The Eastbourne Eagles were a British

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, based at

Arlington Stadium Arlington Stadium was a baseball stadium located in Arlington, Texas, United States, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It served as the home for the Texas Rangers (MLB) from 1972 until 1993, after which the team moved into The Bal ...

, near

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. Eastbourne is immediately east of Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Great Britain and part of the la ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, that raced in the

SGB Championship The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Championship is the second division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). It ...

History

Speedway was initially introduced to Eastbourne in 1929. During their first league season they were the 1947 Speedway National League Division Three champions. Despite winning the title at their first attempt they were forced to close down due to a petrol ban enforced at their Arlington Stadium. They decided to transfer their team to Hastings Saxons and at the beginning of 1948 the Speedway Control Board granted a licence to Hastings to stage speedway. Eastbourne would not compete again in the league until they joined the

Southern Area League The Southern Area League was the regional third and then regional second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom for Southern British teams as a replacement for the defunct Southern League. The league ran for three seasons from 1954 to 195 ...

in 1954. In 1957, they won the 1959 Southern Area League which was the second division league at the time but once again did not compete in league action for another decade. The Eagles returned for the

1969 British League Division Two season The 1969 British League Division Two season was the second season of second tier motorcycle speedway in Great Britain. Summary The league expanded from 10 to 16 teams in its second season. Weymouth Eagles dropped out after just one season. The ...

and two years later won their piece of silverware, winning the 1971 British League Division Two. The club won their first (of many) Knockout Cups in 1975. In 1995, Eastbourne won their first highest league title, after they won the

1995 Premier League speedway season The 1995 Premier League season was the 61st season of the top tier of speedway in the United Kingdom. It was also the first for the new league, and the first of two seasons in which British speedway was competed as a single division. Summary The ...

. The gulf in quality of teams was evident after the merging of the two leagues, with the Eagles winning the title 56 points clear of bottom club

Exeter Falcons The Exeter Falcons were a speedway team based in the city of Exeter. The Falcons operated from 1947 to 2005 at the County Ground Stadium in Exeter. History In 1947, the Falcons competed in a league for the first time when they finished fourth ...

. Eastbourne had been an easy runner-up the previous year to runaway winners

Poole Pirates Poole Pirates (also known as Poole Speedway) are a motorcycle speedway team based in Poole, England, competing in the SGB Championship. The club have been the champions of the United Kingdom on ten occasions. Poole Speedway is promoted by l ...

and retained four of their riders Martin Dugard, Dean Barker,

Stefan Dannö Stefan Dannö (born 10 February 1969) is an international former Speedway rider who rode in the Speedway World Championship. He also rode for the Eastbourne Eagles in the British Speedway League and Indianerna in the Swedish Elite League when ...

and Stefan Andersson, which provided enough firepower to seal the Championship. They became the highest league champions for the second time after winning the 2000 Speedway Elite League. They were

Elite League Knockout Cup The Elite League Knockout Cup was a speedway Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2012. History It was governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). T ...

winners in 2002 and again in 2008. The 2008 success was their fourth highest division Knockout Cup win. The Eagles competed in the Elite League until 2014 and the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

from 2015 until 2018. In 2021, the Eagles competed in the

SGB Championship 2021 The SGB Championship 2021 was the second tier division, called the SGB Championship, of the British speedway championship in 2021. Changes from the last edition of the Championship (held in 2019) were the addition of three teams and the loss of t ...

(division 2) but withdrew from the league (on 26 August) because of financial problems. Their results were expunged as were the NDL results of their junior side called the Eastbourne Seagulls.

Notable former riders

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Season summary

Season summary (juniors)

2021 season
the Seagulls were formed in February 2021 tand disbanded in August 2021. This was the junior side of the Eagles. The Seagulls' first two signings for the season were Jake Knight and Richard Andrews, both returning to Arlington having ridden for the Eagles when they were in the National League. Club asset, and local youngster, Nathan Ablitt was then confirmed as one of the Seagulls' reserves starting on a 3.00 average. The Seagulls then completed the signings of Chad Wirtzfeld and Connor King, who both had previous

experience with the Isle of Wight Warriors. Henry Atkins became the Seagulls' sixth signing, he raced for the Seagulls alongside riding for his

team, the

Plymouth Gladiators The Plymouth Gladiators are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. Under several names Plymouth have competed during various seasons from 1932. The club was reformed after a gap of thirty-six years in 2006 by former St Austell Gulls r ...

. Another local rider, Nick Laurence, was named as the Seagulls' second reserve and their final signing.

Riders previous seasons

2021 team * Richard Lawson *

Edward Kennett Edward David Kennett (born 28 August 1986 in Hastings, England) is a motorcycle speedway rider. He was the British Under-21 Champion in 2005 and has appeared in two Speedway Grand Prix as a wild card. Kennett's father Dave, was a motorcycle s ...

Lewis Kerr Lewis James Kerr (born 25 March 1990) is a British speedway rider from Snettisham in England. Speedway career Kerr took up speedway in late 2009, and made his competitive debut in June the following year for King's Lynn Young Stars' in the Nat ...

* Tom Brennan *

Kyle Newman Kyle Newman (born March 16, 1976) is an American filmmaker, actor and New York Times bestselling author. He is known for directing ''Fanboys'', a Star Wars-themed comedy, ''Barely Lethal'' starring Hailee Steinfeld and Samuel L. Jackson for A ...

* Drew Kemp * Nathan Ablitt 2019 team *

* Richard Lawson *

* Georgie Wood * Alfie Bowtell * Jason Edwards * Tom Brennan * Ben Morley 2018 team * Georgie Wood * Mark Baseby * Tom Brennan * Jason Edwards * Ethan Spiller * Charley Powell * Charlie Brooks * Kelsey Dugard 2017 team * Josh Bailey * Jake Knight * Georgie Wood * Tom Brennan * Charley Powell * Mattie Bates * Charlie Saunders * Kelsey Dugard Kelsey Dugard and Connor Coles were replaced in the team by Matt Saul and Jake Knight on 2 June 2017. * Connor Coles Kelsey Dugard and Connor Coles were replaced in the team by Matt Saul and Jake Knight on 2 June 2017. * Matt Saul * Mark Baseby 2016 team *

Adam Ellis Adam Ellis (born 21 March 1996) is a British grasstrack and speedway rider and former British champion. Biography Born in Marmande, France, Ellis began grasstrack racing in 2009, going on to finish second in the 250cc French Grasstrack Champ ...

* Jake Knight *

Ellis Perks Ellis George Perks (born 18 March 1997) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. In 2019, he became the first ever rider to win all three tiers of the British Speedway leagues in the same season; the Premiership, Championship and Nati ...

* Georgie Wood * Gary Cottham * Charley Powell * Luke Harris 2015 team * Bradley Wilson-Dean * Ben Hopwood * Marc Owen * Daniel Spiller * Georgie Wood * Richard Andrews * Kelsey Dugard 2014 team *

Bjarne Pedersen Bjarne Aagaard Pedersen (born 12 July 1978 in Holstebro, Denmark)Oakes, P.(2006). ''Speedway Star Almanac''. is an international motorcycle speedway rider who has represented Denmark in the Speedway World Cup, winning it on two occasions: i ...

Cameron Woodward Cameron Jackson Woodward (born 8 January 1985 in Mildura, Victoria) is an Australian speedway rider who has won the Victorian State Championship on three occasions. Career A product of junior speedway at the Olympic Park Speedway in Mildura ...

Joonas Kylmäkorpi Joonas Nikolai Kylmäkorpi (born 14 February 1980) is a Finnish former motorcycle speedway rider and is a four times Long Track World Champion. Career Nicknamed ''the Flying Finn'', he represented Finland in the Speedway World Cup and won a br ...

Mikkel Michelsen Mikkel Michelsen (born 19 August 1994) is a Danish speedway rider. Career Born in Nykøbing Falster, Michelsen took up speedway at the age of 6, and went on to win the Junior World Cup in both 2008 and 2009.Laursen Brock, Jeppe (2013)Speedwaytale ...

* Timo Lahti *

Lewis Blackbird Lewis Blackbird (born 21 February 1987) is a British former motorcycle speedway rider. Biography Born in Peterborough, Lewis is the son of Carl Blackbird and nephew of Mark Blackbird and Paul Blackbird, all former riders.

* Danny Halsey 2013 team *

Lukáš Dryml Lukáš Dryml (born 16 April 1981 in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia) is an international speedway rider who represented the Czech Republic speedway team in the Speedway World Cup. He is a former World U-21 and European U-19 Champion. His father Al ...

Kim Nilsson Kim Nilsson (born 4 February 1990)2017 Rider Index: N
, speedwaygb.co. Retrieved 9 March 2018 is a < ...

* Simon Gustafsson *

* Timo Lahti 2012 team *

* Simon Gustafsson * Timo Lahti *

Lewis Bridger Lewis Alan Bridger (born 4 November 1989, in Hastings, Sussex) is a motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Bridger stepped straight into Elite League racing from the Conference League after one season with the Weymouth Wildcats. His ...

Denis Gizatullin Denis Gizatullin (born 11 March 1983 in Oktiabrsky, Russia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider and former captain of the Russian national team. Career He is a two times Russian champion. He first rode in the British leagues ...

Notes

References