The rule is that you need to have rode 18 heats to qualify in a Category, in the table by the above poster. It’s on the next page of the rulebook. McDiarmid only rode in 17 heats for ZG. Meaning he is a a Category 6 rider on a 4pt average, however criteria can always change as we know!

Cat  Rider Participates In  Premiership League Average  Championship League Average  1  Any rider who has been an FIM GP rider for 2 consecutive seasons within the last 5 seasons (excluding wild card riders and a reserve rider who has competed in 2 or less FIM GP rounds in any one season)  8.00  12.00  this rider would only be considered dependent on fixture clashes  2  Polish Ekstraliga with an average of 6.00 or above  7.50  11.25  this rider would only be considered dependent on fixture clashes  3  •    Polish Ekstraliga with an average of between 3.00 and 5.99  •    Polish League 1 with a published average of 6.00 or above   6.00  8.50  this rider would only be considered dependent on fixture clashes  4  •    Polish Ekstraliga with an average of 2.99 or below  •    Polish League 1 with a published average of 5.99 or below  •    Polish League 2 with a published average of 6.00 or above  • Swedish Elitserian League published average of 6.00 or above  4.50  6.00  this rider would only be considered dependent on fixture clashes  5  •    Polish League 2 with a published average of 5.99 or below •    Under 24 Polish League only  •    Swedish Elitserian League published average of 5.99 or below  •    Swedish Alsvensken League   •    Danish Super League  4.00  5.00  this rider would only be considered dependent on fixture clashes  6  Not participated in a professional league  3.50  4.00 

He is your man 

The guy you are talking about would be a 4.00. Good 2 page spread on him in this weeks Speedway Star..

But what are the rules. I know Zischke got a 5 when he rode 6/7 meetings in 2022 but do you jump from 4 to 5 if say you only rode 1 meeting ??. MCD only went over to POL on a short stay and joined a training camp with Wroclaw who then loaned him to Falubaz who tried him in  4 matches and signed him on a 2 year deal before he went back to Aussie. If he had ridden 1 meeting would he still have been upped to 5 ?? That's what I'm not clear on as to how many meetings can you ride to avoid being a 5 instead of a 4. Not that we are signing him but would be good to know what the rules are in that respect.

Depends on experience and average in other leagues . If he hasn't ridden competetively in a league at all then 4.