szkocjasid

They always use a riders most recent average, so that'll be 8.64 (Ipswich average converted). Once Brennan has ridden in the Champ his old Poole average will be used for his rolling average, so expect it to jump up.

It all depends how a team is built how much of a gamble it is. For example Workington & Glasgow's foreigners not matching their starting average was costly as it pushed Foord & Hagon into the top 5. But the likes of Bowes struggling at Poole was less harmful as they always had strong reserves, even if Bowes didn't get injured & dropped down, they'd still have Newman. If the plan was Ace Piper or Dayle Wood with a 4 point foreigner, I wouldn't call that such a gamble, as they'd still have a decent reserve. I guess I feel they could have a good team without a gamble?

If they are aiming to pay out what comes in without going into debt, that doesn't make them "bad payers" imo. I'd argue clubs paying out more than they can afford is bad for the sport. If not enough fans come in to afford riders having multiple bikes tuned to greatness, then so be it. Riders can't demand what's not there. I remember hearing Jordan Jenkins left Redcar for Oxford because Oxford paid a lot more, what did that gain then? Besides once the other clubs are filled the rest will know it's Workington or bust (if it came to that).

I'd be less keen to do that, if they picked another Mario Hausl, Anze Grmek or Niklas Jakobsen then the strong reserve plan is gone. The thought of Jenkins starting at reserve is too good an opportunity to miss imo.

While I agree with that, if Palovaara had been above par, his average would be too high to fill one of the final 2 spots. Because he underperformed, he now seems worth another shot - such is how the points limit works. He'd actually be a second strong with Etheridge a 3rd heat leader. Could potentially end up a heat leader or reserve, such is the potential make up of the Bandits team.

Knowing theyll always have a strong reserve, I'd go for a 2 pointer & the strongest 3rd heat leader they can find. Jake Allen seems a good idea.

I always hoped when the asset system disappeared, it would be easier for Brits to get team places? You could spend a lot of money flying an Aussie over, or spend time & effort sorting out a visa for a European, they can be poor meaning a waste of time or good & leave to go to another club. In theory the likes of Alfie Bowtell, Ben Morley, Danyon Hume (when fit) should get team spots every year? It wasn't that long ago Dan Thompson started without a Champ team.

I'm sure a few years back Redcar put an extra £1 or £2 on the admission to pay for an air fence, then once it was paid off, the entrance fees went down, could this be a possibility to make up any shortfall / pay back a SRBF loan?

Agree what you said about Picko. MPT is a tough one, had a disappointing season mostly, but then came good, which most fans remember. I think Mountain went backwards, should have been looking to become a number 5, rather than drop to reserve, but that now means he looks to be on an attractive average. Ablitt actually got half a point knocked off for missing 2025, which he put back on his average, so sounds like a good signing for the season. I've not seen enough of him to comment, but plenty seem to not want him back? Hook, very accurate explanation. Ingram, I'd definitely want him back, this year has shown how valuable having a strong home team is.

If Riss can go the whole winter without any medical issues, he definitely seems a better rider than his average. I don't think it's a big a risk as some make out, it's not like you'd have to replace him with a 3.00 NL rider should he have an episode (providing he starts the season). Cook would be a greater risk, you can almost guarantee he won't last the season, as sad as that is to say. If they announce riders one at a time (how i like it) we can do the maths & see who fits etc.

Shows you can't listen to rumors, read on the forum more than once about Masters going to Poole.

I like the idea of the top 9 riders being shared amongst 9 clubs. If someone like Brennan wants to come back, make it the top 8 from last year & Brennan. I certainly don't want a situation where someone misses out.

I think he left at the right time & credit to him for being brave enough to do so. Obviously it hasn't worked out, maybe the pre-season injury had something to do with that? If riders want to be world class, need to leave Champ behind i.e Doyle, Douglas, Ben Cook. But if you just want to earn a living (nothing wrong with that) just double up forever like a Sam Masters or Richard Lawson? British Speedway needs riders in both categories, so while I think Brennan dropping down will be a step back, can understand the reasoning after a poor 2026.

Exciting start after 2 heats. Would love Sheffield to win.

At the beginning of the season, I'd have said Stene was a possible for 2027, but he seems to have gone backwards alarmingly. Needs an improved season in the NL before thinking about stepping up.

What can they (Prem promoters) do when successful Championship clubs refuse to step up?

One of the problems is they keep admitting throughout the season that the league matches are just qualifiers & finishing top isn't a necessity. So if fans are in two minds, they may as well just wait for the play-offs. Of course in Poland they manage decent crowds all year, maybe meeting opposition teams once a season would help (if there was enough teams in the league)?

Can't agree with Simon Stead saying the pressure is on Belle Vue, even though they're highly expected to win. If they were 20 points down maybe, one bad heat & you can panic. But as it is, riders should be as relaxed as you can be for a grand final.

This year Bewley needed a wildcard, so anything can happen. Would the organisers need permission from a riders federation to offer them a wildcard? If not they could just put Emil & Artem in? If they do, Lambert getting a wild card for Germany. Wouldn't hinder any of their riders, as they wouldn't be in line for a wild card?

Don't know why they'd want to make the "rising stars" weaker? I thought 4.00 was a sensible cut-off.

As far as I understand the rules the Champ will be treated like the German, French or Czech leagues. There's no limit for riders in these leagues, but they don't have fixture priority over Sweden (Tues), Prem (Mon, Thu), Denmark (Wed) or Poland (Fri-Sun). But I agree clarification from the BSPL would be good especially now the news has been "leaked"

Did Berwick host a development meeting this year? Or was it second halves that (NJL) that covered them? Just thinking if they had a stars of tomorrow meeting & gave fans the opportunity of taking a selfie with the KOC trophy, may have helped the attendance? Also a good reason not to race the BSN & KOC finals so late in the season. I imagine crowds would be up for the following meeting (if they had one)?

Makes sense to me, worth a try.

I would say the most important thing is to gain teams, so if that means a weaker league, so be it. Ideally equal strength teams, the more times newcomers end up bottom, the less likely someone will step up.

What are the rules regarding a number 8? For example could Jake Mulford be used as one along with r/r?