1 valve

The basic points we fans need to know are: 1. Which teams will be in what league. 2. For EL. Are the weekly race nights going to be set i.e. one or two nights per week. 3. Total team points limit 4. Any significant rule changes re Tactical substitutes or similar. If anybody else want to add any significant "wants" feel free to add.

Leicester has been a Saturday race night since the return of speedway to the City. when they have had to race mid week there has been insufficient notice for some people to make it to the meetings, with poor team performances also being the case, these two factors are the main reasons why there has been low attendance at the mid week meetings. Now, despite what you may think, the homework has been done and clearly EL racing requires mid week fixtures. If a regular race night can be established together with a winning team then the crowds will return in their numbers. Altering bends 1 & 2 will help provide good racing and I like you, wish the new promotion all the best for their team building and overall promotional ambitions.

If bends 1 & 2 are altered as per the job done on 3 & 4 last season then it will be sufficient.

I thought it had already been decided at the outset of this 2016 season that there will be no EL Saturday race nights in 2017. The decision that still needs to be made is will there be more than one race night per week i.e. EL home fixture every two weeks or will it be multiple mid week nights allowing each team to race one home meeting per week. if so what nights?

What are the chances of Leicester being allowed to compete in the Elite next year? if so then Saturday is a no go as they are banned for 2017. so maybe just maybe we could see the Lions in the Elite League in 2017with their strongest ever EL team

would keep Leicester In elite league and provide a good test for most of the other teams. It seems the thing that is missing is a promoter.

I am sure there are plenty of interest from other parties in taking on the Leicester promotion - Elite or Premier league.

Shareholders do have rights but if you are a minority member in a private company the rights are extremely limited. Are separate companies involved in owning the lease of the stadium and promoting the actual speedway albeit with DH involved in both, or is it the same company?

Thought it would be appropriate to start this topic with three questions. 1. Does anyone on the forum know if there is the possibility that the Lions will run in 2017 and if so what league? 2. What is the latest date the Lions would be allowed to declare their 2017 intentions? 3. Is a new promoter definitely required for 2017 or could it be possible that DH has not total burnt his bridges with the BSPA?

The point you well make appears to be the one factor which seems to be consistently ignored, and it shouldn't be. If the crowds were large enough to enable the promoters to run once a week then fine but currently they are not sufficient so therefore clubs need to run as much as possible on a weekly basis. The answer lies in running the Elite League over two adjacent nights thereby ensuring riders are not traveling to and from the UK. some tracks may find it difficult to accommodate a night if the stadium is required for other events such as greyhounds and clearly that would need addressing.

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.