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We jokingly call the back straight terrace , where we watch from , the Charlie Monk stand . I cant think of a more fitting tribute than Glasgow to name the grandstand to honour the memory of Jimmy Beaton . Officially naming it the Jimmy Beaton stand would serve as a lasting thanks for all he did for the club .

Whatever his actions they were far less detrimental to British Speedway that the course taken by Holder and Rathbone....

Sad news indeed mate , at Glasgow we have much to be thankful to Jimmy for , would we still be in existence without Jimmy Beaton - probably not . RIP Jimmy your legacy will live on everytime a Glasgow rider takes to the track .

Why on this forum do I keep reading that Mick Horton owes money ? Can somebody specifically and with accuracy say who is owed what ? I do not believe that he would have obtained a licence to run Speedway at Leicester ( or anywhere else) if money was still owed to anyone. Admittedly he has not been the most successful Speedway promoter in the past at Peterborough and elsewhere, but that does not mean that he has defaulted in payments. Although I am not a bees fan, I think he is to be congratulated on trying to keep the Bees alive in this way, almost certain to lose money ( though I hope not). Why he gets such abuse on this forum I do not know.

I get all the put British riders first , but clubs want to try and be as competitive as they possibly can . Sure it might only take a couple of riders to improve significally and you have title contenders , but the more riders who do that increases those prospects . It's unfortunate that the likes of Jacobs and Perks have so far been overlooked , but while the sport is average driven there is always going to be arithmetical casualties . And riders in the bracket between 5 and 6 are always the most vulnerable regardless of nationality .

Then you get the likes of ellis perks, has his best year yet, goes from a 2.3 average to a 5.08, most improved rider of the year yet doesn’t get the chance to improve further in 2018, doesnt always help to be successful in this sport

From my perspective its all about value for money and being entertained. Even following NL at the cheaper end of the scale i picked my meetings this year at Kent as i was becoming bored of big home wins with limited entertainment. Im not going to visit every week just because a meeting is on i want to be entertained. Its also down to false economy as i didn't think twice about the fuel in the car going to Peterborough just the entry fee but i did receive good entertainment with the racing in return however i couldn't justify it every week. Speedway fans are no longer happy to blindly hand over money whenever any team visits they want a two sides of equal quality on a track that can produce decent racing and they will be happy. The formula is simple and yet its still often messed up.

Depends on the market which the company is trying to appeal to, obviously.

Have said before but if i owned a big company and he came knocking he wouldnt get over the front door he looks awful with those tattoos ,would u want an image like that representing your company .

Name a track where the following doesn't occur - an away rider gates but the home rider more often than not seems to pass therm because they know the track better.

Just Another Vodka & Not A Role Model also in the line up - seems to be Darcy Ward themed race.

With comments like that you deserve all the s...t thrown at you throughout the year you give Poole supporters a bad name for me you dont represent the true Poole fans.

A bit like your good self, n'est pas ?

I've never understood speedway trying to promote itself as a family sport. All nicey nicey. Just a thought but the Polish fans don't seem that way. Does Polish speedway promote itself as a family sport anyone know

I know its early doors , but encouraging to see Rohan Tungate on fine form down under Could be a big year ahead for him at Belle Vue ?

sad to read on the Glasgow site that jJmmy Beaton has passed on . any loss in the speedway world is a great loss to all . but i think jimmy will be a greater loss to those who had known him . 91 yrs old , it must be the irn bru ! R.I.P. . J .B.

Yes. In fact I'd suggest that the crowd might be slightly higher if it wasn't on TV, as a few armchair fans might be tempted into attending. The big difference with Cardiff though is that the meeting is almost a side attraction for the whole day (or weekend in some people's cases). Everything about attending Cardiff is an experience completely unique to anything else in the British speedway calendar.

What you want to have, in order to keep fans entertained between races, is riders who are excluded standing on the track gesticulating at the ref. Fallen riders stomping over to the pits phone by the starting gate because they've been harshly excluded. None of this is allowed now. It should be encouraged.

Dzieki...cipa. Best wishes to Starman aswell as i've missed the last few weeks here.

Can Kyle fulfil the number role, I think he can. He seems to thrive on the pressure and responsibility, he did every heat 13 when fit and did his fair share of heat 15's especially away where he probably did them all, and his away form last season was a revelation. If you look at Kyle's home and away averages they very similar for me he is one of the best all round riders in the league. Lasse, is as good as any rider around Sheffield, maybe needs to make some improvements on some of the away tracks, but he is capable. Todd surprise me last season fully expected him to show his best form away from Sheffield, as he in past had not done too well around Sheffield. But it turned out to be the complete opposite and his away form was very patchy whereas his home form was really good, in saying that he did on few occasions and important win away from home that turned a match around. People bang on about what is the way to build a title winning team, strong heatleader trio, strength in depth, strong reserves. None of this matters to win the title you need Stay clear of injuries (luck) Have rider or two that put a point or two no their starting average. More importantly win all of your home matches. Last season their was only one team that won all of their home meetings. That team topped the league and went on to win the Play Off Final.

On reflection, don’t you think it would be a better policy for clubs to do their utmost to foster British riders rather than to live by the mantra “we don’t owe them a living”?

Thank god for that.

PERHAPS the FIM will do something about the Poles and their self-imposed rules and continual moving of the goalposts. Incidehtally, a couple of pigs have just flown by my window.

Just continually trying to improve things , making it in such a way to enable us to enjoy exciting and thrilling speedway . The track was too one line last season , the aim is to have a track that riders of both sides can attack and give the paying public the type of speedway to do justice to it's surroundings . No point having Chris Harris and not giving him the track to entertain us .

Dave - having thought there was no way back, you come up with a Boxing Day 2017 movie which shows the end may not be at an end. Couldn’t give a monkeys about a grandstand, being able to buy a pie and a pint or buying a scarf / photo in a track shop. The only item we need is a track and seems as though there is something there still. Ok need a safety fence and a spark to control the starting gate and necessary racing red/green lights - the other bits can be worked upon in the future. HOWEVER- how did you gain access to the stadium albeit Boxing Day. How on earth did the gypo’s gain access the the heavily fortified stadium complex ? I live 2.5 miles from the stadium and pass it on a regular basis and have seen the barricades in place to deter yet more intrusions from the scum. Heard a 4th hand rumour today that Mr Sandhu had very recently made an unsuccessful attempt to buy back the stadium for a figure of 2 million quid from Brandon Estates ( allegedly to re-start stock car PLUS speedway ) Would appear that Brandon estates still clinging to the idea of being given planning permission to build homes on the site -however they should take on board that Oakdale nurseries (across the A428 road from the speedway} sold out almost 20years ago for the same reason but nothing has progressed The prospect of seeing / smelling speedway is still a distant prospect -but not dead and buried as I thought it was a few days ago. Mr Sandhu was a saviour to Coventry Speedway all those years ago ( he spent mega money transforming the place upfront - so untypical for ANY sporting club at the time and since) If the 4th hand rumours are to be believed, then maybe he could be back once more for a 2nd coming. The Coventry public have a place in their hearts for sport (ccfc at Wembley last year for a mickey mouse cup, Wasps for rugby union) Entertainment is the name of the game and in the right hands (anything not involving the HORTON clan and his sidekick WATSON, please, PLEASE, PLEASE !!!!) could be a winner. Keep the faith

Probably thinks he is too good for it?

plenty time mmmmmm

agree, there isn't the money for pro riders in the 2nd div unless they d/u

Look don't get me wrong as I am a Chris Fan (as a rider that is). I was not aware re the twitter as have not seen it but exactly the same was put out on his website yesterday. The point I am making is that he has only put out the official announcement in which even that only has Matts comments with nothing in the way of comment from Chris. Its is normal for riders to put out a personal comment from themselves saying they are pleased or happy to be riding in 2018 for ??? and are looking forward to riding or in Chris's case returning to the club. Is it me or is there nothing in the way of any personal comment from Chris, which is what is making me think he is doing this near enough against his own wishes and only because without Poole he had no other option which perhaps could also have maybe affected his visa?? Someone like Hans Andersen would have made a comment about how happy he would have been to be returning to Poole as no doubt most other senior heat leader figures (or even normal middle/lower riders) would have put out more personal messages other than just forwarding the clubs statement which had no personal input/comment from the rider himself. Its hardly welcoming himself back into the hearts of the Poole supporters although I suppose irrespective of what he thinks, ultimately its what he does on the track that matters. I am sure if he doesn't perform then we know what the ultimate outcome will be either mid or end of the 2018 season. Lets hope that's not the case. Would have been nice to have seen something from the guy personally though and I think many Poole fans would agree.

It is far from a massive gamble, but I imagine his scores will be somewhat inconsistent for the first month or two. Some tracks will obviously come more naturally to him than others. The big thing for me is, having someone of the quality & experience of Andersen alongside Vaculik & Pieszczek in the pits to offer advice. King also.

Yeah he’s fit for the new season.

Looks like the fans have got everything that they wanted: Rob Henry still helping the youngsters and Mildy will be defending the National Trophy....oh and concessions fixed at the same price, all looks promising this Season at West Row !

RTD is at plymouth Mitch is at Birmingham

The return of Chris Harris would be interesting indeed, and may actually be the only thing that would tempt a Coventry fan over to Leicester. Maybe the BSPA would consider engineering an assessed 6.00 average for Bomber, like they did for Richard Hall...all in the best interests of British Speedway.

I think they all met yesterday to do an initial draft.

Wow isn't that such a surprise. Wonderful sewing club they have in speedway.

Surely every club should be starting at Easter to take advantage of the holiday crowds and the fact that there’s more fixtures this year.

there will always be a fastest way around any track . the inside or the outside . not many tracks have those many lines , its like formula 1 , as long as you stick to that certain line , you have won . good luck in finding that magical route around your track , best track that i have seen with many lines was the old Hyde road . superb racing there . . you can tell the N.S.S. was built with the old Hyde road in mind . you have 2 good guys trying to find that special something in your track , lets hope they can find it .

Lindgren was ranked higher in the GPs than Vaculik, despite missing the last two rounds. Vaculik averaged 0.6 higher in Ekstraliga, Lindgren averaged 0.9 higher in Elitserien. If you were to ask me who would average the most in the UK next year if both were here, I'd bet heavily on Lindgren.

So who is owed money then? Extremely defamatory accusing a promoter of owing money. Maybe he is also owed money, that is how business works in my experience but I have never been struck off as a director!!

The full 1-7 is in place, and will be announced shortly I believe. Mick Horton and my successor will be ‘The Promotion’.

The gypsies have now departed Brandon after the intervention of the Rugby Council leader.. Lets hope more pressure is put on Brandon Estates to ensure proper security oh the site.

Think you will find that that was sold a couple off years ago. He has no ties now in the UK. Family are also back in Denmark.

I'm beginning to wonder if this decision was made based on the turnout for the Leicester v Bees challenge match in September last year. I will remain pessimistic I'm afraid, cannot see it lasting at all. Especially with the rumoured news of the arson attacks on Brandon stadium

Yet it has been voted best prepared track in the top tier of British Speedway more often than any other.

Speedways corrupt anyway promoters looking after self interests

It is a strange phenomenon. At Swindon more than half the crowd leave before the team have come round on the victory parade, let alone stay for the post meeting interviews, MoTM presentation etc. I can't explain it. I'd rather stand around for 10 minutes watching the proceedings than sit in a queue of traffic waiting to get out of the car park

Love the sidecars on the grasstrack - but speedway tracks seem too narrow in comparison (and too short) for full on racing Brandon staged sidecars on occasions but I never found any entertainment or excitement from them

Heartbreaking.

In the New Year, 'Arena Cross' hits Manchester... Indoor Motocross.. I would urge any Speedway Promoters who can do, to attend... I went three years ago with my lad and so much of the total evening 'entertainment package' on view could easily be translated over to Speedway.. From an autograph, selfie opportuniy meet and greet with the riders, completed 60 mins before racing so plenty of time to browse the merchandice stalls and get a drink and food.. . (Each rider had his own posters and photos for sale too). Riders coming out in darkness doing a lap of honour under a spot light. Could tracks do something similar to create atmosphere?. A 'centre green' announcer who was loud (he had to be over the bikes and music), brash (well, the Promoters were American!) and informative, detailing background information about each individual rider and commentating on the action as it happened. (That last bit maybe not needed in Speedway?).. Before racing and during gaps in between for track maintenance, (all tractors were working by the way), their Promotion team fired their own T Shirts into the crowd via an 'pump action air gun'... Many were, it appeared, Small and Medium meaning many adults caught them as you would expect but many of the kids ended up with the T Shirt.. (My lad got one from someone five rows back who passed it on when he saw it was an 'S').... There were no gaps where 'nothing happened' between races, so the crowd was kept interested.. The interval took place half way during the evenings racing and was 30 minutes prompt.. Before the interval they told us about the 'mini moto' they had suspended from the ceiling. Just text your name to etc etc and you could be taking this bike home. Texts cost £5... There was a 7500 full house and I would suggest well over half of 'the dads' were texting away during that interval. That bike certainly paid for itself and more! (Certainly I contributed a tenner towards it)! Now maybe Speedway couldn't do the same but they could do something around winning Season Tickets, VIP evenings etc.. The winner was announced prior to the Final and came down and received his bike... The cost for me and my lad was over £70 but I am going again next time as it was fantastic value for money... How did I know they were coming back to Manchester? I got an email from them in October telling me so with a nice book early 15% saving... Three years they have had my email address and now have used it knowing I had previously attended. My own Speedway team still doesn't have my email address... How did it advertise itself? Lots of Social Media and it played on how "awesome" (as I said they are Yanks!) it must be to watch 'dirt bike racing' in the middle of a City Centre.. And let's be honest as a concept it is 'pretty unique' isn't it? Apart from obviously it already happens many nights of the week around the Country from March to October..!! It was a 'one off' so you could argue that it is 'different' from Speedway, however maybe if Speedway promoted EVERY meeting as if it was a 'one off' they would be delivering many, many more through their turnstiles.. Watching 'dirt bike racing' in a City Centre is "awesome" don't forget, so says the guys who play to full houses and make money out of doing so... NB: No mention of it being a 'family sport' but plenty about 'speed', 'danger' and being 'gnarly'! (Whatever that means....) In fact the only downside to the night was that I, as a 47 year old at the time, felt 'very old' when I looked around the rest of the crowd.. At Speedway, at least I still feel like a 'spring chicken'!!