Speedway 2026 ??

[Hamster00]

I understand some people have very strong opinions on play offs but I think without them our sport would be even less interesting to many people, they provide drama and no doubt a very important stream of income for a lot of teams.

I went up to Glasgow last night as a neutral purely and simply on the basis of it being in the balance and with the hope of a dramatic meeting which was delivered in droves going all the way down to a last heat decider.

The place was absolutely packed, programmes sold out by the time I arrived, I’m sorry but if you remove the play offs you lose all that.

Those that say that more people might attend league meetings if it counts more towards a league title may be discounting the fact that teams on the edge of the play off bubble these days may lose crowds because by August they’d be out of the title race and nothing to play for, with this system most teams have something to race for for most of the season.

[The White Knight]

35 minutes ago, Hamster00 said:

I understand some people have very strong opinions on play offs but I think without them our sport would be even less interesting to many people, they provide drama and no doubt a very important stream of income for a lot of teams.

I went up to Glasgow last night as a neutral purely and simply on the basis of it being in the balance and with the hope of a dramatic meeting which was delivered in droves going all the way down to a last heat decider.

The place was absolutely packed, programmes sold out by the time I arrived, I’m sorry but if you remove the play offs you lose all that.

Those that say that more people might attend league meetings if it counts more towards a league title may be discounting the fact that teams on the edge of the play off bubble these days may lose crowds because by August they’d be out of the title race and nothing to play for, with this system most teams have something to race for for most of the season.

We must agree to differ. 🙂

[False dawn]

22 minutes ago, Hamster00 said:

I understand some people have very strong opinions on play offs but I think without them our sport would be even less interesting to many people, they provide drama and no doubt a very important stream of income for a lot of teams.

I went up to Glasgow last night as a neutral purely and simply on the basis of it being in the balance and with the hope of a dramatic meeting which was delivered in droves going all the way down to a last heat decider.

The place was absolutely packed, programmes sold out by the time I arrived, I’m sorry but if you remove the play offs you lose all that.

Those that say that more people might attend league meetings if it counts more towards a league title may be discounting the fact that teams on the edge of the play off bubble these days may lose crowds because by August they’d be out of the title race and nothing to play for, with this system most teams have something to race for for most of the season.

What a week I've had. At Leicester on Monday. The Lions get my support while I wait for Brandon to reopen. And watching them claw their way back to win by 90-89 was sensational. The tension waiting for heat 15 to start was palpable. The feeling waiting for the rerun to start after the Tigers had made the start first time round was almost unbearable. And for Max to fly off gate 4 to seal the deal was truly memorable (apologies to all my Yorkshire pals).
Then to sit down and watch Glasgow Edinburgh on BSN last night was another treat. A hard fought meeting which either side could have won. But to achieve a 10 point swing in 3 heats is hard to argue with.
So any lingering doubts that the play offs are a good idea have been banished, from my mind at least.

P.S. The delight continues. I saw Dougy win his testimonial tonight and I'm off to Torun on Tuesday to see GB win the SON (I can dream).

[StevePark]

14 hours ago, 1 valve said:

The simple mathematical truth is that there are insufficient riders of competitive quality to make up the number of teams you suggest are being considered for “one league”. 

That, of course, depends on how many riders will be in the teams!! Some have suggested five riders per team, with many others saying six.  It doesn't necessarily have to be seven man teams.  It went down to six per team in 1997 (but soon went back to seven!!).

[1 valve]

1 hour ago, StevePark said:

That, of course, depends on how many riders will be in the teams!! Some have suggested five riders per team, with many others saying six.  It doesn't necessarily have to be seven man teams.  It went down to six per team in 1997 (but soon went back to seven!!).

Also consider that there would need to be multiple race nights in addition to Mon & Thurs which would rule out riders who compete in Poland, Sweden & Denmark. 
In that scenario even 5 man teams would not be possible.  
 

[SpeedwaySlider72]

On 9/27/2025 at 6:36 AM, Aries said:

All the other top riders will be missing and riding in Poland also so a guest will be one of a lesser quality therefore weakling their side. 

Maybe British speedway can exist without these riders and focus on the ones that want to race in Britain as a priority? This opens up opportunities for young riders to establish themselves and clubs become more stable as they don't live beyond their means by paying riders who don't see Britain as a priority.

[Youhave2minutes]

What will 2026 UK speedway bring?
 

A Headache