Hawk127

I am a speedway supporter first and a club supporter second. I really hope that this resolves the issues short term but provides a wake up call that a new home has to be found sooner rather than later. Good luck to all and I am sure that I am not alone in being grateful that another club has not been consigned to history. The Bees live on.

With what has happened at the home of the bees, does anyone think that the witches might just move up a league. If it is true about what is happening at Brandon it is another sad day for the sport and I really hope that the bees are able to find a way to come to the tapes in 2017. It is never good to see a club disappear.

Thanks, as I said just curious given some of the rumours re Jarek. As to Mr Gollob, heard he was top of Mildehalls hit list It would however be good to see a few more international team meetings and joking aside, yes it would be good for the British riiders to get some international meetings under their belts and this could work and avoid the same repetitive meetings of home and away twice at league level. Yes I do remember the meetings sponsored by the Daily Mirror in the 70's and seeing the Russian Team at Hackney. Great crowds. Still dream on I guess.

It was a serious question about averages but as to riding for the witches, Foxhall has more of a chance of hosting a GP then either of these two wearing a witches race jacket. Rumour could see Jarek riding in the UK hence the question and given how knowledgeable the Witches supporters are I thought it might be the best place to ask but perhaps I was wrong. Oh well try elsewhere I guess

What would the points average be for Jarek Hampel and Mr .Gollob? Jarek might be happy with the free scoring to rebuild the coffers and could double up with Poole

They do seem to be out on a limb in terms of travelling support descending on the Heath. Still we do have the Panthers just down the road. All the more reason to have a strong and successful team that will attract more local support to ensure they bring some silverware back to Ipswich. This is probably the best chance the witches will have to be champions, so roll on the new season. Why not have some opening season matches with Kings Lynn, Rye and say Coventry, all good practice.

I know many are against it but if some clubs are to survive and attract more than just home fans then regional leagues or North/South may be the only answer to keeping some clubs going. Local derbies always generate interest.I know I am an old codger but Eastbourne/Rayleigh/Romford/Ipswich/Canterbury/Crayford were always must go to meetings for the rivalry and the atmosphere and nothing has really changed especially now that you no longer have the characters that use to grace the sport. However when Bradford or Scunthorpe or Teeside came to Rayleigh you still got a few fans from the opposition because it was a Saturday night track. Sadly those days have long since gone. Alternatively it may have to revert to how it use to be with riders being part timers and holding down other jobs outside the sport. What ever happens I hope that Lakeside race in 2017 and even if it is open meetings with perhaps top riders attending, it will be much better than them being lost to the sport and throw in a few NL meetings it has to be better than closure. Are tracks still allowed to run the open meetings?

Unless a sponsor comes along with an open cheque book I doubt Ipswich would gamble the future of the sport in the county town to make up the numbers in the EL. PL is sustainable and the limited number of regular meetings in the ElL giving a short season is not what the Ipswich supporters appear to want. They seem keen on the weekly fix throughout the season and my only regret is the 16 Lapper as a finale was not held this year. Maybe a sponsor can be found for this great meeting next year. Looking forward to more PL at Foxhall next year. Swedish speedway was shown on Eurosport as was the European Championships and some very good meetings at that. Hopefully they continue coverage next year.

Congratulations to the Brummies and a huge thanks to BBC WM for the live coverage, much appreciated

Conkers, thank you very much, greatly appreciated and it does help with the plans

Does anyone know if the German championship is being held on the Thursday before the world championship round on the Sat/Sun at the beginning of March? Just looking at flights and hotels which seem cheap at the moment for this weekend.

Does anyone know if the German championship is being held on the Thursday before the world championship round on the Sat/Sun at the beginning of March? Just looking at flights and hotels which seem cheap at the moment for this weekend.

The fall in rates was mainly due to an automated process and less to do with the reality of Brexit. Computer coded stats trigger trades when financial data does not satisfy the algorithums and when it comes to FX dealers around the globe, they do nothing more than gamble other people's money, few have any idea which is why these things happen. It is swings and roundabouts and in reality the major currencies have more to worry about then Brexit. The state of certain Southern Europe/med economies and their banks who are in a dreadful position liquidiity wise and what happens in the US elections as well as an unstable Middle East will have just as great an impact on the USD, Euro and Sterling. It is all short term issues and frankly as long as the lunatics (the financiers and bankers) run the monetary asylum these fluctuations will ensue. Does anyone know if the top riders hedge the currency position? Some smart ones may and I know of one or two who did in the past but now I suspect they are Ina quandary as to what to do particularly if paid in say Zloty. Simple answer is don't panic just yet and sterling will bounce back and riders will not suffer in the medium to long term

Agree but not an impossible task. A funny old game so who knows what next week will bring. Look how they dealt with Edinburgh.

Perhaps it is time to have just two leagues, NL and PL. The EL is not 'elite' in any way shape or form and with everything else that is happening in the likes of Poland, perhaps all need to finally accept that it is a case of many steps backwards to rebuild for the future. Workington must continue even at NL level as to confine the team to history is not acceptable. I really hope that a way is found for this great name in speedway to continue and at the very least I look forward to seeing them at Mildenhall in 2017. Ideally it is Ipswich but either way Workington needs to come to the tapes in 2017 so good luck to all concerned, the speedway world is behind you.

The difficulty is that the sport is being pulled in too many directions. You have riders who want fixed race nights to fit in with other schedules, stadia that are not available on this basis, not enough supporters through the turnstiles to make EL pay without considerable sponsorship, Sky with a hit and miss T V schedule and the publicity from this exposure is not providing the hoped for increase in numbers watching it live, the BSPA who apparently are unable to agree on how the sport is run and the fickle supporter who only wants league racing and not speedway racing in a number of formats that would enable the riders who remain in the UK to earn a living from the sport. Threats from other countries restricting rider availability and a GP format which on its own is not enough for any rider to earn a living without regular league racing. All in all a conundrum and good luck to anyone who has the answer. I doubt that one format will fit the bill across the sport and unfortunately some clubs will go under simply because the owners cannot sustain the losses week in week out. It may well come down to the riders having other jobs outside the sport and speedway being a part time activity with lower pay rates. Whatever the solution it will not be resolved in 2017 and the issues are going to take a few seasons to sort out. Therefore who will be in the EL in 2017, it is anyone's guess but only the fool hardy would suggest that any team will move up.

What about altering the format and increasing the number of permanent riders in the line up so that you can include top riders from each speedway nation but change it to a knock out tournament where the top twenty or so riders compete in the first four rounds. Riders are then eliminated based on the lowest points scored with x number going through to the next four rounds. Once completed then apply the same knock out system and the last four rounds decide the ultimate world champion from the remaining top scorers. This may be a simplified version and clearly would need structuring in such a way as to encourage sponsors etc. but you could have the initial four regional rounds in say Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Czech Republic. The next four rounds are then held in Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, U K and central europe. Then four final rounds in Poland, Middle East, Asia and Australia. (If not the Middle East or Asia, then the USA and Argentina). The reason for the ME/Asia is following the money/wealth. After all the powers that be seemed to have cracked it re temp tracks so new markets with the right backing should no prove to be as insurmountable as it was in the past. Just thoughts but spicing it up a bit may attract more investment and help open up new markets. No doubts lots of anti feedback but it is merely a suggestion.

To give some consideration to the views/comments of the supporters and for the powers that be and promoters to remember that they are in the entertainment industry and not an exclusive/private club.

Could this be the opportunity for 'Speedway Plc' to restructure and get back to basics in order to build for the future or as is more likely the case, preserve what is in the UK. Why not have league racing with those who want to ride here and then have those special moments with the G P and perhaps the European championship plus re introduce international test matches at all three levels so that all leagues get a chance and then have a U K Championship with every track holding qualifications rounds and as these progress more experienced riders can join. Allow the NL clubs to see PL and EL riders on their tracks in this competition. To encourage travelling support have a regional cup competition with the winners of each region meeting in a k o final round. Just a thought and whatever happens U K speedway will survive but will the income of those who chase the top dollar. I cannot see that the way Ploand appears to operate, it will be a resounding success for those who's sole source of income is speedway.

Appreciate the question but probably some wise contributors in the thread in the Elite section under the heading 'Anyone else considering walking away from Speedway' can answer this for you as this is now more of general debatable point rather than a specific team one.

No touch of reality needed. It is what is, screwing the paying punter and dress it up with whatever excuses, availability of riders or otherwise the reality is that you pay your money and take a chance and no recourse to those who serve up a sub standard product.. My argument is not with the riders but those who run the sport eho cut corners to the cost of the supporter and no one else. I guess we have opposing views so best leave it at that and wish both teams all the best in the play offs

It becomes a struggle to think of a good reason to go to a live meeting these days. Poor presentation, generally a lack of close racing, plenty of times where six plus the guaranteed r/r turn out with more guests that the average Jonthan Ross talk show, more gardening than then the local garden centre can shake a hoe at, meetings that drag on where only fifteen minutes or so of speedway can take up to three hours and that is with just fifteen heats. No wonder so few entertain the idea of second halves or additional forms of racing. Add to this little in the way of atmosphere and few who will watch anything other than a league meeting which means that some lower order riders rarely get the chance to test themselves because of the lack of individual or inter league challenge matches involving more experienced riders. No promotion will take a gamble and put these events on because of the apathy then is it an wonder that British riders are making up the numbers rather than being taken as a serious force to reckon with. Having already been castigated for having views on the current state of the sport, I await more abuse for having a opinion on this thread. Still it makes better entertainment then the average league meeting and it has not cost an entry fee

I have no cause to suit so you are way off the point and I was merely making observations. You are right about team selection but that is not the point I was making. If I ran my business the way some people run clubs and treat the income stream which includes the majority of people who voice an opinion on this forum, I would soon go bust. When I mentioned pride that was reference to JL and turning up for meetings, tackling tracks and wanting to be at the top of you game all the time and recognising the role of the paying punter in the overall scheme of things Instead in today's version, no one seems bothered and when you see that the GP riders pick when and where they want to ride and will appear at stadia mainly to suit their own agenda is any wonder that this attitude prevails at grass roots level, which is league speedway as it stands. Plenty of riders could not give two figs about the supporter and while a few do, it is not enough to endear people to the sport any longer. I guess that if people are happy with the way things are that is OK, but it is just a sad indictment of how low speedway has fallen and why so many former appreciative supporters of this excellent form of racing have walked away and are unlikely to return.

Totally mismanaged and no overall structure to the running of the show. Providing entertainment seems lost on the average promoter. As an aside having read John Louis's book, I really cannot understand how much standards, appetite and pride have fallen in not too many years. Supporters clamour for league speedway and not speedway in general, riders who have little in the way of track craft with gate and go seemingly the norm, few riders who are prepared to tackle the track and prefer to admit defeat on a walk around rather than just getting on with it and then the referees who seem to miss a genuine good fast start and call a race back at a whim. You then have riders rush back to get the bikes re-adjusted rather than being told to get back to the tapes and get on with it. It is a farce and no one seems bothered with the supporters being the ones who are taken for a ride. As someone said on another thread, as long as we keep on paying the entrance fee those that run this shambles will do nothing to change so much that is wrong.

Get suitable replacements to make a match of it an not rip the paying public off. This has become a long standing trait in the sport and adds to all the other woes that are so wrong. If you run a business you you aspire to do the best not making do.