szkocjasid

Totally agree, even if British Speedway is very against an agreement over giving up Thursdays, if the alternative is losing multiple riders, can't see a suitable alternative. However you can be sure, the fixture list could be changed at short notice due to TV requirements or rained off meetings. Maybe allow Prem matches on Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays? At the end of the day as long as Poland pay more they can get away with it. British Speedway had the same attitude in the 70s & 80s.

Not forgotten about that, just that teams should average out at 42 but the increase stops at 40, so could get the situation where wesl teams can't strengthen up.

Hadn't heard that, such a shame.

Sensible predictions

Can't really blame Leicester for dropping Dan T as Kemp was a good signing, but if they hadn't and had Dan T as RS this year, would probably be favourites along with Ipswich imo.

I must admit I find it hard to believe all 49 riders will be there, seems too professional an idea for British Speedway lol! I'll tip my hat to them if it happens though. I do wonder who's paying for all the flights etc

Lack of home advantage could be a leveller, but Kerr at reserve can cover for any of the top 5 if needed. But still can't see past Oxford for a home win, hope Birmingham can reach 40.

Now five clubs are complete 1. Leicester 2. Oxford 3. Edinburgh 4. Belle Vue 5. Middlesbrough ? Scunthorpe / Sheffield

I wouldn't say I've personally overlooked Leicester's reserves when ranking them, maybe more I feel the top 5 is strong enough to cover for them? There's no doubt that this is the Lions weak point. While Mountain & Jenkins are similar to Kemp in standard, stepping up to number 6, both Belle Vue (Bailey) and Ipswich (Dan T) have stronger rising stars than Leicester (Joe T) as do Sheffield (Gilkes), although they have a weaker number 6 (Edwards) than Leicester. Leicester have done well with the points limit signing a 4.00 Kemp on a 3.00 ave to allow a strong top 5. So while Ipswich haven't used the spare point from signing Jenkins, they still look the team to beat for me!

You can still wear the hoodies. Certainly don't understand footie fans who buy new kits every season.

Middlesbrough Tigers complete with William Hocaniuk (3.00).

One downside of this, apart from starting off weaker, is when Covatti is fit, will he be able to return to the team under the limit? If the other riders increase their averages, could block his return to the team.

Can't believe Edinburgh didn't put Jacob Hook in heat 8, had looked better than both Fredriksen & Sarjeant after two rides each. This is certainly where Poole are more ruthless when swapping reserves round, although not needed in this match as Ablitt is on a par with B.Cook. After heat comment - well I definitely would have used Hook. Probably instead of Sarjeant though, was was better than Fredriksen, who'd be a team manager lol!

Finally getting round to watching this on BSN. Edinburgh seem to run a similar team each year. Poole probably make more changes during to being above the points limit & having to drop a heat leader. Sadly not any passing so far. Gotta say Nathan Ablitt looks good.

Yeah that second part confuses me, if you enjoy watching Speedway, why stop if "your" team closes? Although nowadays a fans second closest track, could be quite a trek compared to 20 years ago & fans may get their fix from TV / streaming?

Why are so many people negative towards Victor Lampart? (It's not just on this post). Now I know that just because a rider races on the top flight in Poland he won't automatically get to grips with British tracks, but that doesn't mean he can't? I mean who was the last Polish / Eastern European newcomer who was a disappointment? There's not been many recently, maybe Laguta - but he wasn't exactly awful, just didn't race like a former world champion.

I don't know if Workington get any say in the field, but I'd imagine they'd like their 3 new foreigners to get track time.

But is there any rider available that would turn this team into a play-offs chasing team? 99% of (non Plymouth) fans had them down for bottom with Covatti. Not seen any suggestions of a rider that fits who is a big improvement on Covatti.

I'll second that

I was there for the afternoon meeting, later saw the evening meeting on Anglia TV. London Docklands Arena was the name. I do remember the leak in the roof.

I think they've done well to have a set of clear rules for the different foreign leagues, far better than what was previously the case. However they've already broken this new ruling with Celina Liebman signing for Workington on a 4.00 average, as she's ridden in the U24 Extraliga should be 5.00. Also interesting to see new foreigners can sign for a Prem side on a 3.50 average. Does that mean the minimum average for foreigners is no longer 4.00 & current riders can drop below that now?

In an ideal world, yes it would look good for a riders pits crew to look smart / wear similar attire if more than one. The simple question is who's going to pay for it? Plus what happens if a mechanic falls ill & a one-off replacement is needed? Do they have to pay for spare uniforms (in every size) or ban the mechanic if he's not in the correct attire?

I hope the GP qualifiers for 2025/2026 are decided in this meeting. As well being a national champion & the Cardiff wild card spot, should encourage top riders to attend.

Big shame, I used to love test matches in the 90s. Not a fan of a match against the rest of the world, feels very meaningless, compared to racing against another nation. I'm remember GB vs Australia test matches at Champ level previously, you'd think Champ clubs would be clamouring for more of these to fill up a empty fixture list.

Seeing comments like this 4 years later, quite sad now thinking I'd settle for a track in a field with a clubhouse