Roger Jacobs

So, you've got a downer on someone who has worked to bring in Doyle and Sayfutdinov, and to pay them what they're prepared to accept (I'm sure there was negotiation) - and to find ways to make it work financially, plus everything else that goes alongside riders with a thoroughly professional approach. It's not just those two riders though - the other six also say the same, down to Jenkins and Edwards, who Louis wanted in the team because of their excellent approach, and who wanted to ride for Ipswich. Brennan and Thompson are the very best examples of riders who knew that they would improve if they joined Louis' set-up - not just because Louis is thorough in his approach, but also because he demands and expects the same from his employees. There's no doubt that speedway's sponsorship finances are predominantly goodwill, rather than purely commercial - and can't be compared with multi-million pound/dollar corporations sponsoring the world's popular sports. At best we're talking about the same level as National League football, or more likely the divisions below that, and other minority sports that also rely on local goodwill. British Speedway's biggest problem is that it's got very little worth actually investing in. Despite everything that Louis has done, he can really only sell his licence to promote the sport - there aren't any major tangible assets.

The Leicester urban area has about three times as many people as the wider Ipswich area (approx 550,000 compared to approx 180,000). Leicester is in the East Midlands, with access to much more industry and business sponsorship opportunities. Interestingly, LCFC and ITFC attract very similar home attendances. To be honest, there’s no real comparison to make - very different parts of the country, with very different circumstances.

What part of he doesn't want to be the promoter anymore don't you understand? If a buyer is found it'll be up to them to decide how they want to run the club, which might include asking fans what they think.

Louis hasn't blamed anyone. He said: "Following a meeting on Thursday I have informed my fellow Premiership promoters of my intention to sell the club."

Which bits? Maybe you don't agree with the opening two lines by Gavan, but there's nothing else in what he said that's wrong. Other teams don't agree with the vision (Gavan didn't say all other teams), and Louis has dedicated a huge part of his life to the sport as well as to the Witches. I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's exhausted both physically and mentally.

How you can compare NFL with British speedway is laughable. "Each of the 32 teams in the NFL received* $432.6 million in revenue in the 2024 fiscal year." * That doesn't include any revenue they generated 'locally', e.g. Green Bay Packers reported total revenues of $719.1 million.

A bit of everything I reckon. I'm sure CL told his fellow Prem promoters that a 5 team league is impossible, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Championship promoters have turned their backs on the Prem.

Says a fan of the perennial Wooden Spooners ...

Any reaction to the announcement of a full GP series?

Any reaction from Spidvej?

2026 GP calendar: Landshut, May 2 Prague, May 23 Manchester, June 5 Manchester, June 6 Wroclaw, June 20 Malilla, July 11 Lodz, August 1 Riga, August 8 Vojens, September 12 Torun, September 26

Great to see Redcar claim the victory - a well deserved reward for a very good season 😃

We don't know do we, because they don't publish attendances.

The big question is: would independent track prep overview (whatever that entails), make any difference? More importantly, the whole point of home advantage is that teams generally setup their track to suit their riders - and even they don't always get it right. Why should anyone say the track has to be prepared differently just because it's the Grand Final?

As much as everyone loves to criticise Poole - and Mr Shovlar 😃 - he has hit the veritable nail on the head. Very few, if any, Poole fans would have left the stadium last night thinking it was a poor meeting - the Pirates won, and have given themselves a great opportunity to claim another trophy. If Glasgow win by 14 points on Friday night and it's all from the gate, will their fans care about the quality of the racing? Do whatever you need to do to send the home fans happy. And that really is all that matters.

WooHoo Witches!!! Absolutely marvellous! Son #1 and I watched it this afternoon (Friday) here in sunny Perth Hills. What a fascinating meeting to finish, with incidents, talking points, and a superb team effort by the Witches: only six heat winners - yet by six different riders; top men looking for their partners; the engine room coming up with the goods - Brennan and Rew scoring decisive 5-1s, King taking care of Heat 8; and the reserves taking points off their opposite numbers. Really can't ask for more - huge congrats to Chris Louis, in particular, for never giving up 👏 Cheers!

And that's the manager's fault.

There has always been a gulf between top end and bottom end riders - just look back at averages over the years. There was a time when the top league was packed full of riders who averaged 9 or 10 per meeting, and there were riders at reserve on 3 or 4. Nothing has really changed, except that league matches are on TV for all to see ...

Looks like Fricke has been mugging you Lions off all year 😜

Friday afternoon here in Aus, and we've just watched the coverage. I would say that Ellis was caught out by the patchy track in his first ride ... hardly kamikaze. Is he expected to hold back in a Grand Final? No doubt if he had settled for the inside line, there'd be criticism that he didn't try the outside 🙄 To others calling for a rerun: the ref didn't put the lights on until the leader had started the third lap, and the Regs allow a race to be awarded from that point ...

Absolutely - athough I thought the Witches might have gone with Brennan at #5, because he's good a Leicester, while Ellis seems more inspired when paired with Doyle. Whatever the score over the two legs, the result won't be life-changing. In a week or so, it will be forgotten*, and everyone will be talking about 2026 ... * except for Gavan and Salty Sheffield 🤣

The Ouch post says "Louis wouldn't put up with this", yet it's not obvious what Ouch assumes JL wouldn't put up with. Gavan is correct, JL is adored throughout the Witches fan base. He was a thoroughly professional rider and promoter, - traits which his son picked up and continues, and expects from everyone associated with the club. After the fiddling by Morris in 2024, the Regulations have been followed correctly this season. Sheffield fans are remarkably salty - why can't they accept that the cut-off was reached before the fixtures were completed? They didn't complain about finishing third a couple of years ago, when their team then went on to win the Grand Final. The reason the Tigers aren't in the Final this season is because they lost against Leicester - that's really quite easy to understand.

There was definitely a difference between the way they rode and attacked the track that night. Kurtz didn't bother.

That would make sense, because Brennan seems to enjoy Leicester.

You speak with such authority, yet without any knowledge: https://ipswichwitches.co/raceday-guide-sheffield-a-4/