PhilK

You can have that one greyhoundp . Hope that plenty of Dudley supporters will be heading down to West Row on Sunday. Looking forward to the return of Lewis Blackbird who has made a flying start to the season. Should be a close meeting for sure.

Well it’s almost here, the start of the 2013 NL season. The Grand Slam winners face the team that provided so many great on track battles in 2012. Mildenhall – Stefan Nielsen, Jon Armstrong, Josh Bates, Danny Halsey, Aaron Baseby, Nathan Stoneman and Liam Rumsey Dudley – Lewis Blackbird, Ashley Morris, Gareth Isherwood, Paul Starke, Dan Greenwood, Max Clegg and Nathan Greaves Although I can’t see it being a two horse race like it was last season, these two sides should both feature at the business end of the season. There will be performances from local band ‘Wing-It’ before and after the meeting, so get down to West Row for great racing, fish n’ chips AND music on Sunday 7th April.

Not really a case of eating humble pie Derek tbh. The 'pundits' can surely only comment on what they know can't they? Not that their views are really of much interest to most who realise that the seven you start with is rarely the seven you finish with in a speedway season.

Excellent looking field Mike!

The Open Practise has been cancelled due to track conditions and the weekend forecast.

The Press and practise weekend has had to be abandoned due to track conditions and the weekends forecast. A new date will be advised once known.

FROM The Official Mildenhall website - Mildenhall Fen Tigers have frozen admission prices for the 2013 season. It means the cost of watching the Grand Slam winners at West Row will remain at £12 for adults, £11 for concessions and Juniors aged under 15 will still get free admission. The match day programme will stay priced at £1.50. Commenting on the decision, club chairman Kevin Jolly said, "We know that last year's increases made us more expensive than we would have liked, but for various reasons we really had no choice. Although the costs of running the club aren't getting any cheaper, we are only too aware that it's still a tough time for people economically, so we decided it would be unfair to expect supporters to dip into their pockets even more to watch their speedway, especially after the fantastic loyalty they've shown to us since we relaunched the club in 2011. I'm certain it'll be another season that will give value for money for both home and visiting supporters." Jolly has also confirmed that fans will be welcome to attend this year's Press and Practice weekend on 16th and 17th March at West Row. "We have an open practise session on the Saturday starting at 10.30am which we are expecting plenty of riders to take part in. Then on Sunday we have our Press day and supporters can come to that after midday. We thought it would give everyone a chance to blow away the winter cobwebs and see the 2013 team take to the track for the first time." Admission is free although there will be fundraising events taking place. The Fenman Bar and Fish and Chip Bar will also be open on both days

There will be an Open Practise Day at Mildenhall Speedway Stadium on Saturday 16th March 2013 starting at 10.30am The cost for the day is £45.00 per rider and is open to all. If you have any questions contact details can be found on the Mildenhall 'Fen Tigers' Official website

I see this most worthy of meetings is due to be run on 22nd March, any news of the line up?

FROM THE OFFICIAL MILDENHALL WEBSITE - Danny Halsey has been named as the 2013 Mildenhall Fen Tigers' captain. The 24-year-old takes over from Lewis Blackbird who has moved to Dudley. Fans' favourite Halsey, who played a major part in the club's Grand Slam success last year, is now also the only rider who has ridden for the club since the current promotion launched the 'new era' of speedway at West Row at the start of 2011. "When we sat down to decide who was going to take over from Lewis as skipper, Danny's name quickly moved to the top of the list and we all agreed that he was the man to lead the team this season," said Mildenhall Chairman Kevin Jolly. "He has been a model professional since he joined Mildenhall and we are sure he will prove to be a great captain. We also hope it'll give him the confidence to add some points on to his own average. When we told him we wanted him to be skipper he accepted straight away and to say he is up for the job would be a big understatement. He can't wait to get started and we know he'll be a massive help to the young lads in particular." The promotion have also confirmed that an Official Supporters' Club is being formed again in time for the 2013 season. Jolly explained, "We had a very positive meeting with Paul and Shantel Jenkins who will run things for us. They've got some exciting ideas for the Supporters' Club events and will be putting together a committee to help organise things. It's great that fans will have the chance to hold their own events again." Meanwhile the club have also confirmed the date of this year's 'Meet the Riders' night. It will take place in the Fenman Bar at West Row on Saturday 23rd February. Track staff should arrive at 6.30pm with the evening's main events for supporters starting at 7.30pm. All the 2013 team are expected to attend along with the Fen Tigers' promotion and management team. Entry is free.

Has there been a fans forum / get together yet? I was wondering what the feeling is crowd wise once the season gets going. 300? more

His average doesn't fit?

Whilst the news of speedway returning to Kent is one of the best pieces of news in speedway for a while, I do find it a little strange that the team has not started to be announced yet. I would have thought they would have wanted to keep the initial momentum going, by giving the supporters a name or two for them to look forward to seeing in their first season ?

It is shaping up to be an excellent 2013 in the NL. After last years two team race things look much closer. The completed sides Mildenhall, Dudley & IOW all look pretty close to me, Stoke too if everything clicks for them. Kings Lynn look good so far with Mallett, Young, Kerr, Stokes and Hazelden already signed. Buxton if they added Wright, Grant, Blacklock and Carr would look decent, whilst Kent I would imagine may feature Boxall/Hawkins, Morley, Coles, Owen (if fit), Kingston. Coventry have signed some decent youngsters as well along with one of the most underated riders in the league in Joe Jacobs. I can see 5 or 6 teams all competing for the four play off places, Looking good

Welcome home Jon, Mildenhall legend!

You are always welcome mate, and fit in so well

Interesting new signing -- The Hitmen continue with their team building as they add newcomer Matt Williamson to their 2013 lineup. Williamson 20, is from Bury and has a racing background after competing in motorcross since he was 6 years old. He has won multiple youth championships in all of the classes riding for various manufacturers. His biggest achievements are winning the British Masters championship in 2010 and he was leading the championship again the following year before he was sidelined with an injury. This year he was placed 3rd in the British 2 stroke championship and was awarded with a place in the support race at the British round of the World Grand Prix where he finished second all of which was televised live. He also attracted the attention of Monster Energy who nominated him as the most impressive rider of the meeting (out of over 400 riders) winning an all expenses paid trip to Las Vegas in October. Williamson has decided to make the switch to speedway and despite numerous offers from other clubs has pledged his immediate future to the Hitmen. Hitmen boss Richard Moss said: “Matt’s dad contacted us asking for the chance of a team spot after recommendations from other riders. “We met up over the weekend and he had his first look at the Buxton track and a deal was quickly struck. “He has an impressive background in motocross and has attended some practice sessions where he has caught the eye of a few speedway promoters but we are pleased to welcome him to Buxton where we will do everything we can to help him progress.” Williamson added: “I have been interested in Speedway for a long time and after this season finished I decided to give it a try. “I seem to have taken to it straight away and have been impressing people with my speed in such a short period of time. “I believe in signing with Buxton that this is the start of what will hopefully be a very promising career as I feel I have a lot of potential and am willing to give it my all and do whatever it takes to succeed

Kev deserves a Happy Christmas after being called 'the' mate of the Northern shorts wearer Only joking Chris

That would be a fine line up imo. Although it would be great to see Bob Coles grand son in a Fen Tigers race jacket if he could be fitted in. Whoever lines up for Mildenhall though is good enough for me. We really shouldn't be too quick to forget the bad times of 2008 - 2010 (they were not that long ago), we are lucky to have such a well run club now and long may that remain.

Taken from the BSPA website - Rye House has announced that there will not be a Raiders team entered in the National League for 2013. Instead, the whole operation will move to Central Park Stadium, Sittingbourne, where the team of Rye House contracted riders will operate as "Kent". As Rye promoter Len Silver explains, "This is a better opportunity for far more meetings for our riders, who will make better progress as a result. We will still stage a few meetings with them at Hoddesdon during the season on dates when our senior team are racing away from home at Workington and Berwick. “It was always difficult to fit in all the league commitments, and this plan provides the best of both worlds, with our riders getting better training and not quite such a hectic programme at Hoddesdon." As previously announced, the opening meeting at Rye House in 2013 will be slightly later than in previous years, with Easter Monday (April 1st @ 2pm) named as the scheduled date. Ipswich will provide the Rockets’ opposition in an official Premier Trophy match. Please also find below additional information on the new Kent venture, which is contained in this separate release: Roger Cearns, who is the Chief Executive Officer at Central Park Stadium in Sittingbourne, Kent, and already responsible for the very successful Greyhound Racing operation there, has applied to the BSPA for a licence to run Speedway in his stadium. Although Roger has some personal history in the sport having been involved at Hackney during its latter years, he is being assisted in this new venture by Len Silver of Rye House. It is planned to run a team in the National League for 2013 operating on Monday evenings, with Bank Holiday Monday , May 6th, penciled in as the opening date. Apart from Bank Holidays (when meetings will start at 3pm), normal Mondays will see a 6.30pm start with a Council imposed curfew of 8.30. 20 meetings are scheduled for 2013. If the venture is reasonably successful, as expected, the probability is that the team, known as "Kent" will race two seasons at National League level and then apply to move into the Premier league. The track, currently under construction, will measure 264 meters, with wide corners to encourage plenty of passing manoeuvres. The stadium itself will be one of, if not the, finest in the sport with over 2000 seats plus a fine restaurant and corporate entertainment suites, and licenced bars and fast food outlets in addition. All spectators will have a superb view of the racing from high level accommodation. Initially the riders for the team will come from those at Rye House and the Raiders will not be league members for 2013. However, a number of National League standard matches will remain part of the Rye House programme, albeit less than in the past. Roger is delighted to be back involved in the sport and commented, "My family has a long tradition in Speedway and was very much involved with stadium building in the early days, particularly in London. This project at Sittingbourne has taken many years to get off the ground and it is very gratifying that we are at last under way. I am pleased to have Len (Silver) alongside to help me and I am very confident that together we can make it a success." The team name "Kent" will dictates that the team logo will be a red rampant horse which is the Kent County emblem. No nickname has been decided and the public will be asked to submit their ideas with a prize for the person selecting the name chosen. Some of the names suggested so far have been Spitfires, Hurricanes, Invicta, Crusaders (the old Canterbury title), Bishops and Pilgrims. All have Kent connections and persons wishing to enter the competition should send their entries to "Speedway", Central Park Stadium, Church Rd., Sittingbourne, ME10 3SB. This is also the address for those interested in becoming track staff.

Good luck to Lewis at Dudley, he has been excellent for Mildenhall over the last two seasons.

Great thet this news is finally out! Good luck to this venture, certainly hope to make a couple of visits during 2013

Personally I'd be shocked if Joe doesn't sign as well for 2013. I agree with Adz thinking that they may not want two riders doubling up full time, which to me is pretty sound thinking. The key for me will be Nathans recovery from injury, at the time of his crash his average was already moving towards six points and I got the feeling it wasn't stopping there. A fit Nathan could easily double his average plus more and be heading towards the third heat leader berth by the business end of next season. He really was very impressive home and away, his TR ride at Dudley being just one example of this lads talent.

I'd be surprised to if 40 is the agreed limit for 2013 Mr Mungo, as like you I am sure I heard it was going to be lowered a little 38 - 38.5 seems a more likely figure so with that in mind 1. Nielsen 8.32 2. Bates 5.30 3. Kerr 6.67 4. Coles 4.20 5. Jacobs 7.94 6. Stoneman 3.00 7. Bailey, Terry- Daley, an other 3.00 I wonder if Lewis will be considered as there would be a likelihood of a similair scenario as this year if he returns to his PL club. Danny I fear may be the unlucky one who misses out PS - not trying to sign other teams riders, just a bit of close season fun

Mike . what time are you planning on leaving, I can text you a weather update as you need it! I have your number mate. As for the office, you can either enter via the pits in front of the bar, or go up into the viewing area at the end of the bar, go down the steps to where the toilets are and you should be able to get through to the office below the stairs By the way its dry and windy at the moment in Mildenhall, a real wrap up warm night!! No rain all day with a drying wind, fingers crossed it stays that way until about 10pm tonight