Sings4Speedway

That would be the same governing bodies that charge development league teams who do not run under current club names e.g Camarthen, Reading etc £300+ more than they do Kent or Belle Vue.

Given the website has been stripped of all colour i am expecting an end to the fluro green this season? Shame everything wasn't in place for Christmas as new merchandise is an easy sell, that said the persistent re branding is lining someones pockets nicely.

With respect there are several reserves from last year that fall into the Douglas, Embleton category that don't pick up places the following season and has been the case since day dot. Fact is some take the opportunity and some don't, in much the same way that some faces fit and others don't and some get multiple chances and others get very few.

Personally if the sponsorship tie up was the reasoning the the Plymouth Cobra's sounds a better name but whichever. As long as there isn't an influx of polystyrene columns appearing and the water car towed round by a couple of horses im sure everything will be fine at the Eastbourne coloured Gladiators

In all fairness there are few riders who are truly missing out from the list. The majority are seeing out careers / have had injury problems hampering them. Shuttleworth & Wooley have been around for year and apart from one good season each at Belle Vue have stagnated at the same level every season. Don't know if Marson is coming back over this season? Embleton is likely to drop into a team part way through so for me the only genuine misses are Armstrong & Tony Atkin and largely because if that is the end of their careers they didn't get a proper goodbye.

Fingers crossed the new sponsor isn't Caburys otherwise you will be backing 7 big purple ones next season.....

Are I.T Foreman staying on? If not will Eastbourne be reverting to their more associated colour scheme?

I shudder to think what Barry & martin would do to get that nomination for next year......

I feel/fear there will be a victim of numbers/fixtures somewhere along the way this season and it could taint the whole reduction of points and what it was trying to achieve. Assuming a new 2.00 reserve like McGurk has a good first 4 meetings / against the sides with lesser reserves its entirely conceivable that he could end up with an average of 8/9 then get replaced by a rider like Jack Smith and would be stuck out in the cold with an 8+ average.....however im sure the powers that be have considered these kind of situations fully and they will appear in the mystery additional rules that are currently being worked upon.

Didn't see it so cannot comment on the quality etc but sometimes people are darned if they do and darned if they don't. It appears that the whole concept has been well received but execution lets it down a bit and whilst it isn't particularly difficult for those with a bit of know how to produce something professional looking i personally im just glad to hear that a large budget wasn't allocated/wasted to something as simple as a KOC draw.

Perhaps Cradley are using the same approach as Leicester with Dugard? Plenty of not available's or bike not running properly so they can profit from others taking their rides.

Agree although much depends on how much Halsey still wants to ride & deliver. Clegg still has a bit to prove but at Monmore is awesome, Harris & Brennan are still on the way up. Downside is the tail and if McGurk gets going early he will get stuck in the main team while Whitmore languishes at reserve (again).

Whilst on face value it seems unlikely riders were all on £20 pp its still a decent wedge if your outgoings are small. Bowen & Hurry aren't daft and know that if engine servicing & spares van bills are being picked up its certainly worth more in the long run than a few extra pounds per point.

Luke Harris. But leaves the team half a point under the limit making todays announcements a little strange.

Think Whitmore has a GSA of 2.19. Last seasons record was retired or excluded in a quarter of his races and managed to score points in just a third of them. Not sure how many seasons Tom Spencer has been riding? 2/3? Certainly quick and brave enough, very likeable character and must get on well with the scrutineers . Probably as riders they are the polar opposites of each other but you do have one good signature.

Im not convinced on this one/two. Spencer has certainly got talent but (did have) terrible equipment, Whitmore has had many chances and taken zero (except on the score charts) and am just really not a fan of his in so many ways. However with such a strong team building start its a shame that Cradley have slipped.

Often the issue with figures is it is largely the louder personalities that share them as part of their bluster unless you are genuinely on the inner circles with them so not all are accurate but £35 for a number 1 has been paid to various riders i know of. Tyres are often funded by clubs in differing ways (raffles, sponsored etc) but a lot of riders get plenty along with fuel, oil etc Team Kevlars can also be a big draw for some as that is another potential rider saving. Points monies are often within £5-10 of each other but its the add ons that cause the biggest divides between the big spenders and the struggles to competes.

From any exposure ive had those figures are pretty close to what i believe to be correct for the Kent side. The monies are largely close at most other clubs that ive heard however its the perks that can swing things in clubs favours, engines, frames, spares van fees all make a huge difference to riders success in the NL. Even the difference between getting an away tyre and supplying your own can have an impact upon where riders sign.

The Birmingham team has been built on a budget & with assets in mind as the requirements needed for the bonds etc however as it has now been confirmed that NL sides could hold assets last season and moving forward it does seem like Brum missed a trick not getting riders on board sooner or was it simply that stepping up a league was not in the initial master plan but the promotion bowed to fan pressure?

100% agree with the above. The reason any rider should get a place is because they are quick/good enough not because they are young enough. There is an obsession at present with getting riders in as soon as they are 15/16. If they are good enough then i have no issue with it but if they require a little longer to develop then give them the time. There is also major issue with 15 year olds being included in league racing and the laws surrounding it that will only become more problematic over time.

Cannot argue with the fact that the Kent side has been finished with a flourish and as most have said very few weak links, Maybe Spooner starting at 4 but will likely be at reserve soon enough and still on a high average. This team is fortunate picking up the services of Ablitt being southern based but it also looks an expensive side? Can't imagine Gilkes, Jenkins or Kemp have signed cheap? Either way if Kent turn a regular profit its alright and it looks like with a little fortune the Kings may finally lift a trophy.

In my opinion every other side would want Ablitt in their side (Leicester apart). I think he has more to offer than Rowe and suspect he will end up in the main team soon having a Jason Edwards style debut season.

League or Play Offs?

But wasn't the track largely below standard last year? Heard several reports of riders unhappy with the surface (riders who had been happy with it for many previous years). Now it could have been the higher league influence, a whinging aussie influence or something else but Somerset is one of the best race tracks in the country and until last year its been rare to hear a bad word said about it.

I think the rumoured over 4 in the 2nd tier rules Bowen out? Think Baseby would have been popular at Kent initially but over the past couple of season his antics & associations rule him out with the fans. Personally i would say Josh Bailey is a good a choice as anyone available.