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So Sheffield now join Belle Vue, Leicester, and Kings Lynn in confirming their place in the Premiership in 2026. Complete radio silence from Ipswich way leaving their supporters completely in the dark as to whether they’ll see any speedway next year. Meanwhile, the clubs owner has buggered off to Australia, at the most crucial time in the clubs history. Louis has treated the Ipswich supporters abysmally here I’m afraid.

Ok you stuck with the same team all season except for the 2 changes🤔

You may have misunderstood what he actually said. He said if it goes to one league and Sheffield are competing in that league he'd only ride for them

It has never really bothered me who wins a s/way match as long as it is a close scoreline plus decent racing ,winning the league seems to have very little relevance on the attendance figures . Star riders have a limited appeal in getting punters through the gate ,it's the whole package that matters and the blind love of the sport demonstated by the vast majority of fans . I can't understand the criticism of CL in any shape or form he has been wonderful servant to the sport ( I am certain it has not made him any wealthier ) and has decided he has had enough .

We can but as an Ipswich fan I don’t feel let down & neither do any that I’ve spoken too.

Reading the views on the british boxing forum their equivalent to this forum a lot of fans are having the same discussions as us about the state and direction the their sport, seems its not just speedway though we are in a worse state.

Ben Barker pyjamas. XL top, XS bottoms.

I am a Leicester fan and I never want to see quitter Kemp or sniffer Morris in a Lions race jacket again, they've both let the club down badly in the past!

Just thinking any Prem club interested in Riss would be best to wait till his Champ season starts, then sign him a few weeks into the season. Current Prem ave is 6.46, but Champ converted would be 4.75. Of course that could change a little, once he rides in the Champ. To a lesser extent Pickering would be 7.76 in the Prem, but 6.14 on a Champ converted ave. This is why I dislike the current system, as it almost encourages manipulation, as it's legal.

6 Champ heat leaders is a "half decent team"?

I'd like to know what is being put in place to ensure we're not in the exact same situation (but worse) in twelve months time. The number of clubs left makes one league more sensible. Clubs racing on a night that suits them also makes sense. What needs to be done is something to make that viable. The stumbling blocks all revolve around riders. Be it the international race nights which take preference and the lack of riders of a good enough standard to fill 14 teams without doubling up (impossible in one league). So there should be a big focus next season on getting British riders to a competitive standard at Championship level at least. A good pool of domestic talent will be important to mean sides can have carte blanche over their race nights (not a complete solution I'm aware). But, as we know the Championship teams are full speed ahead at building teams and there are no rules in place (rising star scheme for example) to promote British youngsters at that level. The Premiership isn't sustainable. The Championship sides haven't helped matters by not implementing a rising star scheme or similar. It needs to be changed for next season regardless of what has been signed already, or we're putting off change for good for at least another year. That's valuable time. Everyone needs to pull together in one direction for the good and future of British Speedway.

A bit like triggers brush on only fools and horses, had the same brush for many years, but had many replacement handles and brushes 😃

I seem to be in the minority, but I don't have any worries about Dan as a number one.

Surely an accountant can value the company? The BSPA should step in and appoint KPMG or Deloitte.

Must be something in the water down Ipswich way... all these people praising Mr Louis for potentially closing a perfectly viable speedway club down because he couldn't get his way... quite unfathomable.

Add the usual What ifs of how many more would Laguta have won, Emil? IF Darcy Ward hadn't got injured? BZ has been fortunate to be relatively unchallenged in recent years.

If - and as we know its often a big if on here - that 6 is correct, I will be super excited for the new Stars season. All of the named riders are exciting to watch and with a true number one it could be an interesting season. As for the youngsters, isn't that what the Young Stars team is all about? Rushen looks capable far above his years and likewise Scott has shown he will carry on developing. So what if they struggle against any big names, by the end of the season, with an injury free season, both will be showing other 6s & 7s he way round Saddlebow and maybe elsewhere. These lads deserve to be blooded and I just hope that they will be fully supported and given the patience required

Sarcasm at it’s best I like it.

Seems like a lot of spin put on that statement, the actuality is more like they couldn't sell it, like many clubs before them. Doesn't bode well for Ippo. Maybe the deadline for the declaration of intent to run its fast approaching?

Welcome back Bomber 💣

Makes me wonder if the Bates Boys ever intended to depart from Speedway. Was it all a charade for drawing in some extra investment?

But Cluff shouldn't be on a 3.00 he is an actual Aussie and therefore shouldn't have been allowed to drop below 4.00. Whilst nothing against the rider but the idea is surely to incentivise the signing of British riders over imports?

The Championship has already resisted anything that upsets the exact set up currently in place for 2026 Don't hold your breath that it will be any different for 2027 in terms of them working together

Seems to be an annual topic this, is Craig Cook worth the risk? He's just about as good as anyone in this league on his day. But I've lost count how many last chances he's had, how many times he's gone AWOL and let people down. Ability - yes. Reliability - no.

He paid twelve hundred quid.. The restaurant only wanted eighty..!!

Great thanks for that!

Marson’s temporary contract was until 29th June 2025, not the 11th May 2025 when he was REPLACED! That’s a change regardless of whether you think Cairns joining the team was or not (which it still is by the way).

It's still changes whether they knew or not. Duh!

Think you need to remember who you dropped to get cairns in the team part way through the year

Brilliant news! Always one of my favourite riders, can't wait to see him blasting round Saddlebow Road again in 2026.

Preparing yourself for Agenda 2030 eh!

I don't think so.

Yeah, think he could put a point on his average.

My first season as a Comets fan was 1970 (Ian Thomas/ Geoff Brownhutt brought speedway to Derwent Park)and you didn't know when attending a Friday night meeting that there would be 'Silver helmet' match races - not until you saw the trophy sitting on the table next to the starting gate. But it was good to have that extra treat for your speedway fix. One night stands out for me about the silver helmet in 1973. Comets had heavily outscored Rayleigh, the visiting rider Moore(?) had custody of helmet so top scoring Comet would challenge the Rocket. However 4 Comets were points-wise able to take this challenge on i.e. Lou Sansom, Taffy Owen, Mal McKay and Mitch Graham - so to decide who would be the Rockets opponent the shortest straw drawn (in pits)would do the business. The announcer told the crowd that Mitch Graham will be Comets rider - at which point many of the crowd booed loudly - I recall being very very annoyed with these so called Comets fans. However the boos soon changed to cheers as Mitch won the helmet....but he lost it the next week boo hooo.

Slightly off topic but have you seen the video on polish tv of Pickering spitting his dummy out because he was taken out of a ride,it pretty much shows you why he doesn’t ride for leszno anymore

Agreed I was late teens when Benn, Watson, Eubank, Collins, Hameed, Tyson and Holyfield were starting to all come on the scene the late 80's - late 90's were brilliant years early Tyson easily the best heavyweight I have ever scene and Benn snr was my all time fave he had some incredible wars over the years. One of my all time fave quotes "lets have some parliamentary procedure"

4 Championship No1s isn't it plus 2 heat leaders and the RS will be a Championship 2nd string Yet a significant section of posters continue to state that without the GP stars there will be little difference between the leagues.....

all look capable in those averages. If I was a Leicester fan, would be happy with that team. Especially if Gilkes was RS, as someone else mentioned.

Agreed it will be the most rigged fight ever AJ might be ten years past his best but there's a real risk he could kill Paul if he hit him with an uppercut so the word will have to go down come in one 20% of your ability tops but your right it will still pull in a fortune in readies.

I'm sure Harry Redknapp could have a quiet word with Eddie Howe for some financial help and publicity links!! It's the Future..........!

Dougy has been a bit of a slow burner, although he's shown year on year improvement he's never really stood out to me as a number 1, more of a Masters type who has maybe reached his level, which would be okay in a league with no "number 1's". His average last season was achieved from the number 3 spot and he didn't appear in any heat 13, so his average maybe a bit artificially high... for a number 1. Hope he proves me wrong though.

It is no different to prior years when certain promoters did not get what they wanted but then you have look deeper and see what the Louis family have done for Ipswich speedway and Suffolk and understand that speedway at the top level is shot to sh..e and most astute business people would walk away given the proposed set up. The proposed Premiership is a bastardised version of the Championship with double uppers simply lining their pockets to try and maintain a living from a sport which is on it knees. The mainland European scene makes it easier for riders to ply their trade in different countries without the hassle of riding in the UK. Speedway in this country is out on a limb for so many reasons and needs to reinvent itself and stop thinking it is something it is not. Regroup and enter the international stage in five years or so but until then accept most riders are also rans and the UK needs to develop its own talent. Fans and promoters need to bite the bullet and support what is available to build for the future. Allow those who do rise to the top in British speedway ply the trade overseas where they can make an impact and if they wish to take advantage of the technical tracks in the UK let them ride but at a cost that clubs can realistically afford. No more supplementing the pension fund.

Maybe you would like to provide the £95,000 deficit out of your own pocket ? Chris hasn’t thrown out the toys imo. No threats of closure etc. purely I require a 6 team league for my business to be sustainable. That’s not possible so he is selling up as is his right to do so

Think you've got to put faith in Cookie. Vuolas just can't seem to adapt to the majority of British tracks but Cookie is a proven No.1 in this League, It's just his mindset that's the problem.

Would've been a cracking side imo. 1. J. Doyle 7.86 2. A. Ellis 5.92 3. D. King 6.50 4. K. Rew 6.19 5. T. Brennan 7.05 or T. Musielak 6.63 6. J. Jenkins 3.46 7. J. Edwards (RS) = 36.98 or 36.56

What has this topic got to do with Newcastle?

You haven't seen your young Aussie with a big attitude problem yet 🙃

So April then..?😄

Probably too late to arrange now but why not have the Knockout Cup involving both leagues. At least it would give some variety and renewed interest with different teams competing against each other. If a Championship team is drawn against a Premier League team then there is only one leg with the Championship team being at home. Otherwise, it's two legs home and away. Semi finals and Final to be over two legs no matter which teams get through to the latter stages. Try and get a sponsor on board with decent prize money and make it a trophy/tournament worth winning. Example of what some matches could be drawn out of the hat as:- Plymouth v Kings Lynn, Poole v Belle Vue, Edinburgh v Sheffield etc. Would surely create a lot of interest and give the fans something different. Worth a try?

Have a bit of faith in your team, that's what I like to see. Bearing in mind that the Bears had a very good 25 season coupled to the one over 8 rule, then you inevitably had to loose riders for 26.To me the 26 Bears look to be a sound team, who should be contenders for silverware.