Hackett

Seem to recall Phillip Hellstrom Bangs mentioning in an article he would consider the UK as he was struggling to get enough rides. Not sure what he is up to this season , could be an option potentially depending on his average. Slater Lightcap the USA rider but would think the Polish teams will be looking to sign these riders moving forward.

He will be very very fortunate if anybody gives him an opportunity in speedway again. He may be better served selling those art prints on ebay ot etsy.

Shaping up to be a pretty solid line up,

I manage to get my Speedway Star in Asda , usually can get it on a Thurs or Fri at the latest. If left to Royal Mail we'd probably get sense from the AGM before my next copy arrives. Having worked in the media industry - B2B and consumer mags , I am surprised that the magazine hasn't gone totally digital. Would guess more about the demographic of the readership but if postage costs keep rising and circulation drops don't be surprised it moves into the digital remit. Certainly an opportunity for a speedway website or app simlar to the PGE Ekstraliga version.

Having worked in advertising for a number of years in the bygone era of magazines and then the digital age - it is all about numbers. If a magazine - it was the circulation or in the case of the website - page impressions or click throughs. If impressions or circulation faltered then it was about the quality of the audience (good for business to business magazines or websites }, demographic segmentation etc Speedway is an ageing demographic , the viewing numbers aren't high and the exposure is limited - thus any ad agency or brand manager is not going to spend amy budget on speedway. With no TV deal and no significant audience numbers , the sport will struggle to generate bluechip or new advertisers. The way forward would be to saturate the social media market - tik tok, iG and increase eyes ... publicise crashes , incidents like Wright vs Allen punch up to generate viewing figures. Sell your soul to influencers and let them film around meetings. Even get them om a speedway bike to generate views and build. A start would be to create an app like the Polish League with updates, live scores, interviews, video content and Fantasy League. Currently sport documentaries are massive - think All or Nothing , Hard Knocks, F1 and Netflix / Amazon with docs on NHL. NBA NFL, Football etc etc - Speedway is an exciting, adrenalin fuelled sport powered by pure alcohol - there is a story to tell - even to the uneducated. The process will be a slow burner but a speedway heat is 1 minute - it is the perfect timespan for social media - Just needs to be processed and promoted in the right way. For example - In a recent interview Jordan Pickford spoke about his love for MotoX - Immediately I would be thinking lets get him to a speedway meeting he loves motorbikes = Opportunity !! Unfortunately like a speedway AGM - rinse and repeat

Pretty much what Dobruki was saying in the Speedway Star interview ... Stating that Polish Speedway pays far more than FIM / SGP and that Polish Speedway essentially sponsors the SGP by payin the riders far more than the World Championship.

In an interview in the Speedway Star - Mark Lemon seemed to want to bring both Kurtz + Bewley back to the Aces in 2026. NAturally will depend on the structure but seems as hought they want a Premiership and if you are going to have two leagues then the SGP riders will be central to it being seen as "Elite".

Remember in the 90's and 00's when bright colurs were the rage. Remember Eastbourne riders having some lary kevlars back in the day. Kids used to like the Joe Screen zebra kevlars with green tassles. Looking at the SGP riders the modern trend seems to be black or blue kevlars in the main. As for leathers has to be the Wiggy Green !!

Whatever team he joins his kevlars should have tassles. Can you get those on the South Coast ??

Chris Harris, Scott Nicholls, Dan Bewley, Tom Brennan and Max Fricke

From all accounts the pricing was welll overpriced and completely wrong for Poland , hemce why the Final was empty. Reading the Speedway Star it doesnt sound positive for the Speedway of Nations mobing forward. The format doesn't seem to work with the two semifinals and three qualifying to the final from each Semi final to meet the hosts. . The SWC seems to be the more popular choice BUT whether that guarantees a financial return on Warsaw time will tell.

Congratulations to the Ipswich Witches Premiership Champions. Decent effort from the Leicester Lions just come up short over the two legs but the Witches deserved it over the two legs. (Plus they have three former Eastbourne Eagles) Now to see what the AGM brings chaos, carnage and revamp.

52-38 58 - 34 67 - 23 Three convincing home wins at Foxhall over the Aces. Most would be surprised if any different on Thurs. The Aces have struggled for points at reserve and can see the Witches making the most of the Aces struggles away from the NSS. Perhaps with adverse weather it may the home track advantage minimal but can only see a home win by10+

Would of thought Dudek would of been more suitable than Janowski. Be interesting to see if the track is any different from league meetings. Should be a decent SGP hopefully track is not too slick. Lambert needs a decent SGP just to give the FIM a Wild Card nudge.

Stars to win this !! The Aces have struggled for points all season at reserve and the Stars could pick up valuable points at the bottom end. With play-offs already confirmed for the Aces and a big weekend in Wroclaw for Brady Kurtz, I wonder how competitive they will be tonight. First ever trip to the Adrian Flux Areana / Norfolk Arena last week and the track wasnt as deep as it has looked on tv but the Spires put up little or no competition. Aces have struggled on travels to support Kurtz and Bewley and it woulf be a surprise if any different this evening. (Think Kurtz should bring the Elmo Helmet Cover as featured in the latest speedway star).