Mr Bee

I think "panic-merchant" is a bit of a stretch. As far as I can tell, nobody on here is actually from Northampton, so technically it isn’t "our" club and I suppose, in that retrospect, none of us should care. But we do care, and that is the point. It isn't about panicking; it’s about genuine concern from people who have a lifelong investment in this sport. The Star article might have made perfect sense to some, but for others, it still leaves a lot of silence where there should be activity. If pointing out a total lack of engagement or questioning a "wait and see" approach is considered demanding, then so be it. But most of us aren't looking for excuses to moan, we’re looking for signs of life in a sport we want to see succeed. There is a massive difference between being a "forum merchant" and being a concerned fan who understands how a modern business should actually communicate with its customers.

That approach would be kind of understandable if the first meeting were six months away, but it isn’t and it wasn’t when the news was first announced. If they truly know what they’re doing, then fair enough; time will tell. They may well have a five-year plan in place to go from strength to strength, but in the meantime, the silence isn't doing much to build momentum.

This forum only represents a very small percentage of the overall fanbase, but I’m certain we have people on here and in the stadiums with some terrific ideas. Imagine if the clubs actually reached out and asked their entire supporter base to put suggestions forward via a dedicated email address. There might just be some real nuggets in the postbag that could help the sport move forward. Whether it’s a fresh marketing angle, a community link, or a better way to handle the meeting experience, the fans are the ones seeing it from the outside. Beyond just ideas, many fans have professional contacts and networks that could be a huge asset to a club. You simply don't know what’s available to you unless you actually try things and open the door. It costs nothing to ask, and it might just uncover the exact help or innovation a club has been looking for.

Great stuff. 👍

Great stuff. 👍

I couldn’t agree more with this. In my professional life, we do exactly the same thing. In fact, we had a monthly meeting just yesterday where part of that is sharing "best practice" across different departments. We look at who is innovating, what’s working in one area, and then we roll those successful ideas out across the rest of the operation to ensure everyone benefits. It’s common sense in any other industry. If clubs like Glasgow and Poole have cracked it, why on earth isn't that being formalised into a national "Operating Model" for the sport? Work together. As you say, the on-track product is usually decent. The racing isn't the problem; it’s the lack of off-track leadership and professional marketing that’s holding everything back. There are individual clubs doing "good things", whether it’s social media, sponsorship packages, or community outreach. On that note, I genuinely can't understand why the British Speedway Podcast has been cancelled, along with the national media day. Surely the sport can manage to put on a media day somewhere. And as for the podcast what is the actual cost of production? It can't be that prohibitive. I stand corrected if it is. I listen to "That Cov Pod", run by three Coventry City fans. They put out an excellent show after every single game, and they’ve even managed to attract a couple of sponsors. I can’t imagine it costs them much more than their own time to record, edit, and post it. If three fans can produce a quality show for football, why can’t a national sport manage one? Who is taking these decisions to strip away the few pieces of media we have left? If one club finds a way to increase gates by 20% through a specific digital campaign, that blueprint should be shared immediately across the league. There is no excuse for the rest of the sport to be lagging behind when a few clubs have already demonstrated how to do it well.

I notice they have put a race from Scunthorpe up on the British Speedway YouTube channel from last Sunday. While that’s great to see, it appears to be the first post in four months. Just because the season had ended, it doesn't mean the content should stop; you don't grow a brand by going silent for a third of the year.

Following up on my post from yesterday, I think it’s important to clarify one thing: some people seem to confuse concern with criticism. My comments come from a point of genuine worry, not just for the situation at Northampton, but for UK Speedway as a whole. In Northampton's case, I can only assume the deal isn't fully over the line yet. As Karlito mentioned in his video, why wouldn't there be at least some social media activity? It’s free advertising, yet there’s a total vacuum. Speedway has been the backdrop of my life and my brother’s for over 40 years. We’ve had the highs and lows following Coventry, travelling the country together when we were younger. Mum and Dad taking us to Coventry away meetings in the 80’s are great memories. When the Bees weren't riding and we could drive, we’d be at Cradley or Stoke on a Saturday. Dad would take us to Long Eaton and Birmingham Wheels. When I moved to Woking for my first job after Uni, I was at Reading every Monday. Now living in Lincolnshire, I’m at Scunthorpe for every home meeting. This isn't just a hobby; it’s a lifetime commitment. My Dad is 80 this year and has been a regular since he was a boy. Now, he has nowhere to go. The sport hasn't even got a proper TV deal for him to watch — and yes, I know BSN exists, but it doesn't solve the visibility issue. If I were a promoter right now, I’d be turning to the one big asset every club has: its fans. I’d be appealing to the fans in the Speedway Star and the club programmes for help, because some of us might just have some good ideas on how to actually run a business and turn things around. Clubs seem to treat us as the enemy these days rather than engaging with us. I can think of one fan who runs a very successful business: Alex Brady. Yes, he’s been involved before, but I believe someone like that has incredible transferable skills. You only have to look at his company’s social media output to see that they know what they are doing. Both himself and his business partner, Jamie Minors, have gone from strength to strength from a cold start all those years ago. They are young people who know how to engage with a young audience as well. In my view, promoters and speedway managers should stick to building teams and using their contacts within the sport to do that. Yes, the promoter also puts his or her money in. But seek out people who actually know how to drum up paying customers. Not just wait for them to magically appear out of thin air. At Scunthorpe, I think they get a lot right. The price point is spot on, and the programme is a no-frills scorecard that does the job keeping cost down. Their biggest bonus is the track itself, which serves up terrific racing. They deserve bigger crowds. But the social media output and the website are poor. They could put some great races out on their social media as advertising from the EWR. I haven't been into the town centre, but I can’t imagine there is much around telling people the Speedway even exists, or in any out of town shopping areas. There is a big sign at the entrance to the car park....... It shouldn't just stop at Scunthorpe looking for fans, either. Lincoln isn't far away, and I’d be heading straight to Lincoln University and other UNI’s nearby as Lincoln isn’t the only one. I’d be seeking out the Media and Graphic Design courses and offering those students the chance to promote the club. Give them access to the social media channels and let them crack on. When I was at school, we were taught to keep a display book of our best work for interviews; this would give these students real-world results for their portfolios. I notice my own football team, Coventry City, have let Coventry Uni Graphic Design students handle some of their social media content and it looks superb. They also have a "City Unseen" video on YouTube—watch it, it’s brilliant. You could do the same at any Speedway club on a smaller scale. I’ve heard the "wait until May" argument for Northampton, but I try to imagine that logic in my own professional life. If my directors asked for an update on my latest £1.75m project and I told them I was just waiting until May to see what happens without telling anyone about it, I’d be out of a job. It’s not criticism; it’s concern for something that has been part of my life for four decades. If promoters stopped treating the fans like the enemy and tapped into the skill sets, we have, we might actually be able to help this sport thrive again.

This post is a classic case of demanding blind faith in a sport that’s already on its knees. The idea that fans should just "stop knocking them" and wait until May to see what happens is exactly how we ended up in this mess. In any other industry, if a business asked for your money but refused to tell you the name of the company, who the staff are, or what the product looks like until the last minute, you’d walk away.

I’m not about to read every post on this thread, and I apologise if this has been covered and discussed by you on previous posts, but I’ve seen enough to know that the silence coming out of Northampton is staggering. Unless someone who uses this forum that lives or works in Northampton can say any different, there appears to be absolutely zero noise in the local area. We are now in late March—barely five weeks away from the season starting for Northampton — and what have we actually heard? No confirmed team name, no full rider line-up, and next to no presence. How on earth do they propose to build a fan base from a standing start without drumming up any local support? Are they telling the Northampton public that they have a new Speedway team to follow? They will no doubt get a decent crowd level from existing speedway fans around the country at the beginning of the season for the novelty factor, but that won't last if they haven't done the groundwork locally. It feels like the management is just relying on disenfranchised Coventry and Peterborough fans to fill the void because we’re missing our own tracks, and the few Leicester fans that exist to pop along. I’ve personally started three different offices for companies from cold starts, and I can tell you now: this is not how you do it. You don't just open the doors and hope for the best. When you're launching in a new territory, you must be aggressive. You must get out into the local community, pound the pavement, and actually sell what you’re providing. If the person walking down Northampton High Street doesn't even know there's a world class sport (I use the term World Class loosely in the UK) appearing on their doorstep in five weeks' time, the marketing has failed before the first heat. And when those involved directly in the running of the sport and the decisions read things like this, they'll no doubt accuse me of being disruptive and moaning. They’ll claim we don’t understand the "complexities" behind the scenes. But in reality, there are plenty of Speedway fans who actually know how to run successful businesses, how to start a business from nothing, and how to keep it successful. In any other industry, if you launched a product this quietly, you’d be out of business in six months. You must create a "local anchor" — give the people of Northampton a reason to claim the team as theirs. If you don't build that local identity from day one, you aren't a club; you’re just a nomad team at a neutral venue. If they don't start shouting about this soon, they’re going to be racing in front of an empty stadium once that initial novelty wears off. I’d like to be proved wrong and see it be a massive success, and I might be wrong and all of the above is actually happening behind the scenes. But if the actual Speedway world doesn't know anything about it, I highly doubt it is.

It was nice to get the season underway yesterday. It was an enjoyable meeting and a solid performance from Scunthorpe to get the win. Hopefully we can spring a few surprises this year. Good to see Connor walk away from the crash in 14. Hope he's OK. Top performance from Picko. One thing, though—please can the PA system be sorted out? You couldn't hear the announcer at all, which made it near impossible to catch the race times or any of the tactical changes. It’s hard to follow the details of the meeting when the audio is that poor. It was the same last year as well. If there is nothing wrong with the PA then please change the guy in the box announcing.

Take a breath, Arthur. I don’t know the bloke. But then again, I suppose from the lofty heights of your moral pedestal, we can't all be as flawless and beyond reproach as you, clearly. Stay perfect.

He speaks highly of you Arthur.

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, but after reading the last few posts and completing a full home season at Scunthorpe last year, I felt it was time to share a bit of perspective from a "new" local. I moved to Lincolnshire last year, and on paper, King’s Lynn is significantly closer to me. However, I decided to make Scunthorpe my go-to track, and I’ve based that decision purely on the quality of racing. Having previously lived in a village just down the road from Leicester, I’d actually stopped going there because, frankly, the racing was so poor. As a lifelong Coventry fan, I’ve seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It’s clear to anyone with eyes that things at the Eddie Wright Raceway are done on a very tight budget. The team for 2026 might not look like world-beaters on paper, and we might not be lifting silverware come October, but after last year, I’ve realised that isn't the most important thing. The racing last year was superb—genuinely entertaining from Heat 1 to 15. I was told by the regulars that it’s "usually even better,". I now consider myself an honorary Scorpion fan. To those who look at the "no-frills" nature of the place and judge it: believe me, if a track like Scunthorpe disappears, you will miss it when it’s gone. This sport needs places like the EWR that prioritise genuine track action over everything else. Regardless of where we finish in the league, I’m massively looking forward to the new season. Lets get behind the lads and hopefully spring a surprise or two.

Just wanted to throw my two penn'orth out there after last night's meeting at Scunthorpe. Honestly, forget the score line for a moment, some of that racing was absolutely brilliant. Pure, unadulterated speedway action. The track, I thought, really came into its own after the first few heats. It offered up some fantastic lines and close battles. I admit, at the interval, I was wondering why they'd put some water down, but credit where it's due – it really didn't impact the quality of racing in the latter half. Having moved to Lincolnshire early this year, King's Lynn is technically my closest track, but I've made it to every Scunthorpe home meeting in 2025, and I've enjoyed every single one for the sheer racing spectacle. While my heart will always belong to Coventry if they ever get back on track (fingers crossed!), for now, I consider myself a solid Scunny fan. And honestly, it's a real disappointment that there's only one home meeting left this year! You've got to admire Rob and his team there. They clearly operate within a budget, but they manage to put on a really enjoyable night of speedway. There's a proper grassroots feel to it – good banter between the fans and the announcers, and it just feels like a genuinely honest, friendly, and affordable place to spend an evening. I think that's something to be proud of regardless of what might happen with results. Of course, it's not perfect – the social media output, advertising, and website could all do with a boost, and sometimes hearing the announcers can be a challenge, Oh, and they could definitely do with some merchandise being sold! – but when it comes down to what happens on the shale, Scunthorpe consistently delivers some excellent racing. Went to King's Lynn once this year, and that was quite enough for me! One more home meeting to go, I'd like to watch them away as I used to go everywhere with the Bees....maybe next year.

Plymouth X account has Thomsen in for Barker.

Looking forward to getting back to watching some live racing. Any team news yet?

Agreed. I should have said that. There is no point interviewing on the infield as you cant hear the chap and I missed some of the times of races from the announcer.

Disappointing result. Not having Jake was a big blow and Worrall looked like he'd never ridden the place before. I just don't think Steve is riding enough. He didn't look sharp away from the tapes. Appreciate there were 30 heats to get through, but the track needed more maintenance last night. A couple of decent races, but by and large it was poor. The scores kept it interesting until it got away from Scunny at the end. Also, can something be done about the PA. In the covered stand just after the starting gate you cant hear a thing.

Hope so

Teams for tonight. Should be a good meeting. Ellie Rose Travel Scunthorpe Scorpions: 1. Steve Worrall, 2. Zaine Kennedy, 3. Declan Kennedy, 4. Connor Mountain, 5. Jake Allen, 6. Luke Harrison, 7. Simon Lambert (C). SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies: 1. Sam Masters (C), 2. Jonas Knudsen, 3. Antii Vuolas (G), 4. Mitch McDiarmid, 5. Cameron Heeps, 6. Francis Gusts, 7. Luke Killeen.

First, hope that Worrall is OK after a very nasty crash. From the gate it didnt look like Kildemand bothered to turn and just kept going staright. I thought he'd be excluded but the ref obviously saw different with all four. The crashes and the new interval race for the kids meant a drawn out meeting by EWR standards, but a decent night's racing. Good to see Lambo scoring well, you can see what it means to him, hope it continues. Any news on Worrall?

Teams taken from the Berwick website: Scorpions: Steve Worrall, Zaine Kennedy, Declan Kennedy, Connor Mountain, Jake Allen, Luke Harrison, Simon Lambert Bandits: Peter Kildemand, Sam Hagon, Danyon Hume, Drew Kemp, Craig Cook, Tom Spencer, Jack Smith Berwick are using Freddy Hodder on Saturday. Looking forward to another good nights racing at the EWR and hopefully some league points for Scunny and decent shot at the bonus for Saturday.

Not the aggregate win I predicted 🤐 but a terrific meeting none the less. Luke Harrison was superb value once again, a great paid 19. On heat 8, Lambert for me got Killeen on the line. Apparently the transponder said differently. I was told the wire under the track wasn't lined up with the white line? 🤔 All in all a good win on the night against one of the more fancied teams in the league.

Looking forward to another trip to the EWR. I think "we" (I've adopted Scunny) can do it. I'm going for a last heat aggregate decider. 😆