cowboy cookie returns?

Great meeting & a great result enjoyed by a large crowd. What more do we want. The move to number 2 seems to be paying dividends for Ellis but has he also had a change of equipment? The form of the reserves is a little concerning at the moment but overall we can’t complain.

A minimum of 3k I would say. Louis does something right.

With Jenkins making his comeback back at the weekend, do we reintroduce Jordan one Edward’s 28 day deal expires or has Edward’s done enough to keep his place?

I for one hope that Emil will be back again next year. I’m still not convinced the league structure in the uk next year will allow his return. Having said that if the structure does & his schedule allows I’m convinced we’ll see Emil back again. I’m not convinced he would rider anywhere else in the uk either.

Given that a lot thought it was going to be a whitewash I thought it was a decent meeting. Looks like some are riding with next year in mind. A big if but if the league structure stays the same in 2026 then Jenkins at 6 Edwards as rising star Thompson in the top 5 with one of King,Ellis or Brennan to move on. Or if rising stars are scrapped then the same top 6 with either Edward’s or Jenkins at 7.

To be honest I didn’t see Ellis, King, Brennan,Thompson, Lawson, Kildermand, Klleen or Wright wobbling around. Edward’s & The number 4 from Oxford did struggle a bit but it certainly wasn’t wobbling around. Plenty of criticism always thrown at the Ipswich track however plenty of riders seems happy to ride fro Ipswich & our gates are by far the healthiest in the league. We can’t all have the council build us a shiny new stadium.

Image if speedway had drawn in decent crowds consistently & was a consistently profitable business, not subject to massive booms & busts. Ipswich would be one of the best tracks in the world. Foxhall built as a speedway stadium in 1950 the track was what is now the stock car circuit. Unfortunately due to the sport losing popularity in the 60s speedway closed & the stocks carried on, eventually seeing the circuit covered in tarmac. If the money was in speedway I’m sure that the current lease holders would happily have the speedway track reinstated on the outside, or the speedway would actually be able to afford to operate the stadium theirselves. Given none of that will happen we have to make due with what we have & feel content that we have one of if not the most forward looking & professional promotions, while also enjoying the best crowds in the uk.

Or it encourages team riding so one doesn’t just clear off & forgets about his mate. Same scoring as used in the old best pairs competition back in the day. I used to love that.

No Romance Tungate….. gutted 😭

I’ve given the speedway authorities plenty of stick over the years. Plenty of daft regulations golden doubles aka the twit hat, green helmet colours the home team riding with numbers 8-13 then some that are still with us out of control doubling up, guest feats the list goes on. However the super heat does add something, some drama & atmosphere. It’s the one change over the last 30 years that actually adds something positive.

next week gate positions are being decided using the medium of dance.

Until they don’t, which in speedway happens quite a lot.

A great result for Ipswich, but to be honest it should never have gone to a super heat. This Ipswich team is fantastic & I wouldn’t swap anyone out currently but boy do we make hard work of things. Lynns recent results show how poor we were against them in the cup & it’s those kind of Ipswich performances that worry me come the play offs

That would entice them, However one weak league isn’t going to achieve that.

Could well do, however I can see him earning a 2026 contract regardless of league set up.

However with all the cost cutting & watering down of the product has done nothing to improve the sport. The fundamentals are broken & until the foundations on which the sport are changed nothing will work. In fairness some of the best racing I’ve seen at Foxhall was in the old NL days 80/90 With out the super stars of the day. There is so much wrong doubling up, guests, poorly prepared tracks, lack of investment, self interest, rocket ship equipment. All this detracts from the product & the credibility.

It’s somewhere between 2 & 4 quid some not massive. The problem is that any big league would be weaker than the championship because of the current doubling up.

One big league has been tried before, watering down the product to cut costs has been in action since the late 80s neither have worked. Unfortunately money should have been spent in raising the profile & making it a better show & rider development when the Sky money was flowing in. If it goes one big league what will happen, the championship clubs will raise their admission prices because as sure as eggs are eggs the premiership teams won’t reduce theirs. You’ll end up the the championship supporters paying out more for a lesser product while the premiership supports pay out the same for less. That doesn’t sound like a great marketing strategy. Real change needs to start with the equipment to make it not only more reliable & cheaper to run but also to provide a better spectacle. The sport is on its ass everywhere expect Poland. The FIM need to lead from the front to make equipment changes mandatory to reduce rider costs. The bottom line is that in its current guise Speedway isn’t something that appeals to the masses & one big league severing up a lesser product UK wide isn’t going to address that. The really annoying thing & it was proven at Ipswich on Thursday with a group of first timers in the sponsor lounge is that if you can get new comers in they do find it a great spectacle & want to attend again. The issue comes later when the operating model of doubling up rampant guest fest & the many other things that eat credibility start to become apparent.

I was stood on the first bend & because of the air fence I couldn’t see the gap. After watching the clip on line it’s clear the referee got it 100% correct. The terraces given Kerr a hard time & booing was totally understandable given what was a stake. If it had been the other way round & at Saddlebow Road the Lynn fans would have done the same. It shows passion from the supporters, adds atmosphere & provided a massive talking point.

Speedway must be one of the few things in life where the goal is to become weaker & not improve.

The Golden egg was laid in the early days of Sky TV. It’s a real shame that the promoters & everyone involved didn’t embrace it & use it as a relaunch pad. That money spent correctly to improve the product with the viewing figures at the time could have been transformative. Also don’t forget at the time the sport had Column inches in the national tabloids & featured on the back page several times. In terms of race day if the product was want people wanted & was desirable it wouldn’t matter what day the racing was on.

That’s a good signing

No if anything I think he got a nudge from Doyle. Agreed first bend bunching so should have been all 4 back.

I said earlier in the week that this wasn’t going to be easy & so it proved. Heat 14 will be the talking point, from where we were standing on the 1st bend I couldn’t honestly see if there was contact or not . Dan had done well to get passed Kerr at that point it looked good. To be honest we should never have been in the position that heat 14 call be the referee makes or breaks the tie. I can’t say if Lynn wanted it more than Ipswich but they were certainly the better team over the 2 legs & deserved to make the final. Congratulations you pesky Stars you deserved it!

I never knew it was Louis who was interested in Northampton. I guess it would make sense as he already has a working relationship with the stadium owners as they hold the lease at Foxhall.