Leaderboard

You use the words "glorified amateur racing" may i suggest glorified professional racing be used to describe what we have for paid racing in the UK, what we have for Teams now are little better than have bike will ride, as for NORA yes it is amateur but it is what those areas will support without paying out exorbitant money to the bike for hire guys, who are basically being bank rolled by so called promoters that seem to be happy propping up the sport and which simply cannot continue for much longer, as we all get older the crowds get less and less until something will have to be done along the lines of NORA.

Well done agent Ellis. You have done Ipswich proud

Very good afternoon of racing at Workington against Redcar when all the riders seemed to enjoy their days racing . Workington got the win and Redcar got the bonus point though a home win looked to be going against us mid meeting . Good to see a large contingent of Bears fans at Northside with their banners and flags . Man of the match for the Comets goes to the flying Finn , superb from Antti . As the Belle Vue colts manager said in a recent podcast “ A successful meeting is when all 14 riders go home safe and well “.

Seems Kent Kings prefer Facebook .... from their meeting on Sunday ..... Official Kent Kings Speedway Spronteosd518c90256hfct92mu3h5iaf81g556lh61m0gi3la51mu286mla · Meeting report: Kent 26, Wimbledon 24, Hackney 18, White City 14 'The London Tournament' Sunday 4th. August It was Carnival time at the Old Gun Site on Sunday (4/8) where a crowd topping the 560 mark saw yet another last heat decider in this inaugural NORA season for the Kent Kings – this one going the way of the hosts, winning The London Tournament by two points from Wimbledon. It was the Dons who were the most supported from the many London-based fans who ventured into Swale for this one – bolstered by the Routemaster bus which brought a group of intrepid travellers from the site of the south-east’s most famous ever Speedway venue, in London SW17, to its (currently) sole remaining track, in Iwade. And has there ever been a more remarkable sight in the now getting close to 100 years of Speedway in the UK than when coming out in red, it was no. 98: the London double decker, which did some celebratory laps after the close of racing?! The racing itself had been fiercely competitive with two stand out riders. The Kings’ number one, Ben Morley was again in imperious form – continuing his long unbeaten winning streak on his home circuit, with a flawless maximum, followed by taking victory in the Vic Harding Memorial Trophy top scorers final. And in the Heritage class (for riders mounted on the classic Uprights which were the machines in use when these London tracks were in their pomp) Graham Knowler reprised his previous life as a Wimbledon rider back in the 1970s by also max-ing out for the Dons. The four bonus points contributed by Knowler’s efforts put the Dons in pole position going into the final three heats with a four point lead over the hosts - but a fall by Henning Loof and two vital points to Sam Woods turned the tables in favour of the Kings. Over then to skipper Rhys Naylor and then Morley to bring home the much-acclaimed victory. Naylor’s heat 15 win was richly deserved reward for the captain’s travails, as he had been involved in epic races with Dayle Wood (in Hackney colours this time) and Parick Hamilton (for the Dons) in his previous two rides – both narrowly going the way of the Aussies. The other London outfit, White City had started well and were still holding their own at the halfway point, with Luke Harris, Jamie Etherington and skipper (himself for a spell a Rebels rider back in the mid-‘70s) Robert Hollingworth scoring consistently – but the loss of Hollingworth to a damaged bike after a heavy prang in heat 11 and then the teenaged Etherington to illness meant the West Londoners faded away somewhat. Jack Kingston impressed for Hackney alongside the ever combative Wood and there was a very welcome win contributed by that great trier, Nathan Hargrave; and for the Dons, Jacob Clouting again looked mightily impressive around a circuit he must clearly count as one his favourites. At the end, Kings’ supremo Steve Ribbons disembarking from his bus ride around the track, was able to announce big news for Kent’s season closing meeting next month, “We will be staging on September the 1st. possibly the biggest meeting ever put on at Iwade: a NORA representative match England versus Australia - over 18 Heats with six man teams. “There will be national anthems to be played and sung , representative caps to be awarded, a special souvenir programme printed. The meeting we hope will be televised by KMTV to be shown on the whole of their sports programme - with also, special guests in the form of England World Cup winner Dave Jessup and hopefully others.” Kent Kings 26 Ben Morley 3 3 3 3 12 [M] Rhys Naylor 2 2 2 3 9 Sam Woods 1 0 0 2 3 Daniel Owen [H] 1 {4}* Hackney Hawks 18 Dayle Wood 0 3 3 1 7 Jack Kingston 3 2 1 1 7 Nathan Hargrave 0 0 0 3 3 Keith Hill [H] 1 {2}* White City Rebels 14 Luke Harris 1 1 1 1 2 6 Jamie Etherington 1 1 1 3 Rob Hollingworth 1 0 FX 2 Dave Johnson 3 {6}* Wimbledon Dons 24 Jacob Clouting 2 3 2 2 9 Patrick Harrison 0 2 3 0 5 Henning Loof 3 1 2 FX 6 Graham Knowler 4 {12 [M]}* Heat details 1 Loof, Hollingworth, Woods, Hargrave 61.3 [K:1; H:0; WC:2; W:3] 2 Kingston, Naylor, Etherington, Hamilton 60.6 [K:3; H:3; WC:3; W: 3] 3 Morley, Clouting, Harris, Wood 59.9 [K:6; H:3; WC:4; W:5] 5 Clouting, Kingston, Etherington, Woods 61.3 [K:6; H:5; WC:5; W:8] 6 Wood, Naylor, Loof, Hollingworth 61.9 [K:8; H:8; WC:5; W:9] 7 Morley, Hamilton, Harris, Hargrave 60.8 [K:11; H:8; WC:6; W:11] 9 Wood, Loof, Etherington, Woods (fell rem.) 63.4 [K:11; H:11; WC:7; W:13] 10 Hamilton, Naylor, Harris, Hargrave 61.6 [K:13; H:11; WC:8; W:16] 11 (stpd, awarded) Morley, Clouting, Kingston, Hollingworth (fell exc.) no time [K:16; H:12; WC:8; W:18] Bonus points from Heritage races – see below for heat details Knowler 4; Johnson 3; Owen 2; Hill 1 [K:18; H:13; WC:11; W:22] 14 (stpd, awarded) Hargrave, Wood, Harris, Loof (fell exc.) no time [K:20; H:16; WC:12; W:22] 15 Naylor, Harris, Kingston, Hamilton 61.5 [K:23; H:17; WC:14; W:22] 16 Morley, Clouting, Wood, Harris (NS) 62.4 [K:26; H:18; WC:14; W:24] * Heritage Racing heats: 4 Knowler, Owen, Johnson, Hill 69.9 8 Knowler. Johnson, Hill, Owen (exc. lpd) 73.2 12 Knowler, Johnson, Hill, Owen (fell) 69.6 13 Knowler, Owen, Johnson, Hill 72.3 Vic Harding Memorial Trophy 1st. Morley; 2nd. Wood; 3rd. Clouting; 4th. Harris 62.4

I personally hope that fingers crossed for you supporters Chapman does sell to guarantee speedway for 2025 for KL. With a proper owner I do not think you would have had all the issues this season, I suppose we all remember the likes of the Littlechild's and Crane to know it can be good.

If you don’t want to compete with the big boys then you need to go into the championship which maybe suits your budget better.

Just for the life of me can’t understand why Ellis was kept in heat 13 and not replaced by Paddy or even Rowe…

Agent Ellis you can return to Foxhall - mission accomplished!

An absolute masterclass from Ellis tonight. 1. Adam Ellis (G) - 0, R, R, 0 = 0

You should have run this when you originally had the chance and you may have taken some points... and saved you 2! You also wouldn't have lost all that goodwill and retained my custom.

With Atkins now officially retired, Roynon signed as an temporary injury replacement, what options remain for the rest of the season at number 7? Doesn't seem to be anything obvious available. Poole a shoe in for the play off final, the other spot is up for grabs and the right man at 7 could be the difference. Once there, anything can happen.

I won't quote the full @old bob at herne bay post but yesterday's meeting was a really enjoyable afternoon. A mixture of laydown and upright racing all contributing to the overall scores of the four team tournament, followed by the Vic Harding Memorial Trophy. A decent crowd were treated to some fabulous racing at Iwade, on a lovely sunny afternoon.

You have a level, so aim to be the best at that level, until you organically can handle going to the next stage... Birmingham for example are not a top flight club fanbase wise, so let them ride on Mondays in the 2nd Division.. Poole are the opposite. Clearly a top level team infrastructure wise, so let them be in the top league riding Wednesdays if they so wish... It might need guests for both the above to happen but (breaking news), most matches use guests each week, so it won't really matter... Clubs over stretching themselves can never be a good thing, and, no disrespect, whoever wins any competition this year will hardly be lauded by thousands locally will they? With almost no impact to the following seasons crowds....

All it needed was a competent team manager to remind the ref of the rules, referring him to the relevant section if needed. ... ah I think I see Oxford's problem.

Must be the nature of the tight technical King's Lynn track keeping another rider away

So show me where in the rulebook there is an alternative definition of 'no facility' Failing that I think one must conclude that @szkocjasid is correct.

I've heard of some strange rider demands, but I didn't know the club was supposed to supply that!

Or maybe they just enjoy it?

This month's edition will featureThe Golden Helmet - the match race title from times gonebyScottish Cup Drama 1964 - the eventful cup meetings from sixty years agoThe Swedish Invasion of 1967 - the first influx of commuting foreignersA colourful character - Jack "Red" MonteithBig Birthdays - who is celebrating this month?Anyone Remember Number 21- our monthly test of your recall skillsclassicspeedwaymemories.webador.co.uk/

After the spineless actions against Kent last season the weasel is back. This time shutting down the Mercians Amateur Speedway club. They had opted to run under a different governing body (who can blame them) but the Leicester venue have been told its SCB events or non so the club has been forced out. We are talking about good honest people who have done far more for the sport without ever seeking the praise that Vatcher clamours for. The sooner he steps aside and allows someone to act in the overall interests of the sport rather than a select few the sooner the slim chances of a recovery will be. As it stands its another big nail in the coffin of British speedway.

Ellis is the worst Guess since George Best went on Wogan

Heat 16 Podcast including an Interview with Henry Atkins. You'll probably need to download the BBC Sounds app I have to say BBC Radio Oxford are a Wonderful asset to sport in Oxfordshire, their coverage and podcasts are spot on. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0j9ps6j?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

Harris should concentrate on scoring more points to try and get Oxford into the play offs,Ellis should think the same as to try and stop Leicester getting there because they are certainly the form team atm.And on current form you fancy Leicester upsetting the applecart and winning it.

I bet his mrs has heard a few

Rory Schlein makes some interesting noises

Someone tell David Rowe to slow down a bit - he sounds like he has had two many coffees!

I just chuckled as Dave Rowe referred to the “no facility guest” on BSN when introducing the teams tonight!

There is no basis of any claim for a restraint of trade where a person or organisation has previously signed an agreement which includes specific clauses on limiting (sole use) usage by others for similarly defined purposes. The determination being having "signed an agreement". In simple terms. No one is forced to sign such an agreement, but if you do, then you need to abide by the terms and conditions which you agreed to.

Well a Lynn rider told a good mate of mine, when asked if he would come back next season, he said that if no one takes over in 2025 there will be no speedway at Lynn. That was about 4 weeks ago. Hopefully someone will come forward, and Buster will do them a good deal, so that the Stars will carry on. The crowds have been pretty good. I know we will get the usual later, but its on BSN.

You are going to lose more money. Please stop gambling.

Quite right. I can’t understand squabbles about rules as they are written in pencil, change daily depending on who's asking what and all then dependant on who shouts the loudest. Its become a weekly joke in the pits when the team managers can’t agree, then the ref refers it to a higher level who makes a decision but then changes it for the next club that asks. Berwick on Saturday was a fine example then at Leicester a rider got excluded with the ref telling the ‘offender’ that he asked those around him in the refs box and they agreed he made the other rider ride into him ! Get a grip folks, this is modern day speedway, don't take it seriously.

If cook an vissing had been riding in both meetings workington would of won both meetings its as simple as that. Redcar got away with a win an a bonus, but I suppose sometimes you need a bit of luck. On another note imagine where workington would of been if they had made a change at reserve earlier, I think we will miss out on the playoffs an I hope lessons are learnt by the promotion

“No facility” simply means you are not granted what would be considered a like-for-like replacement. With the 75% rule, it probably needs a better name, but the sport has bigger problems tbh.

Can you not read the same rule book that you told everyone to get a copy of? No facility is 75% of average as a guest, has been for 2 seasons.

Having restrictive agreements to prevent track owners from renting out their circuits for non-sanctioned events would, I suspect, be ruled a restraint-of-trade if it were ever legally challenged. Motorsport UK, which deals with 4-wheeled racing, has long since given up trying to prevent unsanctioned events from using MSUK-licensed circuits, or MSUK officials and competitors from taking part in unsanctioned events. As both a competitor and official I'd choose not to compete in unsanctioned events because there are legal ambiguities around the RTA and potential insurance liabilities, but neither do I think sanctioning bodies should have an effective monopoly or be allowed to shut out other sanctioning bodies from circuits.

Do you think he will score more than he has for kings lynn 0 , 1,

That was sams dirt deflector. He flipped the bike doing a practice start and they tried to get it in the right place but obviously against the 2 minute clock at that point.

Would help, if you understood that SCB are prohibited from sanctioning any events outside of the FIM,/ACU pyramid.

Isn’t it strange how different lynns guests are for home meetings and away meetings. at Sheffield it was Justin sedgman at number one. At Ipswich it was Simon lambert at one with Lewis Kerr at 4. seems like you only care about the home fans and utter contempt for the away fans and the prospect of a poor attendance due to the poor away team

With the support levels the "professional" leagues get, amateur racing looks the only way British speedway can run. The fans will just have to accept it or walk away

I could say the same thing to you, I've seen people post the rules. When a club has "no facility" available - the option is to use a guest up to 75% of the missing riders average, there was no ruling that said you have to use a NDL rider. Look at King's Lynn, Musielak has left the club, they have "no facility" to replace him, so they are using "75% guests". If you have a copy of some different rules, please show me. Edit - here's the ruling. It does not say a club has to use a NDL rider if they have "no facility". * A NDL rider would only need to be used if missing rider has an average below 2.65.

What does some form mean? Any Panthers operation away from the EoES will just be the cherry on top for AEPG and nobody is going to put right the wreckage of the EoES for a short lease (even if Butterfield sees the light that he shows no interest in opening his eyes to). AEPG can't rewrite history or the planning process, despite the Labour government, and enough people are staying, and will stay interested regardless, to make it uncomfortable for them.

As there’s very little interest in the NDL these days you can’t expect much interest in glorified amateur racing , can you.

Thanks to the Bears fans who made the journey over good to see you all . Comets weren't in front until heat 13 so you guys must have been slightly disappointed you didn't go away with all 3 points, the aggregate bonus was at least some consolation. I think the destination of the bonus was set during the first half of the meeting when the Bears posted 4 heat advantages and Comets suffered 2 mechanical failures when in scoring positions. In lots of ways I'm left reflecting what might have been this weekend if certain Comets team members had been present but that's another story. To those that represented Comets in their absence I would like to say thank you for giving your best it was appreciated by the fans. Antti Vuolas was superb in this meeting and showed how much it meant to him, some of his racing especially heat 9 when coming from behind against Danny King was edge of seat top drawer speedway, his best performance of the season for me topped off by a superb match winning ride in heat 15, fantastic. Big wraps to Paul Starke who's battling performance from reserve especially his 4th to 2nd in the heat 12 5-1 turned the meeting. The Bears battled hard and were pretty solid again throughout with Danny King best on the day while guest James Pearson gave a battling performance at No2. The Bears have still to go to Glasgow for their final away meeting, this could be a cracker in terms of fighting to make the playoffs. UTC !!

This season has been particularly shambolic regarding the fixture list. Clubs having weeks off in the height off summer is mind blowing especially for a SUMMER SPORT.

Good to see the pit gate, can be fixed quickly when people actually want to run a meeting https://x.com/trackstaruk/status/1820000210673717734?s=46&t=rPICTg2ioQqN25iM48knaA

Vatcher has to do as he's told by his paymasters, same as Morris, they can play at having their own ideas, but they have to get their hands dirty when told too.

It’s also worth mentioning that in this weeks star dated August 3rd, Peter Oakes said he was contacted by Neil Vatcher after the article and apologised to the SCB Manager after accepting that the SCB had in fact provided facility’s to Workington for the missing riders and it was Workington who were unable to find riders to accept the bookings at short notice.

So Nora operates outside the FIM and if Joe Bloggs comes along and wants to offer racing involving riders, a bit like the open licence that Rye House use to operate under, it would be free to do so assuming the track owner had not signed the deal with the current promoter running under BSPL. Not a good example in the current circumstances but if someone wanted to run meetings under the Nora banner at Mildenhall and Spedeworth were OK with the arrangement given the lack of activity from a BSPL scenario that would be OK. I understand the point regarding tract time but that means everything has to have the blessing of the BSPL whatever the level of rider and many do not want that hierarchy telling them how to run and promote the sport when many in the current set up are so inept at actively promoting in their local area let alone further afield. I cannot share your optimism but we are both entitled to our opinion. Thanks for your feedback.

You have to feel sorry for riders like Kyle Newman, only riding in one league his season has been fragmented and never really got going. You can't expect a rider to get going with such large gaps in his racing calendar, good rider with still a lot to offer the sport.