TB1 Posted 18 hours ago Report Share Posted 18 hours ago 1 hour ago, mikebv said: In the Speedway Star NKI said it could be up to 12 weeks before the doctors give him the all clear to fly... Possibly 3 months of not even a six month season?... Ridiculous... They need some support given its a brand new venture with zero "recent" history... Luke Becker doing well in Sweden tonight... Did Becker opt out of the UK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple.H. Posted 18 hours ago Report Share Posted 18 hours ago 1 hour ago, mikebv said: In the Speedway Star NKI said it could be up to 12 weeks before the doctors give him the all clear to fly... Possibly 3 months of not even a six month season?... Ridiculous... They need some support given its a brand new venture with zero "recent" history... Luke Becker doing well in Sweden tonight... I know it would be a bit of a faff but couldn't NKI use the train, its a couple of hours from Brussels to St Pancras, walk to Euston approx 10 minutes, train to Northampton takes just over an hour. Get him a railcard to save some money. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitelinehugger Posted 18 hours ago Report Share Posted 18 hours ago 11 minutes ago, Triple.H. said: I know it would be a bit of a faff but couldn't NKI use the train, its a couple of hours from Brussels to St Pancras, walk to Euston approx 10 minutes, train to Northampton takes just over an hour. Get him a railcard to save some money. He’s too old for all that shacking about that’s only a young man’s game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 17 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 17 hours ago 33 minutes ago, TB1 said: As I was there as well how many of the large crowd do think are Northampton or maybe new to the sport, 500 or so or maybe more? That's really difficult to know isn't it... weren't they asking for people to tell them where they'd come from on socials? I saw a fair few familiar faces, riders, officials etc. And a lot of Bees and Panthers... not to mention Witches. It'll be interesting to see what the crowd is this Thursday, especially with it also being on BSN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple.H. Posted 17 hours ago Report Share Posted 17 hours ago 13 hours ago, paulnolan said: The shine has quickly worn off with 5 matches in 15 days and 5 defeats. Sure, there's been no Iversen but it's already apparent that this side is understrength and needs attention. Zagar and Lidsey are doing about what you'd expect, the reserves are fine, but Klindt and Batchelor are seriously underperforming. The problem is, with the club being funded by its rivals, what's their impetus to improve their side? 14 defeats would suit them all fine. But with over 3,000 at the opening night, they'd be killing a golden goose. At £25 a go, I'll skip Thursday's match with King's Lynn and see if anything changes. Sad state of affairs when a local fan is already disillusioned. TBH i follow my teams in Football and Speedway through thick and thin, it's been mostly thin for both. But someone on the promotion should be speaking to you to try and resolve the issues. You might be full of good ideas to change them, it'll be a first for the BSPL but if after 5 matches only one of which was at home, you're fed up then they need to listen 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumpyloser Posted 17 hours ago Report Share Posted 17 hours ago Was there last Thursday. Not giving up after one home meeting. Already have tickets for Thursday meet. Sure one or two riders not coming up with the goods, but lets give them a chance. Took my daughter & granddaughter last week. Though my daughter had been with me before (to MK), my granddaughter was completely new to this. she thoroughly enjoyed it and is looking forward to this week. Speedway can hardly afford for such a facility to fail, especially with people giving up so soon!! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 15 hours ago Author Report Share Posted 15 hours ago 11 hours ago, InTheDeepStuff said: With Zagar damaging his ankle yesterday he’s going g to be out for quite a few weeks, so maybe we might see a new face (or old returning face) in the Foxes line up in the coming meetings as can’t continue with R/R (when NKI is back) as team not strong enough Broken ankle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago On 5/5/2026 at 8:25 AM, paulnolan said: The shine has quickly worn off with 5 matches in 15 days and 5 defeats. Sure, there's been no Iversen but it's already apparent that this side is understrength and needs attention. Zagar and Lidsey are doing about what you'd expect, the reserves are fine, but Klindt and Batchelor are seriously underperforming. The problem is, with the club being funded by its rivals, what's their impetus to improve their side? 14 defeats would suit them all fine. But with over 3,000 at the opening night, they'd be killing a golden goose. At £25 a go, I'll skip Thursday's match with King's Lynn and see if anything changes. I wouldn't get too focused on the winning or losing given it is UK Speedway... You will spend the season, by the looks of things, using the other five teams' riders most meetings, so "success" or "failure" (on track) is a moot point... Success off track is key..... Looking at the opening night crowd, history of openings suggest crowds will settle down to around 700 - 1000, which, for a top tier team is going to maybe not be break even, however, that opening night income will offset what is only a short season, so hopefully it "wipes its face" and puts in strong foundations for many years of Speedway... Those who already have followed the sport will be vital in supporting the venture regularly until a local fan base is built of those who are new to it .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnolan Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago 12 hours ago, Triple.H. said: Sad state of affairs when a local fan is already disillusioned. TBH i follow my teams in Football and Speedway through thick and thin, it's been mostly thin for both. But someone on the promotion should be speaking to you to try and resolve the issues. You might be full of good ideas to change them, it'll be a first for the BSPL but if after 5 matches only one of which was at home, you're fed up then they need to listen Disillusioned is the wrong word. It was always going to be this way. I've been through this before, at Elfield Park with a Milton Keynes team that was never competitive and crowds drifted away as a result. A winning side is paramount for a successful endeavour, especially with newer fans yet to see the intricacies of good racing whatever the result. 5 meetings is almost 1/4 of the season. I get it, it is what it was always going to be, but it needs more to be worth £25 a ticket. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Sidney Posted 5 hours ago Report Share Posted 5 hours ago (edited) 5 minutes ago, paulnolan said: Disillusioned is the wrong word. It was always going to be this way. I've been through this before, at Elfield Park with a Milton Keynes team that was never competitive and crowds drifted away as a result. A winning side is paramount for a successful endeavour, especially with newer fans yet to see the intricacies of good racing whatever the result. 5 meetings is almost 1/4 of the season. I get it, it is what it was always going to be, but it needs more to be worth £25 a ticket. Most teams will lose most of their away meetings. Northampton are unfortunate, because of circumstances, to have four of their first five meetings away, and doubly unfortunately that two riders are already injured. It's also a bit of a head scratcher that the captain didn't check the size of his home track before signing! Stick with them. Season 1 will be a challenge, but beyond that will be the real test of team strength. Edited 5 hours ago by Sir Sidney Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulnolan Posted 4 hours ago Report Share Posted 4 hours ago 38 minutes ago, mikebv said: I wouldn't get too focused on the winning or losing given it is UK Speedway... You will spend the season, by the looks of things, using the other five teams' riders most meetings, so "success" or "failure" (on track) is a moot point... Success off track is key..... Looking at the opening night crowd, history of openings suggest crowds will settle down to around 700 - 1000, which, for a top tier team is going to maybe not be break even, however, that opening night income will offset what is only a short season, so hopefully it "wipes its face" and puts in strong foundations for many years of Speedway... Those who already have followed the sport will be vital in supporting the venture regularly until a local fan base is built of those who are new to it .. I would absolutely disagree that success or failure on track is a moot point. No-one wants to support a losing team. And while I'm a speedway fan first and foremost and can get enjoyment from meetings even as a neutral, I'm not the 1,000 new fans they'll need to make this a success. At the very least, the league table at the end of the season should show 10 wins if you want this to be more than a one-season thing, and this isn't a team capable of 10 wins. As for who could come in, I'm sure there's riders out there who would welcome another 20 meetings, especially if they're already based in the UK like Jason Doyle, Tai Woffinden, or even Robert Lambert. And then there's Rohan Tungate, Keynan Rew, Luke Becker, or some promising young Danes? I don't know, I've not followed things closely for a few years so I might just be being unrealistic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aries Posted 4 hours ago Report Share Posted 4 hours ago 2 minutes ago, paulnolan said: I would absolutely disagree that success or failure on track is a moot point. No-one wants to support a losing team. And while I'm a speedway fan first and foremost and can get enjoyment from meetings even as a neutral, I'm not the 1,000 new fans they'll need to make this a success. At the very least, the league table at the end of the season should show 10 wins if you want this to be more than a one-season thing, and this isn't a team capable of 10 wins. As for who could come in, I'm sure there's riders out there who would welcome another 20 meetings, especially if they're already based in the UK like Jason Doyle, Tai Woffinden, or even Robert Lambert. And then there's Rohan Tungate, Keynan Rew, Luke Becker, or some promising young Danes? I don't know, I've not followed things closely for a few years so I might just be being unrealistic. Think most of those would be open to offers, but more likely later in the season. It’s a tad early as they’ve all committed to leagues and fixtures elsewhere, but those fixtures dry up earlier than ours here so it may have to be a waiting game for a few more options to materialise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago (edited) 1 hour ago, paulnolan said: I would absolutely disagree that success or failure on track is a moot point. No-one wants to support a losing team. And while I'm a speedway fan first and foremost and can get enjoyment from meetings even as a neutral, I'm not the 1,000 new fans they'll need to make this a success. At the very least, the league table at the end of the season should show 10 wins if you want this to be more than a one-season thing, and this isn't a team capable of 10 wins. As for who could come in, I'm sure there's riders out there who would welcome another 20 meetings, especially if they're already based in the UK like Jason Doyle, Tai Woffinden, or even Robert Lambert. And then there's Rohan Tungate, Keynan Rew, Luke Becker, or some promising young Danes? I don't know, I've not followed things closely for a few years so I might just be being unrealistic. I would suggest most fans in the country support a "losing team" given the same teams, in both leagues, seem to reach the play offs each season now... "Winning at Home" being the priority for most promoters, and is the key to their tracks being able to ensure their "die hards" come back regularly... Enjoying the racing, and the social interaction... Northampton have only really been seen to have been beaten "once" in the eyes of most of those attending that first meeting so far, given their away following will have been minimal at those defeats... They will also be paying out lots of points money from their one income so far to pay for the several away meetings the imbalanced fixture list set them up with, so will need a decent few consecutive crowds at home to help balance the books... The next few meetings will be very important to the success of the venture... Opening a new team in a sport with such a small national following, with minimal public and media awareness, and making it work, is a massive challenge... So, best of luck to all involved, let's hope most of their opening night crowd (the locals within it at least), stick with them.. Edit. And as for needing 10 wins for it to not be a "one season wonder", even if the crowds settle to around not too many below 1000, that would run a decent level Championship team next year.. The landscape of UK Speedway could be very different next season.. The success of the long term venture is very much linked to the next few home meetings... Edited 3 hours ago by mikebv 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcone44 Posted 3 hours ago Report Share Posted 3 hours ago they do seem to have some decent facilities at that stadium, more than most tracks and that makes a difference to make the night more enjoyable.(as long as they are not rip off prices) ill be going down when Bellevue are there, 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 2 hours ago Report Share Posted 2 hours ago 50 minutes ago, gjcone44 said: they do seem to have some decent facilities at that stadium, more than most tracks and that makes a difference to make the night more enjoyable.(as long as they are not rip off prices) ill be going down when Bellevue are there, Track shape looks good, just more of an outside run needed, and I am sure that will develop.. They could do with a couple of "racers" in the team I think to utilise the whole of the track... I thought maybe Kurtz or Bewley would have been allocated to them... Two riders happy to use the boards, and two of the best three in the world, so something to sell to the locals if either had ended up there... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainB Posted 1 hour ago Author Report Share Posted 1 hour ago 16 minutes ago, mikebv said: Track shape looks good, just more of an outside run needed, and I am sure that will develop.. They could do with a couple of "racers" in the team I think to utilise the whole of the track... I thought maybe Kurtz or Bewley would have been allocated to them... Two riders happy to use the boards, and two of the best three in the world, so something to sell to the locals if either had ended up there... I thought Kurtz was on his way during the winter the longer he wasn't announced by the Aces... I wonder if that was ever on the cards (especially with Lemon being involved)? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle77 Posted 1 hour ago Report Share Posted 1 hour ago (edited) 4 hours ago, mikebv said: I wouldn't get too focused on the winning or losing given it is UK Speedway... You will spend the season, by the looks of things, using the other five teams' riders most meetings, so "success" or "failure" (on track) is a moot point... Success off track is key..... Looking at the opening night crowd, history of openings suggest crowds will settle down to around 700 - 1000, which, for a top tier team is going to maybe not be break even, however, that opening night income will offset what is only a short season, so hopefully it "wipes its face" and puts in strong foundations for many years of Speedway... Those who already have followed the sport will be vital in supporting the venture regularly until a local fan base is built of those who are new to it .. Agree with a lot of this... but I would suggest that they would need to have at the very least a competitive team for their home fixtures to keep the interest going... and without a proper facility for Iversen... and now needing a decent replacement for Zagar... it's going to be very difficult for them to be competitive... I do remember one season at Eastbourne where we were fighting at the bottom of the table for the whole season... in the end finishing second bottom above Swindon... but the majority of the home matches were close and exciting, and we did manage to win a fair few... so the home support was kept at a decent level... Edited 1 hour ago by Eagle77 Spelling 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeOldPitGate Posted 35 minutes ago Report Share Posted 35 minutes ago 36 minutes ago, Eagle77 said: Agree with a lot of this... but I would suggest that they would need to have at the very least a competitive team for their home fixtures to keep the interest going... and without a proper facility for Iversen... and now needing a decent replacement for Zagar... it's going to be very difficult for them to be competitive... I do remember one season at Eastbourne where we were fighting at the bottom of the table for the whole season... in the end finishing second bottom above Swindon... but the majority of the home matches were close and exciting, and we did manage to win a fair few... so the home support was kept at a decent level... I know the feeling think it was 86 when I was following Lynn and we had Bob Schwartz and pretty much six reserves all season, other than the odd time when Mike Lee turned up it still sits with me when we used to be in with a sniff but would enter the last race with Schwartz and Campbell v Neilson and Wigg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikebv Posted 23 minutes ago Report Share Posted 23 minutes ago 1 hour ago, IainB said: I thought Kurtz was on his way during the winter the longer he wasn't announced by the Aces... I wonder if that was ever on the cards (especially with Lemon being involved)? I thought so to, and also thought it would be a great idea... World No2, pretty much guaranteed to hit you 12 and over at home, so would "protect" races, thus keeping the score close at worst, and do it from the back if needed... A "new hero", for the kids in particular, to latch onto... I thought, given it was a "collective", who made it clear how important it was to launch a sixth team, that they would have sorted them out a very competitive team.. They seem to have settled on two number 3's, three second strings, and two reserves... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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