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See where you are coming from now, probably should have re-read it before getting my back up. 1000% agree though. I think Barry, Martin & co would have proved that without shackles you can still run consistently good nights of Speedway in front of happy crowds. It could even pave the way forward for all clubs, offering the chances to run formats that suit the home track and the support rather than the one size fits all approach that is currently forced upon all and is seeing tracks close year on year.

There were lots of fun & games from my memory as a 16 year old. Here’s the 2nd half from my programme.

What on earth are you on about? Have you actually read what I said? My point was nothing at all to do with the NHS other than quoting facts about current hospital admissions. There is absolutely no ‘justice’ to the current extension of the lockdown. None whatsoever. If you work for the NHS you will know where to find the stats on admissions. Less than half a person is currently in hospitals with Covid. Hardly anyone is dying from the virus anymore, deaths remain in single figures daily. Those stats alone do not justify an extension of this ridiculous lockdown rules. Boris himself even said we need to learn to live with the virus, that time is now - backed by data. The NHS is not under pressure from Covid at all right now. Have worked for the NHS for many years, what’s your point? The data is available for all to see. The NHS isn’t under pressure from covid right now.

You're right. The method of running a weak NL team as a double header was, of course, pioneered by a certain Mr Godfrey (who was totally against low points limits when he ran a stand alone CL team). Problem is, stand alone NL clubs don't have the advantage of a Championship meeting before hand. Sings is also right. £14 for an NL match with a 34pt limit is just too much.

I am in exactly the same situation, a supporter of over 45 years, who was thinking of possibly going on Sunday but has other commitments so cannot make a decision until the last minute. I have also been a sponsor (in a very small way) for many years including this year, through my own IT company. If I didnt follow this forum, I would have no idea how to book a ticket. All that is needed is a link to trybooking from the home page of the web site, I dont understand why software needs to be uploaded to get this to work. The web site is the key to driving bookings not Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Interesting to see Eurosport trying to push their app on Farcebook. Response is fans of several sports including ours telling them to stick it where the sun doesn't shine and they're not paying more for their sub-standard and unreliable coverage. It's not just us.

No point running if your guaranteed to lose money.Delay is the sensible option.IMO.

Watched from heat 12 on Eurosport player, which I already subscribe to. It was feed only with no commentary. Not sure what happened with Lambert as he was unbeaten when I started watching. Very impressed withBewley. He was unlucky as looked set to win the final before the race was stopped. Impressed with Mikkelsen. He has something of an aura about him.

Mentioned before. I used to attend the Colts for a tenner with my 16 yr old lad who got in for free.. For that I got to watch the best "young lads" and the best "vastly experienced" old heads.. And crowds must have been circa 600 to 700 or so given the guesstimate based on a grandstand of 1700 or thereabouts.. Still.. "All" the promoters agreed to this..

Double headers are not popular for a lot of people. Forcing fans to pay extra for a product they might not want, is a recipe for disaster.

Think what may help also, is Eastbourne and Kent have just come off the back of 5 really entertaining successful years of NL racing, and although a lower points limit, both have put together 2 really good teams for the points with 2 potential future top liners in Abblit and Gilkes on show. Plus as Sings has said £14 is perhaps the big turn off for Leicester as well.

Alarming for Leicester but suffering for multiple reasons including having a good higher tier team this year along with using a lesser utilised race night doesn't help and the other team racing at the weekend. Also performances have been patchy and historically Leicester fans tend to get behind winning teams in greater numbers. Eastbourne should be on a stronger footing with the regular race night, no CL action until next week to compete with and the local rivals being the visitors. Usually there is some second half action also which might not boost ticket sales it certainly adds to the production as a whole. Maybe the most telling of all is the pricing? Eastbourne £10 Leicester £14...............

Be interesting to see the up take of the Eastbourne vs Kent local derby NL match at the weekend as Saturday looks dry after a wet Friday which makes for an ideal track, I genuinely can't go but would have, as think there will be some really good races with Knight , Abblit, Gilkes, Kinsley and the rest, if it's a poor crowd, not much hope for the NL clubs attached to a Championship one. Not sure Easties break even point, but imagine it must be around 400/500.

Sad situation that Newcastle currently find themselves as the problems aren't down to Rob Grant in any way. Hopefully they find a way to see out the season and re-group over the winter. Hopefully.

Void then - re run......

A Bengt mudegaard rode at Berwick i seem to remember.

Whoever it was it can't have been difficult to recognise him considering he had no helmet on.

This is where everyone has a different idea but if all the best parts were taken from all ideas then there could be something to look at.... For me the main event of British Speedway should be a "British Speedway Grand Prix Championship" The idea is to give British riders a reason to take up the sport as not everyone will reach the heights of World Grand Prix level or Poland. So the British Grand Prix Series take place over say 12 rounds, these are the events that should be on Eurosport. Looking for a series sponsor which would be easier to find for a British Championship as opposed to a league championship, say someone like Vanarama £50k plus a Van Overall winner could take home £30k cheque and a brand new Van 2nd place can be £15k with 3rd place taking £5k I would call it the "Super 12 Grand Prix" as its 12 rounds but also only have 12 riders in it, so from riders here and now I would say 1. Dan Bewley 2. Charles Wright 3. Steve Worrall 4. Danny King 5. Richard Lawson 6. Craig Cook 7. Chris Harris 8. Scott Nicholls 9. Adam Ellis 10. Kyle Howarth 11. Richie Worrall 12. Lewis Kerr 12 race format with riders getting a race from Gates 1-4, top 4 riders into a Final at each round, for "Medal Points" overall champion is decided by total standard race points accumulated with a bonus "medals points table" so Bewley and Wright could finish on 120 points each for their 4 programme races across 12 rounds but the "medals points" table then counts on their overall total so medal points is for each final at each round, Gold is 3 points, Silver is 2 points, Bronze is 1 point. Over the 12 rounds prize money is distributed via ticket sales say 1000 spectators at £20 so £20,000 prize per round, any ticket sales over 1000 is host venue to keep £6k winner, £4k runner up, £2k 3rd place with the £8k distributed between the other 9 riders. Riders with guaranteed 12 meetings on Eurosport LIVE should get decent sponsorship revenue. £50k of Eurosport money should go towards developing riders for the future £50k should go towards promoting the British Grand Prix Championship and other marketing As part of this you have a "Rising Stars Championship" for riders under 23 who are not racing in the top flight Polish league and not at heat leader status in the Top British League so for now you would have a field consisting of 1. Anders Rowe 2. Tom Brennan 3. Kyle Bickley 4. Leon Flint 5. Drew Kemp 6. James Shanes 7. Connor Bailey 8. Jack Smith (not sure if any are over 23) These race as part of the programme, their championship is over 8 heats top 4 into the final. so overall you get a "British Super '12' Speedway Grand Prix Series" consisting of 12 races + 1 final, incorporated into this you get a "British Super 8 Rising Star Grand Prix Series" consisting of 8 races + 1 final so 22 races. League racing should then be a 10 team British League built to Championship strength now, riding home and away once then play offs with a Cup competition, then a 12 team National League built to what Championship strength is now but you replace the top average rider with a rising star so it's a weaker league racing home and away once with play offs and a cup competition League meetings can be 15 heats as now, cup meetings can be the old 13 heat format to add variety The BSPL to set up a league channel similar to a Netflix, say £6.99 per month you get live meetings from British and National League say 6-8 meetings per month, British & National League Riders Championship, England test matches vs Germany/Sweden/Poland/Latvia etc. plus old reruns of classic matches, interviews, behind the scenes, documentaries etc. Enough content to make is a 12 month subscription and VFM if the 22 league clubs had say 200 subscribers each that's 22 × 200 x £6.99 x 12 months = £369,072 revenue I'm going with a less is more theory with the aim of ensuring clubs get bums on seats and only have the individual series on TV to benefit British riders, and to benefit clubs and promoters people will have to buy tickets to actually see it, not on TV only every now and again on the Speedway GB Channel As league racing is minimal I would even look at doing PPV extras on the channel maybe doing a 3 round Commenwealth Championship and/or a 3 round Inter-Continental Championship which rewards some of the foreign lads that are dedicated to British Speedway make the PPV £9.99 restricted to a 50mile radius from the host venue and use some of the revenue from the Channel as prize money Commonwealth Championship could consist of 1. Brady Kurtz (Australia) 2. Charles Wright (UK) 3. Dan Bewley (UK) 4. Jason Crump (Australia) 5. Danny King (UK) 6. Jake Allen (Australia) 7. Bradley Wilson-Dean (New Zealand) 8. Craig Cook (UK) 9. Troy Batchelor (Australia) 10. Jack Holder (Australia) 11. Adam Ellis (UK) 12. Rory Schlein (UK) 13. Sam Masters (Australia) 14. Chris Harris (UK) 15. Scott Nicholls (UK) 16. Nick Morris (Australia) an Inter-Continental Championship could consist of 1. Luke Becker (USA) 2. Craig Cook (UK) 3. Brady Kurtz (Australia) 4. Eric Riss (Germany) 5. Jason Crump (Australia) 6. Bjarne Pedersen (Denmark) 7. Troy Batchelor (Australia) 8. Thomas Jorgensen (Denmark) 9. Jack Holder (Australia) 10. Dan Bewley (UK) 11. Broc Nicol (USA) 12. Adam Ellis (UK) 13. Michael Palm-Toft (Denmark) 14. Sam Masters (Australia) 15. Charles Wright (UK) 16. Danny King (UK) If these meetings had a decent level of prize money on offer, its rewarding riders who commit to British Speedway, gives them an incentive to take home some good prize money at the end of the season, looking at that list where are the Swedes? should be more Danes, could tempt some riders over.

Have said it before but will say it again, it was an utterly bonkers decision to even attempt to run the season this season and this was always going to happen. Clubs going on hold, promoters begging for donations to stay afloat , riders not being able to travel freely etc. In a sport that , even before a hint of this pandemic, was on its arse with nearly all promoters struggling, what hope did it have with reduced fans? It was a crazy decision to attempt to get the season going and I cannot believe those in charge actually let it happen. I want everything to get back to normal, everyone in the world has in someway been affected by this pathetic virus and I am one of those who feel that we should just continue to get as many people vaccinated and forget about the virus and get everything back to normal . I am in Australia and cant even get a flight back home to see family without being stuck there until Australia reopens its borders and dread to imagine how many others are in the same boat. So seeing stupid decisions like restarting speedway only for clubs to start whinging about money less than a month in really is a joke.

Can fully understand Jitendras decision, if it’s affecting his mental health and personal life he has to do what’s best for him. He has been a fantastic “face” of Redcar Speedway over the last few years and the improvements to the club, both on and off the track, are a testament to all his hard work. Good luck and thank you.

As heat 8 is a protected heat shouldn't it be for the RS riders.?

Tarasenko is a Laguta, Artem and Grigory are his uncles.

According to the Gov Website "group of up to 6 from any number of households" https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do#meeting-friends-and-family-indoors-rule-of-6

Couldn't the Berwick promotion see if any of the Newcastle riders fancy a run out. See if you can get a few other Northern based riders to make up a team and run a challenge against the BSPL Semi-Pro Select. At least it gets those lads available some valuable track time

Well done Dan,

He's suspose (lol) to not take Madsen into the fence. Keep throttle on but don't turn right!

Don’t believe a word he says if he said it was raining outside I’d have to check as for purchasing .he ain’t got a pot to piddle in

" I will always be one of those people that speak my mind and say the truth and I will always express my feelings." was this possibly the problem at KL?

Just looked at the Just Giving page and £4200 has been given by 87 contributors. As the average crowd at Newcastle pre-covid was considerably more than 87. If each of those supporters who have not yet donated anything gave 1 admission price the target would be reached easily. Just saying!

And by the time your lease is up at Cowley you may have been given voting rights at the AGM...

4. 57.8, 11. 584, 12. 59.1, 13. 58.2, 14. 59.7, 15. 58.8.

As I have said before. its s matter of perception rather than reality. The Speedway will be just as good but lower points limits almost always mean lower attendances.....and the NL clubs without a Championship team don't have the opportunity to double head.

And now there is not one speedway track operating in the whole of London - very sad!

Less than 200 tickets sold for Leicester v Mildenhall. Always a major risk running with a low points limit that people simply won't go to the stand alone NL meetings.

For Plymouth Danny King a , top replacement for Crump..Likewise Steve Worral for Heeps and top scored for Kent ..An exciting close encounter ,that could have gone either way at half time.. Scott Nichols consistent as normal as was Paul Starke,,like to see him win more races though to confirm him as a heat leader ,,Reserve Ben Morley showed real aggression to earn his 11 paid 13 points ,, 3 wins in that total ,,which earned him the rider of the night award ..Young Dan Gilks would have won another race if Hurry had not fallen at the back,,,,Dan then missed the gate in the re;run ,,Hurry showed dashes of pace but is falling too often on his own..i think there is a problem there,,,Cameron Heeps could be back next week and that will give us an idea of how strong the team is really going to be at home,,,,If the racing is as good as yesterday you will not want to miss it next week,,,i cant wait !...........

I've been telling them that ever since Edinburgh tickets went on sale 5 weeks ago, but nobody takes any notice. Now they are in a mess because they aren't selling enough tickets. It can't be that difficult. If it is then they need to get a new web host/ manager. (there is a link on the ticket office page now, but it's very faint and mostly obliterated by the page header). IT SHOULD BE IN BIG BOLD LETTERS. It's their source of financial income, though wouldn't think it.

Badly worded on my part, what I meant was the stupid decision to stop the IOW running independently this season is even more stupid now, although the delaying of the last covid lifting may have even caused a problem for Barry and co.

Want to expand on that a little more? Newcastle are cost cutting because they have a non attractive CL team on display, sadly despite reduced costs via double headers there still isn't that much backing for the NL side either. Surely this justifies IOW's decision to step out because they weren't able to have a say on what makes a saleable product and brings into question those who had a say on things and whether they really know what they are talking about.

We'll still have double headers and promoters moaning about it, you just know it.

Quest show highlights of the Eurosport meeting on the Tuesday at 11pm. You just happened to flick on to Quest+1.

Well done Kings for first win....did not look good for most of the meeting. I did not go as I did not find the fixture so attractive without Crump and the Kent team is in need of a bit more strength. Scotty is top class and as worrall showed last night we need another heat leader.Yet to see Heeps but still think we need another one. Starke battles well for his points and I really like Ben (as a rider and really nice bloke). Dan did well as sure he was still feeling the effects of his crash last week! But I really cannot understand Hurry in the team...watched him against Glasgow last week and makes me very nervous watching him.He struggled again last night and that was at Home....away will be even harder? Wonder how many points Kent would have to play with for replacing Bacon and Hurry?Believe we was well below points limit at the begining?

I hope so as it might slowly draw to an end the double-upping I despise. But it's a double ended sword as it may force retirements due to riders not making it pay. It'll be interesting how it pans out.

Speedway needs to look in on itself and accept that the present situation particularly at Wolverhampton exists due to unsustainable overheads and accept that fans don't have bottomless pockets along comes Covid and the model used is not fit for purpose. Having no UK riders is not healthy situation but hopefully the promotion will be able to continue and perhaps encourage local talent that may give the track a future. I do seriously worry about the survival of speedway and find the 'bunker mentality' very difficult to grasp.

yes, and no reserve switch either

Dave Steen was an electrician by trade. Every time there was an electrical problem at Reading (which seemed to happen quite often) he used to have to go up to the box and fix it.

its sad state .. the worst thing is that there is no update from the club on why yet again no work has started .. surely pressure and questions should be asked and then relayed back to the fans . Rather than blaming fans for being negative , how about a statement saying we are fed up with the developers and can no longer trust in anything they say about the building of the stadium .. To me we are going down without a fight .. this just lets hope its gets built attitude is not working . As for the local mp he's been as much use as an ashtray on a speedway bike .

And we have a council who, despite being told how it would all play out given the past form of the stadium owners, allowed the houses to be built with zero progress on the stadium. SBC have been played for complete amateurs. Or are complicit in what has gone on. Either way they've had a hand in Swindon losing yet another amenity and source of entertainment. Without shared experiences and reasons for the town to have an identity we are diminished as a community. And it seems to me that the council are just fine with that. Shame on them. And shame on the stadium owners if all of their talk comes to nought but so many lies.

Yes this is correct.... we wanted to introduce to the 2020 NT 2 new innovative rules. 1. The team manager of each side could choose two heats in which to select 1 rider from the oposing team to put on 15m in two heats which may not include heats 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, 13, 14 and 15 and it cannot include a previous heat selected for 15m handicap. The away team manager would chose the first heat, home TM 2nd, away 3rd and home 4th heats. A brilliant yet simple rule to inject more action to the racing and a rule which is already used (tapes rules) so confirmed as OK for safety and every UK track. This for sure will feature in our meetings this year should we find ourselves in a position to actually race. 2. When 6 points behind the team manager can choose gate positions. Again a simple rule that could have a great affect on the match. Note - during the AGM it was AGREED to introduce both these rules by the NL only for it to then be stopped at a later date saying no clear rule could be written. !!!!!! Or was it a fear that this was the NL once again leading the way forward However, even with these great enhancements to the show, along with all the other ideas we will implement, I also refer to Poland. They use the same thing (all be it with different rider positions) but 4 bikes, 4 laps, 15 heats. The greatest part of going to speedway in Poland is 100% the atmosphere - the crowds 100% back their team, chanting, applaudings, scalves, massively sponsored, rider interaction with fans and what does this all equate to....... a show, theatre, drama....... all what is missing in British Speedway save for the play offs. Perhaps controversially, the Polish squad system works well in my view too, forcing rider to ride to the best of their ability or be dropped as opposed to virtually guaranteed a team spot regardless of performance due to lack of riders. I am not saying our riders do not really put their best efforts in, they do, but there is not consequences for behaviour, or poor performance. Finally another huge difference is ethos.... In poland is club, club, club - one for all and all for one... yet in UK is about the rider who rides for a club... If a team makes a change (which none take lightly and for Martin and I we would do anything to avoid it because of the fan / rider relationship) the club get totally hammered online and the rider complete sympathy - but I can assure you there have been occassion when riders behaviour would disgust you all but to protect the club and to a degree the rider it is hushed up and the club in general takes the negative PR on the chin. Then sponsorship... in Poland it the club and brand where most sponsorship is directed where as UK its, in general, rider related. Even when clubs get sponsors, riders do their very best to get in there with them which in turn reduces the club sponsorship money available. As a club that relies heavily on our brand and sponsorship this is something that really hurts us both in the bank account and credibilty when it goes pearshaped. We did introduce something else at that AGM too, we asked to have a promoters end of season dinner (yes that is right little old IOW) to celebrate all the great in speedway much like the WSRA dinners. Of course it was immediately shot down until we offered to organise it, Mark Lemon seconded it.... then the BSPL agreed to stage and organise the dinner and it was a HUGE success. Anyways... Now I am off to study Mr. Godfrey's statement in the speedway star and I am sure we will be responding with some clarity #truths As I always write support your club they need you. These are troubled times and stay positive / constructive and we will all come through this. Stay safe and all the best,

why develop an engine when it will not be required in the next 3 years . speedway is finished ,as are most motor sports . it may have a use tho . Briggs n Stratton may use it in their lawn mowers. it will get the grass cut in half the time .

This is a very challenging time for Martin, myself and everyone associated in one way or another with the Isle of Wight, and personally I am close to saying it's enough now. All we wanted to do was put on a viable speedway product, the BSPL emposed rules upon us giving an yes/no ultimatum to join the league in 2021. That means, no discussion, nor any prospect of allowing discussion in future years. While we did not agree with the points limit we were not allowed to discuss it - its this or nothing.... We are told that every promoter in the sport wanted it... yet I can name at least 6 who we deal with regularly who will say no such discussion has happened and even if it did, why are their views more important than ours for our league, our business. Of course it is not, but they didnt view it like this. Even to today.... Martin and I have received no communication from any member of the board of BSPL other than the office manager during the time that we wanted to leave. There was no "please come to the office or take a zoom call and lets discuss it", there was nothing... Yes - no, in or out... and like this for years to come. Now we are left in a situation where it is OK for BSPL clubs just to hire and fire riders at will, nomadic club names can used in amatuer events that bring in private hire revenue but cannot be used in amatuer second halves, and rising stars who are supposed to be protected clearly are not. And.... all the time the Isle of Wight has the ability to give these riders more rides, in a safe, relaxed, entertaining environment, and yet ultimately because we did not agree to not having a say in how our league is run while others who have no vested interest in it can, and without a prospect of this changing, rider will have the fear of sanctions for themselves or their BSPL club's and the only people who will miss out are the fans, volunteers, sponsors and riders of our sport. Believe me, while working full time too, running a speedway club is no pleasure ride, there are so many challenges, so much that you will never see or hear of that just makes us all want to stop it. But we love it...nothing gives us more pride when people have really enjoyed the show, or a young rider who we help scores well, or a rider from MFS becomes a mascot, MDSL rider, and so on... but the personal toll that we have to endure and now this increased toll.... its just heartbreaking. Enjjoy your speedway everyone wherever you view it... every club will need you all and all your positivity this and the coming years.... oh and BTW my smiling/laughing face earlier on a previous comment was only because even now people still think the reason Martin and I left was over the points limit, it totally was not... it was over how we were treated (and continue to be) by the BSPL. All the best.............