shippy22

A big problem with 5 man teams is what happens when riders are injured early in the match, as often happens. One rider injured, would leave only 4 riders to cover the remaining races. Even worse if 2 riders from same team were injured, then only 3 riders to cover all the rest of the heats. This would result in riders having 2 rides in a row, meaning longer gaps between races, and supporters would soon get fed up of seeing the same few riders in every race. Much less variety than we get at the moment !!.

The first division in 1970 had 19 teams. Of those 7 teams, Belle Vue, Coventry, Halifax, King's Lynn, Wembley, Cradley and Swindon raced on Saturdays, so hardly a minority !!

Two riders won 12 of the 15 heats between them. Must be very rare, not sure when that last happened ??

What about James Wright, if he is fit?. A connection with Derwent Park days

If it was a completely new stadium or existing football stadium, then it would need planning permission, so the news would have been picked up by local newspapers etc. It must be somewhere that already has permission to run motor sports, so probably a banger, stock car or possibly a moto cross circuit.

I really hope that either Belle Vue or Wolverhampton win the play offs. Along with Ipswich, they are the only teams that have not chopped and changed all season. Leicester, Sheffield, King's Lynn & Peterborough are not really " teams", just a random selection of riders bought together for a few matches. If Leicester or Sheffield win the play offs, it will make a complete mockery of the sport. Would be nice for Wolves to win, in what looks like their last season. They are the only team that have shown any loyalty to their riders over the past few years .

Not sure if he is fit after his injury, but Matthew Wethers would do a decent job in the middle of the team. A rider who always tries his best, when I have seen him riding. Cannot think of any other UK based riders.

The problem at the moment, is that the gap between the Premier League & Championship is too small, and the gap between the Championship & National League is too large. With Premier heat leaders riding in the championship, only the very talented riders stepping up from the National League stand a chance. The Championship standard should be more like the Newcastle team this year, which would give riders similar to those above, a chance to score some points and progress. Also, doubling up needs to be gradually reduced, initially only allowing riders who do not ride in any overseas leagues to double up. Imagine in the 1970's allowing top first division riders to ride in the second division !!

I just cannot see the point of this extra "super heat ". What is wrong with a draw in a League match? It has been fine since League Speedway started. Usually both teams supporters go home happy. It will just drag the match out, as most if not all the riders in the super heat, will have ridden in heat 15. So another long delay !!! The supporters dont seem keen on this, and it will cost the promoters more wages, as the riders wont be racing for nothing in this race. So why bring it in?

Are Belle Vue not planning to run a team in NDL?. Have Scunthorpe announced they will enter the NDL?. Hopefully they will. Could IOW be tempted back if the points limit was higher and they had a say in how the league was run?

Brian Foote also rode for Rayleigh, Rye House & Leicester. I think he was related to the Leicester promoter, Ron Wilson. As a Rockets supporter, Brian Foote was always a villain when he rode for our rivals at Romford, but became a hero when he signed for the Rockets !!. Kevin Holden was sadly killed in an accident at Poole.

It does seem strange that a couple of poor crowds has resulted in such a financial mess. Eastbourne had 7 English riders, several of them were local, so the travel expenses must have been around the lowest in the league. The stadium is owned by a family with a lot of speedway history, so would not imagine that the rent would be more than other tracks. Were the promoters being too optimistic budgeting for a crowd of at least 1000?.

Danny Gappmaier has been with Berwick since 2016, and never ridden for anyone else. There used to be a lot of riders who only rode for one team, sadly not the case nowadays

Riders such as Aaron Summers, Edward Kennett, Matthew Wethers, Simon Lambert, Ashley Morris and others manage by riding in just one league. Riders need to realise that unless you are at the top, then speedway is not a full time living. Back in the 1960's and 1970's when crowds were much higher, only the top riders were full time.

Rayleigh Romford Hackney Long Eaton Boston