1 valve

Stewart Dickson has done a great job this year and we can be sure he will continue to do so in terms of who he selects as semi final opponents. Obviously there are no easy matches come the playoffs but as League Winners the Lions will be the team the other playoff contenders will want to avoid. With SD ensuring zero complacency from within the team a case of respecting all and fearing none will barring a run of bad luck see the Championship come to Leicester. Now off to count my chickens!!

Congratulations to the Lions riders and management for finishing the regular season fixtures at the top of the pile. Whilst no silverware in the bag yet it has nevertheless been a great performance and such a turnaround v previous years. Looking forward to the playoffs and of course next weekends cup final n

Masters would be a great replacement for Cook but most probably not better as both would be fancied to go through the card on present form. Whoever comes into the team for Vissing may be better than him around BP but the Lions top order should be able to cope with that particular threat given they have on the whole done so with every other visiting rider this season. So with no reason for excuses from either team for this match up the meeting should be good and competitive to say the least with only the three riders paying the price (no meeting no pay) for their unacceptable behavour at Eastbourne , which is as it should be.

Well great in theory but..... BSB has circa 12 meetings a year hosted by a professional series/event organisation who charges the public a fee for attending, attracts event sponsorship, arranges televison which makes the sport atractive to team sponsors, some of whom actually pay riders a full years salary. Sponsorship is also more attractive to sponsors in terms of supporting individuals due to the exposure to the attending (large) crowds and muli media exposure. Standard motorbikes have great appeal to the paying public so the motorcycle trade as a whole sees the benefit in supporting riders from grass roots upwards. Average riders are able work set hours due to the fixed nature of meetings to a maximum of four days of which two are weekends. This leaves 24 days to find which fits nicely into PAID holiday. Now your average speedway rider is going to need 41 days to complete the schedule you have outlined many of which will be during the week. and almost impossible to complete and hold down a regular job given the diiferent days he is away from the role. Being average and not your super performer who scores 10 points a meeting (err how many of them even today?) our hero is likey to earn no more than 10K a year before tax which would not cover his expenses. Given that he also is not recieving great sponsorship v BSB types he would find it impossible to ride/race in the number of meetings you suggest, nor would many others who would find themselves in a similar position. The result would be weekend warriors enjoying their hobby but with fewer skills thus far less teams and fewer meetings of interest to justify a reasonable admission. So ultimately more track closures. Although well meaning, its pretty clear your propsal and those similar to it would actually lead to the rapid and total demise of the sport in the UK with meetings being nothing more than amateurs paying £50 to skid around a track as a hobby with no one watching. Now, if you want a glimpse into the future of what your visionary thinking will deliver, get along to a practice sesion at Buxton or somehwere similar and lets us know how much you would be prepared to pay (its free at the moment) to watch such an event? and then ask where the growth of the sport would come from or more importantly go too? To be clear, I am not advocating that everything in the current UK speedway garden is rosy, far from it, The answer is however for the sport to become more professional in thinking and implementation than current , most probably with less professional riders and teams but far, far better run & promoted thus creating a better run and more appealing sport for would be riders to aspire to as well as being a product which attracts greater number of paying spectators and media coverage and thus significant sponsors and other similar revenue streams.

Back in 1983 GB v USA at Sheffield. Place was rammed. Absolutely as good as anything that Poland provides today. Other than there you get a seat. Now we can’t stand on the back straight. No demand! I wonder why??

What do you think they should have done re contingency for if/when the tractor breaks down? Unfortunately this comes under "sport strapped for cash" idealy a newer tractor in situ would most probably mean less risk of a breakdown but where does the money come from to cover for this (rare to date) incident? Not sure Redcar meeting was the final straw, but cant dissagree from the fact that it was an appaling experience to go through but still nevertheless a very difficult solution to cater for given the cost of having more medical cover than normally is required for meetings would yet again put a strain on finances over the whole season. The solution to the above is the never ending saga known to all namely, to attract larger crowds and money into the sport thus providing better equipment and in depth medical cover. One cannot happen without the other.

Spot on. How about Sheffield, great back straight for spectating, well it was before it was closed off. Now get that sorted and you have a stadium that could hold high level meetings with views for all to enjoy and attract some big crowds. I guess thats not going to happen though any time soon.

You are right to question if just asking people to turn up is good enough (its not) and certainly when they do come the promoters priority is to put on a good show which makes folk want to come back time and time again. However some things are beyond reasonable control in a sport strapped for cash and subject to a high degree of unknown outside influences Regarding the Redcar fixture, the medical cover was the same which has proven more than adequate for the vast majority of all other meetings held over many seasons. It would be accurate to say this was an exceptional set of circumstances which no doubt caused as much concern with the promoters as it did the fans. but a great shame it did indeed occur. As for the tractor, it was a working tractor for most of the day, it had worked in the morning and it worked over lunch, it became a problem pending the third & final watering prior to the start of the meeting. Yes this did ultimately cause a delay of 30 minutes for the second fixture v Stoke which even if it had been able to start on time, due to the severe volume of rain that fell it would not have been possible to complete 6 or 7 races at most before the meeting would have been abandoned. In summary, If we expect the promoters to be able to predict a spate of crashes requiring exceptional demand on the medical team, tractor breakdowns (on equipment that normally works fine) and know how on how to stop heavy rain falling, then maybe they should spend their time picking winning lottery numbers and patenting anti rain dances rather than worry about promoting speedway.

No doubt some race circuits could do with a revamp, but also lets not forget the actual stadiums, which are in many cases a disgrace and not able to even provide accetable (safe) viewing from around all of the track. Until this factor is addressed the sport can forget about attracting a significant increase in followers (gee theres no where for them to stand let alone sit) who are now use to watching pro sports such as Rugby, football & cricket at facilities which put speedway/dog tracks to shame.

Who says the team is expensive with too higher cost which continue to rise? Crowds have been good to a point this season, however recent home meetings have been held on "none" race days and during summer holidays, these two factors are more likely the cause for lower attendences than any other. That said It is important the promoters look beyond the speedway bubble of current fans/followers and reach out to other groups in order to attract larger gates which although is something easier said than done is nevertheless paramount to the future health of the club/sport. One thing worth considering is working on publicising not only what is going on(fixtures) but also where the stadium is (not just the stadium name) a case of Promote, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE in sufficient detail. Meanwhile, congratulations to the current promoters/team managers for putting together two teams who continue to perform better than anything we have seen in Leicester for many a year and for being determined not to let standards drop on the track through the various challenges presented by injury and retirement etc. You are doing a great job. keep it going & the followers will come (back)

Sure 17 teams could be made up from the number of current riders around but that’s just playing with numbers. The Eastbourne promoter makes it clear that in terms of quality/skill/competitiveness/safety there are only sufficient number of riders to make a OBL of 14 seven man or 16 six man teams. The next question is what criteria should be used to establish which clubs are eligible to join the OBL. This could well be a more difficult subject to not only answer but also implement i.e stadium availability, race nights, financial stability, promoters being involved with more than one club? To name a few. Recent history had shown promoters tend to massively compromise on tough decisions meaning a watered down solution to most problems usually with self interest at the heart of the problem. So if speedway in uk is to be saved then maybe it’s not just a new league structure that is required but a new broom of fresh promoters who can see the wider picture of what is required to make a success of the desired and required change.

Some riders never learn it. As for Josh lets remember he can (and does) go fast to win many races, indeed fast enough to be the track record holder at Leicester. Time will tell as to what level & how quickly he will progress by learning how to funnel his undoubted determination to succeed in such a way that helps his development rather than hinders it. Meanwhile lets hope he makes a full recovery and is back on his bike ASAP.

Yep. And a nice concrete block as a safety fence with a doorway with no kick board to make it easier for a rider to get his footrest in.

Josh has had to have surgery to repair a bone in his neck/back which apparently took two hours to complete. This would suggest recovery will be longer than that expected for concussion.

Only One asset Connor Mountain. Who started the season at number 7 and rode there tonight - albeit very very well.

Crowd grew with latecomers delayed on motorway but still on the low side. Change of race night may also have something to do with it. That said some terrific racing with a number of passes and repasses great performance from the Lions. Congrats to the Eagles for squeezing through. Not convinced Kennet did pip Bomber on the line.

Track is 300m but long straights compared to the bends. Alterations past few years has created more space coming in and out of the corners with plenty of depth mid point. However it is “technical” in terms of riders having to think about their lines. Passing is now far more prevalent than pre alterations and the race surface being arguably the best it has been compares very well v others in the UK Definitely worth a visit.

Must be capable of learning. He is the current track record holder.

Those 6 riders contracted to ride in Poland and not being allowed to attend GP practice

Well done Lions. Some great examples of team riding and not always from the gate. Scotty proving to be a great captain. Hope Josh’s ribs not too bad and he makes it back fit sooner rather than later.

Well done Lions. Another valuable away win.

Given that the surface of a speedway track changes pretty quickly over a few laps there is a fair chance that those riders who go out after a track prep will gain more often than not some advantage. The purpose of the slowest from practice being first out was an an attempt to even things up but maybe this needs to be re thought so as to avoid deliberate slow laps laps. May also be worth considering grading after every four rides.

Tonight’s qualifying added something worthwhile to the GP weekend and the reward of skill/speed to determine gate positions during the main event is favourable to the random draw. That said it is a shame three riders were unavailable (not their choice) and clearly there was an advantage to those who went out first and after the mid session grading. There are most probably better ways qualifying can be formatted to create a fairer scenario but it’s s start.

Will Busters restrictive pay structure be able to attract Scotty?