TTT

Despite it being early in the season, I still see a one sided meeting here. Oxford just look very weak on paper compared to the rest of the league.

Have to be winning the reserve battle for sure, King & Brennan should be able to match Blodorn and Z. Cook at 2nd string.

Correct me if I'm wrong, But aren't BV still using the same suits as last year? I saw that they had different kevlars on the bikes but the suits in the P & P photo looked the same to me.

If he is then Dickson should give him his P-45 anyway because he's taken the micky out of Stewart and everyone else associated with Leicester Speedway. Cookie has had all winter to come to a decision, But he's dropped out at the last minute leaving the Lions management scrambling around to a point where they've had to revert back to a formula that didn't work at the start of last season (Weak Reserves). Could've given the Lions management a months notice in advance to give them the best possible opportunity to scout Europe for a rider on a assessed 4.50.

I agree regarding Cook. Just my opinion but Leicester started with Kemp @ No.6 last year and he struggled, Then Drew got replaced and Leicester went on a run and that was with Lawson @ No.2 instead of Howarth. Personally I think the league is stronger this year and that Leicester tail end is weaker than the one that struggled at the start of 2024. I think Leicester already had their work cut out for them in regards to a play-off place in 2025 before Cook done his usual bail out.

Another club that's learnt a very harsh lesson this winter, Oxford being the other club. Leicester are now fighting for the wooden spoon.

£14.99 was a very fair price to watch the meeting on BSN, If you went to the meeting then you'd pay that money just for parking, programme and something to eat/drink. Don't forget that Sky/TNT charge £20+ to watch high profile boxing matches.

Doyley will be fine, Everything hinges on King imo, Doesn't need to set the world alight, Just needs to be consistent with 6 point returns instead of 3/4 point returns and then everything will be alright.

It's best to start the season with King @ No.2 to see if Danny can build himself some confidence early on with the pressure off being paired with Doyle. That way you'll know early on whether King's 2024 form was down to his hand injury or his age.

Doyley hitting the ground running is very encouraging, As I said on the BV v Ipswich thread, Nothing to worry about with Jason as he's comeback stronger after every big injury he's had in his career.

The one key factor that it could come down to is Zischke never doing a lap around a tricky Foxhall circuit.

Is it really tosh though? Lidsey was vocal last year about needing the weather to get warmer during his early season struggles in the cold, Zischke's returning from a big injury who's almost got no top flight experience. Reason why I'm confident in Jason Doyle hitting the ground running is because it's nothing new for him to recover from a massive injury, He's made a whole career out of it tbh. Emil Sayfutdinov rode in the Polish Ekstraliga Play-Offs last season after his Sheffield crash so nothing to worry about with him, King is the only question mark after his surgery on his hand. As for the results, I just don't see how you get close to Ipswich around Foxhall when breaking down the 1-7's. Would any of the following really happen around Foxhall? Kurtz, Bewley & Lidsey outscoring Doyle, Sayfutdinov and Brennan? Blodorn and Z. Cook outscoring Ellis and King? Zischke and Mulford outscoring D. Thompson and Jenkins? Ipswich are ahead in every department for me and quite comfortably, Around the NSS I'd side with BV 2 - 1 but only just.

Ipswich normally struggle around the NSS however they may catch the Aces a little cold here so I'm expecting this to be a tight meeting. Normally it takes most riders a few meetings to get back into the groove and the weather is still cold so that could have an effect on certain riders. I remember last season when Jaimon Lidsey struggled early on in the cold weather, Tate Zischke may take a few meetings to get going as he's coming back from a big injury and he's got to overcome the psychological effect of the injury that happened on the NSS track against the same team (Ipswich). As for the Witches, Jason Doyle's rebuilt himself time after time and he's always comeback stronger so I don't see why it would be any different this time around, Danny King is the only question mark for Ipswich imo. I'll side with Belle Vue to win the First Leg but lose the tie overall as I don't see how any side will even get close to Ipswich around Foxhall this year. 1st Leg -> Belle Vue 48 - 42 Ipswich 2nd Leg -> Ipswich by 14-18 Points.

I think the only team worth backing at this moment in time is Ipswich because they'll shorten drastically if they hit the ground running which will then lead to everyone else drifting in the market. Ipswich will have to have a very slow start to the season to see any drift on the 15/8 currently on offer imo and it's very unlikely considering Ipswich's first 5 league fixtures are Birmingham x2, Oxford x2 and Leicester all teams that aren't favoured for play-off spots. Imo it's a case of take the 15/8 now and hope Ipswich aren't cursed by injuries again or back against them during the season as it wouldn't make any sense in taking a short price of 6/5 or 5/4 for example on Ipswich after turning down 15/8.

Back for another year. bet365 now have Outright markets priced up for the SGB Premiership, Polish Ekstraliga, Speedway of Nations and the Speedway World Championship.

No reason as to why it shouldn't air on TNT rather than Discovery+. TNT have 4 Channels and Sky Sports own the rights to Monday Night Football.

Best thing that can happen is TNT pay to get out of the contract and all Premiership racing / GP's move to BSN. Can bump up the Premiership pass subscription, Can also do a GP pass subscribition too if BSN want to seperate the events up like they do currently with the Premiership/Championship.

1. IPS (Will walk it if everyone stays fit, Fantastic 1-7 that's power packed in every department) 2. BV (Unbeatable around the NSS unless it's one of those silly lunchtime meetings) 3. KL (Just rock solid throughout and it reminds me of P'borough 2021, Dark Horses) 4. SHE (Big name riders will bail them out in Ht's 13 & 15 to see them pip the Lions to 4th) 5. LEI (Solid 1-7 but Fricke goes missing too many times, No longer have Lawson to cover for him) 6. BIR (Is MJJ on a short term deal? Returnees may take a while to adapt to UK tracks again) 7. OX (Banking on Janowski returning to his Poole form just to put some wins on the board imo)

Maybe Harris wanted to go, He did go on record saying he wanted to ride for KL one day.

Gusts is a good signing, He's not a bad rider at all, Oxford have done a decent job of salvaging the team building debacle. It may feel a little underwhelming due to the points left to play with but Oxford could do a whole lot worse than Gusts. Gusts has scope to improve, He's young and he's not afraid to mix it so that's all Oxford can ask for considering the position they were in.

Exactly, Oxford will learn from the mistake they made this winter and they won't make it again imo.

If the rules are the same as last year then MJJ will be a 7.00-7.50 because he rode in the Ekstraliga in 2024. If Brum are saying third HL then I guess Zagar must be a 7.00-7.50 as well.

The only negative side to signing MJJ is that Brum will have to keep one eye on Grudziadz's performances this year. The Polish club are known to kick up a fuss when results turn sour in the Ekstraliga or if one of their riders has a big fall on a track that's not Polish. Jakobsen, Pedersen and Tarasenko are recent examples of that as well as Doyle being treated badly by the Grudziadz management after a season ending crash at KL.

Decent team (No.6 bound to be someone half decent), Brum fans should be happy with that considering BV, Ipswich & Sheffield will always snap up the best riders. Will be found wanting on the road imo but once dialled in to PB then they should win more than a fair share of home meetings. Oxford are nailed on for the wooden spoon this year after making a mess of team building by chasing a pipe dream in Bewley.

Make or break signing tomorrow. Need to get someone from the Ekstraliga 2 League in Poland at worst.