1 valve

If you look back to the time when JD signed up for the Lions the general consensus was that the Lions would struggle without a recognized no.1 - yes, although hard to believe three years ago Doyley wasn't seen as a "real" No.1 and the Robins couldn't fit him into their line up. As the saying goes...The rest is History...I don't think the Lions were spoiled...just fortunate to have had him, and unfortunate that they raced on a Saturday which clearly does not fit with any GP riders schedule and so off he went.

Not sure the Polish bubble is ready to burst any time soon and most probably not a good idea to hang around waiting for it to happen. The efforts they are putting in to limit their contracted riders to only one other club is a signal of their current strength & intent to protect what they have which will increase should they get wide acceptance from the riders concerned. British speedway needs to start thinking ahead on how the sport will first survive, then improve and finally profit from good sound long term planning. It is no weakness to admit who is stronger but not doing something about it is. Only a lunatic would think things will change by doing the same thing time and time again and I cant help but think that is where we are it with UK speedway bar a bit of tinkering around the edges. Planning an evolutionary journey of UK speedway would be better and more sustainable than a revolution which frankly the sport does not have the finances to enact and could deliver a rejuvenated sport capable of attracting the best talent and providing value for money entertainment.

I would like to see someone step in at Leicester, do a deal with DH re renting the stadium and apply a professional job at promoting the sport on a mid week race night in the EL. The City and county has a large enough population to support an EL team as proven in the past - just needs promoting well to make it a success.

By the way. There is no reason why a British club could not insert into a riders contract the restrictive clause being proposed by Poland. Other than, that is, the club could most probably not afford suitable compensation for such a restriction whereas the Poles can. We need to consider that for the top riders Poland pay way above anything in the UK - so maybe the Polish club will not have to pay anything above the current rate because if the rider chooses not to accept the clause then he will be left with a substantial hole in his total earnings which could not be replaced by riding two or three leagues. All credit to Polish speedway (though I don't like it) for creating a position where the league is bigger than the rider and where the dog definitely wags the tail.

As a lions supporter, can I say that I thoroughly enjoyed having Jason D ride for the Lions as our no. 1 for 2 years. he was remarkably consistent and a great team member. I was very disappointed to see him leave but his reasons were sound enough and clearly not having to deal with riding for a Saturday night track has played its part in aiding his current GP ambitions. Interestingly, he still rides for a UK club and is one of the busiest riders in speedway. this of course in complete contrast to TW who adopted the less is more approach and turned his back on the wolves until his other league commitments had ended. I hope Doyley goes on and wins the GP title so we Leicester fans can at least say "he rode for us once" - unfortunately Like Anders M he left Leicester before picking up the crown.

I would like more promoters to be more like Matt Ford - Promoting speedway and creating competitive teams - and no I am not a Poole supporter in terms of it being my local team - but I do wish more teams had promoters like him. Easy - the contract with the Polish club contains the provision of restricting the rider to riding for the Polish club and one other. The rider then has a choice to agree and sign or not as the case maybe. This overcomes the restraint of trade aspect. This would not be the case if a rider has a current contract in situ for the 2017 season which does not contain the clause. However the club could make an additional payment or agree compensation with the rider if he allows the clause to be inserted into the current contract.

As well as 6 or 7 man teams there is the question of the number of teams that will be in the 2017 Elite league? fixed midweek race night - one or two per week? and if so what days? Sure would be good if all could be answered sooner than later - definitely by the end of this year at the latest should be the target.

The BSPA contributed to the mess by instigating a unreasonably high level of fine which DH lodged an appeal against. I do not know the outcome of that appeal but it would have been reasonable to expect no further sanctions by the BSPA until the outcome was known. if they had done that then more than likely, riders and others would have been promptly paid. If the appeal has been heard in favor of the BSPA then it looks like DH has said enough is enough. If it has not yet been heard, then difficult to see why DH should pay the fine to see if he would get his license back. As for the future, the £50k lodge once forfeited at the season end would open the door for a new promoter (DH having been banned) to apply for a license to promote at Leicester and hire the stadium from the landlord - who knows, but this is one possible way DH could over time realise the value of his forfeited license. But...it all could end in tears...in a proper court of law where frankly, usually nobody actually wins and in this case speedway would most definitely be the loser

As crowds are dropping then the amount of cash available after paying off bank principle and interest would leave less to pay for other variable costs than first envisaged so maybe no mystery account actually exists. As DH is not now promoting Leicester it looks like he is left with the stadium (as owner) for which he would charge the club to use (to cover his bank and other maintenance costs) which is a reasonable expectancy. Rather than just point an accusing finger at DH - it might be worth casting a look at the BSPA who's actions have played their part in no small way to the plight at Leicester by creating a circumstance where the running of a speedway club is forced into the hands of co promoters whilst preventing the majority shareholder from being able to run his business on a day to day basis. Given that scenario it appears far from reasonable to expect DH to be held responsible for paying the bills associated with the actual promotion of the meetings. Well done BSPA for creating the nonsensical vacuum and as they created the mess, then perhaps they should set about solving it ...amicably.

some in for free on the night having cashed in the ticket for the cancelled fixture v Poole.

I think the point(s) DH is making and the tack he is taking is based on a)rightful provocation b)Vindicated anger and c) failure of the SCB to take into account mitigating circumstances. Although rightful provocation can only be used as a partial defense, he supports his vindication by demonstrating forces beyond his control were not properly executed and he further questions that given the length of time the SCB and or officers have been in situ the SCB could be considered to be delinquent in their duties to ensure such matters had been addressed well before the date of the incident(s) in question. I note DH does not deny wrong doing and says the fine that is ultimately decreed to be following the appeal process will be paid. Finally his letter appears to set out a clear set of questions that the SCB needs to carefully consider as it will reflect on their own conduct both in terms of their culpability and fair play. Both of which our law courts observe.

My proposal for a second half is after a 12 heat main event - i.e. 16 races in an evening. If a rider is missing through injury, a reserve could take the place of the missing rider. should beat most curfews BTW - this is not a new invention of mine. This format was in place back in the 70's when there were 13 heats and 7 second half races.

Avoiding the detail (such as how many teams in the EL) for the time being as this gets in the way of creating an initial concept to build on. How about 6 man teams Heat leaders 1,3 & 5 top average = No1, 2nd=No.3 3rdNo.5 4thNo.2 5thNo.4 6thNo.6 Total team points limit 37 12 heat format Riding in fixed pairs v fixed pairs round robin heats 1-9 Heat 10 4&6 v 4&6. Heat 11 5&2 v 5&2 heat 12 1& 3 v 1&3 Tactical substitute allowed but only heat leader for heat leader or second string for second string after heat 6 if team falls 6 or more points behind. No TS can be used for heats 11&12 3 TS allowed per meeting Riders must have minimum of three rides maximum of 5 If rider is injured & withdrawn then IRR allowed irrespective of score but must be on same rules as TS.IRR allowed for heats 11&12 Interval after heat 12. 2nd half - short individual event Hat 1. Top 4 riders as programmed of home team. Heat 2. Top 4 riders as programmed of Away team Heat 3. Lowest two riders as programmed of each team Heat 4. Final - 1st two riders of heats 1&2 Objective. Create snappy team event where results are protected from becoming too one sided by giving team manager has more tactical alternatives than present. Provide an alternative second half format to the main event - "Rider of The Night"

He passed Doyley around bends 3 and 4 last season.. not someone who could be regarded as weak oppo. Plus, if first two corners are altered as per 3 & 4 for next eason there will be some good lines for Bomber to exploit without the need scrub off so much speed as previous.

Well if the Lions are in the El next year, Race night is going to something other than Sat or Sun so you may get your wish for a Friday but somehow I think it will be Thursday. However, if you want to see all British rider teams then to overcome the Eu restraint of trade laws you need to vote for Brexit. although no problem in keeping the Aussies out. Cant help but think good job such rules were not in place during the Blackbird Road days . just think - No Boulger, Michanek, Terroma, Titman, to name a but a few home riders, never mind the likes of Briggs, Moore, Major, Olsen, Penhall, Nielsen and Gundersen for the visitors. Surely, rather than devising a plan to keep the best riders away from the UK it would be preferable to plan to make the UK the best place to see speedway that attracts the best riders and provides the means for British talent to make progress. After all, when the best overseas riders were here in the UK it didn't stop the likes of Boocock, Wilson, Collins, Lee & Loram making their mark on the world stage did it.

I agree that some people will not bring children to speedway for mid week meetings. but some will. Saturday nights are not the be all and end all answer for attending anything on a regular basis because there are/is other weekend activities which impinge on that concept . Next year EL will be run purely during mid week & once established, a regular mid week race night for the Lions will not be so detrimental as some (DH) fear. in times past Tuesday served the Lions well and although that would not work now thanks to Swedish fixtures, a Thursday or Friday race night would by removing the "Poland problem" and provide the promotion the opportunity of attracting better riders to create a more competitive team which would attract the much needed additional support. The lack of a successful team has the largest detrimental effect on attendances whilst a winning team would attract a much larger following no matter what the race night. Success breeds success - success on the track will bring success at the turnstile Summary for the Lions 2017 - 1. Stay in EL. 2 race Thursday or Friday. 3 attract (some) better riders & be more competitive. 4.Attract bigger crowds. 5.go from strength to strength.

So the team at the foot of the table and clearly struggling lose a rider due his "home country club" insisting he rides for them. and so the rules further punish the British club by banning the rider for the next 28 days. perhaps the BSPA think that this action clearly benefits the Lions, who will be stronger without Wozniak and also means that fixtures held during that time will also be far closer and more entertaining as R/R always produces more points than the replaced rider will ever do. ah sorry, my mistake...The reality ....BSPA rules yet again ensure speedway shoots itself in the foot and short changes the paying public by making sure the last thing they consider is creating value for money entertainment. Much better to stick to crass bureaucracy which makes no sense for the short, medium or long term good of the sport.

I read somewhere that DH prior to resigning had been banned from speedway for 4 weeks due to something he said/did at a recent meeting. If this is true does anybody know what he did or say? My apologies if the answer is already in this thread, I have looked but cant see anything so specific.

During an early interview prior to the match Jason d said he had heard from other riders that the change of track had not meant new lines were needed and that by and large the same lines from last year were proving to be still the best lines. He then promptly came second in his first two heats including getting mugged by Wozniak on the inside of bend two (one of the unaltered bends). Subsequently he made use 3&4 to make passes on his way to race wins...so maybe there is something there to benefit from. However, not sure if the new lines on 3&4 are providing significant changes as yet, maybe they will become more prominent when 1 & 2 are altered to create a more rounded track with less speed to scrub off in order to take advantage of inside lines?

I think you are wrong on two points. First, when it was announced the Lions were moving to the EL I believe the majority of supporters welcomed this development because a. PL racing was not particularly exciting (despite what some may think) & b. it represented a chance to see a better class of rider, even GP stars. I am the first to admit the second aspect has tailed off, though it was good to see Jason D in the Lions colours and to see a Lion appear in the GP's, but we still do see better riders at BP than when in the PL, unfortunately we haven't seen a fair share of them sign for the Lions. Secondly the track is now half way through being altered, and yes it has taken longer than it needed to have taken but at least its now being done. What I do think DH is wrong to presume is that Saturday night is the preferred night for Lions fans and crowds will drop if Saturday is not an option. I can see some folk will not attend during mid week, but this will be offset by better riders being available to form a stronger and more competitive team which will attract more fans to meetings. So I suggest the future for the Lions should be to remain in the EL and move to a midweek race night and build a stronger team from the wider pool of available riders that would become available.

could someone confirm which nationals would be allowed to race or put another way which nationals are classed as foreigners?

I think it can be made to work very well if two race nights are chosen and those nights are Thursday & Friday. Not every Thursday & Friday but these two nights can accommodate weeks when there are GP's and avoids clashes with Scandinavian meetings as well as being relatively easy on riders travel planning. Not everyone is going to be pleased with whatever is finalized but eventually they will have the choice of going with what is best or facing the consequence of dropping out of the EL.

Running on the same 1 or 2 nights will actually help the economics in terms of cost per meeting. The challenge will be if restricted to one night, then there will be a reduction in actual meetings per season. this may be ok for clubs that rent the stadium given that stadium costs are variable in those instances (although the landlords may increase "the rent" to make up for lower income) For those clubs who own the stadium then 7 home meetings a year will be far from sufficient to maintain the cost of ownership. That particular problem goes away and profit is maximized if two back to back race nights are adopted on the basis that this will provide weekly fixtures.

Tigers might let you down

So if I understand you correctly. Take Leicester. They would run 7 Elite League meetings during the season every alternate Wednesday whilst staging weekly "British League "meetings on a Saturday (their current race night). This seems very workable, but how far do you believe the promoters will be able to promote two meetings in a week? also how many promoters would be up for it?