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I am gutted with the situation at Workington.. I love my team very much. BUT I actually find myself not gutted for me as a fan but for the 7 lads who would have worn the big C with pride. It is a shame it ended this way for all concerned especially Laura & Jacko who bleed Workington speedway. As a loyal fan I will however endeavour in anyway I can along with my fellow die hards to keep the Comets memory alive in 2019 and we will do our best to help the Comets rise again however we can. #keepthefaith #Cometswillriseagain

Got to feel for them all but Mason in particular has been hit really hard by the what has happened at Worky. Hopefully we can return to racing in 2020 on a stronger financial footing. I would like to think that there is a strategy being compiled that can help us achieve this, one that all us fans can contribute to in whatever way and to whatever level we can. Gonna miss my speedway fix at Derwent Park of that there is no doubt.

Very sad indeed !! If there is any chance that Comets can come to the tapes in 2020 we need to do everything we can to help Laura bring it back....

August is traditionally the Showgrounds busiest period and has been for years. I am afraid it is what it is, I doubt it will change for the foreseeable future.

It's a shame, the Good Friday clashes between the Witches and the Stars were always very special back in the day, and always in front of big crowds...

Agree. Absolute cr@p fixture list.

At least we are starting with a couple of challenge matches this season, finally!

Can’t believe there is no Witches v Stars and Stars v Witches fixtures on Good Friday that for me was the one thing I thought for certain would happen- missed opportunity I think

quite an impresssive list there , makes it all the more dissapointing seeing it , that this particular production line was largely disregarded by the BSPA except for the revenue it collected by way of licenses and registrations . I very much doubt that in another 8 years you will be able to compile such an impressive list

Five home fixtures in 19 days in May, yet none between July 16th and Sept 4th, the seven weeks kids are off school can stay up later. Is the Showground shut for the school holidays. Very bizarre fixture planning ....

16th April meeting announced as the British U21 Semi-Final. Not bad

Anyone who believes ( including Rossiter ) that the new track can be completed in a week, never mind the stadium is beyond crazy. Clearing the existing site will take longer than that. Never mind the winter weather.

Kelvin it is very interesting to read your summary of that year . Heady days indeed. Thank you for everything you did in running and promoting it.

I think he feels his promoter does not listen and he will do exactly what he wants to.do.Yes he has every right to do that at Lynn and i respect that he puts his money in and that is his right.But overall unless there is an improvement in gates ( etc) and thing's look brighter he has to go as the front of British speedway.

You try reading Mason Campton article and tell me again that it's harder on the fans than the riders. I have full sympathy for the workington loyals. But I'm sorry, nothing compares to losing a job or in Campton case, a career.

Correct as usual my man

This allows Matt to progress his other business opportunity abroad, whilst 'keeping the club amongst trusted family and friends'. Theres a good video interview with the new promoters on the Poole website now. Sounds as though the Digital Marketing Agency are working on something for the whole of speedway - not just Poole.

Blimey. Your memory is better than mine

The meeting on 16 Oct was the 'Transatlantic Challenge'. (originally planned for Buxton I seem to recall) featuring the American Dream team and local riders Scratch Main: Michael Raines (US), Josh Bates, Rocco Scopellite (US), Richard Andrews Handicap Main: Raines (30m), Chris Widman (20m), Eddie Castro (US) (30m), Mikey Buman (US) (30m) Other participants included: Dean Felton, Lee Geary

I have no record of a meeting at Poole on that date.... Junior Champs. was won by Raines. (Don't know his first name).

Could add at least £5 to the price

Everything about Speedway is bizarre

If there's enough money to come from the bond etc. the BSPA will only pay standard rates not any inflated rates or guarantees riders where on! No winners in this whole scenario............

Would be good to get a few extra races.

Our neighbour in Newcastle has just had her Aussie Nephew across and he has had a 12 month visit on a none working visa. His mum is a Brit but he was born in Oz and is an Aussie Citizen yet he still needed a visa and I think the neighbour had to vouch for him as well (may be wrong) but he used her address as his temp/perm UK address. The criteria was he couldn't take paid employment! Not sure if Josh is coming over on something like this and he could still mechanic and ride as long as there is no official payments. (Which sounds about right for Speedway) Regards THJ

I was there in 1977 i remember hearing Bast / Penhall did not get the practice sessions that they required and were promised.Penhall scored 3 points beating Bast, Keith White, Crump(ef).I cant think of anyone believing that day that Bruce would go on and be favourite in 1980 and win his first title in 81.I do recall Dan McCormick saying when Cradley signed him that he was a future world champion.

Ipswich were quoted to be looking at bringing in a European rider, and it was hinted that there were deals to be done. Maybe Peterborough make pursue one of those options and bag a new 'asset' into the bargain?

or even oxford !!

GOOD point... it has been suggested that some tracks consider their rider assets (which, in fact, are not really tangible assets in the first place) as their bond.

I hope not

Or who had perviously had experience at the NSS.

Now you really will have to explain how it and the non announcement of the team maximises media exposure.

It's easy to go off topic, when talking about such great riders!

Have Faith you Swindon fans, the three wise men will deliver your super new track and stadium. Has anyone seen that wheelbarrow?

Spot on post. Unfortunately this is the elephant in the room with speedway that nobody must talk about.. Most speedway matches you watch these days are not great. Take the matches on TV this year, how many classics have you seen from Leicester , Swindon , Kings Lynn, Wolverhampton or Poole last year ? This is the reason the fans are not turning up anymore

Would not be surprised to see Bomber, Danny and Rich all have a spell at number one with this line up. Should be an interesting year on the Heath...

I love watching Bomber, and I think we all know what we will get from Danny and Rich so that's a steady three, if Cam and Jake can do well then who knows, don't know much about the Polish lad and David but I think there is plenty of entertainment there and once they get dialled in I think there is plenty of experience away from home. Don't think its as bad as people are making out...come on guys lets get behind the Team for a change

Possibly, and we’ll still be strong at reserve. Could even be the Polish chap if it takes him a while to get used to Foxhall. I quite like Bellego. Inconsistent definitely, that’s why he’s a 6 pointer, but he can produce some eye catching performances as well. I don’t see Bellego dropping his average, so even if he stays 6-6.5 then if he drops to reserve the other two will have upped their game dramatically. Reserve is one area of the team where we’re going to be sound.

I agree this team is not as bad as some seem to think and will most of their home meetings.

As has been said countless times by riders, the practice sessions seldom reflect track conditions in the GP itself.. And flying out the night before is quite normal for riders.. As for injuries, riders ride now the next day with lots of minor issues and only serious injuries mean their absence (concussion, broken limbs etc) and getting them the night before or the week before would mean they still miss the GP.. I am sure common sense will prevail with regards to fixture planning, especially given the huge potential for Polish clubs to get even bigger crowds swelled by 1000's of overseas visitors flying in for the GP... Conspiracy theory Alert! Should this be Poland's backers' 'back door' way of trying to take more control of the GP's by holding riders to ransom (so they have to make a choice), it will at least mean BSI have to stay on their toes and up their game with regards to the rewards riders get for competing... Which is currently quite poor when you measure it against Poland's salaries.. I would suspect most riders would take the Polish meetings regardless of whether this would impact their GP place or not, given the financial rewards both currently bring. Especially now with the increased TV exposure for their sponsors... Being able to tell every one of your sponsors that their name will be on live TV every week must be a huge positive for both riders and the clubs themselves.. Time for BSI maybe to make their GP series 'unmissable'?

A pay as you go Play Off Harris is a worthwhile signing. A guarantee pay Rye/Glasgow one isnt Bellego as a 2nd string should be OK Overall I dont see this team being as far off the pace as many are predicting and it should be one thats entertaining at home Think we need to give it a chance and wait and see A solid start to the season is vital. Given the situation I dont see a huge level of tolerance if not

At the end of the day how many team have an out and out number 1? Maybe 2, Doyle and Lambert? At home we'll be hard to beat with King lawson cam, 3 who can ride foxhall well and allen who every teams fans wanted as hes a hot prospect! Harris will give 110% in every meeting. Bellego and Pieszczek are the crowd pleasers who hopefully learn foxhall pretty quickly. There's no team that's really that strong so lets stop being so negative until we've rode a couple of meetings

Be quite sad if Scotty doesn't get a team place in the Prem after his many years of loyal service to British Speedway....

Thing is it’s never been one leagues problem. You only need to look at the ever decreasing amount of 2nd tier teams to see my point. The problem has been the self centred nature of promoters and self interest of each league always working against each other. Speedway is in a terribly unviable state for people to become involved in, and this mostly starts from the head table causing some of these issues.

I read an article on the local newspaper site a few weeks ago about the council getting into hot water for not providing such a park for the travelling community, they are over there anyhow on a regular basis leaving a LOT of mess which has then to be cleared up by the council. I believe the provision of such park gives the council more clout when it comes to moving travellers on from laybyes and other land they choose to park on.

It's called the digital age. Most outdoor sports have suffered from the 'sit on your backside' multi billion dollar technology and gaming industry...

Great clip from a time when we had proper promoters who relied on speedway for their living, not fans with big egos who could/can offset speedway losses through their another business. Thanks for sharing and I'm glad I was involved during that period.

What a great race thanks for posting that. can you imagine Nige and Kelvin commentating on that good old Nigel’s head would explode.

Traffic is much heavier now, and we never had an hour of tractor racing at Saddlebow...

Depends who is put forward how free thinking they are whether ideas 'from the floor' actually get presented No good if its just a puppet of the promotion