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Listening to Carl Johnson on the Speedway 360 podcast a few weeks ago and he said Peterborough had been asked to make up the 6th club... Currently there is no Peterborough Speedway!! This is proof, if any more were needed, that those running the sport are completely delusional if not totally insane!

I am often amazed by those business who ignore, and often ridicule, their most important asset - their paying customers!

I think you have put an awful lot of work into this. You deserve, at least, consideration for your effort. I think it is a possibility - but crucially - you have not got all the riders that you quote, Steve Worrall, Retired, Brady Kurtz are just two examples. I do admire your enthusiasm and your work. Well Done.

There is a clue in my profile name who I support, & it definitely isn't Poole lol.

We are talking about the bspl here, farce is their specialty, just when you think they have took farce to its absolute limit, they suprise us all and they pull a new bigger farce out of the hat, in reality come January we wouldn’t expect anything else really

I've already posted a list of the number of riders active in the UK last year... there's more than enough riders to sustain 1 league, the race format would need changing to integrate some of these riders though.

I think the Speedway Star has actually improved its output in the past 12 months or so... Given the internet makes many stories "old news" for a once a week magazine, they have increased features and interviews with not just riders and promoters but others within the sport... It also often brings detail to what gets said on here, eg a rider riding for a certain team, they will have the reasons behind the move. . Well worth £3.60 a week for a hard copy. .

Proposal to Restructure British Speedway from 2027 Onwards This is my suggested format to take British Speedway forward from the 2027 season. 1. Team Racing Format One national league consisting of 14 clubs. Each club races every other club home and away once, giving 26 league fixtures per season. Proposed clubs: Belle Vue, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Leicester, Oxford, Sheffield, Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Plymouth, Poole, Redcar, Scunthorpe & Workington. The team finishing top of the league after 26 fixtures are crowned “League Champions”. The top 8 teams progress to an end-of-season “KO Cup” competition. 2. Rules & Team Building Teams are built to a maximum of 42.00 points. Rider averages are calculated as follows: Any rider with a current Championship average uses that figure. Any current Premiership rider has their Championship-equivalent average multiplied by 1.5, with a maximum average of 12.00. Any National League rider has their current average divided by 2, with a minimum average of 2.00. Team Composition Each team consists of 7 riders: No. 1 – Heat Leader Only one designated heat leader per team, always riding at No. 1. Nos. 2, 3 & 4 – Second Strings Form the main body of the team alongside the heat leader. No. 5 – Senior Reserve A rider acting as the senior reserve. Nos. 6 & 7 – Junior Reserves Development riders. Must be Commonwealth riders. This structure allows: Each club to include a genuine Grand Prix or top-level rider at No. 1. A strong Championship core across every team. A meaningful development pathway via the junior reserves with a clear link to National League-level riders. 3. Heat Format & Points System Because of the varied rider levels within each team, the traditional format is split into two parts on the programme: Support Card Main Card 3.1 Support Card The Support Card consists of 4 heats: Two heats where each team’s No. 6 & No. 7 race against each other. Two further heats where the Senior Reserve (No. 5) races together with the No. 6 & No. 7 riders. Scoring for the Support Card: Over the 4 heats, the aggregate result determines: 1 league point for a win. 1 league point each for a draw. 0 league points for a loss. So, the Support Card alone can earn a team up to 1 league point from the meeting. 3.2 Main Card The Main Card consists of 9 heats. The Senior Reserve (No. 5): Rides with No. 2 once and No. 4 once, ensuring 4 programmed rides. The Heat Leader (No. 1): Rides once with No. 2 and once with No. 4. Has two rides alongside No. 3. After the 9 Main Card heats: The scores are added up and league points are awarded in the same manner as the Support Card: 1 league point for a win. 1 league point each for a draw. 0 league points for a loss. Again, the Main Card can earn a team up to 1 league point. 3.3 Nominated Heats (Heats 14–16) After both the Support Card and Main Card are complete, there are three nominated heats: Heat 14, Heat 15 & Heat 16. Heat 16 is reserved for the two highest point scorers from the main body (Riders 1–4). Heats 14 & 15 are also nominated heats, with the restriction that: A rider may appear in only one nominated heat. This rule ensures: At least one of the No. 6 or No. 7 junior reserves gets a fourth ride. All other riders get at least five rides across the meeting. Scoring for the Nominated Heats: The combined result of Heats 14–16 is treated as a third card: 1 league point for a win. 1 league point each for a draw. 0 league points for a loss. 3.4 Overall League Points Per Meeting Across the Support Card, Main Card, and Nominated Heats, each team has three separate chances to earn league points. In total, a side can earn up to 3 league points from a single meeting. 4. Rider Movement & Averages Through the Season To maintain structure and development: A Junior Reserve (Nos. 6 & 7) can only progress up to Senior Reserve (No. 5) status. A Senior Reserve (No. 5) can: Move into the main body (Nos. 2–4), or Drop back into a Junior Reserve position, depending on averages. A rider in the main body (Nos. 1–4) can only drop as low as Senior Reserve (No. 5) and not into a Junior Reserve slot. This ensures a clear hierarchy while still allowing progression and reshuffling based on form and averages. 5. Race Nights & Rider Absences All meetings take place on the race night chosen by each club. It is up to each club to build a team suited to their chosen race night. In the event of absent riders, they are covered by: Rider Replacement (R/R), or An approved guest rider. 6. Example Team Line-Ups Below are four illustrative team line-ups of different strengths. These are purely examples for the purposes of demonstrating the system, not predictions of actual signings. Belle Vue Aces Brady Kurtz (Heat Leader) Norick Blödorn (Second String) Ben Cook (Second String) Jake Mulford (Second String) Ben Trigger (Senior Reserve) Jack Smith (Junior Reserve) Arran Butcher (Junior Reserve) Ipswich Witches Jason Doyle (Heat Leader) Jason Edwards (Second String) Adam Ellis (Second String) Jonathan Grahn (Second String) Cameron Heeps (Senior Reserve) Dayle Wood (Junior Reserve) Connor King (Junior Reserve) Glasgow Tigers Dan Bewley (Heat Leader) Ace Pijper (Second String) Chris Harris (Second String) Villads Nagel (Second String) Paul Starke (Senior Reserve) Max Perry (Junior Reserve) Jack Kingston (Junior Reserve) Poole Pirates Jack Holder (Heat Leader) Fraser Bowes (Second String) Richard Lawson (Second String) Tobias Thomsen (Second String) Will Cairns (Senior Reserve) Vinny Ford (Junior Reserve) Kai Ward (Junior Reserve) 7. British Championship Series To compensate for riders no longer doubling up/down between leagues, this proposal includes the creation of a British Championship Series. The aim is to: Provide more meetings for riders. Generate additional income via sponsorship, gate receipts, and streaming revenue. Help offset the financial “loss” from running a single unified league. Format A 6-round championship series held at: Belle Vue Glasgow Ipswich Poole Leicester Oxford The series features 16 riders. There are two Semi-Finals held early in the season at: Workington Sheffield The Top 8 riders from each Semi-Final qualify for the 6-round series. Riders apply to enter the series. It is not primarily aimed at GP-standard riders, but rather the strong domestic core. Example Semi-Final Line-Ups Semi-Final 1 – Workington (example): Brennan, Harris, King, D. Thompson, Howarth, Nicholls, Flint, Kerr, Barker, Mountain, Hume, Rushen, Gilkes, Ablitt, Morley, Scott. Semi-Final 2 – Sheffield (example): Lawson, Wright, Ellis, Cook, Kemp, Rowe, Worrall, Edwards, Jenkins, J. Thompson, Harrison, Bowtell, S. Lambert, Mulford, Starke, Cairns. The top 8 from each Semi-Final progress into the 16-rider British Championship Series. Each season, the host venues for the 6 rounds can be rotated to share the opportunity and exposure around different clubs.

Louis “reasonably” confident Witches will come to tapes in 26. Two interested parties he’s currently in discussions with. Couldn’t elaborate on the full reasons why he’s stepping away but pretty much gave it away actually. Looks like a 5 team league that he has no interest in. Edit: they weren’t exactly his words that he wasn’t interested in a 5 team league btw, but that was pretty obvious to me anyway that that was a strong factor along with the dire way things are run here. Hopefully someone more clever than me can upload his radio piece from a website somewhere. Badge is usually good with that stuff. Was around 9.50 on Gen X radio Suffolk.

Nowt like getting behind your team at an early stage of the closed season 😁

Does having riders available for all meetings save speedway? As a genuine product yes absolutely But what keeps most clubs going is well attended fixtures and consistent riders so one league would work, but sides must build their teams to what suits their race night to keep a consistent side and their crowd levels high Yes unfortunately it means if a weekends visiting side has 3 riders in Poland there will be RR and guest but with limited away supporters we would just have to cope with what brings the crowds in to the home sides Appreciate it but there are enough riders to compensate for S. Worrall if teams are built this way which gives a supporter a bit of everything rolled into one

like your thinking, i know all your riders are just examples, and i do think the programme does need to be revamped, so top riders dont race the juniors, which will help the juniors progress better, dont think gp riders will do it unless they could fit the right days in. i dont think your in cloud cuckoo land , its the BSPA, who are in cloud cuckoo land. it has got to start from scratch.

I was meaning for speedway, rugby and ice hockey. Partly because it avoids clashes with football which seems to be on every other night of the week and all day Saturday and Sunday (although normally lunch time on a Sunday for Scottish teams). It also allows a lot more parents to attend, and to bring kids (no school tomorrow and no clashes with weekends kids sports fixtures). Plus for people like me, you finish your working week, relax whilst watching live sport on the Friday night and still have the full weekend. I find that Saturday night or Sunday afternoon/ evening and to take up a lot more time as you can waste the day waiting for start time to come around. Monday and Thursday nights would just not be anywhere near as well supported in Glasgow.

I understand why too. What I don’t understand is what is it that makes it an attractive buy to a potential new investor. The sport needs a total shake up from the bottom. Two even numbered leagues with tiered prize money depending on where you finish up at the end . That way there is meaning to every meeting. I would also introduce one up and one down at the season’s end. But I’m living in a dream world.

And next season there may be no tv money. Add the cost of a new airfence and with the prospect of a 5 team premiership less fixtures and the same old faces but more regular. the fans will pick and choose and crowds will diminish. will the sponsors pay the same sponsorship now there is no tv deal and national coverage? I can completely understand why Chris Louis has put the club up for sale.

'Buffoon' is a very underused word imo

thats surely one reason that makes fri nights good for speedway?

https://www.merlinsoftware.co.uk/radio/listen/player.asp?showid=24790 skip to 50 mins in on this link

Definitely aren’t.

I sincerely hope that you're source is the wrongest source that there has been! Tigers fought hard to get Friday night racing. Which is the preferred sports watching night in Glasgow. The promotion has done a lot of good, and hard, work to get lots of kids along which would be affected by going midweek. Plus they'd lose the fixtures that you look for in the calendar...Edinburgh, Berwick and Poole, and replace them with a lot of teams that aren't anything special (no offence intended) I know that the Facennas have plans for top level speedway in Glasgow but I don't think that the time is right. IF Glasgow were going to go Premiership, only Redcar and Oxford haven't announced their 8+ rider and Harris, Wright & Masters haven't been announced. Almost certain that Redcar have signed Wright & Masters is at Oxford. So would Bomber really be the rider to miss out at Championship level? And, where would Glasgow get a number 1 to rival Bewley, Fricke, Doyle, Kurtz & Holder? It's not like GP starts are queuing up to ride in the failing Premiership

I’m always amazed by those who take the moral high ground without knowing the facts of those who they belittle

With the GP riders and those in Poland they'd opt to ride for the side that gives them most meetings on a home night so if belle vue want Kurtz they'll run Mondays He would then fit in as many away meetings where possible those that clash then his side will need to use a guest or RR There is no perfect scenario but this plan works on most levels for the home side

Hannah Grunwald 3.00

... I hope he's kept the receipt 😂

An there was Kurtz on the front cover of this weeks Star saying he does not have a free weekend to spend in the UK and that applies for most of the riders in Poland. So that also means loosing riders in addition to the SGP starts like Douglas, Becker and Masters at Leicester alone. One division would only work if you stuck to the two fixed race nights without exception and good luck in getting Poole and the clubs that race Friday, Saturday and Sunday to change race nights for the good of the sport.

Redcar co promoter Jamie Swales said this week in the Speedway Star. Redcar are revealing their full 1 to 7 at their Christmas party on Friday 5th December.

I wouldn’t have thought Chris would put any stipulations in place as part of the sale. The buyer would have be left free to judge what works best for their business plan. Could be totally different to CL’s

Trackrat stalking Poole supporters. What’s with the fixation?

i know where you are coming from same for me, when i stopped riding winter of 88 , i stopped going just seeing the odd meeting for a good 15 years, only started going again regular when the new track opened at Bellevue, was there for the 1st meeting that turned into a farce, but knew that track would be good once it was put right. taking my dad for the last years he had left in his life and the reason i had a go, at racing. Still enjoy it even going to Poland to watch meetings, but will get by if no premiere league racing. this year, getting to old now for it to be the centre of my life.

It would impact mine, it’s been my life since I went to my first meeting when my parents took me when I was 1 and nothing has ever come close so I would be devastated

As much as us paying public love speedway, if the sport disappeared off the face of the earth, we might miss it but it would not have a significant impact on our lives. Whereas riders and those (supposedly) running the sport would be the ones hit hardest.

He certainly had plenty of offers, fair play to him staying Loyal to Stewart as he brought him back over. Solid top 2 for the bandits.

What we are seeing here is the years of neglect and lack of investment or ideas for speedway coming home to roost, we have nobody else to blame but ourselves, when sky first gave us the 5 million in the 90s it was like giving a heroin junkie 5 million and saying put some in the bank for the future and spend a bit on getting some help for your addiction

He'll put at least a point on his average. Good signing on 6.77 He more than made up for the BSN final in the play-offs and KO Cup.

I think Peterborough are looking at championship if they come back.

Sounds like the Captain full speed ahead even though he knows the iceberg is ahead!

I see Kevin Juul Pedersen has put on his FB this weekend about arriving in the UK, perhaps tonight's new signing?

Do not think Proud Panther orJC81 are Poole fans!!

Would a new owner have a choice? I think the Championship clubs would block a new entry

You’re the only one who’s put out the gossip. Are you on Chris Louis’ payroll?

it basically said as much in the speedway star, but what is he expecting to happen? a team being forced to run in the premiership to make it up to 6? which is still a stupidly low number for a top league.

Really can't see how this is going to be resolved. If it goes all one league where are the current Premiership going to find riders to team build,35 team places to fill. Doubling up would not be an option, the top Championship riders have allegedly signed up for next season, who barring foreign riders would the Premiership sign? Without doubling up will the sport be financially viable for a lot of riders? Will riders be poached by Premiership clubs offering better deals than the one they've signed up for? Majority of top Premiership riders have signed to ride in the Danish and Swedish leagues in 2026, possibly ruling out running in Premiership. As a supporter 5 teams in Premiership not enough, the thought of seeing the same team visiting 4 times a year or more if they continue with IMO the play offs would really not appeal. With rain offs you could potentially end up watching the same team possibly 3 times in a month. Would like the play offs to be scrapped in both leagues, don't reward the effort put in during the season.

Ah that’s better one quote I wanteD to quote. Think most on here put their own cash in the promoters piggy bank every week during the season…….or more recently whenever they choose to consider to run a meeting …..

Surely they have to be looking at Perry pretty sure he has outscored every reserve that rode at Berwick this year

But this comes down to who controls the sport, the sport is run by the riders for the riders, don’t know how long I have been telling anyone who will listen this message, until a governing body gets hold of and control of the sport and dictates boundaries which everyone must adhere to then the sport will continue to decline with everyone in it for their own gain and you have to say with nobody to stop them who can blame them, as an example and I say this not to single him out but as an example but Brady Kurtz is effectively holding the sport in Britain to ransom, make it 2 leagues or I’m off, doesn’t matter what the fans want or what is the best direction for British speedway it what works for me, me me me me me

Because if he doesn’t the tax man will have it off him, it’s a legal form of money laundering/ business offsetting performed by accountants of millions of millionaires worldwide in many different guises, all while getting the millionaire his/her toys paid for ,I think the only reason it doesn’t happen in speedway is because there is not enough money involved to make a dent to a millionaire

In the context of his statement, that would be extremely surprising. “….unfortunately it is time to step aside, but I leave the club and the sport with so many great memories that will last forever. Thank you.” That seems to make it clear that he is leaving the sport.

Riding under a flag of convenience for most.... When you can guest for someone else and the points you score ultimately can prevent your own team reaching the play offs, I am not sure how any rider becomes emotionally attached to any team.. I remember Troy Bachelor guesting for Poole in a TV covered match, probably a decade or so ago, quite late on in the season, when they were possibly going to miss out on the play offs... He top scored and was given "Rider of the Night" by Kelvin, as Poole won to keep their play off hopes alive... A few weeks later he was back at Poole riding for his own team in the Play Off semi, and Poole knocked them out!!!! Riders, Fans, Promoters... None can really take it too seriously can they?

I have a lot of respect for the late Tim Stone - he was definitely marmite to a lot of people, but he was always very nice, welcoming and respectful to us during my (short) time riding for the Mavericks. You always knew where you stood with him and he never minced his words. Plus the man lived and breathed Newport and it's such a shame things went the way they did there. I'll never forget we used to go down there every Sunday in the winter to practice, and planned to sleep in the van the night before, he offered us the option of putting our van in the pits (there was a lot of travellers in the area and often targeted Newport as a place to pitch up) and letting us sleep in a VIP box with heating - to which we gratiously accepted. He said "under no conditions are you to go outside before I get here in the morning though, the guard dog will have your pants down" - one night someone tried to break in and we found a pair of absolutely shredded jeans in the pits the morning after 😂😂😂