WEYMOUTH Wildcats believe the British Speedway Promoters’ Association’s decision to shun nomadic clubs from its development league is “farcical”.
Wildcats have not taken part in competitive racing since 2019, along with other nomadic clubs such as Milton Keynes, Carmarthen and a handful more.
This season, just three clubs are riding in the Midland & Southern Development League (MSDL) – the same number as 2021.
Only Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Sittingbourne are taking to the track in 2022.
READ MORE: Weymouth Wildcats riders threatened with ban amid breakaway war
It means the sport’s most talented young riders have fewer opportunities to hone their race craft – and Wildcats’ co-promoter James Tresadern therefore cannot understand the BSPA’s stance.
He told Echosport: “It is very, very farcical. The first meeting (the MSDL) was Birmingham against Wolves and neither could field a full-strength side.
“I’m sure it was three v three and then one got injured or wrecked his bike and it was three v two.
“Considering there’s plenty of riders out there and they couldn’t field full-strength teams, it’s very farcical.
“We still, to this day, do not understand what the SCB (Speedway Control Bureau) has against ourselves, Reading, Milton Keynes, Carmarthen – all of us.”
Laurence Rogers, Birmingham’s team manager, has been working behind the scenes to ease the hardline stance on nomadic teams.
However, his efforts have not yet yielded a breakthrough.
Tresadern said: “Laurence is all for us. He understands why we do it. It’s not for profit, monetary gain or anything like that.
“He understands that if it’s not down to us bringing through the next generation of riders, then there’s not going to be any riders coming through.
“He understands why we do it, it’s to give these guys track time, get them used to riding in a team so it prepares them for the next level, which is the National Development League.”
The BSPA’s ban led to Wildcats exploring the possibility of a breakaway league under the NORA banner, although that avenue now looks unlikely.
Tresadern said: “The issue we had is if we use Poole’s track, that’s under BSPA and SCB licence.
“It could’ve been awkward for them if we were using it under NORA because of the two different boards – like the PDC and BDO in darts.
“You’ve got your own referees and stuff for each one. We’ve got a good relationship with Danny and Matt (Ford) at Poole.
“We didn’t want to ruin that by putting them in a position where they had to make a decision, or whether us racing there under NORA would put their racing licence in jeopardy – you just don’t know.
“They’ve been so good to us and I don’t want them getting penalised, but nobody from NORA got hold of us anyway so that’s by the by.”
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