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Obviously youve never been there have you? The Arena is rented from a local school. Speedway share the pitch side dressing rooms and allow for them to keep a rugby pitch behind the back straight. There is little scope to widen the track as there is only about a 15ft walkway between the stand and rugby pitch. No point in lengthening the straights as that would create problems for riders with the extra speed going into the tight turns. I have been a heavy critic of the state of the track preparation over recent few seasons. To the point of Mark Phillips saying he would ban me.! I say what I see and that doesnt sit easy with some people. We had several meetings called off because of the state of the track, not the weather. That said, Mark has worked his socks off in remedying the situation. I cant possibly argue with that. The last couple of meetings of 2019 you could see the effort paying off. The track did improve a fair bit. In 2020, Plymouth ran 2 meetings under very strict Covid regulations. Their organisation was absolutely top notch. Clear instructions from volunteers at every pinch point throughout the meeting. The track itself stood up very well indeed. How much of that was due to constant preparation ,lack of weekly action, I dont know. But, in my opinion, it was a good as its ever been, if not the best ever. Before the start of the 2nd meeting. I bumped into Mark and congratulated him personally on his fore thought and arrangements. I felt 100% safe. Add in the superb stand along the start finish straight, they made for a a good atmosphere with everyone that I know going home with a big smile. Indeed it was very disappointing when they cancelled the next fixture because the Covid situation had changed, I totally accept that. For Mark and his team to go out and gain promotion and deliver two excellent signings shows his intent. He IS listening to fans on just about everything. I applaud him and his team on their efforts so far. I wish them well for 2021, except of course against Poole!

That's okay,,, is normally Ipswich number 1s that can't ride Foxhall very well

Some say guests are a 'necessary evil'... They are not, it's simply become the 'easy, lazy way out' rather than try and not use them.. A fit for purpose rider replacement facility would eradicate many of the needs for guests, as would a fixture list that doesn't plan meetings in whereby you already know you need them to complete either, or both, teams.. Doubling up/down is though a 'necessary evil'.... There are simply not enough riders to go round and, if no doubling up/down, not enough meetings for riders to make enough money to justify their outlay to ride...

Totally agree with every word Bob Track was far better than my 2018 visit with Brummies Facilities and Stand a great improvement. Stewarding and Match Presentation far better. Communication radically improved with some new blood brought in. If they can maintain 2019 standard and not slip back will be welcome addition to CL

I visited Stoke in their last season and was impressed how the place had been tidied up. The track was also decent, but the water bowser broke down mid meeting. It had its faults, but the sport can't afford to lose any venues.

Whoooosh

That's no way to talk about Brady...

A truly great life has come to an end! I think Olle Nygren started riding in the late 40's and was still riding in the mid to late 70's. Also did road racing and scrambling and in the 50's especially if he'd of concentrated solely on speedway he wouldn't of been far of a World individual title. He was a top rider for Norwich in the 1960's then I saw the now veteran Nygren signed by Ipswich to help with their move into the top flight in 1972. He was past his best and not very quick but could gate and would use his track craft to block faster riders from overtaking. He was well known for sticking out his leg to stop riders coming through. A fracas with Coventrys Rick France one night then Olle getting on the mike to offer to meet a lout who I think chucked something at the parade truck are memories that come to mind in them early Division 1 days at Foxhall in the early 70's!

The national league in the late 80s also proved that you could run a league competition without guests. The issue like so many within speedway it's the easy way out. Just look how far the sport has fallen since Ipswich's final national league season in 1990.

Unfortunately you maybe disillusioned but speedway is NOT a big sport in the UK at the moment and if you think putting a race track in the middle of a field is going to get supporters in just because the track is big is far from the truth. you exspect the sport to survive on people that go just because they want to see a good race and that’s it is million miles from feesable. you now need to make it a package to come and watch speedway. You need there to be music, entertainment, things for kids to do, you need competitions, good toilet facilities, good drinking and eating facilities. Of course you need good racing too but that’s not going to bring fans in alone. Plymouth is growing as club because a magnitude of things..... 1) the mascot kids love it, if kids are happy so are parents. 2) the track is now being brought up to a good standard 3) the announcer does a great job of keeping everything up to date and the new people informed as well as the more experienced supporter. 4) they have made new stands and seating areas that are much more pleasurable to go on. 5) the food bar serves some brilliant food now especially the curry that is made from the Indian up the road ! 6) this year the team has big names people will want to come and see them 7) the team will have one or two fans favourites people will want to come and see them. 8) you can get close to the action to watch, Litterally on top of it at the back straight. The place isn’t the NSS but it’s never going to be after the amount of money spent on it. BUT my god they are trying to make it a family fun day/evening out and a respectable stadium and club and personally I think it’s working and Plymouth are very much a team on the up. unfortunately I think you have something against Plymouth speedway I don't know why nor do I care. For what it’s worth I enjoyed going to stoke the last time Plymouth went, the track was about 3 inch deep in sludge and yeah it wasn’t great sat on cracked steps with weeds coming up or the fact that you can’t walk around the track and get close to the action, but that’s what made stoke Stoke same when I’ve been wolves, Coventry etc they have something unique and special about them.

Yes we know bell vue is a excellent track but also redcar is prepared right you can see cracking racing there too and that's not a big track.

Utter cobblers tbh

This is a Plymouth speedway thread. I come here to read about the Gladiators. All this other nonsense doesnt belong here. As it happens, I prefer racing on smaller tracks..

if a rider is missing then RR is the 1st option (unless its your no1) then if 2 riders are missing its 1 guest and RR. As for guests why not restrict them in the PL to only riders who do not ride in that league? If Ipswich needed a guest then they could look at someone in the CL (eg Eastbourne) but couldnt use Kerr or Brennan, but Kennett, Lawson Edwards and Newman would be ok.

Bloody hell you only been in the league a week not turned a wheel yet and already upsetting everyone.

Not hostile at all just pointing out the blatantly obvious I hope that you feel reassured enough to venture out. Proper stewarding will be required at all tracks

As has been said before on here John Berry proved over many years you can operate without guests - and still be highly successful.

I think he lived in Felixstowe?

Brady choking when the pressure is on at the end of a meeting.... imagine it

He is a danger on the track,his lack of control is worrying.He won’t go a season without injury IMO.

A few seasons ago I saw Plymouth v Berwick whilst on holiday. With Berwick being a big track , I wondered how they would take to a small Plymouth track.it was an excellent meeting showing great racing. Like all tracks which create good racing , they still have to be prepared well for riders to show their talents off I saw the Colts a couple of season ago.... the racing was just about ok. With regards to Stoke, I used to go many years ago when John Dews was in charge of the track... indeed I would go regularly except when the Aces were riding away. Great racing and atmosphere. I stopped going when the last management team were in charge... track frequently in a poor condition..... Poor racing ensued with inevitable decision never to give Stoke another penny of my money... No regrets... plenty of good tracks around to venture to.

I’ve said this many a time - it was a huge problem before the fixed race nights and riders missing matches left right and centre but problem was solved by the introduction of that. Aslong as riders attend every meeting (other than for injury) then it shouldn’t be an issue for any fans really. I always like the idea of a relegation play off at the end of the year, but understand that doubling up is just one of the reasons that can’t happen. Now, the guest facility.... that is a real problem!

Why would tai be living in rental accommodation? When he as got a big farm house in Lincolnshire. But he will not be at Sheffield that's fact

......Then you get the riders who sign up for a British team, then dump them when they get a better Swedish/Polish gig. They're called shystars*. (* spellcheck may be required).

Both really good suggestions. The idea about restricting guests to only riders outside of the Premiership is even better!

I watched racing at both West Ham, Wimbledon and New Cross in the 60s. I always preferred Wimbledon and New Cross because I felt the riders got spread out too much but I know people who preferred the bigger West Ham track. That does not make me right and them wrong, it shows that people have different opinions and variety is good. Please can posters accept other opinions are genuine and therefore valid. I have a very good friend who like me enjoys oval car racing. He prefers the Hot Rods while I prefer the Stock Cars. We both enjoy watching racing and don't treat the others view as rubbish and neither should posters on this forum.

Anyone who thinks that binning the NL is progress doesn't even earn the effort of reading the remainder of the post. There are precious few positives about British speedway but the National league is one of its jewels and scrapping it because its inconvenient would see the sport end in 5 years.

I give it till tomorrow before the “ the bikes are too fast nowadays/ there’s no skill involved in riding them (even though most of the critics wouldn’t even know how to start a bike), let’s go back to uprights/ black leathers and bibs/ proper cinders on the tracks/ eeeeeee I saw Tommy ( the mad wellie) Wilkinshaw in 1952 and he used to ride with a rusty Brillo pad on his helmet” brigade come and tell you that’s what’s needed.

Utter rubbish ,your losing the plot.

some good ideas, not new. Promotion and relegation won't happen, it's been tried before. As for du/dd teams could be paired so that div 1 teams call riders from 2 div 2 teams. No guests, use r/r or a div 2 rider from yr partner team. There's enough riders of div 1 second heat leader standard in div 2. Then at least we won't have the grotesque spectacle of Ipswich riders helping Wolves, etc, they'd just come from their partner teams in Div 2

He used to live in Springfield Road in Taverham before moving to Felixtowe many years ago.

Unfortunately this thread is just becoming petty and I see more grown up conversations in the playground. completely wrong that both of you have said either a stadium should close or you think the stadium is rubbish because it doesn’t suit how you want it to be. the unique thing about speedway is the different styles of tracks some huge and some small and technical. I for one have seen some great racing at Plymouth and both other tracks all over The UK I’ve visited. unfortunately the sports on its arse I believe because..... The rules change every year without fail imagine if the rules changed in football every year no one would accept it. the teams change every year because if they do well you have to change. You do well you are punished. How can fans especially new fans get a bond with riders that change every year. the next two for me are the biggest.... promotion and relegation and this for me is the second biggest reason speedway will never grow. How can promotion and relegation be based on what a few people at the top of the table think should be relegated and who shouldn’t. That links in to the biggest reason how can people who OWN TEAMS in the league ever make unbiased choices that doesn’t give an advantage to their team. I think it’s crazy that the league is ran by people who are not Independent. I think the speedway in order to improve needs....... clear relegation rules between 2 divisions. Scrap the national league BUT every team must run a second half meeting team ( how many in the two teams I don’t know ) could say 6 in the main meeting and 4 in the non elite meeting. Within the junior meeting 2 must be under 21 or some sort of limit. This way they get the benefit of being in and around the pits with guys who are experienced and learning without the need to take up a team spot. I think two leagues only would work. From division two, the Top team goes up and the next 4 play off for the final promotion spot. 1st v 4th and 2nd v 3rd play home and away, winners play for other for the final spot. Now yes teams may not be able to afford the best riders in the league but that’s not the challenge for them the challenge is to stay in the league. Or get promoted. riders can only ride for their club not two just one. I think riders having two averages should be scrapped and that one unique average for each rider should be there’s and there’s only. there will be a league trophy cup competition and a dual league trophy competition so the so called smaller clubs get the chance to race against the big boys and try it out. the league is run by independent people that do not own the clubs or have any involvement with clubs making the best choices for the sport as apposed for themselves. in terms of applying for the league every new team can enter, but they start in the bottom league of this league gets two big then this league ONLY gets split at the end of the season based on the top half and bottom half. Teams can’t ask for relegation or promotion and if they finish in those particular places they go up or down. If you are a smaller team with a smaller budget getting pushed up cause you won be happy and your challenge is to build a team that allows you to finish outside the bottom 2. Scrap rider ownership by random clubs. The team the rider rides for is owned by that club. They can be bought/released during the season as transfer or you release the registration and is a free agent. You can also own any riders in the second team you put on. There will be a trophy for the and this will be the development league trophy. Speedway needs to take opinions out of the running there is to many opinions allowing things to change. every thing will be fact. What average is he everyone knows. If he’s British fine give him a reduction, he’s missed one season without riding at all fine he gets a reduction. The reduction could be 2% per season for a maximum of 3 seasons. every rider who has raced British speedway will get an updated average regularly. Personally I’d do this after every week. This will be done on one green sheet and supporters will be able to see what every riders worth is with out looking. Is he A new Aussie, USA etc fine 4 or 5 average. British fine can be a 3. Any rider can ride in any league it’s up to the club to attract them. You have a wage budget/limit for each league. This means the top league teams should be stronger. Only issue with this is the dual cup competition but this adds to the fantasy off say a smaller team beating a bigger team. there’s many more questions to this and probably people will disagree but just thought during lockdown I’d post my thoughts on British speedway.

Belle Vue NSS is a great track. Would it have ever happened though without Kirky Lane, anything but a great Track shoe-horned inside a dog track. Sad fact BV NSS got Council Funding that no other track is likely to get. Stoke when properly prepared was a good place to visit. Sad its been bulldozed.

Might know the venues tomorrow.

I read Najjer’s post as using other rising star scheme riders who are on the list but don’t ride for another team in that league. Agree also it should be R/R unless two riders are absent. We HAVE to get rid of riders appearing for more than one team as much as is possible.

I know making several changes isn't likely to happen, difficult task given the limited rider availability! If the season gets underway, which is far from a given..it shouldn't be a case of just having speedway back. We need to reinvigorate interest, if we put a team out simply to make numbers up, that's my interest gone and probably forever.

has Glasgow moved to england?

I quite agree - guests should be an absolute last choice if there is numerous riders out injured within a team. They should never be able to be a first port of call. Rider replacement should always cover a missing rider in the 1-5 in my opinion. Especially now with the new ‘rising star scheme’, teams should be replacing reserves in the top tier with riders who don’t have a top tier side and can only use riders within the scheme from the second tier or riders without a team. Likewise in the second tier, they should be using riders who aren’t assigned to a team within the top two tiers. That way it gives riders who aren’t currently in a side to effectively form “a youth pool” and get a chance to showcase themselves and earn a team spot.

Not so well done then

Bad photoshop job here. Someone just trying to stir the pot.

Steve that's what I thought he as always said if he does come back it will be at wolves. Hope you're well Steve

This is where the rumours came from

If it is considered a new track, then there should be a 2 metre safety gap between the fence and the spectators i believe.

Maybe it’s the camera angle but the third/fourth bends look much narrower than I expected, has the hospitality building encroached onto the old circuit?

That’s not altogether true as Russia have won twice with a small number of riders. Even in England’s heyday they would be beat by the Aussies and Danes. We now have 2 world class riders which is more than for 20 years. Anyway it’s our own home league where the focus should now be and getting Crump to ride at CL level is pretty cool. Top riders dropping down a league doesn’t happen much these days and was something that the old second division thrived upon years ago.

Indeed. I’m guessing they’ll need a good supply of Tiger Balm or Fiery Jack too

Swap you for Ben Barker

Just love the word 'suggests' which suggests you don't know but heh ...... So - - I would suggest that as he has a UK passport; didn't need a work permit in 2019; rode for the Belle Vue Colts, a NDL team, in 2019 then that clearly makes him 'British' in the eyes of the UK government and British Speedway governing body. Throw in the fact that he is only 18, having arrived in the UK when only 16, ending up with an 8.55 average for the Colts just after a few months, this alone should be enough to make him a rising star - better average than team mate Danny Phillips who is ranked as a 2* rider. Plus he won't be the first rider to take advantage of being able to ride in Australian championship meetings. For example, Tai Woffinden won the 2006 Western Australian Under-16 title, in Perth.

Yes far too nice for Poole Good luck Danyon - no one deserves a great season more