Hackett

Ipswich - Were close last year but decimated with injuries at the critical time of the season. The Doyle, Sayfutdinov + Brennan trio will compete with opposition. Second strings are solid and if they can get Thompson or Jenkins on a hot strak at reserve will be there at the business end of the season. Belle Vue - Are going to be dominant at the NSS with Bewley + Kurtz. Cook / Lidsey / Blodorn should score enough to keep them competitive. Need Zischke to come back strong after injury Sheffield - Tai may take a little time to het back into the groove but give it 6 weeks he should be back on the pace and looking to prove all and sundry wrong. The Aussie trio of Pickering + Holders x2 will complete a top 4 that will be strong enough to make the play-offs. Flint + Rowe + Hume will probably be in and out of the reserve berth depending on who hits a run of form at the right time. Leicester / Kings Lynn - Think this will depend on whose team can get momentum at the right time and which team can get consistency out of the reserves. Stars have gone for a solid side 1-7 whilst potentially the Lions Aussie trio is slightly stronger as a heat-leader trio. Over the season the Stars depth could just get the 4th play off spot. Oxford will need significant improvement out of all of the team and Tungate to maintain his form last season. They won a lot of close meetings at home last season with Nicholls offering solid support and not sure Riss + Wright can cover his loss or consistency. Birmingham is a team of too may "ifs" for my liking. Zagar, Jepsen Jensen and Musielak could be excellent one week and could equally struggle. the next Considering the jeopardy of Perry Barr - I hope the Brummies can have a better season than last year and give the support something to cheer.

TNT Sports needs the Subscription fees to pay the Champions League TV Rights .. With the merger of BT Sports and Warner Bros it now means the joint venture will pay the rights costs of c. £305 million per annum, with £92 million paid in August 2024 followed by £153 million paid every February and August until February 2027. So zero concerns for the Speedway coverage or Eurosport and the thousands of viewers they may potentially lose. Simply hoping that a percentage sign up for the subscription and attract others through the access to the football. Speedway is unlikely to be featured on the TNT Sports channels most likely to be buried on the Discovery+ app or channels like last year.

4.50 absolute steal if that is his average. Even at 7 worth the gamble.

Musieliak is a solid Heat-Leader and has plenty of PL experience. Be interesting to see where else Tolley looks to go with the remainder of the team.

100% Spot on. The new rules are utter garbage - If you want to open the opportunities up for the final ; do the Top 2 straight through and 3-6th place in Final Run off. This new format is dross !!

Not until nearer the play-offs. 🙃

Following the same strategy as last year but not sure it reads as strong as the Stars team.. Certainly Becker and Howarth would need better campaigns and Douglas to maintain his decent form of last year.

Solid Stars - Lacking an out and out number one but a solid 1-7 nearly got Leicester over the line last season. Looks as though the Stars are looking at a similar structure.

Would need Saudi investment to make that viable.

Doyle and Mickelsen would of been top 6 had it not been for injury so no surprise with those two picks. Kvech + Huckenbeck are simply in for commercial reasons (Czech + German SGP) although I have nothing against either rider and they were certainly offering something to the SGP. Madsen without the personal problems and able to concentrate on speedway would be more competitive than the latter two. Could it be that if 3G Logistics his ex partner was involved with still a lead sponsor ??? With so much press and even some FIM representatives banging the drum for the return of Sayfutdinov and Laguta back in the SGP I thought it may be possible but not to be. Nothing against Kvech and Huckenbeck but a little underwhelming.

It come as no surprise that Birmingham is likely to close. The crowds have been poor for a number of years and with the Perry Barr Greyhound news was always facing an uphill battle.

At the start of the season I personally doubted Birmingham would run in 2025 with the Greyhound situation. Following the latest press release from Birmingham , I think that is it with speedway in the Midlands apart from Leicester. Cash flow issues >> Never a good look think that is goodnight from the Brummies.

Leicester were built to be solid and were found out in the final by a strong heat leader pair in Bewley and Kurtz. Lions could keep Fricke but need a second strong heat leader and then a rider like Lawson can tuck in as the third heat-leader potentially. Decent season for the Lions build and go again next season.

Zero point of a podium race, Wild Cards = Doyle , Michelsen , Laguta and Sayfutdinov

Leicester have always looked at a balanced team. Fricke has been excellent at home and is a strong #1. Lawson offers excellent support at #2 even if he has to go at heatleader #3 will be dependable , if averages allow I would not look to change too much. Dan Thompson at reserve or even as a second string gives the team a solid base,