mikebv

I want a tenner a ticket back..

In the Prem maybe, but "not allowed" anymore in the Championship... It says here......

He is the only one allowed to carry the officially homologated chalk, which has been designed and patented by a former World Champ......

Have they spoken, or emailed, the CEO? I am sure Mark Lemon would make "reasonable adjustments" to accommodate those who struggle with stairs...

To be fair to Worrall, (and his brother), they both struggle when riding at No3... Hence when they rode for the Aces the team always came up short as usually one of them ended up there... No2 is the position in the team for both of them as off the inside gate in heat one, their starting capability can get them to the first turn in the lead, and both have the capability to ride the kerb for four laps and stay in front on a freshly prepared track where the wider lines havent yet developed... Putting either at No3 puts pressure on them, and they struggle, and with a much stronger heat leader level this year it will be compounded even more..

And the Aces constantly rode bends one and two up against the fence and lost places and points... Later in the season that line will come to them but first meeting in March you wont find too much drive out there... It was a strange match in many ways.. The Tigers constantly outgated the Aces, and by some distance, then at least one of the Aces often came back to head the Tigers, (usually off bends three and four), then the Tigers passed the Ace by riding the kerb around one and two.. It was good to watch though and I am sure the Aces will be play off certainties, injuries permitting.. Dan seems most seasons to take a while to get going across all his racing, so no worries for him and what he will deliver..

Really surprised how few were there... 1500-1600 maybe in total? Lovely sunny evening too, with no threat of a call off.. Fifty Four quid for two adults and two kids to sit in the Grandstand.. Twenty four quid for an adult to sit there.. More for the "padded seats"... Twenty two quid to stand on the south stand... The very top end of the pricing structure I would suggest for less than 16 mins of action... I had already paid for the PCMM so maybe others have done the same and decided to give this a miss due to cost?

It will be a big boost, however history does suggest that it will only be a "novelty" bounce if the usual "nonsense" operating model manifests itself as the season progresses.. Let's hope Phil Morris can make the Premiership "credible" thus keeping fans interested enough to keep attending after the initial "first visits" of the "stars"... The sport's decline in the past 25 years or so in particular, was sharpest when the "top names," rode here and admission charges went inflation busting each year to afford them.. And as soon as Sky left the sport so did they, but the admission costs didnt come down... £24 to sit and watch the racing at the NSS is "top end" I would say when measuring VFM so at "lesser tracks" that kind of admission each week may dissuade some if what is on offer doesnt reflect the cost.. I enjoyed last night at the NSS, and look forward to going to see Emil and Nicki when they rock up, but not sure if I will repeat the visits when they come around again.. That will depend how "relevant" the Premiership will be under the new management of it. It is no doubt though a great opportunity for the Premiership and the sport as a whole so let's hope they can take it.. Historical evidence though does suggest that the custodians of the sport are often found wanting, so it will be interesting to see how they do now that they have been given several "Golden Tickets"...

Enjoyed that tonight, done and dusted by not much after 9pm too.. Plenty of decent racing for a first meeting, with some strange decision making from the Aces riders who kept flying around bends one and two high up against the fence and often getting passed by the Tigers who rode much nearer the kerb.. Maybe the team manager should have mentioned it.. Amazed at how often the Tigers were on a 1-5 going into the first bend (and by quite a margin too), with whatever gate they came from not making a difference... The Aces look like a team (as suspected), that is a quality Heat Leader short but maybe that is why Dan is doing so poorly? Meaning they can replace one of their four second string level riders with Robert Lambert in May? Or could he come in as a Rising Star? The team that won the league last year would have found it much harder this season with all the better riders coming in to the other teams, so the team they have will need a huge effort to retain the title given only Bewley and Kurtz are genuine 2023 Premiership level HL's, and, as seen tonight, when one of them isnt on it the team will struggle.. Kurtz had sone cracking rides and Musielak is always worth watching wherever he rides, and special mention to Kerr, who ultimately made the difference... Sheffields league to lose I would suggest looking at how solid they are all the way down, but, as we know, injuries can play a huge part in Speedway which means "you never know"... A good start to the season though, looking forward to the PCMM next week...

And Kabaddi....

City centre location... Prime site... A very small amount of people disenfranchised by its closure... Ticks a lot of boxes.. Will Speedway as a collective ever come together and employ some legal firm, who specialise in such things, to fight the fight from their corner? Or will they continue to work in SILO doing "their very best" at a local level. (Or much less than that in one noticeable current situation the sport currently faces).. Oxford, and Coventry to a certain extent, have shown what can be done, so the sport already has some "success stories" to use as reference... It certainly wont go away given land values, and the need for councils to bring on revenue via "assets", therefore the sport really needs to get itself in a strong position legally to stave off what could be a huge threat to its overall existence...

No! No! No! The opinions of those within the "inner sanctum" are always right... And the opinions of those who only pay to watch the sport (and therefore keep it going), are always invariably wrong... Thought someone who has been on here so long like you have mate would have grasped this by now....

When you look at some Championship admissions, I would suggest £22 is very good value to watch some of the worlds best.. Whether both leagues' admission price points accurately reflect what is on offer is another debate, however, to watch top class riders in action I would say £22 isn't too far away from being VFM..

Indeed... And if it had gone ahead the track would have probably been too grippy, or too slick due to removing several inches of slop.. Either way, not a good watch even at the NSS when tracks get prepared like that.. Let's hope most of the riders can make the restaging given the majority either ride over here, or live over here..

All very strange isnt it? The promoters no doubt wouldnt want to give up their promoting rights, but that is effectively what they have done by not continuing racing at the stadium... It was said that without the dogs it wasnt viable, yet the dogs are still there. (?).. Therefore, why not let someone else take the reigns and run on the track that is already in existence and throw up the large meccano set that is also there and build at least one stand...?

And could bring many large manufacturers into the sport.. Something Honda tried to do many years ago... "Closed shop/Vested interest" could be a thing of the past with the costs getting driven down by a greater supply of manufacturers... We already have e-bike championships in road racing so the fundamental basics will be out there... No noise pollution would be a strong persuasion for any planning requests...

Left baffled and disillusioned? Wondering how such a fantastic spectacle can be so completely undermined by (some) of those who actually deliver it?

Erik Ross looks one to watch...

Have you been the head of marketing and advertising for UK Speedway over the past 40 years?

But how could you tell who is who?.. So difficult.....

100%... So the "glamour, trophy hunting teams" should compete in the top tier and let the 2nd Div revert to what it once was...

A lot of his views strangely mirror those of Adrian Smith....

A good interview in the Speedway Star with Phil.... States he may "upset some", but he does seem to have a lot of clear understanding of what needs fixing to make the sport credible in the UK.. Let's hope he has the mandate to do so...

The Championship should have two "juniors" like Poland have in their top league. Giving the UK lads a guaranteed perfect stepping stone from NL to a higher standard... Seems crackers that the top league have rising stars but not the league below, given that the RS's in the top league race against world class talent each night.. The sport doesnt need a plethora of World Class GB riders, (it always seems to naturally get 3 or 4 who are of that level), but it does need plenty of "decent" home grown talent that can fill up team places in both Div 1 and 2... The middle tier would be a perfect breeding ground for the development of those riders..

Is it "He should have been on 8.56?".....