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me, i think thats pretty solid, will win well at home and thats all thats needed,

They’ve literally just completed a takeover 48 hours ago ffs! Pretty sure graphic design wouldn’t have been on a list of priorities 🙄

Given that the two leg semi final will be a lucrative pair of fixtures, will we see teams "manipulating" their final league position to finish 2nd or 3rd rather going for the top slot? It's not like you get anything for winning the pre playoff league is it?

I don’t understand all the cynicism here. GB was a joke of a team year after year but Painter, Blackwell, Allen, Stead, Vatcher plus the professional team around them involving fitness, psychology, physiotherapy and media profile have produced some world beating performances. No more pizzas and beer but pride in the job instead. And top class sponsors. It’s not been just a one day job either with qualifiers and finals in the same week resulting in the squad being together for 4 or 5 days. GB has team spirit, team uniforms and, allowing for 2025 being a hiccup, great results since it changed to the current management team. Olly and Simon have worked well together but they will acknowledge they are only one part of the whole set up. When domestic speedway in UK, especially the way the top league is going, is a clown show, and is working its way down and down, the national team has shown that we still have good people with great skills in this country. And Simon has been one of the key players. We should be thanking him and not making smart ass comments about his wish to devote more time to his family, his job and Sheffield speedway.

That’s the spirit.

The Abbey Stadium planning applications are scheduled to be decided upon next Tuesday (10th) from 18.00. The SBC Planning Officer's Reports recommend the applications are rejected.

Why should they when all three can still comfortably outperform Jordan Jenkins? What a weird thing to say.

The signing of PHB has really cheered me up, it was always going to be hard so late in the day to bring over a top no.1 but in the absence of that bringing in an exciting newcomer to the league from the continent is a good show of intent from the new owners and offers additional excitement and intrigue to see how he fairs on these shores

And also ask why it isn't compulsory for every meeting to have at least three rides each for NDL and even lower, standard riders... Either during the meeting itself, to add something extra to the event, or afterwards... Expenses only, or even "pay to play" like so many other Motorsports do at that level... Track time is obviously the largest fundamental requirement for rider development, therefore, common sense says the more laps that these lads do, the more in control, and faster, they become... Once again, both leagues will be bringing over riders at reserve and second string level, to take places a UK rider should have been trained up to the required standard to take.. When will it actually dawn on the promoters that this doesn't help the sport long term in the UK, one iota, hence, we are where we are now, with riders having two jobs due to a complete lack of suitable resource .. And Guestfests taking part each week, destroying any authenticity of the competitions due to no "subs on the bench"... The Glasgow promotion seem very pro active, and honest, so it would be interesting to hear their views..

Would not have thought riding at 3 any more difficult than 4.

Top 5 material

Because when they retire and leave the sport people like Jordan are the new generation then people like you will probably say they aren’t good enough… so give them a chance in the here and now to become the future. Not look to the past. It’s not a weird thing to say. It’s a get out from the promotion to get the fans on side with a club legend, yet they said they are trying to build a sustainable sport.

Especially when you've got 3 39+ year olds "bike blockers" in your team, who really should be seeing out their days in the CL at this stage of their careers.

I remember listening to Chris Morton at a Nuneaton Supporters club meeting a couple of years ago talking at length how he designed the NSS track. He couldn't find any plans of the Hyde Road circuit. But he visited the site of the original track and found that the inside kerb still existed on the ground. So he measured that all out and started from there. So in a real sense the Hyde Road circuit lives on. Pity they haven't got a roller coaster that overlooks the track though, eh?

dont think its a bad team by any means, good to see everything wrapped up now.

Riders sound out clubs, clubs sound out riders. It happens all the time and you’ll get situations where riders will be in a team one minute, and out the next. It’s commonplace. Until you actually sign a contract then nothing should be taken for granted.

You only need to look at the Witches Facebook page to see the popular reaction to Nicholls. He will bring paying customers into the stadium, and is worth the risk if he can score. It also ensures Hellstrom-Bangs starts at reserve.

Apologies, he was in the plans SINCE December. He sounded gutted, is rather have a bit of loyalty and chose him over any news riders, especially to then come out and say they basically don’t care about this season and gave Scotty a sent off season. Do the right thing and put Jenkins in, speedway is failing in a lot of ways for me.

Injury free season with Scotty rolling back the years around Foxhall seems like a fitting send off imo.

Business as usual then? We can't afford the top riders while Poland are paying what they are, not without a TV deal and a very good tv deal at that. And how you can say that not having a NDL standard riders in a single league is not the way to develop the sport I can't fathom 🤷‍♂️ There are still riders looking to ride over here, Ippo's signing of PHB this year and Lynn bringing in Kvech a few years back shows this and there are other new faces in the CL this year.

IMO how well he scores and if he can stay injury free will detemine whether this is his last season !

Running the sport in a way that removes pretty much all authenticity of both leagues is an even worse answer to develop the sport...

So do they have a new presenter currently or not? That role is hugely underrated IMO and can go a long way towards the meeting experience. The few times I went there last year, I thought the fella presenting was excellent and one of the best I’d heard. Shame if he’s given it up/been ousted.

Totally agree and I felt the same when we signed Rew. We should look to do one of these every year in my opinion because it freshens things up and gives us a look at a new rider. With all due respect to the others, we know exactly what they can do and how they ride because we’ve all watched them a million times. PHB gives us that intrigue and something different.

And benefited hugely by using Ostergaard's average, which he gained whilst at reserve, but subsequently put him at No1... With his long term injury, meaning plenty of decent guests or RR covered by any of the team.. A perfect storm, season...

shocking what's been allowed to happen to Speedway

Hard to see anyone beating BV in the prem? Kurtsy and Bewley top two will deliver.

Good to have the clarity re the team etc, so the Witches have gone strength in depth this time - will enjoy it anyway - nice to see Tobi finally a Witch about 2-3 seasons after he asked for a team spot! He should be good to watch at Foxhall! Awesome Richard Lawson will be a solid and reliable rider too. I always said Scotty would come back to finish his career as a Witch!

IPSWICH TRU7 GROUP WITCHES 2026 (in average order): Tom Brennan (Great Britain) 7.05 Richard Lawson (Great Britain) 6.83 Tobiasz Musielak (Poland) 6.63 Danny King – captain (Great Britain) 6.50 Scott Nicholls (Great Britain) 5.26 Philip Hellstrom-Bangs (Sweden) 4.50 Jason Edwards (Great Britain) Rising Star

No TV deal. Rescue mission takeover. Lastminute.com team building Sorry my spirit dried up before Christmas regarding this season! 😀

Should be fun at least 😁

I reckon that team will finish in the top 5

Well that’s 100% Danny’s lugs at 4 and Lawson’s dodgy mullet at 5 😂

Why are you limiting yourself to Monday and Thursday? 14 teams of 5, 6 or 7 riders any night that works for the club. And before you come back with where are the riders, I've already quoted some 130 odd that competed in the 2025 season. But as the powers that be have decided to cut back on the NDL and even fill those teams with the likes of Simon Lambert and Jake Mulford instead of really developing the youth, I fear that the opportunity may have been missed, 2026 was the season to merge, who's still competing at the end of '26 is anybody's guess. The sport is only heading in one direction currently and that is very sad.

Kvech and PHB are very far from top riders but are the type of foreign riders that UK Speedway can currently afford. And as for having NDL level riders in a one league format meeting is the ideal way to develop young riders, that's not to say they should be riding against the likes of Kvech and PHB but certainly riders around their level. Monday and Thursday clearly doesn't work for the fans even though it may for the riders but the tail is wagging the dog.

Agree and what the other team members will get is invaluable experience of a rider who has seen it done it and can make the difference to one or two riders in the team. A true professional who has served the sport well and never gives up. He may not be at his peak but in reality he can steady a ship if things start to go awry so a good signing and it will be good to see him one more time as Witch. As to the rest of the team, give them a chance, no point in decrying what was and what is, a wheel has not been turned and Ipswich know as well as most what unfortunate injuries can do to what was suppose to be an unbeatable team. No one ever wants to see a rider injured but in a split second fortunes can change. Fingers crossed for all participants but in reality racing as these guys do in various leagues across Europe, the risks are undeniable. Let’s just see how things pan out.

Yet the oldest member of that team is lining up for the Witches in 2026 and Plymouth In the CL ,decade and a half past his best !

Yes he certainly did and a lovely bloke too

I think it will be bottom 5 myself

While I agree with your general point, I'd be interested to know what has made the biggest difference. Is it all of the additional fitness, psychology, etc., etc. or is it just the fact we now have 2 genuinely world class riders in an era where the top competition is a pairs one? Maybe the 2 go hand in hand, and Lambert and Bewley are where they are because of all the extras, but I think they'd probably be there regardless. We've won 2 SoN titles since its inception (one which was a bit fortuitous). It's an improvement on the past but it's about what you'd expect with the riders we have.

Laughably, we have seen the comments from some riders, who DU, that if they couldn't, they would have to retire... What happens come the inevitable day when they do retire, or heaven forbid, get career ending injuries... I presume the sport in the UK must cease to exist at that very moment, given the desperation, and panic, in trying to run a top tier with enough spaces to allow riders to DU... And still hardly any of the top two leagues' teams are doing anything to make a surplus of UK talent to meet the demand needed over the next decade, as "two job riders" leave the sport.. You can only presume that this is due to most tracks being quite content with their lot, and a major part of this being that sharing rider costs with another team works perfectly for both of them.... For now...

Looks like King remains as Captain. The “Club Officials” page has been updated today https://ipswichwitches.co/club/staff/

Yes

Ippo have "bike blockers" Nicholls, King & Lawson in their team at the expense of (ex future club legend) Jordan Jenkins!

Using his dirt ometer in his garden saying box office

Flint definitely finished last season well,but he was riding at No4 all season,it will be harder if he has to ride at 3or 5 this season.

Well that confirms no TV then. They’ve done pretty well here all things considered. Not enough omph to win many if any on the road, but they’ve assembled a strong Foxhall side with every member of the top five capable of scoring double figures there as they’ve all proved in the past. Will be a tough nut to crack on home shale. Could really do with getting Musielak back to his Sheffield form of a few seasons ago. That would help immensely. They’ll have the upper hand on most in the reserve department. Really like the PHB signing, the boy is box office and the kind you pay your dollars to go and see. Clubs need to be doing more of this and make more effort rather than continually taking the lazy options and recycling the same old faces. If we’re serious about expanding the top flight, then more riders are going to have to be brought over. Ok, the real top liners mostly don’t want the hassle of riding here for the money on offer, but there are plenty just below those that WOULD be interested. To be fair to Lynn, they brought over Kvech, Ipswich brought over Rew and now Bangs, there’s others out there a rung below the top boys in Poland that would be interested also.

I overslept - have I missed anything?

Good job they’ve got that new air fence at Foxhall! Gonna be properly tested.. 😁

Gonna go PHB then 😂 At least they are trying something different, no offence to Jenkins