What will 2026 UK speedway bring?

[1 valve]

7 hours ago, TB1 said:

How so? Surely a contract is a contract and if you break the terms?

Because the contracts include a cancellation clause stating such. 

[flagrag]

The Max Fricke information is solely based upon average rather than costs.

Unfortunately with Luke Becker getting injured in 2025 Max had to take his RR ride in heat 8 which he won nearly every race which has meant his average his increased more than expected combined with him also having his  best ever season in the UK it has made it difficult to try build a team that is strong throughout if a 39-40 limit had been agreed then there would be no issues 

[mikebv]

23 minutes ago, flagrag said:

The Max Fricke information is solely based upon average rather than costs.

Unfortunately with Luke Becker getting injured in 2025 Max had to take his RR ride in heat 8 which he won nearly every race which has meant his average his increased more than expected combined with him also having his  best ever season in the UK it has made it difficult to try build a team that is strong throughout if a 39-40 limit had been agreed then there would be no issues 

Only in Speedway....

[TTT]

1 hour ago, flagrag said:

The Max Fricke information is solely based upon average rather than costs.

Unfortunately with Luke Becker getting injured in 2025 Max had to take his RR ride in heat 8 which he won nearly every race which has meant his average his increased more than expected combined with him also having his  best ever season in the UK it has made it difficult to try build a team that is strong throughout if a 39-40 limit had been agreed then there would be no issues 

Thanks for the info flagrag, Only thing that made sense.

Fricke is a perfect fit for King's Lynn or Northampton, Clubs who aren't seriously going to challenge for Premiership glory.

For a club like Leicester the GSA is no good, Leicester would have to release all of Doulgas, Masters and Becker and replace them with 3 riders on 5.50 just to fit Max in.

[Kieran22222]

2 hours ago, flagrag said:

The Max Fricke information is solely based upon average rather than costs.

Unfortunately with Luke Becker getting injured in 2025 Max had to take his RR ride in heat 8 which he won nearly every race which has meant his average his increased more than expected combined with him also having his  best ever season in the UK it has made it difficult to try build a team that is strong throughout if a 39-40 limit had been agreed then there would be no issues 

How exactly are averages calculated. I always thought it was based on the riders programmed rides, but clearly I got that wrong if you are saying that RR rides are included

[Ben91]

25 minutes ago, Kieran22222 said:

How exactly are averages calculated. I always thought it was based on the riders programmed rides, but clearly I got that wrong if you are saying that RR rides are included

Points scored divided by rides taken (all rides) times by four. Hence the maximum average being 12. 

[Kieran22222]

Ah ok, that makes sense. I have always found the concept of teams being limited by averages a little weird, and imo it is part of the reason for the short term thinking in terms of rider development as it is not worth developing a rider as they improve their average and then you cant fit them in your team. It particularly affects the middle order riders or young reserves who reach a 6 or 7 average after a few years

[SteveLyric2]

2 hours ago, Ben91 said:

Points scored divided by rides taken (all rides) times by four. Hence the maximum average being 12. 

...and only from agreed meetings ie. no play-offs etc

[Steve0]

5 hours ago, flagrag said:

The Max Fricke information is solely based upon average rather than costs.

Unfortunately with Luke Becker getting injured in 2025 Max had to take his RR ride in heat 8 which he won nearly every race which has meant his average his increased more than expected combined with him also having his  best ever season in the UK it has made it difficult to try build a team that is strong throughout if a 39-40 limit had been agreed then there would be no issues 

And therein lies the problem.  You have a rider like Max trying to be the best that he can be and it effectively leads to him losing his job for the next season.  This is not the first time this has happened and is all down to the points limit.  Other teams appear to have been smarter and while it is great that a rider gives 100% in every race, they need to keep an eye on their average and hence their employability - e.g. Jason Doyle.  I remember when Leigh Adams was saddled with a ridiculous average (above 12) in the past - which makes team building a nightmare.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I’m hearing AGM postponed till January, anyone confirm ?

Edited 13 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE

[PersonalResponsibility]

The rules are a bit daft, but equally, they didn't need to use R/R at #2 and be forced into giving Fricke heat 8 every week. In any case, Fricke would likely have won any heat he rode in as a R/R. This is just a result of him being one of - if not the - best rider in the UK this year.

[Noelinho]

33 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I’m hearing AGM postponed till January, anyone confirm ?

Yes. Early January, possibly.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

1 minute ago, Noelinho said:

Yes. Early January, possibly.

Is that possibly maybe or possibly we’re not sure yet ? 😂

[Noelinho]

4 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Is that possibly maybe or possibly we’re not sure yet ? 😂

At this point, I wouldn't place much faith in any date even if they said it was confirmed.

[The White Knight]

58 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I’m hearing AGM postponed till January, anyone confirm ?

WOW!!

Obviously organization at Head Office appears to be as organised as the rest of Speedway.

You couldn't make it up.

[Tinker]

18 minutes ago, Noelinho said:

Yes. Early January, possibly.

If that's the case then rather worrying times and proverbially  suggests trouble at the mill. In my view, the Premiership cannot run with only five teams. Home and away at least three times, how boring is that? 

Other suggestions on here (either true or false) such as Northampton basing themselves at Oxford smacks of desperation. I can understand why Championship clubs do not want to take the risk of moving up so not really sure what the answer is ..... probably one league at Championship level with a great deal more variety at least.

[YeOldPitGate]

2 minutes ago, Tinker said:

If that's the case then rather worrying times and proverbially  suggests trouble at the mill. In my view, the Premiership cannot run with only five teams. Home and away at least three times, how boring is that? 

Other suggestions on here (either true or false) such as Northampton basing themselves at Oxford smacks of desperation. I can understand why Championship clubs do not want to take the risk of moving up so not really sure what the answer is ..... probably one league at Championship level with a great deal more variety at least.

Yep putting things back is never a good sign dear old Rachel Reeves coming budget a case in point try to delay the bad news for as long as possible it looks like the bspa are now entering into one of my favorite quotes "delay and pray"

[szkocjasid]

1 hour ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I’m hearing AGM postponed till January, anyone confirm ?

Can only imagine that'd make it much harder to find enough riders, riders may seek more foreign opportunities if they don't know they'll get a UK team spot?

Or get a "normal" job (that doesn't allow time off for Speedway) in case they aren't willing to wait for a team spot to be confirmed?

Edited 11 hours ago by szkocjasid

[YeOldPitGate]

6 minutes ago, szkocjasid said:

Can only imagine that'd make it much harder to find enough riders, riders may seek more foreign opportunities if they don't know they'll get a UK team spot?

Or get a "normal" job (that doesn't allow time off for Speedway) in case they aren't willing to wait for a team spot to be confirmed?

Personally I think the biggest issue will be not enough teams to form a top division of six absolute minimum.

[Youhave2minutes]

Just now, YeOldPitGate said:

Personally I think the biggest issue will be not enough teams to form a top division of six absolute minimum.

One must go up surely