Hackett

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Not great news for the Monarchs. Without support from Local Council / Government always an uphill battle for a new site - plus a shedload of cash. Any landlord is going to be tempted to sell a site for housing. Fear this won't be the only club not to be running in 2023. Hopefully some more good news stories like Oxford situation but few and far between.

Congratulations to Max Fricke. Brave decision to take gate 4 but he was confident of making it work. Fair Play. As for the event - racing was pretty mediocre for most of the event. It was like we had gone back 10 years on temporary tracks and excitement was all about reactions after hitting the rut. Two SGP's have been pretty disappointing for the most part. Hope that Michelsen is ok after his soil sample.

Always going to be burnt down. Usual tactic of untoward property developers. Leave site for years after failed planning permission. Site is left derelict or in state of repair then an arson attack and burnt down. Then demolished due to safety issues and then planning permission is amazingly awarded. Happens to a number of public houses in London and suburbia - guess Brandon is going a similar route.

BT and Warner Bros Discovery have finalised a deal to combine their sport broadcasting arms in a 50/50 joint venture. The deal, once finalised, could be worth as much as £633m to BT. It will see BT Sport and Eurosport UK merge, creating a new pay-TV broadcast home for premium sports including the Premier League, the Olympic Games, tennis Grand Slams, the UEFA Champions League, the Tour de France, Premiership Rugby and more. The FT reports that the joint venture is a "marriage of convenience", with BT looking to exit sports broadcasting and focus on its infrastructure and fibre expansion across the UK. I wonder what this means to speedway in the long term ??? https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/12/bt-and-warner-bros-discovery-join-forces-to-create-pay-tv-sport-business

There is plenty of scope for a speedway game - Speedway challenge on Android / Iphone is a decent effort. With the success and support of the sport in Poland no doubt a Football Manager type game with graphics like the phone game would work or go the alternative route and full interaction and racing mode like MotoGP or MotoX games would succeed to a degree.

Sky Bet doesn't take bets on riders - Is this all through Bet365 ??

Zmarzlik is different gravy and has been excellent since 2016. He just looks quicker at most SGP meetings. He is as dominant as Tricks was in his time , albeit the difference being that the competition doesn't look as strong in this era. We know only takes one shale sample and the season can change but this season looks as though may be a shootout between Zmarzlik and Janowski - However Gorican is a strange track and will be interesting to see if any other riders are more competitive at Warsaw. As for the tv coverage - seemed ok + a difficult night for Kelvin Tatum but I am sure Nige would of been proud of him and his professionalism. Would of been a tough but sure a Guiness was lifted in honour - speedway will never sound the same.

When I looked at the details on speedway updates I was pretty shocked about the 6 hour turnaround for an ambulance but anything other than free admission to a future meeting will be a PR disaster for the Brummies. Appreciate that they are in financial difficulty and had some bad luck to start the season BUT if they choose not to offer free admission I can see a number of fans not returning. Edited 2 hours ago by OML

Good to see the coverage that Oxford Speedway is generated. Local BBC + ITV coverage - this should be standard for the sport but an excellent effort at getting the sport promoted. Certainly the pits and grandstand from the videos look smart enough. Any new venue / club or attempt to promote should be applauded.

1. Sheffield - Looks solid. Holder, Ellis, Howarth, Cook and Musielak is a strong top five. Reserve pairing will need to settle and develop into the team but with that top 5 - The team to beat. 2. Peterborough - Dad's Army Season 2 - If Basso can take to the Showground looks like a strong team built around the same strength in depth policy that served them so well last season. 3. Belle Vue - Fricke, Kurtz, provides a strong top 2. Wright + Etheridge need to offer a little more consistency and I think Brennan will come on again as RS. 4.Wolverhampton - As ever home advantage at Monmore. Need Morris, Becker + Douglas to improve away to be competitive. Think home form may squeak them a play-off spot. 5. Ipswich - Doyle & King should see Ipswich with enough strength at home to win but need significant improvement from Batchelor, Riss and Heeps to stay competitive away from Foxhall. 6. King's Lynn - Start strong at reserve with Worrall and Lawson is an excellent heat-leader but the top 5 doesn't look as strong as other teams.

Great to see some of the social media stuff Glasgow Tigers are doing - BUT that new Kappa merchandise is shocking. We of a certain vintage love a retro look but some of that "merch" is absolutely shocking - especially in comparison to what has been available previously.

Wishing all involved at Oxford Cheetahs Speedway every success tonight and for remainder of the season. Hopefully all that attend enjoy the occasion and return. I will certainly look to take the kids during the school holidays as this is now the nearest track to Surrey.

Gutted the bairns are at school otherwise , we may of travelled up for this. Excellent field and hope that the weather is fine for what looks an excellent event.

Ban them ... !!!! Follow the precedent set by a number of other sports. Economic + social pressures are being used to try and stop Putin - rather than military ; so however small an impression this will make on the scheme of things It needs still to be done. Ban them.

Shocking merch !!

Loved Nicki at Eastbourne !! Small fry having witnessed the hatred the Polish fans had for him at the Bydgoszcz SGP !!

Lawson is still waiting for payment from Eastbourne Eagles - Ian Jordan who was involved at Plymouth also ; seems to have gone awol as Drew Kemp was quoted in Speedway Star saying no Eagles riders had any communication or answers from him. If rumour true Lawson has thought I not taking that risk again.

Loving the photos from the Peterborough End of Season Awards with all the riders dressed up as "Dad Army" - Great work

With the demise of Eastbourne there will be no British Speedway for me and family apart from British SGP and British Final. What is the easiest way to get to Torun for the SGP ???

Think you'll find all riders rode abroad back in the day - but the main difference being British speedway was comparable money wise to Europe and if not the number of meetings made it worthwhile back then - Now unfortunately British speedway is third or fourth in payment terms so as we know Poland now means increased monies, sponsorship and opportunity, Sweden paying more per point why would you ride in the UK.

Looking at the Speedway Star it would seem they have gone incommunicado . Drew Kemp has advised no rider has been paid and now the Jordans have gone underground. One un-named rider told Speedway Star he hasn't been paid. Jake Knight stated the very same on facebook and now Drew Kemp has said much the same in the Speedway Star. Pretty p*ss-poor but nothing surprises me.

Eastbourne - Ian Jordan was in the press both local media and Speedway Star stating riders , outstanding debts , season tickets , refunds , air-fence sponsorship monies would be paid back by Oct. Carol Jordan was sending replies to some fans stating delays or check your bank account etc etc - Now it would seem they have gone incommunicado . One un-named rider told Speedway Star he hasn't been paid. Jake Knight stated the very same on facebook and now Drew Kemp has said much the same in the Speedway Star. Pretty poor but nothing surprises me in how speedway is run.

Hopefully more positive news that Eastbourne ...... not a peep ....

Birmingham Speedway @BrumSpeedway · We know it’s quiet right now but as soon as we get more news on the chances of us racing in 2022 we will bring it to you. We are as anxious as you for some positive news -