Norwich Stars were a

motorcycle speedway Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...

team based in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

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 ...

which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.Bamford, R & Jarvis J.(2001). ''Homes of British Speedway''.

History

Speedway racing was staged in Norwich both before and 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 ...

The Firs Stadium The Firs Stadium was a speedway stadium in Cromer Road, Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich ...

in Cromer Road,

Hellesdon Hellesdon is a village and suburb of Norwich in the District of Broadland in Norfolk, England. It lies approximately north-west of Norwich city centre and has a population of 11,132, according to the 2011 Census. Norwich International Airport is ...

. Pre-War Norwich were members of the 1937 Provincial Speedway League, 1938 Speedway National League Division Two &

1939 Speedway National League Division Two The 1939 National League Division Two was the second season of British speedway's National League Division Two. The season was never completed, due to the outbreak of World War II. Summary As with the previous season, there were several team ch ...

. After the war, the Norwich Stars raced in the 1946 Speedway Northern League and the National League Division Two from 1947 to 1951. They won the League Championship in both 1950 and

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. They were invited into the National League Division One in 1952 and finished runners up in the League in 1958 and 1963. Another honour was the winning of Speedway's premier Knockout Competition, the National Trophy. This was achieved in both 1955 and 1963.Jacobs, Norman (2000). ''Speedway in East Anglia''. The Stars raced in the top flight until the stadium was closed at the end of the 1964 season, when the track and stadium were sold for re-development. In July 2012, former rider

Ove Fundin Ove Fundin (born 23 May 1933) is a Swedish former professional motorcycle speedway rider. He competed in the Speedway World Championships from 1951 to 1970. Fundin is notable for winning the Speedway World Champ ...

played a part in announcing a return of speedway in the city of Norwich. Plans, which did not come to fruition, were outlined for a new track to be built on the city's outskirts, with the hope of a return to the British league structure.

Season summary

Notable riders

Trevor Hedge Trevor John Hedge (born 3 August 1943 in Diss, Norfolk, England) is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1970. He also won the London Riders' Championship twice in succession in 1969 ...

Aub Lawson Aubrey "Aub" Lawson (born 5 April 1914 in Kelly's Gully, Warialda, New South Wales - died 20 January 1977) was an Australian international speedway rider who featured in ten World Championship finals including the 1939 final which was never run ...

Bob Leverenz Robert Leverenz (6 February 1925 – 16 March 2009) was an international speedway rider, who featured in the 1951 Speedway World Championship final alongside the winner and fellow Adelaide rider Jack Young.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). '' ...

* Geoff Pymar * Raymond "Billy" Bales *

Olle Nygren Harald Olof "Olle" Ingemar Nygren (11 November 1929 – 13 February 2021) was a Swedish speedway rider who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship five times. Nygren was Swedish Champion in 1949 and became Nordic Champion in 1960. ...

Terry Betts Terence Arnold Betts (born 15 September 1943 in Harlow, Essex, England) is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of the Speedway World Championship in 1974. He became World Pairs Champion with Ray Wilson in 1972 and was ...

* Jimmy Gooch *

Max Grosskreutz Max Octavius Grosskreutz (born 27 April 1906 in Proserpine, QueenslandBamford, R. & Stallworthy, D. (2003) ''Speedway – The Pre War Years'', Stroud: Tempus Publishing. - died 20 September 1994) was an Australian speedway rider. Speedway car ...

* Paddy Mills *

Cyril Roger Cyril Manners Roger (27 December 1921 - 26 May 2015) was a former international motorcycle speedway rider reached the final of Speedway World Championship five times.Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). ''A History of the World Speedway Championshi ...

Fatalities

Four riders from 1947 to 1951 died at the Norwich track. Norwich's 38-year-old rider Cyril Anderson died instantly on 16 August 1947, during a Best Pairs event. Anderson was leading when he skidded and was hit by a rider from behind 32-year-old Bill Wilson of the

Middlesbrough Bears The Middlesbrough Bears were a British speedway team which operated under various names from 1939 until their closure in 1996. History The team was initially nicknamed the Bears in 1939 by the club's general manager Vic Wieland. The track at Cl ...

was fatally injured, on 3 July 1948, at Norwich and died two days later in hospital. The third rider died on 1 July 1950. Jock Shead riding for

Halifax Dukes The Halifax Dukes were a Speedway team which operated from 1949–1951 and again from 1965 until their closure in 1985 at The Shay Stadium in Halifax. The team were nicknamed the "Dukes" after the local Duke of Wellington's Regiment, whose tra ...

was killed at during the semi final of the National Trophy. Shead's bike collided with another bike and he somersaulted before landing, he was taken to hospital but died shortly afterwards. The following year, 21-year-old Bob Howes was killed when he hit the fence during a training practice race on 10 November 1951. Norwich rider Malcolm Flood died on 2 April 1956, at Poole. The 25-year-old rider suffered fatal injuries despite an earlier warning from the race steward that he was riding too erratically into the bends. The Firs Stadium was arguably the deadliest track in the country and claimed another life on 24 July 1960. Derek 'Tink' Maynard of the

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British motorcycle speedway, speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier List of United Kingdom speedway league champions, League championship 13 times. They currently compete ...

was fatally injured in a crash on 23 July 1960. Maynard was competing in the second leg of the National Trophy against Norwich when Slant Payling lost control of his bike and it hit Maynard. Both riders were taken to Norwich Hospital but Maynard died the following morning.

References

{{Reflist Defunct British speedway teams Sport in Norwich