Mildenhall 2026

[Byker Biker]

On 3/15/2026 at 12:47 PM, TMW said:

Who runs this forum these days ? Maybe there should be a Nora section so people could keep up to date with what’s on !!  

And maybe not if you look at the very public bickering on Social Media right now which makes the sport look juvenile. This is an example of why the BSPA/BSPL have rules and penalties not withstanding their opposition to Nomad teams run by well meaning amateurs.

[*JJ]

6 hours ago, Byker Biker said:

And maybe not if you look at the very public bickering on Social Media right now which makes the sport look juvenile. This is an example of why the BSPA/BSPL have rules and penalties not withstanding their opposition to Nomad teams run by well meaning amateurs.

What do  you mean by this? I never understood why they banned 'nomad' teams.

[JamesHarris]

2 hours ago, *JJ said:

What do  you mean by this? I never understood why they banned 'nomad' teams.

It's a tricky one but I do get why the BSPL lost patience and pulled the plug on them. Back when the MDL started in 2011/12 we accepted a few "nomadic teams" into the fold. It was good to begin with as it obviously provided a platform for younger riders to get more track time and it also provided a platform the those who were genuinely wanted to bring the sport back to places like Long Eaton for example. Some of the "ghost teams" were run by enthusiasts who above all wanted to put youth development first. Unfortunately other "ghost teams" were run by individuals who only cared about trophy's and winning at all costs to put it politely. These said individuals were not the most savoury of people either. The abuse we received from them was shocking. They were using older former NL riders to win meeting which although was within the rules if they didn't have a NL team place was completely against the ethos of the league.  They were essentially playing fantasy speedway without having to pay the promotional costs and fees. This of course ruined it for the others. I think when Cradley packed in it gave the BSPL the perfect excuse to put a ban on nomad teams.   

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

1 hour ago, JamesHarris said:

It's a tricky one but I do get why the BSPL lost patience and pulled the plug on them. Back when the MDL started in 2011/12 we accepted a few "nomadic teams" into the fold. It was good to begin with as it obviously provided a platform for younger riders to get more track time and it also provided a platform the those who were genuinely wanted to bring the sport back to places like Long Eaton for example. Some of the "ghost teams" were run by enthusiasts who above all wanted to put youth development first. Unfortunately other "ghost teams" were run by individuals who only cared about trophy's and winning at all costs to put it politely. These said individuals were not the most savoury of people either. The abuse we received from them was shocking. They were using older former NL riders to win meeting which although was within the rules if they didn't have a NL team place was completely against the ethos of the league.  They were essentially playing fantasy speedway without having to pay the promotional costs and fees. This of course ruined it for the others. I think when Cradley packed in it gave the BSPL the perfect excuse to put a ban on nomad teams.   

I’ve just read the mess that’s been talked about on social media and I’ll say this, speedway never learns from its mistakes, maybe we should introduce a points system for anyone who wants to get involved, everyone starts at 5 points and you lose a point for every black mark against your name and when you down to 3 points you’re not allowed to run/promote any speedway team, some may say we wouldn’t have anybody left to promote/run any teams. Well that’s the point we keep getting bad wood 

Edited April 12 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[Marky_Mark]

1 hour ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

I’ve just read the mess that’s been talked about on social media and I’ll say this, speedway never learns from its mistakes, maybe we should introduce a points system for anyone who wants to get involved, everyone starts at 5 points and you lose a point for every black mark against your name and when you down to 3 points you’re not allowed to run/promote any speedway team, some may say we wouldn’t have anybody left to promote/run any teams. Well that’s the point we keep getting bad wood 

Yeah same Dean, just caught up on the sorry mess!

The individual involved has caused trouble wherever he has been and Mildenhall fans were warned when it was revealed as his name involved with the comeback bid.

Let’s hope that now he’s resigned, the club and people left can carry on the good work and keep the momentum going.

I read recently that former Kings Lynn promoter Alex Brady is the clubs new main sponsor, maybe he can get more involved as he spoke a lot of sense and had some good fresh ideas when he first went in at Kings Lynn.

[Son of Shaleman]

Does NORA exercise any control over ‘promoters’?

[*JJ]

On 4/12/2026 at 6:58 PM, JamesHarris said:

It's a tricky one but I do get why the BSPL lost patience and pulled the plug on them. Back when the MDL started in 2011/12 we accepted a few "nomadic teams" into the fold. It was good to begin with as it obviously provided a platform for younger riders to get more track time and it also provided a platform the those who were genuinely wanted to bring the sport back to places like Long Eaton for example. Some of the "ghost teams" were run by enthusiasts who above all wanted to put youth development first. Unfortunately other "ghost teams" were run by individuals who only cared about trophies and winning at all costs to put it politely. These said individuals were not the most savoury of people either. The abuse we received from them was shocking. They were using older former NL riders to win meeting which although was within the rules if they didn't have a NL team place was completely against the ethos of the league.  They were essentially playing fantasy speedway without having to pay the promotional costs and fees. This of course ruined it for the others. I think when Cradley packed in it gave the BSPL the perfect excuse to put a ban on nomad teams.   

Just about all of the MDL teams, including those attached to senior teams, were run by 'enthusiasts' in my experience (which was 10 years ago now). I don't think that I came across the person you refer to: just about all of of the riders I saw were young hopefuls. People on this forum are always moaning about the shortage of riders, but IMO the destruction of the MDL has only contributed to this. Provide the opportunities and the riders will turn up.

[Byker Biker]

1 hour ago, *JJ said:

Just about all of the MDL teams, including those attached to senior teams, were run by 'enthusiasts' in my experience (which was 10 years ago now). I don't think that I came across the person you refer to: just about all of of the riders I saw were young hopefuls. People on this forum are always moaning about the shortage of riders, but IMO the destruction of the MDL has only contributed to this. Provide the opportunities and the riders will turn up.

I agree with your opinion and many, many parents and helpers were focused on track time for their charges but with the exception of a minority these virtual "clubs" were awash with egos. As I mentioned previously well intentioned, sorry I wasn't ignoring your previous post.

[Whitelinehugger]

16 hours ago, Son of Shaleman said:

Does NORA exercise any control over ‘promoters’?

When has Nora Battey ever

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

On 4/13/2026 at 6:43 PM, Son of Shaleman said:

Does NORA exercise any control over ‘promoters’?

Nora are only like the acu, they have no say in any speedway matters 

[mac101]

15 hours ago, THE DEAN MACHINE said:

Nora are only like the acu, they have no say in any speedway matters 

Nora are like the ACU but cheaper and better many MX clubs have moved over to them over the  years pretty sure the top man (Barton I think his name was)used to work for the ACU and set it up when they were ripping off the mx for licences and insurance for meetings 

[TMW]

On 4/12/2026 at 6:58 PM, JamesHarris said:

It's a tricky one but I do get why the BSPL lost patience and pulled the plug on them. Back when the MDL started in 2011/12 we accepted a few "nomadic teams" into the fold. It was good to begin with as it obviously provided a platform for younger riders to get more track time and it also provided a platform the those who were genuinely wanted to bring the sport back to places like Long Eaton for example. Some of the "ghost teams" were run by enthusiasts who above all wanted to put youth development first. Unfortunately other "ghost teams" were run by individuals who only cared about trophy's and winning at all costs to put it politely. These said individuals were not the most savoury of people either. The abuse we received from them was shocking. They were using older former NL riders to win meeting which although was within the rules if they didn't have a NL team place was completely against the ethos of the league.  They were essentially playing fantasy speedway without having to pay the promotional costs and fees. This of course ruined it for the others. I think when Cradley packed in it gave the BSPL the perfect excuse to put a ban on nomad teams.   

And sometimes outside the rules ! I have firsthand experience of this the MDL was such a friendly bunch. Young riders learning track craft, experienced riders using it for practice etc etc  !   One team manager’s approach was when fielding an illegible rider “your points won’t count but they won’t get them” once people like them got involved the MDL lost its charm ! 
Not sure why, maybe Godfrey wasn’t getting the numbers in his amateur days an “SCB MDL coordinator” got involved (can’t remember his name) and hey presto killed the MDL as we affectionately knew it !! 

[JamesHarris]

On 4/20/2026 at 8:08 PM, TMW said:

And sometimes outside the rules ! I have firsthand experience of this the MDL was such a friendly bunch. Young riders learning track craft, experienced riders using it for practice etc etc  !   One team manager’s approach was when fielding an illegible rider “your points won’t count but they won’t get them” once people like them got involved the MDL lost its charm ! 
Not sure why, maybe Godfrey wasn’t getting the numbers in his amateur days an “SCB MDL coordinator” got involved (can’t remember his name) and hey presto killed the MDL as we affectionately knew it !! 

I think I know who you are on about. It was a few years after I packed it in. Without naming he's the chap who runs the British development. He has no time for the MDL probably because it treads on his toes and I remember the people who now run the MDL had to really fight to keep it going. The ineligible rider thing was stupid. It was put in place when riders who had raced in over 50 NL league meetings automatically became ineligible to rider MDL. However there was a loophole that allowed them to ride but there points would not count to the overall score. However it was a useful tool at times when there were rider shortages and also when it come to putting a minimum side of three together. As I said it was stupid looking back and I put my hand up to that but in some exceptional circumstances necessary.

You are correct in saying the MDL were a friendly bunch. They genuinely were but 5% should never have been allowed to have been involved with it.  They cared more about personal ego's and trophy's over rider development and sadly they ruined it for the others who ran the genuine ghost/legacy teams.