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What about the rights of those that happen to be born in Ukraine. As individuals they not the fault of a war starting but under false reasons they are under attack. Because so many individuals citizens have already been killed, does that mean they are all Nazis and responsible for ethnic cleansing, because that is what Russia claims to be a main reason for entering the country on “manoeuvres”. Businesses are cutting ties with Russia, even UK stores are refusing to sell Russian Vodka, football clubs are cutting out the Russian oligarchs meaning they losing their income, F1 has not only cancelled this years race in Sochi (where one of Putins palaces is) but they have cancelled the contract to stage any F1 races in the future. World class athletes from Ukraine are returning to Ukraine to fight for their fellowman's freedom. On BSF there are those who think the speedway world should just carry on. What we don’t know is the feeling of fellow riders, what stance do they take, is there a chance that the conflict will be carried over to the track? Certainly in the Polish league there could be rider problems as there are riders from Ukraine, Latvia, Slovakia, Czech Republic, the eastern part of Germany, Finland, Sweden, probably more, who well remember how Russia has treated their countries.

Simply because they're Russian. Some will see it unjust but all Russian athletes should not be allowed to compete internationally. Many other sports are sanctioning Russian athlete's, why on earth should Speedway be different?? Ukrainian's are being illegally killed by a Russian invasion. If Russian people really didn't agree with the war here's something to think about, their armed forces can refuse to drop bombs, fire rockets, shoot their guns but no, they continue at great speed. Sanctions have to be implemented & being Russian is just that imo, regardless of who they are.

Are you suggesting that Maceij Janowski is the new #1 for the Brummies?

My guess rides in polish second division and Sweden so can ride in British league. Rode a few matches over here in 2013 and has a very low British average but is now good enough to be a heat leader over here and would be an exciting rider to watch is A Lebedevs.

You are wrong to target individual Russians who are resident outside of Russia and have no connection to the Putin regime, whether it's sport or any other job they're doing. It doesn't matter how many times you say it, most have nothing to do with Putin and it's a fair bet many if not most oppose his actions. Most of us are outraged by the actions of the Russian government, and frankly I've been outraged by its behaviour for a number of years even if there were a number of apologists for it in the West (and on here) until just over a week ago. You need to make a distinction though, between the Putin regime and the Russian people (even if many have naively support him thanks to the propaganda), and whilst sanctions do have to be put on the country and its residents, believing that exerting pressure on expat Russians will somehow enable Putin's overthrow shows a total lack of understanding of his total control of its state apparatus. It's all too easy to get out the torches and pitchforks against anyone or anything Russian, but history (including two World Wars) has shown it's counterproductive to automatically assume 'enemy aliens' will take the side with their parent country. People often leave their countries because of some dissatisfaction or disagreement with political and/or economic conditions there, and Russians are really no different. This quite aside from the fact that by penalising totally innocent expats, you are far more likely to alienate them against your cause and reinforce Putin's rhetoric that Russians are victimised by the rest of the world. Or put another way, much of the world including most countries in Europe opposed the invasion of Iraq which the UK participated in. I don't recall any British sportspeople being banned from anything, and would you have considered it reasonable and proportionate for British expats to be expelled from all the countries they were living and working in?

Not at all I'm saying sometimes mushrooms are best kept in the dark

Lebedevs only had a few meetings for Lynn in his younger days.He is better now than he was then.He will be good at the NSS for sure.

Lebedevs is not rubbish

Some good opinions and counter opinions presented here which is what the forum is all about. If you consider a sporting event to be a party for people to enjoy then why wouldn't the organiser decide what sort of people to invite to the party? If you held a party at home you wouldn't invite someone who is undesirable and/or would make the other guests uncomfortable because of their view or actions. And it's about time we decide globally who to invite to our parties. Whilst that'll lead to the innocent competitors being excluded the message has to be clear, you're country isn't welcome. And pretending to not be from that country just weakens the message. You're effectively saying nobody wants you at the party but come in a disguise and don't mention the war and you'll be alright. If that message is clear then it's down to the residents of that country if they want to try and invoke change of regime/beliefs. The issue is wider than the invasion of Ukraine isn't it. If we're serious about having a world which is environmentally sustainable, where people of all race, gender and sexuality are treated equally why wouldn't we exclude all those countries who don't support by their actions those views. Look at the Premier League there's various well meant shows of support for anti racism and anti homophobia yet some of the clubs are owned by regimes which have dubious beliefs on these subjects. Can you take any of those messages seriously? It's tokenism. It's like saying we don't want racists at our party, by the way Tommy Robinson paid for the buffet. The message has to be clear.

100% re Div 2.... Best of both worlds currently, loads of Div 1 riders and the best of Div 3, and can ride on any night of the week, except Monday and Thursday, using the weekends which is a key time for the entertainment industry.. Standardised engines are for me one of the two major ways to reduce costs... The other (less popular I am sure), being "just pay less" to semi pro riders... Use standardised engines for league racing, sealed units, and similar to F1, any replacement parts must be itemised and records kept of each key part within the machine... Any changes can be viewed on Zoom, Skype etc and signed off by scrutineers watching, and then confirmed as still legal at the next meeting when the riders arrive with the bike.. Two basic GM bikes and machines per rider is what? £10k? And if any rider wants to compete at international level then they can do this using whatever level of machinery they wish to do so... Meaning, if they want to spend £30k (and often well above) on machinery replacing a box standard bike with best clutch, best carbs, best handlebars, best furry dice etc etc, to pursue individual dreams (which has very little in the way of positive impact to crowds at club level), then they can, but this kit wont be allowed to be used in domestic Speedway...

he was also on borrowed machinery. a much better rider now than he's being given credit for

GD had a bit of a Cockle obsession a few years ago.

Ive just looked at the site and it says 5-16 £1 so Im not sure where you are looking at

That was nearly ten years ago! He was very young and raw then and couldn't handle all the grip at Lynn (not the first).

There are just the early signs that Poland may relax their rules next year and we could see more riders back in the UK. Who knows how that will shake out but we have to hope that it will be good for the sport in the UK.

Div 2 in particular would need to drop its 'strength' and include far more Div 3 riders. Wouldn't bother me - I love watching up and comers. To be honest the main issue the sport has is costs. I don't know enough to say how bikes could be cheaper but somebody must. For me the day they allowed 4 valvers was the thin end of the wedge. If D1 riders can make a living by reducing costs we can put an end to the ludicrous DU/DD situation and charge less to get in to reposition the sport in the leisure market where it belongs - 12/13 quid. Puts on tin hat

What a great idea. Let's see if Henning Loof wants to ride again. Or maybe James Cockle? I don't think that they are currently signed up to other teams.

There will be a lot to factor into 2023, league structures, availability of riders, too soon to speculate about that just yet..

Not that I'm aware of. Those are the conditions stated by the Polish league. If Russian riders with Polish citizenship wish to ride in the league then they have to renounce their Russian citizenship.

We are absolutely delighted to welcome Ian Barney to Smallbrook Stadium on August 11th for the NORA British Upright Championship. Mark your diary, book your ferry, make a weekend or week of it and join us for the biggest upright engine meeting for decades and after party. Upright Racer Ian Barney Primed For Smallbrook Action Already seeded to the NORA Upright British Speedway Championship Final in August, Ian Barney’s name is instantly recognisable to the sports followers so Championship Co-ordinator Lee Coleman caught up with Ian to get his thoughts on visiting the Island for what will be a big night of racing. Ian said, “First of all, I am very pleased to be involved in the NORA British Upright Championship. We have had the Veteran Championships at Lydd in Kent for many years which I have raced in and enjoyed very much and now I’ve been given the chance to ride in a British Championship again on the Island! I will be riding a Jawa machine which is currently being prepared but will be finished shortly. Speedway for me started back in 1977 at Mildenhall and I loved riding there. During my time at Mildenhall my Dad spoke to Brian Clark who opened the door at Peterborough to offer ‘after the meeting rides’ which I did as soon as I possibly could. I was over the moon as I supported Peterborough Panthers from the age of eleven. I worked my way through from raw novice to heat leader, including winning the 1984 National League Riders Championship in front of my home crowd. I loved my years at Peterborough. I also enjoyed doubling up with Kings Lynn during these times. Sadly, all good things come to an end, or so I thought. A few years later I was asked to ride in the Conference League which I enjoyed just as much as I did in my heyday. I had a few years away but recently was tempted back which brings us to present day. This coming season I will be riding with the London Celts in amateur events which will help me keep race sharp and I also have other meetings in the pipeline which I hope will be great preparation for the British Upright Championship at the Isle of Wight. I will be giving it my best shot. There is going to be a very strong field of riders which will provide a highly competitive meeting which I am pleased to be involved in. I hope there will be plenty of support this coming season for the Wightlink Warriors as they are doing the sport the world of good. My thanks to Barry, Martin and Lee for the opportunity to race at Smallbrook, I can’t wait!” Meeting Co-ordinator Lee Coleman was equally excited saying “I am so pleased Ian Barney will be racing for the chance to win NORA British Upright Championship. When his request to enter appeared in my messages box I realised pretty quickly we were capturing the imagination of established names within the sport. Plus, we again have another Championship winning rider in the line up! I know he is preparing a bike especially for the Upright events, he is meticulous in his preparation and I’m sure Smallbrook will really suit him. Having watched him race through the years I know he will be giving 100% to support the event, both on and off the track. Ian is a great addition to what is a very competitive line-up of seeded riders.” The image, courtesy of Kevin Goodacre Photography and Speedway Star magazine, shows Ian immediately after his National League Riders Championship success.

A bit more to it than that as you probably know!!!!

Oh my days, the absolute stupidity of some people is amazing

Yes, now looking a lot more hopeful for Swindon in 23 from what I have seen. Workington at Northside might have a few open meetings this year. I know people who were involved with Lakeside are seeking the council's help in getting a new track - it would be called Thurrock (Lakeside is a shopping centre and nothing else). Not on your list, it was said there might be a few open meetings later this year at Eastbourne but not seen anything from Sussex for some time. I'm not sure if it was the new people who talked about open meetings or maybe fans hoping. We can but hope for these tracks to come back.

Think that would end in tears.

Are these mushrooms hallucinogenic?

Or, is it clever management/PR....B'ham's forum has never had so many posts !? This only works if they actually do come up trumps with the final signings ? Feel like I've had a season ticket to Blackpool's Big Dipper

Well Workington are currently building a cracking looking track,, so expect them back in 23,, and Swindon are also meant to be back in 23,,,

Be interesting to see how things go for Oxford. If it's a success over a couple of seasons that may encourage people elsewhere

Well if you put it down correctly no one would have to explain it to you Twit

I give up

Yes. Definitely seems the case that the Poles have dropped the two league only rule. Godfrey is trying to spin it some other way, because other teams completed their teams early, while Lemon looks like he had inside info from Poland and waited for the rule to be dropped. The teams who completed early seem to have gone bellyaching to Godfrey about being outsmarted. Would be interesting to know which 2 PL teams supported the Aces and which 3 put the block on their legal team declaration.

So let`s get this straight, Bewley signs to ride again for Wroclaw in 2022, under an existing Extraleague rule permitting him to ride in 1 other league. He then signs for Smederna in Sweden. He then along with Belle Vue management thinks he can force the Poles to change their rules in order to ride in 3 leagues total.

Yep they have gone back to Plymouth - its closer to the owner's home.

http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/91308-should-laguta-and-emil-be-kicked-out-of-the-gp-series/ http://www.speedway-forum.co.uk/forums/index.php?/topic/90824-speedway-gps-2022-under-discovery-sports-events/&page=14 and another one somewhere