justathought

BRITISH Speedway is ready to bounce back in 2017 – after the biggest revamp of the sport in modern history. Club bosses have spent three days voting through plans to restructure league racing in the UK which sees both Rye House and second tier champions Somerset taking the plunge with promotion to the top flight. And there’s good news for fans of troubled Leicester and Belle Vue with both clubs, who boast a rich heritage, ready to come to the tapes again – and at the top level. Workington are expected to take their place in the Premiership, but this is subject to confirmation. The leagues have been rebranded Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership and SGB Championship – and promotion and relegation has been introduced with the leagues coming closer together. The winners of the Championship play-offs will race the Premiership’s bottom club to decide who rides in the 2018 SGB Premiership. The same rules and race format, last year’s PL programme, will apply to both leagues – that means tactical rides are available when 10-points down from heats 5-12. The injury rider-replacement rule will also now be in place in both leagues. And the season will start with Knockout Cup meetings at both levels before the launch of the exciting new leagues. All riders will now have one average, based on Premier League figures, for team building purposes with a 50-point limit for the top division and 40 for the Championship. It means riders who only raced in the Elite League last season will see their average increased by 1.4 to bring them in line with Premier League averages. The only difference in team building rules between the leagues is that Championship clubs must include a British youngster with a three-point average. And in a bid to help young riders get team spots, any rider who hasn’t achieved a three-point average will come in on a minimum of 2. No team changes will be permitted in either league after July 31

LAKESIDE Hammers will not compete in the 2017 top flight as negotiations for an extension to the club's rental arrangement with the Arena Essex Raceway are still ongoing. Consequently, the club cannot confirm its place in the League at the BSPA AGM as required by the sports rules and regulations. Co-promoter, Jon Cook, said: "This doesn't mean the end of racing by any means as our talks are cordial and in line with every year's timescale. “However, this year's early AGM and the need for us to look at more weekend dates to avoid the calamitous weekday tunnel toll and A13 road chaos that adversely affected a third of this year's fixtures means we need the right agreement for all parties. "We understand this news will come as a huge shock to fans but our long term need for our own home, and our will to achieve that goal remain as strong as ever. “Once we have details in place we will hold a public meeting to update fans as to our intentions for 2017 and beyond."

I shouldn't think so. But, you never know.

Who cares what the reason was. It's their business, if they believe its the right thing to do then so be it. They gave everyone plenty of notice to what they had decided. KL tracking a weakened team, heavy rain the night before and during the morning.

Now I've heard it all,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,what a load of rubbish .

It did. I went when Long Eaton won the second division one.

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/can-i-get-a-refund-on-my-ticket

I DON’T THINK Leicester Speedway is any different than any other. I have had similar problems at other tracks. I fully understand what it is like driving miles to support your team only to have the meeting called off. If you are a home fan then I guess it’s not so bad not getting cash refund. You have the option to attend another meeting (probably the one you were going to anyway). Having said that, it still cost me a tenner in petrol money plus a programme. It’s the away fans who are the real losers, with perhaps little option to attend another meeting or restaging. In this case they should get a cash refund. The promotion has the money, for god sake just refund it. To avoid damage and ill feeling incidents like this cause surely it is a much better option. I was actually amazed the meeting was called off. It could have been put back till 8pm to give them time to get the track fit. There is more to it than the track being wet. That has been used as an excuse. This has just reinforced my view that speedway is run by a bunch of people who haven’t got a clue. If the sport in the uk carries on like this in ten years time it will be finished. And, to be honest they deserve it.

They have to refund money. Its against the Law not to.

I don't think a 6.30 start will encourage more people to go, probably have the opposite effect. Traffic is pretty bad at that time of evening. Most people will give it a miss. It's a shame because it will probably be a decent meeting. I don't like to get into the politics of speedway. It's their business and up to them what they do. All I can do is look at it from a personnel point of view. If a meeting appeals to me enough I will make the effort to attend, if not I wont go. Obviously the night they have chosen is far from ideal. Football and Speedway on sky along with a 6.30 start .

What I like about your posts Robert 72, is your positive attitude and the way that you can spot the good in any given situation. Have you ever considered Buddhism. Might be the way forward.

No because whatever the official did or didn't do is not the issue. What DH is accused of is.

Forget it..........life's to short.

Thanks for your advice. However, I have more pressing matters to deal with.

I can see that going down very well at BL police station, I'm sure they would dispatch a number of officers to the incident straight away.

Trust me....Leicester will see the season out. It would cost them more in fines etc than to carry on. Every promoter in the history of speedway claims poverty

I think it could firstly be a matter of will Leicester be able to complete THIS season, Are you for real. Of course they will. Leicester still get bigger gates than most other tracks.

I must congratulate Leicester for their efforts, by hit 6 I thought it was all done and dusted. How wrong can you be. Everyone one of them tried and got stuck in.......and as a speedway fan that is all I can ask of my team. Well done.

I understand that. The whole situation at Leicester can only be put down to one thing I'm afraid. The people who make the decisions have made the wrong ones. I think anyone with a modicum of business acumen would have realised that running on a Saturday in the EL was not a viable option.

It's really not that hard to understand. Race Saturday in the EL and have poor team. Alternative, stay in EL, but change your race night. Go back to PL and keep Saturday nights. With the team Leicester are currently putting out they will not win a meeting home or away, they simply aren't good enough.

I honestly can't understand why people are surprised by Leicesters terrible performance. What did you think was going to happen with the top 5 they have. Dreadful team. Who ever put this team together and thought they would be competitive needs to perhaps consider perusing a different line of work. Why on earth would any promoter in there right mind run on a Saturday night in the EL. Anyone who is any good won't ride on Saturday nights on a regular basis. Change race night or drop down to the PL. That, I'm afraid, is the only real option Leicester have ..........................Because it inst going to get any better. Wait till Poole or Bell Vue are in town............oh dear.

I would of thought , in my humble opinion, that a basic requirement of the man with the microphone in his hand would be to at least get the names of the riders right, along with the gate potions they should be in and the correct heats at the correct time. A basic knowledge of Speedway would also be a benefit. But, I could be wrong.

Always two sides to every story Worth remembering .

Indeed.