Islander15

So Harrison, Harris & Muff effectively replaced Jack Smith, Vinnie Foord & Harry Fletcher. It feels harsh on Smith & Fletcher to be left without a ride just because of a change of heart by Foord and/or Norris.

Luke Harris and Luke Harrison in the same team 😂

The NL average is always used. It’s only Championship x2 if there is no NL average (hence why Roynon returned to the NL on a 6.00 at Edinburgh). Unless of course, that’s also changed this winter but not been made public knowledge!

Why is being a third heat leader in the NL a bad thing? It’s not like he couldn’t turn the bike or couldn’t beat anybody!

I tend to agree. I was more questioning the decision to come up with an arbitrary figure of 5.00.

It follows the precedent of Clifton etc being reassessed after a significant period of time out. But it he went down to 4.50 following no specific rule and it appears that’s the same lack of logic to give Ritchings 5.00.

Good luck to him. It will be interesting to see how he goes compared to brother Georgie.

So not in the public domain then.

Where has this been confirmed?

So are we assuming that Ritchings is getting a reduction on his average? That potentially Oxford didn’t know about and Birmingham haven’t made public. Otherwise the Bulls team is over the limit.

It’s a formidable top 2! There’s unfortunately some pressure on Wirtzfeld and Ward to step up into that third heat leader role. Yes it’s a development league, but riders and fans don’t want repeated home losses. But fair play to bringing 3 new riders into the league and let’s see how they do and are hopefully given the security of a full season. And finally, best of luck to the former IOW riders.

KL team revealed today then.

Nice to see Perry back after a disruptive year for him. He seems a nice guy with good potential and I’m sure he can push Trigger for that number 1 spot. A top heavy team, but lots of potential throughout the team. Headlined at the bottom end by Rushen but even Springer had a fantastic first year that kind of went unnoticed given how strong the Cubs team was overall.

There’s been no official comment by KL on anything regarding their NT team so far.

Yep rules should be consistent and follow precedents set like your Clifton example. Even this coming season, Edinburgh have got Palovaara back on a reduced average after a similar period of time away from British speedway. Yet Ritchings has been away from all speedway.

So that clarifies that the >4.00 Championship average rule, does not apply to 2024 NL riders then. By averages only, that gives Kent the strongest top 2 in either NT or NL.

Yes its a weaker league nowadays, but he's been out of competitive racing for so long that it'll be hard for him to get back into it immediately. I always found him fun to watch tbh.

Nice to see Max James back and as captain. A strong top 2 for the Cubs.

Darryl Ritchings feels like a blast from the past! I’ll be watching his results with interest.

It’s not on the BSPL site or BV’s site.

Morley is a very plausible example. He could even be signed in the Championship as a 28 day injury replacement! I’d like to think if he did get a Championship spot but then lost it, he’d be allowed back at Kent ‘in the interests of British Speedway’. However continuing to use Morley as an example, it’s harsh on the rider that replaced him at Kent to then lose his place himself. Or if Kent couldn’t get a rider of a similar ability, then it could affect their product by putting out a vastly inferior team with no number 1.

The same thing happens every winter, in that fans pick up on a potential issue but it transpires the rule changed to permit it. I agree that there really is no need for secrecy.

Yes that’s a good shout and Trigger does NT only with the Championship and not both 3rd tier competitions.

I hadn’t noticed that announcement by Trigger. Are we expecting him to move elsewhere as surely he’s not ready for the Championship only?

So the rules have changed then but they haven’t made it public…