Workington Comets will be up against the same teams as last year in the 2026 Championship.
After this week’s AGM in Rugby British Speedway Promoters Ltd have now confirmed arrangements for the 2026 season.
All nine teams will return to contest the 2026 Championship season: Berwick, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Oxford, Plymouth, Poole, Redcar, Scunthorpe and Workington.
The points limit remains at 40 for a team of seven riders, with a further requirement that each team may only include one rider with a match average above 8.00 in their initial declaration.
The Championship league format remains unchanged with teams meeting once home and away over the course of the season, with the top four teams then contesting the play-offs.
The KO Cup and BSN Series competitions will also continue, and dates for the Finals of these competitions will be fixed in the calendar from the start of the season
Dates and venues for major events are to be confirmed.
Workington still have to confirm their complete line-up with three riders still to be announced.
In addition, affecting the Championship only, if a professional British rider has not ridden in previous seasons, they may apply for a reduction on their previous Championship average of 8 per cent for each year missing.
It is hoped that this will provide some assistance to riders who have taken time out of the sport, and who are now once again seeking team places.
In the Championship Pairs meeting first choice of gate selection for the final will now go to the club with the highest score in the meeting.
Previously this criteria was applied for the semi-finals, whereas first choice gate selection in the final was determined by a coin toss.
Five teams have been confirmed to contest the 2026 Premiership season: Belle Vue, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Leicester and Sheffield.
Attempts are still being made to include a sixth team in the Premiership.
The points limit has been set at 37 for six riders, with each team to be completed by a Rising Star according to the existing criteria.
Rising Stars have been selected by teams in reverse order from their league finishing position in 2025, with teams having protection on their existing Rising Star should the rider still meet the criteria.
The selections have been made as follows: Belle Vue – William Cairns, Ipswich – Jason Edwards, King’s Lynn – Jody Scott, Leicester – Dan Gilkes and Sheffield – Luke Killeen.
The Premiership league format will see teams meeting twice home and away over the course of the season, while a change has been made to the play-off format due to league numbers.
The play-offs will now be contested by the top three teams, with the league leaders going straight to the final whilst the second and third-placed teams will contest the semi-final. Should a sixth team join the Premiership, the play-off format would revert to being contested by the top four teams.
The Knockout Cup will continue, and clubs are to stage further discussions over a potential third competition, which could run with an alternative format.
Five teams have so far confirmed entries for the 2026 National Development League, with the potential for up to three more teams to join them.
It is anticipated that a meeting of NDL clubs will take place before the end of January in order to confirm arrangements for this league.
Regardless of whether or not a club participates in the NDL, the requirement remains for all clubs to support British Development and to therefore provide some form of racing opportunity at this level during the season.
The promoters statement concluded: “We are very sorry to see the loss of Birmingham due to the unavailability and subsequent demolition of Perry Barr Stadium, but we are pleased to welcome back all other clubs from 2025.
“Following recent media speculation, BSP Ltd remain fully committed to efforts to introduce the sport to new venues, and indeed to return the sport to established venues where we know strong support remains.
“We look forward to an exciting 2026 season and will provide details on fixtures etc in due course.”
