I agree there was a difference vast  between the two leagues  now the lines so blurred , Bomber would have been a number one in old NL at his age no disrespect but Scott Nicholls would be no where near the old Gulf league at almost 50 yrs old .

And the majority of the riders rocked up in the pits with 1 bike or 2 if they were lucky strapped to the back of a car, and if they had bike problems they'd fall back on the track spare to use, not like now where they all expect sponsored sign written vans with 3 or 3 bikes in the back.

The difference when I started going in the early/mid 80's was vast Joe Owen was the king of the national league but really struggled even at reserve in the old british league. Jen's Rasmussen was a 5 point Oxford reserve he dropped down and was virtually unbeatable in the old second division. When Havelock & Silver moved up two very gifted young riders at the time it still took them 2-3 seasons to bed in to the top league before they started to kick on. Now days other than a handful of riders the bulk plying their trade in the UK can be seen in both divisions for different teams.

It was used as a development tool so riders could move up to see if they could compete, but with a safety net of being able to still ride in the 2nd tier if they were not of top tier level... Now it is the most important fundamental part of the operating model and business plan, even including which nights clubs have to race on... Incredible how it has been allowed to happen....

They wouldn’t have anything more to add to the Ipswich buy out than their last statement last week. We are now halfway though the latest 2 week window for the sale to be completed. The lease for Foxhall was a hold up but that is now resolved.

True but I don't remember there being doubling down then only up ,once a rider was past it in the old first division they dropped down to the old NL and had a couple years there  before leaving the sport .