Sings4Speedway

1. Bailey 8.86 2. Congreve 4.50 3. Pearson 8.00 4. Spencer 5.26 5. Hook 8.00 6. Alcock 4.36 7. Harrison 3.00 Total 41.98

I was really bad at getting my point across yesterday and apologies to all 125 riders. Often the 125 & 250 classes are the most entertaining during meetings my point about the spectacle was that the NJL has 3 heats of the same 4 riders in each class and that can often (not always) produce the same result 3 times. I think for the MDL to survive they need more weekend tracks to participate, those that do run meetings need to make a much bigger effort to get them on (a lot of wasted travel occurs due to curfews met) and as covered to make it sustainable consider the switch to include 125 riders and generate the natural progression. In its hey day there was a strong amateur scene that enabled riders to compete against a similar level, then progress up and into the MDL etc safely. Sadly over the past few years the gulf in ability has been vast and bordering on dangerous in places which certainly doesn't help the cause.

Thats the 3rd time yesterday i missed a single word out of something and completely changed the outlook. Home teams paid no no fees whereas ghost teams paid hefty entry fees. Its certainly easy to argue that the 125cc concept whilst less interesting as a spectacle (in my opinion) does generate a natural progression pathway. The NJL also benefits from more weekend based race nights which is more suited for travelling and the MDL has lost the majority of tracks that ran on those nights or the teams that do/did run weekends have become disillusioned with it.

They haven't exactly helped. Fee's for volunteers went up drastically, fees to enter teams were driven up, board members wanted nothing to do with the leagues and then ghost teams were driven out. Yes the chances of getting these teams back was slim but there were pockets of dedicated fans who attended meetings up and down the country just to watch the 2nd half. If the board have been supportive of the NJL then that is fantastic and its great that the league is currently flourishing (certainly better race nights and a progressive format helps) sadly though i don't see any way back for the MDL.

Speedway Fan has proof its not happening......sadly its just locked in his glove box

In the early years of the MDL it was a genuine competitive breeding ground for emerging riders and a genuine route to get noticed by NL promotions and gain opportunities as guests etc. However as the numbers fell so did the interest and there were much fewer graduates through the development league (and those that did were already on the radar anyways). At one point teams were well spread throughout the country so a good distribution of teams and riders and variety of tracks to race at provided motivation as lets face it the prospect of 3-4 hours travel at a riders expense on the hope that maybe they would get 20mins at the end of a meeting to hurriedly get 6 heats done was never an incentive. The league has been on a slide for a good few years and the ghost teams ban drove the last few passionate volunteers away. Its a credit to all those who got it off the ground and have continued to breath some life into it as long as they have as there has never been any backing/support from the BSPL and the steady demise can sit firmly at their self interest/no interest door.

Thin pickings there but to be fair it is most seasons if you discount the riders who do the hard miles themselves to get practiced, race sharp and in a position to make an impact on the NL. In terms of unearth id more go for riders that raised an eyebrow when signing but developed on like Hodder last year. This year Richardson could be one and its arguable that Leicester have given Max James additional opportunities so could be counted as another but thats about it.

Certainly looks a league this year where all teams should win the majority of their home matches and the top spots will be decided by who can find away points and they look a hard find for a couple of teams. I actually think the understrength Kent side will probably score ok on the road a couple of times but also look likely to have a costly home slip up.

1. Oxford 2. Mildenhall 3. Leicester 4. Workington 5. Kent 6. Belle Vue 7. Edinburgh 8. Berwick

Curse of rider power comes into play again though with many going i only ride in X brand so rather than 7 suits made by one manufacturer gaining both bulk discount and continuity (always looks ridiculous when the colours aren't the same shades). however as covered above its very rare that suits are paid for by the actual club and are sponsored the majority of the time. Sorry for the tangent Redcar fans......

For guest cover ive always liked the jerseys printed up to look like the race suit, which is why ive always been surprised no team has gone for just the jerseys. Im going big with £50 each and get 20 in as riders will lose, forget, ruin them. Still only £1000 and creates better unity whilst still allowing individuality of a riders own suit underneath.

Why would any rider choose to pay for a race suit in team colours over their own (especially when they could be dropped at any time and render said suit equally redundant). Would you walk into a tailors and select a bright pink suit just because everyone said they would by one.....

I know Mildenhall doesn't

Personally think its long overdue that all tracks with armco barriers must have a polyfoam fence

I would think on the bigger wider circuits Methanol power would be a distance ahead but on something smaller and more technical like Eastbourne the gap could be closer potentially less time lost on the corners and better torque off the bends with electric

Would require a complete re-write of the rulebook to be allowed in. Maybe some demo races after a meeting could be arranged though?

To be fair to the Colts teams of the past that has been the mantra but this years crop really does look a bit of a crock. Hodder was the surprise package for me last season and deserves another year but where is the remainder of the improvement coming from? I really don't see it from Hagon. Marson, Muff and Bowen are at their level, yes they might add a bit to their averages with the big home advantage but not enough to offset the poor away score. Smith is what he is, a NSS expert, top end NL but can't hack the step up and Pearson is just present for laps but how much benefit is their really to British speedway by giving a space to an Aussie over a Brit? The team will probably do what it did last year with plenty of home wins (but be pushed much harder) and get naff all away.

Dugard, Coles, Watts, Spencer, Bowtell (don't know number 6)

Might need 8....to be fair it wouldn't be the worst bit of rule manipulation this season anyways.

Apologies id missed the Hodder signing. As a numbers game that stacks up perfectly, as a team on track it looks well beatable even at home.

Not enough points left for the last rider. Been informed Muff is fixed up (just shocked its at Belle Vue) , Pearson looks odds on, leaving enough space for Hodder and a 3 pointer to complete the worst looking Belle Vue side for a good few years

Thats a bit optimistic, i don't recall any riders being lapped last year (unless for fall/mistake) and thats counting top number 1's out with rookie reserves. From what i saw of Adam he isn't a top number 1 and i don't think he will put much more than a point or so on his average (still useful enough) but if you compare to other middle order riders on similar/higher averages Hagon, Woolley, Spooner etc he looks a good deal better.

The big joke is the ignoring of the forth meeting, boughan didnt get that luxury and saw his average nearly double which must have had an impact on his bargaining power and hurts Leicesters team building capabilities

Most other teams? Most teams have been built legit and a couple quite under the limit. Leicester have penalised themselves by taking on a 3.00 rider on nearly a 5. Mildy have stretched it with the use of Congreve its only the academy who have pushed the bar a long way.

We can agreed to disagree on the available 3.00 riders who look better positioned to do a better job BUT Fellows could be turning up with a huge upgrade in machinery and fitness so happy as ever to be proved wrong. If McGurk and Kelly end up at reserve for Worky that could be a serious lack of fire power at the end of the season and if Spencer ends up at reserve (or heading for it) i could seeing him being dropped by Leicester before the averages change.