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Interview with Andrew Bain in this week’s star sounds positive, he plans to keep improving the track including fitting the flood lights. He said he is going to do his very best to make sure the comets are at the tapes next year. Fingers crossed he can make it work. No one wants to lose another team.

Is anyone actually running British Speedway? Tomorrow is the Championship League Riders’ Championship at Sheffield. A few years ago, the CLRC was genuinely one of the jewel-in-the-crown individual meetings on the calendar. Top riders from every club, proper prestige, packed terraces, and real buzz. Fast forward to tomorrow, and it feels like the authorities wouldn't care if the gates didn't even open. First off, the scheduling brilliance: putting it directly head-to-head with the penultimate Grand Prix. I know people will say "you can watch on demand afterwards" but Speedway fans want to watch major meetings live don't they? With Brady Kurtz right in the thick of the World Championship, Belle Vue fans and general fans across the North who might have fancied a Saturday night out at Owlerton are far more likely to stay glued to their sofas cheering on their man. Nothing beats being track side, but supporters choosing between a live GP and a domestic individual championship is sheer amateur hour. Then there’s the non-existent advertising. If you don't buy the Speedway Star, you'd be forgiven for not even knowing the meeting exists. The official British Speedway website has offered virtually zero promotion other than a couple of standard-issue, token soundbite interviews with Leon Flint and Josh Pickering. Sheffield’s own website just has it quietly listed as their next home fixture at the moment, no special push, no fanfare, no effort to pull the casual punter through the turnstiles. Outside of the Star's pages, you can't even easily find the confirmed line-up. How difficult is it to put a proper graphic on social media and hype a national individual title? To top off the farce: one of the leading contenders, an Englishman who should be a headline draw for the CLRC and one of the favourites is reportedly pulled away to race in Poland instead!! The domestic season's marquee events are treated as an afterthought not just by the wider public, but by the sport’s own hierarchy. I guess the die-hard, hardcore regulars will turn up as they always do.

Not everyone is the same though are they? Brennan held on, so did King. Plenty of others didn’t including Ellis and Doyle. And I don’t blame them or anyone else for not gambling on the takeover being completed. Riders have to put themselves first as they should. “They could have built a stronger team” well not really! Coleman has already explained this. Conversations WERE held with Doyle but they couldn’t offer him the guarantees he wanted and he gave up. Conversations were held with numerous GP riders, they all had their season planned. You have to cut them some slack they were severely up against it this year. If similar happens next season then criticism will be fair game. I’m confident that won’t be the case but actions speak louder than words. It took Louis how many years before landing a title? He even took us down a league for donkeys years and we couldn’t even win a raffle down there!

Nora is the correct future for the national league and has been for a good few years now but will the scb/acu let it go ?the national league around the early to mid 2000s when the national league (Plymouth, Weymouth, Wimbledon cradley )started pulling in bigger crowds than the top leagues measures were put in place to decimate the league and it didn’t take many years to reduce it to the debacle it is today, short sighted, jealousy and bitterness and in some cases incompetence are rife in the bspl so don’t expect anything to change anytime soon, anyway a big congratulations to Martin and everyone at the IOW for an enjoyable short season that happily attracted good crowds

The level of doubling up over here causes so many problems. The championship product can only continue in its current guise with the same level of doubling up. The championship clubs couldn’t afford to run at their current level without the riders earning another income via the premiership. If the premiership fails then the standard of the championship drops overnight costs rise & that’s the beginning of the end. For the sport to survive like it or not it’s needs a successful premiership & a two tier set up. An 8 team premiership properly ran with very little or no doubling up is a must. The gap between the tiers also needs to be widened. A mixture of needing to curb doubling up & the polish rules will see a different set up next season.

Yeh! But they don’t publish a”War and Peace” about them while still wanting to ride.

Links for tonight: https://vksport.vkvideo.ru/live-53550004_456242858 https://vkvideo.ru/live-81427162_456239820

We could call it the BLRC. The both leagues riders championship.

I just don’t get the mindset of the modern riders, it’s like they are just doing it for the money now and winning,prestige and more importantly the fans just doesn’t matter

Let’s be honest here as an Ipswich fan. Ipswich got lucky to be in front at the interval on Thursday & Belle Vue pulled it back & deserved the win. In terms of Ipswich 2026 the late take over certainly put a spanner in the works in terms of team building. Ellis & Doyle were both spoken too but couldn’t hang on to confirm their 2026 arrangements & you can’t blame them. Danny, Tom & Jason Edwards were all able to hold on & Edwards was announced before Christmas. At one point I believe that Mayfield were hoping to be able to announce the take over & the team before Christmas. However there were issues around confirming their lease on the stadium which made it impossible to announce anything. The team was put together last minute & certainly after the top riders had already made their plans for 26. personally I went into this year happy to have a team & with no real expectations. The amount of criticism thrown at Mayfield in terms of the team & lack of changes is just laughable. This year was always about keeping the club going & putting plans in place for 27. They have done a lot of work off track in terms of attracting new sponsorship, the deal with Wroclaw, witches TV etc etc. All of that is far more important than the 26 team issues to ensure we have a club in the future. I have nothing but respect for what Coleman has done this year & I have no criticism to put his way. Now if we have a team along the same lines next year then we are then free to criticise & demand better. Finally I don’t blame Louis 1 jolt for getting out. If you’re heart isn’t in it anymore then there is no point in carrying on. 26 has been a come down after 3 years of the Emil & Jason show however it’s a year of taking stock & rebuilding for the future.

I would have put Tate and Kevin in heat 15

Ellis WAS spoken to Shano. He said that in his speedway star interview months ago. But the whole uncertainty and waiting game of the protracted takeover made him plan his season elsewhere, same as Doyle. Dan Thompson was always going back to Leicester, that was done before last season even ended when Louis was here! He had a very good sponsor that took him back to Leicester, he was never staying at any point. Coleman has publicly thanked both King and Brennan for being patient and waiting on Ipswich to get their house in order. Others didn’t want to do that which is their prerogative. This isn’t aimed at you Shano and everyone is entitled to have their say of course, but there’s a few Ipswich supporters that have really pi$$ed me off to be honest reading through social media posts (Facebook). Personally, after Ipswich “legend” Chris Louis decided to bugger off at the 11th hour leaving the future of the club in turmoil over the long winter months, I’m thankful that Mayfield stepped in to keep speedway going. They were never in a position to put a title challenging team together despite protestations of some deluded supporters who pretend to know what’s going on behind the scenes. Some fans are coming across as spoilt, and incredibly ungrateful. Give them a fuc*ing chance at least and give them the same chance as the others in building a team to compete. AGAIN, let’s see what they produce in 2027 when they’ve had the opportunity to plan properly.

As a supporter of a team who aren't Glasgow, I personally couldn't give a hoot about what any rider who wears a Glasgow racesuit scores. But I do give a hoot about fans/supporters who constantly slag young riders off, because that is highly unlikely to turn their form around.

I’d say it’s almost impossible to leave out King as well. The head says it’s not sensible after a fantastic season if you want to build a title winning team, his average is once again at the awkward stage. But the heart says he deserves his place if he wants it which I’m sure he will. Musielak has been great, but King is rider of the year for me. Much maligned by a section of the fan base, but he’s piped them right down this year. Woryna Musielak King +4 Would have loved to have seen Woryna on that track last night by the way, that would have been, interesting! Edit: I’d fit Ellis back in as well for his Foxhall scoring alone. Great interview from him last night where he spoke of Ipswich being his “Speedway home” in the UK and he loves coming back here every time. He’s a fantastic character as well and great for team spirit in the pits. Woryna Musielak King Ellis +3 We’re getting there 😁

Kurtz wins sprint, now level with Zmarzlik on points

If only there had been a fantastic summer of hot, cloudless, evenings to run Speedway... And a plan to get the cup comps sorted early in the season...

Tate? Bang average? One of the best young Aussie talents around who struggled last season after coming back from a horrific injury. This season he's pushed on and is one of, if not the best reserve in the prem. He's went away in the prem and put some very good numbers in. Don't discredit a rider because your team are awful

Workington struggle to run on Championship costs so I cannot see how they could run at PL level.

I gave it a go again but its been crap this season, too many tracks where the racing is non existent, too many tracks where they cant even get the basics right like keeping the dust down and it does not help when you have a certain presenters making excuses for the promoters and claiming that the racing has been great when clearly it has been far from it, and not too mention the farce of guests etc. Next season I will stick with watching the Polish Leagues and the Grand Prix.

Must admit i have been a bit disappointed with BSN this season, might just be me but feel there is no regular spacing between meetings, its literally all or nothing it feels. No doubt the price will go up next season and that would be the final nail for me and BSN.

Could very easily be the championship that needs that next year

Eh? Scunny v Glasgow, Poole v Edingburgh..Scunny on Friday then 25th. Poole 16th then 18th, been known well over a week

I hope the big boys in the PREM remember what happened last winter when the CHAMP Clubs got too big for their boots. Time for some sweet revenge this winter. CHAMP won't even have riders like Leon Flint and Dan Thompson in it let alone Josh Pickering and Zach Cook.

something tells me we will see more than 6 teams next season

Following the liquidation of Kevin Boothby’s businesses, whoever is in charge at the stadium has issued this release. Very encouraging, hopefully. https://oxford-stadium.co.uk/

Not bad finishing 3rd in the league, so many experts on this thread having Scorpions down as bottom.😁

Ask Leicester.....

Typical speedway keep the fans hanging around for the inevitable decision

Have a feeling Kurtz and Smarslik won’t be too unhappy.One of them was going to lose out big time,possibly both.At least they are still right in the Title chase.

They are trying to talk Phil Morris out of sending the water bowser round.

Speedway is absolutely better suited to a highlights reel. Cuts out all the 💩 and a whole meeting can be covered in just 30mins with best race highlights from other fixtures from that week. With all the gaps / delays in live meetings, the sport doesn't lend itself to modern society and new fans. Majority of U30s today cannot cope with nothingness and 15 minutes of action over a couple of hours just will never cut it. Speedway in general is a sport in a real tough spot regardless of the moves it tries to make. There has to be a major focus on speeding up heats and/or adding extra races. Selling Speedway to new observers, sponsors & media is a seriously tough job.

Belle Vue deserve to win it and I hope they do. Finished top and have been the best team all year simple as that.

I think Richard would like fourth place. If Ipswich stage the first leg then the crowd should be better than the normal high attendance and the resulting extra income would be most welcomed. As is often quoted on here, the play offs are a big money spinner. To not want to be part of that is daft.

Apologies if this has already been debated..... Who thought it was a good idea to run the CLRC on the same night as the penultimate GP? I know we're all used to watching meetings on catch up. But I can't help feeling that the CLRC attendance will be impacted by this conflict of fixtures.

Your sounding a bit like a Poole fan imho . I know Louis messed up this season for you, but most Lynn fans would love that 4th place

To be fair, finishing mid table in a league of 16 and more is a bit different from a league of six... Fourth out of six is equivalent to eighth in a league of even just 12... And that wouldn't be seen as a good season... The play offs this year should really have been the top two given the lack of numbers, as fourth is nearer the bottom than the top...

It's not televised, so how can it be streamed? Unless you have a pal that's going to stand in the crowd and go on Facebook Live with each heat, it's going to be impossible to watch live. It may be possible to see it afterwards if someone videos it and uploads the heats to YouTube later. In that case, I will add it to the Polish and other Videos thread in the International section.

Live near Barnsley and had zero rain to date and forecast for light showers, ridiculous call off

Oh, I'm happy to see speedway in Northampton and will go a few times a season as it stands now. But if there was one big league, with plenty of different opposition, I'd probably be there every week.

I was told that Godfrey and co trying to drag Workington up to the Premiership for 2027 with another track not sure who one though so 8 teams in Premiership next year, not sure if that is backed by Facenna money so they stop poking Glasgow (or to help British Speedway). Nothing confirmed just something a current Premiership rider had heard on the grapevine

If Premier Sports got British, Polish and Swedish speedway then I wouldn't mind paying £10 - £15 per month.

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/woman-gave-away-half-115m-093354271.html Shame she doesn't seem to be a fan of Redcar / Middlesbrough, Newcastle or even Sunderland speedways. Just think how 'just 1 mill.' could benefit each club, or indeed the sport in the UK in general. Sigh....

Team building plans for 2027 whatever the league format, whatever the team limit, whatever his average should be: Tobi Musielak + 6 other. Absolutely class again tonight and just great entertainment.

Comfortably the best meeting at Foxhall this year. Terrific racing.

A summing up of where we are. Play-offs Semi’s 2nd legs on Sunday 13th September. Wroclaw v Leszno Torun v Lublin Play -off final and 3rd/4th place then over 2 matches Play- down final 1st leg Czestochowa v Gorzow Sunday 13th September 2nd leg Gorzow v Czestochowa Friday 18th September Loser relegated winner goes into Baraz against the loser of the Extraleague 2 play-off final( Bydgoszcz or Poznan) 1st leg on Extraleague 2 track Sunday 27th September 2nd leg on Extraleague track Sunday 4th October

Taken from Jack Smith`s social media. thought it was about time I gave everyone a proper update on the injury I’ve been dealing with, as there is quite a lot more going on than people probably realise. For a long time now I’ve been struggling with my hip, and despite the pain and the problems it’s causing me, I’ve continued to get on the bike and race whenever I’ve been able to. Unfortunately, I’m nowhere near performing at the level I know I’m capable of at the moment, and there is a very good reason for that. After further investigations, including an MRI on my left hip, I’ve now been diagnosed with cam-type femoro-acetabular impingement (FAI), along with a tear to the superior and anterior parts of the hip labrum. In simple terms, I have an abnormal bony bump where the ball of my hip joins the femur. When I move my hip, particularly into certain positions, that bone catches against the socket. This has caused damage to the labrum inside the joint. I’ve also had an X-ray at Stafford Hospital, which has shown post-traumatic arthritic changes in my hip, adding another problem to an already damaged joint. For anyone who doesn’t ride Speedway, it can probably be difficult to understand just how much movement and control comes from your hips while you’re on the bike. Speedway puts an enormous amount of load and movement through the hips. You’re constantly moving your body, changing position, loading the bike and using your hips to control yourself through the corners. For me, one of the worst parts at the moment is turning into the corners. With the cam impingement, I can physically feel the bone catching inside the hip as I move into certain positions. When you’re trying to throw the bike into a corner and your hip catches, locks up or gives you a sharp pain, it’s incredibly difficult to ride naturally and confidently. I’ve also lost a huge amount of movement and mobility through my hips. Things that should be completely natural on a Speedway bike have become painful and restricted. I’ve continued to race because I love this sport and I don’t want an injury to keep me away from the track, but the reality is that I’m racing through a significant amount of pain, and it’s affecting how I ride, I had to withdraw from the Steve Casey memorial meeting and had to have morphine injected to deal with the amount of pain I was in. I know I’m not performing to the level I should be, and that’s incredibly frustrating because I know what I’m capable of when I’m fit and able to ride the way I want to, and I do take blame for my recent scores which have hampered my teams progress as I know when I’m 100% fit I can score big especially at Berwick. It’s not an excuse for results — it’s simply the reality of what I’ve been dealing with. So What’s next? The good news is that there is finally a plan. I am definitely having surgery to address the problems with my hip. I’m seeing the doctor who will be carrying out the operation on the 14th September, where we’ll discuss everything in detail and hopefully get an official date for the operation. The surgery will be keyhole hip surgery (hip arthroscopy). The aim will be to address the underlying impingement and deal with the damage inside the joint, including the torn labrum. The exact work required will be determined by the surgeon, but the aim is to correct the abnormal bone causing the impingement and repair/treat the damaged labrum. It’s going to be a long road back afterwards. I’ll have rehabilitation to complete and I’ll need to build the strength, mobility and confidence back up properly before I can think about getting back on the bike. But honestly, I’m looking forward to that challenge. I’ve spent a long time trying to ride through this and fighting my way through the pain. Now I just want to get the problem properly treated and give myself the opportunity to get back to being the rider I know I can be. I don’t know exactly how long the road back will be yet, but what I do know is that I’m going to give the recovery absolutely everything I’ve got. Speedway means far too much to me to let this be the end of the story. I’ll get the hip fixed. I’ll put the work in. I’ll get back on the bike. And I’ll come back fighting next season. A massive thank you to everyone who has supported me, checked in on me and continued to believe in me while I’ve been dealing with this. It might have looked like I became a bad rider over night after such a strong start/middle of the season but heavy crashes in the season after the crash that started it all off in April, it’s just slowly deteriorated until it’s become unbearable to deal with even in my day to day life, not being able to sleep at night and do the things I enjoy like go to the gym, walk my dogs, go for runs and hikes and my job. I have the KO Cup Final with Berwick remaining and I don’t want to miss out on being apart of such a huge meeting for a great club who have supported and backed me for the last 2 years. I’ll fight through it and give it everything I can with the position I’m in. When I’m at 100% I know I’m capable of so much more! Hopefully, this is just another chapter in the journey… Again Thank You to everyone who’s supported me through this difficult time I’ve dealt with broken bones and other injuries in my time but this isn’t anything like what I’ve ever been through, Broken bones are a lot more simple than what I’ve got going on. I will come back stronger!

Fingers crossed. Don't want to be losing Oxford again.

Iversen Klindt Harris Batchelor Sedgmen Etheridge Justin Elkins 😉

First meeting in about 2 years because wee man wanted to go. Brilliant advert for speedway I thought, can't remember heat without genuine passing after the 2nd bend. 11, 13 and 14 in particular I thought were superb. Pickering is a class act, Leon had to ride the wheels off it to beat him. Bug might be coming back!

Just look at the event from the 10th to the 13th September at the Northampton track and see how the whole period is organised with the punters in mind whereas speedway is organised around the participants and the punters are not even considered. Agree that the drivers pay to compete but you give a good few hours of entertainment that appeals to a whole range of ages and Spedeworth go out to treat the punter to an event. Speedway does not even come close in this country and until the views of the a few change and the promoters get an idea of what it takes to promote, it will continue to attract less and less punters. Speedway is not value for money from an entertainment perspective and is run by fickle promoters who have fickle riders who dictate what when and how things go on in terms of the track. I would rather pay £20 on a banger/stock car meeting knowing it will be on then rock up to a track for speedway only to find that a cat has pissed on bend four and it is not suitable for racing according to the riders. Chalk and cheese when it comes to entertainment and value for money, hence the only speedway worth watching at this time is the Polish scene who know how to put on a meet.