mikebv

100%... The compound issue Phil is that what should be the pinnacle of the sport in the UK gets completely devalued by teams deciding/being allowed to not compete in it... And that devaluation is before you add in the odd "made up septets" to devalue it even further... What those who decide to avoid making the top league the absolute most important one to sell the sport with fail to realise, is that their own lower standard of product is also then equally devalued as well.... Simply. If the pinnacle of the sport in the UK isn't worth competing for in the eyes of promoters, then how are any of them worth competing for in the eyes of the fans? They have to find a way of at least 8 teams in the top league I would suggest.... With a similar amount in Div 2, allied to a reasonable level NDL at the top of the team, and development at the bottom end of it, for the rest of the teams...

And every meeting finished 40-38.......

There is a definite shout for "sink or swim" to be the mantra.. Keeping dropping back into the NDL and scoring maximums doesnt give you any perspective of where you really are.. Jack Smith is another who scores big around the NSS in the NDL, but is still miles and miles away from becoming even a 2nd Div reserve rider.

Spot on... Hence at the NSS both teams come out for the parade without helmets.. But if they want to practise starts after the introductions then they have to put helmets on that they have taken with them.. Makes sense and a good compromise, and gives a chance for fans to see the riders...

We will ensure we sign 9 riders so will always have two guests avaliable to be used by anyone at all times...

There will be a decent pay on the gate too I would imagine.. Domt think the Aces will need to worry about crowds.. If the top league doesnt generate enough by riding Monday, I would suggest riding Div 2 on a Friday or a Saturday night could deliver even more.. Similar to Leicester who seem to get more now than when they had Doyle and rode in Div 1, but couldn't ride Saturdays..

Replaced by Bomber?...

I am a little surprised as to how many places are still showing on the website.. Blocks AB usually showing a lot less Red by now.. Maybe people waiting to see the weather before committing, or have bought/will buy a cheaper standing ticket...? You would think Wolves would bring a few up and only Sheffield visiting would attract a bigger crowd I would have thought..

I remember around just 4 years ago watching him regularly in the Colts alongside Dan Bewley... With the two of them often riding Ht 13 and Ht 15 together... With Bickley more than a match for Bewley and would win his fair share of heats when they rode together.. And as he often outgated Dan, who had to fight his way through from the back, the margin of some victories showed he was more than capable, with Dan not always making any impression gap wise, and race win times between the two were very comparable.. Amazing that Dan is now on such a hugely different career path, in what is a pretty short period of time, especially given the Covid break.. One knocking on the GP Finals door, and the other struggling to hold down a reserve place in Division 2 of the UK.. Hope there is a way back for the kid, but it will take a huge amount of tenacity and resilience to get himself onto the career path that seemed likely for him when rode for the Colts first up..

Fantastic meeting...

Birmingham..

1000% what should have happened.. It was clearly the plan that should have been followed... But that wouldn't have allowed teams who should be in Div 1 due to their size and infrastructure, to try and win Div 2 would it?

Riders of a certain level will always want to keep that Polish option open.. Hence riding Div 1 Mon and Thu and Div 2 Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday is ideal.. Signing up for a Sunday track effectively means "No Poland", as they wont be available to replace injured or out of form riders.. It wasnt a problem when Div 2 only had riders who didnt ride anywhere else but Sweden on a Tuesday, and Denmark on a Wednesday, and that was mainly Swedes and Danes only, riding in their own leagues.. Those days though are now long gone with every GB, Aussie, Swede, Dane, French, German etc etc all wanting Div 2 and Div 3 Polish places..

No Sunday track could nowadays given so much double upping takes place with riders that ride in Poland on a weekend afternoon.. Hence they need to double up Monday to Saturday... If these Div 1 HL's only rode in Div 1 then the Div 2 teams would be much nearer each others standard, as they would just use riders who didint ride in Poland every Sunday.. For any Sunday team to ride and be competitive in the current format they would need to take "first pick" of those Div 1 HL's who ride in Poland and then build their fixture list around the Saturday/Sunday Polish fixtures...

Obvious.. But not to some it would appear.. When you can pick and choose your leagues to compete in then it seems crackers to not have some kind of quality control by those in charge.. When teams decide that the pinnacle of the sport in the UK isnt worth competing for, and for them they feel better off competing in a lower league, then it speaks volumes as to the low amount of merit which winning any league has in their eyes.. Therefore, at least make every league competitive... And if that is by some contrived system which allows a fair spread of HL talent across every team then so be it.. We have contrived teams happen virtually every night so it's not as if it would be a unique situation for the sport.. No surprise Newcastle are uncompetitive given everyone said at the start that they were uncompetitive... A hard task for the Promoters trying to sell the least competitive team in the least competitive league I would suspect... And that is both home and away promoters. With many away teams having the double whammy of scoring big away and suffering lower crowds when poor teams visit.. But... It isnt like this wasnt pointed out well before a wheel was turned is it?

Another cracking race... Take a bow Robert Lambert...

Freddie back in the good books of his fans.. What a great ride....

Max slowing the race down brilliantly then to help his young team mate who was all over the two opponents.. Max just winning the race by about 60 metres... He doesnt quite seem to get this team riding lark...

Lovely last bend dive bomb from Zagar on Fricke.. "Get out of the way"..

Good to have two GB riders who now go into these meetings being feared by opponents rather than "hoping they can do well", which has been the case for too long in this country when riders reached this level.. They both now seem very comfortable at the "top table" suggesting they both truly now believe that they are "naturally" in their rightful position... Which can only bring further confidence and reward...

Of course it is These lads spend tens of thousands on kit... Hence the facility to ride for everyone and anyone exists.. They have to make money..

You have a major sponsor.. And you dont share riders, so still have a credible offering.. The one glaring problem is that you need to ring fence your number 6 and 7's to be Swedish only... GB from circa 1980 trained every other nation to the detriment of their own riders.. Sweden is going down the same path.. Get a strong national team, or individuals, and national media will take notice... As was proved when Trick was the main man... Dont make the mistakes the UK made by not seeing "the bleeding obvious"...

Fair comment...

You would think Discovery would be the ideal partner.. The only concern would be that they would be used to dealing with fellow ultra professional organisations, who have individuals well versed in dealing with people of the same standard.. The GP's will have that given the level of organisations that have been behind them.. And you also have to have the concern that the Promoter's fierce desire to completely control the sport would ultimately scupper any company coming in to partner it/take over.. It would be game changer though if a huge global organisation got the opportunity, and autonomy, to lead the domestic sport out of it's current malaise, and into a bright new future.. Hope springs eternal...

The "tipping point" of it being a credible offering in a Team Sport guise went probably a couple if decades ago, when 'Guestfests' started to appear regularly... Usually to accommodate the individual aspirations of the top riders as the FIM grew its competitions.. Then along came Poland and to a lesser degree Sweden, with their "lands of milk and honey" and suddenly there wasnt enough riders of a level that the Promoters steadfastly (or maybe stubbornly?), wanted to run their clubs at.. Hence we jumped into 'Doubleupfests' taking place every night, with the obvious knock on effect of making even more 'Guestfests' when these riders were either needed in two places at once or got injured, meaning two teams (and for a time three teams when 'Trebling Up' was in place), needed covering with riders from other teams.. The answer to this issue was an obvious one.. Realign the leagues into 3 clearly demarcated ones, ensuring that each team had an even share of what "upper level talent" remained, and reduce the numbers in the team to at least six, thus ensuring each team came to the tapes at the "correct level" for their infrastructure with the reduction to six per team meaning enough riders were available to be competitive at thier 'natural level'.. With the number six riders in the top two leagues being "RS' level to ensure development of UK talent existed.. Instead. We had "let's do fixed race nights so the top names will come back"... Which (as anyone with half a brain could foresee), didnt happen, and became "let's do fixed race nights so loads of riders can ride seven nights a week for any team that needs them, restricting clubs to nights on which they may not actually make the most money, and restricting the potential number of fans who attend given what should be a 'weekend sport' has now become an any night one".. When it needed vision and a radical plan for 'stand alone' future growth, it just got more of the same fudge, make do and mend.. Sadly A truly GREAT product, held back by ridiculous infrastructure..