Speedway in the United Kingdom

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Main article: Motorcycle speedway

The sport of Speedway in the United Kingdom has changed little since the first meetings in the 1920s. With three domestic leagues, its own Speedway Grand Prix and an annual entry into the Speedway World Cup it remains one of the popular motorsports in the country.

Riders from a Hull Vikings vs. Isle of Wight Islanders British Premier League meeting in 2005
Riders from a Hull Vikings vs. Isle of Wight Islanders British Premier League meeting in 2005

Contents

[edit] History

The first meeting in the UK is generally acknowledged to have taken place at High Beech on 19 February 1928. There are, however, also claims to have held meetings in 1927 from Camberley in Surrey and Droylsden in Manchester. Despite being described as 'the first British Dirt Track meeting' at the time, the meeting at Camberley on 7 May 1927 differed in that the races were held in a clockwise direction. Races at Droylsden were held in an anti-clockwise direction and this meeting appears to have a strong claim to be the first Speedway meeting in the UK, but it is generally accepted that the sport properly arrived in the UK when Australians Billy Galloway and Keith McKay arrived with the intention of introducing Speedway to the Northern Hemisphere. Both featured in the 1928 High Beech meeting.

It is probable however that the first speedway meeting in the UK to feature bikes with no brakes and broadsiding round corners on loose dirt, probably the main tests of real speedway, was the second meeting held at High Beech on 9 April, where Colin Watson, Alf Medcalf and 'Digger' Pugh demonstrated the art for the first time in Britain.

The sport boomed in the early days with new tracks opening in England, Scotland, and Wales. Notable pioneer venues of 1928 were Stamford Bridge and Celtic Park. The sport contracted in the early 1930s but revived just before the war. A few tracks, notably Belle Vue, Manchester operated in these dark days and the end of the war signalled activity at a number of tracks such as Odsal Stadium in Bradford, Brough Park in Newcastle, Owlerton in Sheffield, Cleveland Park in Middlesbrough and White City in Glasgow.

A post war boom came to an end in the early 1950s thanks to television and Entertainment Tax but a revival with the advent of the Provincial League in 1960 has been largely sustained ever since.

Homes of British Speedway published by Tempus Publishing provides details of most known venues where speedway has been staged. Active historians, however, "unearth" other previously unacknowledged venues from time to time. There is also a fine line between semi - permanent grass track venues which were often billed as speedways. A few of these venues had grass surfaced straights and dirt surfaces at the bends. Pioneer ventures were often called Dirt Tracks and in some cases there has been confussion over whether a track was a speedway oval or a multi bend / twisting scrambles type track. Careful reading of contemporary reports is required to differentiate between the two.

[edit] Governing body

The Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA), part of the Auto-Cycle Union who oversee all forms of track racing, govern the domestic leagues in the United Kingdom. International events are directly governed by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM).

[edit] Green Sheet Averages and Team Building

Green Sheet Averages are a list of riders Calculated Match Averages (CMA) issued or assesed periodically by the BSPA and are used to determine the riders averages for team building. They are called Green Sheet Averages as traditionally they are printed on green paper. The CMA of a rider is calculated as follows:[1] [2]

\left ( \frac{\hbox{Total points}}{\hbox{Total rides}} \right ) \times4

For both the Elite League and Premier League there is a points limit in place for team building purposes. This points limit is created to prevent teams becoming too powerful, therefore creating a competitive league.

All Elite League and Premier League teams must declare 7 riders before the start of the season. For the 2008 Elite League, the combined averages of the 7 riders must not exceed 38.85. A 2008 Premier League team's combined average must not exceed 41.5.[3] At the start of a season, a rider retains their last recorded CMA (or assessed CMA if they have never previously established one) until they have competed in six home and six away matches. A new CMA is then issued that comes into effect seven days later.

[edit] Competitions

[edit] Team

The highest domestic league
The highest domestic league cup competition
The highest domestic league cup competition
Top two riders from each League club compete to become division Pairs Champions.
The intermediate domestic league
The intermediate domestic league cup competition
Top two riders from each League club compete to become division Pairs Champions.
Top four riders from each League club compete to become division Fours Champions.
This is the lowest domestic league, intended to nurture young talent.

[edit] Individual

One of the Speedway Grand Prix, the first Grand Prix of Great Britain was held in 1995.
The top British Riders compete to become British Champion.
Top riders from each League club compete to become division Champion.
Top riders from each League club compete to become division Champion.
Top riders from each League club compete to become division Champion.
The top British Riders under the age of twenty-one compete to become British Under-21 Champion.
The top British Riders under the age of eighteen compete to become British Under-18 Champion.

[edit] The National Team

Every year the BSPA nominate five British riders to take part in the Speedway World Cup. The definition of British in this case is any rider holding a British Passport.[4]

[edit] Meeting Details

The www.speedwayresearcher.org.uk web site carries details of a number of speedway meetings from the pioneer days through to the present day. It is being added to on a regular basis. Much work is still to be done to make this site the equivalent of Cricket's Wisden and any help is welcomed.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Green Sheet Averages. Speedway FAQs. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  2. ^ SCB Speedway Regulations. Speedway Control Bureau (January 2007). Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  3. ^ 2008 Elite and Premier League Points Limit. BSPA. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.
  4. ^ SWC Rules & Regulations. FIM Speedway World Cup. Benfield Sports International. Retrieved on 2007-02-06.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links