Get ready for an exhilarating 2026 racing season! The CAB Direct Championship is set to kick off with a bang, and we've got all the juicy details for you. The defending champions, Poole Pirates, are about to embark on a thrilling journey to retain their title, and it starts with a bang!
Poole, fresh from their semi-final victory over Redcar Bears last season, will face their 2025 play-off rivals in back-to-back home matches. The Bears will visit Wimborne Road on May 6th, and the teams will square off again just 48 hours later at the ECCO Arena. But here's where it gets controversial... Poole's first match against Redcar could set the tone for their entire title defense. Will the Pirates continue their dominance, or will the Bears pull off an upset?
And if that's not enough, get this: Poole will also face Glasgow, their Grand Final opponents from last October, in a highly anticipated rematch. The teams will clash in Dorset on May 27th, and you can bet this one will be a nail-biter. Who will come out on top this time around?
The 2026 season officially kicks off with the BSN Series, and the first match-up is a doozy. Redcar, the defending champions, will travel to Scunthorpe on March 22nd to face the Scorpions in the Northern group. This one is sure to set the tone for the entire series.
In the Scottish opener, Edinburgh will host Berwick on Good Friday, April 3rd, with a quick turnaround as the teams meet again at Shielfield Park the very next day. And in the Southern group, Poole and Plymouth will go head-to-head in a back-to-back clash over the same weekend. Talk about a weekend of racing fever!
The MAXiCab KO Cup, a fan favorite, will see holders Poole take on Scunthorpe in the first round, scheduled for April 8th and 10th. The quarter-finals will be an even bigger spectacle, with Glasgow and Plymouth facing off at opposite ends of the UK in a double-header, while Edinburgh battles Redcar and Workington takes on Berwick. It's a racing fan's dream come true!
For all the nitty-gritty details of the 2026 Championship fixtures, be sure to click the monthly links in the FIXTURES/RESULTS section of the site or visit the CHAMPIONSHIP section. You won't want to miss a single moment of this action-packed season.
And this is the part most people miss: the beauty of racing is in the unpredictability. Will the favorites prevail, or will an underdog steal the show? Only time will tell. So, what do you think? Are you ready to join the racing frenzy? Let us know in the comments; we'd love to hear your predictions and thoughts on this exciting season ahead!