old bob at herne bay

safe in the knowledge that there's no possibility of a PLor CL track opening within 100 miles of Old Bobs manor ... the out of season entertainment on this forum has reached new heights this close season. Thread of the year has to go to 2026 Premiership is Go! - At least 5 teams by Round the Boards

Yup check out google earth IainB ....... amazed that the GoKart track remains in place tbh. Maybe Lewis Hamilton practised there as well as Rye House 🙂

Ye olde pit gate , A per pro my earlier tongue in cheek guess, Google earth as of March 2025 shows the shale oval and the tarmac outer stock car track still visible. The first bend building has been demolished as have all the bus shelters on the back straight. … the steelwork of the home straight shed remains minus its roof. Never had a fence back when it first opened back in the day ….just some sticks to mark the track perimeter . Do I honestly think it’s a contender …. NO….the landowners want to build 600 houses on it at 500k a pop …. Not rent out a speedway track at what £2k a week for 2O weeks a year.

Think if Dean Machine and MD say no to an Eastbourne speedway revival then that’s NO .

Think if Dean Machine and MD say no to an Eastbourne speedway revival then that’s NO .

In summary seems Minimum of £100k needs to be chucked at any potential venue whether or not its a former speedway venue to satisfy the BSPL. Our AGM is on the 6th January, so get your skates on please. No late payments of membership fees will be accepted. On the granting of our licence , then you are guaranteeed a season of 8 maybe 10, or 12 maybe 15 home meetings in a league for 5 or 6 teams. We havent yet decided the number of teams allowed in our league , nor the exact fixture format. Fixures may be erratic and not run in some months at all , please bear that in mind when negotiating rental deals with your track owners. Please bear with us. Please don't try and run any other speedway meetings on your track without our permission or you will be expelled. We usually run meetings on Mondays or Thursdays, but as you are the last track to join the league you will have to fit in around either day to suit the existing tracks. Previous seasons have shown no clubs have turned a profit in this league, even with generous TV sponsorship which is not forthcoming this season. There are still some riders available to hire that have not been employed by the other clubs in the league. You will ahve to haggle with them to agree terms and as you are the last team to join the league you wll have to take what's available.

Ed Sheeran 👍

Never a fan of the p.offs, they were an invention so that TV could be at the meetings that decided the “league champions” over a 2 legged winner takes all final. with no tv and few teams they are just there to give a few extra fixtures in a PL season that looks to struggle to last more than a couple of months. Still stuck with the 15 heat formula for every meeting , maybe they might get a little more inventive and use different race formulae for the B and C fixtures ?

Lakeside Arena Essex Thurrock Raceway

As I and others have said before, and I will say again. What's the value of a speedway club for any potential buyer ? A bunch of fixtures and fittings. Goodwill (value heaven only knows) in 2026 in a league of 5 or 6 or another number Forecasts of future gate receipts based on last years books expressions of interest from some of last seasons riders to race for the side expressions of interest to past sponsors your team support from BSPL and Speedway Futures who really need you in their league Against that you will have to fund BSPL joining fees and guarantee bond Riders signing on fees new air fence Advance rent for stadium truck load of shale insurance

As I and others have said before, and I will say again. What's the value of a speedway club for any potential buyer ? A bunch of fixtures and fittings. Goodwill (value heaven only knows) in 2026 in a league of 5 or 6 or another number Forecasts of future gate receipts based on last years books expressions of interest from some of last seasons riders to race for the side expressions of interest to past sponsors your team support from BSPL and Speedway Futures who really need you in their league Against that you will have to fund BSPL joining fees and guarantee bond Riders signing on fees new air fence Advance rent for stadium truck load of shale insurance

all this suspense and intrigue.... it must be good for the speedway media to get some publicity and boost sales of the Speedway Star. But oh no this is speedway ..... don't use this as a publicity opportunity to spark interest in the sport to get the name Speedway into peoples minds ... KEEP IT A SECRET.

and there you have hit the nail on the head ........ the reasons that this old boy stopped attending speedway in the UK. What a bore.

hahaha ....... a bit like Gary Havelock then who won the WC after the track was waterlogged halfway through the meeting .... or Egon Muller who won on a specially prepared track ...... or Jerzy Szakiel wwho won a specially prepared Polish track ..... Come on - they are all World Champions , they won the championship to the rules existing at the time. Screen never made the top because he really couldn't gate. He could have reached the top...... yes I agree. He did not though. Poole Pirate Loram wasn't much better at gating , but he was consistently good enough for one season to give England a World Champion. Some other lesser riders like Hamill and Rickardsson were not as consistent on all the tracks and finished 2nd and 3rd.

Poole was always a good training track for Australian riders coming over to the UK. Think the hospitiality and workshops at Baillie House was the reason ?

Kings Lynn Training school was run by the late great Olle Nygren.

Interesting reminisce there about the revival of West Ham in 1964. Gave me my weekly fix of speedway after the New Cross Rangers closed midway through 1963 in an ill fated attempt to run in the Provincial Leagues (the 2nd tier in those days) Lasted 10 years ish until the huge stadium and grounds succumbed to housing. The economics of running a " 1st Division" speedway sport business in the 21st century in the UK dont stack up.

Aha, Young Buster, threatened to pull out of KL speedway and retire some tears ago, yet still raking in the money from the "Adrian Flux" Arena events . in he same breath took over Peterborough Panthers 🙂 and also had an interest in Ipswch Witches. Would be no great suprise if Buster was lurking in the background looking to pick up a bargain 🙃 All in the intersts of the sport of course 🙂 🙂

Yup that idea is so outrageous it's probably going to happen. The new team "pool" would be a suitable name. The pool phoenix sounds a catchy team name. Merry Christmas Dont have Nightmares 🙂

Shame Oxford didn’t choose to run in the PL and NDL ……..

And let’s not forget Sheffield , who only after some arm twisting and sudden change of mind ?? Have decided to run in the PL.

And let’s not forget Sheffield , who only after some arm twisting and sudden change of mind ?? Have decided to run in the PL.

All this criticism of Christopher Louis …. What about the other let downs of promoters at Birmingham and Oxford…….they deserted the premier league without even a whimper of protest ?? Something seriously wrong with the “Set Up” in the PL believe me 😂😂😂

To all the critics of Christopher Louis. If you were presented with proposals that you believe would make your business unprofitable in 2026 ... and you were dependent on that business for your living , would you decide to (a) carry on with your business, and make a loss (b) sell the business and take a change of career

Sadly you could say that about British Speedway for the past several years .... "always going to be fixed next season". Maybe this AGM in January 2026 really is "THE MOST IMPORTANT IN THE HISTORY OF THE SPORT" to quote the regular old chestnut trotted out in the Speedway satr to try and sell a few more copies. Dont think it is unfair to say the "one big league" has been suggested for a few seasons now - but what did the clever boys in charge do .... they started "doubling up" "doubling down" under some misguided belief that it would help riders progression. It has just developed into a money earning stunt for the mediocre riders and separated the 2 leagues further apart , making it nigh on impossible for teams to move up or down ... with so many doubling up riders. Sooperstars carried on regardless, and rabbits enjoyed the "rising star" charade. This also makes amalgamation nigh on impossible with the loss of sooperstars plus the loss of many doubling up riders who might just retire with only one teams income (albeit more meetings per season.) None of which solves the minor issue of getting MORE people through the turnstiles, something that has been continually overlooked !!