Rye House Rockets
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- See also: Rye House Raiders
| Rye House Rockets | |
 |
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| Founded | 1974 |
|---|---|
| Track Address | Rye House Stadium Rye Road Hoddesdon Hertfordshire |
| Country | England |
| Track Size | 271 metres |
| Club Colours | Blue and Yellow |
| League | Premier League |
| 2006 | 4th - Premier League |
| Website | Official Website |
The Rye House Rockets are a Speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They currently compete in the British Premier League.
The club is promoted by Len Silver who previously ran the Hackney Hawks promotion at Hackney Wick Stadium.
Contents |
[edit] Club History
The Rye House Rockets Speedway team have been racing at the Rye House Stadium next to the River Lea since 1974. Len Silver, promoter of the Rayleigh Rockets was forced to find a new home for his team after the Rockets original home at Rayleigh's Weir Stadium was sold and redeveloped.
The Rye House track in Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire had been around since the 1930's and was regularly used by the big London clubs to scout for future riders. In the 30's & 40's young riders regularly made the trip from Liverpool Street station with their bikes to the Rye House railway station which is a 2 minute walk from the stadium. Regular training schools and the occasional season of league racing kept the track in use until Len Silver brought in his Rockets team after they were made homeless in 1974.
Midway through the 1984 season Silver sold the Rockets to Ronnie Russell (who later became the promoter of rivals - the Arena Essex Hammers) so he could concentrate on his new Skiing Holiday business, Silver Ski. Ronnie ran the Rockets alongside a number of other co-promoters over the years. In 1993 Ronnie shut the doors on the Rockets and the club closed down.
During the winter of 1998-99 a group of Rockets fans placed an advert in the Speedway Star magazine for a meeting to see if there was enough interest in trying to resurrect the team. Over a hundred former fans attended and many made contributions to the funds to help bring back the Rockets. With the race track at Rye House being tarmac'd over for Stock Car use, there wasn't a chance of the team returning to their spiritual home. In the end a former Rocket, Dingle Brown, came to the rescue. Dingle was the promoter of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers, he offered a track share; with the Rockets racing after the Fen Tigers meetings. The Rockets finally got back on track for the 1999 season but this time riding in the Conference League. During the initial stages of getting the Rockets back up and running, Steve Ribbons, John Stoneman & Dave Entwistle (the men behind the project) contacted former promoter Len Silver to see if he could offer any advice. Silver offered to sponsor the team which became the Rye House 'Silver Ski' Rockets.
After a successful year in 1999, in terms of getting the club back off the ground, the following season was now the main concern. With Silver now interested in returning to Speedway in some capacity; his help was asked for again with trying to get the team back at Hoddesdon. A deal with the current owners was struck and the Rockets headed home in 2000.
Due to the original track being tarmacked over, the club was forced to lay a temporary dirt track before races on a Sunday/Monday and straight after the meeting had finished; the track would have to be completely removed. With the assistance of Silver and his knowledge of track preparation this worked for a time, though it was back breaking work for a team of dedicated volunteers. The club announced in July 2000 that the 'new' Promoter Len Silver had secured the lease on the Stadium and that he had given notice to the stock cars to quit the track ready for it's redevelopment to a dirt surface.
[edit] Club Honours
- Premier League Champions - 1980, 2005
- Premier Trophy Champions - 2005
- Knock-Out Cup Winners - 1980
[edit] 2007 Team
Chris Neath- Luke Bowen
- Steve Boxall
- Tommy Allen
- Stuart Robson
- Adam Roynon
- Tai Woffinden
[edit] 2006 Team
- Stuart Robson
- Jamie Courtney
- Edward Kennett
- Tommy Allen
- Chris Neath
- Luke Bowen
- Steve Boxall
Plus: Danny Betson, Ross Brady, Ben Powell, Adam Roynon, Lee Smethills
[edit] 2005 Team
Premier League Champions & Premier Trophy Champions
- Stuart Robson
- Edward Kennett
Brent Werner- Tommy Allen
- Chris Neath
- Steve Boxall
- Daniel King
[edit] 2004 Team
- Chris Neath
- Steve Masters
- Brent Werner
- Scott Robson
Davey Watt- Tommy Allen
- Steve Boxall
[edit] 2003 Team
- Nigel Sadler
- Brett Woodifield
- Scott Robson
- Mark Courtney
- Brent Werner
- David Mason
- Edward Kennett
[edit] 2002 Team
- Brent Werner
- Mark Courtney
- Nigel Sadler
- Scott Swain
- Scott Robson
- Chris Courage
- David Mason
Plus: Adam Pryer
[edit] External Links
- Official Rye House Speedway Website
- Rye House Fan Messageboard
- SilverSki - Main Sponsors
- Past Rockets Photo Album
- British Speedway Promoters Association
- Speedway World
- Speedway Star Magazine Published by Pinegen Limited
- Steve Boxall's Official Website
- Adam Roynon's Official Website
- Stuart Robson's Official Website
- Luke Bowen's Official Website
[edit] Notes
| Speedway Premier League | |
|---|---|
| Teams: Berwick Bandits | Birmingham Brummies | Edinburgh Monarchs | Glasgow Tigers | Isle of Wight Islanders | King's Lynn Stars | Mildenhall Fen Tigers | Newcastle Diamonds | Newport Wasps | Redcar Bears | Rye House Rockets | Sheffield Tigers | Somerset Rebels | Stoke Potters | Workington Comets | |
| Leagues: Elite League | Premier League | Conference League | |
| Related articles: Speedway | Speedway Grand Prix | Speedway World Cup | Speedway in the United Kingdom | |
