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Planning officers will be fully aware that Leicester is currently a one year deal ( temporary) and we have to run in the NL (bottom division). Planning officers will also be aware that fans want to return at Brandon (even those that do decide to go Leicester), over 100 tradespeople willing to get it back into condition shows that. Planning officers will also know that Brandon held speedway AND Stox, there is no substitute for a stadium that can hold both for miles. All this will no doubt be in the document that the group gave to Rugby Council and also from hundreds of fans that have emailed their objection. If Coventry Bees were to be no more it will be becasue of Brandon Estates. They are the ones who won't let us use the stadium, they are the ones who inadequately secured the site letting it get vandalised. They are the ones putting a planning application in for housing. They are the ones who haven't even bothered talking to SCS&S group. They are the ones who dont care about fans or local residents, they are the ones who dont care about the history of the stadium. It will be their fault.

Trouble with the showground is it's such a good track it deserves some good events.

I agree with Jenga.

What,,, going down a hill on a sledge ?,,, its not usually a dangerous pastime, young kids do it, very rarely does it end in tears.

There is no comparison between Swindon and Belle Vue! Whenever I have seen Swindon, in person or on TV, it has been a 1 line wonder. The size is fine, the shape and likely the banking, material, etc, etc. are where the problems are.

From what I also have seen also on TV and videos it looks a great track and I agree I wish we had it at Poole on our track. For the last few years, the Poole track has been often poor which is unacceptable. Certainly hope this new relaying etc at Poole does the job and not before time.

Yes , you do have an opinion , and you're entitled to it, me responding to that opinion does not make me a troll , its called a forum people indulge in dialogue from time to time

maybe because ash aint a bad rider

Why not, todays speedway fans don't get enough speedway, so even though it's not a particular strong field it is another meeting with the incentive for the riders to compete in an international meeting and a final in Poland. Bring it on I say.

The real reason could be frostbite of the goolies. He certainly likes finding unusual ways of harming himself. As they say in that part of the world, "daft as a brush".

No different than going MotoX'ing before the start of the season (like many speedway riders do), except you wouldn't think an injury could occur sledging. It's just a freak accident.

Kai Niemi for me! Rode in the British League for 15 years from the mid 70's to early 90's when nearly all the Worlds top riders competed in it when it was the World toughest speedway League and for many of them years had averages of 6+. Rode in a number of World Finals pre the GP years when you had to qualify on merit rather than wildcards. Also must be noted that Niemi had to get through the notoriously hard Nordic final then the Inter Continental final which often had a stronger line up than the final itself. At Bradford in 1985 he was in the top 6 scorers!

I've not made it yet, but from tv and videos I've seen looks the perfect track. Wish we had it at Poole.

have a rest starman,you really dont do poole speedway or the majority of poole supporters any favours.

Exactly. What we need in Britain is more big tracks like the NSS to compete with the Polish scene. We've now got one which competes with the Polish tracks and is even better than quite a lot of them (Though the NSS is some 35 metres shorter than the old Hyde Road, which was considered the best track in the world). Most supporters (even the majority of Poole supporters) recognise that the NSS is world class and far and away the best track in Britain. As someone said, you've got to be stupid or jealous to say otherwise.

change of times will hit the fund hard, so many supporters that were looking forward to this now won't bother. real shame, the lineup deserves a damn good crowd

It's really good to have speedway on BT Sport but whoever is directing the coverage needs to up his/her game. Camera angles not wide enough so we miss riders who are making attacking moves and, worse still, the director keeps changing the picture away from the real action. Instead we get a close up of one rider who is clear of the rest.

This is the article...... FOLLOWING a meeting at the SCB on Tuesday (January 9), Coventry’s participation in the 2018 National League was ratified. Home matches are to take place at Leicester’s Beaumont Park, which is described as a ‘temporary’ home whilst efforts continue to bring the club back to its rightful venue. Members of the Campaign Group then held a meeting with promoter Mick Horton in order to clarify the aspirations of both parties going forward. We have always been clear throughout the Campaign process that our intention is not to go back over old ground, and that our complete focus is on fighting the proposals to redevelop the stadium with the objective of facilitating a return to Coventry. Notwithstanding the disputes which eventually put paid to the 2017 season – when the stadium owners eventually elected to take their own course of action – it must be stressed that the reason why Coventry are unable to race at Brandon in 2018 is not down to Mick Horton. That is entirely a matter for Brandon Estates and John Downer. We needed to be satisfied that the National League venture at Leicester is not being supported financially by Brandon Estates. We have been given a categorical assurance by Mick Horton that there is no financial input from the developers. That being the case, we are satisfied that having a Bees team racing 30 miles away is unlikely to have a detrimental effect on efforts to restore speedway and stock car racing to Coventry. The move to Leicester is a personal/business gamble being taken by Mick Horton and at this stage nobody can be certain of whether or not it will prove to be a success. We know there are obvious reasons why some supporters will choose not to attend – including the practicalities of travel, and the fact that they will race in the lowest tier – but by the same token, it must be accepted that there are also supporters who simply wish to see a Coventry team on track, and this move provides them with that option when there is no available venue locally. The worst thing that can happen at this point is for the fan-base to be split by arguments amongst themselves over whether they should be attending, or personal attacks on those involved. We are unified by our desire to get back to Coventry as soon as possible, and in the meantime people should be free to make their own choice without receiving criticism from within. The activities of the Campaign Group and the speedway promotion are separate, but we are not working against each other. We fully accept that to get speedway and stock car racing back is going to require co-operation from all parties. For the Campaign Group it is most important to maintain the momentum which was built up during 2017, where there is huge opposition to the proposed redevelopment. Whilst the developers maintain a wall of silence – their Autumn planning application has yet to materialise, as has any response to the public exhibition feedback, which was promised to all who replied – the stadium itself continues to fall into disrepair. Events since the turn of the New Year have been particularly upsetting, and all of the questions at this stage should be directed at John Downer, Brandon Estates and Howell & Co Solicitors (James Crocker). WHY have they continually failed with their security measures when the previous owners managed to maintain a safe environment for all over many years? WHY have they allowed the stadium to continually deteriorate in comparison to its ‘tidy’ state of December 2016? WHY have they allowed local residents to be put at risk due to the criminal activities over recent days? WHY has it been left to the vigilance of locals and the intervention of the Leader of the Council to protect the site from even more damage? WHAT are they actually doing now to ensure that whilst the latest set of travellers have now left, more do not follow shortly after? We know that having a Coventry team racing in the National League away from Coventry will not be to everyone’s taste, and we also know this in no way helps the stock car fraternity who have similarly lost their sport. But please don’t use that as a stick to beat the riders who will be representing the club and doing their best to progress in the sport. The decision to race at Leicester does not alter or affect in any way the focus or aspirations of the Campaign Group, and we wish the team well for the season ahead. Finally, despite the shocking state of the stadium, please do not write off a return to Brandon in the future – we believe it still offers the best chance of both sports returning to the area. We will communicate further Campaign updates in due course.

He represents GB more than any other rider already!! It's great to hear that he is clearly involved with the new guy and thank god this new guy has the sense to want to involve the best rider we have. Woffy would know better who to represent us than Rosco. Any nation would bite the hand off of a star rider wanting to be involved so let's just hope it all works out so that he is back involved. Fingers crossed.

Yes good point...I remember Masters trying to last season and crashing instead!

Dunno if there's any stats on it, but it would be interesting to see if its more dangerous to ride a moto X bike, or sledge down a hill.

Hopefully the Aussies will go with Doyle and either their National Champion, Tungate or Max Fricke.

I hope you go Klindt. For his sake!!! You so don’t qualify for the SEC without being a good rider.

Errrr.... It has been awarded a leg, not the final, and the lineup is crap. Won’t be many bothering with it to be honest. If you want to see a real lineup come to Poole’s 70th aniversary meeting.

This thread has become an embarrassment. Have a word with yourselves!

Just like Coventry did when they named the only team he’s ridden for: Mercia Vikings.

very nice mmmmmvery nicelollol

Maybe ged can make up the short fall from his Torun money.

There's still some who is struggling to see that for some reason. Bees' return to Brandon IS NOT HELPED AT ALL by them running at Leicester - quite the opposite. I won't go to Leicester for a Coventry fixture. I might go to an away fixture somewhere, so that I can have a good shout in the direction of that ally of Brandon Estates, Mick Horton

The track work carried out by Glyn Taylor has reportedly been done in consultation with Matt and Chris Holder. Chris is reported to be very pleased with it. Seeing it first hand before the snow and ice arrived, it looked smooth and pristine with a tad more banking?!

Surely the important thing in all this is that the SRBF does not lose out . I am sure that there are no BSF posters who are unable to attend now who will not be paying the same sum into the fund. Nobody in the wonderful speedway family can be that narrow minded. There is no reason if you can't (or won't now) attend this meeting for contributions still not to be made. At least the petrol companies will then be the only losers.

No Peter Prinsloo? Come on, man, You must be joking ! But with Peter Prinsloo replacing the unknown Stan Paulsen, this Zimbabwe/Rhodesia Top Five looks quite good !

So can anyone from uk there are numerous airports within the uk to fly to newcastle

Hope you've applied for the head of media and internet communications job

Only one arse wipe I know JENGA By the way you still spout some pish.

We might struggle against the French though.....

...Ah! The days of Test Matches between England, Denmark and the USA...even England vs. The Rest of the World! Happy days!

Steve Shoveller locked out of school

But surely you put an opinion on a public forum knowing that somebody at some point will probably challenge it? Especially when it goes against the grain so much. If you can't be bothered with the hassle surely you wouldn't give that opinion in the first place

I see the trolls are fishing tonight

Argentina, France or Italy it is then

As i say you spout some amount of pish on a regular basis.

I have this book on my kindle and have read it several times. Kenny was not everyone's cup of tea and yes he had his demons. He also had a belief that he knew he could beat every other rider he came up against and second place to him in a race was like coming last. He also had an opinion on most things speedway and called it as he saw it and this alone turned many people against him, BUT to me all these things make a great speedway rider. One things for sure when he pulled on an England vest he was a proud man and in every race he had you could virtually see the red, white and blue pulsing through his veins.

That is the logic of the bspa, they have not got a clue.

The thing is Geoff he tries to come across as the Poole speedway spokesman and that does most of the Poole fans a disservice the Poole fans i have met are all decent chaps.The thing i could never get my head around was that he was once a Swindon fan then changed his mind and changed clubs if Swindon finished bottom every year they will always be my club.

In that case, one could take the view that the particular heat available to view is representative of the other 14 and not bother to 'purchase' the DVD, Far better to put a decent race up and hope the prospective DVD purchaser wants to see more of the same!

With this as the opposition we will not need to worry about the Poundland Pirates

RICHARD Clark succeeded me as Editor of SS early in 1996! Andrew Skeels has been on the staff since 1983. Since 1996 I have been both Managing Editor and Managing Director and the majority shareholder in Pinegen Limited, publishers of Speedway Star, so my responsibilities are much wider than the editorial content of the mag. We are committed to further improving the mag and Andrew (or Scunny as he is affectionately known, hailing from Scunthorpe and being a massive fan of the town's soccer and speedway clubs) is the person to drive it forward at a very challenging time with speedway attendances, and hence our potential readership, dwindling.

Yes. It's 1 point for a personal insult 2 if you manage to upset all the supporters of a particular team and 3 if you p!ss off the whole forum. I'll get my coat

Shocking! Been watching at home and looks like being directed by a 5 year old. Missed so many of the passenger and exciting parts of the racing. Also don't understand the constant close ups of Debbie Hancock.... Not relevant and certainly not attractive