2026 and beyond

[tonyd]

Following on from the Plymouth team on Saturday having 4 guests and r/r to join there two available riders the Speedway Control Board has seen a way forward and are considering the following ........

1) All riders will be under contract to the SCB

2) All riders will be graded according to there riding average

3) For every match 14 riders will be allotted to the track with 2x number ones, 2 x number twos etc

4) Prior to the start of the match  each pair of riders will be drawn out of a hat until both teams have a 1-7 (like heat 15 at present the supporters will have to fill out the riders in the programme)

5) Each team will then pull on the relevant race jacket and the match can commence 

6) At the end of the match the riders hand back the race jackets, head home and await the instructions of their next match  

 

Further to this idea there is a consideration of adding defunct teams to bolster the league and will not have a home track but run as nomad teams on other available tracks.

 

This is all tongue in cheek as I'm only joking ( I think) 🤣🤣🤣

[IainB]

For point 4) riders should be picked in turn by the team manager... leaving the fat lad until last. 

Sorry Ben Barker 😂

[norbold]

Or they could dip for each rider, "Dip, dip, dip, my little ship...etc." (Ruder versions are available).

[singy13]

2 hours ago, tonyd said:

Following on from the Plymouth team on Saturday having 4 guests and r/r to join there two available riders the Speedway Control Board has seen a way forward and are considering the following ........

1) All riders will be under contract to the SCB

2) All riders will be graded according to there riding average

3) For every match 14 riders will be allotted to the track with 2x number ones, 2 x number twos etc

4) Prior to the start of the match  each pair of riders will be drawn out of a hat until both teams have a 1-7 (like heat 15 at present the supporters will have to fill out the riders in the programme)

5) Each team will then pull on the relevant race jacket and the match can commence 

6) At the end of the match the riders hand back the race jackets, head home and await the instructions of their next match  

 

Further to this idea there is a consideration of adding defunct teams to bolster the league and will not have a home track but run as nomad teams on other available tracks.

 

This is all tongue in cheek as I'm only joking ( I think) 🤣🤣🤣

If there is four fixtures in one night that will require 56 physically fit riders to be allocated - nah no chance.

[ShanoXtra]

I’ve heard they are going to chose each riders designated teams by rock, scissors, paper!

[Chris116]

15 hours ago, ShanoXtra said:

I’ve heard they are going to chose each riders designated teams by rock, scissors, paper!

Didn't someone get in trouble recently for using that system?

[Spencer]

If clubs can’t track a full 1–7 without guests or R/R, the sport needs a more sustainable solution with better squad depth or fixture planning.

[mikebv]

On 8/17/2025 at 12:02 PM, tonyd said:

Following on from the Plymouth team on Saturday having 4 guests and r/r to join there two available riders the Speedway Control Board has seen a way forward and are considering the following ........

1) All riders will be under contract to the SCB

2) All riders will be graded according to there riding average

3) For every match 14 riders will be allotted to the track with 2x number ones, 2 x number twos etc

4) Prior to the start of the match  each pair of riders will be drawn out of a hat until both teams have a 1-7 (like heat 15 at present the supporters will have to fill out the riders in the programme)

5) Each team will then pull on the relevant race jacket and the match can commence 

6) At the end of the match the riders hand back the race jackets, head home and await the instructions of their next match  

 

Further to this idea there is a consideration of adding defunct teams to bolster the league and will not have a home track but run as nomad teams on other available tracks.

 

This is all tongue in cheek as I'm only joking ( I think) 🤣🤣🤣

I read that (right until the bottom line), thinking...

"2026? Surely these are what the current regs are?"...

[mikebv]

18 minutes ago, Spencer said:

If clubs can’t track a full 1–7 without guests or R/R, the sport needs a more sustainable solution with better squad depth or fixture planning.

Are you mad?!!!!...

If it ain't broken, there is simply no need to fix it....

[BackInTheDHSS]

On 8/17/2025 at 10:17 PM, ShanoXtra said:

I’ve heard they are going to chose each riders designated teams by rock, scissors, paper!

That’s how Peter Schroeck already does it. 

[Glen]

I get the feeling a few clubs and their promotions dictate the rules for the rest.

isnt it time to reorganise the whole system with one league, team strengths, number of riders per team, number of rides per match and the riders costing clubs a fortune and giving very little in return.

[heathen52]

2 hours ago, Glen said:

I get the feeling a few clubs and their promotions dictate the rules for the rest.

isnt it time to reorganise the whole system with one league, team strengths, number of riders per team, number of rides per match and the riders costing clubs a fortune and giving very little in return.

I get the feeling that you may be right.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

next year it has to be one big league and teams run on what ever day they want, reduced admission to less than £20,maybe 6 man teams, I don’t know how we make all the above work as I understand all the complications that come with it but this has to be the starting point, the sport is at an all time low and on the point of extinction, there is an appetite for speedway but the sport and its potential fan base seem to be worlds apart at the moment 

Edited 4 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

next year it has to be one big league and teams run on what ever day they want, reduced admission to less than £20,maybe 6 man teams, I don’t know who we make all the above work as I understand all the complications that come with it but this has to be the starting point, the sport is at an all time low and on the point of extinction, there is an appetite for speedway but the sport and its potential fan base seem to be worlds apart at the moment 

Spot on comment about there being an appetite for Speedway...

At the NSS there have been two good crowds this year, yesterday and the PCMM...

One being ran on a BHM and the other being ran early in the season with a top class field..

If those who attended, me included, saw enough in the product to attend more regularly then 2000 plus crowds would be the norm...

Running on a normal Monday simply restricts crowds, weekend is "leisure time"..

Running several meetings as "meaningless", as the play off positions are set in stone from May, simply restricts crowds...

And running meetings when you know (well in advance) that riders will be missing, but happily replacing them with competitor's employees, simply restricts crowds..

It costs me over fifty quid for me and my lad as he works PT and has much better things to spend his money on, meaning we attend three, maybe four times a season..

Get it down to thirty quid for us both and it would easily be double figure attendance for us both...

Personally, given the Mickey Mouse operating model, neither of us care who wins (like many others who sporadically attend), as the credibility of the competitions is almost zero, but we do love watching the racing at the NSS as it can be breathtaking... 

As you say, that disconnect needs to be sorted...

They could start by running meetings on the best night for the fans to attend in the highest numbers..

Run with less riders per team to make supply exceed demand for adhoc and longer term replacements, which then brings credibility....

And set an admission fee that reflects the standing of the sport in the UK, and the 15 mins or so of entertainment that is actually on offer...

The core product is still very watchable, the nonsense surrounding it doesn't do it any favours...

[Fortythirtyeight]

We can all see the problems but no one, myself included, has the answers. Let me give you just a couple of examples that will have to be faced.

Say I run a team in a rented stadium, the landlord wants to increase the rent. My crowd is decreasing by 10%-15% or thereabouts every season but the fans want a reduction in admittance charges. How do I balance the books?

My imaginary no.1 is on points money in my championship league and typically picks up between £900-£1200 on a good night. He also rides in the Premiership and is paid a ‘guarantee’ of around £2,000 ( or more in certain clubs) a meeting. The fans want the sport to go ‘ one league ‘, you think the rider wants that and cut his earnings by half ? Then theres the matter of which team he wants to ride for as he is always going to pick the clubs who pay best leaving half the ‘one league’ with the riders who aren't in demand elsewhere.

I could go on but wont, the problems are massive. There are only a handful of clubs who can balance the books , the rest rely on generous sponsors or rich owners, one league would kill the smaller clubs without major changes on how the sport is run. You think those that are choking the sport at the moment have the brains to make dramatic changes ?

I fear not.

 

[Fromafar]

2 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

next year it has to be one big league and teams run on what ever day they want, reduced admission to less than £20,maybe 6 man teams, I don’t know how we make all the above work as I understand all the complications that come with it but this has to be the starting point, the sport is at an all time low and on the point of extinction, there is an appetite for speedway but the sport and its potential fan base seem to be worlds apart at the moment 

 Agree.Back to basics has to be the answer.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

20 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

We can all see the problems but no one, myself included, has the answers. Let me give you just a couple of examples that will have to be faced.

Say I run a team in a rented stadium, the landlord wants to increase the rent. My crowd is decreasing by 10%-15% or thereabouts every season but the fans want a reduction in admittance charges. How do I balance the books?

My imaginary no.1 is on points money in my championship league and typically picks up between £900-£1200 on a good night. He also rides in the Premiership and is paid a ‘guarantee’ of around £2,000 ( or more in certain clubs) a meeting. The fans want the sport to go ‘ one league ‘, you think the rider wants that and cut his earnings by half ? Then theres the matter of which team he wants to ride for as he is always going to pick the clubs who pay best leaving half the ‘one league’ with the riders who aren't in demand elsewhere.

I could go on but wont, the problems are massive. There are only a handful of clubs who can balance the books , the rest rely on generous sponsors or rich owners, one league would kill the smaller clubs without major changes on how the sport is run. You think those that are choking the sport at the moment have the brains to make dramatic changes ?

I fear not.

 

While all your points are valid, they are under the current system of running the sport, which doesn’t work anymore,if things were to change within the current financial structure of the sport and from what I believe they are changing (I hope they are )then the changes needed may work, I understand it’s not going to be popular and I can see some kicking and screaming but what’s the alternative? The alternative is the end and that suits nobody, I had a long chat with someone at Birmingham last night (not connected to Bham)about finances and although I sort of already knew but it was quite staggering to hear just how far from the point which imo we should be operating at we have gone as a sport and it goes right from top to bottom and it’s unsustainable 

Edited 3 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE

[Fromafar]

47 minutes ago, Fortythirtyeight said:

We can all see the problems but no one, myself included, has the answers. Let me give you just a couple of examples that will have to be faced.

Say I run a team in a rented stadium, the landlord wants to increase the rent. My crowd is decreasing by 10%-15% or thereabouts every season but the fans want a reduction in admittance charges. How do I balance the books?

My imaginary no.1 is on points money in my championship league and typically picks up between £900-£1200 on a good night. He also rides in the Premiership and is paid a ‘guarantee’ of around £2,000 ( or more in certain clubs) a meeting. The fans want the sport to go ‘ one league ‘, you think the rider wants that and cut his earnings by half ? Then theres the matter of which team he wants to ride for as he is always going to pick the clubs who pay best leaving half the ‘one league’ with the riders who aren't in demand elsewhere.

I could go on but wont, the problems are massive. There are only a handful of clubs who can balance the books , the rest rely on generous sponsors or rich owners, one league would kill the smaller clubs without major changes on how the sport is run. You think those that are choking the sport at the moment have the brains to make dramatic changes ?

I fear not.

 

No one has the answers,but for me the riders are dictating the sport with their wage demands and the moaning that they can’t make it pay unless they ride in both leagues . The fans are fed up seeing the same riders every week riding for different Clubs.Its just not a credible sport.

eg

Your rider helping other Teams ,comprising your Teams chances.(just one).Thete are many more examples.

 

 

[Ray Stadia]

38 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

While all your points are valid, they are under the current system of running the sport, which doesn’t work anymore,if things were to change within the current financial structure of the sport and from what I believe they are changing (I hope they are )then the changes needed may work, I understand it’s not going to be popular and I can see some kicking and screaming but what’s the alternative? The alternative is the end and that suits nobody, I had a long chat with someone at Birmingham last night (not connected to Bham)about finances and although I sort of already knew but it was quite staggering to hear just how far from the point which imo we should be operating at we have gone as a sport and it goes right from top to bottom and it’s unsustainable 

The simple fact, which I have banged on about for years and have received much criticism against my views, is the costs for the riders, promoters and spectators, needs to greatly reduce. Some of the people who criticised my comments, their tracks have long gone! No names, no pack drill, but Newcastle springs to mind! 

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

2 minutes ago, Ray Stadia said:

The simple fact, which I have banged on about for years and have received much criticism against my views, is the costs for the riders, promoters and spectators, needs to greatly reduce. Some of the people who criticised my comments, their tracks have long gone! No names, no pack drill, but Newcastle springs to mind! 

But you haven’t offered examples of how to reduce the costs for riders promoters and fans, saying standardising engines isn’t really a workable solution which is a common theme and what does that even mean ? there are things that can be done to reduce costs to engines but there is no will to do it, I (blowing my own trumpet here ) have suggested more than most in the sport about ways to reduce bike costs but nobody listens and I also get stick for it from the current clique in the sport which is fine,I speak to tuners, riders,ex riders and put my thoughts to them, some agree some don’t but nothing changes, bigger ex riders than me know you face a brick wall to get change and don’t bother .promoters just cutting the wages again isn’t going to wash,there has to be a trade off, we have all been saying it for years but nobody ever really comes up with a workable solution, me included