mikebv

Wasn't there originally an maximum age stipulation for Doubling Up?? Maybe I am wrong, but I seem to remember it was Scott Nicholls who challenged it... It used to be only a max two per team also wasn't it?.. And then, of course, promoters saw the benefits of sharing rider costs, whilst now employing a level of riders previously unaffordable, so the floodgates opened .😁

100%... The "talent pool" is thin enough already, as is shown by the weakest team each season, therefore stretching it to seven teams currently can only dilute it further... And bringing in two compulsory U21's will already do that given the lack of U21 talent who are not riding in Poland and are not Scandinavian.. A six team league this season has one team clearly adrift before a wheel was turned, and a seven team league the year before had two... Wasn't the plan to make the top tier clearly stronger than the second? If so, sticking with six teams would be the more logical way of delivering this.. If Eastbourne do come back, starting on Fridays/Saturdays in the second tier would seem to be the best "first step" to see how that goes..

Maybe with two U21's needed next season, it was a "sweetener"?..😁

Must confess, I am non plussed as to the end game for this rule re UK licenses... Several UK riders down the years have ridden on "foreign licences", Wigg, Cox and Smith being three that come to mind immediately... Lambert is living in Poland, has a Polish wife, and a child on the way, so could tick a few boxes for citizenship, particularly if his child is "Polish". (Torun would be pleased if he was a "home rider" I am sure), so maybe him getting a Polish licence wouldn't be too difficult, (or a German one!).. I am not sure the UK promoters realise that many "top riders" nowadays, don't need to ride several times a week anymore.. If you are getting a £250k signing fee and £2,500 a point, (that and more for the "true elite"), then riding one meeting every weekend in Poland and, (maybe) topping up your income on Tuesday in Sweden, is maybe enough?? Logistically the UK brings its own challenges with equipment needed over here, plus a mechanic, storage, flights etc, so not sure putting barriers up in any way shape or form is a great plan..

Air fences has narrowed it, and a slicker surface means it is easy to ride fast, midtrack, which leaves little room either side for a rider to pass, even if those following have enough speed to get alongside the rider "flying" in front of them.. And as the dirt moves out, the line about 2m from the fence becomes the line to take when in the lead, as Kurtz showed by winning a race by over a straight!! It can become very much, follow the leader, with all using the same outside run...

Away fans there in numbers??? Who would have thought that this would create atmosphere?.... They need to find a way to get a strong away contingent at every meeting... That would naturally raise the events status as "something to win"..

2,500 or so I would guess.... A couple of hundred, (maybe more?) Aces fans boosting the attendance..

Having to log back in seven times was somewhat annoying ..😁 Luckily I only missed two laps of a race (Ht13), and the Aces were on a 5-1 when I logged back in!! The coverage is good though, and I get many more than expected bought the stream, (me being one), so hopefully they will sort out the issue going forward.. The racing, for Sheffield, was ok, it's just a shame the track is so narrow on the bends given the speed they hit them.. It looked like a very decent crowd, which shows, once again, that there is a following for Speedway if the product makes it worth attending... The NSS will have 3,000 plus there on Friday, me and my lad being two of them now, yet at least 1500 of us won't have regularly attended all season.. Make the product credible, give it some jeopardy and consequence, add in a wider variety of teams, and those 1500 or so would attend far more often.. Especially if you open your doors, often, during the warmer, drier, months!!

Hopefully, we get, at least, seven teams with around ten GP riders involved... Tonight showed, unfortunately, the difference between the top level lads, and the young kids who really shouldn't be exposed to to that level, yet... As the crowd tonight showed, there is enough followers of the sport... You just need to make the sport something that people can get engaged enough with for several months..

To be fair, the start of the season said Blodurn, Zischke, and Cook were a huge gamble, according to many.. The engine room has proven to be the big plus..

Luckily, the NSS is going to be filled.. So the usual seven seater taxi won't be missed..

Kurtz and Doyle, a different level.. A shame to be honest as the second leg is probably a shoe in... Great to watch top class riders do what only they can do...

Getting peed off by having to keep logging in.. Is BSN always like this?...

To be fair, they don't bring many to the NSS ever, and don't have too many followers at home.. Utopia is a Sheffield lead by 12 or so, as hopefully, they may bring a few on Friday, which creates a bit of atmosphere...

Wow!! Take a bow Tate.... Amazed he could see anything ..

Team riding with Brady Kurtz...

Tate looked like he was riding on a ride on Blackpool Pleasure Beach!!

Did the Aces win the toss?... Why choose 2 and 4???

Love the people in the Tiger suits... FFS...

Drizzle at Owlerton... And ordered the bloody BSN stream too.... A wet track could help Sheffield, wasnt it wet when they beat Ipswich?...

Or indeed, fans of any other teams who are watching on a screen... The same fans who always watch Poole matches, and then always complain the racing is rubbish!!! Every. Single. Time!!!!!

12 to 16 would make the second leg worth watching on BSN...

I would imagine the risk is another accident .. Down to five riders would leave them with little cover, especially as no tac subs...

Use a credit card... Do 50, £500 "Gold VIP" season tickets with lots of extras, free bar, free spare tickets, etc, that would raise £25k.. Get a bank loan... It's £46k not £460k...

Some good out of season publicity for Plymouth... An air fence fund will keep them in the minds of the people in the town... Meaning some good interest created for next season.. Best of luck with the fund raising, if I was involved in their marketing I would make it as dramatically close to the season start as is possible before announcing... "Thank you Plymouth! We have made it!!!"...