The Crayford Kestrels were a
Speedway
Speedway may refer to:
Racing Race tracks
*Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta
*Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana
Types of races and race cours ...
team which operated from 1968 until their closure in 1983. They were based at
Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium
Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium was a greyhound racing and motorcycle speedway stadium in the London Borough of Bexley.
Origins and Opening
In 1930 the Bexleyheath and District Motorcycle Club started making plans for a grass speedway trac ...
in
Crayford.
History
Crayford were founder members of
British League Division Two
The British League Division Two was created in 1968 and was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom until the restructuring of British speedway in 1995. It was renamed the New National League in 1975 and the National League betwee ...
in 1968 and finished in sixth place in its inaugural season.
The team were known as the Crayford Highwaymen from 1968 until 1970 but were disbanded after the 1970 season. Speedway returned to the stadium in 1975 with a team nicknamed the Kestrels. They competed for nine years, with their most successful season being the third place finish during the
1983 National League season
The 1983 National League was the second tier of motorcycle speedway racing in the United Kingdom.
Summary
The winning team was Newcastle Diamonds.
After the tragedy of losing a rider the previous season Milton Keynes endured a second loss when ...
although they did win the
Four-Team Championship in 1980.
The team were forced to relocate for the 1984 season as the stadium was sold for redevelopment and for the 1984 season the team transferred the promotion to
Hackney and ran a team called the
Hackney Kestrels.
[Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. ]
Notable riders
*
Les Rumsey
*
Paul Woods
Season summary
See also
List of defunct motorcycle speedway teams in the United Kingdom
References
{{Reflist
Defunct speedway teams in the United Kingdom
Sport in Kent