mikebv

You don't need people bringing atmosphere to Speedway., The bikes are noisy enough.. I dread to think how many Health and Safety regs are being broken..

He would walk into the GB SWC team...

Have Poland confirmed that this English kid is their's?...😆

Agreed, but too many times the rider in front must know Zmarzlik will make a "long straight" of it and try and nail him at the entrance to the turn, meaning riding down the fence leaves them a sitting duck... Lebedevs knew Dudek had planned a long straight so purposely got himself off the fence as soon as he could, and started to move left, meaning Dudek, when he arrived at speed, had to suddenly move to the outside line... Maybe Zmarzlik would still pass around the outside,given he is that good, but at least make him work for it ..

That cheering looks a bit OTT. A polite round of applause as you are walking down the stairs, getting to your car would suffice, thanks very much...😀

Great race from Lebedevs,slower bike than Dudek but used great track craft.. Especially not letting him do a third bend "bomb" by moving left down the back straight... More should do it to Zmarzlik!!

Can you watch the sprint races in the stadium?

Without either a true No1 and a No5, they need five No3's.... Good luck with finding four more of them to add to Lidsey....

I would review your own teams' performance tonight first to be honest... Apart from Danny King (not a gating tart and top scored by a long way), the rest are and they got whooped!!!!

Best of luck to both the lads who had to withdraw from the meeting.... No "hype", it appears, around these two, who seem to be going under the radar somewhat, and are making very steady progress indeed... Hope both are back soon with no lasting issues..

I think it is in the regs now that they have to if TV evidence is available... Seemingly they can even use WhatsApp video from the fans of the team whose rider gets excluded so they can change their minds and exclude the other teams' rider....

Ahhhh... The old educational way of getting your message across using the medium of a clenched fist......

I agree if was an established track... However, as only the second meeting the staff will still be finding their feet, in the Speedway Star they said those on the entrance gate were still getting trained up to an hour before letting people in last week... And as some punters tonight will no doubt be new you want to try and not pee them off by missing out on the racing... Maybe a 7.45 start time would be better for this season?

Was Phil Morris the only one in UK Speedway leadership team with a watch? And now he doesn't appear to be involved no one knows what the time is?

They are supposed to use the TV coverage if it is there...

Condolences to you and your family, mate... Always enjoyed your Dads' contributions.... All the best....

And then flood it....

Surprised PTA hasn't mentioned it yet.... "Needless to say, I had the last laugh" - Alan Partridge. Bouncing Back..

Patryk Dudek not too impressed with Phil's track preparation, in the Speedway Star.. "We spoke to Phil Morris before the event to make sure he was careful about watering. The track is so loose and the hosts added some shale to it. It was a complete disaster. We fought throughout the race to get Phil to stop watering. When he finally did, the track was safer and the final races were actually enjoyable. We were flagging up the issues but we don't have the power to make a difference".. Not just us watching then that have the same opinion..?.. A good article from Peter Oakes too, re Northampton and the NKI coverage issue... He certainly has become more challenging of those in charge more recently, (in a constructive way).... He must come on here....

Their track is now "shocking" when once it suited "proper Speedway riders, not throttle jockeys".... Good to see Will Cairns' score last night, there does seem to be a bit of a "pile on" for the kid, now and again, from some, for some reason... As with all the young UK lads, just let them develop and see where they end up... The sport is desperate for more supply than demand so if these lads only reach tier two second string status they are playing their part....

The FIM pretty much let all disciplines market themselves, and don't have much involvement in the day to day running of each discipline... The FIA do a similar job in car racing... Give the event their official licence, then sit back, and count the money paid in to them...

I thought so to, and also thought it would be a great idea... World No2, pretty much guaranteed to hit you 12 and over at home, so would "protect" races, thus keeping the score close at worst, and do it from the back if needed... A "new hero", for the kids in particular, to latch onto... I thought, given it was a "collective", who made it clear how important it was to launch a sixth team, that they would have sorted them out a very competitive team.. They seem to have settled on two number 3's, three second strings, and two reserves...

Track shape looks good, just more of an outside run needed, and I am sure that will develop.. They could do with a couple of "racers" in the team I think to utilise the whole of the track... I thought maybe Kurtz or Bewley would have been allocated to them... Two riders happy to use the boards, and two of the best three in the world, so something to sell to the locals if either had ended up there...

I would suggest most fans in the country support a "losing team" given the same teams, in both leagues, seem to reach the play offs each season now... "Winning at Home" being the priority for most promoters, and is the key to their tracks being able to ensure their "die hards" come back regularly... Enjoying the racing, and the social interaction... Northampton have only really been seen to have been beaten "once" in the eyes of most of those attending that first meeting so far, given their away following will have been minimal at those defeats... They will also be paying out lots of points money from their one income so far to pay for the several away meetings the imbalanced fixture list set them up with, so will need a decent few consecutive crowds at home to help balance the books... The next few meetings will be very important to the success of the venture... Opening a new team in a sport with such a small national following, with minimal public and media awareness, and making it work, is a massive challenge... So, best of luck to all involved, let's hope most of their opening night crowd (the locals within it at least), stick with them.. Edit. And as for needing 10 wins for it to not be a "one season wonder", even if the crowds settle to around not too many below 1000, that would run a decent level Championship team next year.. The landscape of UK Speedway could be very different next season.. The success of the long term venture is very much linked to the next few home meetings...

I wouldn't get too focused on the winning or losing given it is UK Speedway... You will spend the season, by the looks of things, using the other five teams' riders most meetings, so "success" or "failure" (on track) is a moot point... Success off track is key..... Looking at the opening night crowd, history of openings suggest crowds will settle down to around 700 - 1000, which, for a top tier team is going to maybe not be break even, however, that opening night income will offset what is only a short season, so hopefully it "wipes its face" and puts in strong foundations for many years of Speedway... Those who already have followed the sport will be vital in supporting the venture regularly until a local fan base is built of those who are new to it ..