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There has always been some doubt about the ability of Eastbourne to survive, even in the last days of the old Elite league, Bob Dugard was bank rolling the operation and laughed at anyone who asked about the returns from Speedway. The product has been on its knees for years, but any new promoter or anyone with new ideas seems to get short shrift from the BSPL mafia. Bob Brimson tried, and was hugely critical of those running the top administration, he said something along the lines of “I’ve dealt with shady characters in the music business but nothing like the people in Speedway”. Rick Frost (Peterborough) gave a similar impression when interviewed at Arlington. If the product and business plans of the top clubs is so good, why has Buster Chapman got fingers in three clubs ? If the administration of the BSPL / SCB / ACU is so good why are we still awaiting the result of the “full investigation” of the last minute cancellation of the final National League meeting Eastbourne v Mildenhall in 2018? (Mildenhall called off). Because there wasn’t one, despite all the PR crap that followed. Is there truth in the posting on this site that Godfrey has all the new tyres and teams have to collect and pay him for them? I wouldn’t trust the BSPL for anything (they can’t even draft their memorandum and articles of association correctly, and always screw up writing the rules so ambiguity creeps in). Speedway needs an independent body to run it. The current operating model is outdated and broken all round. It will hurt me if Eastbourne fold, I have supported them for 15 years, a season ticket holder and generous contributor to various funds, I sincerely hope something can be rescued, perhaps next year. My mantra during the NL years was some speedway is better than no speedway, but I’m not optimistic.

Sadly I have lost count of the number of successful teams I have passionately supported in my younger days , only to be completely let down by a “promoters” ego at the end of a season to take “their” club into a higher division, based on no more than a wing and a prayer and certainly no firm financial business plan. Stuff the supporters. Example: Eastbourne Speedway enjoyed its most successful “noughties” period under Connor and Martin Dugard. Sound financial plan in the NDL and they were the team to beat in the NDL. Then, mysteriously Jordan and Cook moved in, Connor and Martin “stepped aside” great things were promised moving into the Championship, but losses began to accrue. Some might say Covid caused this...... I beg to differ... Eastbourne were a very successful NDL club, appealed to the local youngsters and that’s their level given their crowd demographic and level of interest in the area. I have seen this all before , ( the late Jon Cook being involved with another venture with Stuart Douglas) at Lakeside with riders still owed money , Hackney completely ruined by John Louis and Ronnie and Terry Russell going into the Elite league with a woefully weak side, leading to the rapid demise of Hackney one season later. This is why I have no time for any modern day speedway “promoter”. I don’t believe a word they say.

I hope the writing is not on the wall for Eastbourne or any team as the sport struggles now with fewer clubs and so the adage of a track near you to watch it live becomes less and less of a true marketing statement. I am sure many supporters would rather have a competitive team at a lower level which can wash its face cost wise through the season than have no team at all. Covid is not to blame for the state of speedway, it may be a minor factor in terms of cross border rider availability but the flaws in the finances of the clubs are down to the club owners where for some it is a hobby and not a business. Riders, owners and supporters need to accept that the money is not around for a sport like speedway and so it needs to operate at a level that is realistically affordable. The governing body also needs to get its head out of the sand and allow various operating models in order to keep tracks open such as open licences and allow other ‘IOW’ projects to run without threats to riders livelihoods. It is the self interest of a few promoters that are bringing the sport to its knees and with outside pressures such as the demand for house building etc. tracks become targets for development so the need to keep them operating cannot be understated yet the few on the top table seem plough a furrow that suits their patch rather than work for the collective good of all tracks. The BSPL had a chance to reinvent the sport this year and offer something different given all the likely issues with riders etc but instead they ran with an outdated boring business model, insisted on race nights when it really made no difference due to overseas travel restrictions and seemingly failed to understand why it might be necessary to carry out a SWOT analysis. Had they even thought about this then you would have a very different outcome and just maybe a few tracks could have opted to do something different rather than be coerced into doing something that benefits only a few operators. Let’s hope some sense prevails before we have nothing left.

Is there no one overseeing the promoters and making sure they play by the financial rules. They seem more concerned with Connor Coles riding on the IOW. Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome burns.

How clubs thought crowds would rocket after covid is a madness, surely theyd know fans pockets would be tighter than ever after a world wide crisis?

Perhaps Eurosport now realise what a crap product they have signed up to and wish they had shown the Championship instead as it's just the same riders but more variety of venues? Also how can anyone take serious an "elite" league of 6 teams where the top 4 then enter the play offs? What is the actual point of showing any more of the regular season when the play off slots have already been all but decided? What is there to race for? It could be now that Eurosport are just going to show the play-offs and final as that is basically what the season is.

Martin and myself were concerned to read the recent statement from Eastbourne Speedway and know how much the Eagles mean to their devoted fans. Whilst the ongoing uncertainty continues at Arlington, the Wightlink Warriors Shale Track Racing club invite all Eagles season ticket holders to join us for free admission on race days on the Island. Warriors co-owner Barry Bishop said, "When I was a supporter on the terraces at my club, Oxford, the sport in the city hit hard times and was forced to close. That was the first year that my father and I actually purchased season tickets and that was because I pestered him to buy them. When we got the news that speedway was finished I wrote to Avtar Sandhu at Coventry (the closest track to home) and explained that it would cost us an extra £30 a week to attend Brandon and I asked if he could give us some kind of discount on entry. To his credit he offered all season ticket holder from Oxford free entry - an offer that was very well received. Now, I am not forecasting the same fate for Eastbourne, but while fans are waiting for the good folk there to sort things out, we invite you to spend some time with us. Our fixtures are: Aug 19th Mark Cooper @ Truly Independent US Style Handicap Racing Alan Critcher Pee Wee and 125 Races The Wheel Specialist Fareham Classic races Aug 24th Alan Critcher Pee Wee and 125 Races Four Seasons Landscaping and Garden Maintenance 3TT Warriors V Oxfor VCradley MSP Body and Paint Team Jawa V Freelance Installations Team GM Sept 2nd Alan Critcher Pee Wee and 125 Races Acclaim Logistics Island Master Round 2 Wizards V Falcons Plus Island Master’s Round 3 TBC and hopefully 1 or 2 other meetings. Eagles season ticket holders taking up this offer will need to present their passes at the turnstile to secure free admission.

It must be Scott it has his name on his goggles.

Years of watering down the averages ,have create previously mediocre riders becoming much sought after and being overpaid for their services.They are happy to stay in their comfort zone earning decent money ,unfortunately raising admission prices for a second rate product( compared to the past)was not the answer.Fans have drifted away ,and the sport does not have the credibility to attract new young fans in any great numbers( and keep them).

Absolutely 100%. Few would.. So stop them before they do... Its brand damaging having so many clubs putting begging bowls out, peeing fans off by changing fixtures on an ad hoc basis just so they can "survive".. Given Speedway has lost so many fans year on year historically, if you had 900 the year previous, I would budget for 800 this if that is how the historical run rate data flows.. And "Moving Up" has zero Wow Factor so why do it? Time was the 2nd Division was the best ran by a mile, using "decent No1's" who were very much semi pro, and had jobs, but were happy to be a "big fish in a small pond" and actually brought in local punters based on their commitment to the team.. And during the 90's it became the top league that was "overheating" and paying out far more than was coming in so then needed the 2nd Div to amalgamate with them.. Only to not amalgamate fairly and leave several 2nd tier tracks bereft of the required level of riders.. Now it's the 2nd tier that is "overheating", all to ensure riders who cannot race in other overseas leagues get paid their required money.. Required money needed to pay for their expensive equipment and to earn enough to remain as "professional sportsmen".. Equipment standards and professionalism that is demanded by promoters so they can challenge for league titles.. League titles that have very little kudos, financial reward, or publicity, in winning, which doesnt engage enough fans to part with the admission fee that many see as too expensive and non value for money.. An expensive and non value for money admission fee, set up to pay for the wages that the riders need, to afford the equipment and remain professional sportsmen, to keep the promoters happy, to try and win the leagues, that hardly anyone cares who wins..!! And on we go again.. Racing to the bottom.. Who will be first? Three strong contenders it seems at present... But could some come up on the rails..?

Every track should be made to present its business plan to a group of people who represent the BSPL.. They then sign it off as acceptable after reviewing historical crowd data.. (Again, another reason for some independent governance).. "Hoping to get sponsorship", and "i am sure we will get decent crowds turning up post covid because they will have missed Speedway so much", isnt really a business plan.. And if the bond is based on "standard pay rates" why don't these rates get paid? Or why isn't the bond therefore much larger to reflect the actual pay rates that get paid out? And who decides the "standard pay rates" in the first place if riders "lose a lot of money" when retrospectively getting paid after a track closure..? Surely this means this figure is miles out from what it actually is? I can recruit staff at £50 an hour if I dont end up paying them their full pay.. Meaning I get the best quality individuals.. Then close and they get £10 an hour for their hours worked when the administration team move in.. The reality being of course is that if I paid them £10 an hour in the first place I may have been solvent. But obviously could only have recruited a standard of employee in the £10 an hour bracket rather than the £50 an hour bracket.. "Cutting your cloth accordingly' is the phrase I believe..

Not really .. you pay what you can and cut you cloth to that level ...if your going to get 500 fans each week your team should reflect that just like any other sport and if you come near the bottom so be it . Eastbourne quite clearly put a shocking Business plan together based on silly numbers coming to watch

Absolutely not looks cracking prospect. Hopefully him and flint can kick on to top of the sport

Unfortunately it isn't. .. Getting some hype into the event through great marketing and promotion, which generates a crowd level that then naturally delivers great atmosphere, and also excellent revenue returns, is what really counts. . A night of great racing in a half empty stadium won't be remembered anywhere near as much as even the most ordinary of racing which takes place in front of packed in, shoulder to shoulder, noisy full house of fans...

WOW. You've solved a 20 year mystery. Well done

That's one thing NDL riders are missing this year, "track time" 12 matches over a season will not help their development! Be good if they were encouraged to get extra racing at IOW!

That rising star played a massive part in us beating Poole! Not expecting a huge score considering he’s riding at no.1 but I’m more than happy with seeing him in our team line up again.

Firstly I am surprised you think Berwick is a trick track but never mind I will leave others to argue that... and I fully agree with you when you say you get close racing from a road block however is it not then up to the chasing rider(s) to have the confidence; technical skill and the ability to chase and pass that road block no matter where it is on the track. Clegg was one of the riders having a go on the outside line; however that outside line I was referring to is only on bends 3 and 4 as there isn't really an outside line as such on 1 and 2 and to be fair there isn't really and inside line on 1 and 2 either as the sweet spot perfected by James Greives is about 2/3rds out off the inside edge coming out of bend 2 which either gives the momentum to pass inside or outside along the back straight or to get you into position for a big push around what is the Ludvig Lindgren outside line on 3 and 4 which as stated is the outside line I was referring to and has been sadly under used since Ludde left. Clegg; Mountain and Roynon all went out wide and made passes on this outside line on 3 and 4 in this meeting and it was good to see for a change!!! and again I somewhat agree with your analogy about the Wright/Clegg pairing as James tends to like to hug the kerb line and Max will go out wide and it could be a good pairing in the making for Newcastle; Connor and Adam tend to drift all over the track and go for it to a certain extent full on the throttle; Ben Barker tends to have a bit more control and thinks more as to what his passing options are and tries to choose the places where he will try and attack for a pass; Matty when fit is another who prefers to sit on the inside line and Archie as a young kid is still finding his preferred track racing preferences and his feet to a certain extent at this level; there was passing in this meeting and it was an entertaining event and everyone will have a different perspective and view on the racing and what did or did not happen and I fully accept you last statement that it is very difficult to pass at Brough not withstanding the long and thin straights however the home fans know what and where certain riders will try things and that's where I suppose the home track advantage starts to develop... it may be perceived from away fans and away riders that there is only one line around Brough however that could not be further from the truth and once the little nuances are learnt on how to tackle the technical nature of the track (trickiness) then the rest is as they say "is mere bagatelle" For me I thought it was a good meeting with close competitive racing and not every race had a classic passing move however there was some good racing to watch and I was very encouraged with the performance of the whole team although I would add that I thought the first meeting of the season against Edinburgh was also a very good meeting to watch however the result was the the wrong way around for a Diamonds fan... It is what it is and I accept what you are saying and agree to some of it... but this is what is good about the sport and the differing opinions on what has been witnessed on the track during the days racing... Regards THJ

Essentially though doubling up and down doesn't really exist any more.....if you take Holder, Bewley and Kurtz and the Rising Stars out of the equation then the Premiership is full of riders in their comfort zone one way or the other earning two incomes in the UK because we cant enough people to ride here. The PL is too weak and the CL too strong meaning we have the mess we are currently in, and I suspect if doubling up/down was scrapped there would be uproar. The riders duch as Daniel has named should never be riding second division over here and their doing so has pushed the admission costs up to daft levels.

A Berwick side who were not at their best tonight were soundly beaten by the Kings who were firing on all cylinders ,,,But a match that still produced top notch racing especially as one or two Berwick riders started to find their feet,, Ben Morley has found some real determination which is helping his confidence against the big guns and deserved his rider of the night award,,,,And both young reserves Dan and Jake are doing all that can be expected of them and in time should make really good riders..The top end of the team continue to impress providing exciting racing for the fans ,,,,,,,and Cameron Heeps is making steady progress after his shoulder injury,,,,Kent is definately the place to be on a tuesday night........

Riders out Aarnio & Macdonald Riders in Klindt or Lewi Kerr & Kinsley

Sadly, a very ominous statement :- ( The financial position of Eastbourne Eagles Limited. (Limited liability company of £100 according to Companies House) is clearly more serious and deep rooted than that of Newcastle and Birmingham. Not even a rallying call for fans to get behind the team and show their support in numbers to keep the club running. Something VERY wrong down there with the BSPL clearly not satisfied that Eastbourne Speedway Limited can service their existing debts prior to continuing the season ? The business situation at Arlington seems fairly strightforward in 2021. Spedeworth are tenants for the Stocks and Banger cars, Eastbourne Eagles Ltd are tenants for the speedway. Ian Jordan (unknown business background) and Les Fineing ( programme printer) are directors of the speedway company. Trevor Gear and Lee Kilby are co promoters. Owners of the stadium are Eric and Margaret Dugard (stated elsewhere on this thread) In the last filed accounts for season Dec 2018 - Dec2019 the speedway made a loss of £33k. That was I believe a full season in which Eagles were fairly succesful, although spoilt by Tom Brennan's injury. Company assets were valued at (£28k) ie minus £28k. Surprising then that they lined up in 2021 with 2 teams (NDL and CL) after such financial results given the huge uncertainty over COVID and a delayed opening.

With such little respect for the BSPL, its secretive decision making and aversion to transparency, who would scrutinise the scrutineers. Giving wage responsibility to them is the equivalent of asking the Communist Party to manage the Bank of England.

Broc preventing pirates top 3 maximums, good lad. Hopefully give him confidence boost for rest of the season with the stripes

I wouldn't worry, he's sat at home

And this is why I knew you'd be the man to answer it haha!

I would imagine that supporters of Speedway in Sweden and Denmark would say exactly the same. Undoubtedly in the 60's ,70's and 80's the riders were of a higher ranking on the World stage but those times have gone. Times have changed !! I would state that the quality of racing and the field is higher than when Tai Woffinden won his hat-trick of titles. Then you knew it was the semi final and final were the only seriously competitive races. Getting back to UK speedway now - the issue is the sport and the fan base is dying. Continually the sport is preaching to the converted - it needs to target a new demographic. I am no great fan of Eddie Hearn but it needs somebody of his sports business and promotion skills to drive the sport forward. Speedway is 15 mins / 22 mins of adrenalin fuelled entertainment in 1 min bites. Perfect for the younger generations attention span - the sport needs to be pushed via social media even more - instagram, tik-tok etc Get you-tubers at the meeting and on a bike with a rider for viewings on you tube - Glasgow Tigers one of the better promoted teams and have only 1300 subscribers - Speedway Great Britain has 6920 subscribers - Hashtag FC a football team driven by social media and social media content has 567,000 subscribers - this is where the new opportunity of support is !!! If speedway keeps reaching out to the support it already has it will always be in decline and meet the same continual problems. It needs a drastic change - the sport itself can be enthralling, exciting and entertaining but too many people are not aware of it. All sports are suffering in atttracting the younger generation and tearing them away from phones, tablets and computer screens - The issue is that the sport is methanol fuelled excitement , perfect in 1 min short bites of excitement - the potential is there ... it just needs somebody with the right forward thinking mindset.

Every thing sails over my head these days i guess i just wanted to know who else had spotted the real joke the editorial mistake that it was scott because of the name on the goggles,,, ,,,,,,,,I wonder how many people asked Scott to sign it and wether or not he noticed that it was not him in the photo ....

It might have been mentioned somewhere on here, and its bound to be on our official site but why is NBJ missing tonight.

‘’The British Final used to be contested by several riders who you would feel had a chance of the World Championship itself, and when only five went through, many genuine World Class riders got knocked out..’’ I doubt the racing was any better and that’s what really counts.

This report is inaccurate Crump was leading heat one, Ellis attempted an outside pass end of the back straight lap one & then got tangled with the fence. Fact is Jason left Adam enough room as stated by Adam himself. Most on lookers were under the impression Adam's racing head was still in Belle Vue mode!

The question is, what is the NDL for? Is it to develop riders as the name suggests or is it to allow clubs that want to, to run at an affordable level? It should/could be both... it is clearly not a development league though as the higher leagues don't allow for that to happen

You get promoters with megabucks that bust the bank to get who they perceive is the best side money can buy, it then spirals from there, i suppose, its ok if you got more coming in than going out, but it aint, sadly in lots of cases .

But I think it goes back to what standard of league do you want and clearly the CL wants a league that is too strong for the ability of many riders that would have been available. This has been born out by some teams in the middle league employing overseas riders and outnumbering U.K. riders.

Going back to the actual meeting , thoroughly enjoyed myself . Even the rain couldn't spoil the racing , which was top drawer . Roll on the Speedway of Nations . Pity Belle Vue aren't a weekend track , would make the effort more often. Enjoyable wee bevvy in the Diamond Lodge after the meeting too

I have followed speedway for over 40 years and 20% back in the day from 2nd half's and the odd junior meeting may have been acceptable but from a league that has been designed and setup to develop new riding talent 20% to even just make it to an average level is a total disaster. You can't run a successful NDL without team spots being available in the higher leagues for those riders to progress into. And all these team spots are being taken by riders doubling down.

Was it Nicol that guested once & scored about 16 from 7 rides in '18 or '19. Poole were trying ti sign him the following year based on that.

I think whoever wrote that was having a bad day, certainly not how I saw things. We had some decent racing. Although with 14 heats spread over 2 ¾ hours it was hard to get absorbed in the meeting. Injuries, unsatisfactory starts and numerous tumbles slowed things considerably, as did delays for Reserve switches and IIR’s meaning extra time allowed for consecutive rides. Heat one as I saw it (right in front of me) Crump was riding his normal line, marginally in the lead and Ellis continued going for a closing gap. Front wheel to back was only ending one way. Really glad Ellis and Lambert were able to walk away, it was a messy one. A real shame that we didn’t get to see the Champ for the rest of the night. Ellis correctly excluded IMO, although guilty of nothing more than giving it a go. As for the remainder of the falls, I can’t remember any where a Gladiator contributed. Good spirited riding from both sides that didn’t always go to plan. I thought Palin went down by himself in the second staging of heat 13, simplest decision of the night for the Ref. Mark did battle to keep the dust down, but his attempts were neither futile nor excessive. Crump looked less Rusty than he has done. Bjarne was sublime, Bowtell fast and reliable. Ruml, Cook, Keleher showed some signs of improvement. Edwards struggled….. Best Team won. Roll on next week!!

A mixture of sour grapes and bull****,scunny got stuck in and had a real go fair play to them i could debate all the biased points in the report but end of the day Plymouth won and scunny got nowt,

Please refer to regulation 01 In the intrest of speedway...........

Maybe there should be a"fit and proper person test" done on promoters before they get allowed to take over a track.. Lke football have.. Oh, hang on....

The whole financial structure needs sorting out, nobody seems to know what riders wages are tho my guess is that collectively they outstrip turnstile clicks. Until recently, there has never seemed to be too many of them working during the winter so they must be earning quite well to compensate this. We all want the best riders and successful teams but not at the cost of clubs going under, hopefully riders realise this too because it's their jobs that are disappearing...

So there are "standard pay rates"...? ie A financial control... A shame then that it isnt followed isnt it? If it was, it could help keep clubs solvent couldn't it? Just a thought...

There lies the problem that blights the sport,the Promoters that run the sport and set pay rates pay over the odds causing a lot of the trouble at other Clubs.The chickens are coming home to roost for the overpaid riders.

maybe, just maybe, one day the penny will drop. Funny how Glasgow are the rich guys now when for years they clung to life. All tracks need each other and all will have their ups and downs, even Poole went ** up once. Needs to be pitched at the poorest track or the whole thing will collapse. Tim Swales said that donkeys years ago

I think it's clear that for many teams the "old NDL" level was perfect . Clubs who only get crowds of around 400 to 800 as an average, would be far better running at that old NDL level.. Paying some "old heads" a few quid extra, and the same to any lads who decide "I am quite happy at this level" even if the "powers that be" are not happy that they dont move up into the top two leagues... A top two leagues that are dont forget 90% the same, so as contrived, as contrived could be.. The NDL always seemed to the best ran, as well as offered the best value for money, as whenever I watched it the racing was very good due to the majority of all riders being not a million miles away from each other in ability.. And you could often audibly hear the young lads under their helmets celebrating as they got off the bike after winning a race, or cursing as they finished last, which showed how much it cared to them.. I could watch the Colts at the NSS for £10 for me and my lad pre Covid or pay £33 to us to watch the Aces.. Needless to say my "live Speedway fix" invariably meant a Colts visit, rather than an Aces one.. The fundamental problem that exists is that, "Moving up a league" means absolutely nothing in Speedway given you can pick and choose what leagues to race in, therefore I fail to see why some promoters see this as some kind of advancement or aspiration and risk their comfortably working business model... The fans dont see "moving up" as anything "exciting" as they know that the top two leagues carry no "Wow Factor" in winning, and, no disrespect, but there are hardly any 'superstars' going to visit your circuit that will bring those extra fans so needed to be sustainable in.. And you put your prices up to pay for the added costs, which is never a good idea when customers dont see any tangible difference in what you offer... I would suggest that whether those in charge like it or not, the sustainable level for the majority of clubs in the UK nowadays is the "old NDL level" or, maybe, at a push, "Championship Lite"...

Berwick did it on Saturday with a 9.30 curfew and a delay at heat 2 were there's a will there's a way. Berwick are very good at giving the younger riders track time . If Birmingham have agreed the fixture they have to push the main meeting on no letting the meeting drag on they have to remember the juniors are traveling a long way for no reimbursement.

If you strip all the cr@p away... it's still cricket. It may be the sacrifice you have to make to watch 4 riders race each other on dirt tracks riding 500cc motorbikes without brakes at a professional level... assuming anybody has the gumption to do anything with the sport... which is highly unlikely.

But speedway is dying in this country, sadly too many people like yourself can't see it.