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Fricke proving he should have had the wild card.

Rumour doing the rounds they are going to send out Rohan Tungate who will test the track and make a decision on conditions.

Posted on the Peterborough City Council Planning Application Portal this morning, an objection by the BSPL and SCB. The following has appeared on Peterborough City Council planning portal: F.A.O: James Lloyd Dear Sir, REF No: 23/00412/OUT and No: 23/00400/OUT This response should be read in conjunction with our comments of September 2023, all of which remain on the record. Following the additional reports submitted on April 19 on behalf of AEPG regarding planned redevelopment of the East of England Showground site, resulting in the permanent loss of speedway, British Speedway Promoters’ Ltd (BSP) and the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) wish to reaffirm our total opposition to the scheme. Additionally, we wish to make the following comments on the Leisure and Community Impact Assessment Report, as prepared by Collison & Associates Ltd. We refer specifically to Section 2 – Assessment of the Viability of Speedway. We have no comment to make on the nature of the lease arrangement for Peterborough Speedway to operate at the East of England Showground; however, it is clear that a sport which ran continuously at the venue from 1970 until its closure (with the exception of one season due to Covid) meant that it was fully established and accepted in the city, and well supported. In addition to Peterborough Panthers meetings, the venue staged numerous national and international events, bringing the world’s top riders to the area. Consequently, it is even more disappointing that when alternative plans for the site were being formulated, no thought appears to have been given to the possibility of re-locating the Panthers, which we submit contravenes National Planning Policy Framework, which specifically protects sport and recreation facilities where there is a continuing need. Attention is drawn to the final paragraph of page 11 which states “Anecdotal evidence from British Speedway” which we would respectfully suggest should ring an immediate alarm bell. There is no evidence whatsoever, either on our own website or elsewhere, to suggest that the vast majority of a speedway crowd is not made up of supporters of the home team. There is an attempt to suggest that because a rally in November 2022 attracted around 350 supporters, this was reflective of the Peterborough fan-base, which is a ludicrous position to take. Rather than quote ‘anecdotal evidence’ we would ask why the authors of this report have not communicated with ourselves to establish the true position. The authors have provided no evidence to back up their claims as to the average attendance at the East of England Arena, which has in fact been substantially higher than 1,000 in recent seasons, and the reference to declining attendance in autumn is also a work of fiction, given that meetings which are staged in autumn tend to be important play-off fixtures, hence in autumn 2021 when Peterborough clinched the league title, attendances were in fact at their highest level in years. Page 12 also quotes “national evidence shows speedway is a declining sport” and goes on to make reference to a Guardian item published in 2019. Many of the arguments which follow have already been disproven in the recent public inquiry into the closure of Brandon Stadium, Coventry, which also quoted the same document, and we urge careful studying of the Coventry case. In particular, the section concerning TV figures is an inaccurate and disingenuous reflection of the position, and also takes no note of the current very successful arrangement with Eurosport/discovery+ as well as live streaming with the sport recording significantly increased viewing figures over recent years. Material in this section has been largely copied and pasted from other planning reports, which have been disproven elsewhere and accepted as inaccurate by their author. Page 12 also includes a bizarre and frankly irrelevant section relating to meetings being affected by the weather. It is also inaccurate, given that the NDL Final in 2023 was not between Mildenhall and Leicester – it was between Oxford and Leicester. Speedway, like any sport and particularly motorsport, can of course be affected by the weather, but the argument of “forcing paying attendees home without witnessing any matches” ignores the point that attendees would be allowed into the re-staging free of charge (or paying a proportionate admission should a meeting be abandoned during the event). The statement “This risk exists as conditions are only fully known once riders attempt riding the track, with the NDL final being called off after a leading rider suffered an accident” is completely false as the NDL final proceeded in satisfactory conditions, there was an accident in the 12th race out of 15 which was not related to the track being “slippery”, and then in the period whilst the rider was being attended to, heavy rain did move in and it was therefore not possible to continue. The result was then declared according to the provisions of the rulebook based on the races which had taken place. This section appears to have been included to ‘pad out’ the report, and to give the impression that the authors have some knowledge of the sport, because it has absolutely no relevance to the issue under discussion. The closures of Wolverhampton and Swindon are referred to, and these are also matters which we would take issue with. The argument of speedway shale reaching the greyhound track at Wolverhampton was only made some time after the closure notice had been given, in response to a public backlash. Speedway and greyhound racing do exist in the same stadium elsewhere in the country at venues such as Birmingham and Sheffield. Entain simply took a decision which was hugely unpopular locally in order to further boost their profits. Swindon Speedway was not in an unviable financial position, and we would be happy to discuss the very specific circumstances of that club and that venue should you wish to take the matter further. Across pages 13 and 14, Collison & Associates Ltd make reference to the argument that speedway at Peterborough is unnecessary due to the “alternative provision” available at King’s Lynn and Leicester. We say this is totally false. There is no evidence that the closure of one club results in supporters of that team transferring their allegiances elsewhere. It is the equivalent of Manchester United FC being closed down on the basis that supporters could instead visit Liverpool – or, on a lower level, Peterborough Utd being closed down with supporters instead told to go and support Leicester, Northampton or Cambridge. The argument is a total non-starter, and again has been proven to be factually incorrect in the Coventry case. Reference to Mildenhall Speedway is again irrelevant in this case as this was a club operating in the third tier, the development league, and whilst we do hope to welcome them back into the sport in future, their position should not be equated in any way with that of the loss of a Premiership club such as Peterborough. In conclusion, the narrative of this report (namely the assertion that speedway is a sport in terminal decline) is rather lazily copied and pasted from previous planning applications which have either not been determined (Arena-Essex) or have been accepted by an Inquiry Inspector to be untrue (Coventry). We would also like to take issue with recent media comments made by Mr Butterfield of AEPG which are intended to create the impression that speedway at the Showground was never viable, and that the objections to his plans are from a “small cohort” of people, remarkably describing them as “selfish.” He appears upset that the thousands of objections are delaying his bid to get spades into the ground and houses built. We would suggest that a sport which operated for 53 years (despite Mr Butterfield incredibly stating that “its home was never here”) was quite clearly viable for all concerned, and perhaps the only time when it did not become viable for the owners of the site was when they had removed all other events from the venue. Mr Butterfield should also be aware, as doubtless the members of the planning committee will be, that large sections of the report, and indeed his own statements, are irrelevant as viability is not a material consideration in the National Planning Policy Framework. NPPF instead puts the onus on the developer to prove that the displaced sport/land/activity is “surplus to requirements”, which is not the same as viability, and this exercise clearly has not been undertaken here. One way in which AEPG could ensure their scheme was compliant with National Planning Policy Framework would be to provide an alternative venue, in the Peterborough area, for the sport which they have evicted, or indeed to modify their own plans to support its retention at the Showground. However, as things stand, we believe there is no way this proposal should be accepted – or, realistically, even taken to planning committee – whilst the reports are so deficient and so full of falsehoods about our sport. Regards Nikki Jameison Neil Vatcher BSP OFFICE MANAGER SCB CO-ORDINATOR 2 M: 07868 466818 T: 01788 560648 E: nikki.jameison@britishspeedway.co.uk W: www.britishspeedway.co.uk British Speedway Promoters Ltd : ACU House : Wood Street : Rugby : CV21 2YX

People dismissing Zmarzlik really don’t have any idea He is the best around and he does have opposition he is just better Back in the days of the ones off world final you only had a few riders capable of winning it if the Gp series was around in the 80’s Nielsen would have won far more as over a series he was far more consistent then Erik would have been The GP series suits Zmarzlik he is the best out there and will always make semis and finals …. Back in the 80’s Nielsen would have done the same and won many titles ….. how many world titles would Zmarzlik have had if it was a one off final …. One maybe two??? He is the best in the world ….not by miles by the best ….. if there was a one off world final we could have had Laguta , Jack Holder , Lindgren , Vaculik and even Madsen as one off champions Zmarzlik is the best but the GP system shows that even more so for him

That tonight can never be called boringly predictable

credit to Fricke he made him work for it,

Can we claim woffy is Australian now

An absolute disgrace (Speedways policy not specifically Oxford) Firstly only refunding to 10 heats is abysmally bad Secondly the £1 per heat refund formula was introduced when the cost breached the £15 barrier but hasn't been revised despite the standard cost rising by 50% Will only encourage more and more to keep their money in their pocket on a Speedway night....

Correct - don't see it being allowed beyond November

I love that there's no competition yet he's just won his first GP of the season at the 5th attempt halfway through the season.

Another boring GP. I didn't bother watching as I knew the result. Laguta is the only man capable of beating Zmarzlik and he has been banned by the woke FIM.

Brilliant Smarzlik no other rider can do these moves.

I like to lose it, lose it...

DJ Woffy heading off to the nightclub early again tonight

Tai will find all the answers he needs in the mirror.

Not forgetting another excellent submission by SPORT ENGLAND who are also playing a superb supporting role http://plandocs.peterborough.gov.uk/PublicDocuments/01342680.pdf

Indeed, the facts are there for all to see. He's been 3rd, 6th, 2nd, 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st since entering the series regardless of whoever else was in the series at the time. To arrive at the final round of the championship for 6 straight years with a chance of winning the title or the title won is staggering. You still have to control all aspects of your own game, regardless of how weak or strong the opposition are perceived or you will fail.

Wouldnt have msttered, Zmarzlik would have passed Rob on the inside instesd. Zmarzlik is just so much faster then the others.

You can if in the last lap. He let them get over the line into lap 4 b4 the red lights came on.

No chance Woffy gets another pick unless the 2nd half of this season is a complete turn around. It's done and would imagine it'll be curtains at Wroclaw unless the same happens. No sentiment in Poland.

What a fkin race heat 11. Bloody brilliant.

Brilliant Zmarzlik

A league that should use guests surely? Track time for as many as is possible has to be the main priority..

It’s really getting beyond a joke when reserves can’t make GB. meetings.Absolutely nothing against the riders it’s the way Speedway’s run in GB.Hardly any fixtures yet still filled with guests and they wonder about negative comments about the sport in GB.

JK’s excellent Malilla racecard ( with riders) is done and on his website for downloading- https://www.speedwayservice.at/images/racecards/2024/SGP2024-05.pdf

We could've held the Jubilee Final on the 26th! Now wot av I said?!

2021 has an asterix against it as there was something extremely fishy about a rider that once recorded a full minimum in a GP suddenly becoming that fast And of course Russians are renowned for their staggering fair play record

Well I am woke. As are most decent people. It means being aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality, injustice, sexism, and denial of LGBT rights. If you don’t agree with that you are a not a very nice person, to put it mildly.

Very entertaining and good GP after the first set of races. Winner never in doubt though as Zmarzlik is currently head and shoulders better than any other rider. No real rival.

And he'll go around the outside. He's mustard

At least it wasn't won by a gating tart...

Proper racing by Zmarzlik & Lambert

Zmarzlik is something else

Is it just me that finds the flashing lights in the GP as they cross the chequered flag quite off putting?

Well, I didn't think so, but apparently, we're wrong... Ask Daniel Smith.

Doesn't matter what I say, does it? You're always convinced that you're right. So what if Bewley is a gating tart? So was Mauger. So was Fundin. Doesn't mean that he's not one of the world's top riders...

Goes back to this question. Why was Woffinden given a wild card? He never really looked competitive last season, so I can only think of one Monster reason why he was gifted a wild card.

Is your life REALLY that bad? You seem like a real miserable f*cker? Well, you're a United fan, so I get it...

Praise dee good Lorrrrd..... Brady has risen.....

well i need to get some alphabet soup so i can eat my words.

Time for Woffy to retire gracefully... Can't handle the close racing... A great legacy, so don't spoilt it...

You are from bloody Manchester, after all...

Rain will stop shottly (judgiing by radar) then another hour 15 minutes or so to fix the track. This isnt the first time its raining in Målilla and track staff usually pretty good with dealing with rain soaked track.

Accuweather has the rain stopping 18.54 UK time then clear all evening, optimistic here hmmm

apparently its cow farts.

Has anybody had an email from Oxford about ticket refunds? I’m literally stunned as I will getting £4 back…. No wonder they were so keen to stage the meeting. Utter disgrace. Is this normal? “As it was necessary to abandon this meeting before the completion of heat 10 due to rainfall, each adult ticket holder is entitled to a refund of £1 for every heat not completed prior to heat 10.A total of 6 heats were completed before the abandonment announcement, therefore a refund of £4 per adult admission ticket will be issued via Ticketsource.”

Thanks. Not as impressive as I first thought.

Hopefully before people suggest new from scratch (not aimed at you because you're only to replying to a post) they also explain why giving up on an existing set up and stadium when there is a battle to be had (with good evidence and support on our side) is a good idea? Who is going to find that new land and pay for that new construction etc (if it was easy and quick then it would already be in process)? Chapman stood on the centre green and spoke of the problems associated with such an exercise. Why give up and go it alone at this time? If that's not the final nail then you'll not see Peterborough Speedway again before the Labour Party has made the sport fully electric. Butterfield would love us to go away because there are many obstacles and costs in his way and he knows it. The alleged small cohort of Peterborough Speedway supporters need to stay strong and focussed. We may not win, and the new from scratch brigade would argue that it's wasted time, but that's the only way that you'll see Peterborough Speedway again in the short or longer term is to stick with the current strategy.

Yes, he won two races in the West Ham v. Glasgow match in 1968. In the first he beat George Barclay, Barry Crowson and Brian Whaley and in the second he beat George Barclay with Oyvind Berg falling and Stan Stevens having e/f. In his other two races that night he came last.

Having said all that, at least he had a go and gave it his best shot- 84 this year, guys like Bill were some of the backbone of speedway