Speedway fan

clubs there were Workington, Oxford, Plymouth and Birmingham

MIDLAND DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE 2024 (League Matches only, excluding bonus points) Compiled by Mike Moseley. Rider Mat Rides Points BP Total Average Kai Ward 1 3 9 0 9 12.00 Eli Meadows 7 22 63 0 63 11.45 Ryan Ashcroft 4 11 30 1 31 10.91 Bailey Fellows 3 7 17 0 17 9.71 Jacob Fellows 4 13 30 1 31 9.23 Sonny Springer 1 4 9 0 9 9.00 Billy Budd 3 8 17 0 17 8.50 Max Broadhurst 5 12 24 0 24 8.00 Harrison Rogers 7 23 45 4 49 7.83 Hayden Watts 1 3 5 0 5 6.67 Jamie Etherington 3 8 11 1 12 5.50 Joe Crewe 9 31 41 13 54 5.29 Liam Cox 3 9 11 2 13 4.89 Harley Driscoll-Freeman 7 23 21 2 23 3.65 Jack Crewe 8 28 25 9 34 3.57 Jake Breeze 6 18 10 4 14 2.22 Will Boraston 6 16 8 1 9 2.00 Ben Phillips 1 4 2 0 2 2.00 Wayne Hutt 1 1 0 0 0 0.00

MIDLAND DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE AVERAGES 2024 League matches only. Averages don't include bonus points. (Compiled by Mike Moseley) BIRMINGHAM (BULLS) RIDER MAT RIDES POINTS BP TOTAL AVERAGE Bailey Fellows 2 5 13 0 13 10.40 Jacob Fellows 4 13 30 1 31 9.23 Billy Budd 3 8 17 0 17 8.50 Hayden Watts 1 3 5 0 5 6.67 Joe Crewe 7 25 34 10 44 5.44 Harley Driscoll-Freeman 1 3 3 0 3 4.00 Jack Crewe 7 24 20 7 27 3.33 Max Broadhurst 1 1 0 0 0 0.00 BIRMINGHAM (BUFFALOES) Ryan Ashcroft 2 6 18 0 18 12.00 Eli Meadows 7 22 63 0 63 11.45 Max Broadhurst 4 11 24 0 24 8.73 Harrison Rogers 1 3 5 2 7 6.67 Jake Breeze 6 18 10 4 14 2.22 Will Boraston 6 16 8 1 9 2.00 Ben Phillips 1 4 2 0 2 2.00 LEICESTER Kai Ward 1 3 9 0 9 12.00 Ryan Ashcroft 2 5 12 1 13 9.60 Sonny Springer 1 4 9 0 9 9.00 Bailey Fellows 1 2 4 0 4 8.00 Harrison Rogers 6 20 40 2 42 8.00 Jamie Etherington 3 8 11 1 12 5.50 Jack Crewe 1 4 5 2 7 5.00 Liam Cox 3 9 11 2 13 4.89 Joe Crewe 2 6 7 3 10 4.67 Harley Driscoll-Freeman 6 20 18 2 20 3.60 Wayne Hutt 1 1 0 0 0 0.00

BIRMINGHAM Speedway are delighted to confirm their participation in the 2025 ROWE Motor Oil Premiership. The Brummies have met conditions that were recently agreed following a cash flow crisis at the end of the 2024 campaign. And club CEO Nigel Tolley informed league chiefs of their position at a British Speedway Promoters’ Ltd meeting on Tuesday. “It goes without saying that it’s a massive relief,” Tolley said. “The situation has been changing day-by-day but with some hard work behind the scenes and the generosity of people out there, we found ourselves in the position we needed to be at at this stage. “We’re not completely out of the woods just yet but we’re where we needed to be at this point to be back at the tapes next season and just as importantly, we now have a path that will enable us to clear all outstanding debts in the near future. “Team building for 2025 is underway and I will do everything I can to build a team the supporters can really relate to and get behind because I think that’s something they missed out on a little bit this year. “We’re certainly not just hanging in there to make up the numbers and our aim is to be a much more competitive force in next year’s Premiership. “We can now start going back to the riders we’ve already been speaking to and hopefully we’ll be able to announce our first signing by the end of this week.”

ALAN GRAHAME MEMORIAL DATE MOVED (AGAIN!)—NOW MONDAY OCTOBER 7TH With the Premiership play off final now moved to Monday 30th September with the 2nd leg at Leicester postponed on Thursday , the Birmingham promotion have made the sensible decision to not run against it. This is partly due to rider availability but also how it would affect the attendance with people either going to the meeting or watching it on Eurosport. Brummies co-promoter Laurence Rogers has the unenviable task of sorting the logistics for the meeting and ensuring the four teams have riders! He said, “ well I’ve had to change the date a few times now and tie in the availability of the riders to represent the four Midlands teams. I am hoping the majority, if not all, of the riders who were due to line up on the 30th will be able to ride on October 7th. It’s also ensuring we have the medical cover, security and staff in place and that the stadium is available that day! We also have five sponsors in place for the meeting and they can hopefully be in attendance plus our commercial manager Steve Rolleston has several possible sponsors for 2025 due to be there. “ “We also have had a good response for advance tickets including a lot taking up the Gold VIP ticket so again I have to make sure all those who have booked so far are able to make the new date. It’s not too late for fans of any of four sides – Birmingham, Cradley, Wolverhampton or Coventry to pre-book on this Trybooking link : https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DUNT We will be confirming the riders for each side once the confirmations are received .”

thanks ... amended !

MDL BULLS SET UP TITLE DECIDER WITH TIGHT WIN OVER LEICESTER CUBS The destiny of the 2024 Midland Development League will now go down to the wire in the final clash of the two Birmingham sides on Monday 9th September. A close fought battle against the Leicester Lion Cubs saw the DUCTAIR Bulls secure victory in the final heat to put them back on top by just one point ahead of the SUPPORTERS CLUB Buffaloes. So any result on 9th September is possible. A Buffaloes win or a draw would see them take the honours from their rivals to take the title. A Bulls win would give them top spot so it’s all to ride for ! The clash between the Buffaloes and the Leicester Lion Cubs was a topsy-turvy affair but it took a mammoth heat 6 effort by the Bulls to secure the win and the two points. The Cubs took the honours in heat 1 with Harrison Rogers and guest Ryan Ashcroft starting with a 5-1. The Buffaloes then pulled that back with a 5-1 of their own in heat 2 with Cubs losing Harley Driscoll-Freeman with a shoulder injury as Jack Crewe took a race win followed home by skipper Jacob Fellows ahead of Liam Cox. This tied the scores at 6 apiece. The Bulls took the lead 11-7 with debutant Hayden Watts tasting victory with Joe Crewe joining him for a 5-1 to make it 11-7. The maximum heat wins continued in heat 4 but this time for Leicester as Ryan Ashcroft and Cubs skipper Harrison Rogers notched their second 5-1 to level the scores at 12 apiece. Heat 5 was a drawn heat as Harrison Rogers secured his paid maximum ahead of Hayden Watts and Jack Crewe. So with the scores at 15-15 it was all down to heat 6. Ryan Ashcroft gated but Jacob Fellows powered under him followed by Joe Crewe and despite Ashcroft’s effort the home duo took a 5-1 to win the clash for the DUCTAIR Bulls 20-16. DUCTAIR Bulls 20 ( Jacob Fellows 3r 6+1. Joe Crewe 5+2. Hayden Watts 5. Jack Crewe 3r 4+1) Leicester 16 ( Harrison Rogers 3r 8+1 paid max, Ryan Ashcroft 3r 6+1, Liam Cox 2 M W D L F A PTS BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES 7 4 1 2 130 113 9 BIRMINGHAM BULLS 7 4 0 3 122 121 8 LEICESTER CUBS 8 2 1 5 126 144 5

MDL BUFFALOES CONTINUE WINNING STREAK …IT’S ALL TO PLAY FOR AS THEY OPEN UP 3 POINT LEAD AT TOP OF TABLE It’s not all over … but the Birmingham SUPPORTERS CLUB Buffaloes have one hand on the 2024 Midland Development League title. They took full advantage of the Birmingham DUCTAIR Bulls problems to secure a 25-11 win and put them 3 points ahead of their Perry Barr rivals. This was the biggest win of the season for the Buffaloes and with two meeting remaining the destiny of the league title now could go down to the wire in the final MDL meeting on 9th September. The Bulls can bring the league points deficit down to one with a win next Monday over the Leicester Lion Cubs to set up a thrilling finale to the 2024 campaign. The DUCTAIR Bulls were with the Fellows cousins for this clash against the Buffaloes with Bailey without machinery and Jacob having to pull out. Leicester’s Harley Driscoll-Freeman stepped in as a guest but the Bulls were hit by skipper Billy Budd pulling out after one ride. He was winning heat 1 against rival skipper Eli Meadows when his rear chain snapped causing damage that was irreparable forcing him out of the meeting. Joe Crewe battled on to top the Bulls scoring with 7 but the Buffaloes had the edge with Eli Meadows and Ryan Ashcroft again notching 9 point maximums whilst guest Harrison Rogers backed them up with 5+2 from his 3 rides. Jake Breeze changed bikes after his no. 1 bike went flat and added 2 points to his team’s efforts. For the Bulls Jack Crewe had two falls but he battled hard for his team and is learning all the time. With Max Broadhurst and Will Boraston out injured the duo were pitside supporting their team mates as they look towards lifting the league title on September 9th but the Bulls will take things to the wire with hopefully both sides at full strength. SUPPORTERS CLUB Buffaloes 25 ( Ryan Ashcroft 3r 9 max, Eli Meadows 3r 9 max, Harrison Rogers 3r 5+2, Jake Breeze 3r 2) DUCTAIR Bulls 11 ( Joe Crewe 4r 7, Harley Driscoll-Freeman 3r 3, Jack Crewe 4r 1+1, Billy Budd 1r 0) M W D L F A PTS BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES 7 4 1 2 130 113 9 BIRMINGHAM BULLS 7 3 0 4 102 105 6 LEICESTER CUBS 7 2 1 4 110 124 5

depends what forecast you look at as all are different !! .,.....showing windy later but still warm . Not being horrible but posts like this don't help clubs !!

BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES GO BACK TO TOP OF MDL WITH NARROW VICTORY OVER LEICESTER LION CUBS. In a close fought battle the Birmingham SUPPORTERS CLUB Buffaloes regained the lead in the league table leap frogging their Birmingham rivals , the DUCTAIR Bulls , defeating the Leicester Lion Cubs18-16. Leicester were missing a few of their regular side through holidays and brought in two DUCTAIR Bulls in Bailey Fellows and Joe Crewe. Home skipper Eli Meadows opened up with a win in heat 1 after partner Will Boraston had crashed in the original staging. Buffaloes debutant Ryan Ashcroft , in for the injured Max Broadhurst and unavailable Hayden Watts, took victory in heat 2 with the Lion Cubs tucking him behind him to share the heat keeping the scores locked together at 6 apiece. Heat 3 saw Lion Cubs Harley Driscoll-Freeman fall on bend 4 with home man Will Boraston laying his bike down but inuring his ankle and being unable to take his place in the re-run. Eli Meadows raced away to his second win ahead of Cubs guest Bailey Fellows with the 3-2 putting the Buffaloes one ahead at 9-8. It was another shared heat in the 4th race as Ryan Ashcroft took his second win ahead of Harrison Rogers and guest Joe Crewe so the home side held a narrow one point advantage at 12-11. Eli Meadows took heat 5 to record a 9 point maximum with partner Jake Breeze having bike problems and unable to get the better of Harrison Rogers and Harley Driscoll-Freeman so another drawn heat meant the home side went into the last race one point up at 15-14. Heat 6 ended up as a match race with Will Boraston out with an ankle injury whilst for the Lion Cubs guest Bailey Fellows had bike problems and couldn’t take his place. Ryan Ashcroft secured victory for his side and his 9 point max ahead of Joe Crewe. The SUPPORTERS CLUB Buffaloes now have a one point advantage at the top of the table ahead of the DUCTAIR Bulls. They meet next Monday with the league title still very much up for grabs . Birmingham Buffaloes 18 ( Eli Meadows 3r 9 max, Ryan Ashcroft 3r 9 max, Jake Breeze 3r 0, Will Boraston 1 r 0) Leicester Lion Cubs 16 ( Harrison Rogers 3r 6, Joe Crewe 3r 4+2, Bailey Fellows 2r 4, Harley Driscoll-Freeman 3r 2+2) M W D L F A PTS BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES 6 3 1 2 105 102 7 BIRMINGHAM BULLS 6 3 0 3 91 80 6 LEICESTER CUBS 7 2 1 4 110 124 5

MDL LEICESTER LION CUBS VICTORY OVER TABLE TOPPING DUCTAIR BULLS With riders missing and late guest call up of Max Broadhurst returning from injury having to withdraw the table topping Birmingham DUCTAIR Bulls went down 17-12 to the Leicester Lion Cubs. This makes the league table very tight with just one point separating the three sides. The Bulls were without Billy Budd (van problems)and Jacob Fellows (on holiday) and lost guest Max Broadhurst in his first ride with his wrist not strong enough to continue. Leicester were also down to three riders with Ben Phillips breaking down in his van on the way to the meeting so were using rider replacement. Things started in the worst possible way in heat one for the home side with Jack Crewe coming down on the first bend and excluded from the re-run. Then Max Broadhurst pulled up in pain whilst second in the re-run and the Lion Cubs duo of Harley Driscoll-Freeman and Liam Cox racing to a 5-0 heat win. Things could have got worse for the DUCTAIR Bulls when Driscoll-Freeman fell with the returning Ryan Ashcroft taking victory and the scores were now 3-8. Taking his third ride in succession Driscoll-Freeman fell and was excluded. Ashcroft took victory so with a drawn heat the Lion Cubs were 11-6 up. But the Bulls bounced back in heat 4 with a maximum 5-1 heat win with Bailey Fellows combing with Joe Crewe to outpace Liam Cox and bring the scoreline to 11-12. But heat 5 saw the Lion Cubs secure the league points with a 5-1 for the impressive Driscoll-Freeman and Cox with Jack Crewe having clutch problems and not finishing the race and brother Joe not recovering from a slow start . With the scores at 12-17 the final race was not staged with the curfew time reached. Leicester now return to Perry Barr on August 12th to face the SUPPORTERS CLUB Buffaloes in a race for the title that looks like going down to the wire. DUCTAIR Bulls 12 ( Joe Crewe 4r 6+1, Bailey Fellows 2r 5, Jack Crewe 3r 1) Lion Cubs 17 ( Ryan Ashcroft 2r 6 max, Harley Driscoll-Freeman 4r 6, Liam Cox 3r 5+2) M W D L F A PTS BIRMINGHAM BULLS 6 3 0 3 91 80 6 BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES 5 2 1 2 87 86 5 LEICESTER CUBS 6 2 1 3 94 106 5 MAY LEICESTER V BIRMINGHAM BULLS A FIXTURE 18-17 MON 13 MAY BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V BIRMINGHAM BULLS A FIXTURE ---OFF SUN 19 MAY LEICESTER V BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES B FIXTURE 13-22 MON 27 MAY BIRMINGHAM BULLS V BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES A FIXTURE 20-16 MON 3 JUNE BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V LEICESTER A FIXTURE 2 17-13 SUN 23 JUNE LEICESTER V BIRMINGHAM BULLS B FIXTURE 15-20 MON 24 JUNE BIRMINGHAM BULLS V BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES B FIXTURE 22-14 MON 8 JULY BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V BIRMINGHAM BULLS A FIXTURE OFF MON 29 JULY BIRMINGHAM BULLS V LEICESTER A FIXTURE 12-17 MON 12 AUG BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V LEICESTER B FIXTURE MON 19 AUG BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V BIRMINGHAM BULLS A FIXTURE MON 26 AUG BIRMINGHAM BULLS V LEICESTER B FIXTURE MON 9 SEPT BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V BIRMINGHAM BULLS B FIXTURE

REVISED FIXTURES MDL FIXTURES 2024 MON 15 APRIL BIRMINGHAM BULLS V LEICESTER A FIXTURE OFF SUN 21 APRIL LEICESTER V BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES A FIXTURE 18-18 SUN 12 MAY LEICESTER V BIRMINGHAM BULLS A FIXTURE 18-17 MON 13 MAY BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V BIRMINGHAM BULLS A FIXTURE ---OFF SUN 19 MAY LEICESTER V BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES B FIXTURE 13-22 MON 27 MAY BIRMINGHAM BULLS V BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES A FIXTURE 2016 MON 3 JUNE BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V LEICESTER A FIXTURE 2 17-13 SUN 23 JUNE LEICESTER V BIRMINGHAM BULLS B FIXTURE 15-20 MON 24 JUNE BIRMINGHAM BULLS V BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES B FIXTURE 22-14 MON 8 JULY BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V BIRMINGHAM BULLS A FIXTURE OFF MON 29 JULY BIRMINGHAM BULLS V LEICESTER A FIXTURE MON 12 AUG BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V LEICESTER B FIXTURE MON 19 AUG BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V BIRMINGHAM BULLS A FIXTURE MON 26 AUG BIRMINGHAM BULLS V LEICESTER B FIXTURE MON 9 SEPT BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES V BIRMINGHAM BULLS B FIXTURE

SPECIAL DEAL FOR OXFORD FANS TO ATTEND BIRMINGHAM V OXFORD ON MONDAY 8TH JULY ….. A special deal has been arranged for Oxford fans to support their side at Birmingham on Monday 8th July . A coach is being run from Oxford to the meeting with fans gaining from a sponsorship from CHALFONT COACHES , Birmingham have negotiated that sees them get the travel and adult admission for a bargain price of £30 ! The coach will leave the stadium , where cars can be parked , at 4.15 pm . Bookings can be made on line on Trybooking using the ref: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DQNT There are 50 spaces on the coach so it is a case of first come first served to take advantage of this deal.

SPECIAL DEAL FOR OXFORD FANS TO ATTEND BIRMINGHAM V OXFORD ON MONDAY 8TH JULY ….. A special deal has been arranged for Oxford fans to support their side at Birmingham on Monday 8th July . A coach is being run from Oxford to the meeting with fans gaining from a sponsorship from CHALFONT COACHES , Birmingham have negotiated that sees them get the travel and adult admission for a bargain price of £30 ! The coach will leave the stadium , where cars can be parked , at 4.15 pm . Bookings can be made on line on Trybooking using the ref: https://www.trybooking.com/uk/DQNT There are 50 spaces on the coach so it is a case of first come first served to take advantage of this deal.

MDL DUCTAIR BULLS WIN CLASH OF THE BIRMINGHAM SIDES TO GO TOP OF MDL Both sides were hit by late withdrawals and had to run three man teams using rider replacement for the missing riders. The SUPPORTERS CLUB Buffaloes , already without the high scoring Max Broadhurst who has a broken scaphoid which requires surgery with his season looking over, lost Jake Breeze to illness. The DUCTAIR Bulls lost Bailey Fellows when he blew his engine warming his bike up after a successful return to the track the day before at Leicester. The Buffaloes battled hard but had to admit defeat after conceding two 5-1’s in heats 3 and 6 with the other four races shared with 3-3’s. Buffaloes skipper Eli Meadows continued his good form notching up a 12 point maximum from his four rides but with Will Boraston and Ben Phillips adding only 2 more the Bulls took the honours 22-14 to leapfrog their rivals into top spot. Bulls skipper Billy Budd returned to action after finishing his exams and notched 9 points from his 4 outings. Local lads Joe and Jack Crewe , who show improvement each time they ride hit their best scores of the season with Joe on 7+3 and Jack on 6+3 with the brothers enjoying their first 5-1 together in heat 6. The league title could still be anybody’s and could go right down to the wire. The two sides meet again on July 8th with everything to go for with the Buffaloes looking to bring in a replacement for Max Broadhurst to keep their title hopes alive. DUCTAIR BULLS 22 ( Billy Budd 4r 9, Joe Crewe 4r 7+3, Jack Crewe 4r 6+3) SUPPORTERS CLUB BUFFALOES 14 ( Eli Meadows 4r 12 MAX, Ben Phillips 4r 2, Will Boraston 4r 0) M W D L F A PTS BIRMINGHAM BULLS 5 3 0 2 79 63 6 BIRMINGHAM BUFFALOES 5 2 1 2 87 86 5 LEICESTER CUBS 5 1 1 3 77 94 3