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It is very unfortunate and difficult for Victor getting caught in the middle of this situation, Leicester were well in their rights to request transfer for James as they brought him and then gave him a team place for 2019 and he had the contract but then Glasgow offered him a deal he couldn’t turn down. Leicester have also been on receiving end of this kind of rider control while in the Premiership twice they have agreed terms with top No1 riders for their parent club to demand full transfer if Leicester wanted to use the said riders. Back to the new signing I am sure once they have got sorted at Leicester they will become a good signing I believe they have rode over here before just not on a regular basis

Hopefully Victor will be a good signing for the Lions and can strengthen the middle order of the team up. Although Leicester fans will have to wait to see him in action as it’s the Swedish final this weekend which he is riding in but as a National final a guest is available

I presume for cost reasons and logistics the SON is being done as a remote TV production so limited number of cameras and small amount of equipment with the all the graphics,replays and commentary being done from London that’s why there are some gaps as there is a small time delay and also why they are not more up to date with what’s going on in the pits as don’t have spotters in the bits saying about bike changes and injury updates. Personally I think the picture quality and coverage has not been great but that may just be me being over critical. Hopefully tomorrow will be better but is hard with limited equipment and staff on the ground

Firstly it is pleasing to hear that both Josh and Broc are not seriously injured as there was a lot of concern for Broc as he was very poorly last night and unconscious for a long time along with showing symptoms of serious head injury hence why there was such a lengthy delay as constant monitoring of his heart, BP and to make sure he was not deteriorating was required . At Leicester the paramedics are very experienced and are Speedway fans so often they are happy to diagnose an injury then leave them in the care of one of their team until an NHS ambulance is there so racing can continue but last night was a different situation where Broc simply could not be left until NHS arrived even then it took a while for them to move him to make sure he was stable. onto the meeting I thought there was some very good close racing and Mountain impressed again hopefully he has his confidence back now. The track was good smooth and fast as the riders like

Jenga- I was on about the 50/50 draws at Leicester that have been over £350 winnings each week. Back on subject it is clear that for whatever reason Sheffield fans and people do not like Sunday racing, so with the limited availability of the stadium and the Premiership fixed race nights the only option is for Sheffield to go up to the top division. However this is not a move that the Bates Family Are prepared to do so new promotion is required for 2020

The other difference between Leicester and Sheffield is that Leicester fans support the team through the difficult times where as some Sheffield fans are only interested in winning and if they lose a meeting then stay away and criticise from home You just have to look to Sunday Leicester fans brought Josh Bates a new helmet after his recent crash and also always get very large 50/50 draws

Skidder 1 - Freesports is already in HD on Virgin as far as I know it was just Sky that was missing

More good news Freesport are going HD on Sky from July 15th so no more fuzzy vision which if I am honest is why I have not watched a single match this season

Josh is ok although I am sure he will feel a bit sore and knocked about in the morning and the bike is going to take some straightening by the looks of it. He was quite a lucky lad not to have injured his back again with the force he came down with.

I am sure the two named photographers at Leicester will be spoken to again and reminded that this has to stop straight away and if they have any grievances then they should raise it with the club and Nigel Pearson

I have a feeling Perks signing will not be announced until after the weekend so that he can ride for the Lion cubs in the KO cup

I don’t think there is any doubt that Taylor is a good young up and coming photographer who is prepared to do the miles to take his pictures all around the country. To answer some questions about why clubs keep using Taylor’s photos where possible this is due to clubs sub contracting their social media presence out to Phil Lanning media which is Taylor’s dad that is part of the reason why he is around so many tracks so clubs are getting away meetings as well as home. Also the BSPA social media output is done by Nigel Pearson whose preferred photography supplier is Lanning Media

As far as I know tonight is a BSI production so would say Steve Saint will be the director he does all the GPs and has done for years. It does like that they are using a different OB provider Timeline tonight so some of the camera crew may not have done Speedway before as they only do British GP and SON

I know Saturday nights are at a premium but the decision to run this night does look rather silly by Leicester. Belle Vue are one of the glamour clubs in the league with their young riders and I think they will be up towards the top of the league it would make sense to move this to another date when a full side can be tracked. Also to go up against the first GP on TV and the FA Cup final involving a Manchester team plus to a lesser extent the Eurovision song content. To me there seems lots of reasons to move this fixture to a more suitable date.

Further good news BT sports will be broadcasting their live Premiership meetings in Ultra HD this season on BT TV and Virgin media but sadly not on Sky. So first meeting is next week Swindon vs Peterborough

I wouldn’t worry about a restaging date for this fixture as Wednesday 12th June is already in the Lions riders schedule to be at Birmingham in KOC 2nd round which may now not be required as Birmingham lost heavily in the first leg at Eastbourne

I have to agree the track lighting at Leicester is in need of an upgrade and was always one of the most difficult tracks to broadcast from for both Sky & BT. The lights have lost some of their lumen which is to be expected as coming up to 10 years old they also need to be taken in on the bends as following the track alterations they do cover the inside line very well especially on bend 3&4

What I find interesting it’s the same promotors trying to implement this rule on sponsor logos that refused to put Sky Sports logo on team suits and bike covers unless extra money was given yet were quite happy to already take the league sponsorship money and tv rights money.

I believe the Witches were offered victory parade on Saturday but declined as Bomber was needed for BSPA press duties and Danny King wanted to go out for a practice so the management said No.

I was at the show ground last night for the Boxing and the track looked good although obviously still quite a lot more work to do but the actual surface looked different with more clay added and less brick dust

Nicholls instead of Proctor anyone?

Thompson Twins and an ex Tiger looks like the starting point for the Leicester NL team.

I said a couple of weeks ago that the decision that Leicester have made would please some fans with Saturday night racing and dropping to a weakened Championship It will be interesting to see what the crowds are like on Saturdays in the 2nd division as part of the reason Mr Hemsley took the club up was falling crowds on Saturday night and also rider availability

Pete used to attend Leicester Speedway and do some odd jobs like litter collecting and cutting the grass in the week. However he was permanently barred from the stadium due to being abusive to stewards and away supporters he seemed very opinionated in his views. From what I personally saw there was no signs of his wrong doing while at the Speedway and goes to show how shocking some people’s personalities and lives can be.

Crump99- This year even among the promoters there has been lots of talks and views on how to move the sport forward in the UK some of which are quite radical. Some promotions want to strip the Championship back to cut costs so NL standard reserves and no top riders like Nick Morris,Craig Cook,Ricky Wells,Danny King,Scott Nicholls etc so number ones become your MPT,Garrity,Summers In the Premiership you have clubs that want no doubling up others want more. Some want more meetings others don’t So until it is agreed at the AGM what the league format is going to be and what other teams are going to be in the leagues some clubs are unsure which way to go. As I have explained previously Peterborough have issues over Sunday racing with stadium availability and rider availability too.