Is the Rain forcing Speedway to move to an April start?

We can all tell Speedway season has begun, and no its not the smell of the engines revving nor is it the countless Press & Practice day pictures, but instead the weather front moving in with its usual start of season rain.

Heavy rainfall and showers has seen the postponement of 7 of the opening 13 fixtures across a spell of 11 days.  According to the Met Office long range forecast we also have unsettled weather across the South and the West coming up over the next 7-14 days.

An abiding memory for me, especially in the opening weeks of the season, is driving past an empty stadium car park with a solitary fan having a quick toilet break up against the back of the grandstand, whilst looking up at the grey clouds as rain falls causing another postponement.  This was long before the mobile phones and social media craze, where we are a mere fingertip away from finding a postponement.  Back then, we either called the club hotline, or took a gamble and drove to the stadium, crossing anything possible that we would avoid the incoming weather system.

This is an all too familiar feeling, and one of which has happened season on season without a real cure.  I mean, how can you control the weather?  The simple answer is, we can't.  Track covers have often been mused, without great success.  If its raining, track covers can only go so far to protect a track, we can't ride under track covers.

Are we now in a position of thinking that we should be delaying the start of a season?  In 2023, Poland will not start their season until April 8th, albeit, with a splattering of challenge matches before.  Sweden begin on May 2nd and the GP Series won't hold Round 1 in Croatia until April 29th.  Poland will operate with 8 teams in the top flight this season, and Sweden will have 7, exactly the same as the UKs Premiership.  And guess what?  Sweden are looking to complete the Grand Final on September 19th, even with a May start!!

It is possible, so surely it is now plausible, to delay a UK start until April to avoid the March rain.  We all feel excitement, a tangible trepidation of the season beginning, like a child awaiting Christmas Day, but realistically we face the same troubles every season, whether it be rain or even frost.

Steve Worrall has today alone, seen the postponement of his testimonial, a meeting which has the most meticulous planning, all to be dashed by the rain.  Although, an amazing gesture to see him donate all of the buffet to a food bank in Poole, fantastic from you Stevie!!  Stuart Robson is now looking for take 5 of his farewell at Redcar, a situation he shouldn't be faced with having to prepare meetings at the very beginning or end of the season.  Let's not forget, fans would have been graced by the presence of Freddie Lindgren, a sight we don't always see on UK shores anymore.  Fair play to the authorities for allowing this to be scheduled in the middle of the season but the chances of Freddie being there must now be very slim.  And then, there was the GP-esque line up for the Peter Craven Memorial at Belle Vue.  Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley, Chris Holder, Freddie Lindgren, Matej Zagar, Nicki Pedersen, Jason Doyle et al throwing bikes at each other, what a treat.

Then we have the return of Swindon to the track for the first time since 2019.  A chance for the Robins fans to see them resurrected for one night only.  We eternally hope that this isn't the last of it and we get to see them back, preferably full time, if not for Rob but for all Swindon fans, a club steeped in such rich history.

I see myself as a voice, a supporter of the sport for 33 years, and I will be reaching out to push this as a serious alternative, to avoid such undeniably frustrating circumstances.  The sport needs to listen to its fans, its shareholders, its stakeholders, because we all become irked by a rain off, unnecessary travel, and especially in the current climate, financial implications.  Although we all see the same amount of speedway in a season, we may make 4-5 unnecessary travels to a track.  

A final parting word from me, and thank you all again for listening to our Podcast.  Rob, Cain and Myself are all extremely grateful for all of the support shown to us, we really enjoy the content, and hopefully we bring a positive, light-hearted outlook to all fans.

After donating £150 to Paul Ackroyd, and the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund, on Saturday evening, I promise I wont forget my roots after my television appearance on the British Speedway Network.  A massive thank you to Ben Duffill, Martin Hunter, Hayley Bromley and Lee Kilby for letting me appear on the show, I am truly appreciative of giving this platform to plug our podcast.  Finally, well done to Friend of the Show, Chris Abbs, who picked up the winning cheque for £75.

Coincidentally, Ian Brannan, who is a commentator on BSN as well as fellow Podcaster, will be appearing on our show this coming week, something we are looking forward to immensely, as newbies to this world, we are excited to speak and hopefully get some tips.  BSN will also be streaming their first league fixture this Saturday as they roll into Berwick, to watch them against Redcar Bears at 7pm.

No fixtures for Bunting's Bookies this week, as King's Lynn and Leicester have made early decisions to postpone their fixtures against Sheffield and Ipswich respectively in KO Cup and League.

We also send our best wishes to Nicki Pedersen after his crash at Peterborough on Monday evening, as he recovers from a back injury and damage to his fingers.

For now, we hope you carry on enjoying the show, and I guess if you get a chance to watch some Speedway, and dodge the rain, make sure you make the most of it.  

Until next time!!!

Nathan

Bunting's Bookies ahead of Round the Boards 2023 Season

Round The Boards: Speedway Podcast has started to consume my life over the past few weeks, months and now into years.  What started out as a little seed between myself, Rob and Cain during the early stages of 2022,  has grown quicker than any of us expected, into a blossoming tree of undefined success (or at least in our eyes anyway).

Still to this day, even engaging with a rider, brings a bounty of excitement to me, a 39 year old man, such joy and pleasure, the same joy I felt on my first speedway experience in 1990, some 33 years ago now.  To have had so many wonderful guests, and it would not be fair to name one, or even a selection, because they have all brought something different to make our Podcast so engaging.

I look back now, to where we began, and can see a clear path of improvement and success.  I am truly humbled by what the 3 of us have achieved, humbled in the sense that people listen to our show on a regular basis, and are truly enjoying the product we are delivering.  For this, I am truly appreciative and grateful to each and every person, because without you, this wouldn't be possible.

Before I begin this latest instalment, a few thank yous.  Firstly, to my co hosts, Rob and Cain.  We came together by chance, a pandemic that rocked the world, but brought the 3 of us together via different virtual speedway games.  We are just 3 ordinary guys, who love the sport of Speedway, and love talking about it.

Michael Karall, the creator of our logo, who done this out of the kindness of his heart rather than expecting any financial benefit.  A logo I would like to keep for life, out of respect for Michael.  Paul Taylor and Clive Tyers of BHP Radio.  They reached out to us very early during our journey, and gave us another platform to air our opinions.  Its a partnership which benefits all parties, and one which we are grateful for having the opportunity.  All of the guests we have had on the show, that have given up their time to allow us to bring something different to the listeners.  We have had serious discussions, belly laughing banter and late night chats, something we enjoy week on week.

And finally, you, the listeners, or the readers in this case.  Without you, we wouldn't be anything, just 3 guys talking to themself.  Cain told me not to look at listening figures, but I cannot help it.  From working out listeners per hour for each show, to see how each episode ranks in our list of now over 50 episodes.  We have seen such a rise in figures this season, the numbers on our social media pages have risen, and we have to pinch ourselves at times to believe we are where we are, and to you, a massive thank you and we hope we continue to bring you more fantastic episodes in the future.  We mostly hope you all continue to listen, and invite a friend also.

Onto my first blog though, and something a bit different, and hopefully will encourage me to write more.  With the Speedway season starting tomorrow evening, after a couple of rain-offs, typical English weather, we look ahead to Ipswich vs Peterborough and Sheffield vs Belle Vue as the Premiership rolls into town.  Cain and myself are avid fans of placing a few bets, something we understand isn't everybody's cup of tea, and I must follow this up by saying, we do this for fun.  Any form of betting should be for fun, and only spend what you can afford.  When the fun stops, stop!! and I couldn't endorse this more.

Ipswich vs Peterborough is the stand out fixture, quite strange considering the other meeting is a replay of the Play Off Final from 2022, but this isn't any ordinary Ipswich vs Peterborough fixture.  Returning to British shores are Nicki Pedersen and Emil Sayfutdinov, a clash which is sure to throw up some exciting racing.  Ipswich led by Jason Doyle, the top man from 2022, ably backed up by Sayfutdinov and Danny King.  Keynan Rew will make his British debut for the Witches in the difficult number 2 position.  Peterborough have experience, mixed with a splattering of raw youth.  Niels K Iversen, KINGS LYNN LEGEND, back to support Nicki, and probably the one to watch in the Premiership this season, Benjamin Basso.  Hans Andersen returns as skipper, and will partner Pedersen, in what will surely provide some frightening races.  

Ben Cook at reserve is the stand out, an unknown talent at this level, and his battles with Rew could be the making of either rider.  I'm looking forward to seeing both.

As the punters amongst us know, the odds won't be available until tomorrow lunchtime but some of the things I will be looking over are the over/under total and the rider match ups.  I'm sure most will be looking at the top boys, and how they will fair against one another, but I am keen to see Rew vs Cook in the match ups, or Rew vs Andersen.

I also feel Peterborough have a team capable of winning at Ipswich, Iversen, Worrall and Andersen all having a liking for Foxhall, and potentially Pedersen and Basso could be less key.  I worry about Cook and Jenkins at reserve in an early meeting, Danyon Hume has real potential to be a heat 2 winner.

There are sure to be question marks over injury lay offs from Pedersen, Riss and Rew but I just about give an opening victory to Ipswich by 4-6 points, but it will be a close encounter.  I will also be looking at Hume to score well, anything over 4 will be tasty.

I hope you have enjoyed the first read of our blog, and more content will follow in the future as we look to key fixtures, and keep your eyes peeled for further guests.  As a final note, if you haven't seen our competition, please take the time to donate if you can.  Each square costs £3 and you can have as few or much as you like.  I will personally be presenting a cheque for £150 to the Speedway Riders Benevolent Fund on Saturday at the Ben Fund Bonanza at King's Lynn.  As long as the grid is full, I will also be announcing the winner a cheque for £75 live at trackside Saturday as well.

We hope you have a great week and join us on BHP Radio next Monday at 8pm or alternatively on Spotify, Apple or Google Podcasts on Tuesday from 9am.  You can also listen to all of our episodes at your pleasure.  For now, thanks for all your support
and speak soon.

Nathan