Ray Stadia

Speedway has been a car crash forever, but for the last 10 years, it's been a multiple car crash!

I've been confused and lost with the in's and out's of the Russells, but at the end of the day, RIP Mr T Russell.

But for some, £250K is peanuts! In fact, a possible tax offset!

In terms of catchment for Northampton, here are some possibles: Coventry 49 mins Birmingham 1 hr 7 mins Wembley 1 hr 15 mins (a friend of mine lives there and said he would travel to the stadium) Milton Keynes 28 mins (almost a revival of Milton Keynes speedway) Peterborough 59 mins Leicester 54 mins Based on the above and bearing in mind it is a nice stadium, which could mean it could be used for some Blue Ribbon events, sounds a good possible to me!

Mind you, lets face it, once you announce there will be no more speedway, attendance will understandably tail off. I remember the last season at Rayleigh, the gate was awful!

I presume Iwade will remain as a training track?

Do you mean reduce the cost riders have to pay to ride or the cost promoters have to pay for riders? Reducing the cost riders have to pay for their 'kit', which must be restrictions on the number of bikes they have (difficult to police) or ensuring engines are basic trim and not heavily tuned. ??

Really. I had a holiday in September, on Lanzarote and it was cheaper than having a holiday in the UK! Cheap booze!

Maybe they were all on 'silent'? 😟

I remember the days when the meeting/conference, was held in places like Tenerife! 😍

All a million miles from the days of John Berry! 😪

One of the reasons why speedway is so costly for the promoter. Yesteryear, the riders provided their own leathers, no cost to the promoter (unless the promoter bills the rider for the suit(s), which I doubt?). Or are the suits usually sponsored by the companies that have their decals on the suits? It is a good point that you make, probably very little time to organise the various necessities, unless it's been going on in the background? 🙂

You really must take more water with it Dean! 🙃

True, or a merger of some kind? Whatever, just a mess and over several several years!

That is true, as long as I can remember, during the closed season, there were/are teams with a 'will they, won't they', hanging over their heads. But there were so many more teams then. It is all very dire, for sure, aside of Ipswich and their shenanigans.

There is an 'Ipswich' in Australia, maybe he is looking to open a track there? 😦

Who knows! In 2036, speedway could be thriving, up and down the country, with 50 tracks! 🙂

I suppose if Ipswich closes, it could be to Mildenhall's advantage. Different speedway for sure, but still 4 bikes riding an oval track. Somehow, speedway needs to reinvent itself. When you consider the number of tracks speedway has lost over the years and still losing, it really is on life support! 😪

RIP Mr Havelock

Gosh! A bit like, getting out the begging bowl! 😳

Apparently, Andy Lee passed away on Monday, the father of Michael Lee. Andy was a very accomplished scrambles/moto x man, but was very instrumental in nurturing Michael's success on speedway and long track. He did a lot for the development of moto cross and used to run his own practice track in Cambridgeshire. RIP Andy. Condolences to family and friends.

But what can we do as fans/supporters? I have said for a number of years, speedway is not 'squaring the circle' (cost wise), no pun intended. While you have riders expecting extreme fees/wages for their services, with a mediocre fan base, it's not financially sustainable/viable. The only chance for speedway to survive, is somehow, reduce costs for the riders and the fans. Otherwise speedway will need to 'shut up shop' in it's current format.

It could be, the cord has been taped to the handlebar, but if the rider came off, the cord would tear through the tape and the cut out would do its job!

Lovely! Thank you! 🥰

The Northampton stadium looks a nice stadium, they have made several improvements. I get updates on Facebook. Of course, it's a stock car and banger track and would probably need extra rider protection, as they have put in place at Mildenhall.