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I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, but after reading the last few posts and completing a full home season at Scunthorpe last year, I felt it was time to share a bit of perspective from a "new" local. I moved to Lincolnshire last year, and on paper, King’s Lynn is significantly closer to me. However, I decided to make Scunthorpe my go-to track, and I’ve based that decision purely on the quality of racing. Having previously lived in a village just down the road from Leicester, I’d actually stopped going there because, frankly, the racing was so poor. As a lifelong Coventry fan, I’ve seen the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It’s clear to anyone with eyes that things at the Eddie Wright Raceway are done on a very tight budget. The team for 2026 might not look like world-beaters on paper, and we might not be lifting silverware come October, but after last year, I’ve realised that isn't the most important thing. The racing last year was superb—genuinely entertaining from Heat 1 to 15. I was told by the regulars that it’s "usually even better,". I now consider myself an honorary Scorpion fan. To those who look at the "no-frills" nature of the place and judge it: believe me, if a track like Scunthorpe disappears, you will miss it when it’s gone. This sport needs places like the EWR that prioritise genuine track action over everything else. Regardless of where we finish in the league, I’m massively looking forward to the new season. Lets get behind the lads and hopefully spring a surprise or two.

very similar to when you left the forum recently no?

Whatever the outcome and most hope that Ipswich come to the tapes come March, April or May, generally the sport is unlikely to entice broadcasters to cover the sport live, it has been a disaster the way things have carried on thus far, sponsors probably unwilling to commit without a t v contract, riders dropping the UK, no idea of a fixture list and the sapping interest of the UK punters who are losing the will to get excited with any enthusiasm about the coming season. You have so few if any new ideas to rejuvenate a dying product and a total lack of general tangible investment in the sport at any level leaves most wondering just how much longer it can it continue in any form other than an amateur part time pursuit by a few enthusiast. Unless those in charge have kept under wraps something really special, then the sport is going nowhere and they are trying the patience of every punter who puts money into the pockets of the clubs. The riders don’t really give a toss as they will look to ride in Europe or walk away and earn a living elsewhere. It is not just an Ipswich issue it is a problem for speedway UK and the lack of updates in any shape or form from the body that allegedly runs the sport is not doing anyone any favours. Still I am sure the promoters think all is rosey in the UK speedway camp. Fools comes to mind.

Strange isnt it that everyone says riders should have a job as speedway isnt a full time profession , then proceed to moan when a rider fits in racing around the job.😏

I don't see the issue! more celebs doing this putting the sport in the spotlight and talking point is only good! They are trying something different, it could sink or swim but worth a try.

Logistically it isn't an issue. Especially if you are a rider wanting to line your pockets without the inconvenience of having to be good enough to be asked to ride in Poland. The problem is deeper than that though. Starting with it causing the disconnect between fans and the riders who race for their team. Ideally riders should have one club, having another club overseas is borderline acceptable. Ideally that wouldn't happen either. A lot of top tier riders have ended up with second tier clubs due to a relaxation of rules (doubling up numbers allowed and average conversion rate) 15 odd years ago. They've then hogged the team spots and stopped other riders from racing at second tier level and thus reaching a competitive standard. That is directly to blame for the lack of good enough riders now. To top it all off, most of them are now in their mid thirties plus and when they retire, which they'll have to some day sooner rather than later, leave a massive void in both leagues. These things hurt Speedway's credibility. As does guesting, which isn't a necessary evil, it's just an evil. It makes the sport look amateurish in the extreme to Speedway fans, let alone someone who may be a newcomer to the sport. The sport has to look credible to keep teams active, to help new/returning teams get back on track, to try secure another television deal and ultimately to draw in new fans. All these things that look stupid to outsiders (because they are stupid) need to be removed from the sport. For the good of the sport.

How can anyone be getting excited for a 5 team league is beyond me

No it isn’t sensible, the control board should set out a pay structure and enforce it and riders either take it or leave it, if an amateur rider can’t make it pay that’s tough, it’s amatuer, until we get away from entitlement for riders we will never move forward, nobody wanted to listen when I tried to cut costs for riders, well fine you made your bed don’t complain when the springs stick in your back . I don’t care how any promotion make their money or how much money they haven’t got all I care is the future of the sport and at the moment it doesn’t have one

With all the doom and gloom on here over the Winter, am I the only one that can’t wait for the season to start? I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever been so excited for the season to come round for many a season with the line ups in all leagues looking close and competitive. As some as the biggest fans of the sport, and therefore most likely to attract new supporters, can’t we all look at the positives rather than the negatives? Positives - Same number of tracks as last season. Yes ok so some some tracks have chosen not to run in as many leagues as last season (particularly national league) but in terms of actual tracks running, we are at exactly the same number as last year. We’ve lost Birmingham and Kent but gained the yet to be announced new prem team and Buxton - We still have a premiership Great news for Sheffield and Ipswich fans (sale almost completed) that are back at the tapes and with a high chance of a brand new team joining we are just 1 team down from last season and some top stars already back, Holder, Bewley, Douglas, Kurtz etc. - Bright young British stars I honestly think we have some of our most promising young riders coming through for years and if we don’t put too much pressure on them and they keep progressing as they have been then Cairns, Rushen and Scott could be the future Lambert, Bewley and Brennan - The fight goes on Despite all the negativity about the sport dying there are still passionate fans and businessmen out there fighting to bring back former tracks, Coventry, Peterborough, Rye House, Lakeside, Kent, Eastbourne, Swindon, Wolverhampton and no doubt more we don’t know about with rumours of 1 or 2 new locations too. I’m not wearing rose tinted glasses and pretending everything with the sport is perfect by any means but please put things into perspective and give some credit where it’s due, be grateful to the promoters and sponsors that put their hands into their pockets to keep the sport we love going and do everything we can to support it. If we give up then we’ll lose it forever. Enjoy the 2026 season everyone

Rumours.....talk to me! I can confirm that the rumours suggesting that Terry Tibbs has acquired the promotion rights at Ipswich Speedway to be just that rumours! Yes, Brother Louis Louis Louis and his assistant Richie Hawkeye did attend the offices of T Tibbs Motors (Chingford) Limited earlier this month to discuss a potential deal! I offered young Christopher a substantial sum of ready's, plus my 2017 Mazz-a-rati which was recently serviced and passed it's MOT with only one observation, the free use of Krystof Stojanowski's caravan which I purchased from The Isle of Wight in 2009 and free oil massage whenever he and Hawkeye wanted from my beautiful Swedish wife Greta! Brother Louis was obviously tempted as he asked to see my full business plan for the day to day running of the club, I advised him that Main Man Rogers would be installed as Head of Operations, where he would be assisted by the vastly experienced Jimmy Lynch as Director of Speedway and his protégé Big Blayne Scroggins would be Team Manager, I even offered Richie Hawkeye the opportunity to be Main Man Rogers' assistant so that he could learn all about how to run a club successfully! After much pondering and signs he was up for the deal, Brother Louis Louis Louis asked for a few days to think about things, during which time Stojanowski's caravan was moved from Busty C's holiday village in Norfolk to become the VIP lounge at Buxton! I think this news may have upset Brother Louis, as he sent Richie Hawkeye down to Chingford with a note declining my most generous proposal! I tickled Richie Hawkeye's chin, gave him a little wiggly woo, even offered him a free place on the next Main Man Rogers how to promote speedway seminar but he said Brother Louis mind was made up, it was no! So that's it from me, thank you goodnight, much love Terence!

Now this is where I have a problem with this 8% rule, the rule has been made up by the crook which we all know by rob godfrey. The BSPA statement literally says, “It is hoped that this will provide some assistance to riders who have taken time out of the sport, and who are now once again seeking team places.” Abilitt, hasn’t been away from the sport, he refused more than one team place last year at championship level cause he couldn’t be bothered travelling that far north, plus rode NDT with Kent last year. Yet qualifies for this silly rule. That’s not a rider that’s been lost or taken time out. No wonder everyone gets fed up with Speedway guys like Godfrey killing the sport for a selfish gain.

Have we got a forum full of kids in here or something? Embarrassing reading all this. Wouldn't think you are all grown adults

But if they didn't run a Premiership then every Speedway rider in the world would retire... Or something like that....

I use the ignore facility

Just got back from the Arenacross at the NEC Birmingham and thought it worth mentioning a couple of things. Firstly Dan Bewley is a respectable motocross rider, it was only in the whoops which are Supercross specific really that he was losing time in a decent Pro-AM class. Secondly the presentation compared to even the Cardiff GP was so much better. 3 good presenters who ramped up the crowd and kept the interest going between races, probably all a bit shouty for an old bloke like me but the youngsters lapped it up and sport needs the likes of them more than the likes of me for the future. Lots of flashing lights, loud music and freestyle MX/ girls dancing with fire and a guy chucking free kids T shirts randomly into the crowd all accompanied with encouragement for the crowd to make a lot of noise and be involved between races and while the track was graded. (Graded incidentally by the son of Ace of Aces Promoter Ian Barclay) All in all despite decent rather than great racing we came away having had a great time and Speedway could take some lessons from the Promoters of this series. Might not be practical for every meeting but a lot of what they did could be applied to the bigger events and most certainly the GPs.

The BSPL are clinging on to two tiers due to the excessive number of riders reliant on doubling up for their earnings. The riders are calling the shots. I don’t see how this sport can move on until the doubling up monster is tackled.

Not a mention of the sterling work that speedway futures Ltd habe done behind the scenes,not a mention of who the new Ipswich owners are if indeed there are any, a statement that told us very little but what did we expect really ? You don’t need to wait for an AGM to fix a problem and it’s clear they have no idea how to fix the sport, carry on doing the same and pound to a penny they haven’t addressed any issues of cost either for riders and more importantly the long suffering dwindling fan base

Robert’s attained an average of 7.81 at the end of the 2019 season. He signed for Belle Vue on an assessed average in 2022 due to the gap in league racing. He was given the 2.5% British reduction, bring him down to 7.61. In 2023 he signed for Kings Lynn on an assessed average but he didn’t get his 2.5% reduction this time. As an assessed rider without a current average he didn’t ride 4H & 4A so his average remains as assessed using the old 2019 figure of 7.81. However….. His average could be anything as come the play offs in 2023 he was suddenly deemed to not be an assessed rider and his 2019 figure was “current”. If they follow through with this thinking then they will need to role his average using the 2H & 4A from his Kings Lynn meetings. I don’t see this happening as the only reason he suddenly became not assessed was when Damian Bates of Sheffield speedway contacted Damian Bates of the BSPL board to ask for permission to use Robert Lambert. Damian gave Damian permission to do so, winning Sheffield the league title. Coincidentally, the year before Damian had asked Damian if the rules could be applied differently to help Sheffield win the league. Earlier in the season Peterborough had signed a replacement outside of the transfer window. It was allowed due to injury. When Belle Vue attempted to apply the same rule in the same way, Damian spoke to Damian and overturned the rulebook. Fortunately for the good of the sport a judgement was made from outside the sport and the correct use of the rulebook was forced through, much to the delight of all fair minded speedway fans and BSF members.

I used to watch the Colts for a tenner, with my then teenage lad, getting in for free... On a Friday night... With crowds of around 800... The racing was more than on a par with what was getting served up at top league level, and, for the two of us, was around £12 cheaper... Hence, we watched the Colts far more than the Aces... And, given most people in Manchester wouldn't have known their Matej Zagar from their Kyle Bickley, anyone new to the sport would have seen the racing for what it was... ie "the racing".. Personally instead of promoters clubbing together to put out a sixth team, they would be far better clubbing together and marketing a 14 team league with teams across the nation... At what level? "Reasonable"... As the audience they would be trying to attract probably won't know any of the competitors, so "big names" would mean absolutely nothing to them.. Time to "Rip it up and start again"...

I’m sure your pint will be half full 😉

The harm is in how speedway presents itself In a time where we have seen all of the work that has gone on to make the sport look more professional and modern in its presentation on tv etc how do you sell that to potential sponsors and media partners if they then go on the associations official social media and see this. What large company would put their name to something as amateurish If we accept stuff like this as ok then we are accepting that speedway is now an amateur colloquial sport that will never be taken seriously.

So everyone knocking linda lusardi doing the draw really!! What harm is it,I guess you would all rather have Godfrey and vatcher doing it,that is why speedway struggles to move forward soon as anything different is tried all the old farts start moaning, get a grip ffs!

Just listened to Rob Godfrey in full... Fair play to the host who asked all the right questions (eventually 😉) and also to Godfrey for responding to them. That's all I'm going to say about it really as there was a lot of "there's a lot going on behind the scenes" which I've heard too many times before in this sport only for nothing to materialise. Not filled with confidence when Godfrey couldn't even remember the name of the former MP that has joined SFL and he kept referring to SFL as "them" when he's on the board! Like I've said before Godfrey does a fine job at Scunny but should be nowhere near the top table of Speedway in the UK.

Can’t praise BSN enough; they’re almost single-handedly keeping the sport in the UK visible and accessible. I hadn’t attended Ashfield for many years until I heard about BSN and tuned in. Two years later, I’m a track regular again; all because of BSN. As such, I cannot get on-board with any criticism of them. I’ve been a season pass holder for two years now and I think they’re adapting to each venue and improving the product every year. I don’t think you can ask for any more. They’re good people too. They’re authentic. I think Ian and Greg (Brennan and Blair, if I recall) are great.

Should not be allowed Guests or R/R for riders missing due to other riding commitments for starters.That might changes Promoters mindset on who they sign.

Fans have always had an issue with their riders representing other clubs. The main issue of course is perhaps due to them potentially getting injured, doesn't diminish the fact though. The disconnect I'm talking about isn't the "Oh so and so used to come into the bar after meetings." It is simply being able to get behind a rider who represents your team and your team alone. It creates an identity. Riders should be allowed to carry on. But they should do so at one level. The level they are capable of performing at. The doubling up free for all (helped by the relaxing of the average conversion rate) dragged the standard of the top two leagues closer together because so many of the riders are shared. Those riders taking second tier spots has absolutely stood in the way of youngsters coming through. Maybe not directly but that is a consequence of the rule change. It has been squeezing the air out of development for almost two decades now and we're at a breaking point. The sad thing is that those riders now having an easy life also had a more defined path to the top as the gulf from Conference to Premier to Elite was a less abrupt one than the pathetic excuse we have for a third tier into the Championship as it is now. We now have a weaker top tier than we did 20 years ago but a much stronger second tier. That is a fact shown by there being Championship heatleaders who are also heatleaders in the Premiership. To use one of your old riders as an example, Tomas Topinka was an incredible second tier number one in the mid 2000s. He wouldn't have been anywhere near a heatleader berth in the Elite League at that time though. And if you wanted to watch Topinka you had to be at a Kings Lynn meeting. Even now Scott Nicholls is a shining example of the way it should be. He has one team at the level his ability allows him to race at and still be competitive. The raw product draws fans in. Once you fall in love with that it is the bureaucracy and stupid convoluted rules that is a turn off, not the state of a stadium or what music is being played between the heats. I'm not saying these aren't issues, they are but the real issues come from the way the sport is run. There are some stadiums in Poland that are falling apart, they play the YMCA three times a meeting but the places are still banged out to the rafters. Yes, the standard of riders may be better but the real difference is that they don't deal in half the BS we do here.

I love the debate that comes around guests necessary evil etc etc & what the alternative is. Its not a necessary evil, Poland & Sweden run with out guests they use a squad system. Back in the day the old National League under the management of Stekesbury & co banned the use of guests. At the time the NL was a fair better & more professional outfit than the BL. Guests & doubling up come about because of the absolutely ridiculous operating model that the uk have gone with. If you go back to the 80s & early 90s every team had a junior team which meant most clubs had their regular 1-7 with them a back up of anywhere between 4-7 good junior/second half riders. If you were running in the NL basically you had a squad of 11-13 guys the juniors would be called in to the team to cover injuries. The promotors decided to bin that off reducing the number of available riders though lack of opportunities to race remember those juniors rode in their own league match’s each week. While every other ‘professional’ sport have invested in increasing their squad systems & opportunities to compete & train British speedway has done the opposite. There is a route out however that will take time vision & creative thinking. The out of control guest & doubling up system is a condition unique to British speedway brought about by the way the governing body has chosen to operate the sport. It wasn’t ever necessary!

They could put out a NL team and still be top 5

Pathetic isn’t it. Those giving it back are just as bad, ignore it and it’ll soon get bored. 99% of people come on here to talk speedway and have a debate. If it bothers them that much then dm instead of airing it all clogging feeds up.

Even at today’s standards and equipment/prices you could could go buy 2 decent bikes, all the riding gear and the equipment to set up your workshop to service your own engines all for under £5000,no fancy covers or shiny new wheels and it would be good enough to ride in the national league which would pay you £20 per point, where else are you going to get any other motorcycle sport to achieve that level with such an investment and pay back? The trouble is we have grown a breed of entitlement within riders for what is an amatuer level and it’s backed up by promoters and parents, just because you want to be a speedway rider doesn’t mean someone else should be paying for your privilege

Why do people keep mocking the lad for this? Not all young riders have rich parents or big sponsors and I believe Nathan has to balance his riding around a full time job. When he has signed for a team he’s always been reliable and never misses meetings and gives maximum effort so maybe the offers last season just weren’t right for him financially or otherwise.

And that’s the mentality that closed Buxton down last time,the sport never learns from our mistakes

If they were really interested in showing the way they’d put a NDL team together instead of using this to cherry pick riders out of it for themselves.

At least that's a positive post about Scunthorpe

https://www.savecoventryspeedway.com/_mobile/news.php?extend.4312.1

You've got to laugh at Reid Battye's quote about Berwick...... “I’ve heard it’s a really big speedway town and it’s on the coast. I live near the beach in Australia so it’s probably the same – just a bit colder!” Me thinks he's in for a bit of a shock

Stinks of desperation . Opening a new track with no fanbase and slinging them into the top flight. Whoever is fronting this will lose a fortune.

Just over seven weeks to go until Klindt’s testimonial for the season curtain raiser. Still have no (active) owner, Manager, team, sponsorship? Track man? So much to be done in such a short space of time. That’s without the bigger picture of fixtures to be sorted for all clubs as well as admission prices and season tickets etc etc. It’s been an absolute sh!tshow this winter let’s be honest.

Earlier in the winter there was a thought that radical change could be coming. Its certainly been a radical winter a u turn on ownership at Sheffield, Louis leaving Ipswich, Ipswich confirmed as running but no idea who is running it. As far as radical change in how the sport is run which is needed well that’s zero change. I find it staggering that it’s more of the same.

Perhaps the Godfreys' ambition is to run the Scunthorpe speedway to a sensible budget, and provide entertainment (and home wins) for many seasons to come?

Exactly, why is there this obsession with the ‘top’ flight? The sport in this country has no credibility. The shrinking numbers that still follow the sport aren’t that bothered about which league their team compete in. Less than a handful of GP level riders is the only difference between the Premiership and Championship. The top tier is so attractive that it has got to the point where they literally are begging clubs to take part! This is not something you would include in your sales pitch when trying to attract new spectators/sponsors to the sport.

And right there is why I should not only be Buxton’s team manager but be the person in charge of the whole national league, as I said in an earlier post we never learn from our historical mistakes and so we are set to fail again

I think I need a pint of what you're drinking!

Their approach should be to get back down into the CL and back to running on a Saturday night.

‘ Dropping the minimum level to 2.00 is a big worry with the heat leader calibre being drafted in as i can see riders getting lapped not through falls just lackof speed and thats a worry. ‘ The league is becoming as big a mess as the premiership , bringing in championship 2nd strings , some of which have been around for years, and expecting new 16 year olds in their first season to mix it with them with just 5 home matches to get dialled in to any sort of home advantage is just ridiculous. Its not what this division should be doing.

Good on the management team he's young and could be an unpolished gem. I always prefer when management take a chance on a youngster who might be a future quality rider rather than someone whos best days were a decade ago and have no improvement left in them.

Like you say no way should Ablitt should be given a reduction. Same should apply to Garrity given the reason he was lost to the sport. The sport is becoming a laughing stock and cannot be taken seriously anymore,certainly not going to attract many newcomers.

Currently no decision is made on Luke doing the league, my personal feeling is he shouldn't do it as with the current pay scales even scoring 15 every meeting means you run at a loss and even more so when you factor in the loss of a days working wage for us both as well. But on the flip side of that with only a championship spot and the limited amount of racing that it will provide he may have to do it for bike time and to justify the huge outlay on equipment during the winter. From doing 70 plus meetings last year to probably less 35 this year is there any wonder why young riders give up.

Yeah, but there’s not enough riders to go around 🙈, so the bosses say

Because those that are getting excited, just love speedway. I don't think it's wrong that people are excited for a new season. I - personally - would still be getting excited if there were just two teams left as I always miss speedway over the winter. Yes, the current situation is far from ideal and there's plenty that could be done in the future to improve things, but it's not going to stop me from going to meetings and enjoying myself. Boycotting the sport is not going to save it.