The Rise & Decline of team Speedway in UK

Using data, I map the rise and decline of team Speedway in the UK, list the Issues facing the sport in 2022 and my conclusions as to the future of the sport in the UK.
If you find the year by year analysis of Speedway locations too depressing ("a fatal loss" will sadly be heard too many times) use chapters to skip ahead towards the end of the video
League data has come from www.speedwaygbarchive.co.uk/h...
CHAPTERS
------------------
00:00 - Introduction
00:37 - 1940s Team Speedway
01:08 - 1950s Team Speedway
01:20 - 1965 Birth of British Speedway League
01:35 - 1966 BBC Sports Personality results
02:15 - Mapping good quality Speedway locations
02:53 - 1966 Speedway locations
04:05 - 1970 Speedway locations
05:45 - 1980 Speedway locations
06:41 - 1990 Speedway locations
08:01 - 2000 Speedway locations
08:58 - 2010 Speedway locations
10:06 - 2020 Speedway locations
10:37 - Map of Speedway locations 1978 v 2022
11:03 - Issues in UK Speedway
13:25 - Conclusions & further reading
#speedway
Further reading in date order
1997 BBC Documentary - Bikes without Brakes
• Bikes without Brakes B...
2015 BBC article - Does speedway have a future in the UK?
www.bbc.com/sport/motorsport/...
2019 Guardian article - Out of time and on the skids: speedway’s struggle for survival www.theguardian.com/sport/201...
2021 Roddy McDougall: Podcast - Is there life left in British Speedway? www.mrrichardclarke.com/sport...
2021 Documentary - The Future of British Speedway
• The Future of British ...
2021 Spectator article - Why did Britain fall out of love with speedway? www.spectator.co.uk/article/w...
2021 Documentary - Speedway: A Living History
• Speedway: A Living His...
Music Credits
La Survive OST (Main Theme) by Aila Scott | ailascott.com
Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com
Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Desolation by Alex-Productions | onsound.eu/
Music promoted by www.free-stock-music.com
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License
creativecommons.org/licenses/...

[@speedwayuk]

April 2023 news - Peterborough has warned the club will cease to operate at the end of the 2023 season because of a housing development at their Showground base unless there is a dramatic change of circumstances

[@MrWesternDuke]

It is so sad to see the current state of the sport. I grew up with my Grandfather taking me to see the Exeter Falcons being led by Ivan Mauger as World Champion. When living in East Anglia I watched the Ipswich Witches, led by John Louis. Back in the westcountry now, those days are long gone and I miss the sounds and smells of those meetings.😞

[@speedwayuk]

Yes, Western Duke, I've been to both locations, I thought that the riders (and sometimes spectators) needed to be particularly brave at Exeter (Rugby club) with a narrow track and where I stood, steel plates for barriers between track and crowd. Scary!!!

[@petercarrington2560]

I grew up living opposite Belle Vue on Hyde road .. the late 60s and all throughout the 1970s were special times for speedway and my boyhood heroes .. every team had stars galore.. now I hardly know a single rider

[@davewildey3647]

It's is so very sad of so many closures in the last 20nyrs or so . My step dad Reg Trott raced from the 40's - the late 70' s notably riding with some of the greats at Wimbledon , MOORE,Briggs, fundin , Mauger . He became a referee after retirement and I have many happy childhood memories of travelling with him up and down the country attending meetings at great venues which almost all now are sadly closed down . Just a sad shame as speedway is the most exciting Motorsport in the world . If only something can be done to revive British speedway to its former glory days

[@speedwayuk]

Yes Dave, the situation is very sad. Good to hear about Reg and I think it is great that ex-riders become referees as they can be the best judge of difficult racing incidents

[@davewildey3647]

@@speedwayuk I remember him saying that it was very rare for ex riders to become referees but as he said like you being an ex rider made his decision making more accurate . I hope you can post even more great footage

[@OldSkoolFlava]

Personally, I consider the loss of weekly meetings has greatly impacted upon speedway attendance. Although, discounted meetings have drawn large crowds, but, due to the fact that meeting are no-longer held at tracks in a weekly basis, even if the supporters attending discounted meetings enjoyed a thrilling meeting. The memory of their experience soon expires, as the next meeting of that track may be 2-3 weeks time. During this time these viewers would have forgotten about the meeting they had just enjoyed, and consequently, found other things to do.

[@speedwayuk]

I totally agree Robert supporting any sport is better when it is habitual. But for speedway that is a side effect of the decline since the 70s and consequential loss of a critical mass - there aren't enough teams around!

[@Carnielli10]

Polish speedway fan here, for me, watching this sport slowly in decline in the UK is very sad, especially when considering how many great riders UK used to have and have at the moment (Bewley, Woofi etc.) I would love to see speedway being more popular in the UK, I think it is possible, taking into consideration how popular dart or snooker is. I think Eurosport and their broadcast may help a little, as it opens the discipline to new viewers. The problem is that many stadiums are not in the hands of the clubs, so they are at the mercy of the current owners. The difference between Polish and British speedway is that Polish league owners did not sleep during the '90 and early '00s making the sport popular by broadcasting (Canal+) and by trying to build a culture around the speedway itself. Speedway fans in Poland are more like football fans with ultras and even hooligans fighting each other. I am not saying it is good, but it shows that for many people this sport is something more than just some dudes riding on bikes. Average atendance on the stadiums is around 10k, with away fans always traveling with their team to support. Many cities gets partially funded with the local government money so they can be more competitive in the sport. It is a phenomenon that places like Leszno have built their cultural/city identity around speedway. I hope UK speedway will rise again, and to all speedway fans from the UK - you are welcome on polish stadiums where you can feel the old atmosphere again :)

[@speedwayuk]

Dziękuję! I'm really pleased that the sport is thriving in Poland and 100% agree that the time for action was in the 1990s. As this video shows, the sport in the UK is suffering a slow death and has past the point it can be saved as a top level sport.

[@CheeseyPotatoe87]

Thank you so much for this. As someone who has only been attending speedway since 2009 and has very recently lost my team (Newcastle) it's depressing to see just how big speedway was not even 40 years ago compared to the sad state of affairs it's under now, we desperately need a separate governing body in the sport, one that makes a set of basic rules that rarely change to suit individual club's needs unlike now where there's too many club promoters with their fingers in the pie, and hopefully they can help provide support to teams financially too.

[@speedwayuk]

Sorry about the loss of Newcastle Jack, the problem with me being older is that I have seen so many tracks I went to disappear. While I agree that a governing body with less influence from the promoters may have helped, a bigger issue (of a lot of issues that I summarised) is the lack of funding in the sport = TV & sponsorship. Ask yourself, why did Sky (who have used sport to grow) give up Speedway coverage?? And on the sponsorship front, if only Speedway was popular in the Middle East!!

[@williamnethercott4364]

Another past fan of the Diamonds here, although the period between 1970 and 1982 was my time. I think there are several reasons for decline: half-hearted league structure (because that's how promoters wanted it), ageing demographic of motorcycling in general, TV coverage is generally disappointing both in capturing the excitement and in poor uptake by broadcasters, dominance of football, shortage of funds and limited number of people who are prepared to turn out to see sporting events. I enjoyed the data-driven review, such an approach is rarely see nowadays.

[@SuzyQ334]

I'm only 4 minutes into this but thank you so much for the upload Speedway UK. I was a latecomer to speedway. An ex-boyfriend dragged me kicking & screaming (not literally, obviously) to Plough Lane, Wimbledon, one night in 1980 and I was hooked after the first 20 minutes. Not only did we go every week to Wimbledon (weather permitting) but sometimes on the weekend we'd take a long drive if any other teams we liked had a meeting on. I emigrated to Oz in 1988 and by then this wonderful sport had disappeared. Anyway, I'll enjoy the history lesson!

[@speedwayuk]

Susannah, if you manage to keep going through the video you will learn that your first visit to Speedway at Plough Lane was close to the high watermark of the second Golden era of Speedway in UK yet if you still lived in London now your "local" team would be a huge journey e.g. Oxford. Probably not practical on a Wednesday night?

[@moreheff]

I remember the "golden" years of watching it on tv as a kid back in the day and in the late 90's finally got to go and watch my local team at Wimbledon for a few years. Attendances were always poor, with a hard core turning up every week. Saw some great racing and a couple of youngsters coming through. However, as with many others the stadium got sold to developers and as no new venue could be found it finished. The saddest thing of all was on the last night of Speedway the stadium was FULL. I mean totally packed and not a spare seat or standing spot to be had!! Which proved that there was still an audience, if it were marketed correctly. Other motor sports still thrive so why not Speedway. So sad to see the decline

[@Zippycat444]

Speedway has always shot itself in the foot even though the basic offering hasn’t changed much some of the decisions made by the governing body of British Speedway (the promoters themselves) have been hard to fathom and made the sport look ridiculous. The removal of tactical substitutes to be replaced by double points rides was just one example. The classic Grand Prix are run on a Saturday so no team can have more than one Grand Prix rider (as a Saturday track might have to field two guests) just showed how self serving the decisions were. Internationally seeing a ‘Joker card ‘ played at the World Team Cup was as low as it got- it turned the event into a laughing stock. The team points limit also removes any sense of supporting a group of riders year after year. Now teams retain maybe two riders out of seven each year. Can you imagine a football team replacing the whole side year on year. One of the worst decisions was to allow the National League back in the late eighties to accept EU riders. This was a great training ground for both British and Commonwealth riders who didn’t cost anything in travelling expenses. EU riders came in removing the opportunities for young talent but also increasing the cost as they had to travel back to their countries to forfil matches. This then made the second division more expensive to operate in, cutting the profit margins of the lower league. Unfortunately, speedway promoters always never own the stadiums and therefore are at the mercy of the stadium owners re conditions - Although for a promoter this is not necessarily a bad thing as if things go sour they can just walk away. Perhaps the saviour of speedway will be the electric speedway bike (I know most of you are now spitting into your tea!) but a big problem about running speedway is the noise of the machines in towns, the electric bike may well help with this. Perhaps it is time to combine the 3 leagues, spread the talent around each club so that one rider rides for one team, juniors in the reserve births. More matches, seeing different teams each week and ensuring promoters don’t bare the costs of travelling e penses for rides going abroad. Just my brain dump following a very good video

[@speedwayuk]

Meow! Interesting brain dump. Your thoughts only confirm my own thinking that the decline has many factors. As I said in the video, I think combining the 2 professional leagues will be inevitable at some point in the next decade but I doubt if economics will allow development league clubs to join. In any event, I worry about too great a difference in rider abilities further diluting the entertainment (& providing little income for the junior rider). It is great to know that once in a while a reserve beats a second string or even a heat leader - if you 100% know they will be last, it dilutes the fun in my view.

[@philipmosley8261]

Despite your pessimistic but realistic vision, you are to be congratulated for an excellent video that is meticulously researched and lucidly presented.

[@speedwayuk]

Yes Philip, sadly realistic is how I see the situation presented in the video, it gives me no pleasure whatsoever to paint such a gloomy picture 😥Thanks for the appreciation of the video, it did actually take a huge amount of time firstly on research and then production of the video. But having heard of the (latest) "fatal loss" at Swindon (somewhere there seemed to be reasonable crowds when I visited), I thought that the demise from the 70s had to be told.

[@GlennJ1881]

Workington Speedway is back once again for 2023. They've moved out of Derwent Park (Workington Town RLFC) and got their own Track on Northside. Currently in tier 3 and apparently 2500 turned up to watch them beat Edinburgh Monarchs 53-37. I was one of them.

[@speedwayuk]

Yes Glenn, this news is a rare ray of sunshine amongst the otherwise gloomy situation with Peterborough & Wolves (see my news videos) plus I have seen that any idea of Eastbourne Eagles restarting at Arlington have been dashed by the stadium owners. It will be interesting to see whether support will be maintained within Workington to allow the team to be professional next year rather than a rider development standard

[@paulsowney771]

Brilliant. So pleased that Steve Lawson and his team are trying good luck to them

[@kevchilton908]

Thank you for putting this sad story together. I used to love attending Brandon and Long Eaton to watch all the speedway stars that raced there. The riders are still truly skilled and professional and the racing exciting and colourful. So sad it will end like this! 😢

[@speedwayuk]

I would say, over and above the skill level of riders is their bravery, this video demonstrates it perfectly kzbin.info/www/bejne/nJeUiYR7lJ2Khac I agree, at its best, Speedway is hugely exciting and offers great entertainment so I find the decline so sad too.

[@bajadrifter]

I am a fan of Speedway despite growing up in Southern California where Speedway was somewhat limited in the 1970s. SoCal did produce a star rider, (Bruce Penhall). I used to watch short-track Speedway at the Orange County Fairgrounds in San Bernardino. I loved the noise, dirt, and handlebar-to-handlebar racing. I now enjoy watching Speedway on KZbin. I am sorry to see its decline in the UK. Is the sport thriving in Eastern Europe (like Poland)?. Nice job on the video!

[@speedwayuk]

Don't forget Greg Hancock, a superb "gater" who I have had the pleasure of seeing ride in the UK. Yes, Poland is the number 1 European location for the sport and the top British riders ride there instead of in the UK.

[@SuzyQ334]

As well as Bruce, Southern California gave British speedway Dennis Sigalos, Bobby Schwartz and the cheeky Moran brothers, Shawn and Kelly. Sadly, my local team, Wimbledon, couldn't afford any of them but there was always lots of excitement when they were visiting Plough Lane, especially among the girls! I had a mega-teenage crush on Sigalos but Bruce was definitely the girls overall favourite. I met Bruce and Siggy and they were both really nice blokes.

[@ServingMyJesus]

There was speedway at New Cross from 1933 to 1969. Old photography shows that it was right next door to The Den.

[@speedwayuk]

My data came from official league tables at the end of each season. Wikipedia seems to indicate that league racing stopped in 1953? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Cross_Rangers

[@robertgreen941]

​@@speedwayukspeedway was still running at New Cross in 1962, I have a programme from this date.

[@derekantill3721]

I was a fan of Harrigay Racers in late 40’s early 50’s I then went on to be a great motor racing enthusiast.

[@speedwayuk]

Derek, nice to hear from someone who witnessed the end of the first golden era of UK Speedway, what crowds did Harringay get in the late 40s?

[@derekantill3721]

@@speedwayuk From what I remember, it was a long time ago, the crowds were pretty good.

[@MrE-zs1gu]

As someone who came into speedway from a road racing/motocross background, I was instantly attracted by the Glasgow promotion's Sunday afternoon slot in the late 2000's. Under the current ownership, it moved to Saturday nights, which I also appreciated. Friday nights are now the norm and it seems to be the optimum criwd puller under lights and I'm often too fagged after work to get to many meetings... Never understood weekday speedway, but what do I know?

[@speedwayuk]

Thinking of potential spectators with school age children, weekend is best else Friday night is the next best option in my view. There is the issue of clashes with GP meetings but we must do everything to encourage all potential spectators to come and from a long term perspective, those with children are surely the most important target?

[@MrMikeJkay]

What a eye opening video for those new coming into speedway for the first time with insight into the decline of speedway and sad to see so many teams gone from the past and recently. Been Wolverhampton Wolves fan as since 2010 and Monmore Green is so close to where I live, just lucky that still have the fan base we have and still have many under 20 aswell as my demographic of 20+ and the older generation as well as the location being very near to the city centre of Wolverhampton and with very good public Transport links. Miss the old rivalry we hadwith Black Country Rivals Cradley Heath and with other West Midlands Rivals Birmingham and Coventry which was always great and had a laugh with them but this has gone with Coventry losing their stadium in 2017 but plans to revive them and the stadium and then Cradley Heath losing Dudley Wood stadium (also known Cradley Heath Greyhound stadium) to housing development and for them to go lower into the league's and stadium share at Monmore Green and then them folding. Also to add for the future videos and references Cradley Heath is pronounce "Cray-dley Heath" locally here in the Black Country. I also see a resurgence in top quality riders such as for Wolves got Sam Master who was top average for last season and second overal in the Premiership and out for little bit of the season with injury aswell as Luke Becker and this season got more experience back into the team with the return of Rory Schlein but also some young talented riders are coming through such as Leon Flint who has learned a lot from the others in the team such as Sam Masters. The other thing Wolves are great at is engaging with the fans by holding events, talks and discussion nights with Pete Adams and Chris Van Straaten about any issues the club can tackle aswell as about the league at the local pub The Cleveland Arms but our main sponsor is a local coach company which was founded by former wolves rider Dave Parry and other little sponsors of heats and for the club from the local area around Wolverhampton and nearby small town of Willenhall and Bilston. I hope there is more of a resurgence in this Motorsport that is close to my heart and with family members attending in the past that are no longer with us and to the present with my girlfriend, my primary school friend who is centre field marshall (Usually on turn 1, 2 or 3) and his wife and their children and couple of their family members and for the future of speedway to be here for future generations to come.

[@speedwayuk]

Nice to be hearing from someone new to Speedway in the 00s! I hope that Wolves can keep providing exciting Speedway entertainment in the coming years.

[@phillwainewright4221]

I went to every home meeting of Poole Pirates from 1973 to 1975. Big crowds. Later, I took my own children in the mid 2000s. Half empty grandstand. Sad to see.

[@speedwayuk]

Phill, we have a similar timeline as my childhood club was West Ham in late 60s to closure in 71 but in early 00s I took my children to Reading regularly. Both clubs are sadly no longer with us. At least Poole is still alive although I always remember them as a tier 1 club but post pandemic they became tier 2 presumably to make ends meet. I bet if you went now, you would think that the mid 2000 crowd was big! It is a downward spiral I'm afraid.

[@frank7611]

Hi and thanks for this which is all very well set out. A speedway fan since '66 I was struck how modest the crowds were compared with (say) even 3rd and 4th Division football in those days.The sport had suffered a mortal blow going in to the '50s when interest absolutely fell off a cliff in the wake of the huge crowds immediately following WW2. Your video only touches on this but, the problems speedway faced then have set the agenda ever since. As people became better off and more entertainment options available they quit speedway in droves. Plus of course the arrival of stock car racing at many tracks proved more popular ie for most people four wheel sports are always a bigger draw than bikes and that remains so to this day with two wheel sports. So, even in the relative 'boom' period of the late '70s many clubs were surviving on pretty thin crowds. The stadium 'issues' that you refer to year by year are (mainly) to do with lack of bums on seats. Would my club - Cradley Heath - have failed if there were crowds of (say) 12,000 attending meetings in the mid '90s? No, it was more like 2,000 - 3,000 and who can blame the stadium owners for selling-up for something more profitable. Ditto that at many other venues that fell by the wayside. I'm a dyed in the wool speedway fan, it's in my DNA. But, I've always known that I'm one of a very small minority that enjoy the sport. Let's face it, why pay £20 for what may be not much more than 15 minutes racing and a lot of standing around - often in rather primitive stadiums - waiting for things to happen. That's many peoples' experience - and perception - of what the sport offers and they're not going to part with money for what they see as a poor value night out. The sport is now in a vicious circle trying to hang on to older fans like me and not being able to attract a newer and younger audience. Plus I'm not sure that speedway on TV really helps as there are now armchair 'fans' who won't go out to attend meetings. Speedway is what it is and no amount of speculating on 'factors' eg track preparation, guests, bike design etc etc will make any difference to that. Thankfully there are young men still ready to 'give it a go' and we should be grateful for their efforts in giving us something to watch. I agree your likely scenario for the future of the sport ie mainly development level and who knows what that will mean for the number of tracks still in existence then. But, in the short(er) term lets hope for a good summer and not too many rain offs as they never help the sport.

[@speedwayuk]

You make a number of different points Frank. The fundamental one (hopefully everyone can agree with) is a failure to keep & ideally grow a sufficient supporter base (I would argue TV "armchair" fan is fine as long as the clubs are getting sufficient income). The reasons underpinning that "fact" are wide ranging and opinions can differ. In a way you and I are not the best placed folk to judge as we are in the minority that gain enjoyment from the sport. For me, the time to have tried and fix the sport was in the 80s & 90s - see what Barry Hearn did for Snooker for example? I'm afraid that now things are not recoverable and it is just a question of time before the UK professional leagues end. Sad.

[@frank7611]

@@speedwayuk Agree the 'lost opportunity' to have stabilised the sport but, a comparison with snooker doesn't fit. Snooker, a comfortable all year round indoor sport which fits well with the TV coverage agenda. Speedway, an outdoor sport prey to the weather, cancellation/abandonment, delays, noise, dirt etc...all factors that lead to the sport's massive decline in earlier years and which won't go away. There were plenty of younger people attending speedway in the '60s and '70s but, they didn't stick around and many stadium owners decided to sell up. I love team racing but, four riders competing four laps of a dirt track isn't a sufficiently attractive proposition long term for most potential newcomers. Now - more than ever - there are a host of other attractions notwithstanding that many younger people and family groups with less money to spare just can't afford the admission price. The return of speedwqy to Oxford was a real 'plus' and I just hope that continuing decline in the sport is at a slower pace than we may fear...🤔🤔

[@Inveterate-introvert]

I'm an ice hockey fan, another very marginal and expensive sport in the UK and I can see the national game going the same way. I used to be a regular at the Glasgow Tigers. I feel like the rise of Sky Sports and their laser focus on football is killing every sport in the UK. Even traditionally strong sports like rugby and cricket. I grew up in the 90s, when Speedway was already in decline and we had Grandstand which would show and promote all sorts of sports... even ice hockey, basketball and rallycross. Now it's hard to survive as a marginal sport and when the costs are so high such as in speedway and hockey it's hard to carve a niche. I was down in Workington thos weekend and managed to see the Comets against the Cheetahs and the racing in Workington was superb, really good track, lots of lines and passing. One thing I noticed at Glasgow was the racing was quite poor. 90% of races were done in the first corner. I've not been back since before covid so I'm not sure if they've made the track more competitive. The concern speedway has is the crowd tends to be old. I'm 39 now and i often feel like one of the youngest at the track. The sports management seems to have done a really poor job promoting the sport and pushing it in the cultural zeitgeist and getting young people involved. I find sports like speedway and hockey are very slow to react to things like social media promotion. One thing British basketball has done well is increased engagement, they offer a free game on KZbin weekly and that increases the games awareness in the uk. Maybe speedway should consider this.

[@speedwayuk]

Some very good and interesting points. I agree 100% about the negative impact of "gaters tracks" and that if you can't attract youngsters your fanbase will literally die out!! Once you are a marginal sport and aren't covered by regular media it is an uphill battle. But Speedway was once the number 2 spectator sport in England after football (not so sure about Scotland) and sadly, in my opinion, there was insufficient done to arrest the decline which started in the 80s

[@robertabbott7770]

This was a very sad , and depressing video . I can remember spending many happy hours watching Exeter Falcons , also visiting Somerset , Poole , Swindon , and Newport . In those days the demographics was much younger , but in a funny way the thing that has been killing it is simply the cost of running a team . In Speedway you need a virtually endless list of behind the scenes staff : Riders , mechanic's , marshals , gate staff , medical , referee , track staff , a wealthy owner with deep pockets , the list is huge , no wonder the smaller clubs disappeared !

[@speedwayuk]

Sorry Robert, I have to agree with you, the topic is depressing and therefore my video is. The very basic economics of any sport is that the income needs to exceed outgoings. Speedways biggest outgoing of course is paying the riders but I think the bigger problems are on the income side - Insufficient crowds, lack of major sponsorship and little TV money. Now we have lost a critical mass of locations so sadly I don't think the situation is recoverable, the time for action was in the 90s or early 00s.

[@looneytune6955]

I drive past Odsal Stadium pretty much every day. Still remember them doing the work for the world final in the 80s.

[@speedwayuk]

Yes, Speedway for so many is a history lesson. Sad.

[@darrenwarby32]

I was at Odsal for the 1985 world final . Although a Belle Vue fan , that world final was the best meeting I ever went to .

[@michaelcampin1464]

I used to ride for Weymouth then Hackney and Sunderland before a few years at Newcastle. Rayleigh replaced West Ham. Then Romford replaced Rayleigh. It is a shame how there are no Speedway Teams in the North East at all

[@speedwayuk]

Good to hear from an ex rider Michael - I never know whether you are extremely brave, foolhardy or both but you have provided great entertainment to we spectators

[@frank7611]

Redcar....👍👍

[@TheRip72]

What an excellent video & studying the number of tracks is a good way to look at it. I hope you are wrong about the future of the sport too. It seems to be struggling against so many different things that it is hard to argue against your conclusion.

[@speedwayuk]

Glad you got value from it, I won't say "enjoyed" as it isn't really an enjoyable video is it? I was so depressed by the news from Swindon (who always seemed to have reasonable crowds when I went there) that I felt that this closure was a critical straw on route to breaking the camel's back and motivated me to produce this data centric assessment. I do hope that I am wrong as at it's best, Speedway is a wonderful night out, much better than its very successful motorsport cousin F1 (in my view).

[@paulderby2117]

Thank you for the excellent work you have done. Great vid. I went to Ellesmere Port every Tuesday. Met Ivan Mauger there! (my hero). Anyone else go to Thornton Rd. to see the Gunners?

[@speedwayuk]

Glad you got some value from the video. Being London based I never got to Ellesmere Port :(

[@Chris1553]

It all started when they fitted silencers and got rid of upright engines, they had to get rid of the shale and make the tracks too slick, as a result a lot of the riders can't ride a heavy track and the modern engines can't cope with heavy tracks !

[@speedwayuk]

My knowledge of bikes is limited Chris but I agree that slick tracks with processional racing dilutes the entertainment value and turns many spectators away

[@pastrychef1985]

We can turn it around though, I'm brining up Speedway at every available opportunity in Hull.

[@speedwayuk]

I admire your optimism, I can't see it myself and I think the focus needs to be on preserving the few remaining tracks we have. Do you ever make the journey to Scunthorpe?

[@nervo6321]

I loved speedway from being a 10 year old boy and as well as spectating at my local Hull tracks firstly The Boulevard and then Craven Park myself and my family have travelled all over the uk to watch many great meetings. I can only speak from my own personal viewpoint but speedway has lost a lot of its charm for me, the long delays between races on a cold night drive me mad, the restarts after the minutest movement at the start causing even more delays is so frustrating. My son and daughters used to travel with me to Scunthorpe up until a couple of seasons ago but just aren’t keen on going mainly for the reasons I have mentioned above,and I don’t know if it’s me but the majority of riders all seem to ride with the same style now and with team race suits it’s very hard sometimes to differentiate between riders, shame as dearly loved the sport but didn’t attend one meeting last year when at one time I would have walked twenty miles to watch juniors practising.

[@speedwayuk]

Interesting input Nervo, your reasons are in certainly in the Spectator Experience bucket!

[@alecjefferson6993]

I went to Coventry Bees 🐝!! Land owner wanted to build houses. Still no houses & No speedway but owner has destroyed the stadium ripped out all the seats and torn the track up😱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏍️

[@speedwayuk]

and allowed arson and vandalism. The cost to get a working Speedway stadium would be huge even if the owner would be prepared to give up the fight to earn a huge payday with housing and sell the site to someone who is happy to accept the lower returns from sport

[@SafetyProMalta]

Crewe used to have a big speedway scene, died out in the late '70's. Bangers tried to keep it going and then it died too. Edit: Thought it survived past 76 but was wrong. Always remember coming back covered in mud from a meet. 😂

[@speedwayuk]

Yes 70's was a great era for the Sport. Not sure being covered in mud is a selling point for the sport surviving though!

[@davidpitts1954]

Really onteresting analysis. Always suspected the loss of some teams with strong home and away attendance eg Cradley more impactful than others. Also wonder if speedway gp does more harm than good to the sport as a whole?

[@speedwayuk]

Certainly attendances are an issue with many clubs (Plymouth promoter suggested he needed a 35% increase just to break even) and less clubs mean bigger distances and fewer and fewer away supporters. A thought provoking point re GPs, does it promote the sport to new audiences and encourage people to seek out their local club or not??? Does it stop league meetings running on Saturdays when more crowds might be generated (considering children and schooldays)?? The Polish league seems pretty healthy with GPs happening though!

[@Right_is_Wrong]

Cradley is pronounced with a log A to sound like Craydley. The Heathens did struggle on for a bit (after the stadium was sold for house) at Stoke and Wolverhampton's Monmore stadium which will be lost to speedway at the end of this season.

[@speedwayuk]

Apologies for poor pronunciation of Cradley. Some hope remains for the Wolves as for once the stadium isn't being lost for re-development but the lack of any news as we approach the end of the 2023 season is worrying

[@shano101]

If anybody watched the semi final last night you can see the Top Tier racing of Ipswich and Belle vue with Doyle and Emil shining a light on British speedway 🎉 Ipswich got 5,000 at foxhall for the cup final and we pushing it again!

[@speedwayuk]

Great if Ipswich got such a good attendance for this ultimate event, when I have seen most televised matched from foxhall, it has seemed as if few were there? With the probable loss of Wolves and Peterborough, I think the time has come to move to 1 league which sadly could rule out stars like Doyle & Sayfutdinov as the cost base will need to be reduced in my view. See my separate video on this

[@bernardporter4589]

The inflation of property values has much to with the loss of stadiums.

[@speedwayuk]

Yes, the lack of money in the sport from attendances, TV or Sponsorship mean that the value of the land for other purposes (if granted by planners) will be too attractive. This is where Oxford council deserve credit for resisting redevelopment plans at Sandy Lane.

[@paulsowney771]

Unfortunately. I think You’re right it’s absolutely tragic

[@speedwayuk]

Yes Paul, sad but the writing has been on the wall for a few decades now with little done that I can observe. Now I fear it is too late to save for the variety of reasons given in the video

[@tommaguzzi1723]

I went to a couple of meetings in the 70's when i was a young man. For me there was never enough emphasis on the bikes. No one even seemed to care when I asked about what they were all riding. I lost interest quickly and went to watch motorcycle racing instead.

[@speedwayuk]

I'm afraid I'm in the camp that has little interest in the bikes themselves, it is all about the racing and the team element e.g. can our reserve pinch a point in the next heat?

[@tommaguzzi1723]

@@speedwayuk I am not knocking speedway or those who support it, however for me and many people I know, motorcycle sport is just as much about the machines as the rider and judging by the odd video i have seen, there doesn't seem to have been much, if any innovation in speedway since i last watched live it in the 70's. The fact that it is a declining sport shows that the motorsport watching public has lost interest and sadly it is probably too late to rescue it.

[@derekwildash2683]

Loved watching speedway at Hackney in my youth.

[@speedwayuk]

Derek, you have hit on the classic phrase I hear oh too often when speaking of this sport with others of a certain age (and I can guess that from the fact that I visited Hackney in my youth too!) - "I remember Speedway.... blah blah" - what I call a look back in history statement. But when did you last go to a meeting? Too many spectators with a good experience of Speedway have been lost and no new generation secured.

[@derekwildash2683]

@@speedwayuk I watched the Hawks for a few seasons during the Colin Pratt, Garry Middleton, and Banger years. I eventually moved to Canada so that did it for me as far as speedway was concerned. I few years back while on a visit home I went to Ipswich Speedway for a match but it was pretty grim as I recall. However, I get your point, its like a "use it or lose it" type of thing.

[@michaeltaylor8835]

I used to watch speedway in Rhodesia

[@colinrichardson4309]

Having ridden for wimbledon in the late 70's your point about being tied to greyhound racing is central GRA ran speedway as a contributor to the weekly income once the value of the real estate outstripped income end

[@speedwayuk]

Yes Colin, the link between Speedway and Greyhound racing is a strong one especially in older locations and as you say there is often more money to be made by selling the land especially in the south-east. The map in the video of 2022 venues is shocking compared to a historic view with nothing near for a huge population.

[@chrisstrider]

Working class disposable incomes have fallen sharply since the 80s

[@speedwayuk]

Maybe Chris, I'm not sure. I know lower league football clubs have struggled too this century but in the main have survived better than speedway.

[@michaelcampin1464]

As i am now 63 I can understand your comments but I can see the demise of Speedway as we know it.

[@grahamjordan1040]

I was a regular as a child at kings Lynn because my parents helped out there back in the day when Morris Littlechild was boss , I am now in my 60s with my own bike but only two clubs that I know of will allow privateers to use the tracks , Scunthorpe and Leicester, I believe if more clubs allowed private use of their stadiums obviously at a cost they would get more revenue and more people involved, compared to those abroad our tracks are run down and badly in need of being refurbished so come on wake up people will pay money to use the tracks so they can be improved.

[@speedwayuk]

Firstly Graham, amazing that you want to ride a bike at your age! But sadly, I don't think any income stream from use of the track for personal riders is going to make a difference to the decline of the sport.

[@grahamjordan1040]

@@speedwayuk is there a set age when you stop living? My road bike is an unrestricted Hyabusa .

[@shano101]

No Ipswich have been getting about 3,000 every event this year. The tv doesn’t show the angles of everyone standing around the first two bends it only shows the grandstand and one of those is always shut. The league will remain as two leagues with Birmingham coming into it. Emil and Doyle are staying they have already said it.

[@speedwayuk]

Pleased to hear about those crowd numbers at Foxhall. I like your optimism re keeping two leagues, personally I think it is time to manage the decline in clubs by moving to one league with a lower cost base which could keep more teams going for longer.

[@colinglen4505]

I used to go to Hackney speedway about 69-70. Great fun.

[@speedwayuk]

Yes Colin, I remember some good racing at Hackney and the parade to the sounds of the magnificent seven!

[@magnoliapromotions1894]

​@speedwayuk the music at the begin ing was better at Hackney than any other track. Used to watchfrom the first bend. Came home covered in shale. Good nights Lights..

[@mjh5437]

I`m sure I remember my Grampa taking me to see it as a boy at White City Stadium earlier than 1976?

[@speedwayuk]

The track was built in the late 20s and was in the Southern League for a while. Post war, I believe there were open meetings from time to time before 76 so maybe you went to one of those? I used published league tables as my data source.

[@josiekaposie5783]

Decline of greyhound racing where most speedway tracks doubled up , no longer any greyhound racing tracks in London, worth more for housing

[@speedwayuk]

I agree Josie, a lot of the traditional venues such as in London combined Greyhounds and Speedway. Two declining sports isn't going to encourage stadium owners to keep the venue for sport especially in London where land is so valuable. But even "new" purpose build Speedway venues have failed such as Somerset at the Oaktree Arena (I consider Year 2000 quite new as well past the second golden era in 1970s)

[@stantheman9976]

The main problem with speedway is it’s so boring. Hit the first corner in front and don’t fall off and you’ve won.

[@speedwayuk]

Agreed, this is a disadvantage with many heats once you have had the excitement of the action from the start and first two bends. This is why the track design and maintenance (plus rider attitude) is important to give us some heats where a rider comes from the back. Let us compare Speedway to Football, much of the latter can be quite boring with lots of passing from side to side and little goalmouth incident. Both sports have the basic of seeing your team win, Speedway has at least 15 moments of real excitement (start and 1st 2 bends) plus hopefully more, football often has less than this but is more successful?

[@stevethomas5849]

2.4.6.8 who do we appreciate B.R.I.S.T.O.L Bulldogs, the smell of 2 stroke and hotdogs as Phil Crump raced his machine around the Eastville Stadium circa 1978

[@speedwayuk]

These are great personal memories for you Steve. Something you mentioned which is common to all Speedway fans, I suspect, is the SMELL, particularly in the era of "total loss" oil system

[@russellgipson7872]

Loved Friday night with the Hackney Hawks great days

[@speedwayuk]

Russell, another Hackney supporter who has made a comment! I've enjoyed a good few meetings there too, Len Silver was an important promoter in the sport. I've just checked and he is 91 years old now. It isn't just the supporter base of Speedway which is aging!!

[@russellgipson7872]

I’ve followed Hackney Hawks from 1967 until they closed my mum gave me my pocket money on Friday have pie and mash then down to the Wick program watch the meeting try to get autographs and the riders goggles if they won great night if they lost many a time see you next Friday I loved it my all time favorite was Bengt Jansson stylish and then Zenon Plech all action never a dull moment with that man rip to all the Hackney Legends

[@ServingMyJesus]

Very sombre. I do hope that the sport can survive.

[@speedwayuk]

So do I but I believe the time for more radical action was in the 90s when the decline gathered pace, I think it is now too late to stop the sinking ship, there is a loss of critical mass whether that be locations, supporters etc. I predict it will at some point go to one professional league and eventually it will become an amateur sport at a number of locations where land isn't too valuable. There are a number of locations where professional racing has stopped but there is still speedway e.g. IOW, Kent

[@ServingMyJesus]

@@speedwayuk That is a very sad situation indeed.

[@FLAPARON]

You need to diversify and bring in other classes and attract a wider audience. Speedway in NZ revolves around individual performance, and its done on a Saturday night. The USA is the similar, as well as Australia. Add Sidecars to the program, Juniors, & Introduce TQ midgets (Three quarter Midgets) with Speedway Motorcycle engines only, or as an alternate Wingless Outlaw karts powered with Speedway engines. This will bring in a wider audience.

[@speedwayuk]

Maybe Flaparon, personally I have always preferred the team racing to individual meetings. Anyway, in the UK, the time for change was 1980s - 1990s. I sadly think that time to save the sport has gone now we are in 2023 and so many UK locations have been lost, I hope I am wrong.

[@bobestes]

Ha,ha Diversity.

[@SuzyQ334]

There's no speedway in Australia - I've lived here since 1988 and I still miss it.

[@bobestes]

@@SuzyQ334 Still have speedway meetings in Australia

[@glynbirchall9146]

Fantastic exciting sport ,but not kept up with the times at bv says meal is pie n chips crap at over a tenner .Not a cheap night out .But a fab sport .

[@speedwayuk]

Certainly not cheap but competitive against the cost of many lower league football grounds, for example Oxford Speedway v Oxford United football in Division 1. Entertainment wise, I think a good Speedway meeting trumps many Division 1 football matches on "exciting moments" quota!

[@smithvids7324]

I'm confused. Mildenhall is still going or are you talking about the premiership.

[@speedwayuk]

Correct that there is still racing at Mildenhall but it is in the 3rd tier Development League (they came 2nd in 2022) rather than what I deem "professional speedway" which has been the top two divisions for most years. As I suggested in my conclusions, I suspect more tracks will take this route to reduce costs and keep going. I also suspect that the reduction in the number of professional tracks will force a move to a single professional league at some point.

[@smithvids7324]

@@speedwayuk ok thank you for info👍. I am a speedway fan but I'm still learning how speedway is. I wish it was back in the day where it's all packed of spectators & show it more on normal TV. It needs to be advertised more on TV with TV adverts.

[@user-ty8zj6rk7u]

No mention of leicester either in the early or late sixties and again in the current era

[@speedwayuk]

Apologies, I didn't mention that Leicester entered top tier in 1968 with Edinburgh dropping out (so still 19 clubs that year). Everything else in the video looks OK from a Leicester perspective, they dropped out in 1984 season due to loss of stadium but returned in 2011 and thankfully are still going

[@simondawson4270]

The deadline can be served up in two words , Grand Prix.

[@trevortaylor8088]

14:19

[@colinrichardson4309]

Only thing will change the sport if it's tied to training for kids and engineering to build academies sponsored by government and say the lottery monies with indoor new stadiums with colleges built in

[@speedwayuk]

Nice dream Colin, I think there is a zero chance of this happening

[@colinrichardson4309]

@@speedwayuk I agree it would need an investor with an eye to sell it to a big time TV company first roofed stadiums would alleviate the TV worst fears of cancelled events. Will anyone ever do it no I agree

[@petersmith3984]

I much prefer watching twenty or so stock cars thundering around a quarter mile oval than four motorbikes.

[@speedwayuk]

I disagree Peter but happy to see shared stadiums if that would help preserve both sports.

[@wiggshosp]

Teesside. Why is this so difficult to spell?

[@speedwayuk]

Apologies if I got wrong in any part of the video

[@davidhawes7959]

It is the most boring of sports that is why it is finishing.

[@abritandhisbikeinpoland6802]

Well I guess you all must come and live in Poland, I live 10 minutes from League 1 Poznan track, I was at Premier league Leszno 2 weeks ago, 40 minutes by train. I have League 2 Pila 30 minutes on train, and League 2 Gniezno 30 minutes also on train, and Wroclaw Woofinden's and Bewley's team 1hr.20 minutes on train or less in car for me, and Torun 1 .5 hr on train. And its constantly on TV also! I am a bit spoiled I guess, this weekend coming I will be at Gniezno, then on 19th of May I'm at Leszno again, then the 24th, 25th and 27th of May we have meeting in Poznan, 10 mins from my house. It's very sad what happened in the Uk, but other sports and entertainment plus land prices and development has obviously hit speedway hard in Uk. So sell everything you have and come over, the price of a council flat in the UK will afford you a very very nice modern 3 bedroom house in Poland, I look forward to seeing you!

[@speedwayuk]

I sadly suspect that this will 100% be necessary in maybe 10-15 years time (hopefully further in the future) when I believe there won't be a professional league in the UK. But I suspect that there will still be a Development league to train up riders who maybe will take the next step and ride professionally in Poland or Sweden

[@abritandhisbikeinpoland6802]

@@speedwayuk Plus I think in the UK we have so many sports, at a very high level also, but something went wrong somewhere with speedway! Its a fantastic sport played over 2 .5 hours, its teams against teams, 1 minute of pure racing! It's very sad story.

[@allanpowell7208]

You Poles are the only nation that deserve the sport.

[@abritandhisbikeinpoland6802]

@@allanpowell7208 I'm English, from Bristol.

[@dazzlingm5046]

British speedway is dead ,those in charge are killing it slowly

[@speedwayuk]

Certainly dying. As to reasons, they are complex but with the worry signs on the table in the 90s, that was the time for some more radical action. I fear it is too late now, too many clubs have been lost