BEN Fund 28th March 2026 5.30pm

[Nickinho]

1 hour ago, Noelinho said:

Nothing to suggest any issues with going ahead. Intermittent rain but nothing intense. I think we’ll be fine. No rain after about 3pm.

It's 3.01pm and it's currently pissing it down.

[Noelinho]

45 minutes ago, Nickinho said:

It's 3.01pm and it's currently pissing it down.

I did say "about" 3pm 😄

Bright sunshine for the last wee while.

[Nickinho]

Where did my comment about the weather go? What's the point in this forum if every comment disappears?

[M.D]

38 minutes ago, Nickinho said:

Where did my comment about the weather go? What's the point in this forum if every comment disappears?

I can still see it and yes, track looks very wet.

[IainB]

1 hour ago, Nickinho said:

Where did my comment about the weather go? What's the point in this forum if every comment disappears?

Have you blocked yourself 🚫 😂

[Daniel Smith]

On 3/24/2026 at 8:55 PM, Triple.H. said:

The line up doesn't matter

The cause does.

It's an early season meeting where riders are blowing off the cobwebs and in my opinion since it was brought in one of the most important British meetings of the year.

The line-up matters very very much.

These "Big Guns" need to be less selfish with their time for a great cause that is there for them.

If anything happens, they'd be quick sharp on the blower for a hand out.

All monies don't stretch very far in 2026 so an afternoon of their time wouldn't go a miss.

 

[Triple.H.]

27 minutes ago, Daniel Smith said:

The line-up matters very very much.

These "Big Guns" need to be less selfish with their time for a great cause that is there for them.

If anything happens, they'd be quick sharp on the blower for a hand out.

All monies don't stretch very far in 2026 so an afternoon of their time wouldn't go a miss.

 

How do you know the Big Guns would be straight on the blower for a handout ?

I'd hazard a guess most of them have insurance to cover injuries etc.

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Triple.H.

[Mgas]

24 minutes ago, Triple.H. said:

How do you know the Big Guns would be straight on the blower for a handout ?

I'd hazard a guess most of them have insurance to cover injuries etc.

 

You may be right but high risk insurance is incredibly expensive. A neighbour of mine who does rallying doesn’t insure his car because it’s around 40k for a two day event.

[topaz325]

Some god racing tonight , well done to all the riders 

Glasgow have a real star in pedersen 

[paul84]

Cold night in Glasgow but some superb speedway on show , well done all !

[SteelShoe]

10 hours ago, Triple.H. said:

How do you know the Big Guns would be straight on the blower for a handout ?

I'd hazard a guess most of them have insurance to cover injuries etc.

 

Barker, Brennan (who flew in from Poland and flies back out today) and Thompson spoke very passionately in interviews on BSN about the Ben Fund  and what it means to them as riders regardless of the fact they will be insured.

[IanBrannan]

10 hours ago, Triple.H. said:

How do you know the Big Guns would be straight on the blower for a handout ?

I'd hazard a guess most of them have insurance to cover injuries etc.

 

There were a number of “Big Guns” as such in the original plans, but Poland arranged sparring matches and as it is their day of the week they pulled rank unfortunately. It was not riders refusing to do it, Paul Ackroyd said this yesterday.

They possibly do have insurance but that isn’t the point, for example within minutes of a rider crashing insurance doesn’t arrange to pay for transport or a hotel for his family to be at the hospital, and look after them once there. Or in some cases pay for a flight the next for the family to fly from wherever in the world to be with them.  Or even just to have someone on the phone organising things for them when in a split second their lives are turned upside down. And then the immediate weeks and months or helping with bills, until the insurance might come in which could be a while. 

Nor does the insurance kick in 30 years down the line for an operation to help fix a speedway injury long after the event which wasn’t a problem at the time, but through age you need a hip replacement. 
Or those who need ongoing care, like Ricky Ashworth or Garry Stead, regardless of whatever else they may get (if anything I don’t know), getting extra support to make life a little better surely is the point.

Edited 6 hours ago by IanBrannan

[IainB]

https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/208733/financial-history?_uk_gov_ccew_onereg_charitydetails_web_portlet_CharityDetailsPortlet_organisationNumber=208733

It would be interesting to actually know where some of our money went over the years, unfortunately there doesn't seem to be any detailed reporting.

[Neila]

Get what you are saying @IainB but they as a charity surly don't need to put every penny spent down, we all know the amount raised is falling every year, we know by several updates, who in current times and over the years they have had and still are helping, don't want to single anyone out, but to my knowledge by reading or being told by riders public words, Tom Brennan Tate Zischke Ben Barker past Joe Owen Lawrence Hare Alan Wilkinson, obliviously many many more. Just be thankful that this charity is running to help the riders and families out, now and in the future 

Edited 4 hours ago by Neila

[Bandit59]

Wonder why PK didn't choose gate 4 in the final 

[Beirao]

£121k was paid out to 33 beneficiaries in 2024 and the Ben Fund has assets of nearly £2M which suggests it could sustain its donations for approx 15 years without any further income.

[IainB]

1 hour ago, Neila said:

Get what you are saying @IainB but they as a charity surly don't need to put every penny spent down, we all know the amount raised is falling every year, we know by several updates, who in current times and over the years they have had and still are helping, don't want to single anyone out, but to my knowledge by reading or being told by riders public words, Tom Brennan Tate Zischke Ben Barker past Joe Owen Lawrence Hare Alan Wilkinson, obliviously many many more. Just be thankful that this charity is running to help the riders and families out, now and in the future 

I don't think it's too much to ask and expect to know where the money is going, just like other charity appeals, Children in Need & Comic Relief always show on their shows how some of the money is spent, it may even help with donations, but as usual with Speedway, information is very hard to come by. 

Alongside their undoubtedly much needed grants that have been given, have been a couple of reports, in recent times, of how money has been spent for, at best, more dubious reasons that don't really fall within their stated aims. 🤔

All I'm saying is a little transparency is a good thing, especially when asking for people's hard earned.

Edited 3 hours ago by IainB

[Bagpuss]

Yep I think more than anything else Polish sparring/pre season camps have screwed us over gradually. The Polish megabucks mean riders will ask how high to jump and dor the time being there is very little we can do about it.

[Mgas]

1 hour ago, Bandit59 said:

Wonder why PK didn't choose gate 4 in the final 

I found that odd also. Second choice of gates and picked the worst.

[PersonalResponsibility]

1 hour ago, Beirao said:

£121k was paid out to 33 beneficiaries in 2024 and the Ben Fund has assets of nearly £2M which suggests it could sustain its donations for approx 15 years without any further income.

Blimey, never mind just the rider's health, 10% of that amount could do wonders for the sport's health!