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Have you been in a darkened room all afternoon ?

The problem at the moment, is that the gap between the Premier League & Championship is too small, and the gap between the Championship & National League is too large. With Premier heat leaders riding in the championship, only the very talented riders stepping up from the National League stand a chance. The Championship standard should be more like the Newcastle team this year, which would give riders similar to those above, a chance to score some points and progress. Also, doubling up needs to be gradually reduced, initially only allowing riders who do not ride in any overseas leagues to double up. Imagine in the 1970's allowing top first division riders to ride in the second division !!

Crikey !! Didn't know he was still going.... used to do the speedway at Wembley way back Anyway, Oxford was the last track i visited in the UK !! Wish them all the best for the future, and maybe i might get to visit again this year or next

higher league takes preference when there is a clash of fixtures

I think the reality is there should only be two divisions. Not many might agree but I think that the current Premiership is a decent product based on the TV matches I've watched only. But only six clubs is an issue. At least a couple of CL clubs could afford to compete at that level and sourcing 14 additional riders shouldn't dilute the product too much. The CL should become a sustainable hybrid between the current CL and NL. Used as a platform to progress British youngsters who would be the only riders allowed to ride in both divisions. With the current 4 star riders being reserves in the PL and Heat leaders in the CL. Current CL 2nd strings would become Heat Leaders (i.e. Roynon, Wright, Wethers) with any non UK riders also being Heat leaders. With the reserve births restricted to riders of limited CL experience and 2nd string for those riders with CL experience you haven't achieved Heat leader status. You can then see the career path for a youngster. SGP3, CL reserve, CL 2nd string, CL Heat Leader/PL reserve, PL 2nd string, PL Heat Leader/International rider, SGP. Some will progress more quickly than others, not all will make the grade but the opportunities should be there. And clubs would be incentivised to develop young riders with the overall aim of having British riders competing and winning on the World stage, which is still the best way of getting wider media coverage of the sport. At a more sustainable level perhaps the likes of IoW and Mildenhall could join the CL and it would certainly be easier for new entrants (Workington, Coventry, Kent) to join. Of course the problem is how do the current plethora of Double Uppers maintain their income levels? Without them increasing their demands on PL clubs? My suggestion is to run a stand alone 4TT league akin to the Hundred in cricket. Which would form the content for the BSN. Each match streamed would feature 3 away teams which should increase viewer numbers. You could even include clubs representing defunct tracks (Falcon's, Viking's, Bee's, Wasps, Heathens) to attract those lapsed supporters. There were only 2 divisions in the 70's and that produced an incredible amount of British talent because the opportunities were there with the number of tracks in operation. Now there are less tracks a more structured career path is required. The current CL doesn't really provide those opportunities.

In Birmingham, short heavy shower but sun back out with lovely bits of blue. I've lost a trotter, anyone seen Uncle Albert?

Given that this meeting has been completely sold out for a while now, you'd have thought it was perfect for streaming. No potential loss to the live audience and a chance for others to witness an historic reopening. I don't know if there is a stream but if I had to guess....

I think any rider showing complacency in a team managed by Stuart Dixon will get his a**e kicked.

Insurance... for when the French Open Tennis or world tiddly winks championships are on. Eurosport are being very ambiguous with their statements, leaving them room to move the coverage when they see fit

All spot on 100%... The issue to prevent this though is that UK Speedway is now designed, as its key priority, to provide circa 30 to 35 riders with enough rides to make them a full time living... Which also means that promoters can then afford them as they dont pay all the riders wages but share the cost with the riders other team.. Hence we keep a guest system, regardless of the wider damage it does, as it is a nice little earner to top up the salaries, and an easy fix for the promoters to put a team out on the track.. Less riders of a certain level should, common sense would dictate, mean less riders per team, or less teams in a league... But it wont happen, as the current situation is now pretty much custom and practice... Riders wont ride for just one team given the money drop, and promoters of 2nd Div clubs wont want to only use riders of a "lesser standard" again, given they can use Div One riders now whilst delivering a second level product..

They're not though. Averages are based on 4 rides. If your two best riders get to have 5 rides then they score more actual points than they average. And matches are won on actual points. As I posted before if you've got 3 riders who always beat the opposition that's a guaranteed 44 points. without the other 4 riders beating the opposition. By definition the 6 point riders are less consistent and invariably drop points to the lower averaged rider opposition. It used to all be about having riders who would improve on their starting average the most. Having 3 nine pointers makes that really difficult on the basis you've got to be a bit special to average 10. Now that there's a dearth of 9 pointers it doesn't matter that much as if your 9 pointers maintain their averages you'll be right up there. The format is fine if there are enough top riders to go around but there isn't at present and there's not even enough 6 pointers around to go for a strength in depth line up. Hence a number of teams being under the points limit. So teams aren't even starting level on combined average points anyway. The point which I think we can all agree on is that more competitive teams increase the chances of an improved product which can only be a good thing. Part of the answer to achieve that is to understand the limitations of averages and the heat format and adjust the rules to level the playing field. A bi-product is you'd potentially reduce the demands of the top riders knowing team places are limited which can only help.

Sandhu calling someone else corrupt? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle, er, black?

Bike rack to get rid of - bolts to a standard trailer ball hitch set up. Can be removed from car easily when not used. I have the ball hitch set up if required which was fitted to Peugeot 206. Also number plate light board comes with it. Im in Lindford - Hampshire/Surrey border. Steve

After many many years away, Cheetahs make their comeback. We know it's a sell out, what does ever body expect? Be great to have a look around the place and actually see the Cheetahs race jacket in an actual league meeting. A nice 6/8 point home win before moving on to some team on the South coast on Friday

Was there not more passes in the first 2 or 3 races at Berwick than in the whole meeting at Redcar last week?

In these circumstances track covers would come in handy me thinks Oink oink

Zaplecze Kadry Juniorów meeting in Ostrow Wednesday April 13th https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUFh53tN-h8 Cracking meeting- well worth a watch

Castore are the new Puma, only difference being is they charge Armani prices.

Thanks to the Poole supporters who have posted on this site to indicate their understanding. No one wanted another rain off after already having endured one and a second one seriously affected by the rain and postponed after 10 rain-soaked heats. As far as the district of Perry Barr is concerned, it has been allowed to become badly rundown over the last few years, but the City Council have rather belatedly been attempting to pretty it up in time for the Commonwealth Games in July. This has involved removing the old flyover (despite huge opposition from the locals), temporarily closing Perry Barr rail station for renovation, and conducting massive changes to the roads (especially the A34). The objective of course, has been to smarten everything up in order to impress visitors making their way to the games, where the Alexander Stadium has been rebuilt to house 48,000. (What the Council intend to do with the place after the games is something that they still carefully avoid answering.) The situation now, is that the only thing that has been completed is the stadium itself, which I accept, looks pristine and impressive. Everything else is way behind schedule and massively over budget. (The shortfall is said to be in excess of £20,000,000.) None of this has helped Birmingham Speedway. We have had to endure chaotic traffic congestion and disruption for the past three years in trying to get to the stadium on match nights. I live only 12 miles away in Stourbridge and it has been taking me anything up to two hours plus to get there, and this in itself is one of the major reasons why support has declined - people just can't cope with the journey to the track! Some of the descriptions of Perry Barr that I have read on this site though, are very unfair I think. People living in Perry Barr are having to put up with the noise, the mess and all the inconvenience that these road works produce - which is not their fault and not what most of them wanted, so I do think that visitors should be a bit more understanding. Perry Barr isn't perhaps the most attractive district of Birmingham, but it is a much better place to live than the current chaos makes it seem.

correct my apologies but 43 points then you have 4 riders whose combined average would be circa 15 points. It would be pretty disastrous if those 4 only contributed 3 points of the back of three 1-5's. One of the 4 might even average more than the best rider in the other team. You'd be hard pushed to provide an example of a team having 4 riders failing to beat a single opponent. And the only need to do it three times to win the match. The reality is that Workington are the last team to win the Championship starting without a rider averaging less than 8.00 points and they finished someway behind Peterborough in the league table but had riders who had improved by the end of season play offs, from recollection. Noticeably no team started or ended the season with 3 riders averaging over 8. The fact that Poole followed the 3 big hitter policy last season and this would suggest there's an inherent advantage in fielding a strong top two/three, especially in a league where there aren't enough no1's to go around. At the end of last season there were only about 14 riders likely to return in 2022 who averaged over 8.00. With two clubs snapping up six of them it's not difficult to see why some teams are not competitive. You only have to look at the results so far this season to realise there's a large disparity in the team strengths. Can't be a good way to attract supporters in my opinion.

I was driving through Perry Bar between 2 and 3pm when it absolutely tipped it down, there was a tornado, hail, lightning, total Armageddon. Afterwards, when it had cleared away, I have never seen the area look so improved.

Yes, they have actually said all speedway GP's will be live on Eurosport 2. Discovery + are covering the GP's advert free.

Bad luck for Poole Supporters' who would have been en route by now, and really cruel luck for the new Birmingham regime who have been heavily advertising this meeting for the last week, so wouldn't have taken the decision to call it off, lightly. They have had nothing but misfortune all year so far, but hopefully, their fortunes will change for the better soon.

Exactly, should really have Newcastle maybe Birmingham in NL this year. Eastbourne and Workington next you'd have great base to work from there

Also good to see mentioned on the BBC sport website https://www.bbc.com/sport/speedway/61078406

Might take an hour to get out of the car park

Got me hotel room to chill in Admittedly PB is a tad ruff round the edges as I'm well versed in the area as I've been many times. But alas fear not, this liddle piggy goes oink oink oink!

Little bit early Oink! Snort snort! I am not leaving Poole for another hour! And that will still give us time to have something to eat in the shopping centre before heading to stadium. How do MI5 pigs write top secret messages to one another? Through invisible oink!

Fair play to you...good luck with killing 6 hours in a sh#t hole as Perry Barr!

Forecast is great after 3pm....there wont be any repeats of last weeks mud bath! It's going to be a cracking meeting....looking forward to this one! I think Poole will be too strong and win by 10 points.

I think its more to do with AFC Bournemouth now being at home with a 3pm kick-off and also on TV, which was originally scheduled for the Saturday 16th!!! A 6pm start would have been a bit much for supporters to make both matches.

Good luck to everyone involved tonight, congratulations to those that have made this happen - But the most important thing may all the Oxford "fans" go home happy & be keen to come back for more!

I am definitely a speedway fan first and a Bees fan second (just). Hence why I'm doing missionary work over in Leicester while the madness surrounding Brandon is sorted out.

The stream is available on the British Speedway Network watch.britishspeedway.co.uk

The BSPL effectively killed Rye House by allowing (persuading?) a naive promotion to move up a league and run on a Monday night.

I think you may have it spot on.

Good luck to everybody concerned with the resurrection of Oxford. Spent many an evening booing Oxford from the third bend in my youth, but it's great to see them back. Next is to get my old spot back on the back straight at Brandon . I can dream eh ! Congratulations to everybody who never gave up hope. As Bluebee said go to general speedway discussions and support the revival of Brandon bid.

not many sides will beat leicester at home this nor will poole lose at home .cant see us getting much out of this meeting

No they are away

That's the roll of team manager covered

You expecting the Devils to get a draw then .

If it was Glasgow the thread title would have said that Lisa.

...especially like the reference to the "Moonrakers!"

Supporters that travel that far, to watch the newcastle team are clearly the best in the league.

Glasgow is a fair racetrack now, quite similar to NSS in its shape and preparation. Starkey and stormy should have their moments, complin might find track more to his liking than any others he's ridden so far. Might be trying to put lipstick on a pig but have to be hopeful

Wish I could attend - missed out on tickets for the opener - but I will be coming later in the season as many times as I can. Must keep Oxford going and for any of you who might have missed it go to the Brandon Update thread and GET YOUR EMAIL OFF!!!

I've sent in my email. If Oxford can come back so can Brandon. I've moved out of the area (nearer to Oxford now!) but would still travel to attend some meetings throughout the season. I suggest a link in other topic areas to get as many people noticing as possible.

THE Campaign Group are pleased to confirm our planning application for the regeneration of Brandon Stadium is now live – and now we need your help. The consultation period set by Rugby Borough Council runs until May 6, and all messages of support sent to the Planning Officer will be of vital importance. Full details of how to make your voice heard follow later in this communication, but firstly a reminder of what this application is and why we have submitted it. We first went public with our intentions last summer, at which point we ran our own consultation process and revised our plans based on feedback from local residents, which was almost universally positive. Our application was submitted to the Council earlier this year, and after going through the appropriate processes it is now active and can be viewed via the following link: https://planning.agileapplications.co.uk/rugby/application-details/34048 The most relevant documents to view are the Planning Statement, the Regeneration of Coventry Stadium, and the Statement of Community Involvement, but brief details follow below. Our application seeks to change the use of various buildings at the stadium in order to provide additional community-based facilities in addition to the return of speedway and stock car racing. It should be noted that the return of motorsport does not form part of the application as no planning permission is required for this – it is already the established use of the site. The fundamental changes are that Hangar No.1 on the stadium frontage will be converted into a museum celebrating the history and heritage of speedway and stock car racing at Brandon; the under-stand bar will be converted into a gymnasium incorporating treatment rooms and a climbing wall (open to the local community); and the former dog kennels will be converted into a bar and catering outlet. Further arising from these changes, the dog track will be resurfaced to become a cycle track, with cycle speedway and other cycling-related activities taking place. A large proportion of the tarmac infield will be re-surfaced to allow for the staging of equine events. The Great Britain Speedway Team will relocate their training base from Loughborough University Elite Athlete Centre to Brandon and form a Centre of Excellence, including their Academy system for developing youth riders through established programmes. One question which may well be asked is, why submit a planning application on a site we do not own? The answer is to clearly demonstrate that a viable alternative exists to the policy favoured by the current owners, which has been to shamefully facilitate the destruction of the stadium and cause maximum grief for residents via non-existent security, and to then attempt to use the condition of the stadium as a reason to support a planning application aimed squarely at the building of houses which are not required by the Local Plan. Our application is endorsed by businessman Warren Hunter, whose offer to buy the stadium remains neither accepted nor rejected nearly two years on, and it also has the support of numerous international, national and local companies, as well as individual tradespeople, all willing to provide time, materials and skills to rebuild the stadium. So how can you help? The answer is to send an e-mail or letter in support of this application to: erica.buchanan@rugby.gov.uk or Erica Buchanan, Rugby Borough Council, Evreux Way, Rugby CV21 2RR. This response should quote reference number R22/0071 and be submitted before May 6. It is important to state here that what is not required is a comparison between our application and that of the developers. You are not being asked to make a choice between the two, and the application will be judged on its own merits regardless of the current Brandon Estates submission. Please concentrate on the positives of this application, which will provide upgraded facilities to assist health and well-being in the local community, as well as re-opening the stadium as the UK’s top oval motorsports facility. We believe our proposals represent the most sustainable use of the site, and are entirely consistent with both the recently adopted Local and Neighbourhood Plans, as well as fully complying with policies in the National Planning Policy Guidelines, and are consistent with the wishes of the vast majority of the local population. Please show your support for this application to the e-mail or postal address shown above. A reminder of the deadline, which is May 6.

The GP's are on Discovery+ Entertainment & Sport package, NOT just the Entertainment package Sky are offering for free for 12 months. Therefore if you've only accepted the free offer you WON'T be seeing the GP's on Discovery+. See link for the two Discovery+ packages which are available; Choose Your Plan | Sign Up, Sign In, Manage Your Account | discovery+ (discoveryplus.com)

Exactly- i am yet to be convinced that all will be live on Eurosport 2.