Sings4Speedway

The result i think Belle Vue Cradley Eastbourne Birmingham Mildenhall IOW Kent Kings Lynn Lakeside Stoke Plymouth Buxton The result id like to see IOW Buxton Plymouth Lakeside Stoke Kent Kings Lynn Eastbourne Mildenhall Cradley Belle Vue Birmingham

Sadly a sign of the times. Riders are being introduced to the NL with speed and enthusiasm but lacking basic speedway skill sets. There are still plenty of riders in the league who cannot lay the bike down when required (or have the assessment abilities to complete the task). I don't blame any rider for taking an opportunity if it is presented to them its the promoters fault and yet they seem to escape all blame. In a dangerous sport it is the promotions responsibility to track capable riders yet many choose to ignore this. Sadly i feel it is inevitable that there will be injuries caused because a rider lacks the basics skills to handle a pressure situation correctly. I must add that i am not aiming the above comments directly at Locke but at a variety of riders past & present.

As ever Stoke have a good top 3 but probably little back up unless Tedham hits a purple patch. I get that they want a dependable side as a stand alone club but riders like Speight have been there, done it and not really done very much, ditto Wallinger. RTD could still keep slowly improving but the others looked to have peaked / be on the way down.

Think he will do alright at home but not convinced about him on his travels. Much will depend on whether his equipment has been upgraded as it wasn't up to much last year? Really don't think Whitmore is ready yet. Shame as i think he is a case of could have been good in time, been thrown in too early & could possibly be lost to the sport quickly.

Good opportunity for Locke. Dont think anybody would question his determination last year and certainly a trier. The bigger nature of Kings Lynn may suit him although much will depend how long he spends in the number 2 jacket.

Running commentary is necessary on grasstracks as the number of riders involved and no requirement to identify themselves other than a riding number make it trickier to distinguish between riders especially for those less familiar with the sport. With speedway you have helmet colours plus suits/bibs to distinguish plus obviously only 4 riders to deal with. There is also the issue of whether a commentator would influence the referee and we all know decisions are tough enough to get right as it is (or most ref's seem to make hard work of it). However if the commentary was streamed via headphones / smartphones etc it could offer the choice to those who want it without enforcing it on all?

More crystal clear communications from the bspa then!. If they only brought 50 engines and still have plenty to shift its wasted money. Time will tell when the season begins but answers made need to be given? I would have thought any riders shifting to GTR's would have announced it by now? A better demo perhaps would have been to subsidise 7-8 engines to a NL team like Eastbourne (only selected as they have good technical support) let them run a season on the engines and see how competitive they are in the league? A supplied engine could result in lower points monies being paid & lower rider costs? Obviously any team / league would achieve the same even experiment as it would give a comparison against GM's throughout the whole team not just a few riders who they suit?

If a rider cannot cope with the pressure or amount of fixtures at junior level they are no way ready to step up. However I think that individual meetings & league format lower league racing could exist very happily side by side giving riders the choice to do one or both as they progress. Sadly most grasstrackers are heading over to speedway anyway as its on its @rse as a sport. But i do completely agree that there should be more subsidised introduction days into the sport. There are already organisations that do training / introduction days. If the scb/bspa were to invest in booking these on behalf of some genuinely interested newcomers it would definitely be a step in the right direction. Even if 5 from 30 for example considered taking the sport up it would be a huge bonus.

I agree the timing of the deal was a little late & sales will improve once more riders use them successfully however the bspa purchased 200/250 units? How many riders are competing in the UK this year? A similar number at a guess so that means every rider needs to buy one or 50% of riders need to buy two to shift the stock. Whilst the bulk price may lead to a nice little profit for the bspa & a major step forward in speedway, it could also be a huge financial lemon and they get stuck with loads of engines they cannot shift (is a GTR Mk2 coming next year?) and thrown loads of money that could have been better spent elsewhere away.

How dare you drag this conversation back on topic Was wondering this myself as there is a full page advert on the back of last weeks speedway star. If they were flying out the door why would they have bothered with additional advertising?

Perhaps it was Josh who was hesitant to take on the extra meetings? I don't know their exact circumstances but unless Josh can make NL pay for itself (not easy) and then make enough from reserve rides at the higher leagues to cover the costs of bikes & living for both himself & mechanic (Dad) then he they will need to try and hold jobs down as well. Not easy when you have 100 meetings to squeeze in as well. As for his sharing partner Kinsley is possible but i think Connor Mountain is a better shout?

You are fully entitled to your opinion. Personally I feel that the most important thing is maximum bike time available to riders and as many varied tracks as possible. I also think that team mentality and team riding is best learnt as early as possible. Who would fund these individual meetings?

Good point although would supporters be happy with RR all season? Again a very fair point made. Perhaps a limit on the number of times a team can use RR each season? Maybe twice home and twice away so that extreme cases can be covered but equally the facility isn't abused?

Have to admit I made assumptions surrounding Martin with his IOW commitments so even more hats off to him. I knew Steve quit due to being disalusioned but didn't know the circumstances surrounding his departure

Im going to let it pass as a questionable attempt at humour as surely an Ipswich based supporter couldn't be against junior league racing when both Witches reserves are MDL graduates

How about enforcing the use of a NL rider (Championship eligible 2 pointer) rather than allowing RR (or limit RR to a couple of uses per season to cover last minute emergencies?) that way riders looking to move up could gain experience, some teams would abuse the RR facility would not benefit, meetings would not be so drawn out & hopefully clubs would look to avoid signing riders who are doubling up.

Makes dropping it from Leicester all the more gaulling. They have the perfect opportunity to run MDL i.e weekend race night, late curfew etc to be fair the writing has been on the wall since Steve Cook left & then Martin Widman. Its about time the governing bodies did something to support the junior leagues like a reduced league entry incentive along with reduced/free memberships for those who organise the teams / leagues. Yes there are clubs that logistically cannot host junior league racing due to strict curfews but those that can and opt not to should hang their heads as the demise of the sports future riders rests with them.

Only just seen this but couldn't agree more with the points surrounding the mdl being dropped it's ludicrous. Do Leicester honestly think if the Thompsons make it they will definitely sign does Leicester or just the club who offers the best deal. Add in that most number 7's in the premiership this season started out in the mdl. Where are the next batch of riders coming from and able to hone their skills? If anyone is blinkered enough to say the youth rounds then more fool them. There is a trickle who are good enough top3/4 but the sport requires more riders than that to progress if it's to survive. I'm hoping at least that Bates will be re-instating the MDL at Sheffield to even things out?

There are some truely remarkable individuals who run MDL teams and put in countless hours & stresses for no reward other than the pure love of the sport. Sadly as often pointed out they along with riders are all too often treated poorly by promoters (and many supporters) who treat them as second rate & an inconvenience rather than a benefit for the sport & its future. Then there are the governing bodies who set out a remarkable amount of hoops to be jumped through & financial requirements just to bring an amateur team to the tapes. For all of its flaws this is still the most honest & enjoyable league currently racing in this country.

Lebdevs could be the signing of the season, Riss is focused on Speedway this year & missing the longtracks, Nilsson with some consistancy has the potential to be a top number 1 in this league plus i think Ayres will have the beating of most number 7's (bar Bates & Huckenback). If the Lions fans have been craving some passion & desire from previous teams you can bet that Danny will bring that by the bucket load.

I would say there is no fear about the rider doing well and keeping Anders out of the team. From whenever i have seen him he has been on ropey equipment (could have been replaced over the winter), has been running in the Scunthorpe amateur support class (could have made dramatic improvements over the winter) and appeared a little stroppy when results didn't go his way (could be said of most speedway riders). Getting to some of the early Kent meetings will mean busting a gut this year & with the offerings on show im not sure how much i will bother?

She doesn't think much of you then? 😉

The 2015 Brum side had most of thier big away wins on the back of performances from Zac Waj or Kirby. Not sure Sam Woods has ever been a match changer. Back to Mildenhall and yes i do think they have a solid looking side but there are reliability / composure doubts surrounding Woods & Ruddick. I would bet there will be a couple of 5-0's in heat 2 over the course of the season.

As most of the above have correctly pointed out a number 8 can only take the RR rides and there is no minimum amount they can take. So all to often a number 8 is booked and stands on the sidelines all night

Is there any word regarding what was discussed / decided at the AGM. With the involvement of a new south west league and withdrawal of some teams I suspect there are many changes?