Ipswich Witches 2026

[cowboy cookie returns?]

56 minutes ago, ouch said:

So Louis plays the Sandhu card due to the proposed set up not being to his liking. Try being a Belle Vue promoter and having to deal with the crap laid at our feet with irritating regularity. 

No matter how disgruntled you feel about not getting your own way you do not jump ship. Think of the bigger picture for once and not solely your own club as this thinking has got us into this situation we are now in. It’s better all round to try and attempt change from within rather than just washing your hands of our wonderful sport. You never win every battle but you still have hope to win the war. 

I posted when the NSS opened my concern of not having any top flight clubs to ride against due to the volatile nature of many promoting teams. It’s come to pass in the main due to this insular me, me, me thinking that culminates in this situation when things don’t go their way. We know it’s not a financial decision as like Poole in the second division the witches have the best crowds and due to incredible work done by Louis they have the best sponsor support. 

Pulling the rug like this has MASSIVE repercussions to the WHOLE sport in the UK and even if he gets his way and performs a U turn the damage from that press release will last. I feel for the witches supporters who would turn out to see their team in what ever guise they appeared. To have that potentially removed whilst the perpetrator sheds crocodile tears is particularly galling. Keep fighting guys, someone’s got to. 

Up the witches!

Totally disagree with that.

It obviously got to the stage where Louis can’t work with the others in the BSPA. Everything he does is ultra professional & runs a well supported & stable club. He proves it can be done.

For years he has been trying to drag the show up to the levels he feels it should be at. You get to the point where you can’t carry on otherwise you’ll go insane.

As for playing the Sandu card, remember Louis is someone who has been involved at Ipswich in a professional capacity since 1989. The Louis family have been at Foxhall in some capacity since 1969.

 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

For Louis to want out something is seriously wrong around the table.

The guy has been at Ipswich since 1989 either as a rider or promoter the club is his life. The louis family have been involved in some capacity since 1969. 
 

He obviously can’t see any future given events over the past few weeks.

Something has gone very wrong since the last meeting at Foxhall in October. At that point he was talking about next year & even after that was speaking to sponsors about next year.

Louis wanting out tells you all you need to know about the state of the sport in the uk. 

A sad day for Ipswich & uk speedway in general. Louis walking away is a hole that can’t be filled & possibly spells the end of the best run & supported club.

But I can’t say I blame him.

[PhilTheAce]

It is toys out the pram sadly. I called it weeks ago, this is not a shock. 
 

same will happen with belle vue

 

i understand they want a top league and top riders, we all do, but unfortunately it just doesn’t work here, 

 

get to one league for 26, try stable the ship and review things for next season. 
 

speedways not dying, I don’t believe this because the championship seems to be a mini success, 

 

so a year in champ won’t be the end of it. 
 

also, could still be 2 leagues. Louis wouldn’t race with 5 teams. All the others would so maybe there will be a 5 team top league with Ipswich included under new owners (guy nicholls or them that wanted to bring back Northampton)

[TTT]

I don't blame Chris for walking away, I would've done the same thing in his position.

Chris proved to everyone that you can make it work at PREM level, While others were just hell bent on destorying everything that he's worked hard for when it comes to Ipswich Speedway.

Chris is one of the very few who actually cares about the Sport, While the vast majority of others couldn't care less about it.

If the BSPL couldn't work as a Team during the most crucial AGM in Years.......Then they never were going to work as a Team at any point in the future.

[PhilTheAce]

2 minutes ago, TTT said:

I don't blame Chris for walking away, I would've done the same thing in his position.

Chris proved to everyone that you can make it work at PREM level, While others were just hell bent on destorying everything that he's worked hard for when it comes to Ipswich Speedway.

Chris is one of the very few who actually cares about the Sport, While the vast majority of others couldn't care less about it.

If the BSPL couldn't work as a Team during the most crucial AGM in Years.......Then they never were going to work as a Team at any point in the future.

I like Louis, but he’s been one of the 4 who’s been making the decisions all these years that’s sadly got us into this position, so he’s got to take some of the blame 

[TTT]

4 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

I like Louis, but he’s been one of the 4 who’s been making the decisions all these years that’s sadly got us into this position, so he’s got to take some of the blame 

To be fair though, It's impossible to make anything work when there's no togetherness.

Far too many operate as individuals at AGM's and it heavily restricts others who acutally want to make it work.

It is what it is.

[IainB]

6 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

I like Louis, but he’s been one of the 4 who’s been making the decisions all these years that’s sadly got us into this position, so he’s got to take some of the blame 

To be fair, while everything in the garden wasn't rosey, it was at least just about sustainable (and I mean just about) with a tv deal, as soon as that rug was pulled the PL was dead.

In the absence of any actual news and as you're a pretty reliable source... to die on the hill of BAU is actually more like suicide, clubs would have just fallen by the wayside as the season went on and I doubt the same number that started would have finished. 

[cowboy cookie returns?]

20 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

speedways not dying, I don’t believe this because the championship seems to be a mini success, 

But it is. Look at the reported crowd numbers. Most tracks 500 to 800 with a few exceptions. No one interested in a tv deal. No sponsors coming forward. Decreasing number of riders year on year.

Louis proved you can make a club work & at least break even, in Louis case turn  a profit.

However you have to be ultra professional & there aren’t many that come across that way.

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

16 minutes ago, TTT said:

To be fair though, It's impossible to make anything work when there's no togetherness.

Far too many operate as individuals at AGM's and it heavily restricts others who acutally want to make it work.

It is what it is.

And that is how it should be but with an independent body actually making the rules like in just about any other credible sport 

Edited 7 hours ago by THE DEAN MACHINE

[spin king]

Interesting that both directors on the BSPL  for the Premiership have announced from the end of the season and now have put their clubs up sale (Louis and Bates). 

Does make you feel as though there has been a breakdown between Promoters in the sport.

 

[mikebv]

1 hour ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

For Louis to want out something is seriously wrong around the table.

The guy has been at Ipswich since 1989 either as a rider or promoter the club is his life. The louis family have been involved in some capacity since 1969. 
 

He obviously can’t see any future given events over the past few weeks.

Something has gone very wrong since the last meeting at Foxhall in October. At that point he was talking about next year & even after that was speaking to sponsors about next year.

Louis wanting out tells you all you need to know about the state of the sport in the uk. 

A sad day for Ipswich & uk speedway in general. Louis walking away is a hole that can’t be filled & possibly spells the end of the best run & supported club.

But I can’t say I blame him.

Let's hope he comes out with the reasons and maybe it can help shape the future... 

[Cross Roads]

7 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

And that is how it should be but with an independent body actually making the rules like in just about any other credible sport 

Spot on totally agree, so what is stopping this being formed cost to develop, no long term vision, existing promotors not willing release power. Surely those promotors understand this is the way forward.

It will clearly not appease all but over early years once the structure is clear and most importantly stable as you say with other sports why can it not work. Most importantly also allows new potential clubs to understand the sports structure that is set for x years to put a credible business model together to understand break even point etc if to join...?.

[Wee Eck]

47 minutes ago, PhilTheAce said:

It is toys out the pram sadly. I called it weeks ago, this is not a shock. 
 

same will happen with belle vue

 

i understand they want a top league and top riders, we all do, but unfortunately it just doesn’t work here, 

 

get to one league for 26, try stable the ship and review things for next season. 
 

speedways not dying, I don’t believe this because the championship seems to be a mini success, 

 

so a year in champ won’t be the end of it. 
 

also, could still be 2 leagues. Louis wouldn’t race with 5 teams. All the others would so maybe there will be a 5 team top league with Ipswich included under new owners (guy nicholls or them that wanted to bring back Northampton)

But why would the “mini success” of the championship teams allow either their product to be watered down as they have to give quality riders away to ex-Prem teams or see their costs rocket because they have to take on ex-Prem riders to stay competitive?

This is a top league problem and they have their own CEO so it’s up to him and his team to sort without compromising other leagues. 

[Lefty]

Is it time for Belle Vue and Ipswich to ride in a Polish League? 

 

 

 

 

 

[chun]

2 minutes ago, Lefty said:

Is it time for Belle Vue and Ipswich to ride in a Polish League? 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s the only way to keep professional speedway in the country

[The Cheese]

Disappointing news. I thought Louis was one of the few promoters that had the ability and professionalism to help dig the sport out of this mess. Big loss to British speedway as well as Ipswich.

[TTT]

28 minutes ago, cowboy cookie returns? said:

But it is. Look at the reported crowd numbers. Most tracks 500 to 800 with a few exceptions. No one interested in a tv deal. No sponsors coming forward. Decreasing number of riders year on year.

Louis proved you can make a club work & at least break even, in Louis case turn  a profit.

However you have to be ultra professional & there aren’t many that come across that way.

Re-Build is just false hope........The Sport in the UK officially dies when Senior Fans (Respectful Term) can no longer physically attend.

Haiti have got just as much chance of winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup as British Speedway has at attracting a New Generation of Fans.

[SpeedwaySlider72]

24 minutes ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

And that is how it should be but with an independent body actually making the rules like in just about any other credible sport 

If you believe that the big decisions in any other major sports league are made by an independent body then you are mistaken. The rules may be implemented by an independent body but the direction of the leagues is very much set by the team owners.

The team owners make up the operating company of the leagues and will employ a CEO/Commissioner (who head up a team of staff) to implement their vision but they are ultimately answerable to the collective will of the teams. 

[noaksey]

Wanting to persist with a "model" that has caused several tracks to lose very significant amounts of money in the last few seasons is absolutely mad even if your own track is in reasonable shape

They were always going to run out of road at some point 

 

[ShanoXtra]

12 hours ago, GeneralMelchett said:

Well the big crowd for the playoffs will be reported in the next figures, I know in the JL days he used to say a big BH crowd in May / Easter time set them up for the season. 

 

I always feel I wouild be a fairly good promoter, Ive worked in finance all my life so i understand better than most the pressures of running a business from the admin / financial side. The problem is all those 50-60k losses per season add up and eventually the funding either runs dry or someone stops being prepared to throw away 200k or more!

The problem is not just speedway, i struggle to find any football clubs that are financially sound!

Disappointingly, Ipswich is probably the best run sporting town at the moment with the witches and Ipswich town football financially sound, I think that’s why everyone is so shocked and disappointed. The town was going through some kind of amazing high if you also include Fabio wardley.