Islander15

They’ve shut this idea down because the BSPA want to shut down the wholeness league! Their idea is clearly a 2 tier concept with a genuine training league like the MDL so why would they effectively let Reading step up from the MDL to the NL when they want to shut down the NL anyway?! The name thing is all a cover ploy to stop a new team entering a league that they don’t want to exist.

It’s 8% but I’m not sure whether they get that only once or per season. But you have to be injured and not just choosing to take a season out.

The only way he could get an average discount is if he missed the whole previous campaign through injury, which obviously he didn’t.

Yes so if Hume signed, it’d be 7.02 for 2 more riders.

Warriors complete with Tom Woolley. A stronger team this year! Morley is a stand out rider in the league and can hold his own anywhere. Campos & Woolley are a dependable middle order and there’s average improvement definitely in Campos. Woolley, I think, will improve slightly with a stable home base and he’s tasted second tier racing now. Hopefully Coles fares a bit better than his last Smallbrook spell but he’s improved as a rider since and also has second tier experience now. Those 3 aren’t big names as 2nd & 3rd heat leaders, unlike BV, but there’s strength in depth and none on a downward trend. But I believe the real strength is at the bottom. Wirtzfeld & King have both had a season now and impressed at times last year and should again add 1-2pts to their averages. Leek is a new recruit but was having a great season last year until injury and should be one of the best 3.00 riders and could add 2pts himself. Any bad spell by any of the 3 will drop them to reserve to reignite their season with no worries over who steps up to number 2. More than happy. I can see a play-off campaign coming, a close call between the Warriors & Mildenhall for the NT, a decent KOC effort, a strong NL Fours run and not forgetting hosting the NL Pairs!

That was announced via the official channels last week, so no secret.

We’ve seen risks taken on ex-motocross and they pay off and I think that’s what we’re seeing here. Rather than looking at who’s the best in the MDL and signing them up.

Very good around Smallbrook and on a lowish average due to his poor stint at Plymouth. He’s a nice team man and will help out the younger guys whilst being a useful third heat leader.

Are you calling Ryan a 3 pointer or not expecting him in?

Wirtzfeld returns. Very happy with that.

Exactly. To add to that Ben has ridden Championship away tracks fairly regularly for the last couple of years whereas Ledwith hasn’t at all for 20 years.

Well enough clubs have signed him

Can we not agree that all 3 are genuinely very good prospects?

Nicely built team throughout. Potential at reserve and a decent heat leader trio who know West Row.

Yes Jason Pipe has said the fixture should facilitate this. Like IOW on a Thurs & Plymouth on a Fri etc. Or Leicester on a Sat & Mildenhall on a Sun.

Gives some top end strength too to be competitive.

He’s not been dropped. He’ll be at another NL team.

Macauley Leek confirmed. I expected him back at Mildenhall but more than happy with him on a false 3.00 average but for injury last season. Hopefully we still see King & Wirtzfeld as the other reserve and number 2. Then that’s a handy bottom 3!

That’s a very good team. Probably the most consistent top 3 the league will seem next year. Maybe weak in the second string positions but Woodhull, Rathbone & Bowen all know the NSS well and it’s a team that can get a good home lead over a play-off fixture. McGurk looked badly down on power on the big tracks last year so will be intriguing to see how he copes but they’ll always have a strong second reserve. Lots of average improvements potential, even in the top end with particularly Bailey’s average destined to go north.

Yes he’s 3.00.

Impressive first signing.

Yep! I think the other 6 are easy to guess and I’d be happy with that. A quality number 1, a pairing of decent reserves that should be able to beat most others and a middle order with some improvement potential.

That’s the theory but it didn’t work! There was heats where a second string and a reserve from each team rode but the reserve never beat the respective opposition’s second string (too predictable). There was 2 races where the number 1 & 5 riders met the opponent’s 3 & 4, nearly always resulting in a 5-1 to the 1 & 5 team. Imo the worst bit, second strings inevitably got inflated averages by beating reserves (which was predictable) and then all that happened was when the new averages came out they became a heat leader and didn’t score any points anymore (too predictable) and so the guy who was a heat leader originally then became a second string and wiped the floor of the reserves and second strings (too predictable). Then you ended up with a score chart of second strings scoring maximums or near to it, reserves getting big scores simply by doing well in 2 reserve races yet the heat leaders in the side barely scored. How do you explain to others that the ‘worst’ riders legitimately score more than the ‘best’ riders? Oh I hated the heat format haha.

Jason Edwards, Matt Marson, Elliot Kelly & Macauley Leek all fit to complete the team.

I was excited about this! Then found out there’s only 2 day tickets which are £35 each to stand! What a rip off when I could only attend on the Saturday night anyway. Disappointed