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That sounds terrible imagine regular speedway on regular nights during the summer, even worse if it was first week of May until end of August, all those dreadful nice warm evenings with reduced threat of rain and the whole of September reserved for Play Offs, Cup finals etc. Thankfully everyone will see sense and run erratically, enjoy the Easter weekend washout and embrace the rush of fixtures before the cut off dates / freezing their toes off watching the season wimper out in late October.

Delays due to choice do put people into thinking it's dragging on - particularly when the environment for fans is unpleasant or there is little else in terms of entertainment to occupy them during 'down times'. This is where speedway can make changes - undercover spectating, additional entertainments etc. to engage fans rather than just watch 15 races. When attending an american football event in London once it lasted about 3.5 hours but it didn't seem that long because of the additional entertainment on offer and I wasn't too cold or wet. Surely if we took the simple step of grading every four heats, then have 5 minute break after heat four and twelve, with a 10 minute break after heat 8. This should give officials, and volunteers the time to have a break and satisfy those who want to keep things moving.

Everybody understands that... Nobody is saying have no intervals. What most people want is for the meeting to flow, with holdups kept to a minimum. What really gets my goat is when we have a long track grade, sometimes as long as 20 mins , then have another race then followed by the planed Interval.. We talk about the fans who don't support the sport anymore, yet the Promoters appear blinded to understanding the reasons why...….

Don't forget the track staff, officials, St.Johns (or whoever) would also like to get a cuppa and/or to have a pee!!

Fricke stepping up to the plate again, Lidsey had a terrrific meeting to finish third could Max flourish again this year i hope so.

The only time when the procedure shows any urgency is when they run double headers. Its such a shame they don't show the same with every meeting... They're tunnel vision is directed only in hanging the meeting out , thus allowing more time to spend your money, whereas the more positive thinking would be aimed at keeping those, in attendance , happy so they attend next time...

not many hold them full on , half to 3/4 then let the clutch out and give it full throttle , when taters was the worlds best gater he used to say a fast start happens in the first 3 yards by feathering the clutch and throttle to make it grip , full throttle from the start will just help to dig a hole .

Entertaining and hopefully successful. Looking forward to the season.

Just as an aside did anyone see the pictures from the WA state title meeting in Oz? Nice 'retro' racesuit for Cam - one at least 5 years old. Id say that shows his training programme is on track

and with a comment like that I can understand why speedway is in such a mess . Id have thought trying to get more to attend would be a better idea rather than say stay at home . But there you go

What i have noticed with Fricke is he now is a real racer exciting to watch and can pass for fun.I always thought he was technically gifted a bit of a gater and maybe a bit to placid not anough devil there but these last two years he has come on nicely loads more to come i believe.

And that's the reason why the attendances have dropped over the years.... Making a comment like that, you must be a promoter …..

The Aussie champs arent usually a guide as i said Tungate always does better in them then he does over here. That said Kurtz and Morris were average in them last season and had poor seasons, and if anything they are both worse this time around. Fricke , a true number one doing great and good to see Chris Holder showing some form. And how good does Lidsey look and he is at reserve for Belle Vue , if he brings a small amount of that form over here will be the signing of the season

Hasn't this always been the case, with a 7.30 start ? With racing commencing at 7.45.

There is nothing wrong with me but if you go about calling people names and insulting them rather then debate then you have already lost the argument

So you have said, many many many times before....

It, was just the same on our forum mate used to cause trouble. Not worth the finger time responding to it. It is just a .

Think I heard on local radio, but maybe wrong, that Laura would be willing to run this season but was hoping someone would help out with money, Also heard over the weekend that after the season finished several people/firms promised money, but so far, very little has come through, this maybe is the reason the statement has been releeased, I'm a big comets fan, but totally understand they can't keep on losing lots of money.so if it's the end fare enough.

No could about it Fricke certainly ahead of Holder Kurtz etc a quality rider and a proper number one

Wee bit worried what Justin will do this season.

Dunno mate we all pretty much know that Lawson is in so think I’d prefer to get this announcement out of the way so we can then prolong the excitement (or the agony ) a little bit longer

Lets hope its not him tomorrow then Save that for another day and give us a surprise ☺

There is a simple solution to all the moaning about the time it takes to complete a meeting ,and the length of the interval. If people don't like it ,stop at home.

Difference is Glasgow track was always going to be there even with no money and they will always own it and do as they please with it where as workys being tenants could be out if and when the rugby/football/sports moves into their new stadium with no where to go

Have not all speedway fans heard of Jerzy Szczakiel?

Published start time at Lynn means nothing. 7.30 should be replaced by when Buster has all the available admission money safely tucked away. ( over priced refreshments optional).

the best way to limit revs is with your right hand , if you get that right you become a great rider like hans neilsen , I saw him break a couple of track records never heard his engines screaming for mercy at any time though . on the slick or knee deep in dirt

Rev limiters were tested a few years ago by a couple of riders at a couple of tracks & initial reports were favourable. D Howe was 1 of the said riders.

The PZM are desperately trying to get another team out of Div 2 to join the Nice Polska league to replace the non- licence Rzeszow team.The clubs have until mid Jan to accept the invitation. Maybe Bydgoszcz will take the plunge under their new management.

As you say "to be fair", most of those who get into the pits area free, do contribute some physically some financially, some quite considerably . As Topsoil said it is up to the management. My points are twofold, 1) those who enter free are fully aware of the strains financially on the club, so just on a moral ground should enter by the turnstiles paying to support the club 40 fans times £17 equals £680 20 meetings £13600 . 2) The pits area, 14 riders 14 mechanics 2 team managers track staff first aiders, THATS IT. Even if someone gets in free , not in the pits area, IN THE STAND or hospitality.

I know you are going to think i'm having a go,but i think that is a bit of a myth.Just because there are a few breaks in races at times does it really give people the urge to spend more?If i want something to eat or drink i will get something whether there is a break or not.Same with merchandise.People must be fairly gullible if they think they must spend money if there are any breaks.People will spend if they want to,and not spend if they don't want to.This is my opinion anyway.

Yes,i just thought how it was worded we might be getting the racing started at 7:30pm.I just looked back at the 2018 fixture list on the website and it was worded the same.Sorry Haza,my bad

Spot on Doc

I think he's struggling to get the Tip-pex off his screen!

Time will tell, but it should be a very entertaining team to watch at home...

A lot depends on if they took their UK equipment with them or borrowed kit in Australia.

That's what the Poole fans were saying last pre season, OK they won the league, but not with the team that started the season. I see the same at P/Bora. PS still happy to have P/bora back in the top flight though, great track that provides great racing.

if its not going to kick in other than the start , ( most are not even revving full out at the start anyway ) hows it going to save any engine wear ,. Unban titanium which gains extra power by allowing higher revs but costs the earth , then bring in a new untried piece of clobber (no doubt another expensive piece of junk ) to prevent what you assisted by un banning titanium .. somethings stinks here . can't wait to see who's behind this money maker

i thought i read in the s/star about 2 yrs ago now that they had gone to the trouble of meeting with the council about saturdays and curfews etc and had made a big announcement that they had been granted just one saturday meeting per season , although i don't think they've used it yet . if i didn't dream this it certainly means saturday isn't an option.

I asked Chris Louis at a recent supporters night about these and his opinion was that they were close to pointless

Dave jessup!!! Sign him up

Right let's think about this logically,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, who else plays golf

Some good views on here. I really do like the idea of a Euro Super League. Could it work? In current circumstances probably not. But maybe, just maybe. It would have to be franchised and administered and marketed by an independent body affiliated to the FIM. The BSPA or other national bodies would never be allowed to run it. I like some of the comparisons to Rugby League which now has French and Canadian teams involved. Before Super League and Sky Sports investment, RL was a rough n' ready northern sport played in the middle of winter and followed by a die-hard fan base. Pretty much could be said for speedway these days. However since Super League was launched, it's franchising and marketing has brought a whole new fan base to the sport and also enjoys huge media exposure. So how about if for Speedway? Such a competition could still run alongside the domestic leagues and most importantly the Grand Prix series. There would have to be brand new teams (or in this case franchises) set up to successfully market such a competition to a wider audience. 8 teams - say 2 from UK, 2 from Poland, 2 from Sweden and 2 from Denmark. You could possibly make it 9 by inviting a franchise from one of the other main speedway nations on a yearly basis providing they meet strict entry and financial criteria. So that would be 8 home meetings over the year and of cause probably 1 more depending on a Grand Final play-off series. As someone has rightly pointed out I don't think fans would mind spending £20 admission to see 15 action packed heats featuring the best riders in the world (I love the idea of Woffinden, Cook and Lambert as the heat leaders). It would also have to do away with stupid team points limits. Some will say what about the away fixtures? - Nobody will want to travel over? Wrong. Not every meeting no, but some fans would want to travel over to say Poland or Denmark and make a long weekend out of it. I remember going over to Perpignan in France a few years ago and the city was rammed with 3000 Leeds Rhino fans there to see their team take on the Catalan Dragons. Broadcasting rights and big sponsorship deals would be key for such a competition to work but if left in the hands of the right management this could be done. Maybe such an idea is just a fart in the wind, but if Speedway is to generate a new fan base with a new exciting future could such a competition be the cure? Cheers

Haven't seen this company registered with Companies House yet. Was supposedly being incorporated from 1st December wasn't it ?

What a joke.. .. I am neither pro or against Buxton, but if the governing body are serious about our sport then surely they should waive all the fees and do anything they can to secure the longer term future if the club. It's very easy to shut a track down, very hard to reopen one. It should not come down to the fans to fund it, the whole speedway family from the top downwards should make relatively simple obstacles disappear, rather then creating them?

And you don't cause trouble here ?

I think you are half right - the 2 others

The problem is - and we’re complicit in this - that the sport cannot be taken seriously due to the way rules etc are just altered and made up on the spot. We like to think it’s a sport but it’s just a minor fluff entertainment like monster trucks or stock cars. Im sure there’s a Gladiators forum where the contributors bemoan the fact Wolf has been overlooked yet again. Speedway has reaped what it sows I’m afraid.

Hello, well, I believe both things do matter. Only Woffinden, Lambert and recently Bewley have established themselves as decent points providers in Ekstraliga or 1. Liga. Cook had two very dissapointing seasons in Rybnik and i think he's done in Poland. Others, like Lawson, the Worrall bros are good enough to consider them as solid second strings at the lowest level. Generally, Brits have bad reputation in Poland since Harris and Nicholls' - poor showing a few years ago. Generally, they're viewed as riders with suspected approach, not eager to ride in Poland, without equipment suitable for slick, concrete Polish tracks. For sure, it's a bit unfair but that's the way it is.

All those having a dig at me im not saying its not a farce. But Kings Lynn have acted 100% within the rules i cant see why anyone thinks different. What are Kings Lynn supposed to do? Roll over? Go r/r and be weaker? Why are Poole fans blaming Kings Lynn? Poole have Swindons second heat leader guesting for their third heat leader Kings Lynn have Swindons FOURTH best rider guesting for their second heat leader.............that by anyones standards is advantage Poole. I just find it very difficult with some Poole fans saying it harms the sport........im not saying it doesnt.........but how many times have Poole cheated and bent every rule going to get an advantage.....bit rich for their fans to claim the moral high ground...and i say it once again Kings Lynn have done nothing wrong at all. Its been stated that Allitt was looking for a long time to find a guest but if people arent willing to take the booking what are Lynn supposed to do? Just hand Poole the league. Poole are huge favourites and this is why i dont like the play offs...................injuries to teams at the wrong time makes it a farce. Belle Vue had little chance of beating Kings Lynn......and Somerset all credit to them had little chance against Poole, and now Lynn have lost a GP star replaced by a non heat leader.