Ben91

' GLASGOW have named Danny Ayres as their three-point reserve for next season. Cambridge-based Ayres, who will continue with Kent in the National League, faces a 700-mile round trip to home meetings but was keen to race for the Tigers. Kent co-promoter Len Silver added: I could not be more pleased. Danny's involvement with forward looking Glasgow can only help him move ahead in his career, and that ultimately means better scoring for the Kings, so it is a win-win situation. ' I'd say it's confirmed.

Press release on the BSPA website suggests that Ayres is confirmed for the Kings next year.

Jorgensen, Vissing, Alden, Smith, Mellgren, Wethers, Carr?

On an average not much lower than NBJ I'd be disappointed if Nelson came back. Barker would be a very good signing as would Nick Morris but there will be plenty of people after them I'd imagine. Morley will probably be one of the better riders available on a three point average, plenty of experience in the PL and at Rye. I wouldn't be disappointed with him or Olly Greenwood but wouldn't mind seeing a Spiller/Wajknecht. If we're going with a Kennett/Lambert top two then we will have to have a long tail, Branford is a must for me as our senior reserve.

I'd take NBJ over Thomsen. NBJ was averaging over his assessed figure pretty much all season, only dropped below it towards the end, he's definitely got a point improvement in him next year at least. I'd have sacrificed Lambert or Kennett to keep NBJ because the point of team building is to sign riders who will improve. So now we're looking at Eddie, Rob, Maassen and Dan Greenwood plus three others I reckon, that reserve pairing would struggle all year.

What a huge balls up. The promotion better have a bloody good team up their sleeve to justify this.

Yes it can, a fixed race night for the EL which PL teams are not allowed to race on would solve the problems of riders being unavailable racing for their other British club, doubling up should be for Brits only too. The necessity for PL teams to all track a three point reserve will mean these riders are competitive, there should have been a draft with two British reserves for each PL team but it hasn't happened unfortunately. Last season (2015) the NL found a good balance, plenty of young Brits have come into the league and made steps forward, something which will carry on next season, the points limit is likely to go up a little but not enough to put young riders out of work and see the old guard come back in stealing pocket money from kids. A few experienced heads do work at this level nonetheless and there is scope to allow this to happen. Things are by no means perfect but they have started to move in a more positive direction. Now is not time to rip up the blueprint.

It would save a lot of hassle if riders were only tied to a club for the length of their contract at said club though. Not sure how the system works in Poland for example but I'd imagine that riders are free to do as they please once their contracts are up over there? Didn't realise the bit about clubs having to own riders to a specific value, surely this is partly responsible for clubs bring overseas riders in on assessed averages just to meet said criteria?

NL will always have this issue while there are stand alone sides and reserve teams, however reducing the points limit last season was a positive step in ensuring teams were all bringing through young riders, while the stand alone teams can still try to assemble title winning teams within the points limit. No major changes to he structure of the NL are needed at all, if anything it is the league with the least wrong at the moment.

I don't think signing a rider in his forties is the way to go either, even if it is someone of PK's calibre.

Probably because his average would now allow him to ride PL. Not sure where the seven point figure has come from though, he'd be on 9.19.

There hasn't been, though Kennett says he wants to come back so it's highly likely he'll be back.

As someone who has watched most of his speedway career, yes he is a gating tart. Couldn't pass wind in his last spell at Rye.

He's raced in far more GPs than Penhall did in World Finals though. Across a season luck can even out, in a one off individual any small mistake/misfortune can impact the end result completely. Take that Danish GP as an example, had that been a one off World Final then Troy Batchelor would have been World Champion. Then in thirty years when people were arguing over whether the sport was better in the halcyon days of the 2010s or the current crop in the 2040s Batchelor would have been seriously debated as one of the best ever. I don't think there's any doubt about Hancock from a longevity point of view, he's had peaks and troughs perhaps but he has been one of the top riders in the world throughout that time.

So, after the huge tangent, Penhall or Hancock? Hancock for me, has been at the sharp end of the sport for the best part of three decades. That takes some doing and he doesn't look like he's going to stop any time soon. In my opinion it is harder to win a World Title in a GP series than in a one off meeting too, you have to be good across a whole season. Luck plays a huge part in individual meetings.

They achieved those 7/8 point averages because there were two reserve races and in their other two they only faced second strings and other reserves.

Who are the other five? The PL averages being used for reserves are because nobody bothered to keep a track of the draft riders' averages without the protected heats included. If that had been done, or better still if they'd not been mollycoddled in the first place and allowed to race against all of their opponents in the EL rather than just second strings and fellow reserves then they would have proper EL averages. Oh and the 1-5 riders would have averages representative of their ability too rather than all being near to six and having to be graded for 2016.

Does proper racer mean gating tart these days then?

Looks like a high average to sign him on to me, I'm not sure if he spent any time at number one last year but he's certainly not a seasoned number one. Will definitely need some good heatleader back up.

I wouldn't be happy going into the season with Ricky Wells as my number one personally.

That's all that matters in speedway, being a nice bloke and trying hard.

He's had that bargain average for a long while now.

Nick Morris looks set to leave Glasgow and is on an attractive average. Howarth could be available too.

He never looked like a future GP star when he first came over here though. He's really kicked in in the last few seasons though, if Cook can emulate him then that would be great.

No brainer bringing him back then, the team needs to be built around him.