Workington Comets will be staging the Championship Pairs at Northside next season on Saturday, April 5.
It will be just like old times as the Comets former track at Derwent Park was used on several occasions for staging one of the season’s showpiece events.
The Comets won it as well regularly with star rider Carl Stonehewer successful with a number of different partners,
Scunthorpe has been chosen to stage the Championship Riders Championship the day after on Sunday, April 6.
The British Speedway Promoters’ Ltd have today confirmed that all this year’s clubs will return to contest the 2025 season.
The sport’s AGM has been completed where rules, regulations and arrangements for next year have been finalised including confirmation that 2025 will also see the return of a British Semi-Final.
This will take place at Leicester, offering the on-track opportunity for riders to qualify for the British Final at Belle Vue. Dates for those events are to be confirmed.
Both the Premiership and Championship will enjoy stability of membership, with no changes to competing teams, and all of the existing competitions taking place once again.
However, an exciting addition to the Premiership KO Cup is the inclusion of Championship winners Poole along with all seven regular top-flight clubs.
Meanwhile, the sport is set to build on its commitment to youth development with a potential extension to the National Development League, due to entries from new teams, which is likely to result in an increased number of fixtures for the riders.
A new initiative is also planned from Ipswich on the subject of development, and the club will reveal full details in due course.
During the AGM significant talks were also held regarding the future of the sport over the coming years. More updates on the various initiatives and developments during the winter will be announced shortly.
BSPL chairman Rob Godfrey said: “I’m really pleased that all the clubs have come back to the table, and we have consistency in terms of fixtures and competitions.
“We spoke last year about the importance of youth development so it’s pleasing to see that looks like being extended, and certainly Ipswich are going above and beyond with what they’re planning.
“There is plenty to look forward to next season but also a great deal of work going on further down the line, and we’re all positive about what’s to come.”
Premiership
- Clubs: Belle Vue, Birmingham, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Leicester, Oxford, Sheffield.
- Points limit: 40 (for the top six) plus Rising Star.
- KO Cup draw: Birmingham v Leicester, Poole v Sheffield, King’s Lynn v Oxford, Belle Vue v Ipswich. Ties to be raced in the same week. Semi-finals: Birmingham/Leicester v Poole/Sheffield, King’s Lynn/Oxford v Belle Vue/Ipswich.
It can also be confirmed that King’s Lynn have switched their regular race-night to Monday, which provides assistance in terms of fixture planning and evens out the schedule between Mondays and Thursdays.
Championship
- Clubs: Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford, Plymouth, Poole, Redcar, Scunthorpe, Workington.
- Points limit: 40 (for seven riders), set for three years.
- KO Cup draw: Preliminary round: Edinburgh v Workington; Quarter-finals: Scunthorpe v Oxford, Berwick v Redcar, Poole v Plymouth, Glasgow v Edinburgh/Workington.
- BSN Series: Scottish – Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow; Northern – Redcar, Scunthorpe, Workington; Southern – Oxford, Plymouth, Poole.
- Championship Pairs: Workington, Saturday April 5 (3pm)
- Championship League Riders’ Championship: Scunthorpe, Sunday April 6 (3pm)
Godfrey said: “It’s an exciting prospect to be opening the Championship season with the two shared events.
“It should be a real bonanza weekend of racing with top line-ups, and we’ll be looking to give good value with hopefully some joint promotions across the meetings.
“We want to get these in at a time when rider availability is not a problem, and we’ve got to recognise the change of format with the British GP, with more going on there with the qualifying the day before, so that’s why we’ve moved these events to the beginning of the season.”
British Women’s Open Championship
Following the success of this season’s event at Leicester, this meeting will once again take place at Beaumont Park in 2025, running in conjunction with a round of the British Youth Championship.
