As paying customers, we've been mugs. It's time for us to take action: sign the petition!

[4thbender]

As a loyal supporter for 60+ years, it's clear that British Speedway cannot continue to exist in its current form. In 2026 we've lost Birmingham and in recent years we’ve seen the loss of many iconic teams such as Wolverhampton, Coventry and Swindon. It seems that other teams are now under threat unless some radical changes are made. Along with many paying customers, I have a vision for how speedway has to develop if it is to survive. Decades of the sport's inefficiency has finally come to a head.

British speedway needs to set its own agenda and stop kowtowing to regulations set in Poland. Speedway has bred a generation of riders who want to have their cake and eat it: they want to earn their bread and butter in the UK leagues and chase the Polish Zloty to put the jam on top. This faces the British authorities with the dilemma of having to dance to the Polish tune when trying to plan the home fixture list. This cannot go on.

For survival, we need a single nationwide league of 15 teams wherein all its riders are contracted and committed exclusively to British racing between March and October.

A 28-match league programme plus a further 12 matches in a split north-south KO cup competition will guarantee teams a regular weekly match programme, and a sensible rider payment policy will provide ample earnings potential for riders over a guaranteed 40-match season.

But the last thing we want is for British speedway and its contracted riders to be isolated from European competition. So speedway authorities must open negotiations with its European counterparts for European competition on two levels:

1)    An annual European League of Nations, with initially the four participating countries of Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Poland.

2)    An annual European Champions’ League, featuring the top teams of all the four participating nations of Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Poland.

A nationwide league of 15 teams in meaningful competition - with the addition of the possibility of genuine European glory - will revive the waning interest of fans, riders, media and potential investors. It is time for the Promoters to bite the bullet to avoid inevitable extinction of British speedway.

So I've set up a petition demanding that the British Speedway Promoters Ltd take these matters on board with immediate effect.

SIGN THE PETITION NOW TO FORCE CHANGE IN BRITISH SPEEDWAY: https://c.org/bdpftrNZdQ

 

[ElmParkRG2]

Good luck in tying down the better riders to being   contracted and committed exclusively to British racing. 

 

[Noelinho]

If that’s the future you want for British speedway, the first step is to create an effective pathway to develop and give regular opportunities to the numbers of young riders you need coming through the ranks to support that structure.

That would make a lot more of a difference than some European cup of speedway, which won’t work at all given there’s no way the other countries are going to have riders exclusively contracted.

No one is signing up to a Danish team on an exclusive contract when it’s a squad system and they don’t even know if they’ll be in the team!

We don’t develop enough riders, the ones we do are often not good enough, and part of it is they don’t have enough opportunities to race and become good enough. You can’t fix the top when the base is so weak.

[CheCazzo]

20 hours ago, 4thbender said:

As a loyal supporter for 60+ years, it's clear that British Speedway cannot continue to exist in its current form. In 2026 we've lost Birmingham and in recent years we’ve seen the loss of many iconic teams such as Wolverhampton, Coventry and Swindon. It seems that other teams are now under threat unless some radical changes are made. Along with many paying customers, I have a vision for how speedway has to develop if it is to survive. Decades of the sport's inefficiency has finally come to a head.

British speedway needs to set its own agenda and stop kowtowing to regulations set in Poland. Speedway has bred a generation of riders who want to have their cake and eat it: they want to earn their bread and butter in the UK leagues and chase the Polish Zloty to put the jam on top. This faces the British authorities with the dilemma of having to dance to the Polish tune when trying to plan the home fixture list. This cannot go on.

For survival, we need a single nationwide league of 15 teams wherein all its riders are contracted and committed exclusively to British racing between March and October.

A 28-match league programme plus a further 12 matches in a split north-south KO cup competition will guarantee teams a regular weekly match programme, and a sensible rider payment policy will provide ample earnings potential for riders over a guaranteed 40-match season.

But the last thing we want is for British speedway and its contracted riders to be isolated from European competition. So speedway authorities must open negotiations with its European counterparts for European competition on two levels:

1)    An annual European League of Nations, with initially the four participating countries of Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Poland.

2)    An annual European Champions’ League, featuring the top teams of all the four participating nations of Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark and Poland.

A nationwide league of 15 teams in meaningful competition - with the addition of the possibility of genuine European glory - will revive the waning interest of fans, riders, media and potential investors. It is time for the Promoters to bite the bullet to avoid inevitable extinction of British speedway.

So I've set up a petition demanding that the British Speedway Promoters Ltd take these matters on board with immediate effect.

SIGN THE PETITION NOW TO FORCE CHANGE IN BRITISH SPEEDWAY: https://c.org/bdpftrNZdQ

 

Been tried before and how can it run when riders have have contracts to ride in multiple leagues? This is Speedway mate not Football

[4thbender]

5 hours ago, ElmParkRG2 said:

Good luck in tying down the better riders to being   contracted and committed exclusively to British racing. 

 

The petition isn't suggesting we do that. The principle is to offer riders the opportunity of a contract guaranteeing 40+ meetings per season in a 15-team nationwide league. If they don't want that, they have the freedom to clear off and ply their trade elsewhere. But we can no longer continue to have our fixture arrangements dictated by Poland because riders want to have their cake and eat it: earning their bread and butter in the UK leagues and chasing the Polish Zloty to put the jam on top.

We recently had the ridiculous situation of Leicester taking a weakened team to Sheffield because Dan Thompson was summoned to ride for his Polish team, but found himself sitting in the pits without a single ride. These situations are not uncommon as we all know and it must stop.

Speedway has to change if it is to survive, and our petition proposes exactly that. I would urge all real fans to sign it: Petition · Survival of British Speedway Racing in 2027 and beyond - United Kingdom · Change.org

[4thbender]

5 hours ago, Noelinho said:

If that’s the future you want for British speedway, the first step is to create an effective pathway to develop and give regular opportunities to the numbers of young riders you need coming through the ranks to support that structure.

That would make a lot more of a difference than some European cup of speedway, which won’t work at all given there’s no way the other countries are going to have riders exclusively contracted.

No one is signing up to a Danish team on an exclusive contract when it’s a squad system and they don’t even know if they’ll be in the team!

We don’t develop enough riders, the ones we do are often not good enough, and part of it is they don’t have enough opportunities to race and become good enough. You can’t fix the top when the base is so weak.

I think if you study the petition that's being proposed, it actually answers all the issues you've raised. Speedway has to change if it is to survive, and our petition proposes exactly that. I would urge all real fans to sign it: Petition · Survival of British Speedway Racing in 2027 and beyond - United Kingdom · Change.org

[4thbender]

4 hours ago, CheCazzo said:

Been tried before and how can it run when riders have have contracts to ride in multiple leagues? This is Speedway mate not Football

That's precisely what the petition addresses. It proposes that riders are offered the opportunity of a contract guaranteeing 40+ meetings per season in a 15-team nationwide league. If they don't want that, they have the freedom to clear off and ply their trade elsewhere. But we can no longer continue to have our fixture arrangements dictated by Poland to meet the demands of riders who want to have their cake and eat it: earning their bread and butter in the UK leagues and chasing the Polish Zloty to put the jam on top.

I would urge all real fans to sign it: Petition · Survival of British Speedway Racing in 2027 and beyond - United Kingdom · Change.org