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Blown away by this signing.

🤣

Looked brilliant as an under 19 rider [6th in world under 21 aged 18 in 2021], but hasn't progressed as fast as some of his contemporaries (Pollestad, Parnitsky). Not Oxfords first Latvian - anyone remember Kjasts Puodzouks?

Say hello to Francis Gusts. Just been confirmed as the last Spires rider for 2025.

Maybe think how the Boughen to Glasgow move came about, an existing club asset maybe assisting with things to move a younger club asset elsewhere??? Seems plausible??

Harris not being at Oxford is the reason Boughen isn’t either despite him originally being in the side.

Yeah, I have to agree. He wasn't doing particularly well when he was banned & let everyone down by refusing to take a drugs & alcohol test. I'm not saying no one should be given a second chance, but in such a dangerous sport, I find it hard to forgive & forget if a rider was risking others by racing under the influence of illegal substances.

Poole's temporary rider until end of June is Matt Marson https://www.poole-speedway.com/news/view/20250120-marson-joins-starting-seven

True but surely the club they are riding for should have first refusal so maybe Harris decided he did not want to ride for Oxford anymore.

He'll put the wind up the opposition.

clubs dont 'let' riders go they are self employed and can accept whatever offer they choose

Maybe Harris wanted to go, He did go on record saying he wanted to ride for KL one day.

Gusts is a good signing, He's not a bad rider at all, Oxford have done a decent job of salvaging the team building debacle. It may feel a little underwhelming due to the points left to play with but Oxford could do a whole lot worse than Gusts. Gusts has scope to improve, He's young and he's not afraid to mix it so that's all Oxford can ask for considering the position they were in.

I think you might mean 'Oxford' ?

Exactly, Oxford will learn from the mistake they made this winter and they won't make it again imo.

Can you really see Bewley signing for anyone else. I cant see how Birmingham would be so naive as to think he would sign for them.

It would appear a big-name rider who had indicated he would come to Oxford had a change of mind. We don't know who or why. If Oxford deserve any credit, it's for maintaining a 'dignified' silence over the identity of said rider.

Not sure 'trying to sign one of the best riders in the Prem is a clanger'? Shows ambition! May be they were let down with false hopes/promises? Besides, they knew Bewley was signing for BV since end of November, so they've had plenty of time to sort another route out for team building...??? Cr#p managing if you ask me!

Correct they dropped a big clanger trying to get Bewley which was nothing but a fairy tale fantasy 🙄

An exciting rider. Spare air bags should already be on order.

If Gusts was the first signing on a 4.5 average, I'd have said that's a tremendous start to team building. As they had 7.4 points to play with doesn't feel so great a signing imo.

Shocking line up. What a cock up with team building but when you have Schroeck involved it's no surprise.

Wow, that's a very good last signing.

NZ Solo championship for the 24/25 season won by Ben Whalley who passed George Congrieve to win the final. Bradley Wilson Dean wasn't allowed to compete as he hadn't ridden in any NZ meeting this season. There were only 5 riders better than wobbler status but the racing was good and the kids enjoyed some spirited competition on the small track. There was a good size crowd and the 7 o'clock start now there are lights helped the amount of track preparation breaks. I'll be back for the next meeting.

I agree Lewy! It would have been far easier to throw the towel I'n. I applaud whoever is financing this hobby!

I think the Birmingham promotion should be commended for their efforts to build a competitive team which I think they have. Obviously the team is probably quite expensive to put together and deserve to be supported and not written off before a wheel has turned.

As part of my own Teams and Fixtures blog which I make up each winter, I've put together a colour coded page which lists all fixtures across Continental Europe for 2025. Leagues covered are: All 3 Polish divisions Swedish Bauhaus Ligan Danish SpeedwayLigaen Additionally, all SGP, SEC, qualifiers, National Finals etc are also listed. Hopefully it helps you if you have any planning for meetings over the upcoming summer! Also, do click the individual links on the right hand side for information on all squads and other assorted things... https://speedwayteams2025.blogspot.com/p/calendar-of-meetings-in-2025.html

Excellent work Sir

Following and attending are two different things for me? I've followed bham since 1971, but haven't attended every match. My point about purchasing a season ticket is ... is it a benefit to the supporter or the club? Im just not prepared to throw £200 plus to 'bulls!t'? I don't trust Rogers ! I'll pick and choose which meetings I attend... Things will also depend on the track... I want entertainment when I go...

Not at all, Belle Vue may have a list of 10 riders they thought had potential for their 2025 team, can't sign them all. Doesn't mean they don't rate the ones not picked i.e Vuolas.

you make a fair point but folk shouldnt be expected to shell out 20+ quid for any old garbage a bit chicken and egg i guess

But if you don't turn up and put your money into the coffers, how do you expect them to build a team that won't be cannon fodder the following season ?

Thanks for the update. Race night and timings are sensible. Since my original post I have been told draft fixtures show Young Stars at Kent Eagles in mid August. Looking forward to hearing the podcast.

I guess you do but I've always been of the mind that if you are going up to the limit for the sake of it and shoe horning in an unsuitable rider or submitting to somebody asking ridiculous money then it can be a fools errand. Voulas and Jeppesen potentially have serious improvement in them, to leave one of them out for someone who has a higher average but not much else going for them in comparison would be silly IMO. Getting the right blend of riders is more important.

Assuming the word fan is shorthand for fanatic... I would suggest it does. You're probably more of a follower of Speedway or an occasional attendee than a "fan"

I don't know enough to comment on the last bit but I'd hope that local councillors are all over this and not just making a noise about being unhappy about 1500 houses & questionable infrastructure/facilities being dumped on their doorstep? Isn't the real problem that decisions were made and agreed 6-3-1 by the experienced Planning and Environmental Protection Committee in October, totally in line with local & national policies: IMO the real question is was the justification for the call in and hastily arranged unsavoury appeal meeting sufficient to overturn that original democratic committee decision? It's quite hilarious that Cllr Mahmood said “I fully understand the emotions around the potential loss of the Showground but our decisions must be robust, in line with material facts and we must have confidence in our decision-making process.” - he was the instigator of this sham because he and his buddy Fitzgerald both got chastised by the Chair, Councillor Harper, (who had his request to speak at the appeal meeting denied for a yet to be confirmed reason) and Fitgerald's proposal to approve the application in October was rejected based on all of those material facts being considered and debated.

I do think that some of you are being a little unfair. Moaned for weeks about not signing the last two riders and when they do,moan about the 2 riders. Some are just looking for negatives and some just want to try and put the club down at every decision . Come on people, a wheel hasn't turned in anger yet, go to the track in March, see what's on offer and comeback here next October, make a complaint then.

I think both will do well to hold their averages. I hope for Birmingham I’m wrong. MJJ one of the most overrated riders in modern history. Never did much in the UK and never rode like a true heat leader. The team on paper looks better than last season.

I put the potential date in my post yesterday.

I think Zagar would perform better than Klindt and Matej is one of my all time favourites. BUT I think from a club point of view Nicolai makes much more sense.

What.... a speedway promoter going against his word? No, sorry, not having that!

Don't panic we have a quiz night and bingo night planned which should cover the cost of a top solicitor, more chance of that because Mr Purple won't be stumping up any time soon although he claimed he was going to be our saviour💩

Would love Glasgow to finish top, but will be a tough ask

"We have scoured the globe, left no stone unturned, etc etc etc"... "However no one was prepared to race over here at the moment, (and we asked some very top level riders)".. "Therefore, we have signed (fill in second string level riders name here), and feel that he, like the rest of the team, can put a point on their averages"... "Teams with strength in depth can often be very successful, Peterborough for example etc etc etc ." ..

I went to the opening meeting at Ronnie Moore Park last weekend and it was announced that Ben Whalley is taking a break from Speedway. The sidecars were the main feature and there were only 5 senior solo riders and four of them are wobblers. A couple of bright spots were a two or three talented kids on the small track riding mini 125 bikes. There was also a 15 year old who has switched across from Motor-cross that had three demonstration runs on his own and looked to have good pace. Reasonable sized crowd as there was only a few participants from outside Christchurch. Unfortunately running during the day needs many watering breaks and the meeting went over 4 hours. Also 2 ambulance changes required. Fortunately those needing the ride into hospital were not too seriously injured. There are plans for lights to be added at the venue later this season.

With similar brainpower!!