What will 2026 UK speedway bring?

[gazzac]

7 hours ago, ouch said:

As we have a chance for a major reset in UK speedway, I’d like to ask any mechanical boffins how easy is it to make the kit massively cheaper?

You can’t just change regs overnight in a big way as that sees riders with expensive & unusable out of date parts but can costs be driven down with minor tweaks as time goes on?

A speedway bike will always be a speedway bike but it would be nice to have a cheaper alternative to the highly tuned rocket ships currently blighting the domestic scene. 

Not a boffin, but maybe a rev limiter ( or a lower set one) or grippier tracks so they don't rev their nuts off spinning away...

[TigerIain]

4 hours ago, Phannan said:

One league it is then. Let’s just hope that meets Glasgow’s and Poole’s requirements. 

Pretty sure their only requirement is that next season is financially viable. So let's hope it meets that. For ALL clubs

[noaksey]

3 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

The issue is a real drop in standard but not being able to drop admission costs to match.

coupled with less sponsorship money coming in & the likelihood that gates would drop.

That lower standard turns what was a decent business model at Ipswich in speedway terms to one that loses money.

 

If admission prices turn out to be too high payments to riders will have to reduce wether they like it or not 

 

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv]

3 hours ago, TB1 said:

I'd much rather have that than no Foxhall to go to on a Thursday night thanks!

 

3 hours ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

The issue is a real drop in standard but not being able to drop admission costs to match.

coupled with less sponsorship money coming in & the likelihood that gates would drop.

That lower standard turns what was a decent business model at Ipswich in speedway terms to one that loses money.

 

Spot on

This change probably/possibly could cost Chris as much as the potential extra costs putting those not wanting to move up to a top level Premiership

[cowboy cookie returns?]

1 minute ago, noaksey said:

If admission prices turn out to be too high payments to riders will have to reduce wether they like it or not 

 

That will never happen though. 
Years of cost cutting have never really resulted in reduced costs but ever increasing admission fees.

 

[noaksey]

5 minutes ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

That will never happen though. 
Years of cost cutting have never really resulted in reduced costs but ever increasing admission fees.

 

Then eventually the whole thing will go broke so the choices are

Overpay and go broke

Pay what you can afford and reset the whole sport on a semi professional basis if that what it takes. It might not work but it's much better than going skint 

[truthsayer]

23 hours ago, ouch said:

As we have a chance for a major reset in UK speedway, I’d like to ask any mechanical boffins how easy is it to make the kit massively cheaper?

You can’t just change regs overnight in a big way as that sees riders with expensive & unusable out of date parts but can costs be driven down with minor tweaks as time goes on?

A speedway bike will always be a speedway bike but it would be nice to have a cheaper alternative to the highly tuned rocket ships currently blighting the domestic scene. 

That short term hit would be a major reason not to standardise equipment.

There's nothing to suggest the 'product' wouldn't be as good, if not better on lower powered and more durable engines, but the cost of bringing this equipment in and policing it would be high. Add in the objections from those whose equipment would be made obsolete, and whose businesses would suffer, and it feels like something that's just too big right now.

But most forms of motorsport have gone through a similar process at some stage and if British speedway survives this would inevitably have to be part of the 'new' sport.

[SteveLyric2]

Meanwhile Championship clubs continue to announce signings....!

[Bagpuss]

13 minutes ago, SteveLyric2 said:

Meanwhile Championship clubs continue to announce signings....!

If it ends up being one league then some of those signings will mean very little as the points limit will probably change and some riders will want to stay with their former Prem club or go elsewhere for a better deal. 

[Aries]

34 minutes ago, Bagpuss said:

If it ends up being one league then some of those signings will mean very little as the points limit will probably change and some riders will want to stay with their former Prem club or go elsewhere for a better deal. 

It’ll be a mixed bag. Some of those riders will stay loyal, some will back out of those deals and be off quicker than a rat up a drainpipe. 
 

None of the championship clubs will feel confident about the signings they’ve already made IF as you say, and that’s the pivotal word, IF, there ends up being one league. 

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

2 hours ago, truthsayer said:

That short term hit would be a major reason not to standardise equipment.

There's nothing to suggest the 'product' wouldn't be as good, if not better on lower powered and more durable engines, but the cost of bringing this equipment in and policing it would be high. Add in the objections from those whose equipment would be made obsolete, and whose businesses would suffer, and it feels like something that's just too big right now.

This argument is a redundant one, less revs can achieved easily with something as cheap as a cam with less lift and the equipment replacement doesn’t exist as if a better faster engine came out tomorrow every rider would dump their GMs in a flash just like they did from Jap to 2v Jawa -weslake-GM and we will probably see it again soon if reports of the revolver carb are true, riders will dump their £1000 blixt carbs in an instant and buy revolver ones 

[Glen]

A one league scenario with or without the current gp riders might make a difference to riders expectations.
Would they carry additional equipment - servicing - wear and tear on that equipment that a double upper needed to compete in a higher standard league.

I can also see the opposite as the standard will be dictated by who rides in one league - in effect one or two ‘top’ riders could dictate the outcome for whole league. I imagine this was considered in 1965 when similar situation existed where I think Barry Briggs was head and shoulders above everyone else.

[SUPERACE]

On 11/22/2025 at 9:41 PM, mikebv said:

I would if the play off four weren't set in stone by the end of March......

Your promoter has thrown his toys right out of the pram by the looks of things..

I had huge respect for him but he has shown he is as inward looking as the rest of them, when I had high hopes for him to lead the sport...

Cometh the hour. Cometh the man...

He, seemingly,  has "ran off"....

Which. Is a huge shame for the sport, given that Chris was genuinely one of the few who could see the potential of it, if it could be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century...

A sad loss...

Mike's words wont be taken well by some, mostly Ipswich fans.  But like them or not hes absolutely right.  CL has quit because hes struggling to get his own way, hes showed hes no better than those who have gone before him.  Hes let Ipswich down hes let the UK Speedway down, especially when most thought we was different.  

[SUPERACE]

On 11/23/2025 at 9:10 AM, norbold said:

There is a lot of talk about teams like Belle Vue and Ipswich (if they run) having to "drop down" next season, but, of course, if the Premier League as it currently exists is no longer, the new single league will, de facto, be the top league, so, actually, it is a matter of the other teams moving up! It's just that the standard won't be so good.

Correct

[SPEEDY69]

8 minutes ago, SUPERACE said:

Mike's words wont be taken well by some, mostly Ipswich fans.  But like them or not hes absolutely right.  CL has quit because hes struggling to get his own way, hes showed hes no better than those who have gone before him.  Hes let Ipswich down hes let the UK Speedway down, especially when most thought we was different.  

 And you know this how?  He's certainly not let me down and the 6-7k crowd for the play off final was testament to the hard work that's been put in. 

[aarongaleuk]

22 minutes ago, SUPERACE said:

Mike's words wont be taken well by some, mostly Ipswich fans.  But like them or not hes absolutely right.  CL has quit because hes struggling to get his own way, hes showed hes no better than those who have gone before him.  Hes let Ipswich down hes let the UK Speedway down, especially when most thought we was different.  

I disagree, If someone of his calibre is selling his club something is seriously wrong, he's fed up of banging his head against a brick wall year in year out and he's finally done, I don't blame him.

[Iamnotanumber]

44 minutes ago, SPEEDY69 said:

 And you know this how?  He's certainly not let me down and the 6-7k crowd for the play off final was testament to the hard work that's been put in. 

Maybe it's just a negotiating tactic. He said that he would not support a 5 team Premier League and, possibly, this is the way it looks like going. He might force a change of plan, he might not.

[1 valve]

3 hours ago, SUPERACE said:

Mike's words wont be taken well by some, mostly Ipswich fans.  But like them or not hes absolutely right.  CL has quit because hes struggling to get his own way, hes showed hes no better than those who have gone before him.  Hes let Ipswich down hes let the UK Speedway down, especially when most thought we was different.  

You could well be correct but rather than quitting because he has failed to get his own way the likelihood is CL has stepped down because the alternatives proposed by his BSPL colleagues went well against his own beliefs and he has simply decided not to support such initiatives with his own hard earned money. 
Sometimes a person has to stand by what he believes is right. Ipswich can still go on, just need to find somebody who believes in the new super future of UK speedway far more than CL. 

[LisaColette]

2 hours ago, Iamnotanumber said:

Maybe it's just a negotiating tactic. He said that he would not support a 5 team Premier League and, possibly, this is the way it looks like going. He might force a change of plan, he might not.

Tbh i thought that when it was announced. So a Championship club moved up recluctantly. 

[Daniel Smith]

13 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

You could well be correct but rather than quitting because he has failed to get his own way the likelihood is CL has stepped down because the alternatives proposed by his BSPL colleagues went well against his own beliefs and he has simply decided not to support such initiatives with his own hard earned money. 
Sometimes a person has to stand by what he believes is right. Ipswich can still go on, just need to find somebody who believes in the new super future of UK speedway far more than CL. 

Which, as we've all said many times about Promoters, it's 'all about me' & never what's best for British Speedway. 

Louis could well be right about the direction the sport should go, but he's been part of the collective that's taken this sport down with the Titanic for decades.

Here's the thing. 

Why should any other p promoter trust him? Why should any promoter trust Lemon? Why should any other promoter trust Ford?

That's it, they all can't trust each other because they've no interest in British Speedway, just self serving. 

The only way this sport can be saved is a totally independent body. Doesn't matter the route that gets taken without that, as has continually happened over many decades, the sport is just going to continue to devour itself.