What will 2026 UK speedway bring?

[mikebv]

24 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

If it comes to it that there is to be no Prem in 2026 but one league the general consensus is that there will be an insufficient number of riders to field a league of More than nine teams at an absolute push. 
No one should be surprised if none of the Prem clubs come to the tapes in 2026 especially if they are expected to make do with “left overs” for team building. 
Much better to spend 2026 planning ahead for a seven or eight team Prem in 2027 - if at all. 
Otherwise it’s a sad farewell to the Aces, Lions, Tigers, Stars & Witches with special thanks to the surviving promoters who really will reap what they sow. 

The sad reality is not many in the UK will even notice, nor care, if five teams don't come to the tapes next year.... 

It's been ran like a private members club, with, for a good many, a hobby rather than a sport, for so long, to become almost irrelevant...  

Eastbourne, Somerset, Peterborough, Coventry, Swindon, Wolves, Stoke, Exeter, Reading, Newport, Lakeside, Newcastle, Hull, Rye House, and the IOW have all closed since 2005 from the top two leagues..

Hardly been a ripple from outside the sport has there? 

[Ben91]

47 minutes ago, 1 valve said:

If it comes to it that there is to be no Prem in 2026 but one league the general consensus is that there will be an insufficient number of riders to field a league of More than nine teams at an absolute push. 
No one should be surprised if none of the Prem clubs come to the tapes in 2026 especially if they are expected to make do with “left overs” for team building. 
Much better to spend 2026 planning ahead for a seven or eight team Prem in 2027 - if at all. 
Otherwise it’s a sad farewell to the Aces, Lions, Tigers, Stars & Witches with special thanks to the surviving promoters who really will reap what they sow. 

Reaping what they sow by having the backbone to stand by their more sustainable model and not sacrificing one of their number to hold up the unsustainable top level for another year. The Premiership is the division killing off clubs, not the Championship. 

[ouch]

27 minutes ago, MARK246 said:

Championship Clubs, forced up into the " higher" league, have always had to run with "left overs" so no change there

https://www.fimspeedway.com/news/frickes-exciting-opportunity-with-lions

[MARK246]

7 minutes ago, ouch said:

https://www.fimspeedway.com/news/frickes-exciting-opportunity-with-lions

Exactly, the rider Lemon least wanted to keep 

Edited 3 hours ago by MARK246
Spelling

[SPEEDY69]

18 minutes ago, MARK246 said:

Exactly, the rider Lemon least wanted to keep 

Can't remember him saying that.

[IainB]

1 hour ago, 1 valve said:

If it comes to it that there is to be no Prem in 2026 but one league the general consensus is that there will be an insufficient number of riders to field a league of More than nine teams at an absolute push. 
No one should be surprised if none of the Prem clubs come to the tapes in 2026 especially if they are expected to make do with “left overs” for team building. 
Much better to spend 2026 planning ahead for a seven or eight team Prem in 2027 - if at all. 
Otherwise it’s a sad farewell to the Aces, Lions, Tigers, Stars & Witches with special thanks to the surviving promoters who really will reap what they sow. 

 

44 minutes ago, mikebv said:

The sad reality is not many in the UK will even notice, nor care, if five teams don't come to the tapes next year.... 

It's been ran like a private members club, with, for a good many, a hobby rather than a sport, for so long, to become almost irrelevant...  

Eastbourne, Somerset, Peterborough, Coventry, Swindon, Wolves, Stoke, Exeter, Reading, Newport, Lakeside, Newcastle, Hull, Rye House, and the IOW have all closed since 2005 from the top two leagues..

Hardly been a ripple from outside the sport has there? 

I tell you who will notice... land developers, for British Speedway to "choose" to run without 5 clubs next season is unthinkable and would be a suicidal move. Just at the point where the likes of Coventry, Swindon, Peterborough, Lakeside, Rye House, Wolverhampton et al are trying to prove to the local and national authorities that there is a need for these tracks to reopen if the powers that be decided to do this it'd be close to game over for those clubs. 

[ouch]

53 minutes ago, MARK246 said:

Exactly, the rider Lemon least wanted to keep 

Hobson choice, which is an annual occurrence for us. If it wasn’t Max it would have been another of our Aces made top liners that would have lined up against us for a new member of the top division. ‘Twas ever this. 

[mikebv]

35 minutes ago, IainB said:

 

I tell you who will notice... land developers, for British Speedway to "choose" to run without 5 clubs next season is unthinkable and would be a suicidal move. Just at the point where the likes of Coventry, Swindon, Peterborough, Lakeside, Rye House, Wolverhampton et al are trying to prove to the local and national authorities that there is a need for these tracks to reopen if the powers that be decided to do this it'd be close to game over for those clubs. 

Is there really a need for these tracks to reopen though?  

Where would the riders come from to fill the teams? 

Forget guesting, some would need to sign for two teams in the same league!!!

Isn't the cold hard reality that these clubs closing has actually helped to keep others going? 

 

[frigbo]

1 hour ago, mikebv said:

Is there really a need for these tracks to reopen though?  

Where would the riders come from to fill the teams? 

Forget guesting, some would need to sign for two teams in the same league!!!

Isn't the cold hard reality that these clubs closing has actually helped to keep others going? 

 

The counter-argument could be that plenty of these had larger fanbases than some of those that currently still operate and therefore they are of more benefit to the sport in general.

[mikebv]

2 minutes ago, frigbo said:

The counter-argument could be that plenty of these had larger fanbases than some of those that currently still operate and therefore they are of more benefit to the sport in general.

Maybe, but there is still the fundamental question of..

"Where would the riders come from?"...

If fhe likes of Swindon, Coventry, Wolves, and Peterborough came back over the next couple of years, all the tracks in the sport would need to use a level of rider that it appears some fans  don't want to see used now....

So many issues to overcome, sadly many of which are down to a lack of providing young UK riders with plemty of ring fenced opportunities...

With many of them being "victims of fhe numbers game" in double changes, even when they increased their averages..

Maybe going forward you should only be able to replace a 2pt rider with another one, and not be allowed to make them a makeweight in any double changes? 

[SPEEDY69]

1 minute ago, mikebv said:

Maybe, but there is still the fundamental question of..

"Where would the riders come from?"...

If fhe likes of Swindon, Coventry, Wolves, and Peterborough came back over the next couple of years, all the tracks in the sport would need to use a level of rider that it appears some fans  don't want to see used now....

So many issues to overcome, sadly many of which are down to a lack of providing young UK riders with plemty of ring fenced opportunities...

With many of them being "victims of fhe numbers game" in double changes, even when they increased their averages..

Maybe going forward you should only be able to replace a 2pt rider with another one, and not be allowed to make them a makeweight in any double changes? 

I don't think it would be a return for all those clubs at the same time!  They would have to work it out.  If a minnow club was lost because of a return of a well supported one I think that's still a better situation overall but I don't think it would necessarily come to that.

[mikebv]

Just now, SPEEDY69 said:

I don't think it would be a return for all those clubs at the same time!  They would have to work it out.  If a minnow club was lost because of a return of a well supported one I think that's still a better situation overall but I don't think it would necessarily come to that.

But that is one of the major problems the sport has...

They are all "minnow clubs" in the grand scheme of things...

Do any average more than 1800 a meeting? 

Many seem to average less than 1000...

It must be so difficult for those working hard to bring tracks back, and make out the local community "wants Speedway" that, when they ran, hundreds rather than  thousands, regularly visited those tracks....

[SPEEDY69]

That didn't make them unviable as businesses though - a profit can be made even on crowds of that size.

[1 valve]

3 hours ago, Rich said:

Would they? The court cases brought under "restraint of trade" regulations would be interesting. Withdrawal of licenses has been threatened many times but the ACU/BSPL know it's not an option. 

It would be very much an option for the BSPL.

As for any claims for "restraint of trade" That would be a non starter as the ACU have, like other national federations (FMN's) "legal standing" recognised by courts in countries where sanctioned events take place.

By obtaining an FIM or ACU (FMN) license, riders commit by contract to a specific set of rules, which typically require them to seek "start permission" from their home FMN to compete in events abroad, even those which might be sanctioned by another FIM-recognized body. Competing in an entirely unsanctioned rival organisation's championship without any authorisation is a clear breach of these terms. 

Ultimately, the FIM and FMN's  maintain control over the sport's structure by ensuring all participants operate within their approved framework, using the power to issue and globaly revoke licenses as the primary enforcement mechanism against rival organisations "poaching" their riders. 

Of course riders not holding a license issued by a FMN are completely free to ride wherever they so wish to do so, but would exclude FIM/FMN events.   

  

[1 valve]

3 hours ago, MARK246 said:

Championship Clubs, forced up into the " higher" league, have always had to run with "left overs" so no change there

 

3 hours ago, MARK246 said:

Championship Clubs, forced up into the " higher" league, have always had to run with "left overs" so no change there

Not entirely true. Granted new clubs have found it tough in the last couple of years but when in 2023 the Lions rejoined the Premier League they finished level with Ipswich in fourth place on 34 points which was fourteen & twenty four points more than established clubs Peterborough and Kings Lynn respectively. 
    

[1 valve]

3 hours ago, mikebv said:

The sad reality is not many in the UK will even notice, nor care, if five teams don't come to the tapes next year.... 

It's been ran like a private members club, with, for a good many, a hobby rather than a sport, for so long, to become almost irrelevant...  

Eastbourne, Somerset, Peterborough, Coventry, Swindon, Wolves, Stoke, Exeter, Reading, Newport, Lakeside, Newcastle, Hull, Rye House, and the IOW have all closed since 2005 from the top two leagues..

Hardly been a ripple from outside the sport has there? 

You are correct, outside of the speedway world very few folk if any will care. But maybe that also is the same for those within the sport too. 
Its interesting to note circa twelve of the clubs listed were lost to development with great sadness expressed by many at the nasty workings of developers and the greed of land owners.
Yet here we are with folk shrugging their shoulders at the possible demise of five, (definitely three) clubs who have perfectly good viable stadiums, two of which have been built from scratch in the last fifteen years.

[Fromafar]

Think most fans don’t give sh#t these days ,just go along with flow to see a meeting. No credibility in the sport . Racing can be OK though.