Sydney Showground Speedway
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Sydney Showground Speedway, officially known as Speedway Royale, was a dirt speedway venue at the old Sydney Showground used from 1926 until 1996.
The venue was claimed to the fastest speedway in the world at one time, the 509 metre "egg shaped" track was also the site of some spectacular crashes and some tragic deaths. Although solo motorcycles were first to race at the showground they were soon joined by sidecars and midgets. In the 1950s stock cars began to appear joined much later by demolition derbies and jumping motorcycles over buses and the Royale would attract huge spectator attendance.
Regular meetings in the 1980s saw changes after residents, who had moved in knowing there was a speedway near them complained about noise. This resulted in ever increasing restrictions on noise and finishing time, with thousands of Sydneysiders entertainment spoiled by a selfish few local residents, ultimately killing off speedway in Sydney.
