Hawk127

Agree but the way it works, Poland calls the tune and if you are a rider in both leagues and Poland is paying top dollar, one you will not ride in the UK or be allowed to ride by your Polish team and two you will not take any risks if the Polish team can claw back money. The answer to achieve what you suggest is to ride these matches in October but then you are at the mercy of the weather. It is what it is and the UK version has capitulated to Poland and it is unlikely that the sport will get back to what it used to be to be in the foreseeable future. Poland dominates and that is it and until the UK presents a professional package with top quality sponsors, a t v deal that promotes the sport to a wider audience and the promoters get off the backsides and promote so that the spectators who can create an atmosphere turn up in the numbers that you see in Poland, it will continue to be the poor relation. Sadly U K speedway does not create any interest amongst Joe Public.

Zmarzlik rightly not taking too many chances tonight.

Agree with others, when will these people learn that it is second rate sport that does not command premium pricing and screwing the loyal punter who has graced the terraces to support the team do not deserved to be ripped off nor do the away fans.

Agree. Barmy pricing in Manchester and Why do those in charge think it is a premium priced event. It is a run of the mill speedway meeting that comes nowhere near a Polish meeting. No wonder it is never considered as a serious contender in the UK to speedway entertainment. Take a leaf out of the Polish speedway set up. Just look at the ekstraliga.pl website to see how it should be done.

If only Dudek would agree to ride in the UK. Thanks to both teams for a good nights entertainment and on to the final round. Now can the UK match this in the semi finals?

What a race that was heat 13 out of the top draw. Well done to both sets of riders. If only those filming this meeting could teach TNT or whatever they are called to show UK speedway in its true light as a sport. Polish speedway has it all and can teach other broadcasters a thing or two.

Why?

Another decent meeting and Emil is flying but fair and Bewley gave him a run for his money. That sort of race is what makes the sport so good.

Great meeting a fair result and a superb advert for speedway.

Great racing thus far and the crowd is amazing. Terrific atmosphere.

Maybe and all have to move on but he was a fine servant in the UK and many a fond memory of him giving everything to the witches and entertaining around the UK tracks that he graced. My stepson went for the first time to Ipswich and Jarek sticks with him in those days as one who entertained. I really wish him well and offer a big thank you to one of the nice guys of the sport of speedway.

Jarek retiring is a great loss. I really hoped he would give one more showing at Ipswich. All you can say is that he was a great asset to Ipswich, a fine servant and alongside Gollob one of the good guys who wore the witches jacket with pride. Jarek, thanks for the memories.

Given the possibility of inclement weather, this is how to run a meeting. Fingers crossed it concludes before the heavens open

Jack is riding well and carrying on from where he left off at Ipswich last night.

Spoke too soon. Oh dear.

Nip and tuck. Good meeting thus far and Zmarzlik is his usual stylish self. This guy has something special and the final round of the GP is going to be interesting. Difficult to call.

Or he is ordering extra broom sticks for the commute😄

Spedeworth have reportedly spent £200k in bringing the venue up to scratch and Deane Woods is keen to see speedway added to the sites fixtures in 2026. The interested party (prospective promoter) wants to remain anonymous at this stage whilst looking at the numbers involved and the size of investment needed. Guess it is a case of watch this space and keep everything crossed that it comes to fruition.

Great commentary you provided about your weekend. Any tips or suggestions you can offer about arranging this type of trip would be greatly appreciated. Send me a message if you get a chance as I cannot make it this year but hopefully can fulfil the dream of going to a weekend of Polish speedway in 2026.

If correct, they cannot be bothered with a suitable replacement this sums up why the average punter cannot be bothered to regularly attend meetings. Sad to say that riders pick which paymaster calls the tune and ultimately not the club owners. The riders no longer consider the punters who wish to see a winning team unless it is Polish club and many of these throttle jockeys fail to represent the UK that they ride for and as to representing the town, no chance. It is no longer in a riders DNA to be honest with the fans/supporters. It use to be a tribal type of following given the number of tracks representing on many occasions rural or non cosmopolitan populations and this was evidenced by the number of travelling supporters back in the day. You use to have local riders who were migrating from grass track and other disciplines to speedway, now nothing can be further from reality. You cannot solely blame the riders but a lot of anger should be directed at the sports masters who treat the punter with such disrespect. The riders want to make a living at all costs and the powers that be have no balls to stand up to other market forces so GB followers can go to hell and put up with what is on offer.

Agree but perhaps giving the punter what they want with a weekend race night does possibly reduce the odds of losing so much money. Speedway use to be a good weekend sport but alas circumstances dictate that it is not possible albeit NDL teams seem to cope. This is possibly why a rethink is necessary and perhaps go backwards first in order to progress. I would rather go to a Saturday evening meeting or a Sunday afternoon meeting than go mid week. Thursday is OK but after that having been brought up on Friday, Saturday and Sunday meets I would not bother with any weekday/ mid week racing. Just my view and others may feel different but promoters should race on nights which give them a best chance of a return on the asset/investment.

Well done to both teams for a great evenings racing. Unlucky Gorzow but yo can take nothing away from the winners. Great racing, great atmosphere, great entertainment.

Why did they not put Doyle or Pawlicki in heat 14 and if it’s a win by either it is all over on aggregate

An afternoon of decent racing across the three meetings so far and good support at each match. Long may it continues

Agree and it is sad that notwithstanding the passing of time, the sport has so much going for it but if you go back to the basics of a motorcycle that has 500cc engine with no brakes that is capable of achieving a 0 - 60 faster than most motorised forms of transport and riders who generally have honed the skills to tame these machines and can control them on what is comparative to riding on an ice rink or riding bikes on marbles, why can it not attract a generation of new followers who are risk takers? Those followers hopefully understand just what it takes to do what the top guys do to achieve the ultimate challenge and goal. However I really don’t think those in charge know how to sell the sport to the wider audience and It is not rocket science, the Poles do it without a problem. Look at the play offs in Poland at either end of the table to see what can be achieved