1 valve

why would there be a need for mutual exclusivity? Why not create a situation where a) Entices top riders back Eliminates the loss of riders through doubling up A change to regular fixed race nights must be thought through first on the basis of what is believed to be possible - which I why I looked at the 1 v 2 race nights then think about what race nights work best which in itself is fairly easy to work out giventhat only 3 nights are viable to provide back to back - Wed, Thurs & Fri. Will there be enough teams for the EL? who knows, But consider this, If the EL did race on 2 fixed nights (say) Thursday & Friday, and (say) top riders could be persuaded to return to the UK attracted by earning good money over two consecutive nights then maybe more teams could be attracted to the EL rather than teams dropping out You know it doesn't have to be all doom and gloom via dreaming up the concept of impossible tasks...just change for the best and the vision to go with it and promote the hell out of it for the good of the speedway in the UK.

As it looks like we will be seeing a fixed race night(s) for EL next year I am wondering what your thoughts are on whether we are looking at one or 2 nights per week and if so what night(s) should they be? To start with lets take the current set of circumstances. 8 teams v each other twice home and away. in this scenario based on one fixed night we would need 32 weeks to complete the regular season plus 2 more for play offs. On the face of it considering the current season runs for circa 30 weeks without allowance for rain offs or the World Cup this would appear not to work. If the season is reduced to 8 teams meeting each other home and away once on a single fixed race night then only 16 weeks would be required and there appears to be sufficient spare weeks to cover for rain offs and World Cup breaks. The downside is a limited number of pay days and stadiums being used only eight times a year so I guess other forms of meetings would need to be considered especially for those clubs who own their stadium or who are speedway solace. Teams who rent may not mind so much, but 8 earning weeks would hardly generates a return/wage for promoters and managers. If we look at 2 fixed race nights per week then the 2 meetings home and away concept can be retained and I believe is actually the most viable option given that it still provides sufficient time to run the season in what we would expect to be the best time of year weather wise, as well as providing sufficient income to the promoters. Having these race nights back to back would also help avoid multiple back and forth travel costs. What thoughts do you guys have?

On the face of it, although clearly lacking an out and out number 1 aka Jason D, this line up has the feeling of solid scoring about it. The top 5 all have experience in the UK whilst the reserve pairing is widely acknowledged as one of the strongest. As a result, I can see Lions riders finishing first on more occasions than last and hence quite a few meeting wins. Obviously the risk of injuries could influence matters, but is applicable to any team. Now worth looking forward to the new season. Good luck with the track Glyn - hope the weather is kind to you.

If Nicki Pedersen agreed to ride for the Lions what thoughts are there on how many additional spectators would he attract to a home meeting? Go back a couple of years and you will see people saying pre season that the Lions would struggle because Jason Doyle was not a recognised No. 1 and not likely to improve. Not saying Wosa will emulate Doyley as a number 1, but may improve by a bigger margin/average

At the heart of the problem is that speedway promoters do not have sufficient trust in each other to work together for what is best for the sport and ultimately their vested interests. There are some who would/could work that way but they fear being taken advantage of by the others...So we are back to the trust thing. Some 50 years ago American football was in exactly the same predicament with even more at stake. Fortunately for the then owners, they agreed to give it one last shot of doing something to save them from self destruction and appointed a totally independent "Commissioner" to steer the way. A complete overall followed, a stack load of pride was swallowed, egos deflated and tons of bitter truth pills were consumed and then, the NFL was born...the rest as the saying goes, is history! If only UK speedway promoters could follow suit.

stand off or not. I cant believe clubs would say they are not able to ride Saturdays (which appears reasonable and realistic considering Lions cant find a full team for Saturdays themselves) without providing an alternative solution. So Mondays, Wednesday Thursday or Friday...take your pick - Obviously Friday would suit DH the best because of his thought that a no school day/next day adds to the attendance. And then we get back to the beginning..Coventry will not allow Lions to ride on Fridays as their regular race night. Which again confirms that whilst individual promoters insist on thinking about themselves first, there is little future for the healthy growth of the sport....or even long term survival. When will they ever realize that battles between clubs should be fought out on the track, not in the meeting room!

Clearly ignorance is indeed bliss for you Screamer...FYI race nights are agreed between promoters and changes to regular nights need to be approved by the same group.

Yes. Because he was only concerned about the limited time he had to travel to Poland and recover in time for the meeting given the late night finish on Saturday/early start Sunday. GP's were not an issue.

You are correct - and made it a great track to race on. Mike Lee was awesome and when they held the World cup final there his inside pass of Bruce Penhall around turns 3 & 4 was one of the best I have ever seen. You might ask why widening the bends helped a pass on the inside? the answer is that the alterations also delivered wider entrances and exits which meant a dive from out wide helped his drive out - even then he stuck his front wheel well over the white line.

Doyle would have stayed if the Lions moved their race night from Saturday to (say) Wed Thurs or Friday & he would have been happy to support Lions team building plans - the concept of mediocrity and not having a winning team was not an issue with him. As for moving from Saturday night, we need to remember that the Lions reentered British speedway as a PL Saturday night track which was more than not an ideal situation. The move to EL challenged that concept but...the correct questions to ask are"what alternatives were available?" and "were the Lions given a choice?" I believe the answers are "None" & "no" Meanwhile the promotion completed two seasons, the first no doubt a learning one the second blighted by injuries and resignations. Sure DH has stuck by his guns for Saturday night but given the circumstances I don't think he should be castigated for doing so and remember he is the ultimate loser or beneficiary of such decisions. Next year (2017) things will change, it wont be too late, but it would be good if before then the BSPA did allow the Lions to race on a Friday because even at this late stage this would provide a helping hand for the Lions to sign riders even on a temporary basis giving them time to finalise full time additions if required...sorry Coventry, but think of the big picture and the overall well being of the sport rather than your own short term agenda.

This is great news and does show that DH listens to the fans, riders etc (eventually) Now we need to trust in Glyn to do the right job. I cant help but think that if the right amount is taken away the resultant depth of the bends are going to provide different lines for riders as the meeting develops. That said I cant see the story on the Mercury site, is there a link somebody can post?

I was watching speedway when the CO chose to close Leicester and invest some of the profits heavily in to Brandon and make it (then) the best speedway/stock car/Greyhound stadium in the UK. And yes I was pretty well p*^sed off as a result, especially since from a fan perspective Coventry was well down (in fact not even on) my Christmas card list. BUT Speedway like any other team sport needs other teams compete against ..no use being a monopoly of one and the more teams, the better for Speedway. In these dark and challenging times for UK speedway the last thing we need is to see the demise of Coventry speedway...hell, the best nights at Blackbird Road was when we beat the Bees (not often enough) and still remains the same today. Lose Coventry and we fans lose that win/lose emotion v a (the) local rival forever...So then who would be the loser? Answer, all of us!

But within the points limit would make it more interesting?

He would be. But, does it come with the same caveat i.e. "I would like to race in the UK but not on Saturday night"

A merry Christmas to all involved in speedway, riders, fans and promoters alike. When all said and done we do love and care for this sport and in a free world its great that we have this forum to debate and voice our opinions on matters with our much loved sport. I wish all of you a happy new year and hope that in 2016 speedway here in the UK and the world over makes the much needed progress towards a healthy, worthwhile & sustainable future.

Actually, when you compare the line up to other teams and take into consideration the lack of top riders available or committed to EL, the Bees will most probably do OK. Swindon look strong at the moment, mainly because they have landed a true No.1 in Jason D. Imagine how Leicester fans feel having lost JD and knowing so many riders are just not interested in riding EL on a Saturday that they face yet another season of being the whipping boys of the EL. Might sound fun given the local rivalry, but frankly such a situation is bad for the sport.

maybe...but you know what? some people, me included actually prefer Elite League racing, or at least the concept of EL & two things need to happen in order to cement the concept. 1. Lions move their race night away from the weekend (its got to happen in 2017 anyway so why not with support from the other BSPA promoters do it this year) 2. The EL agree on a single same night racing every week i.e. a home meeting every two weeks. or back to back race nights every week (i.e.Thurs & Friday) if promoters want to stage a home meeting each week. There is a third Lions specific, and yes, its change the track, but I think the first two are more likely to happen so lets focus on them first

Do you know what mid week nights were happily offered to DH from his fellow promoters? if it was any night then frankly he has missed a great opportunity as he should have said OK Friday it is and I suspect his crowd levels would have been no lower than Saturday. If however, there were limited nights available then that would not have been such a strong proposition to DH. If Friday was offered and he said no, then frankly, he has to rethink his business, marketing and promoting acumen.

I agree the loss of JD is a massive disappointment. However, regarding Saturday night racing (agreed not good for attracting top riders to the Lions or visiting teams) does anyone know what alternative DH has on the matter? I mean, would he have been allowed to run on another night by his BSPA colleagues in 2016 and if so what night would that be?

maybe Doyle to KL & Lambert to Leicester...If the Lions remain a Saturday track and JD doesn't fancy it. Not a direct swap, but a way for managing change. Though personally I prefer things as they are which will need NKI to sign up for the stars

Are Greg & Szymon confirmed for 2016? great if so but I have missed any formal announcement if there has been one

And what would that view be? I have only made my assessment based on looking at the race where I see JD leading into the bend and coming across GH and the two come together resulting in JD straightening and narrowly avoiding a highside. Meanwhile GH attempt at avoiding the coming together see him losing the front and his back wheel coming around and hitting the lowest point of JD's back wheel which in essence puts a complete stop to JD's progress and as they say, the rest is history. To be clear at no point am I saying that this was nothing more than the outcome of what is referred to as first bend bunching and that GH tried his best to avoid the incident once he realized he had lost out to JD on the first bend.

It is not that a rider loses sponsorship because he is not in the GP's (though I'm sure it happens as sponsors move their support to a qualified rider) more that sponsors pay more because the rider is in the GP's and the extra exposure that comes wit it. BTW, I am not referring to the small local business linked to the team a rider races for, but those global/international brands where such exposure it measured by the sponsors in column inches and TV exposure.

Sponsorship for riders increases if they are a GP rider over and above the actual meetings. that is to say, by being a GP rider your level of sponsorship throughout the season in all of the countries you ride is improved. As opposed to looking at the return/earnings from one GP meeting the more accurate way is to say "how much would my total net earnings drop if I was not a GP rider?

what "not really in the GP"?