Hawk127

Sadly that is where the sport is and unfortunately it is going to take something special to get the riders to trust those in charge and believe they have a future in the over here. You really despair at the thought process of the few individuals who seemingly are driving speedway in the UK and wonder why they think that everything is hunky dory. Take a look at the Mainland European scene and speedway UK is way behind the curve. Thankfully those on the continent are professional, mainland U K are also rans but at least we can watch professional leagues race through the summer months. Speedway UK simply cannot compete on organisation, credibility or professional run sport. Oh well always regular Sunday speedway from Poland on free streams with the top riders, full stadia and incredible atmosphere. Dream on BSPL.

Agree with that scenario. Cannot see Spedeworth being overly happy with the way things are going and will either say enough is enough and concrete over the track and just run bangers/stock cars or give another promoter a chance but I suspect that Spedeworth make far more out of their operation than the income they get from a few speedway meetings a year. It really is a precarious situation.

The decision to continue with a top league may backfire given that a lot of the former top riders in the UK have opted for Swedish, Danish and Polish sides leaving few riders of that calibre to grace the top tier of UK speedway. You could also understand why they have made the decision given the logistics of moving around mainland Europe being easier as opposed to having to fly in and out of the UK and maintain equipment here as well as Europe. Time will tell but it will take something radical to entice riders to come back to these shores in the future. It could well be that the authorities in the UK have finally burnt their bridges.

Nope, the BSPL will want to string it out. In reality you could run this with one home and one away starting in July and the season over by the end of August including play offs. Why the hell don't these knob heads invest in young up and coming riders and prolong the season with new talent and other disciplines. Think like the IOW and add in the league meetings and finale. Not really rocket science unless you are an owner/promoter of a club in the so called top tier of British speedway farce.

Not if Poland has anything to do with it. The golden promised land is not going to happen. Those in charge have really lost the plot and who with half a brain is going to want to watch repetitive matches with double uppers on inflated rates screwing the supporters because the TV income has gone south and someone has to make up the financial shortfall. Two occasions, Covid and the current situation gave the sport the opportunity to reinvent itself but what have you got, the same old scenario. It has failed the punter yet again and this time it will implode because no one is going to be fobbed off with this plan. BSPL, you really do not have a clue about your audience and are so far removed from reality by your actions you will fail and regrettably be instrumental in the demise of the sport in this Country. Thankfully we have Poland to fall back on.

It also depends on East Suffolk council. Certain restrictions are in place and with Spedeworth running on Saturdays it may be difficult to operate on other days on a regular basis given the eight day rule which I believe use to exist and may still exist. Ipswich has been synonymous with Thursday night speedway and I doubt any new owner would advocate a change to another race night. I simply hope that a way can be found to see the Witches come to the tapes in 2026 if not simply putting the sport on hold for a year may just see the end of this famous club and the sport will be poorer for the demise of Ipswich.

You are absolutely right but you missed one other issue, the fickle supporter who wants nothing more than league racing and as long as the punters are not flexible in there outlook then those who run the sport are not going to take financial risks by putting on something different. The only way to appeal to possibly a new generation of punter is to offer a multi discipline meeting with a mix of sports, short track, sidecar etc and revert to a thirteen heat formula for speedway and throw in a few one lap scratch races where betting might work.

If Ipswich do not come to the tapes next year then for the time being it is all over for the witches but like most on here we all hope it does not come to this but the reality is that at this stage in proceedings they have little or no hope of putting together a competitive team to grace either championship or premiership league and at best they could run an NDL team or if it still exists allow open meetings but I suspect the latter has been all but ruled out by the arseholes who allegedly run the sport. To my mind it is now all about keeping tracks open at whatever level because once they are lost it is game over. Permit tracks to put on meetings at whatever level until the authorities can decide what to do going forward. I would rather see a few good individual meetings at Ipswich rather than see the track lost to the sport. Over the years Rye house and many others have in the past survived on the basis of individual meetings but it really depends on what the overall plan is for the sport but at this stage that plan does appear not exist. Headless chickens, self interest and perpetual denial leaves the sport where it is today. Anyone that thinks you can afford to lose a club like Ipswich to the sport of speedway has lost the plot.

Agree. One thing though, if all the riders who were considered the top participants in club sides have deserted these shores for pastures new and you are just left with double up riders to make up the spearhead of a team what is the point? You would just have a group of riders in what would effectively be an alternative Championship side but racing in a so called Premier league for possibly more money. This is so farcical it beggars belief but those in charge still have their collective heads in the sand whilst appointing Sir Philip Davies to read the last rites over the embers of a once great sport. You could not make it up. Oh well they could always put large screens up in those stadia and show weekend racing from Poland. It might catch on. Throw in some live action with NDL riders/matches or short track and bingo, a weekend afternoon or evening of two wheeled sport with the finale each time being the worlds best riders performing in league racing with the tribal support of the Polish fans to add to the atmosphere. You could even have reciprocal live interaction with the supporters using the latest technology.

Thanks. Pete Jarman, I vaguely remember him, did he ride for Eastbourne or am I again losing the plot?

I thought speedway was held a few years back at Yarmouth or am I thinking of Skegness?

The way British riders are signing for European clubs it could well end up where you have the tracks but not enough riders. You cannot blame any rider looking elsewhere as they have to put themselves first and they need to know their income stream to cover costs, mechanics and line up sponsors etc none of which can wait until the eve of a new season. The delay in finalising arrangements in the Premiership is damaging the sport on so many levels and has wide ranging implications for riders, sponsors, team set up and for clubs who rent the stadia, what can they tell the owners? These landlords will have budgets and cashflow forecasts to complete and part of that is needing to know what the revenue stream will be. If speedway teams cannot declare than the stadia owners may well look elsewhere. Short track is doing very well in Australia and it would not be beyond the realms of possibility to introduce team racing or other two and four wheeled sports filling the void caused by the Premiership teams If only the fools in charge realised how their actions seriously undermine every aspect of the sport but they are so insular in their thinking and the rest of the business world which is materially affected by these delays etc. is lost on the BSPL

Yep and today no one gives a monkey. It has lost its way and from an entertainment aspect it falls well short and unless it can come up with something that gets the sport in front of Joe Public with something special it is an also ran in terms of attracting new punters. I wish those in charge could see this.

Agree but if you go back in time you had characters and particularly the promoters who made the sport what it was such as Johnnie Hoskins, Dave Lanning, Len Silver, Wally Mawdsley etc, and add to the controversy of the methanol arguments between Rayleigh, Eastbourne and Canterbury, those were fun days. These incidents spiced up the sport and created rivalry which I am sure many on here witnessed between other close regional clubs and added some edge to the on track action. Rayleigh had its fair share with Crayford, Eastbourne, Canterbury, Romford and Ipswich over the years and that is what engendered the friendly rivalry. Other clubs around the country enjoyed the same and on occasions it crossed the boundaries of local clubs with regional exchanges such as the riders from Sunderland, Barrow, Birmingham, Bradford, Workington and many others who had characters that created a great atmosphere when they ventured south and challenged the locals. Unfortunately it is not the same today because the authorities have made it too clinical and the riders are not the personalities that we had just a few years back. The sport needs to reinvent itself internally and get back to the respected camaraderie that use to exist and embrace the fact that it can match others when it comes to being competitive and exciting. To attract bigger audiences think outside the box and stop knocking formats where they put bums on seats, cash in the till and t v exposure. The sport could learn from the marketing of WWE.