Sings4Speedway

Comparable to Gusts you make a decent point but to say that Rushen is the better / best option for RS is questionable. In terms of development id argue that both Luke Harrison and Jody Scott are ahead of Rushen in regards to ability and experience at higher levels and they still did admirably but certainly not spectacularly at RS. Every year there is a next big thing and all of those riders are largely progressing nicely but thers a heck of a lot more Sam Hagon's than there there are Dan Bewley's

Obviously found a visa last season with no issues. With no disrespect i imagine a Honda Cub would be enough to get you on the podium of the Seychellois national championship.

But Cluff shouldn't be on a 3.00 he is an actual Aussie and therefore shouldn't have been allowed to drop below 4.00. Whilst nothing against the rider but the idea is surely to incentivise the signing of British riders over imports?

But is it a bad thing having a "spare" rider waiting in the wings? How often is a teams season over before its started because their number 1 bins it early or even before the season even starts.

Will have to save these quotes up for the end of the season when you are singing Harrisons praises. Luke has always been levels above Hodder and will continue to climb whilst i think Freddy has already exceeded any expectations i had of him and much like Perry already found his level. As for Harrison vs Boughen comparison thats years of careful consideration, planning and learning vs quick blast and hope for the best.

Why isn't being a Speedway rider a proper job? Without serious digging i suspect Danny did 50-60 meetings this season across 30 weeks so an average of 2 a week. Then minimum a day in the workshop prior/post meeting so 4 days a week and then his "workplace" is variable commuting distances and comes with fairly unsociable working hours. Im not sure many on here would sign a contract with those terms.

There definitely has been a shift in mindset. There was a time when there was an abundance of youth/amateur/2nd half riders who were all happy banging in laps, racing each other with the hopes of improvement and potential NL opportunities. The pool of riders was large and competition pretty fierce. Today the pool is much smaller and places are handed to those who are competent and have the right kit. This has then driven the bigger issue of riders making the "next step" into CL racing. A rider (and family/assistants/mechanics) now has double the fixture list and more than double the expenditure. This turns a subsidised hobby into a financial black hole. Opportunities to work outside of speedway become reduced so where is the shortfall coming from? Sponsorships or asking for more money and/or a guarantee. Those costs are passed on to clubs and fans and the cycle or rising costs continues. Riders aren't Pirates (except that lot) they should be able to ask for respectable compensation in exchange for pausing careers, dedicating an extraordinary amount of time and sacrifice in order to simply participate. The reason riders don't want to share their income and expenditure is simply because if you viewed it on paper, calculated an hourly wage from it 90% would sell up immediately.

I think Scunthorpe is a bit too far North for Ablitt....but to be fair Watford is a bit too far North for Ablitt

I really like Hook but im not sure there is much improvement on that average whilst Tate will be in demand as he could easily put 2 points on his. Perry also looks problematic to me, not enough physicality about his riding and easily gets out muscled.

Certainly sounds like the input of Mr B Bishop is certainly having a positive effect.....

Another classic for sport credibility. Rushen is now track record holder despite being ineligible to ride. Ultimately he was ok to ride up until the point when Foords meeting was called off, at that point Vinnie should have resumed his place and failure to do so would not have resulted in a facility being granted. The unanswered questions are did Kent know that Foord should have resumed his place in the starting line up? (id guess not) Did Foord realise that once the CL fixture was cancelled he was due to resume his place in the Kent meeting? is Foord actually 'based' in Scotland full time? Now states "NDL and NDT only: absent for any other reason - applicable to riders 18 years old and under, providing 3 days’ notice is given"

Depends on the financing situation i guess? If the deal is to split the home costs whatever then moving venue makes sense, if each home venue is liable for the home costs (and the meetings run at a loss) then i can understand why Rob wouldn't want to accommodate a switch. It might be that paying half a fine (haha) for non completion of fixtures is the better financial decision?

Hypothetically how many people would continue to watch the same or potentially more matches if the sport became streaming only and no live fans? Before im lynched hypothetically..... A regular attendee could watch twice as many matches and still be better off due to saving on food, drinks, transport etc Stadia would not need to be that just a track and pits somewhere industrial and with the lack of paying public have vast amounts of reductions in H&S requirements, red tape and insurances etc Tracks could even be located within large warehouses and therefore weather resistant Thoughts?

No disrespect to any named rider on Saturday but a great example of broken British speedway

Bring back the track spare......limit riders to one bike each in the pits plus one spare bike per team......would massively reduce costs for riders like Vinnie Foord who could only bend one bike per meeting 😁

Nicholls is a great signing but getting Alfie down to reserve is the biggest bonus. If Butcher can gate and be a road block at home then hes doing his job, not an inspiring 2 pointer and a bit soft in the first corner but certainly not the worst option either. Whilst i don't agree that Cluff should get a lowered average he can count himself a touch unlucky, might not have set the world alight but better than Baek, Turner and Goret combined.

Gets to sign off on his own expenses.....and people wonder why licence fee's are so high.....

Probably unpopular but as a rebuild things need to be looked at from bottom up not top down. Restore the NL to a competitive league with better standard riders so the riders who move through it are a better quality when they move up. The other league is Champ Plus. A strengthened version of whats in place now with reserves having to have achieved a certain level at NL. Assessed riders to stay at higher averages 4/5 and Brits to get bigger end of season reductions to encourage use of home grown riders. Promotors genuinely need to sit together and build teams that are far more equal, there will always be teams that click or don't etc but it cannot be the case that year on year teams are getting bashed at home repeatedly. Its just bad for business on both sides and win at all costs when what's worth winning is questionable anyway is unnecessary. Build / re-build some rivalries, generate a bit of needle between teams. It can all be theatrics but it adds to the entertainment and gets buy in from fans. When riders, managers and owners are all one big happy family its boring, i want to see some rider passion, a manager stomping to the pit phone to rant at the ref thats all part of a show.

The issue sits massively with what is defined as fit for purpose? Personally i want to be entertained so two teams with riders of close abilities on a track that offers passing opportunities and im happy. That used to exist at NL level and was sub £15. Watching the worlds best can be mesmerising but unless they have someone to race it can be dull as dishwater and the gulf between the top and bottom riders in teams is getting too vast. Top 100 in the world is a bit of a stretch when there is probably only a few thousand active riders of all ages worldwide anyways. For £30 you would need top level facilities (how many females don't attend simply because the state of the toilets) and an afternoon/evening of entertainment with passing, track craft, even a bit of controversy. The home hero, the pantomime villain, the stuff that gets people talking on the way home and wanting to see what happens in the next fixture. I certainly can't remember the last time i felt like that hence why i am one of the many who used to attend a lot of fixtures at various tracks and now barely go at all.

Must all be down to the free parking....

I guess it boils down to if Jason wanted to go back to Brum? Obviously RS picks are drafted but once released he becomes a free agent again essentially......

Weekends yes (or at least Fri/Sat/Sun) but sadly good used tyres are largely like hens teeth. The current rubber barely lasts 4 heats, i suspect if that was the rule you would find riders having to lightly knock the edge off a new tyre just to comply. Throw in that most NL fixtures are run on bald circuits which scrubs any tyre more it will only produce more fallers and lower the already shaky opinion of the league.

I understand Kent re-introducing Charlie Wood but unless Clouting asked to step down it makes little sense that he was the rider to be replaced.

A nice recent comparison would have been the Ed Kennett on an upright round IOW vs himself on a laydown BUT the most recent champs was wet and reduced to 3 laps plus i can't find the times anywhere for comparisons grrr

Can think of maybe half a dozen decent uprights rattling about, by decent i mean maintained and quick but as you say the owners are either retired or largely inactive. So its either talk riders out on track with laydown hooligans or ask their pride and joys to be handed over to laydown hooligans......either way the answers won't be positive.