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And so we come to speedways second biggest issue, fans that bury their heads in the sand, as long as its their team that benefit.

Was going to have Newcastle as my Championship team, after the positive impact Rob Grant has had on them. Now Plymouth have come into the league at late notice, & I'm impressed with their enthusiasm as well. Just hope that both teams get a full season with fans, for all the effort they have put in.

Totally agree I’ll just be pleased to get back in the stadium and watch some speedway, win or lose this year won’t be my main concern

It’s known as the Poole Syndrome Me too. Would be pretty annoyed and embarrassed if Lynn signed Bates or Bacon or some of the others on the list. I’ve no specific gripe with Sheffield directly but more with the decision making promoters collectively who have turned a great idea into a dogs dinner.

Not jealousy at all. Bates should be a PL rider in 2021 just not as a rising star. He is experienced and talented enough to have a place in the main body (certainly No6 at least) of any of the teams this coming season The fact that he was included on the list is just a continuation of all that has plagued speedway in terms of self interest and manipulation for too long now Worry doesnt come into it as victory is close to meaningless anyway so good luck to you if you win the league as your victory will be hollower that a cheap non brand Eater egg

Newcastle and Plymouth have the odds seriously stacked against them i think both have done remarkably in assembling teams to be competitive i,m with you pp Plymouth my team then I will be rooting for the diamonds!

Looks like rye house on a hot bank holiday Monday

Looks a bit slick on the inside...

Palin is one of a few riders that looks extremely promising for the UK future.

Fair call. My local supermarket has designated aisles for Polish, Asian & Gluten Free foods. I'm told if you use the Polish aisle you can only then go in one of the other aisles.

Think this season isn’t totally about assembling the strongest team possible it’s equally important to get the season started hopefully in May but in my opinion May is too early and more likely 1st July but the most important thing is to get riders on the tracks and fans in the stadiums team’s strength isn’t the be all and end all in 2021 build towards March 2022 .

there sounds like a lot of jealousy on here over our signing of josh, and i dont think he should of been included on the rising star list, but somehow he was,and hes now in our 7, so let the moaners moan cos it sounds like we have em all worried.

If Queen Nicola has her way the English will have to quarantine for 14 days in Edinburgh or Glasgow before they can race their fixtures

They are doing brilliantly so far!

Thanks for the explanation both. We know we can’t rely on the BSPA to be clear on rule or procedure.

Questions & Answers: Having a brief review of feedback on social media, always a good barometer, I selected the below as my pick of the day! 'The pictures of the shale being laid at Bradford is one of the best sights seen anywhere this side of 1997. According to Steve Rees, it's proper red shale. Only the best for Odsal. And top track curator, Andy Meredith is overseeing the operation. '' I have also read with interests 'expert views' on how a track should be laid, but didn't recognise any of the names as experienced track curators so perhaps for the layman, a few words of 'how it works'! 1. First and foremost is drainage, and Odsal has an extremely efficient Dutch drain system with pumps, some reparations have been done in servicing and cleaning the system and getting water away is key, and the efficacy of the system was thoroughly tested last month with heavy rain and deep snow and thaw - Drainage is key! 2. How you lay the track is first down to procuring the right material - and 6 months went into this. There is no exact science as the terminoligy of what is 'shale' is a misnoma as basically it is a waste by product from quarrying / extraction. At some point brick kilns were a source of bi product mixed with clay and other aggregates hence the 'redness' but most product used is either mixed with a clay content or granite percentage. Clay can come white or black. 'Red' shale has become increasingly difficult to source, one of the biggest suppliers, Breedon in Leicestershire effectively ran out as the seam became unproductive and curators have had to become more ingenuous and look at different solutions and more latterly a lot of material has been 'grey' - After looking at several types of material my experienced track man concluded that what we are using is amongst the 'best' available and with the right proportion of clay mix - All tracks are different, for example, for exclusively speedway, they can be of a lighter construction and composition however for sharing with cars as the surface may be more robust. 'Experts' try and compare the UK with the how the US build dirt tracks which is an entirely different scenario. Tracks are bigger, wider, different wheel dynamics [ F1's are not Sprint cars on wide wheels - god forbid they ever become that, tyres are currently a major issue in track wear] and most tracks are Clay based to a reasonable depth. That is because of size,shape, racing dynamics and hot temperatures typically as during the week tracks are harrowed deep and 'flooded' to hold the water and the water tyre packed in. When it rains in the US quite simply meetings are 'rained out' - UK has different dynamics, sizes and needs and bikes needs to slide and not suddenly 'grip' so comparison is odious. Picking up too much grip in the wrong place has serious consequences for a man on a bike with no brakes! 3. Every track is different as to how it is constructed and it's base - In Bradfords case, we are building a clay/shale base to be durable to around 6 inches [ deeper on the corners as you go out ] and as the tarmac itself has degraded over years, it is beneficial that is abrasive enough to 'grip' - we hope! Some tracks are built on different levels of aggregate. In this country with unpredictable weather too much depth of shale can also be an issue in wet weather and create it's own problems. 4. The first job in laying a new track is getting the material to site, a huge logistical [ and costly ] experience, haulage by far the biggest cost and, it has to come over a number of days - and then be laid. As in the update photos from Odsal, the first job is to spread the shale around as it arrives as vehicle movement to unload is a big planning consideration and for this we have two machines on site - again, not cheap, to lay it, pack it in and eventually, with the excavator fitted with a grader bar, to level it out to an even spread. Effectively by mid next week, that is it the, initial work done to lay the track, but not the last! We had heavy rain last night and we are supremely pleased with how the material handled it. When this part finishes, between then and opening another 300 tonnes of 'lighter material' will be added to further build it up and then it will be graded back and forth to 'mix' it and tyre pack it in and that process will continue until we open and thereafter. We cannot expect perfection day one, weather is a bigger factor as is 'settling down' the track which in itself takes time. Fingers crossed it's about the 3 P's - People, Product and Process - we have attempted to get those right as part of the other P - planning! We always welcome feedback and if any is useful and helpful and the individual has the proven 'street cred' in prep work, we will welcome them on the team, more experienced hands make light work! Some comments have questioned why did we not paint the fence first and the direct answer to that is that it is primed and greased, it will be the last job we do to spray and paint it after all the 'mucky' work is done - It will always oxidise but at 10mm thick is not going to rust away! and the track side will for appearance require a refresh after every meeting as one of the downsides of shale!!!! Hence, one of last jobs to be done Hope answers some feedback.

Young lads being used and abused yet again to bring costs down, hidden under the cover of we care about young British speedway riders!! But..Josh Bates a rising star? Do me a favour, Hes been around for years. Theres hope for Wilko and Geoff Pusey yet!!

The old gentleman's agreement maybe...

I think your right, I believe speedway in the UK has to take a couple of steps backward to be able to move forward to stand a chance of survival. Semi professional / amateur riders with weekend racing where possible I think would be a good starting point. A professional league with there super fast expensive laydown bikes and the rest on upright machines and before anyone says another bike is more expense remember many riders today have 3 or 4 bikes to run and maintain back in the 60 /70s most riders had one upright machine that they used and kept going for a full season. I wait to be shot down by some.

An absolute farce of a system in my opinion. Bates has been around far too long to be even considered in a system like this but isn't his Dad or Uncle part of the BSPA? Say no more. What could of been a superb program for British Speedway now has been made to look a laughing stock. And who the hell came up with the name "Rising Star"? Dear god.

It was never 3. The intention was there initially, but ultimately he never owned Ipswich. Buster owns Kings Lynn and Peterborough.

Me to,,,,, I want our sport to be credible, and not the laughing stock it always seems to end up being. And anyone that knows me, knows I will always question my promotion when I think something dodgy may be going on.

I can’t and won’t speak for Baldyman or anyone else for that matter, but personally speaking, I would have EXACTLY the same opinion as I do now if it benefited Ipswich and would be on here stating my displeasure. Not everyone is the same obviously!

I'd think the main problem is that the UK government has proved totally inconsistent and unreliable when it comes to deciding something. We were all told that 'Christmas wasn't cancelled' and everyone made plans, only for that to be changed a couple of days before. Same with the schools 'definitely opening' and then being closed one day later... Even the whole story about the vaccine is inconsistent and has changed several times, with one minister saying one thing and another saying another. What sensible business is going to plan events that rely on spectators - with the inherent costs that entails - in this climate? If I were speedway, which is pretty much totally reliant on spectators for its income, I wouldn't even be bothering to try to run this season.

The tracks were similar to each other in size at just under 100 yards per lap. Specially produced 175cc machines were used. Much slower than outdoor speedway, with times around 50 seconds for 4 laps. Some of the races were very eventful, with riders bouncing off the fence and going sideways on the straights. In one race with only 3 finishers the third placed rider fell and carried his bike, rather than pushed, for the point. As with the Telford meetings in later years, it was a welcome speedway fix during the winter months. Arthur Browning adapted really well and was one of the leading exponents.

The 2 riders you mention-Lee & Lambert are totally different gravy. Riders like that don't come along very often

Nobody knows what happened here but at the end of the day there's always conséquence for actions. If I owned King's Lynn & a rider decides somewhere else is better for progressing his career, they'd 100% be my last choice for a team place every time. King's Lynn have chosen a rider that reaaaaally wants to be there.

Trouble is its only a matter of time before he punches a brick wall and misses half the season with a broken hand...

No problem at all, unless a family member (say an uncle) was a member of the management committee. Oh whoops!

Meanwhile at Sheffield the 1-6 can learn from former GP rider Josh Bates

Very conveniently Bates was 25 on Feb 1st...... has a Prem ave just under 5.50 ......and a Champ ave just under 6.50 ........ Is everyone getting it yet....... Looks like the criteria were written using the Bates career bio as a template

Malcolm Holloway and Graham Jones were two others maybe at a lower level but so be it.Chris Louis also gets forgotten he had bad injuries and came back and rode at a decent level ( below his best).

He'll probably be at Middlo's. If not Matt Ford will probably sort something out for him. They are great buddies after all!!

When they will take place could be different story.!!

But wouldn't it have been nice, and the correct way to do it, for the BSPL to have explained the process to us, the fans, instead of it coming out via a question on this forum?

What about the”young lad” Cuthbert at Glasgow

In the Daily Star today, there is a little snippet of speedway news(almost always now), about Palin & Peterboro having first choice, although I would think via the zoom meetings, clubs will have said "we are interested in this rider as being ours" so can you pick another. Surprised Dan Thompson was not chosen but most clubs have chosen a higher starred rider so Palin must be very highly regarded although, I think, another year at NDL level might have been required, but now we know more these last few weeks, what standard would the NDL be, if raced, in 2021. Probably lower than in 2019 so, he might learn more. Hope these "Rising Stars" are not out of their depth and suffer like some in the past. I have always said that a Premiership/Elite reserve should have, at least, a 4 - 4.5 Championship/Premier CMA.

The leagues should have been regionalised for this season. If parts of the country are in different tiers with no spectators allowed, it would be financial suicide for some clubs to run meetings behind closed doors.

In one of the most senseless accidents in speedway, Sean overtook Derrol Keates in heat one at Brough in 1999, shot forward without trying to slide the bike for the 3rd bend, and hit Robert Erikkson sending him flying and breaking Robert's collarbone. No remorse from Sean. Excluded from the race rerun, but should have been excluded from the whole meeting. He continued to take his rides, whilst David McAllan had to take Robert's rides.

So Buster owns 2 clubs and out of the interest of the sport he'd purposely strengthen another team just to keep them happy? Like... I can understand people being miffed but Jesus

Honestly, don't even pretend you'd have the same reaction if this was to benefit Ipswich. Do I think Josh Bates should be a rising star? Probably not, but thats not my decision nor is it yours. Its down to the promoters and for whatever reason they've decided Bates should be apart of that list. So if you've got a gripe with the list or the requirement to be a "rising star" don't just bury your head in the sand and pretend its a Sheffield problem. Your promoter had some say in the list as did every other promoter in the league.

Good question....email does not say any more....just that Championship fixtures comes out tonight?

As with so much of what the "powers that be" so unfairly get criticised for regularly on here.. A complete "coincidence" I am sure that he meets the exact required criteria on so many levels.....

What is the point of the Colts if both Bickley and Palin, both crowd favourites at the NSS I believe, get overlooked for an outsider at the first opportunity to promote one of them into the first team?

......Then you get the riders who sign up for a British team, then dump them when they get a better Swedish/Polish gig. They're called shystars*. (* spellcheck may be required).

If any sport waits for Covid to be eradicated the sport will be eradicated before Covid. I assume you've not visited a supermarket or been out for nearly a year I'm approaching 70, visited very well organised meeting at Plymouth in September with 400 to 500 others. I've been to non League soccer in Autumn with similar crowds. No reason why Speedway can't start at any UK stadium once lockdown ended and spectator sports allowed. If you don't want to go that's your choice, if many of us vaccinated wish to go I'm sure that we will.

Also on the first bend, probably after shoving past Lefty when leaving the Top House! About half a dozen of us hired a crap cheap mini bus for the weekend, the plan was to camp anywhere we saw suitable. Left Friday evening, stopped at a pub on the A1 near Peterborough for a beer, set off again then back to pub to retrieve my coat complete with tickets that I'd forgotten, then camped at some service station. Top House, final then on to Halifax for the evening meeting then pub. Then looked for somewhere to camp, it was pissing with rain by then and very dark, finally found some quiet flat area to pitch the tents, just got set up when flashing blue lights descended upon us. We were apparently camping on a cricket pitch and were politely asked to bugger off. Moved on and we all slept in the van. Onto Belle Vue for the test match then broke down on the way home. Happy Days!

Self Indulgence at its finest . Why anyone would moan about additional income into their club is beyond me .

WIth The amount of polish talent coming through at the moment I think we need to welcome kids who are willing to take a risk. If he’s investing heavily over the winter will want to be riding 2 leagues

Jordan attained a CMA of 9.45 re his league matches ... a superb performance for a 15 year old. Going into the Championship at reserve is a must... hopefully Godfrey will put a no pressure tag on him and let him progress at his own pace. A talented young lad who seems very level headed to me...