1 valve

and we will see an FIM event at Leicester next season - on a Saturday!

You are quite correct and if the rider had the ambition he would go. We must remember travel & being a speedway rider go hand in hand & is something all riders get used to, even if it is not the favourite part of their job. Similarly, if a rider choses not to ride for the club that he has been selected for then he has to accept that he will not be able to ride as a drafted rider and hope a club will pick him up for a 1 - 5 birth.

Its quite a good idea and worth a try. As clubs have to pay travel expensese they may decide not to pull a rider based in the north to ride his regular track in the south and viceversa. Of course the riders have a say in this matter either by not accepting inclusion or even refusing to ride for the club. But lets face it, any opportunity to ride in the top flight is agod one and as for travel, surely good preperation for the future when they have to travel to Poland & Sweden

I think most recognise the Saturday race night will present problems for the promotion on a number of fronts. But just before we all leap to blame the promotion for bad planning or whatever other blame can be laid at their door, does anyone know if the Saturday race night was something vounteered by the promotion or if the pwers that be made it somewhat conditional on Leicester being accepted into the Elite league?

Not a bad idea...maybe they could ride on Saturday nights

Wrong - He has made many passes around BP - noy just a few and many times heat leaders of the Lions. as Steve 9 correctly says CC lets the speed run through the bends instead of scrubbing it off (even bend 3) something I think we will see more of now that Elite league riders will be racing at Leicester.

Air fences can be anchored from the back or from the underside (or both). If the Coventry air fence had been anchored from the underside then when the bike hit the fence it would not have risen as much as it actually did. Even allowing for the fact that the bike caused the fence to puncture, had it been secured lower down there would have been a great chance for Chris to have been saved from some, if not all of the injuries he sustained.

Its a great shame that British speedway is now third in the picking order of where riders see as the best place to race and earn a living. This goes to show how the promotion of British speedway has slipped over recent years. I dont recall seeing the likes of Olsen, Penhall, Mauger, Gunderesen, Neilsen coming to the UK as a third choice to earn a living or indeed Collins, Lee and Loram traveling abroad to race for foriegn teams whilst turning their backs on their UK teams. Quite the opposite, in fact as for many years the UK was the place to race and easily attracted the best riders to race here with top class meeting being held night of the week other than Sundays! I am afraid British promoters have created this mess by being so complacent over time to the rise of other nations. I am not a fan of Poole, but I do admire the promotion, they set out to win and to do so attract the best riders possible, indeed, which other club has had more world champions ride for them in the last 10 years? Instead of complaining about the Pirates promotion (& success) it would be far more productive if we as supporters pressured our own promoters to act with the same vision and determination at the guys at Poole. Such efforts would serve to drive significant improvemnts in the sport, increasing crowds, sponsorship and other forms of revenue which of course would then fund better racing by featuring the best riders...and so the cycle of improvemnt would continue!

worry not. you will be proved wrong

well the Lions in the Elite league was no great surprise, but the Peterborough decision was. Looks like there will be loads of questions & views now on the forum & I dare say many will focus on the same old subject of the Leicester track...yes boring! Please (though it wont happen) lets move on from that subject - unless there is a fresh view and discuss something else as there are more new thuings to discuss. Like 32 points and two National league riders in eac team? a gap too far? Like TV coverage, doesn't appear dead - great news...Sky or BT?? Hope you get my drift.

Totally agree - such a shame to lose a great race track as well. As a Leicster fan I am delighted that we will see top flight racing but would like to have visited boro too - Fingers crossed somebody will step in and bring back worthwhile speedway promotion to Pererborough.

wow - 9 pages in such a short time - shows Unlcle Len & his actions still create reactions after all these years!

To be clear I wasn't sure if a guaranteed number of meetings was offered or not. I would have thought making such an offer would be unwise. However the deal usually is that season ticket holders get a discount in comparison to the total cost for all meetings in comparison to a person paying on the day for all meetings. Given that there is no "reserved seating" or similar benefits clearly this means its been a big gesture on the part of the seaon ticket holder to part with the cash up front and it would be reaonable for the promoter to acknowledge this shortfall in some way which at the very least should be a discount v normal price for next seasons tickets - or even one free meeting should the supporter not wish to renew.

Sorry for being slow on this. but why have season ticket holders not recieved the value of their tickets? was there a guaranteed minimum number of fixtures involved in the T&C'S? If so I would have thought the logical solution would be to provide applicable discount to next seasons tickets on the basis that if you dont renew then you lose the discount. This would be as per those who pay on the day and the meeting is rained off - use within a number of next few meetings or lose it. Frankly, if his outburst for them losing after holding a good lead to a team who clearly wanted it more than they did upset the riders concerned then simply put they are not good enough...Nobody said any pro sport is easy - fans may have the right to think their riders can do no wrong but promoters & tean managers have to look at it from all angles. Praise & critism is fair proportions...& v Somerset, the need for praise was never going to be on the post match agenda!

its worth rembering that revenue for broadcasters (excluding BBC) also includes earnings from advertising. this figure is varable depending on the viewing numbers starting at a base level and building up from there. So there are many sports which have larger TV viwing than speedway so yet again another reason why the promoters need to make the sport more appealing to the public - I cant get to the meeting but I will watch it on TV!

Although at first I found it hard to believe when I heard the figures mentioned - but stageringly, football revenue has never been anywhere near the highest form of income for the council from the Ricoh facility. Obviously CCFC keep the admission money but all other "hire rent and food supplies" for other activities represented 90% of income i.e. CCFC contributed circa 10% - with this in mind it is easy to see why the council would like to keep the facility equally why CCFC would lik to own the freehold. I dont think the powers that be within CCFC should entertain the concept of building their own (mini) version of the Ricoh given that there is no real suitable site for such a facility, more that they should return to The Ricoh and work from within at persueding the council to form a meaningful partnership - just think egos and childish spats will prevent that from happening...."I want it all, I want it all & I want it now!" as queen would sing!

I have a perfect location for CCFC. Its just off the M6 and has lots of car parking and has a great football pitch already in situ - I think its called The Richo..perhaps one day, those involved will stop acting even more stupid than this post of mine and work something out like grown up adults in order to return CCFC back to the Richo! Umm suppose that might be the problem - adults acting like un educated kids running sport and councils to feed ego's and wallets...what was that saying? ah yes, Pride before a fall!

you make good points. but to put mine into context. My team too is a Premier League club. I also visit Elite league meetings I also watch spedway on TV and when possible I attend live GP meetings over and above Cardiff. The main question I had for you was "why do you say Sky mucked up our sport"? The fact that they provided cash to the EL with little (nothing) to PL or NL does not constitue "mucking up" actually it would appear the PL have done Ok running the league with prudent management. However, we must appreciate that Sky wanted something for their money, which was "elite2 racing featuring the best riders. There is no question that over the (sky) years as far as the UK is concerned this has proven to be the case i.e. with all the best will & rose coloured glasses in the world - 99% of EL team would win home and away v PL. In a much smaller way than the Premiership, Sky have funded (or part funded) the cost of attracting the best riders (players) but regretably the promoters have failed to provide a show which has grown in attraction or entertainment. actually in my opinion in the past few years it has lessened - but clearly this is not the fault of Sky & if you were to look beyond just your own club you would realise that Speedway on TV should be a great advertisment for the sport and guess what - this would lead to new people visiting their local track to see the sport live - so why would any speedway supporter do anything to put Sky off from continuing with covering the sport?

I am sure negotiations have been going on for some time - The fact that the season ends end of Oct and the Sky contract ends end of Dec are of little relivance to one another as there is no speedway to show. THE AGM is also just another date in the diary which would not greatly influence any talks with Sky re 2014 and beyoynd. Yes it would be neat and tidy but should any agreemenst be made after the AGM then so be it - its just a normal (though significant) part of annual operations within the sport. If it gives you any comfort - The term of Sky's contract with the Premier League doesn't coincide with neither the PL's AGM or end of season.

Sky have mucked up our sport?? How can that be the case? we have had UK speedway & GP for years, which Sky provide cash to the UK promoters and GP rights holders - then the promoters spend it how the see fit. As I see it, the UK promoters have most probably not done the most with this opportunity - so I just cant see why Sky gets the blame - althoug clearly such comments will hardly help keep them interested in the sport will they?!!

Mick, I wouldn’t want you to think I am putting DH on anything like a pedestal as in previous posts I have pointed out that he has made mistakes. I have also agreed that (in my opinion) the track features straights that are too long for the corners. Although on this last point I think the better riders see this as less of an issue particularly since the alterations made at the end of last year have given better choice of entrance & exit lines. I also appreciate that folk on this forum have a right to voice their opinion although not so much those who get personal in their views to other forum members which is far from constructive. Similarly views expressed on DH or the promotion in general can be negative as well as positive but again no need for rudeness. And I should say your post is constructive even if they do (in my opinion) state an unnecessarily unfair attack on the promotion. However I also recognise that sometimes complaints result in positive action and nothing would please me more than to see superior racing at BP either via track changes or top flight racing. Both of which will cost more money than I think people in general realise. On the point I make re sponsors overstepping the mark, my point is that the promotion put on a show and the sponsors should decide if they can get a return on their investment be it publicity, customer entertainment or similarly for large corporate sponsors or even just self satisfaction for the love of giving that extra bit to support the club/rider. My point is that sponsors should not expect to make their support conditional beyond normal circumstances. i.e. it would be fair for a beer company to expect their products to be sold in the bar. But asking a promoter to change the shape of the track? Or (not that you have done) which riders should ride in what positions? I think that is overstepping the mark. As for next year, I am not looking to say “told you so” more that I hope speedway in Leicester does go from strength to strength which frankly should be possible if we see better riders and better teams week in week out although I quickly add, speedway generally in the UK needs to take a big look at itself in order to provide a better product than what we see today. But that’s another subject discussed elsewhere on this forum. Mick I truly hope you get the speedway you wish for in 2014 and beyond wherever that may be.

Sounds fun, but I fear many would not be prepared to listen to the other parties point of view. That said perhaps the supporters club could set up a few meetings in the close season and invite speakers to address specific topics in an orderly fashion which could be advertised in order to guague interest. If it could be done in good spirit then would help pass a few speedway less nights quite well.

Your not very good at reading threads are you Mick. I said Lions cant offer top flight racing to any rider - I never mentioned Hansen, I just quoted a fact. This will not change untill (if) they are alowed in to whatever is the top flight in 2014. Lets also recognise that Coventry is a top speedway club and as a young rider I guess Hansen felt whatever deal was offered to him was good enough to accept v any other offers that came his way and he is now set for next season nice & early which has got to be good for the kid. As for the payment thing - I know enough to back what I stated. As for being a winner - DH brings speedway back to Leicester in a new stadium with FIM international recognition, support/attendance is good v other clubs and the top flight begin to make positive noises about admitting the Lions into the top flight after only 3 years of opperation. I dont expect this can be achieved without doing a lot of things right behind the scenes and maybe breaking even or even operating at an affordable loss in the formative years is acceptable. Overall, I cant see anything to point to failure in running the business. What do you see Mick? And please dont say p***** off sponsors is one, because sometimes (unfortunately) sponsors forget that they are sponsors not owners or promoters and try to push the boundries in that regard. Also sometimes sponsors dont always provide what they said they will provide. In other words there is always at least two sides to the story and whilst DH has made mistakes, I see that he has made more right decisions than wrong, and I and I believe many other Lions supporters wish him & his promotion all the best in continuing to bring what is a far from wealthy sport to Leicester.

In reality, Lions cant offer top flight racing to any rider until they are "allowed" in. As for how riders are treated at Leicester v other promotions, I think its generally recognised that the Lions promotions pays it riders far more promptly than most. If you refer to riders being told their performances are not up to scratch (to put it politely) when results are poor, well I for one think they desrve it - On the other side I have seen plenty of congratulations being given out when things go well. DH is a winner, and most certainly is not a good loser. This I admire. after all show me a good loser & I will show you a loser!

Do the Bees still have Havelock as team manager or has he been let go? if still in situ does anyone know why? if he's gone who has, or who will be getting the job?