Sings4Speedway

Whilst I wasn'the convinced Harland should have been avaluable on a 3.00 (partly jealousy as that's a bargain average ) I still think he should have been allowed in on a 3.5 as per the precident set last season. Sadly the NL will probably be the poorer without his inclusion

Whilst im not against the point that we should be trying/hoping for the the next big stars the fact is there are simply not enough youngsters of sufficient quality coming through to flood the NL with them. In addition all the riders didnt get team places based upon age they got them because they are good enough. Personally i feel there is becoming a conveyor belt of riders from the youth rounds straight in to the NL just because they are young. Personally if you are good enough you get a place simple, if there is a rider better whether they be 15 or 25 its the quality of rider that is required to enhance British speedway and restoring the need to be on your game to acquire/retain a team place with age being irrelevant.

Excellent. Means i can make a few trips up without risk of having my afternoon spoilt

Agreed not started but skill honed in the MDL (list also forgets Danny Ayres & Ellis Perks as MDL to premiership graduates). Out of interest Phil how would you react if the higher powers had interfered with the NJL and insisted it became a 4 vs 4 500cc competition?

Congratulations you are now officially my least favourite "contributor" to this forum. Non stop misery, doom & gloom. Must be wonderful to stood next to you on race day. Are you likely to attend any Lakeside matches this season?

Not every rider is going to double up so who do they have to learn from. It's also not only young riders that need assistance. However as seen time and time again all the words of experience and knowledge are useless if they are ignored

A lot of the issue is that riders don't come across grippy tracks enough to learn how to ride them. If all the NL does is set up slick tracks how will riders be prepared for the next step up?

Whilst i certainly don't like what has happened to the Cov riders i don't agree with the point that all brits should get places over foreigners just because of nationality. The only way to make brit riders more attractive as signings is to reduce their averages at the end of each season but leave the overseas riders of the achieved / assessed ave's.

As most seasons gone by the teams who have built competitive teams and supply good racing will get good crowds. The danger befalls those who have had a decent few years but then have a real shocker of a season for one reason or another. However as mentioned by many previous posters the constant fiddling by the powers that be are doing nothing positive for the sport along with the spiraling costs mean i will be choosing when and where i watch my speedway a lot more carefully this season.

Its what is listed in the 2017 SCB regulations. Obviously its not the first time these have been released incorrectly but certainly looks like a bullying tactic to me? The last i heard was that teams had to declare by 27th of Feb if they intend to run? Not sure if they got an extension while the nonsense is sorted out?

Running but forced to fall in line with the overlords race format. All the clubs wanted to continue with 4 vs 4 500 riders but it has been imposed that its 2 500's & 2 youth vs 2 500's & 2 youth as per the NJL format. Add in the inflated entry costs for the volunteers & standalone (at least by name) clubs and its job well done. The league will struggle all season and drive the dedicated few away from the sport for good!

Add in the destruction of the MDL & they have really surpassed themselves this year.

So the regs are out and the league is ruined! 21.15 The meeting format is 4 riders / 6 heats. 4 man teams – 2 senior 500cc riders and 2 youth riders. The Speedway Regulations 55 The youth riders are to be 2 x 125cc riders that are names in the squad at the start of the season. If the home team are unable to name 2 x 125cc (squad or non squad) riders for a fixture they must enroll either 2 x 250cc or 2 x 500cc youth riders (14 or 15 years old holding a Youth SCB Registration) and advise the visiting team at least 5 days prior to the fixture to enable the visiting team to enroll 2 riders from the same class for that fixture. So in effect if: Team A has 2 x 125 riders signed on at the start of the season & are prepared to do all the meetings that year. Team B cannot locate 2 x 125 riders for the match between Teams A & B. Then 5 days before the match Team B have to Team A that they cannot complete the 125 class and are searching for alternative youngsters. Therefore 2 x 125 youth riders from Team A will be disappointed, both teams managers will then scrabble for the best available 250/500 youth riders available. If a team secures the use of the top 2 x 250 youth riders in the country why would they bother looking for 2 x 125 riders? Thank you all in power i hope you will sleep easy knowing that you have hammered another huge nail into the coffin of UK speedways future.

Hang on to them. If there is only 70 left they are now collectors items. Except for all those purchased by various clubs in readiness for the upcoming season, i suspect there will be a few spares suppliers who have a lump left over too? Or were they included in the early notice list leaving others to purchase them when they now have restricted use.

Whilst I'm not going to disagree that more could be done to give all youth riders more track time and not just the chosen few. The MDL is not in my opinion the place for it. It was created as a NL feeder league / speedway rider finishing school where skills could be honed before stepping up. It feels at the moment there is a real panic about fast tracking youth riders through to patch the holes that currently exist elsewhere in the sport

Perhaps the SCB would be so kind as to confirm why they felt there is now only one acceptable format despite running for the past few years without any objections? In addition what support and benefits are the SCB now going to offer after imposing the sanctions on the format?

Good on Kent for actually doing something to aid rider development especially as the curfew has previously prevented it. Im guessing Rowe, Spooner & Andrews if he fancies it will be involved? Considering Laurence Rodgers is the organiser its going to be a wide spread league from Kent down to Plymouth. Ive heard rumours that Reading may be involved somewhere (Eastbourne?), id be surprised if Exeter are not included and run from Somerset and would be good if Swindon got a team involved. Not sure of the format though as currently there is a SCB wally trying to spoil it for everyone and impose a format none of the MDL teams are currently happy with but don't know if that extends to the SDL?

I will be bolstering the crowds at a youth round so that i can find Vatcher and have some very choice words with him. Would be nice if some of the beneficiaries from MDL racing could pop along too as a demonstration of the riders who have progressed through it. I believe the deadline was yesterday from team registration so i guess by now the fate has been decided?

Has anybody else seen anything regarding the new tyre compound regulations? From what i have seen there will be a harder compound "yellow" ringed tyre that must be used in the Premiership & Championship? The original "red" ringed tyre can only be used at NL and below along with the harder compound if a rider chooses? Not seen any official release regarding this but there must be a fair amount of older "red" stock rattling around that is now going cheaper? Also what are the prices of the new harder tyre?

Given some of the financial issues since then if the Panthers were still in the "top flight" i suspect its more likely that they would not exist at all. The highest tier commands the highest outlay for a marginally higher product. I personally feel Peterborough are better off than most, good exciting division to be involved in & excellent venue to enjoy the spectacle. Being in the top tier doesn't always guarantee top speedway.

The trick of a star reserve is being able to keep him there all season. If Bickley is up into the team after a few meetings and stays there is will reduce his scoring power. Only seen results from the Woodhulls which have been ok but not spectacular and get the feeling it could be a year too early for them. The other big danger with this side is Bewley, Shuttleworth & Smith all doubling up and missing meetings. Theres no doubt that this is the most potential filled team but will they deliver.....

Six heats containing 8 riders so differing line ups throughout. However that's not the point. The point is the organisers who put in all the effort for the MDL want to run it as it has been since it's inception. Six heats of 500cc racing for riders who either started later or are not ready for NL racing after the youth rounds. Why should they be dictated to by the bspa who do little/nothing for the MDL except give them more hoops to jump through & raise the prices. I for one hope that they stand together on this, stick to their guns & refuse to enter unless it's in the format that all the orgainising teams want. Then we will see how Vatcher & his bspa chums react to potentially closing down the best league in this country.

What the hell is the SCB doing poking their nose in? They do nothing to assist the MDL in fact quite the opposite so why are they trying to ruin things further?

Is there any more news on this? Season is getting close now and must be hard to prepare/motivate riders if nobody has a clue what is going on.

Whilst i doubt the devils will be bottom i can see why some may think it. There will be a huge reliance on Boxall, Compton & Smart have huge question marks hanging over them. If Walker can maintain a 3-4 point average in the main body i would call his season a success. There is Atkins at reserve who is probably the under the radar signing of the season but still see this side towards the bottom of the table sadly.