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It was gate’n’go against Belle Vue but the difference was that we are worse out of the gate than you. There wasn’t race after race of you guys picking us off over the four laps. Leicester are the best gaters in the league followed by Ipswich, both due to the nature of their home circuits so unless you get your gating gloves on or god forbid prep a racetrack then you will be vulnerable.

BELLE Vue are delighted to confirm a bumper afternoon of racing at the National Speedway Stadium this Sunday, May 10 (1pm). The club will be staging the JR Ashworth & Sons Colts Academy Individual featuring several rising stars of the current National Development League, as well as 500cc and 250cc sections of the British Youth Championship. Whilst Belle Vue are not competing in the NDL this season their commitment to rider development remains strong, and several recent Colts riders will return for the event. 2025 team members Freddy Hodder, Harry Fletcher, Jack Shimelt and Billy Budd are all included in the line-up. Colts joint manager Graham Goodwin said: “We've always had a loyal following for the Belle Vue Colts, and we're looking forward to welcoming back those 2025 Colts team members for this NDL standard meeting, so we hope fans will respond and come along to welcome them back. “They're going to face tough competition from a number of Championship riders, with Ace Pijper (Redcar), Jordy Loftus (Edinburgh), Ryan Ingram (Scunthorpe), and Jamie Etherington (formerly Workington) all gaining second division experience along with Freddy who is progressing well at Glasgow. “Mickie Simpson, Senna Summers and Stene Pijper are all solid NDL performers, and at the bottom of the age range we have 15-year-old Ollie Binns, who is quite local to us in Cheshire, and is just starting out on his NDL career with King's Lynn.” The JR Ashworth & Sons Colts Academy Individual will be a 14-heat individual event, made up of 12 heats plus semi-final and Final. All of the riders are aged 21 and under, with an average age of 19. In addition, the meeting features the 500cc and 250cc sections of the British Youth Championship, run over a total of 19 heats and two Finals, meaning a packed schedule of 35 races in all. Turnstiles will open at midday with the parade at 12.55 ahead of the opening race. Admission prices will be set at regular Colts levels – Adults £15, Concessions £13, Junior (12-17) £6, Children (11 and under) Free, Family £36, Programme £2. JR ASHWORTH & SONS COLTS ACADEMY INDIVIDUAL: Billy Budd, Freddy Hodder, Harry Fletcher, Stene Pijper, Mickie Simpson, Ollie Binns, Ryan Ingram, Jack Shimelt, Ace Pijper, Jamie Etherington, Jordy Loftus, Senna Summers. BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP (500cc): Charlie Luckman, Kayden Mundy, Rocco Webb, Jayden Bailey, Oli Bovingdon, Dylan Huthwaite, Casper Kluczniak, Liam Morris, Stene Pijper, Emerson Betty, Ollie Binns, Charlie Southwick, Seth Norman, Harry Fletcher. BRITISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP (250cc): Kane Newby, Finley Theobald, Archie Rolph, Demi Blu Harris, Charlie Fletcher.

The evolution of me watching speedway on tele. Watch live with printed programme. Watch recorded show with no programme and fast forward through ads. Watch recorded show and fast forward through adds and other bits between races. Watch recorded show and fast forward through adds and all but the first lap. I did rewind if anything happened. Watch recorded show on FF and stopped if anything happened. Stop watching all together.

ANY top flight team replacing two none double upper heat leaders with RR & MPT would be way under strength. It a result of injuries and has happened many times before and will happened again, unfortunately.

When will the GB management learn? Watching heats with Leon or Will running a last against Bartoz, Brady & Lindgren just won’t do it for the fans back home. Far better to see Lawson, Harris, Thompson or King running a last instead. Until these people in charge cater to the fans needs then there’s no way we will add to all the FIM gold medals picked up recently. At least if Lawson was in the team then GB could make a bob or two as he could re plaster the changing room wall that Nikki Pedersen had punched multiple holes into.

I remember it well from my correspondence with the powers that be at the time. You’ve got him as assessed on the greensheets so he cannot guest. He has an average from before so he can guest. It’s never been done that way before(or since). Well he has an average. If he has an average then you’ll rolling it rather than waiting for the 4H+4A. Radio silence.

It use to be the case that assessed riders could not guest but wether it’s in the rulebook or not, that all changed when Robert Lambert was allowed to guest against you in the 2023 final even though he was assessed*.

Great to hear. Congratulations to Mark, Phil, Paul & Tony. A fabulous effort that bodes well for the new era that sees up wanting to add to the participants of our top league. Love it.

You’d like to think with this one being a dead rubber that if it was shaping up to be a Foxes loss, it could then be fixed for a win in a last heat decider. The witches are through to the cup anyway and a close victory could help future attendance.

I hope they’ve got a decent podium for all the big individual meetings they’re not running like other clubs.

Any local fans that attended between 1954 & 1967 will be au fait with guests as they were utilised long before Brafield opened the first time. Nobody seemed to bother back then though I did dig up an old correspondence to the old Speedway Star & News from Ted Valentine in Manchester…. “Having taken my young grandson to the speedway recently I just want to comment on the overuse of guest riders. It makes a mockery of the sport and takes away any sense of jeopardy and meaning for an old timer like me. Luckily young Mike Bernard Valentine loves it and I very much doubt that 50 years from now he’ll have such concerns with our sport that I can only see it going from strength to strength following the announcement of the forthcoming Shawcross report.” I wonder what Mike is up to now.

Disappointing as it was the low amount of available riders (we weren’t into the idea of a seasoned campaigner like Jake in a development team) and the fact Buxton opened up only 20 miles away meaning we really didn’t want to draw any kind of development league attendance from them. Bigger picture thinking that’s sadly lost on most within the sport, both on and off the track. I wish ALL tracks had shown the same level of involvement as Belle Vue with regards junior speedway, just think where we could have been then. It won’t see the end of our wonderful involvement in rider development and hopefully we’ll see yet more FIM medals coming our way.

Nice to see three Aces reserves past & present (plus an ex Colt) hunting for more FIM gold. Love to see the system working.

Given his age what do you suggest he should have previously done, clean chimneys?

So if we get all the above back it will create meaning in meetings? Televised speedway ran along side the sports biggest demise in decades. I’m not saying it’s the reason for it but neither will it be the saviour to have it back. Coming from you, the comment about top stars is confusing given your repeated suggestion that they don’t matter. With regards racenights between then and now, for every Wednesday, Friday or Saturday club there were and are Monday & Thursday clubs. Touting Wednesday as a speedway night again is at odds with your previous thinking where weekends are the goal. As with a lot of stuff on here when suggesting ideas to take the sport forward we get confusion and contradiction when drilling down to the fine detail. “First out of the gate always wins” was the common complaint from folk when speedway was mentioned. As a sport we have leaned into this rather than rail against it making the sport tedious & boring and we have continually charged more for people to “enjoy” it. I’ve more than halved my attendance of the sport due to this but that’s better than most how have reduced theirs by 100%.