Leicester Lions are 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 originally operated from 1968 until 1983.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''. The club returned to speedway for the 2011 Premier League season, moving up to the Elite League for the 2014 season. Before the 2019 season, the club dropped down to 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 ...

before returning to the Premiership in 2023.

Previous teams

Speedway started at

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

in 1928 at

Leicester Stadium Leicester Stadium was a sports stadium on Parker Drive in Leicester. The stadium was initially used for greyhound racing with motorcycle speedway starting there five years later. It was also a venue for BriSCA Formula 1 Stock Cars. Greyhound ...

with the

team entering the

English Dirt Track League The Northern League was founded in 1929 when it was known as the English Dirt Track League, the earliest league (along with the Southern League) in speedway racing in the United Kingdom, comprising teams from Northern Britain. The addition of two ...

in 1929 finishing 5th but by 1931 the track, beset with problems, closed. Speedway was also staged at a track known as

Leicester Super Leicester Super was a motorcycle speedway team based at the Leicester Super Speedway near Melton Road. History Promotion company Speedways and Sports Ltd initially approached Leicestershire County Cricket Club in 1929 with a proposal to constr ...

off Melton Road. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, speedway returned in 1948. The team were nicknamed the

Leicester Hunters The Leicester Hunters were a motorcycle speedway team which operated from 1948 until 1962.Bamford, R & Jarvis J. (2001) ''Homes of British Speedway'', , p. 147-149 History Speedway had operated before the war at both Leicester Stadium and the Lei ...

and ran under that name until closure in 1962. In 1949 the team started in 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 ...

Division Three and moved up over the years operating in the top flight for some time until the end of 1961.

The first Lions era (1968–1983)

Speedway returned to Leicester Stadium in 1968, with the formation of the Lions, when

Reg Fearman Reg Fearman (born 26 April 1933 in London, England) is a former international speedway rider and promoter. Riding career He first received his speedway licence on his sixteenth birthday, presented to him in front of a forty thousand strong West ...

and Ron Wilson moved in the Long Eaton team who had lost their home in 1967. The team competed in the

British League The British League was the main motorcycle speedway league in Britain from its formation in 1965 until 1995 when British speedway was restructured. It initially had a single division, with a second division starting in 1968 (which was renamed the ...

, the top division of British speedway at the time. In 1977

Vic White Victor Harry White (born 20 May 1932) is a former Motorcycle speedway rider, promoter and team manager from England. Biography White was born in Hackney in 1932, and took up speedway in 1956. After gaining experience on training tracks, White ...

took over from Wilson, the two acting as co-promoters until 1980 when Martin Rogers took over. Speedway continued until 1983 when the stadium was suddenly sold for housing development leaving the Lions homeless. Notable riders from the first Lions era include Ray Wilson,

Anders Michanek Anders Michanek (born 30 May 1943 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a Speedway rider. In 1974 he won the Speedway World Championship in his Swedish homeland with a maximum score of 15 points. Career Michanek had a very successful career riding in the B ...

Graham Plant Graham W Plant (born 15 December 1949) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He won the Second Division Riders Championship in 1968 and went to a career in the British League with Leicester Lions, Newport Wasps, and Halifax Dukes. ...

Alan Cowland Alan Edward Cowland (17 March 1941 – January 2005) was a British motorcycle speedway rider who represented England and Great Britain. Biography Born in St. Austell, Cornwall, Cowland got his first taste of speedway at Rye House in 1962, and ...

, Malcolm Brown,

John Boulger John Boulger (born 18 June 1945 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. After he retired from riding Solos in the early 1980s, Boulger raced somewhat successfully in Speedcars (Midgets) from the mid- ...

Dave Jessup David John Jessup (born 7 March 1953 in Ipswich, England) is a former speedway rider who finished runner-up the Speedway World Championship in 1980 to fellow countryman Michael Lee.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Spe ...

Ila Teromaa Ilkka "Ila" Teromaa (3 September 1953 – 21 June 2017) was a Finnish speedway rider who rode in the British League for Leicester Lions and Cradley Heathens in the late 1970s and early 1980s.Oakes, Peter (1981) ''1981 Speedway Yearbook'', Studio P ...

John Titman John Charles Titman (born 26 January 1951) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider who was Australian Champion in 1977. Biography Born in Brisbane, Queensland, Titman initially worked as a mechanic, making his speedway debut at the ...

Les Collins Leslie 'Les' Collins (born 24 May 1958) is a former speedway rider. He finished runner-up in the 1982 Speedway World Championship as well as winning the Intercontinental Final in 1982, the British Under-21 Championship in 1977 and the British L ...

, Neil Collins,

Rolf Gramstad Rolf Gramstad (born 5 January 1957) is a Norwegian former motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the British League for Swindon Robins and Leicester Lions. Biography Gramstad was born in Sandnes, Norway in 1957.Oakes, Peter (1982) ''1982 Speedway ...

, and

Mark Courtney Mark Vincent Courtney (born 25 March 1961) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode in the British League for several teams between 1978 and 2003. He earned five international caps for the England national speedway team. Bi ...

Season summary (first era)

Second Lions era (2011 onwards)

In the late 2000s, a group of fans with chairman Ken Naylor from the Leicester Speedway Supporters Club/campaign group began discussions with various local bodies about the return of Speedway to the Leicester area. At the meeting of the Leicester City Council Planning and Development Control Committee held on 4 August 2009 the application for a speedway track at Beaumont Park was approved. The new track was constructed at Beaumont Park with the Lions returning in March 2011 as a

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

team, with three-time

cycle speedway Cycle speedway is a form of bicycle racing on short oval dirt tracks, usually outdoors, occasionally indoors, typically 70–90 metres long. Like motorcycle speedway, riders use machines without brakes or multiple gears but, unlike motor speed ...

world champion David Hemsley as promoter.

2011 season

Riders signed for the start of the 2011 season were Sergey Darkin,

Ilya Bondarenko Ilya Yevgrafovich Bondarenko (russian: Илья Евграфович Бондаренко; 1867–1947) was a Russian-Soviet architect, historian and preservationist, notable for developing a particular style of Old Believers architecture in 1905 ...

, Jamie Courtney,

Jan Graversen Jan Graversen (born 10 April 1987) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark who rode in the British Premier League for Leicester Lions and in the SGB Premiership for Somerset Rebels.John Oliver John William Oliver (born 23 April 1977) is a British-American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. Oliver started his career as a stand-up comedian in the United Kingdom. He came to wider attention ...

, Richard Hall (on loan from

Sheffield Tigers The Sheffield 'Tru Plant' Tigers are a motorcycle speedway team based in Sheffield, England. They currently race in the British SGB Premiership, and their home meetings take place at Owlerton Stadium. The Tigers traditionally hold their race n ...

), and

Richard Sweetman Richard Sweetman (born 28 July 1990 in Maitland, New South Wales) is an Australian speedway rider who rode for several British teams.

(on loan from

Swindon Robins The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that have competed primarily in the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They are five times l ...

).Dane Jan Graversen becomes Leicester Lions' fourth signing
, ''

Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its pre ...

'', 9 December 2010, retrieved 10 December 2010

Mathieu Trésarrieu Mathieu "Mat" Trésarrieu (born 2 March 1986) is a French motorcycle speedway rider who competes in Speedway, Longtrack and Grasstrack. He is a two times World Longtrack Champion and is a three-time speedway champion of France. Biography Trés ...

was brought in when Bondarenko was out through injury. By July 2011, four of the seven riders who started the season had either left or been replaced, with only Bondarenko, Graversen and Oliver remaining, and Hemsley had handed over team management duties to Jason Attwood. Promoter Hemsley brought in

Kauko Nieminen Kauko Tapio Nieminen (born 29 August 1979, in Seinäjoki) is a Finnish former speedway rider who raced for several teams in the UK, Sweden, and Poland, and as part of the Finland national speedway team. Career summary Nieminen started his Un ...

Henning Bager Henning Bager (born 18 February 1981) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. Biography Bager was born in Esbjerg.Magnus Karlsson, with Charles Wright and Ashley Morris as reserves. In August, Oliver and Wright were released, with Viktor Bergström and

Jason Garrity Jason Garrity (born 9 November 1993) is an English motorcycle speedway rider who won the British Under-19 Championship and the National League Riders Championship in 2011. Biography Born in Longsight but now living in Droylsden, Greater Manch ...

coming in for the remainder of the season. Lions hosted the

Premier League Four-Team Championship The Premier League Four-Team Championship was a contest between teams competing in the Premier League in the United Kingdom. Eight teams are grouped into fours, with one rider from each team in each race. The winners and second place of each group ...

, finishing as runners-up to

Ipswich Witches The Ipswich Witches are a British speedway club based at Foxhall Stadium near Ipswich, Suffolk. They compete in the British SGB Premiership. Meetings are staged on most Thursdays from March until October, normally commencing at 7.30pm (first ra ...

. The Lions finished the season in last place in the Premier League, despite good results at the end of the season. Graversen finished the season as the team's top points scorer with 211 points from league and cup matches.

2012 season

In November 2011, Graversen and Karlsson were the first riders confirmed for the 2012 season, with

Jari Mäkinen Jari Aulis Mäkinen (born 13 June 1990) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Finland. Career Born in Hämeenkyrö, Mäkinen took up speedway at the age of eight. He has ridden for several teams in Sweden (including current team Rospiggarna) ...

the third signing. At the end of November Nieminen signed to return in 2012 and the top three in the 2012 team was completed by Danish Under-21 Champion

Lasse Bjerre Lasse Bjerre Jensen (born 31 October 1993) is a speedway rider who won the 2010 Under-21 World Cup with the Denmark team. Biography Bjerre was born in Esbjerg, Denmark in 1993. His brother, Kenneth (born 1984), is also a speedway rider. They ...

. Sixth rider to be signed was Simon Lambert. The team was completed by Simon Nielsen. An injury for Neilsen early in the season saw Kyle Hughes drafted in as a temporary replacement and a broken femur for Nielsen later in the season led to the signing of

Linus Eklöf Linus Eklöf (born 3 March 1989) is a Swedish motorcycle speedway rider who won the Team U-19 European Champion title in 2008. In 2009 he rode in the Premier League in the UK, averaging over six points per match for treble-winning King's Lynn S ...

, with Lambert leaving to accommodate the Swede's higher average, and

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.

moving up from the National League to complete the new line-up. Lions again finished as runners-up (this time to

Berwick Bandits The Berwick Bandits are a British speedway club, based in Berwick-upon-Tweed. They currently compete in the SGB Championship, racing at Shielfield Park, with home matches usually taking place on Saturday evenings. They also run a second team in ...

) in the Premier Fours. The team finished in sixth place in the Premier League, therefore making the end of season playoffs.

2013 season

The team for 2013 was announced, subject to BSPA approval, on 25 November 2012. Nieminen, Bjerre, Graversen, Nielsen, and Blackbird were joined by

Kevin Doolan Kevin Doolan (born 30 November 1980) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. Biography Born in Shepparton, Victoria, Doolan first raced in Australia, finishing third in the 1996 Australian Under-16 Championship. He began his Britis ...

and

Adam Roynon Adam Wayne Roynon (born 30 August 1988, in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria) is a British motorcycle speedway rider. His father, Chris Roynon, was a speedway rider and promoter for the Barrow Blackhawks. Career Roynon won three trophies in his firs ...

. An injury to Roynon after only one match for the Lions saw the return of Magnus Karlsson to the team. Despite scoring at over a point above his starting average, Blackbird was allowed to leave for

Scunthorpe Scorpions The Scunthorpe Scorpions are a speedway team in the British SGB Championship. They have raced at various times since 1972, at three different venues. History 1972–1978 The original Scunthorpe side were known as Scunthorpe Saints from 1972 ...

in May after the signing of

Robert Branford Robert Peter Branford (born 23 November 1993) is an Australian speedway rider. Career Born in Adelaide, South Australia, he is the son of former Australian rider Darrell Branford.Alex Edberg. Branford was replaced by

James Sarjeant James Sarjeant (born 16 November 1993) is a former speedway rider from England. Career Sarjeant took up speedway at the age of nine on 80cc bikes, progressing to 500cc bikes by the age of eleven, and was the Sheffield Tigers mascot as a child.< ...

in July and with two league matches to go Sarjeant and the injured Nieminen were replaced by Simon Nielsen and Linus Eklof. The team failed to reach the playoffs, finishing in seventh position in the league.

2014 season

At the BSPA AGM in November 2013 the Lions were accepted into the Elite League for 2014. The first two riders for 2014 were confirmed in early December when Tom Perry and

Max Clegg Max Clegg (born 11 April 1997) is a British speedway rider. Career Born in Brighouse, Yorkshire, Clegg started racing in grasstrack at the age of seven, moving on to speedway in his teens and becoming team mascot for Sheffield Tigers.

were picked in the reserve draft.

Mads Korneliussen Mads Klit Korneliussen (born 15 June 1983) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. Career Born in Aalborg, Denmark, Mads Korneliussen is the son of Karl Erik Korneliussen and younger brother of Tim Korneliussen, both former riders. ...

Patrick Hougaard Patrick Hald Hougaard (born 23 May 1989)www.ddnp.co.uk
Retrieved on 2008-07-04. is a

, Peter Ljung, and

Jason Doyle Jason Kevin Doyle (born 6 October 1985) is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. He became World Champion in 2017. He won the 2015 Australian Solo Championship. He has also won the South Australian Championship in 2014, and the Elite Leagu ...

were named in the top five of the side, but doubts over Doyle's visa delayed the completion of the team. With Doyle receiving a tier 5 visa, his place was confirmed, and

Simon Stead Simon Trevor Stead (born 25 April 1982) is a British speedway team manager and former rider. Career Summary Born in Sheffield, Stead started his career at local track Sheffield Tigers before riding for Buxton Hitmen, Peterborough Panthers and ...

was named in the final team place. Norrie Allan was named as team manager, with former manager

Glyn Taylor Glyn Clifford Taylor (born 24 August 1953) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider, who went on to a career building and curating speedway tracks, tuning engines, and in speedway promotion and team management. Biography Glyn Taylor ...

concentrating on track curation. In May Ljung withdrew from racing in Britain and was replaced by Lasse Bjerre. Perry was replaced by Josh Bates. An injury to Hougaard led him to withdraw from British speedway, and Lions brought in

Krzysztof Buczkowski Krzysztof Buczkowski (born 30 April 1986 in Grudziądz, Poland) is a Polish speedway rider and has ridden for the Polish national junior team. He started speedway in 2002 with Piła, riding for GKM Grudziądz. In 2005 he joined Polonia Bydgoszc ...

and

Nicolai Klindt Nicolai Klindt (born 29 December 1988 in Outrup, Denmark) is a Danish speedway rider who won the 2007 Individual Under-19 European title. Career In 2006, Klindt won the Danish Under 21 Individual Speedway Championship and followed up the succes ...

, with Bjerre losing his place. Lions finished bottom of the Elite League. The Lions also entered a team in the

-level National Trophy competition.

2015 season

The first rider signed for 2015 was Polish Under-21 champion Szymon Woźniak. They then selected

Josh Auty Joshua Liam Auty (born 8 September 1990) in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, is a British speedway rider. Career Auty was part of the Scunthorpe Scorpions team that won the Conference League Four-Team Championship, held on 18 May 2007 at Plymouth Col ...

and Simon Lambert in the reserve draft. Jason Doyle returned for a second season, and former

Eastbourne Eagles The Eastbourne Eagles were a British speedway team, based at Arlington Stadium, near Eastbourne, England, that raced in the SGB Championship. History Speedway was initially introduced to Eastbourne in 1929. During their first league season th ...

rider

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 ...

also signed.

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 ...

and

Grzegorz Walasek Grzegorz Walasek (born 29 August 1976) is a Polish motorcycle speedway rider who has ridden for the Polish national team and has also competed in the Speedway Grand Prix series. Career Born in Krosno Odrzańskie, Poland, Walasek began his senio ...

completed the team. Pedersen and Michelsen had both left by May, with

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 ...

and

Sam Masters Samuel Peter Masters (born 23 May 1991) is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider who won the Premier League Riders' Championship in 2011. Masters is an Australian Champion having won the Championship in January 2017. Career Masters was born ...

replacing them, although Bridger quit after only one meeting.

2016 season

With Lions' Saturday race night prompting 2015 number one Doyle to leave, Lions retained Walasek, Woźniak, and Auty from the previous season's team, also signing

Paul Starke Paul Simon Starke (born 18 November 1990) is an English speedway rider. Career Born in Hereford, Starke started his career with the Buxton Hitmen in 2007, before going on to have spells at a variety of different clubs during his development int ...

at reserve. Former rider Nikolai Klindt returned, but by late January they were still short of two heat leaders, with team manager Norrie Allan admitting "We need two riders of heat leader standard, and there just aren't any out there...we could be looking at putting in two riders just to complete a team." They eventually signed

Sebastian Ułamek Sebastian Ułamek (born 20 November 1975) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Poland. He was a European individual Champion. Career Ułamek rode in the Polish leagues for his home club Włókniarz Częstochowa from 1992 until 1998 and the ...

and Patrick Hougaard, starting the season over 4 points below the team building limit. After losing the first four league meetings, Walasek was dropped, to be replaced by Aaron Summers. An injury to Ułamek saw him being replaced by

Davey Watt David John Watt (born 6 January 1978 in Townsville, Queensland) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. He won the Queensland state championship in 2005 and was a member of the Australian team that finished second t ...

2017 season

Shortly before the start of the 2017 season, the team was taken over by Sheffield Tigers promoter Damian Bates, and the track altered to take in the curb around bends 1 and 2. The team joined the newly formed

SGB Premiership The Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership is the top 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 was int ...

. After finishing bottom of the league, the team avoided relegation with a playoff win over

winners

2019 season

Before the 2019 season, the club owners took the decision to drop Leicester Lions down to the

. Also for the 2019 season, for the first time the club owners decided to enter a team, Leicester Lion Cubs, into the third tier of British speedway, the

. On 15 August the Lions won their first national trophy when they defeated the

103-76 on aggregate to win the

Shield. On 22 October they won the SGB Championship, beating Glasgow Tigers over two legs in the play-off final.

2021-2023 seasons

After two solid seasons, 3rd 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 ...

and reaching the play off final in the

SGB Championship 2022 The 2022 SGB Championship season is the 75th season of the second tier of British Speedway and the 5th known as the SGB Championship. Summary Eleven clubs competed in the Championship in 2022, with Oxford returning to the sport after a 15 year ab ...

, the club announced that they would move up to the Premiership for the 2023 season.

Season summary (second era)

Track records

*2011–2012 (321m): 61.47s

, 7 April 2012 *2013–2015 (317m): 59.06s

Niels-Kristian Iversen Niels Kristian Trochmann Iversen (, born 20 June 1982 in Esbjerg, Denmark) is an international motorcycle speedway rider. He was part of the Danish teams that won the Speedway World Cup in 2006, 2008, 2012 and 2014. Early life N ...

, 7 June 2014 *2016 (302m): 60.63s

Craig Cook Craig William Cook (born 21 May 1987) is a British speedway rider. Career Born in Whitehaven, Cook's speedway career began in 2008. In 2009 Cook won the National League Riders Championship and three years later won the Premier League Riders' ...

, 18 June 2016 *2017–2019 (300m): 59.94s Josh Bates, 23 March 2019

References

External links

*
Leicester Speedway Supporters ClubLeicester Lions Speedway ScrapbookLeicester Mercury – News of Lions £2m revival plan
{{SGB Championship SGB Championship teams Sport in Leicester