Parsloes 1928 nearly

Better than King's Lynn as a stadium without a shadow of a doubt, yes... Coventry..? Hmm, well it's a close run thing...

Yes 'Romford' then rode at Dagenham. Interestingly the site of the old Dagenham track (on Ripple Rd. now in an area landlocked between the old A13 and the new one) now contains a huge warehouse which is empty and to let... Only 500 yards or so away another big warehouse (though nowhere near as big...) has been converted into an indoor karting venue! THe old Dagenham track site would be ideal for a permanent indoor Speedway track! Shame that my ever-decreasing salary and your journalist's pension not enough to fund such a venture..! Anyone out there wanna to come in with us?!

This is an excellent idea! And quality team names. Lakeside (aka Arena Essex) has an RM post code and I've long thought that 'Romford' could be used as a legitimate name for some kind of team racing out of there.

I don't think there was ever a hyphen was there..?!

Pretty useful side being put together there! Well yes, maybe in general terms (personally I never understood why when Speedway opened at the Arena Essex Raceway in 1984 they called the club by the venue name and not by the town it was in...) but personally I prefer a different main name for a 'second team'. The example I liked was 'Bournemouth' when Poole ran an NL side. It makes it easier to 'spin' I think as a different side than calling both teams Plymouth...

I know you didn't say that Nikko, but it has been said - for example:

The negativity on here is shocking. We have in Central Park a brilliant new venue for Speedway. Last winter the BSF was full of doom and gloom saying, with the 6.30pm start time no-one would turn up and those people were proven completely wrong. Can I respectfully suggest that people stop with all this negative nonsense as it really isn't helpful. Have long found the BSF the place where views most damaging to our sport reside - I pray god, seeing the local press was mentioned, that no sports journos from outside the sport do ever look on here, because the impression they would get would indeed be awful. Couple of quick points. 1) Incorrect to say that Mr. Silver has only joined up with Kent after the hard work of loads of others. Actually Len has been involved from the very beginning of the Kent Speedway story, from back in 2008 when he advised on and helped Cearnsport with the original (and let's remember, successful) Planning application. This is, I'd respectfully suggest, before any of the rest of us got involved (though I did do the articles for the Speedway Star on that Planning meeting and interview with Mr. Cearns at that time); and 2) As Mimmo has pointed out, extremely harsh to brand Rye House a "tip" - can't think of many places which stage Speedway which have had more investment in recent times in improving facilities - for example, the red seats Len Silver obtained from the closed-down Walthamstow dog track.

Most teams will start by or at Easter weekend I'd imagine, so how about having earlier deadlines and trying to avoid needing to go into October at all... Having October for the Play Offs and the Cup semis and Final last season proved to be the downfall - because actually though the season was overall one of the driest for years, that final month of October was awful. Set a deadline for the first week in Sept for NL fixtures and then the play-offs to be finished by the first week in October, say. After all, with only 8 teams in the League this should be more than possible..

Same riders? None of the 2014 Kent Kings riders are also riding for Rye House in the PL. Only one (Ben Morley) of the '13 squad appeared for the Rockets last season.

Not just at the 'start of the season' surely? The rule MUST apply at any point, otherwise it could be flauted simply by signing for a PL side two weeks into the new season!?

Hi Nikko, What I meant is that the initial press release of 2012 could (and by some was..) read as if the new track was simply the RH NL side 'transferring' there. What needed to be emphasised was that actualy what we were seeing was a brand-new track, the first brand-new Speedway track in this part of the world since Arena Essex opened to the sport in 1984. So, a significantly big deal. 'Stand-alone club'? Well, I wonder how many tracks fall entirely under the definition you want to go by..? Is Mildenhall 'stand-alone' considering its links to Ipswich? Was Rye House 'stand alone' all through the '70s & early '80s with its links to Hackney? There's a long history of close links like this and I'm sure to supporters and the Speedway world as a whole what matters most is that such a brilliant venue is now staging the sport and that new tracks are opening as opposed to tracks closing down.

To be fair, that Press Release was not really an accurate account of the establishment of the new club at Kent; and I think it's best all round not to dwell on that a whole year on. Kent is very much in every respect a stand-alone club and operating out of, certainly, the best stadium at NL level (one of the best in the UK in any division, tbh) and it's these positives which needed then and still now to be emphasised.

I think Malcolm was talking about 'Wimbledon' running a team out of RH not Iwade..? The opportunity for the latter was way back in 2006 but sadly, IMHO, the chance was rejected

Would be fantastic news if this did happen! You say blank weekends now, so what evening are the Lions running in the EL then?

Hmm, seems though that far too often (an example being how Somerset treated Stefan last year..) the PL ain't interested in young British riders.. Chickens have come home to roost!

Yes good point - what happened to Stefan with Somerset defied logic and was a shocker.

Would seem possibly a deliberate decision by Stefan NOT to ride in the PL..? The PL's loss is the NL's gain and tbh. I can see more of this happening with the best young Brits able to score heavily (equalling good points money at the right club...) in the third tier and having that fantastic opportunity now given them as reserves in the Elite. At the moment, under such a set up, the PL may well become a place such young Brits choose to ignore...

You're right that stopping and re-starting can raise the spectre of Planning Permission neededing to re-applied for... The way round that could be to use the track as currently is, for training and amateur meetings (of the ilk of Dragons & STR or club championship-based like Scunny too). That could happen without needing the air fence, without great expense (should self-fund indeed) and would keep the sport alive there and the PP intact, while funds and plans put together to re-enter the league in 2015...?

Yes it would have to - no-one under 15 would be allowed to ride in a challenge or indeed even in a race against riders over that age

Kelsey must be old enough as he rode in that challenge match (for Wimbledon) at the latter end of last season.. Not sure who's older Kelsey or Connor Dugard...? Does Connor D. still ride?

So what kind of event will the 'Christmas Cup' be then..? A team match or a small indiv. event? One assumes the former, bearing in mind the number of heats involved..? Considering it's the MDL and it would still be 2013 and that this is an official sanctioned meeting it's beyond me why it couldn't be the League Cup Final..

"Come On Chaps, Turn on The Taps" - was another line!

You are correct. The notion that Iwade might close because of no air fence has gained currency due to letter by Malcolm Simmons published in last week's Star. I am fairly certain Iwade is NOT closing down and I am certain it (Iwade training track, that is) does NOT need to comply with the rule affecting league clubs about needing an air fence.

Sidecars probably not allowed under current planning permission - or at least that's the reading of the situation. A shame as I agree always good to see the sidecars in action where possible.

That youngster was 125cc GB Champ, Kyle Bickley. Not sure of his age but I think probably still too young for the NL..?