enotian

National League first then Newcastle's assets moved as the Diamonds closed down in 1971? I think.

ditto White City

Didn't Kings Lynn run open meetings in prior seasons? So not exactly a brand new venture. Coatbridge you could argue was a track move albeit to another city. But yes White City is it. Although you could argue opening a brand new team/track in London at the height of the sports popularity is a little removed from opening a new track in the top division in 2026 😄 Then of course, Kings Lynn aside, neither Coatbridge, White City or Bristol lasted very long anyway.

Has a brand new team/track ever started in the top flight? Apart from the first ever season of course. Although I suspect even then they'd all ran non league meetings. But let's just say since 1965 onwards. Trying to wrack my brains. I know there's been new tracks for existing clubs (Belle Vue) and resurrected clubs at new and old facilities (Leicester and Oxford) but they all had a existing or previous fan base. Leicester maybe re-started in the 2nd tier anyway. Having scratched my head I've come up with Bristol? Or was there speedway in Bristol before the late 70's? Canny big risk to set up a new track in a town which has zero fan base as far as I am aware and having to start at the highest level... however low that high might be 😄

Well there's little hope of that. Looks like there's 8 team spots to fill across Belle Vue and Ipswich. Make that 15 if Northampton Panther Bees run. With only Kurtz, Wright, Brennan, Lawson, Ellis, King, Klindt, Nicholls, Becker, Iversen, Tungate, Lidsey and Rew likely candidates. I suppose if you can attract another big name (Woffinden?) to return it might be possible but surely you don't set up a new promotion/track (Ipswich/Northampton) and give them no chance to be competitive on track. Waiting a season might be for the best

Don't disagree but there are lots of long intervals where knowing the language helps 😃 What I notice is how much a difference having a large vocal crowd makes. But what is it with this desire to have numerous planned delays? Swedish league is the same. Momentum is lost and this shouldn't be a time for a bovril sport. Those breaks must be difficult for even experienced broadcasters. How do you fill for 15 minutes if you've only seen 5 minutes of speedway, of which there might be 2 or 3 incidents worthy of discussion/replay. I imagine a much better product would be much easier to present. Just a thought, but if BSN was my business I'd reach out to broadcasters or Universities with a view to providing them with an opportunity to train their staff/students. I know Sky have an 'academy' to train presenters, reporters, commentators and technical staff of the future. What greater way to learn than by being given the opportunity to produce a live sporting event. Sure you don't get the finished article but you do get enthusiasm and raw talent trying to improve their skills. You also get on the broadcasters radar, The broadcaster might even pay for the training opportunity or at the least you get access to free resources. Realise speedway is a bit niche but the skills required to take part in a live broadcast are all the same.

Why isn't it a valid comparison? Both Johnson and Garrity have potentially ruined their victims lives. You'd have to ask their victims but that's ultimately the bottom line. You can attempt to change the narrative as much as you like but it won't change what those people had to endure. Like I say if someone is willing to offer the lad an opportunity fair play but lets not try to justify it by positioning him as a victim if he's not offered the chance to resume his speedway career. That's just disrespectful.

You miss the point. We'd all love to earn money doing what we enjoy or are best qualified to do. Given the opportunity anyone would. The point is that doing what he enjoys or is most qualified to do is not his only option to make a useful contribution to society as is being presented by some on here. "If you don't let him ride he'll resort to drug abuse and crime". Utter nonsense. He very well might but that would be on him and not those who decided it wasn't appropriate to employ him. Imagine if we all resorted to drugs and crime if we didn't get what we wanted to do? The vast majority of us just get on with it. Nobody owes this lad a living because he's was a half decent speedway rider, If any promoter is happy enough to accept the negative publicity and risk associated with the lad then that's entirely up to them. If none are willing to do so then he should accept that as a consequence of his own misdemeanours and move on and find another way of being a useful member of society. Perhaps the best comparison is ex footballer Adam Johnson. He made a despicable mistake served his time and has moved on knowing that he'd never be able to do what he was best qualified to do such was the nature of his crime. To say Garrity should be given an opportunity despite the nature of his crime because it's what he does best shows a complete lack of empathy for the victims of his crime and indeed the general public. Who naturally don't like to see people who have behaved despicably being rewarded. I say fair play to any promoter willing to give him a chance. Hopefully he takes it and lives a successful life from this point forward. But let's be clear, any promoter who does so is taking a risk and Garrity should consider himself extremely fortunate to be given an opportunity he is most certainly not entitled to just because he happens to be good at it.

I'm not really fussed to be honest but this rhetoric about it being a choice between speedway or crime is just complete rubbish. This chap will be extremely fortunate to be given another opportunity to earn a living doing something which he presumably he loved, just not as much as his other apparent addiction. But to say this is his only chance to stay 'clean' is tantamount to holding a gun to the collective speedway communities head. a. there are plenty of other occupations this chap could pursue. sure those will be limited by his qualifications and his criminal record by there are plenty of ex-convicts who obtain gainful employment. it might not be preferential but the vast majority of us, criminal or not, don't get the opportunity to do our dream job. b. what happens when he is no longer physically able to be a speedway rider? straight back to a life of crime? Like I say I have no opinion on whether or not this chap should be given an opportunity but lets not attempt to justify this as being anything other than extremely fortunate if the opportunity does arise.

Was always traditionally a Monday night track 😉

The same Saudi's that have invested bugger all in the region. More chance of the Butcher resurrecting it 😊

well argued

shall I put it this way... ...the Premiership only had 6 riders who were too good for the Championship, I know there were more who didn't tide in the championship but the likes of Becker, Brennan, Douglas and Pickering are hardly world stars. Excellent but not in the top 20 riders in the world. If you want a premium product it has to be that. This season at least two of those 6 won't be riding. Personally I don't think you can offer a premium product in this country because the infrastructure, apart from the NSS, isn't conducive to it. In terms of either the tracks or stadia. But if you do need a premium product find a format in which you can at least see a high % of those top 20 riders in the world.

The majority of fans buggered off years ago. Myself included when Newcastle closed. Well just before as it was rubbish, Whilst I'm not a fan of doubling up I don't think it has the detrimental impact in terms of credibility it once did. Look at franchise cricket. Everyone plays for multiple franchises. But it's now accepted because these competitions are differentiated. i.e. the Hundred is distinct from the Big Blast, the County Championship, the IPL the Big Bash etc. The trouble with the Premiership/Championship is that there's hardly any delineation between the two. Premiership is basically the Championship with maybe 6 elite riders added. i.e the Premiership isn't premium, the product isn't premium, apart from maybe at Belle Vue. It's clear that the majority of punters don't fall for it. A genuinely premium product might have worked but the Premiership has fallen between two stools for too long. Either do a premium product or don't.

Probably based on promoters tax returns 😉 I'm joking I'm joking interesting stats. I wonder what happens if TV viewing figures were added?

Something which provided line ups and weather updates prior to meetings would be spot on. Notification from the app, 3 guests and R/R.. ...light drizzle.... thanks I'll stay at home. Maybe a scorecard you could fill in yourself but I like the idea of live updates from the referee. Imagine the clipboard merch sales will plummet. What about an AI heat predictor? If you fancy having a flutter. Even provide live odds from an online bookmaker. Live feeds from a pits cam? As with any media content is key. Doubt I'd bother using it if there's no original content and I'd be inclined to use it to relieve the boredom of continual track grading.

This is really boring right but theoretically the current formula has 4 critical heats (2, 8, 13 and 15) i.e. the heats where the lowest rated riders face each other and the highest rated riders face each other. These are the swing heats. If you build top heavy and are weak at reserve/#2 you win two and lose two of those heats. If you're strong at reserve you win two and lose two of those heats. Therefore, there's two ways you can build a team. Top heavy or Strength in depth. Top heavy has always been preferred because the chances of a reserve improving are much higher than a #1. And it's all about having a team that improves on its starting average. And obviously two riders get 5 rides while the rest get 4. As soon as you introduce a rising star or whatever restriction on the standard of reserves you remove the ability to build a strength in depth team. Therefore the winning strategy is to build top heavy. The demand exceeds supply and you end up paying more for those top riders to fill 1 and 5 because if you don't... you can't win. I'm not saying ensuring opportunities for young riders is a bad idea but it does rule out building a strength in depth team, which is a shame imo but understandable. But what I am saying is that if you've removed the option of building a strength in depth team you should also remove the option to build a top heavy team. If you wish to have something approaching a level playing field. Unless you allow some flexibility in riding order, maybe, All theoretical of course but if you look at the composition of winning teams this season it supports the hypothesis. In summary, if you restrict the bottom you've got to restrict the top.

All the more reason to get into bed with them, Beggars can't be choosers and all that. I've seen gambling addiction up close and it's not nice but I don't blame the bookmakers. They don't force people to gamble and indeed I'm sure they'd prefer their customers to lose a little more often. I'm not a fan of gambling because I don't see risk taking where you have zero control over the outcome as a skill which should be rewarded. But it's not a million miles away from stockbroking is it so just about everyone is implicated in this risk and reward world. Like I say you probably have to play to their tune but it feels like there's nothing left to lose at this point.

Should be something that the SGP series owners implement(ed). They need to develop both the pool of competitive riders and the venues for the series. I'd have gone 16 franchises across Europe at venues that do or could be developed to stage GP's. 4TT, 4 home and 15 away fixtures. Play Off and Final. That's 20 plus meetings which is probably enough for the GP riders (or maybe they do one domestic league as well) if you get the financing right. Graded teams build to 10 grade points 4: Top 20 ranked riders in the world 3: Riders ranked 21 to 40 in the world 2: Any other rider (i.e. over 25 but not in the top 40 ranked riders) 1: Any rider Under 25 years old not in the top 40 ranked riders 0: Any rider Under 21 years old not in the top 40 ranked riders Domestic leagues based around the riders they can attract. i.e. in the UK you probably wouldn't attract any of the GP riders so it sends you down the one big league set up.

Whether you agree with it or not, on what ever grounds, betting is a huge opportunity, Just need to push the ethical betting button. Lobby to get greyhound racing banned on the basis of animal rights, plenty of evidence to support that. Low and behold huge gap in the betting market and lot's a new/returning venues 😉 I'm not a gambler myself but it's a huge part of culture within affluent males. I suspect you'd have to go all in with the bookmakers (i,e, let them dictate what they want) and that might not necessarily be league racing but hey if it brings sufficient funds into the sport.... The sport is made for betting... ...even to the point of having lengthy gaps between the action to allow for more betting. It's not like the sport has many more throws of the dice...

Sounds decent enough. Not my cup of tea but more importantly clearly not the TV viewing publics either. Don't get me wrong TV companies love filling their schedules with content... ...if people are watching and clearly they're not. Highlights show is fine but it will end up being on the graveyard slot and as someone has said what's the point if someone likes the highlights show enough to turn up to a meeting and it's nothing like the highlights! Everything now is in short bites. It's why nobody watches Match of the Day anymore. The goals from other games are available on the way home from the match. You've see everything you need to see in 10 minutes and you haven't had to listen to Alan Shearer waffle on. Speedway heats are ideal for that just not if you have to wait 10 minutes between them. Speedway was always a family sport but families are a different animal now where the kids call the leisure shots and they just don't like waiting for anything.

It's absolutely possible. everything is possible. you're viewing it from a rider/machinery perspective. that approach has got us this far. it's time to start to think about selling the public a product they want not what the makers of the product want to provide. I can guarantee you riding or being a mechanic or a TM/Promoter at a speedway meeting is way more exciting than it is attending one as a supporter. these people probably sit there and scratch their heads as to why nobody turns up as they probably all have a great time. race finishes 2 minutes on next heat starts. have a 5 min grading break after heat 5 and 10 if there's been no natural stoppages. make the participants adapt to that. will it effect the quality of the on track action? I doubt it.

exactly this. the product is poor. aside from the standard of on track action it's 15 minutes of action dragged out over 2 hours. it's supposed to be a high octane extreme sport. unless you're into tractors then it's dull. if the endless track grading improved the on track action then fair enough but invariably it doesn't seem to make any difference. 15 heats is a 60 minute job 20 heats 90 minutes. Stats are huge in all sports now. they even create stats in football to make it seem more interesting or fill more TV time. speedway is made for stats yet there's zero content. make the match format more flexible. people love watching live sport and having opinions on what subs to make, or what tactics to use or who to bowl from what end etc. just say everyone has to have a min three and max six rides and let the team manager work out the best line up. let the trailing team select the gates. you know stuff that would add to the interest. you still need exciting on track action and it doesn't get much better than at Belle Vue but if you're waiting 5 , 10, 15 mins between heats with nothing to discuss then you lose all momentum. It's like when you go to a gig and the set list gets the crowd singing then the band play a new one and everybody goes for a piss. speedway is like that but with 5 minutes silence between each song while the band tinker with their instruments and some random person in overalls sweeps the stage.

certainly has the potential to resolve the lack of riders problem. you can imagine a few 'retired' racers would consider comebacks if they aren't required to take the risk of investing in a bike and engine. could even reduce costs if the procurement is centralised. ie for the bikes engines and tuning. got to be cheaper than individual riders each agreeing their own suppliers. also you could share the equipment across a number of tracks ie Edinburgh Friday, Berwick Saturday and Glasgow Sunday. this is also how someone makes money out of it. ie instead of say 10 tuners profiting from 10 riders each you get to say 2 tuners profiting from 50 riders, standard scale stuff. same with engine suppliers, tyres, mechanics even etc etc. you potentially move the cash outlay for the promoters to pre season when they've not had any (maybe sponsorship?) income but as I understand it plenty of riders receive a sign on fee for these purposes anyway, which would no longer be required. it sounds a bit like the sustainable future for a 2nd tier does this and don't they have a load of Gerhardt engines just sitting there collecting dust? your problem would be how do rider progress from using supplied equipment and support to being able to compete internationally or in the top league but I guess that's no different from a rider deciding if they want to invest in top level equipment now. at least they'd have a choice having perhaps impressed and earned some money from 2nd tier racing. it would also definitely facilitate the use of top tier tracks in an expanded 2nd tier. happy to help if you need any help on that procurement generating value for money point.

The split of opinions here is exactly the problem that needs to be solved. One big league (any race night therefore no star names or enough riders but otherwise sustainable). Or A Premiership (Mon & Thursday with star names but not enough teams). As per my previous post I think you can have both. But the Premiership needs to be slimmed down. 8 teams 7 home and 7 away. Get it all done over June and July when the sports channels have no football. Like The Hundred in cricket. Give the broadcaster something they can focus on and market to a wider audience for a shorter period. That probably provides enough fixtures for the star riders and promoters, especially if whatever TV money is for a small number fixtures. Less is more. But not for the domestic riders or maybe the stadium owners or supporters The solution, Premiership teams also operate a 2nd tier team. Alongside the other current 2nd tier teams ie 14 team league. Where the riders come from at this point I don't know so maybe 6 or even 5 man teams initially. You could even have a different promoter running the 2nd Tier team. Yes the 2nd tier teams might not attract the same attendances as the Premiership fixtures but the operating cost will be lower without the star riders. It's basically the franchise cricket model where the top stars move around the globe to play in different leagues for different franchises supplemented by local players who return to domestic leagues once the circus has moved to the next (town) country.