would be a non-starter. It makes complete sense to me that having created a Brand and Identity on the IOW that Barry and Martin are 100% committed to ensuring it is maintained in their ventures at Iwade and Plymouth so as not to denegrate or reduce it and that the Owners of Iwade and PLymouth are happy to let them do that in the knowledge that they will get some Rental income from it and two innovative professionals in Barry and Martin to run it. Whether Iwade and Plymouth see this as a backstop or alternative route for their future should British Speedway under BSPL governance continue to fragment is totally up to them but it does give them some scope to consider that. The other interesting comment was that to set up and fulfil the extra work it would appear that Iwade and PLymouth will run NORA on a weekend. No surprise for iwade as they have no lights but it would be very interesting to see if NORA at Plymouth can draw Crowds anywhere near what they get for CL on a Tuesday. Maybe I've misunderstood but that's my interpretation of the article. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fortythirtyeight 841 Posted February 6, 2023 Just to clarify, Redcar do not run ‘Nora’ speedway events. They do rent the track out to Flat Trackers who run under Nora but no speedway is run under those regulations. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Diamonds85 700 Posted February 6, 2023 What level rider are we looking at for this NORA league? Ben Morley/Alfie Bowtell type as number 1s or Connor King/Chad Wirtzfeld types? I'm assuming there's gonna be a few 'new names' who don't ride in the NDL who take part in the NORA league, Andrew Appleton etc...? Be interesting to see when the teams are announced Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HGould 2,213 Posted February 16, 2023 Sad read in the Speedway Star of SCB attempts to destroy this pre-birth! BSPL hiding behind SCB as seems to be the normal. Lots of excuses about Insurance , Track License issues , Track Staff etc. It all seems to miss the point though that what SCB can't oversee NORA will and NORA have excellent track record in other forms of 2 wheel sport. The fact that SCB seem to think that as Plymouth and Kent are SCB sanctioned tracks they can't allow them to be rented to NORA seems very spurious and restraining Keny / Plymouth opportunity to generate income. Fear it'll all get very messy and delay things which is probably the SCB/BSPL intention. Don't Godfrey and Bates sit on SCB Committee also, so they can't hide! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk127 1,359 Posted February 16, 2023 1 hour ago, HGould said: Sad read in the Speedway Star of SCB attempts to destroy this pre-birth! BSPL hiding behind SCB as seems to be the normal. Lots of excuses about Insurance , Track License issues , Track Staff etc. It all seems to miss the point though that what SCB can't oversee NORA will and NORA have excellent track record in other forms of 2 wheel sport. The fact that SCB seem to think that as Plymouth and Kent are SCB sanctioned tracks they can't allow them to be rented to NORA seems very spurious and restraining Keny / Plymouth opportunity to generate income. Fear it'll all get very messy and delay things which is probably the SCB/BSPL intention. Don't Godfrey and Bates sit on SCB Committee also, so they can't hide! Agree with what you say. What I do not understand is that the majority of teams rent the stadiums from landlords. If the landlord is prepared to also rent the stadium to another party what has it got to do with the BSPL or SCB. Do the authorities currently licence a club to run on a certain track or do they have a say in the agreement between the promoter and the stadium owner as well. Looking at some of the arguments used in the Star why do they not apply in the same way to Flat Track and sidecars who race on these tracks? All very confusing and you have to ask why they just cannot live together and let each get on with entertaining the public. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
