PersonalResponsibility

Yeah but he's enjoyed every minute of it!

There were 9 riders above 8 last season. Scunthorpe have already signed one from outside of that 9, so at least one of them will miss out. Another needless rule. The points limit already does the job.

He might well be one of Wroclaw's juniors next season - at what point does he become ready for an away meeting at Berwick or Scunthorpe?

Sebastian Alden has returned to sign for Valsarna in Sweden - one last rodeo as a Bandit?

They're pushing for their own man - Piotr Szymański - to replace Armando Castagna as the head of world speedway at the FIM when the time comes next November. Who knows what the outcome would be if that were to happen...

This is the crux of the problem. Imagine being a speedway rider in this day an age asking for a job somewhere? "I can't work nights, most weekends, ideally not much during the summer either. Oh, and I might be off sick for a while if I crash and get injured" "When can you start?"

I've just been reading an obscure report/essay about speedway. It's mainly focused on the 20s/30s and the birth of speedway, but I couldn't help but think some things sounded strangely familiar. Still, at least we've learned from our mistakes.

And look at Germany now - SON2 gold medallists! They've cracked it. It's better than any Rising Star scheme.

In the context of Plymouth I don't think it's that odd. If you supported a football club who'd been on the brink of extinction, had a few iffy seasons and was now in the process of rebuilding, increasing crowd numbers and growing, I think you'd be pretty happy. Add in some entertaining home games, a safe mid table finish, even happier. I think it'd be weird if Plymouth fans were happy finishing bottom 3 every season, but they're going in the right direction, so it's fair enough they can find some positives.

"Championship clubs are nothing without Premiership clubs" "someone has to step up and fill one of the voids left by Oxford/Birmingham." "Club bosses need to block Glasgow from competing in the Championship and instead give them an ultimatum" Perhaps it's just me, but who is "nothing" without the other here?

I completely agree that's what they should do, however I'm not sure it'd be as easy as that. It wouldn't take many riders not to bother and you'd struggle to have a worthwhile sport to sell. As I said, the riders shouldn't be dictating the sport, but sadly it feels like we don't have much choice atm.

Let's hope this somehow happens. Hellstrom-Bangs v Bubba Bednar around the NSS would be a beautiful watch.

Can't agree that there's a need for the Championship to "serve" the Premiership. Both leagues are equally reliant on each other to prosper, it isn't a one-way thing. Your last point is sadly an indictment of the situation we've sleepwalked into. If the riders are demanding twice the money due to only having one team place: good for them. Equally, the clubs are justified in only offering what they're happy to pay. Sadly, we're now in a situation where this isn't practical because even a handful of riders quitting would be catastrophic, so the tail continues to wag the dog.

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It feels like boiling the frog with some people. It's crazy to think we've gone from an 8-team Elite League, 18-team Premier League, plus a decent conference league to what we have now in a little over 20 years. If that happened overnight there'd quite rightly be serious questions asked, if not something more serious. Yet here we are, still being told the sport is in good shape and has an exciting future.

Kemp, Batchelor and Worrall all finished as their team's #1, though. Unless there's a sudden influx of riders then they (or equivalent) will likely be someone's number one. I agree they're not on Dan Thompson's level, but I don't think many number ones will be.

I struggle to think of many who he won't beat? Masters and Lawson maybe, possibly Harris & Wright at a push, not much else. This is a rider who put 1.5 points on his average this year, I'd back him to comfortably beat the likes of Kemp, Worrall (if he rides), Batchelor, etc. Tom Brennan improved in a similar way at Glasgow and then averaged 9+ the season after. I think Thompson is a relatively slow burner but is going to be a very, very good rider.

According to this: http://www.gbspeedway.com/2025/riderperf.php?mc1=x&mc2=r&mc3=av&mc4=x&rider=Dan Thompson&league=B&sort=date&comp=All&club=Overall, Dan Thompson averaged more away than he did at home. I think he'll be fine.

I completely agree re. betting. I've said before that we have a sport that seems perfectly tailored for the modern generation, and I think that equally applies to betting. 4 riders, 15(+) races, so many opportunities to bet. That Bet365 have gone to the time and expense of creating Virtual Speedway to allow people to gamble suggests that there is clearly some interest somewhere. Even a minority % levy flowing through into British speedway would surely be useful?

Bartosz Zmarzlik & Daniel Nermark are two I always enjoy(ed) watching.

I have to say I didn't get the impression that the original post was suggesting it was speedway's fault, it was simply stating the reality. While I agree with your general point, I don't think we should completely disregard "use it or lose it". Ultimately, it's been so easy for developers to claim the land and build on it, because we are a minority sport with a dwindling number of attendees. It's not to say that they wouldn't have done the same anyway - it's their land after all - but how many tracks would've closed down if they had genuinely good attendances and were profitable for their landlords? I'm confident Newcastle would've survived, and would Eastbourne's owners turn down a healthy financial stream if it was available? The sport just doesn't have the financial or political clout to even begin fending off any of these developers, never mind winning the battle against them. When you compare the number of football stadia that's been closed down and built on against the club's will, the difference is stark. It sounds like some positive progress is being made with what you've mentioned, I would love more than anything for a real difference to be made. Ultimately, though, while it might not entirely be speedway's fault, or due to a lack of interest, that the clubs shut down, it's hard to say it didn't play a pretty big role. A successful, thriving sport is less likely to have their stadia and facilities taken away than one that's struggling.

A Paul Mulally appears to have had one job in football (after leaving the police) - Head of Football Operations at Portsmouth...with Harry Redknapp. There's a Miriam Bentley listed as working at Specialist Risk Group, who appear to be growing quite rapidly, including branching out into sports - and motorsports specifically. They are also listed as a 'partner' of Team GB. Finally, there's a Jason Holmes who's also involved in the insurance sector and covers "extreme sports" - but he's in Australia.

Surely you've heard all about Fish-O-Mania, live on Sky Sports Action, with its £50k first prize? https://fishomania.net/news/bradley-lucas-crowned-2025-fishomania-champion-in-record-breaking-debut/ Anyway, you can catch the Premiership on BSN next season. First prize is £2.50 and a voucher for the track shop.

I'd imagine they'd save a fortune doing this, especially as there'd be about 12 people watching every week.

If the Cardiff GPs that they "promoted" are being used to dispute his lack of experience then it's more worrying than we thought. Fingers crossed it's not as bad as it's being made out. The calendar has often been announced late in the year, so the end of October is hardly a cause for concern there.