1 valve

Unfortunately for UK speedway we are exposed to two types of promoter. 1. The professional. 2. The hobbyist. And let’s be clear, some regard themselves as professionals because they run businesses elsewhere but are in realty stuck in the mud hobbyists. What makes the matter worse is that there are more hobbyists promoters than professionals and thus they get to say what goes and what doesn’t. I live in (faint) hope that the time will come when the professionals get together and gain sufficient momentum/influence & money to go it alone. Because make no mistake the hobbyist are not (as they would like us to believe) keeping the sport going on a thriving basis, they are holding it to ransom and actively leading it to an eventual demise.

But nothing official so far?

It already is. Along with the home straight and the bends. Otherwise a tad difficult for the riders to do one lap never mind four! 😉

LCFC & Forest in different divisions and likely to continue for a few more seasons so no local rivalry (fiction or otherwise) for some time to come.

Maybe, some riders have been signed and maybe, Iversen is one of them. If so then he would be a declared rider albeit not to the general public which would be done once all riders have been signed.

Milton Keynes “The Grove” was just a tad over 4 miles from Newport Pagnell. But at 9.6 miles it’s very close to Brafield so let’s hope folk take the time to take in a few enjoyable meetings.

“Kiss of death” ?

The chosen level doesn’t really matter as there are insufficient numbers available of any section of rider ability to offer equality across the current number of teams. Doubling up isn’t actually killing the sport, after all it’s keeping clubs alive due to the sharing of riders. It is however removing any real opportunity for growth because as you say the sport needs credibility and doubling up acts against that concept. For speedway to grow in the UK, what’s needed first of all is some pruning to give eight full time professional clubs with the remainder running on a (lower cost)semi-pro basis. Unfortunately there’s too much self interest involved by promoters to make this an immediate possibility hence unfortunately the demise will in all probability continue.

Not enough quality riders available of a comparable ability to run two leagues without doubling up. It’s just the math of the situation.

If your idea of doubling up was adopted then five or six clubs would close as there would be insufficient riders of competitive compatibility available. However, you could dumb down the sport and have 5 riders per team or even allow a mix of established & NDL level riders to feature in the same meeting. Whichever alternative you choose the competitive element would be reduced & just accelerate the decline of quality speedway in the UK.

Highly unlikely any marketing or promotional organisation would consider adopting “Cobblers given the slang phrase “load of cobblers” used to express strong disbelief, contempt, or to dismiss something as utter nonsense, rubbish, or a lie.

A compulsory purchase order (CPO) is not generally referred to as merely "attempted" in a legal sense, but rather it goes through a four stage process where it is made, objected to, confirmed, and then executed. It is considered a last resort, and the acquiring authority must prove they have attempted to acquire the land by negotiation beforehand. Only Brandon Estates are likely to make an objection which given the history of rejected planning and appeal only the price offered could be grounds for such an objection. The valuation is determined by a chartered surveyor, usually appointed by the acquiring authority based on the "market value" of the land as if it were sold by a willing seller on the open market, excluding any future changes in value caused by the intended future use.

It would not be about promoters “throwing” their money about but “investing” in promotional marketing & product development. A better product, coverage & entertainment are the requirements to create increased crowd levels & support.

The purpose of having to tolerate doubling up is far from solely providing income stream for riders. It also enables the current number of clubs to function which is in fact the main reason promoters continue to endorse it. The concept of dumbing down the sport by having one league comprising the same or similar number of existing teams to include NDL level & similar limited rider ability or by fielding five man teams is not the answer. The way forward should be towards establishing top flight elite speedway of professional teams of eight and a second tier of semi-pro/ amateur teams. This concept should also enable the existing promoters to be split into two groups of a)professional & b)hobbyists. The professional group investing and promoting Elite speedway would amongst other things be responsible for the face of growing awareness of the sport to media and sponsorship. Whilst the second group providing growth and development opportunities alongside lower related running costs. There are now more than a few promoters who are well established businesses folk capable of developing the sport. Those same folk whilst prepared to run a team in the existing environment are not prepared to dig deep financially to create change whist the hobbyist’s continue to be blockers to any form of change which would cause their current influence to be significantly diluted.