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He also said we had a chance of winning the league

Don't think his list about who he does or doesn't like? It's about his experience at the Club? ( i could be wrong) To leave people off is a polite way of saying what all Brummie fans with half a brain know already! H Man has closed his chapter with dignity!

So after 4 seasons as a Director & Shareholder that's my time with Birmingham Speedway at an end. An eventful, at times stressful, at times farcical and at times enjoyable experience! A huge thanks to the small but loyal Brummie fanbase that put up with season after season of under performing teams, you deserved better! Full credit and my upmost respect to Nigel Tolley, he wasn't far short with the figures he quoted in the recent speedway star interview with what he invested in the club (there was also a six figure investment from other shareholders during the period I must add). Nigel is as mad as a (top) hatter, but I really like the guy. My only criticism of him (and he knows this, I told him enough times) is that he allowed himself to be influenced by others who failed to deliver for the club! Seeing the day to day finances and operations of the a Championship and then Premiership club is a real eye opener, so a massive thanks to Financial Director Tracey Smith, who somehow managed to juggle the finances to keep everyone happy (most of the time) a truly lovely lady, she has been the glue in a massively disjointed operation, which would have fallen apart without her. Some priceless moments over the 4 years on the management zoom meetings / race nights - I could write a book! You also learn a lot about riders, some smashing chaps around Paco Castagna (legend) Freddie Lindgren, Tobi M, Leon Flint, Sam Hagon, Jason Edwards, Thompson twins all really good guys! No comment about some mind Made some great friends, I will miss Guesty, Dave Rowe, Pete & Dan Ballinger, Chris Adams, the guys and girls from the supporters club and fellow shareholders Steven, Jake and Vic. Such a shame that Birmingham Speedway is no more, but without Nigel it wouldn't have got into 2023 let alone 2025 and for that alone he deserves the respect of those who knock him! Give us a B.....! Cheers Paul

Emigrate to Poland

But they do have plenty of water!!!!

Clubs losing money need to seriously look in the mirror, Plymouth who are hardly world beaters and have a very limited track and space have upped their crowds considerably by the looks of it through some savvy work on social media etc. Granted in some cases things can’t be avoided but I absolutely think there would be a lot to be said for promotions being less insular and less of the ‘woe is me’ attitude.

Agree but perhaps giving the punter what they want with a weekend race night does possibly reduce the odds of losing so much money. Speedway use to be a good weekend sport but alas circumstances dictate that it is not possible albeit NDL teams seem to cope. This is possibly why a rethink is necessary and perhaps go backwards first in order to progress. I would rather go to a Saturday evening meeting or a Sunday afternoon meeting than go mid week. Thursday is OK but after that having been brought up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday meets I would not bother with any weekday/ mid week racing. Just my view and others may feel different but promoters should race on nights which give them a best chance of a return on the asset/investment.

For what it’s worth here my thoughts on Championship.Scrap BsN Trophy 2home2away fixtures K0 Cup.Guests only for injury.Nothing for riders missing while riding abroad (FIM events excluded) No8 or NDL rider only.Top 4 Play Off.Time limit applied to rain offs or points awarded.(TinHat on).

His reactions to situations are the best I have ever seen... That is why he goes into places that others would never dare to.... Early in his career I thought he was being, at times, reckless, and would eventually pay dearly for his high risk, high reward strategy... Now, I realise he was (is) just very special so was supremely confident he could handle these situations.. I would say only Trick is up there with such lightening reactions where they both could almost lock up to avoid incidents, but still keep momentum and speed... You can never accurately say who is the best ever, given so many variables down the years, but he is certainly a very special talent...

This subject ranges far beyond the Championship. There is already a similar topic running in "Speedway News and Discussions" Maybe the above comments and contributions could be transferred, and people interested in all three leagues couild follow it?

Hopefully some radical changes to the present set up which obviously is not working, what have we got to lose by trying something different. One league,smaller teams etc,we all know what can be tried.

It started from around ht 2 from a group beside the pit entrance, the security did go and speak to them but it didn’t seem to do anything really they just got worse as the meeting went on

I know for a fact the Clerk of the Course informed security and words were had. They stayed pretty close the rest of the meeting.

Could Scunny make a shock move into the Premiership to keep it at 6 teams, sounds mad but Belle vue, Sheffield, Leicester and king's lynn would be decent crowds. Tai, Douglas, pickering, mpt, Allen, z.cook.

£8.14 to get in Gorzow tonight, just tucking in to my polish sausage, loving the build up, crowd buzzing, bikes warming up in background, jeez there truly is nothing like speedway when it’s done right

Probably agree lewy,but he does a lot of work for the club, so not as simple as jumping in Gary's car one night a week

Come to Plymouth, ride down with Garry you'll be made welcome and appreciated at our happy little club.

It sank due to the amount of water on it. It's now been declared a Dam !

This has been pointed out many times not least of all by Keith hewen even though he was talking about riad racing but the same applies, back in the day Olsen briggs mauger Collins etc they are far superior equipment to the rest of the competitors so they always had an unfair advantage, that is not true today nobody in the field has anything better than anyone else so it’s harder to win a world championship today than it’s ever been even if you think the field itself is weaker

Only takes a crash/injury/exclusion etc. Weather, especially at Vojens in September could have a huge bearing... anyway it'd be nice to know in advance what happens in a tie instead of waiting for the results of an impromptu FIM Jury meeting behind closed doors and having Armando Castanga trying to explain things to everybody 😂

Doyle and Lindgen have been past their best, the new guard Holder, Bewley, etc havent as yet stepped up to the level of consitency required, Lambert looks way off too, there are wild cards that really shouldnt be at the level getting qualification due to their nationalitly not ability, far from the days of world finals when several riders in the field could be seen as realistic winners. Only for Brady there is nobody stepping up. Then you have the scoring system where you can afford to score say 8 points win the final and collect 20 yes its the same for everyone but my point about eras is riders couldnt afford to drop so many points and have a hope of being crowned champion, Loram for example became champion without actually winning a round. No one is doubting Zmarsliks talent on a bike but to say hes the best that has ever sat on a bike i dont agree with. The best of his era definately.

And plenty of scenario’s if both fail to reach the final.

Another sticking plaster no doubt.

Super heat surely 😂😂😂

Looks like we will need 5 man teams with a limit set at around 20 then....

Unfortunately we have people with no brain cell’s running the gps now 😀

Absolutely ridiculous, and just one of many decisions that defy sanity made by the tools in charge How can anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together support a system where some riders are credited more points than they earned, and others less. Just allocate points earned during heats, and for the final.

Promoters can’t really win these days unless it’s guaranteed dry.Riders dictate and just want to put the bike in the van at the slightest raindrop.

Holder scores 7, finishes with 14, Fricke scores 11, finishes with 7! It's so wrong!

Depends if he wears the right suit

So does Kurtz need to win Vojens with Zmarzlik 3rd? Can't see anybody ahead of Zmarzlik other than Kurtz... today's sprint may come back to haunt Kurtz!

UK speedway was never ran professionally & the great chance of creating a future was blown when the Sky money was wasted. The fact that the poles have a product that attracts huge crowds, investment form business & more than one tv company broadcasting the league live is down to their hard work & running the sport professionally.

Safe journey to you, seems like you've had a cracking trip, thanks for the insights.

Get in line

Vaculik letting stal down badly here, Doyle looking class

Pressure all on the Witches given you don't get many opportunities to build a team so much over the limit... (Great planning by the way)... One injury to either of their top two will destroy them though given the guest replacements from the bottom three teams... And RR would by a huge risk given the "engine room" can go missing... Leicester still the dark horses for me, with Sheffield's home track advantage (so many seem to hate the place), could also prove decisive. The Aces top three need almost four perfect meetings for them to have a chance given their bottom four are miles out of their depth at the highest, play off, level... If Fricke stays fit, Leicester to win...

Sheffield might well finish top yet ?

Kurtz has surpassed all expectations for me,but if he wins he certainly deserves it .I personally think his main strength is his gating,that’s a big plus nowadays. Bartosz bike skills are up there with best there’s ever been. .IMO

He changed it into a swimming pool....

From what I'm hearing at the moment, it'll NOT be a one league structure. However it's still only August with another 2 months or so to the AGM, so anything can still change.....!

Total garbage …. but you made your point well

Get a new governing body in and out all the dead wood

Also remember Kurtz coped with all the pressure PLUS running over half his heats with a warning, one slip and he would have been done.

I think the sprint points Bart got in Wroclaw could prove costly for Kurtz at the end in Voyens

BZ, for me, would be in the Fundin, Craven, Briggs, Mauger, Olsen, Collins, Penhall, Nielsen, Trick, Gundersen, Crump,, Hancock and Pedersen pantheon of "all time greats" from the 50's onwards.. You could drop BZ into any era and he would be very, very special... I remember ten years or so BZ being marked out as a future World Champ.. They weren't wrong were they?

There has been plenty of those scenarios this season. Absolute joke of a sport. Even in the final, we had the two top riders on 15 and 13. the other two on 8 and 7 and Fricke sat in the pits watching on 11pts! Surely they have to have a good look and realised they gone it wrong and while they are at it, stop Morris from fu**ing up the track at every GP!!

Heavy rain due around tea time today in worky, but imo it's the forecasted 60 mph gusty winds 2morrow that's the issue, lots of outdoor family events and markets called off in the area today and Sunday.. Northside is very exposed so 60 mph gusts not good for riders or fans

Really hope for their sake they don't they seem to be slowly turning things around at Plymouth why risk increasing your operating costs by 30-40% going back to running on a duff night, plus they are on the edge of England so a lot of riders don't want to travel all the way down there for home meetings. Look how Birmingham have struggled to put a competitive team together and Plymouth haven't got Tolley's deep pockets to bale them out.

I don't know why people still claim that. Doubling up WAS a feature in the 70's and 80's - actually from the time the Second Division started. Many BL teams adopted a second-tier team to provide riders. Riders like Eric Broadbelt, Ken Eyre, and Steve Waplington rode for both Belle Vue teams, and Gary Peterson appeared for Nelson and Newcastle. Terry Shearer turned out for Doncaster and Newport, while Peter Murray featured for Canterbury and Wimbledon. Geoff Ambrose was at Crayford and Wolverhampton. Later on, Hull and Newcastle were linked (same promotion, I know). Colin Richardson was a staple at both Plough Lane and Arlington, as was Andy Grahame at Birmingham and Milton Keynes. No, it wasn't called "doubling up", but it certainly wasn't uncommon.

But the rain runs off the track taking shale with it and then contaminating the playing surface on the inside. Multi Sport stadiums will not entertain speedway as it makes a mess, leads to moise complaints, and a large amount of the stadium footprint is only used for a monority sport. The way to develop new facilities is find brownfield sites where you can develop a number of motorsport activities in a model not disimiliar to the Redcar facility. However the larger the town/city tend to have the most valueable land so perhaps Speedway future is more aligned to smaller towns like Kings Lynn or Workington with between 20-50,000 locals.