MajorMauger

Decent meeting today despite King's Lynns underperforming septet with overtaking, incident and a very large crowd! Excluding Howarth in heat 2 when 3 riders went down going into the 1st bend was absolutely shocking, sorry to say it but that Christina Turnbill hasn't got a scooby do! Ipswich are going to take some stopping if Safutinov and Doyle keep up this form. Doyle cruised to a maximum even when he was riding injured after the first heat fall! Thompson is a concern cause he's not competitive even against other reserves and doesn't look like he's getting better. I know hes not popular with most including myself but if Thompson doesn't improve in the next 5-6 meetings then Ipswich lad Drew Kemp would be a better bet. As for King's Lynn, like their sister track Peterborough they seem to have got a team of riders no one else wants. Kasperzaks lack of effort and shutting of going into the 1st bend should be enough to see him given his marching orders. Klindt and Palm Tofts lack of consistency is no good for supposed heatleaders

Surely Wolverhampton Council can make strong representations on this matter?

As long as Peter Collins only scribbles "best wishes", the appalling incident I'm referring to isn't mentioned by no one and anyone who because of his appalling actions doesn't want to go anywhere near the man does exactly that, then everything will be OK.

Unfortunately speedway in 2023 offers little opportunity to practise with so few tracks available for such stuff and theirs much fewer riders about than what their has been in the past. This has resulted in many youngsters being inexperienced when facing track conditions that aren't slick and riders such as Fen Tigers number 7 Richardson being put into this level of racing when they aren't ready! - So yes maybe the track wasn't suitable under these 2023 circumstances, but in my book it was a decent racetrack which capable riders like Bowtell and Complin showed as much! - I think you put todays Mildenhall V Kent line ups in a match on any track that is a bit heavy after a lot of rain then you would have the same scenario of riders crashing and many re runs and hold ups.

Not at all! Todays track was grippy probably cause of all the rain we've had recently and of course many youngsters through inexperience and a lack of riding struggle to get round a grippy track! Bowtell and Complin had no problems which shows that it was more a case of abilities than the track being unrideable. I'm sure that had todays meeting been in the one of the top 2 Leagues then the racing would have decent caused the better standard of rider would of coped better with the track.

100% if a French club could attract enough punters to make it worthwhile? Not that much different to when the IoW used to ride in the British League! I think a team based in Dublin at one of the few dog tracks in the area could also work?

Unlikely they would! Probably the same reason that 90% of speedway promotors (and indeed people buying most football clubs!) do it in the first place! - Enthusiasts who maybe think they can make a go of it, want to see the club survive and maybe some are on an ego trip? If every sporting activity that didn't make a profit or wasn't propped up by Local Authorities or rich benefactors was eliminated then they'd be hardly any sporting activity in this Country and we'd be so much worse of for it! I believe my local football team Norwich City who average 26,000 crowds, provide a lot of employment opportunities and has many worthwhile community initiatives lost £25M last season! - Now Norwich City FC is by far the biggest sporting organisation in Norfolk and I suspect most of East Anglia!

The new shaped track used in the last few years Swindon speedway ran was a decent shape much better suited to good racing than the old bigger track ever did in my opinion. - I presume the shale track still exists at the Stadium cause if it does then it'd be ideal for a restart at the Abbey? Without a doubt the Abbey Stadium remains the best option for speedway to return to the Swindon area and if the planning conditions are followed this will be the case. I hope the MP or Councillor who shares these views carries on the fight cause it will be ethical justice. With the seemingly advent of quiet E speedway bikes in the future any concerns of local residents in the new houses around the stadium will be indeed quite literally silenced! The newly formed Company, partly by members of the last Swindon Robins promotion is I suspect just a lip service campaign that will probably wither away which is what they want. I don't blame the former promotion for wanting out cause I suspect running Swindon speedway cost them a hefty sum but wouldn't it of been better if they'd just come out and just say they don't want to do it anymore and give other potentially interested parties a chance of reopening Swindon speedway at the Abbey!

Strange one! While Arlington Stadium remains in its current guise why wouldn't the Stadium owners want speedway staged there because they would earn a tidy sum and all the financial risk would be with the speedway promotion. Afterall what else is the shale track inside the stock car going to be used for and apart from stock cars what else takes place there? Understandable the Dugard family don't want to get involved in running the speedway themselves because running the Eagles in League racing over the years cost Bob Dugard a lot of money and rarely made money. Does the junior track which produced a lot of riders in past still exist?

Buxton still has practise sessions/ training schools and it was mentioned in the speedway start a few weeks back that Buxton could be a possibility for the Nora League in the future?

Well it looks like E bikes will be the thing in the future which will likely open up the possibilities of speedway being staged in venues that currently would stand no chance with combustion engines? Nottingham Greyhound stadium as well?

Without the uncertainty in 1975 of the Cowley stadiums future existence I'm sure top flight speedway would have probably continued at Oxford. I think Bob Dugard wanted to stage National League racing at Brighton in the late 70's after he'd reopened White City. Only the planners stopped those plans which was a shame cause that was and is still a decent stadium and would surely have attracted viable crowds. Indeed I still think speedway could be a goer at Hove Stadium and would stand more chance of getting bigger crowds than nearby Eastbourne would?

QPR had a couple of spells at White City in the early 30's and one season in the early 60's and I think crowds of under 20,000 in an arena that held over 60,000+ didn't create an atmosphere and no doubt the rent was very steep. Nowadays their Loftus Road home is ageing, only holds just over 18,000 and is hemmed in all four sides so any possible expansion would be limited. QPR are actively seeking to move to a new stadium that could hold 30,000+ which in modern times if they get back into the Premier League they could probably fill. Had White City just down the road still been about then that could have been the solution and no doubt in modern times it would of been renovated and reduced in size so it would likely have been a solution to QPR's relocation plans. Interestingly Messrs Dugard and Dunton the promotors of White City Rebels speedway had originally looked at reopening speedway at Harringay but for some reason decided that White City was the better bet. Looking back now one must wonder if speedway at Harringay may have indeed been the better bet especially since League racing had been staged there successfully a little over 20 years before so many of their regulars would still have been about? Anyway back to Long Eaton, used to enjoy my visits there as the track was fast, there was always a nice atmosphere, the stadium was harp back to bygone times and the track had a loyal hardcore support. When they closed in 1997 part of the planning consent for the redevelopment of the site with houses was that they provided space for a new smaller speedway stadium. The major drawback was the construction cost of the new stadium was £6M I think I saw quoted and the venue was only allowed to stage speedway with no stock cars or greyhound racing allowed. Of course building a stadium costing £6M that only staged speedway maybe up to 30 times a years in front of crowds that would rarely creep over the 1000 mark wasn't ever going to be a viable proposition for a private investor. - A Somerset/ new Workington like set up near Nottingham or Derby could be viable?

White City didn't get viable crowds when they ran in the British League from 1976-1978 even though they won the League in 1977! - And that was when crowds in the UK were mostly double if not treble what they are now. The grand old stadium got knocked down in 1985 which was a big opportunity missed in my opinion cause it could have been redeveloped as a multi sports venue and nearby Queens Park Rangers FC could have moved in their especially as now they are trying to get out of there current Loftus Road home. I still think a track in the Nottingham/Derby/ Long Eaton area could be viable but finding a new site is extremely difficult and expensive. Nottingham Greyhound track would be ideal but same again difficult and expensive!

Bordesley Green in my opinion could have been a National training centre for speedway especially if another track elsewhere on the site could have been built. This combined with the Brummies racing there would have brought in a tidy income to the owners of the Wheels complex. Strange that site owners are so against additional streams of income. I believe Tony Mole would have moved into Perry Bar in the late 80's if the then owner would have let him but for some odd reason didn't! Buxton speedway is still there running practice/training sessions but unfortunately are absent from League racing. In the Speedway Star a few weeks back when discussing the proposed new Nora League it was suggested that Buxton may eventually enter a team in that?

Another sorry example of where democracy doesn't always work and how many prejudices speedway has to overcome. I believe Salford Stadium was investigated as a potential new home for Birmingham speedway in the late 80's after the Brummies left the Bordesley Green, am I correct Brian? Had Birmingham speedway been allowed to move into Salford Stadium in the late 80's, I'm sure with Tony Moles financial backing and professionalism I think it would have probably been a sustainable venture, the Brummies would be more financially viable than they are currently at Perry Bar and Birmingham would still have a multi use velodrome! Whats happening with the Wheels complex? Other than Nottingham Greyhound stadium is there anywhere else in the Nottingham, Long Eaton, Derby areas where a speedway track and stadium could be built. Something like the new Workington set up and build it up in time seems like a good idea.

Nottingham greyhound stadium remains the best chance of resurrecting speedway in that part of the East Midlands though I'd suspect the stadium owners wouldn't be interested? Long Eaton speedway I think would of likely still been in existence now if their Station Road home hadn't been redeveloped as they seemed to have a viable hardcore support. Wasn't Salford stadium that one that you could see under spaghetti junction as you passed through on the M 6? - It seemed a venue that would of been less expensive than Perry Bar, could of been bought by the speedway promotion, was near enough to the traditional speedway Perry bar heartland and surely where it was situated couldn't have been considered a noise problem?

Yes I did read that but like I said on an Eastbourne thread would the Arlington landlords be tempted by the Nora League organisers renting the stadium a few times during the summer so an Eastbourne team could compete in that League?

I wonder if currently dormant tracks like Eastbourne and Buxton could enter the Nora League?

Yes Kemp has got one of them averages between 5 and 6.99 which makes it difficult to fit in especially if a team wants to sign high average heatleaders! That said his lack of progress when he has talked of doing so much more is also a factor!

I wonder what with the news in this weeks speedway star about the new Nora League starting this year whether the prospective Eastbourne promotion and the stadium owners might be interested in an Eastbourne Eagles team running in that League when it gets going in the summer? - The rent would be handy, the novelty of a few speedway meetings in the summer after being closed since the middle of 2021 would surely entice healthy crowds and would be a great way to learn the ropes before a full time return in 2024!

Agree totally! Undoubtedly talented especially when he makes a decent gate and gets clear of the pack. If he gets caught in the pack and is in close contact with elbows, legs and bikes hes always the first one to back off. - Unless he gets more aggressive he won't go much if any further. Add in all the talk, publicity and book writing which makes him seem like he has a massively over inflated opinion of how good he actually is then its no surprise that hes run out of teams who want to use him.

I thought the reason Stoke were called "Chesterton Potters" when Loomer Road first opened for League racing in 1973 was because the nearby Crewe speedway objected to the the name Stoke being used cause they thought it would have an adverse effect on their crowd levels? I hope speedway in Somerset can get going again but it looks like being a long process? I also think a Somerset/ Workington like set up could also work in the Stoke area.

One of Englands best ever riders, very exciting and box office material in the 1970's! I mean to get round to reading his book at some point cause it sounds good! But the man has got some serious issues and is surely pushing everyone away from him. I remember seeing him in the pits with his son Chris when the boy had a go at speedway and recall being taken aback by how grumpy he sounded when talking to him. I assumed this to be frustration at his sons limitations from a former World Champion who found speedway easy, but now I'm not so sure.

A great enthusiastic server of speedway was Steve Casey! Peter Collins has issues I'd suggest.