Aries

Not Ipswich specific, but thought I’d link it here

Forecast now looks good Baggy, nice warm spring day so all systems go 👍🏻

https://ipswichwitches.co/edwards-home-comforts/ A preview or sorts 🥴 its bizarrely buried at the bottom of an article on Jason Edwards! No preview or words from the team manager like we used to get from Hawkins for every meeting either but hey ho. Personally, I’d have gone for Lawson at 2. From memory has a great record in heat one’s when the track is freshly graded. We know his gating skills.

Will be a shame 100%. Who else that isn’t tied to their own club is there to oversee the running of things? Bit of a worry tbh.

Agree and I think we’re all intrigued and looking forward to seeing PHB ride on Thursday. It’s the one signing that has generated a bit of interest and without him, it would all have felt a little flat with all due respect to the others. I’ve said it before, but I’ve always wanted to sign a Rew/Bangs every winter because it freshens things up and gives us someone new to run the rule over. We recycle the same old riders here generally and we know everything about them, what they can do, and how they ride. Bangs gives us that element of the unknown which is exciting. Impossible to predict how he’ll get on mind you. Seems a talent and a good signing on the face of it, but then again I thought Francis Gusts was a good signing for Oxford and he turned out to be awful so you never can tell.

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The newcomer wouldn’t ask that question because he/she/they/them/it wouldn’t have a clue who Brady Kurtz was.

Wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Fricke go through the card here. He was excellent on his visits last season and dropped very few points, and obviously doesn’t have Emil and Doyle to contend with this year either. He’s always been half decent in the past but he really stepped it up a gear last season like he did pretty much everywhere really. Will be interesting to see if he keeps that standard up, or if it was just one of those seasons where everything seemed to fall in to place for him. Chance for Brennan to lay down a marker of his own and show people he’s ready for that number 1 on his back.

Good to see a better night for Scotty.

I think those days are over for this season at least taps. Think we’ll do ok at home, but the wins will be fairly tight affairs.

No previews up yet from either club but thought I’d get a thread up and running. Going to feel a bit strange post the Louis era and also not hearing Kevin Long on the mic, but I’m looking forward to a meeting. Any result is possible here! Home win, away win or draw. I’ll sit on the fence and go 45-45.

https://britishspeedway.co.uk/2025-rider-statistics/ Looking at the home and away split, I’d definitely say Birmingham had home track advantage.

Think it was Rob Lyon wasn’t it Bagpuss? Could have been one of the others I’m not sure Edit: Actually think it was when he was discussing Ipswich’ chances and Musielak being key to us doing well. Mentioned him being on a cheap average partly due to riding at Birmingham with “no home track advantage”.

I don’t buy that argument at all. They would all have practiced and done many laps at Birmingham. Northampton not so for obvious reasons but that’s an anomaly and a unique case. Why didn’t Birmingham have any home advantage? I heard that nonsense earlier on that kings Lynn podcast and don’t believe a word of it Every track has an element of home track advantage. They had a poor record because they were quite frankly rubbish.

Totally agree and this has always been a bugbear of mine. There’s enough home advantage as it is and a home team should never be allowed to use a tactical.

Nice words from him about the new management at Ipswich though. He hasn’t been the first to compliment them either. Actions speak louder than words obviously but it’s encouraging all the same from an Ipswich perspective.

That Lawson made it quite clear to them early on that he had no interest in returning.

Always hard to predict as we know an injury or two (we know at Ipswich all too well) can bollox all your best plans! A strategic change or two can also make a huge difference. But as a bit of fun, as it stands I’d go for Sheffield Belle Vue Leicester/Lynn/Ipswich Northampton Genuinely can’t split the three teams below Sheffield and Belle Vue, they all look similar to me for different reasons. Leicester and Ipswich very similar, Lynn have more top end strength, but lose out at reserve. No matter how talented the kids are, they’ll be up against much stronger and experienced reserves in the short term. If Sheffield are injury free come September, they’ll win at a canter.

Let’s hope we get the Sheffield Tobi from a couple of seasons ago. On his day can beat the best in the League we’ve seen him do it. Things obviously weren’t right for him at Lynn whether that be the ankle injury or other reasons going by what you believe, and Birmingham was just a disaster for everyone with so much uncertainty which couldn’t have helped riders’ form. Let’s hope this move settles him down again and he produces what we know he’s capable of.

Another example but in reverse, is Jason Doyle. Was knocking around the reserve berth at Poole on a 4 and a half point average approaching his mid twenties before something clicked! World Champion. Appreciate that’s a unique case that’s not exactly common. So on one hand best not to put too much expectation on youngsters who seem to have all the talent, but at the same time not write off riders who don’t immediately produce early in their career.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Elite_League_speedway_season Just looking back to 2003 when John Louis chucked a 16 year old Danny King straight in to Elite league action, and he averaged 5.47 in a very very tough league full of quality. Cairns didn’t even manage that at reserve in a poor standard Championship. But that doesn’t mean he won’t progress to be a world class rider. Some of the best riders of all time started their careers slowly without much fanfare, while others who were hyped to the eyeballs early doors never progressed to anything other than average journeyman. It’s almost impossible to predict. Boughen was another who was hyped to death and look what happened there. Drew Kemp also.

All tracks can serve up dull meetings even the best ones like the NSS especially early in the season. You’ll get more entertaining ones than dull ones around there though over the course of the season.