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You only have to read the farce surrounding Jack Holder missing the meeting on the Ipswich v Sheffield thread to realise why theres so much negativity nowadays

Is that a question for the fans or the riders?

I'll be there for you....does Jack Holder know the way. I'll be there for you...not if it's Ipswich in May.

I just can't understand all the negative comments on here!

Fans with money, which promoters mainly are, should not be able to run the sport. They annually admit to being at the helm when their track loses thousands of pounds and learn enough to do the same the next season. Surely any bright spark would fathom out that, one day, the cash will be gone and the track will be in trouble. Living beyond your means has been speedway's problem. All the SKY cash went on keeping star riders happy, and then they all f**k*d off when it ran out. My feelings on the way the sport has been run are well documented on here. It is sad the way things are going, but I told you so.

If its r/r on both sides 3 guests v 4 guests and 2 NL juniors, would you advertise it?

This is deffo a case of Jack picking and choosing the tracks he likes. should be a 28 day ban but im sure i read because of covid they were going to be lenient with rules, in which case gives riders the the chance to pick and choose there meetings, this wont be the last time it happens

Dackarna v Vastervik will be Tuesday's TV match.

But it still doesn't matter,,, he is contracted to race for Sheffield on Mondays and or Thursdays,, so he is with holding his services,,, and I'm sure that comes with a 28 day ban,,, or it used to. I would imagine a conversation went something like,,,,, hello Simon it's Jack,, I'm really awful at Foxhall,, even on my last visit I had to fake injury, so maybe you should use rr for me and I will stay in or go to Poland, it should be okay cos speedway fans are mugs and will buy the BS and turn up anyway.

Wow that was quick.He didn't want to be there tonight you could see that.His gating in ht 13 was atrocious,he didn't want to start with the other 3.Proctor has to follow though. How much i like Iversen i hope they aren't doing a deal with him,he seems to be going downhill pretty rapidly.I said at the start we should have had Lawson instead of Proctor hopefully that will follow.

wasn't there but looking at updates there seems to be "giving up" when at the back from riders .. something i hate within speedway is not racing for 4 laps if you are able, shortchanging supporters, and what happens if someone packs up at the end of a race? possible wasted points

With Rowe and Kemp Ipo have got a really good pairing of promising young Brits. Looks like the experience gained in Poland is paying off already, it certainly seems to have brought Bewley and Adam on as well.

Good to see Adam Ellis scoring well, let's hope is a sign of further progress for him and maybe team GB

Do the same as we did last year is the only plan they ever have.

You would hope that the closure of yet another track would make those running the sport take notice and ponder "does anyone amongst us actually really think we are doing things right"? Unfortunately it is hard not to think that the first thought of some when hearing the news was "quick get on the blower and see if we can sign 'so and so'" for next season".... I think that is now seven tracks gone in the past four or five years... In no particular order.... Coventry, Buxton, Rye House, Lakeside, Somerset, Workington, and Stoke... With only a rarely built new stadium saving Belle Vue from joining the list this year and Swindon still waiting for 'summer' to start so the builders can build their new facility... WOW!...

Seems like your bike is set with the wrong gear, So you'll need to injure your foot, your ankle, your knee, or even your ear! @Presenter Any chance of "I'll be there for you" by the Rembrandts on the playlist tonight please?

Rubbish. I’m fairly certain that riders in Poland are being required to submit their covid test in Poland 24 hours before their matches. That means, he must be in Poland on Thursday to test to be able to ride Friday. I’m not saying it’s right but that’s the way it is. Peoole quoting Britain getting priority on a Thursday and then bowing down to the Poles are deluded. This again is a knock on effect to the balls up to the team building rules set out. Anybody riding in the Esktraliga shouldn’t of been allowed to ride in this country due to the commitments of Friday fixtures in Poland. No Esktraliga riders and 6 man teams for this year.

Well at least Batch will be there - unless he has realises the Friends reunion airs on Sky One at 8 and changes his mind.......

Yep, what little credibility British speedway had left has eroded away a little more with this. It’s a shame as this was a good opportunity to reset and start afresh with some proper integrity.

The loss (??) of Isle of Wight is very different. That is purely down to the incompetence and selfishness of certain members of the BSPL because had due and correct procedure been followed they would almost certainly be part of the National League. I am, however, saddened to read of the loss of Somerset Speedway and have little doubt that the circumstances indicated by Debbie Hancock are true. Perhaps the loss is greater than normal because the OTA's reputation as a fine racing track was much deserved. For me, I'll never forget an astonishing night in 2015 when Plymouth Devils turned up and battered the Rebels, much to my amazement and the delight of my pals from the south west.

A sad situation for the supporters etc and a blow to speedway in general but from a business perspective one can only bang your head against a brick wall for so long. It is seemingly the right decision for the family and it is after all their money not the sports or the supporters and perhaps you should applaud them for sticking at it for so long. When you look at the governing body, the state of the sport with lack lustre decision making or reformatting of the sport in what is a difficult ‘trading’ year, why would anyone throw money away at a lost cause. This really should serve as a wake up call to the cohorts who run speedway and have overseen its decline for many years. We should thank all involved with Somerset for their contribution to the sport and move on.

And this is exactly why hardly anyone takes speedway as a serious sport. One big fat farce after another. And they wonder why fans keep walking away.

Got my ticket for this. Is it likely to be on? I fancy a narrow away win

Was doing some research on the head to head record of Peter Craven and Ove Fundin (ie ) the golden helmet (ect) .Unfortunately never got to see Peter wondered if some of the older brigade on the forum have any special memories of there battles .Compared to most Peter fared very well against the great Ove ( and being a huge Briggo fan it does touch a nerve )great man though and a great rider Ove.

Us that don't attend anymore have paid in thousands over the years & we have good reason to moan. It's quite clear thing's haven't changed to convince us otherwise. Pi$$ poor promoting Pi$$ poor manager Pi$$ poor team Pi$$ poor race track All at pi$$ poor prices If you're still happy with that, crack on, but some of us feel we deserve so much better & we have a right to voice that opinion, like I said, after spending £1000's over the years. Maybe those that are so blind might start to see the light with regular beatings at home. Going back in to my memory bank, the complete set up currently reminds me so much of Wagstaff's last season, catastrophe. Edit:- For the record, even though I'm never there anymore, I can assure you seeing these kind of results still hurt. It's my home town, fans over the last 3-4 seasons have deserved so so much better than they're getting.

I pay my money i think i can criticise the riders who feel aren't pulling their weight.I'm not being negative just for the sake of it like many do.Let's remember many of the negative comments come from people that don't actually attend.

Terrible team on paper , slightly worse on the track.

Richard lawson Eddie kennett surely both better options than proctor you’d imagine, to essentially only score 17 points at home is pretty damn poor early season or not

Has got better as the night has gone on. Lovely outside 1st and 2nd bend in 13 to pass Crump. Apart from Howarth only real resistance to the Witches. Edit ... just did same to Crump in heat 15 too

What a hypocrite! Which reminds me of when Wimborne MCC wanted to stage their big grastrack meeting, The Whoppa, near Fordingbridge in the New Forest. The locals objected and got their way. Their ringleader was none other than Murray Walker.

I will be there

Not heard the podcasts what's been said? I've guessed that he would be lowering his average considering he wants to ride both leagues.

If they couldn't make it pay why not let someone else have a go? I can only think they have already agreed to sell the land.

It was announced today that outdoor sports games/meetings will be allowed to have 500 spectators from 1 June and then if things are looking good it the will be increased to 3000 1 Juli and no limit at all from mid July.

A little unfair to criticise Eurosport for their scheduling. There would have been a meeting this week if the weather hadn't intervened, they can't be blamed for that. Next week is the start of the French Open which will take up both of their channels which is fair enough. After that there is currently 6 meetings in 7 weeks scheduled; June 7th: Peterborough - King's Lynn June 14th: Sheffield - King's Lynn June 28th: Ipswich - Wolves July 5th: King's Lynn - Ipswich July 12th: Belle Vue - Wolves July 19th Wolves - Ipswich

Premier Sports 1 are showing Czestochowa v Grudziardz live but Gorzow v Torun is a delayed broadcast, Saturday 9am. Neither matches on Sunday are to be shown live or delayed as far as I can see.

This is definitely not a case of Jack picking and choosing tracks, this is purely Jack picking and choosing which paymaster he pleases and the amount he is prepared to spend to do so. As anyone can see it is possible to get from England to Poland on Friday morning but there is only one chance and probably would involve a lot of logistics with travel and therefore expense. Add in covid tests time spent travelling and how prepared he would be once arriving in Gorzow. He wouldn't land in Warsaw till midday, how long to get through and out the airport etc??? Then it is a 5 hour drive to Gorzow. For the money he is paid in the UK to race compared to the money he could miss out on in Poland its a no brainer

Totally agree. Far too many negative comments on this forum to the point it gets pretty boring and I switch off. Let's have some positivity, at least Speedway is up and running again.

Not disputing that its a managers job to do what best for the team, just saying that its a reason for kemps poor start, but at the end of the day, they are 2 matches in, no one should be worrying about anyones form just yet especially after an 18 month break

I was at Exeter when they closed and migrated to Somerset. I've made some good friends at Somerset including Najjer, Mr T , Ian (Statman) and all the boys on the back straight. I've some great memories and photos . Thanks Debbie; Bill; Gazza all the track staff and those behind the scenes. Thanks Ian H

Gutted. Was a regular supporter from the time I was attracted back to speedway just missing a few weeks from the very start. Barr the odd meeting due to holidays, never missed any despite being the only one left out of a crowd of original regulars but making new friends there instead. Will miss DaveT, Statman, Bish, Najjer and my new friends Brian and Liz as well as loads of others I chatted to but never got to know their names. RIP Somerset Speedway.

It’s tragic really when you think over the last 20 years or so, the loss of Trelawny, Exeter, Newport, Reading, Swindon and now Somerset. That was one of the main cores of the league back in 2002/2003. Some great times visiting those places.

At the end of the day it's their land and they are entitled to do what they see fit. Business is business. However the loyal Somerset fans who have spent their hard earned cash at both the speedway and the clubhouse over the years deserve honesty. The Hancock's would have more respect out of this if they were just honest and said "look, we've had an offer on the land we can't refuse and have sold it". Disappointing yes but at least honest. Hiding behind the Covid curtain and blaming it all on that is just a blatant lie. I was in the area last month and went and had a nosey. The land was being dug up and most of the signs for speedway were being removed. It was fairly obvious what was happening. Honesty goes a long way.

This is the nail well and truly hit on the head. Many promotors tried before the Hancock’s (Hewlett, Toogood, Golding, Pavitt and even Mark Saunders and co from Sharp amongst others) but ultimately if the Hancock’s can’t make it pay, or can earn a lot more from other avenues, when they owned the food/drink, car park, land and just about everything else in between - then there is no chance of leasing that to someone else. Somerset has I feel been somewhat in reverse and on the wind down since our final season in the Premiership. A very attractive team and the World Champion in a bid to conquer everything didn’t come cheap and was, in my opinion, the beginning of the downward spiral to where we are today. As I said earlier, such a huge shame for it to end this way.

thought they didn’t want anything to do with anyone’s comments on social media lololololol

Really was a special feeling walking back into the old girl Saturday night. 4000 was the restricted limit and that felt empty still. Cracking venue.

Funny no one has mentioned the fact that Berwick have a rider named in their 1-7 that they have no idea if/when he will be allowed to travel and enter the country, but that's OK. Teams in the same situation have made changes, so no need for R/R or guests.

I may be wrong but the ticket re-admission seems completely cock-eyed to me! If I am correct you can use the ticket from this meeting on any other meeting apart from bank holiday. In the current climate of restricted crowd numbers how on earth are they going to know how many people are going to turn up for a future meeting? If they have sold 80% capacity for the Kings Lynn home fixture already there can be no idea how many others are going to turn up using re-admission tickets! Surely a better system would be tickets are only to be used for the re staging or a refund , at least you know how many tickets are sold for each meeting !

You'd need some rich fans out there but yes in theory, great idea ....

Am I one of those folk who needs a shake? I’ve bought merchandise, bought a season ticket... I pay into the supporters club 5-1 draw. I’ll continue to turn up every week to ensure I do my part in supporting the club but I’ll have a moan if I want to thank you very much. That doesn’t make me any less a supporter. Aye, just getting to be back trackside was great in itself, normality as such on the way, but people saw lots of ifs and buts in the line up pre COVID too I’m afraid! And it showed! And by the way, take a look at those you say “are moaning”. They’re ones who’ve been going for years and will continue to still attend as long as the speedway is around! We just happen to care and want to see the promotion rewarded for the work they’ve clearly put into it!