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British Speedway has two options. A) make sure it is the one other league that riders choose or B ) strike out on its own. Remove the fixed race day and rebuild its own product. Short term the big names will stay in Poland but if we focus on developing our own riders in the long term we won’t be as reliant on Poland propping the sport up as it apparently (according to Poland) does right now. The bubble could always burst in Poland. It did here after all. It is in our best interests to have our own sustainable model here in the event of that happening.

I'll play devil's advocate As you and your team have no interest in being a part of it what the f@c£ has your opinion got to do with it

According to one promoter... "The No 1's".... Who all then pretty much effed off to Poland and Sweden as soon as the UK gravy train ended for them.. Personally I wasnt ever convinced bringing "the top stars" back a few years ago was going to be a "Golden Ticket" given the fact that when pretty much every single top rider (maybe apart from Tomaz Gollob), rode over here week in, week out, during the "Sky years", the crowds didn't grow, in fact, they kept declining overall... Which suggested the "top names" were not deal breakers as to whether fans were attending or not... Plymouth is a perfect example of where "the cast of the production" hasn't changed, yet the number of people now watching them has increased considerably, just by changing their "opening hours", which are now obviously more aligned to people's leisure time...

Fantastic interview with Gerry Facenna in the (ever excellent), Speedway Star... He mentions how successful the "Trust The Fans" mechanic has been in driving up crowds... Many years ago I mentioned to a promoter the very same idea of letting his fans bring someone in for free for three matches to see if they could be enticed to keep attending, with my rationale being "these people are not there now", so "no loss".... Never mind spitting his tea out, he nearly spit his dentures out!!!! His answer was "some will just take the p**s and come in for nothing"... I said that that was obviously a distinct possibility but if you explained it well enough, given the loyalty of Speedway fans, not that many would, and the possible long term rewards far outweighed any short term risk... It didn't happen and his crowds continued to drop....... Nice to see some promoters actually promoting... Best of luck to Glasgow...

Massive thanks go out to Emil Sayfutdinov for 3 loyal years of service to British Speedway and the Ipswich Witches. Never took the pish out of our League and he always turned up and gave it 100%, Off the track Emil spent a lot of time with fans posing for selfie's, signing autographs and having a chat and he always done it with a smile on his face. Emil wen't out on the highest of highs by helping Ipswich finally lift the trophy they've always waited for. I wish Emil all the best for the rest of his career and hopefully one day we'll see him back where he belongs and that's in the GP's again.

Couple photos from today, weather was awful! No Emil, Ellis or Brennan. Nice event though! 🏆

Sounds like the type of things British promoters would have said back in the 70's and early 80's and look at us now. Back then we were the Speedway powerhouse with everybody else struggling to get a look in. We didn't like it when all these World Championship qualifiers were being held in the back of beyond and the arse end of nowheresville. Poland are in effect killing the rest of the sport worldwide with riders being attracted to the ludicrous amounts of money on offer like moths to the flame (or flies to the 💩). It's down to the FIM to keep them in check but they seem to have little interest in Speedway other than the SGP series.

Bringing gambling to speedway is another way to dilute Joe Publics interest in the sport. Currently it is in the main an honest and dedicated sport. Put bets on races and I see countless engine failures, or tape exclusions, 2 mins exclusions etc. etc. Please no gambling for speedway.

No complaints with a two league (+NDL) structure in theory. I’d personally prefer one league but can see the reasons why two should remain (not enough riders is an absolute myth though). However, if it’s true that the Premiership is only consisting of 5 teams next season, then what is the point? In all seriousness. What is the point? It would be the same opposition 3/4 times and I’m assuming it would just be a Grand Final? As play offs with 4 of the 5 making them would be a disgrace. A 5 team league surely can’t be allowed, would make the sport even more of an embarrassment to the general public than it already is. 6 is barely acceptable, but 5 would be a complete joke

If Jack Holder comes. I promise I’ll support Kings Lynn 😂

The majority went on riders pay. Some of it went to promoters in the form of profits. nothing was spent on developing the sport or the facilities.

I’m with you on this, other than some sort of big deal I can’t see what they going to do that isn’t worse than last year, I have said for a few years maybe the top teams should ask to join the polish extraleague but the poles won’t let that happen so that’s a no go, I was told moths ago that something way different was happening but they wouldn’t say what but heard nothing since but a couple of things I heard recently which I know are true are very troubling but are complete contradictions to what is out there in the public domain and just don’t make sense at all, the bit that really throws the curveball is the Harry Redknapp thing, that man does nothing for nothing, he is on an earner somewhere and speedway on the face of it hasn’t got a pot to piss in so what’s the deal ?

The lads (from both teams) did brilliantly on Sunday, very wet and cold, but the lads got stuck in and produced some good racing. The ref offered to call the match after ht 10, but the lads wanted to finish the meeting, great credit to them. I'm always surprised by the lack of people who go to watch The Tigers in the NDL, more often than not the racing is good. And there's a chance of seeing young riders develop through the ranks.

Fair point and I'm not for one minute saying British Speedway has done a stellar job but comparing British Speedway with Polish Speedway is almost impossible as they are 2 very different things other than 4 riders racing each other over 4 laps. Many of the Polish clubs are riding on land provided to them historically by a socialist/communist government and have been subsidised by local governments ever since, and I'm sure it adds up to a tidy sum. Factor in the differences in land prices, apartment living as opposed to 3 bed detached houses with a garden add in cost of living, salaries etc. The 2 countries and their Speedway are almost beyond comparison.

Unfortunately upright engines are not the answer to any of speedways problems as much as I would love them to be

Couldn't agree more on both points. Personally I think Betting on Speedway would be a disaster. For many years we have marketed ourselves as a family Sport. Bring in Betting, and you will ruin Speedway as we know it. Introduce Betting and the Sport will be tainted with corruption in no time. I want to see Speedway thrive - but not at the price of dirty money. At the moment, as singy13 says it is largely, I believe, an honest Sport - that would all go out of the window if Betting were allowed. Not for me at any price.

It would be interesting to see what would happen if they said, as of tomorrow, everyone rides for the same money as the UK pay out.... The riders would be in meltdown and asking for much more from the UK and Sweden..!!! Imagine the UK promoters reaction then? And it isn't really their fault that the UK and Sweden haven't developed their own leagues and riders.... Both leagues have set race nights, with the Swedes still using the same night they ran on when they got many more punters in the Trick era... And, the UK initially used Monday, Wednesday and Thursday as their TWO nights where they had priority.... .. The fact is both the UK and Sweden have brought in journeymen after journeymen from abroad which took away many hundreds of chances for their own riders to race... Whilst the Poles ensured they developed their own riders by ring fencing positions for them.. I would actually think the Poles may have looked at how the UK has ran the sport since the early 80's and used that as template NOT to follow under any circumstances whatsoever... In fact. Doing exactly the opposite would become their operating model....

You could say that they're in fact bleeding the rest of the Speedway world dry by drawing all the riders away from other leagues, especially with their U24 league and the imposing of riding limitations. The lack of riders in those other leagues leading to a reduction in their crowds. They're doing the test of the Speedway world no favours at all. They certainly weren't subsidising the SoN and some rider wage expectations are certainly not subsidising non Polish Speedway... and don't forget their "World" Champion who rarely leaves his home country 😉

Is this true? so on the 1st of May we could change the temporary 2pointer for Simon lambet.

Maybe someone had a word in his ear beforehand??😉

Shouldn't be any playoffs with 5. Should just be whoever finishes top imo.

The Dean Machine makes a good point.Its on the riders. If they choose to take the chance of riding on Poland for 000s of zloty a point ... they take the risk of not getting paid and/or being instantly dropped if they don't score well. Not sure that Denmark or Sweden offer great paydays compared to the UK either ? For far too long the British promoters have been far too keen to sign up overseas riders in preference to supporting young home grown riders. This is now coming back to bite them on the bum . Already there is talk of signing the latest bunch of youngsters who appeared to show a turn of speed in the SoN. How about the CL limiting the number of overseas riders in each team in 2026 ? ? and using some of the NDL riders instead. Bet you there would be one or two promoters who would object and not agree ?

I think I will give a shout out for Peter Craven. I never saw him ride live, but having watched videos etc. I reckon he had a terrific style.

Take a look at your number 1

Agree can’t see hardly anyone being there to be honest. Strange time when people are at work and seems hastily arranged too. Not enough time for people to even book the day off work as not enough notice given. At least the groups of Romanian’s will be there to see it! Gathered around the cornhill on a daily basis making everyone else feel uncomfortable 🙄

30 years ago this week the gates shut for the final time at Dudley Wood. So sad that the Heathens haven't been able to get a track of their own since then. Memories are all we have left......

I think Max Perry has scored more points at berwick than most away reserves

Emil has bid farewell to Ipswich and British Speedway tonight… thank you Emil for everything! 🏆

I will be talking about the lack of riders on speedway 360 podcast in a couple of weeks and how we go about getting more riders involved

To be fair Polish Speedway has been (probably uniquely) heavily subsidised over the years. If other countries leagues were subsidised to the extent that Polish Speedway is they'd be in a lot healthier position also.

When they pay out six figure signing on fees, and then two grand a point, I can see their view....

Only Super league is in Poland.

I would be most surprised if Nick isn't a Bandit in 2026

An interview with Rafal Dobrucki in this weeks excellent Speedway Star tells you all you need to know about the psyche of those who run Speedway in Poland... "Poland provides the livelihood of the sport" being just one of his comments... "Poland speedway effectively sponsors the entire World Championship" being another... Got to say, the Speedway Star, whilst always being a good read, has really dialled up the levels in the past 12 months or so with it's features....

It's a long way from Wolverhampton so that might not attract many (any) Wolves fans especially on a weekday night. I certainly wouldn't see the previous Wolves promotion being interested

Can see how you've arrived at this figure - 7.39 less Brit discount as per the final Green Sheets. BUT they are wrong! 7.39 is Nagels final figure and Flint is 7.13 which with Brit discount would be 6.95., Their figures have been transposed,.

And also keep Dale Allitt out.

The only drawback if they get Cairns, Rushden and Bailey is one of them will have to start in the main body of the team and whilst I see all three having massive careers ideally you want to start at reserve to build confidence and not struggle in the main body from the get go and lose confidence.

Josh Pickering 11.64 M.P.toft 6.10 C.Mountain 5.96 L.harrison 4.97 D.kennedy 4.63 S.Lambet 4.48 R Ingram /M.Simpson 2 39.78

Apart from the home time against Redcar in the BSN Final when he looked down on mechanical power I thought Lewi Kerr played an instrumental role in semi finals and finals for you guys.

I might suggest that the BV crowds wouldn’t change much then. We all know that speedway crowds are predominantly people who would go regardless of the ‘level of rider’. There are some exceptions to this obviously but I don’t think the impact would be significant.

First it was 2 leagues and then 1, it will eventually just be Poland. British speedway needs to increase the number of active riders i.e reduce the standard of all leagues encouraging more amateurs into the sport at National league level. In the long run it would be good for british speedway, weekend speedway would be back and all the riders would be commited ( no dodgy injuries and Guests).

Just the Premiership ? Poole were odds on to win everything in 2025 , and will do so again in 2026. with so few teams in the PL “over8 “ riders could be out of work 😂. Let’s face it an 8 point rider isn’t that great …. 4 second places every week and it’s an 8 point average . Hardly a “ heat leader” pProbaly a reflection that anyone with a decent bike and who can gate can beat anyone on the modern slick tracks

2027 though, It's time for non-Poland Speedway nations to get their retaliation in first. It's clear what they're trying to do playing us off against Sweden & Denmark both with failing leagues if the vibe I get off of here is true. It's time for SVEMO, the DMU and whoever it is that runs Speedway in the UK to work together and put it back to Poland by saying if you ride in Poland you cannot ride in Swedish, Danish or British Leagues. A few riders would have some decisions to make then, let Poland have the tier 1 riders and the rest can ride in the other 3 leagues. Denmark on a Wednesday, Sweden Tuesday & Thursday and UK the rest of the week. If they could also get Motorcycling Australia involved they'd be more than enough riders to sustain the 3 countries leagues.

Really! Cant go along with that.Thats your opinion though which your are entitled too.

Plymouth finished 2nd from bottom, crowds increased very good meetings plenty to enjoy, if we did well and won something that would be a bonus but you can still have a successful season without any tin.

It’s trivial, at this point in time we haven’t got a sport, we need to sort that out before we even contemplate how teams are made up

As a dad of a NDL rider who actually rode on Sunday conditions were not brilliant but because Redcar is such a good track it was rideable and racing was good imho, my biggest concern is what you pointed out, there is not a endless supply of riders at this level, no consistency with meetings is a massive concern because lads lose interest etc, hopefully they will look at this at the agm and realise it requires some serious thought

I struggle to think of many who he won't beat? Masters and Lawson maybe, possibly Harris & Wright at a push, not much else. This is a rider who put 1.5 points on his average this year, I'd back him to comfortably beat the likes of Kemp, Worrall (if he rides), Batchelor, etc. Tom Brennan improved in a similar way at Glasgow and then averaged 9+ the season after. I think Thompson is a relatively slow burner but is going to be a very, very good rider.

1. R Lambert 2. B Cook 3. N Klindt 4. C Harris 5. J Kvech 6. A Bednar 7. Rushen / Scott All very much dependent on what the points limit is.