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Is anyone actually running British Speedway? Tomorrow is the Championship League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield. A few years ago, the CLRC was genuinely one of the jewel-in-the-crown individual meetings on the calendar. Top riders from every club, proper prestige, packed terraces, and real buzz. Fast forward to tomorrow, and it feels like the authorities wouldn't care if the gates didn't even open. First off, the scheduling brilliance: putting it directly head-to-head with the penultimate Grand Prix. I know people will say "you can watch on demand afterwards" but Speedway fans want to watch major meetings live don't they? With Brady Kurtz right in the thick of the World Championship, Belle Vue fans and general fans across the North who might have fancied a Saturday night out at Owlerton are far more likely to stay glued to their sofas cheering on their man. Nothing beats being track side, but supporters choosing between a live GP and a domestic individual championship is sheer amateur hour. Then there’s the non-existent advertising. If you don't buy the Speedway Star, you'd be forgiven for not even knowing the meeting exists. The official British Speedway website has offered virtually zero promotion other than a couple of standard-issue, token soundbite interviews with Leon Flint and Josh Pickering. Sheffield’s own website just has it quietly listed as their next home fixture at the moment, no special push, no fanfare, no effort to pull the casual punter through the turnstiles. Outside of the Star's pages, you can't even easily find the confirmed line-up. How difficult is it to put a proper graphic on social media and hype a national individual title? To top off the farce: one of the leading contenders, an Englishman who should be a headline draw for the CLRC and one of the favourites is reportedly pulled away to race in Poland instead!! The domestic season's marquee events are treated as an afterthought not just by the wider public, but by the sport’s own hierarchy. I guess the die-hard, hardcore regulars will turn up as they always do.

Ellis WAS spoken to Shano. He said that in his speedway star interview months ago. But the whole uncertainty and waiting game of the protracted takeover made him plan his season elsewhere, same as Doyle. Dan Thompson was always going back to Leicester, that was done before last season even ended when Louis was here! He had a very good sponsor that took him back to Leicester, he was never staying at any point. Coleman has publicly thanked both King and Brennan for being patient and waiting on Ipswich to get their house in order. Others didn’t want to do that which is their prerogative. This isn’t aimed at you Shano and everyone is entitled to have their say of course, but there’s a few Ipswich supporters that have really pi$$ed me off to be honest reading through social media posts (Facebook). Personally, after Ipswich “legend” Chris Louis decided to bugger off at the 11th hour leaving the future of the club in turmoil over the long winter months, I’m thankful that Mayfield stepped in to keep speedway going. They were never in a position to put a title challenging team together despite protestations of some deluded supporters who pretend to know what’s going on behind the scenes. Some fans are coming across as spoilt, and incredibly ungrateful. Give them a fuc*ing chance at least and give them the same chance as the others in building a team to compete. AGAIN, let’s see what they produce in 2027 when they’ve had the opportunity to plan properly.

Nora is the correct future for the national league and has been for a good few years now but will the scb/acu let it go ?the national league around the early to mid 2000s when the national league (Plymouth, Weymouth, Wimbledon cradley )started pulling in bigger crowds than the top leagues measures were put in place to decimate the league and it didn’t take many years to reduce it to the debacle it is today, short sighted, jealousy and bitterness and in some cases incompetence are rife in the bspl so don’t expect anything to change anytime soon, anyway a big congratulations to Martin and everyone at the IOW for an enjoyable short season that happily attracted good crowds

If only there had been a fantastic summer of hot, cloudless, evenings to run Speedway... And a plan to get the cup comps sorted early in the season...

Belle Vue deserve to win it and I hope they do. Finished top and have been the best team all year simple as that.

I think Richard would like fourth place. If Ipswich stage the first leg then the crowd should be better than the normal high attendance and the resulting extra income would be most welcomed. As is often quoted on here, the play offs are a big money spinner. To not want to be part of that is daft.

Your sounding a bit like a Poole fan imho . I know Louis messed up this season for you, but most Lynn fans would love that 4th place

I'd say the only reason he's a slow burner is the injuries, one of which was absolutely horrendous. Take those away and he'd be burning a lot brighter by now I reckon.

To be fair, finishing mid table in a league of 16 and more is a bit different from a league of six... Fourth out of six is equivalent to eighth in a league of even just 12... And that wouldn't be seen as a good season... The play offs this year should really have been the top two given the lack of numbers, as fourth is nearer the bottom than the top...

Tate? Bang average? One of the best young Aussie talents around who struggled last season after coming back from a horrific injury. This season he's pushed on and is one of, if not the best reserve in the prem. He's went away in the prem and put some very good numbers in. Don't discredit a rider because your team are awful

I would have put Tate and Kevin in heat 15

Ironic. 😄

An excellent summary, from a fan who doesn't come across as entitled.... Some Ipswich fans are coming across as if they are not actually fans of a team that has won ONE top tier title in decades, (a seven team league), and spent a good many years in tier two due to not being able to compete in tier one.. As has been documeted, the takeover took too long for reasons I am sure were valid and required... I looked at the updates website this morning and Ipswich were 8 ahead at just over halfway... Not too poor a team then considering the challenges they faced pre season...

The same people who originally scheduled the pairs for a weekend when several team already had planned fixtures 😜

Apologies if this has already been debated..... Who thought it was a good idea to run the CLRC on the same night as the penultimate GP? I know we're all used to watching meetings on catch up. But I can't help feeling that the CLRC attendance will be impacted by this conflict of fixtures.

I have always said its not as nailed on as people think, Sheffield can have good meetings at the NSS and usually put us to the sword at Owlerton even though no Holder is a big miss they can still do a job if they get a good guest in.Kings Lynn as we,ve seen already go well at the NSS and Leicester although they have been poor at our place are capable of much better. At this time of year conditions change affecting tracks, set ups, etc. And as we know with the play offs its about coming into form at the right time, the league meetings dont have any pressure in comparison. Yes we should win but its not a certainty.

And the Aces were certainly not many peoples favourites going into the season, with the capability levels of Cook, Blodorn and Zischke in particular being questioned by a good few on here... Several questioning why Lemon kept them... As can be seen, they have stepped up a large level this season and have been the real key to the Aces success so far, with each delivering at least one "difference making" performance, with the rest of the team doing their own roles well... Three riders that could have tried to have been signed by others for their own "engine room" but nobody seemed to see the improvement in them that Lemon did..

Not everyone is the same though are they? Brennan held on, so did King. Plenty of others didn’t including Ellis and Doyle. And I don’t blame them or anyone else for not gambling on the takeover being completed. Riders have to put themselves first as they should. “They could have built a stronger team” well not really! Coleman has already explained this. Conversations WERE held with Doyle but they couldn’t offer him the guarantees he wanted and he gave up. Conversations were held with numerous GP riders, they all had their season planned. You have to cut them some slack they were severely up against it this year. If similar happens next season then criticism will be fair game. I’m confident that won’t be the case but actions speak louder than words. It took Louis how many years before landing a title? He even took us down a league for donkeys years and we couldn’t even win a raffle down there!

Has someone told them..?

Looking at the scores, should Mountain have taken Ablitt's last ride?

They are definitely keeping you in this tie.

Biggest meeting of the season and Harris & Flint put in a shift like this. What chance do you have? The guests - Zischke and Grmek - have been our strongest riders.

I was pretty sure ITV were coming on board next season. The play off finals were going to be shown on ITV but now not. So somethings happened. So I fear ITV stepped away now

They are just pretty poor at running the sport... There can be no surprise to see it where it currently is... Self inflicted own goals, one after another..

Not sure. Coleman has said that the riding squad is too old & personally Toby has more of a chance in improving or at least maintaining his starting average. After this year Brennan has got to be nailed on

And we all know the pressure the DMU put on their riders to ride in the domestic league. If its Poland, Sweden and one other write off any Danes appearing in the UK unless they race on an ACU licence which I think means the Premiership is in a stronger position that it has been for a number of years.

They moved sharply to replace Bewley and that has proven to be a masterstroke as they replace Bewley with someone who is possibly even more consistent that him. I felt Ipswich threw this away last night they worked really had to get a few points in front and then the 1-5 to Cook and Kildemend changed the match. Both Tom and Tobias had been brilliant in beating Jason proving he wasn't invincible and then they gave away a 5-1 IMHO to people they shouldn't have. I think BV are pretty certain to win the playoffs provided they don't get any sudden late injuries.

Draw for Rzeszów:

Jody Scott replaces Charles.

Fair. The reserves have been a disaster all year starting with the PHB disappointment. When you have no out and out number 1, you need a strong reserve pairing to compensate and we haven’t had that. Edwards as one of the more senior rising stars, has also generally been a disappointment bar the odd meeting here and there. Would be very surprised to see either in the ‘27 team.

You're welcome to it lol.

I was referring to your comment on Tate rather than your finishing position. I would feel the same, I would not be excited about something there is zero chance of my team winning.

Big risk moving from Saturdays... I presume they would need some financial support from the rest to change nights (again)... Unless of course, a TV deal is in the offing providing £100k or so...

Track was different from Monday, when it was perfect and seemed quite slick which suited Belle Vue who were so much faster and deserved the win. If you prepare the track for the weather you are heading for failure. Apart from Monday the track has been awful all year. That should be top priority for next year. Have to question Hurry's performance as team manager - im not seeing anything to impress. So unless we pull off a shock win at Leicester, King's Lynn go to Northampton knowing a win will see them take the last place in the play offs.

I’ll just leave this here….. https://speedwayupdates.proboards.com/thread/21577/belle-vue-premiership-13-2023 https://speedwayupdates.proboards.com/thread/21921/belle-vue-premiership-13-2023

We beat Belle Vue 4 times last season and very easily as well … but you did win at our place in 2024 when we had no Doyle or Emil and lost Rew after 1 ride Would have been a bit embarrassing if you hadn’t won at our place tonight with our weakest 1-7 in years and having a track specialist for once Im not sure how Belle Vue would cope losing Kurtz Bewley Cook and Tate and having Lawson Musielek Nicholls and Pedersen replace them …. Like we lost Doyle Emil Ellis and Dan T Still Belle Vue can only beat what’s in front of them and Tate in particular was outstanding League title is belie vues unless they choke …. But we will be back with a full winter to get a team not a few weeks

It's not televised, so how can it be streamed? Unless you have a pal that's going to stand in the crowd and go on Facebook Live with each heat, it's going to be impossible to watch live. It may be possible to see it afterwards if someone videos it and uploads the heats to YouTube later. In that case, I will add it to the Polish and other Videos thread in the International section.

With so few fixtures, they really shouldn't be moving the cut-off date.

Interview with Andrew Bain in this week’s star sounds positive, he plans to keep improving the track including fitting the flood lights. He said he is going to do his very best to make sure the comets are at the tapes next year. Fingers crossed he can make it work. No one wants to lose another team.

Agree on all points there. An eight team league twice home and away giving us 14 home league meetings plus KOC and potentially play offs is ideal and much better from a supporter point of view. Agree on the fixture planning also, work a bit harder to arrange them so a visiting team doesn’t return too quickly. We could potentially have something much better to look forward to next year, especially if one or two clubs manage to bring over new top riders to add to the ones we already have. *cough* Woryna *cough* for instance 😁

Mildenhall Speedway Press Release 22/26 dated 080926 Double delight at Mildenhall's 'Magic Weekend' There’s a double dose of Speedway on the weekend of 19th. & 20th. September for Mildenhall fans – with the Fen Tigers team in NORA League action on the Saturday, followed by an individual meeting the following afternoon. The match opponents on Saturday 19th. are Thurrock Hammers – the formerly Arena Essex-based club are heavily involved in a campaign to bring the sport back to Suffolk’s neighbouring county and are giving great strength to that by bringing a side featuring no fewer than five Essex born-and-bred racers. The headline acts are twice NDL Riders’ Champion, Ben Morley and a favourite of the West Row faithful, Alfie Bowtell. They are joined two other former Fen Tigers in Jack Kingston and Alex Spooner and Chelmsford-based Harrison Rogers. The sextet is completed by promising teenager Harry Fletcher, who finished in third place in this season’s British Under-19 semi-final. The hosts welcome back from injury Sam Woods and Kenzie Cossey who line up alongside 2026 regular and new crowd favourite, the twice & reigning New Zealand national champion, Ben Whalley; and making his Fen Tigers’ debut, European Grasstrack Finalist, Mickie Simpson. The final two slots in the Mildenhall side will be announced later. A supporting event on the Saturday will see the vintage bikes of yesteryear (classic names like Weslake, Godden, GM and JAP) out on track ridden by the ‘Blast From The Past’ riding troupe of veteran riders and bike enthusiasts. The bespoke race jackets for this unique event will then be raffled off with proceeds going to Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust. The individual to bring the curtain down on the following day (Sunday 20th.) is the HG Aerospace Speedway Academy-sponsored ‘Fenland Flyer’ – with 12 riders going for glory with in a High Noon shoot-out, 12pm start time. Leading the way in the 12 rider field are two riders who provided huge thrills in the last meeting at West Row: Simon Lambert and Vinnie Foord. They are joined by Fen Tigers Woods, Cossey and the vastly experienced Scott Campos, who made his return to Mildenhall colours riding in the away win at the Isle of Wight last month. Ashton Vale is a rider on the up and up and sure to be looking to challenge for the Fenland Flyer title; and they’ll be opportunities for youngsters to test themselves in the individual racing format including Archie Strong and Dylan Huthwaite. The full field will be announced later. Club Chairman Kieran Phillips is excited that the fans who have supported the club with such dedication since the revival under NORA are rewarded with two more meetings, “We are so grateful to all our supporters, especially those who’ve become Trust members, and all the riders too who’ve stuck by us and our dedicated team of very hard-working volunteers. And the support given to us by the HG Aerospace Academy all year and most particularly for this ‘double-header’ weekend has been absolutely invaluable - we can’t thank them enough. “Saturday night racing has proven to be a success in terms of the quality of meetings we’ve put on with some excellent racing. We do know though that some supporters have indicated that evenings are more difficult for them to get along to and have been asking for a Sunday afternoon meeting – we’re happy that we’ve been able to oblige and hope these fans who, for whatever reason, can’t always make Saturdays come along on the Sunday.” Phillips continues, “For those coming to both meetings there will be a reduced admission on the Sunday (gates open at 10.30am for a midday start time) – showing the programme and entrance ticket for the Saturday evening meeting will allow spectators to get in for £10, a £5 reduction on the standard admission.” The meetings are at Mildenhall Stadium, Hayland Drove, West Row, Suffolk IP28 8QU with admission (by cash or card) £15; accompanied children aged 15-and-under go free. Gates open at 6pm for a 7.30pm start time on Saturday and the start time on Sunday is 12pm (midday) (gates open at 10.30am).

as i said, i dont expect 6 teams next year and im sure last year i said 2027 will be the beginning of a new era for speedway

So let’s pull various strands together. Six consecutive competitive meetings completed in glorious weather in front of excellent crowds. No major accidents or incidents to report. Midweek racing continues to pose a problem in terms of rider availability. Unavoidable withdrawals due to previous weekend injury appear to have created some disruption which have been managed creatively. NORA is the correct ‘league’ for the Warriors who could simply not afford the many costs associated with BSPL affiliation. Expect more of the same in 2027.

As a supporter of a team who aren't Glasgow, I personally couldn't give a hoot about what any rider who wears a Glasgow racesuit scores. But I do give a hoot about fans/supporters who constantly slag young riders off, because that is highly unlikely to turn their form around.

If Premier Sports got British, Polish and Swedish speedway then I wouldn't mind paying £10 - £15 per month.

Premier Sports most likely I'd say, when (if) they work out who would be paying the production costs

Couple of reasons i would say. The GP 2 boys have the same qualifying as the non sprint GP qualifying( 12 noon local time) and they want to give maximum time after the Friday racing to get the track in A 1 order for Saturday’s Sprint qualifying and meeting proper. Plus the ridiculous situation that there is no TV schedules to worry about as it’s not shown !!!

They do, however, it is a team sport... Which means there needs to be some emotional connection to "their team".. Otherwise no point in keeping the team sport concept... UK Speedway runs some kind of hybrid system which, sadly, doesn't do it any favours as it ends up as neither here nor there..

Brady wont ride anywhere but belle vue