The sport of speedway in the United Kingdom has changed little since the first meetings in the 1920s. It has three domestic leagues, its own

Speedway Grand Prix Speedway Grand Prix are a series of stand-alone motorcycle speedway events over the course of a season used to determine the Speedway World Champion. The series started in 1995 replacing the previous format of a single event final. The first win ...

, and an annual entry into the

Speedway World Cup The Speedway World Cup is an annual speedway event held each year in different countries. The first edition of the competition in the current format was held in 2001 and replaced the old World Team Cup which ran from 1960 until 2000. The last ed ...

Speedway of Nations The Speedway of Nations is a speedway event for national teams, held each year in a different country. The first edition of the competition in the current format took place in 2018, replacing the Speedway World Cup on the international calendar. ...

History

Several meetings have been claimed to be the first in the UK. The meeting at

High Beech High Beach (or High Beech) is a village inside Epping Forest in south-west Essex, England. Part of Waltham Abbey, the village is within the Epping Forest District and the ward of Waltham Abbey High Beach, and lies approximately north-east of C ...

on 18 February 1928, a meeting organized by R.J. Hill-Bailey of the Ilford Motor Cycle Club which attracted an estimated 30,000 spectators, is often described as the first British speedway meeting.Storey, Basil (1948) ''The Story of Speedway'', W.D.S., p. 3 There were, however, also meetings in 1927 in

Camberley Camberley is a town in the Borough of Surrey Heath in Surrey, England, approximately south-west of Central London. The town is in the far west of the county, close to the borders of Hampshire and Berkshire. Once part of Windsor Forest, Camb ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

and

Droylsden Droylsden is a town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England, east of Manchester city centre and west of Ashton-under-Lyne, with a population at the 2011 Census of 22,689. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, in the ...

near

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

.May, Cyril (1978) ''Ride It! The Complete Book of Speedway'', Haynes, , p. 25 Despite being described as 'the first British Dirt Track meeting' at the time, the meeting at

on 7 May 1927 differed in that the races were held in a clockwise direction. Races at

, the first held on 25 June 1927, were held in an anti-clockwise direction and this meeting appears to have a strong claim to be the first Speedway meeting in the UK, but it is generally accepted that the sport properly arrived in the UK when Australians Billy Galloway and Keith McKay arrived with the intention of introducing Speedway to the Northern Hemisphere. Both featured in the 1928 High Beech meeting. It is probable however that the first speedway meeting in the UK to feature bikes with no brakes and broadsiding round corners on loose dirt, probably the main tests of real speedway, was the second meeting held at High Beech on 9 April, where Colin Watson, Alf Medcalf and 'Digger' Pugh demonstrated the art for the first time in Britain. The sport boomed in the early days with new tracks opening in England, Scotland, and Wales. Notable pioneer venues of 1928 were Stamford Bridge and

Celtic Park Celtic Park is the home stadium of Celtic Football Club, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland, and the eighth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom. It is al ...

. The sport contracted in the early 1930s but revived just before the war. A few tracks, notably Belle Vue, Manchester operated in these dark days and the end of the war signalled activity at a number of tracks such as

Perry Barr Perry Barr is a suburban area in north Birmingham, England. It is also the name of a council constituency, managed by its own district committee. Birmingham Perry Barr is also a parliamentary constituency; its Member of Parliament is Khalid Ma ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

Odsal Stadium Odsal Stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, is the home of Bradford Bulls Rugby League team. It has also been used by the Bradford Dukes motorcycle speedway, speedway team, BRISCA F1 and F2 stock cars, the Association football, footbal ...

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

, Brough Park in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, Owlerton in

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire ...

, Cleveland Park in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

and White City in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

. The World Championship of Speedway was staged at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, London from 1936 to 1960. A post war boom came to an end in the early 1950s thanks to television and Entertainment Tax but a revival with the advent of the Provincial League in 1960 has been largely sustained ever since.

Governing body

The Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the

British Speedway Promoters' Association The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Each club has a promot ...

(

BSPA The British Speedway Promoters Limited (BSPL) organises the domestic motorcycle speedway competitions in the United Kingdom. They are also responsible for the promotion and running of the FIM meetings staged in Britain. Each club has a promot ...

), part of the

Auto-Cycle Union The Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) is the governing body of motorcycle sport in Great Britain, including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, but excluding Northern Ireland.

who oversee all forms of

track racing Track racing is a form of motorcycle racing where teams or individuals race opponents around an unpaved oval track. There are differing variants, with each variant racing on a different surface type. The most common variant is Speedway which ha ...

, govern the domestic leagues in the United Kingdom. International events are directly governed by the

Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme The Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM; en, International Motorcycling Federation) is the global governing/sanctioning body of motorcycle racing. It represents 116 national motorcycle federations that are divided into six regiona ...

(FIM).

Green sheet averages

Green Sheet Averages are a list of riders Calculated Match Averages (CMA) issued or assessed periodically by the

(BSPA) and are used to determine the riders averages for team building. They are called Green Sheet Averages as traditionally they are printed on green paper. For both the

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 in ...

and

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 ...

there is a points limit in place for team building purposes. This points limit is created to prevent teams becoming too powerful, therefore creating a competitive league. All Elite League and Premier League teams must declare 7 riders before the start of the season. For the 2008 Elite League, the combined averages of the 7 riders must not have exceeded 38.85, which increased to 39.9 for the 2009 season. A 2008 Premier League team's combined average must not have exceeded 41.5, increasing to 42.5 the following season. At the start of a season, a rider retains their last recorded CMA (or assessed CMA if they have never previously established one) until they have competed in six home and six away matches. A new CMA is then issued that comes into effect seven days later.

Competitions

In the early days of speedway in the UK, meetings consisted of individual tournaments, scratch and handicap races.Rogers, Martin (1978) ''The Illustrated History of Speedway'', Studio Publications, , p. 20-28 Team contests were introduced and became popular with supporters, leading to the introduction of the Southern Inter-track League (later the Southern League) in 1929, featuring teams of four riders competing over six heats, with two riders from each team in each heat. This soon changed to teams of six competing over nine heats and the scoring system of three points for a win, two for second, and one for third was introduced. 'Star' riders were initially banned from the league, but demand from supporters saw this rule relaxed. Northern tracks soon joined together to form the English Dirt Track League, but the league was beset with problems, with many fixtures not completed and several teams dropping out during the season. The following year it was renamed the

Northern League Northern League may refer to: Sport Baseball * Northern League (baseball, 1902–71), a name used by several minor leagues that operated in the upper midwestern U.S. and Manitoba from 1902 to 1971 * Northern League (baseball, 1993–2010), an indep ...

. The closure of several tracks led the remaining teams to come together 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 ...

, which continued as the main league until 1964, with a hiatus during

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. In 1960 a group of promoters, dissatisfied with how the league was being run formed the

Provincial League Provincial League (formerly known as Professional League) also known as Pro League was the old regional Football league in Thailand in 1999–2008. It was founded in 1999 under the name "Provincial League" organized by Sports Authority of Thailan ...

. This ran from 1960 to 1964. 1963 Provincial League champions

Wolverhampton Wolves Wolverhampton Wolves are a British speedway team based in Wolverhampton, England. They are sponsored by Parry's International Travel, and signed a deal with owner Dave Parry (previous speedway rider for the Wolverhampton Wolves) for the 20 ...

' refusal to accept promotion to the National League brought tensions to a head, with Provincial League teams threatened with suspension by the ACU. An RAC commission of enquiry led to the two leagues merging in 1965 to form 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 ...

. Initially a single division, interest from new teams led to the creation of a

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

in 1968. In 1975 this was renamed the New National League, the following year becoming the National League. In 1991 it reverted to the Division Two name and continued until 1994, after which the British League ended with the formation of the single-division Premier League. In 1997, with more teams wanting to join the league and to attract money from television coverage, the Elite League was formed as new top tier of ten teams, with the Premier League continuing as a second tier. The need to develop new talent led to the creation of the British League Division Three in 1994, which became the Academy League in 1995, but proved to be financially unviable and in 1996 it was replaced with the amateur Conference League. This was renamed in 1997 as the British Amateur League, but it was replaced with a revised Conference League in 1998 which was not limited to amateurs and allowed Premier League riders with averages below 4.5 to compete. In 2009 the regulations were altered again and the Conference League was replaced by the

, the third league to use that name.

Current Competitions

League

::British Speedway's First Division *

::British Speedway's Second Division * SGB National Development League ::British Speedway's Third Division

Cup

*SGB Premiership League Cup ::The First Division League Cup Competition * SGB Championship Knockout Cup ::The Second Division Knockout Cup Competition *SGB Championship Summer Trophy ::The Second Division League Cup Competition *

National League Knockout Cup The National League Knockout Cup is a speedway third tier Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom. The competition was previously known as the Academy League Knockout Cup (1995) and the Conference League Knockout Cup (1996-2008) until it ...

::The Third Division Knockout Cup Competition

Pairs

* SGB Premiership Pairs Championship ::The Top Two Riders from each First Division Club, compete to become Pairs Champions *

SGB Championship Pairs Championship The SGB Championship Pairs Championship formerly the Premier League Pairs Championship (from 1997 to 2016) is a motorcycle speedway contest for the second tier teams in the SGB Championship in the United Kingdom. The teams consist of the top two ri ...

::The Top Two Riders from each Second Division Club, compete to become Pairs Champions * National League Pairs Championship ::The Top Two Riders from each Third Division Club, compete to become Pairs Champions

Individual

Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain The Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain is a speedway event that is a part of the Speedway Grand Prix Series. Winners Most wins Jason Crump 5 times References See also Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the No ...

::The British round of the

Speedway World Championship The World Championship of Speedway is an international competition between the highest-ranked motorcycle speedway riders of the world, run under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). The first official champions ...

, held at the

Principality Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national rug ...

British Speedway Championship The British Speedway Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway competition open to British national speedway riders. The winner of the event becomes the British Speedway Champion. History Inaugurated in 1961 as a qualifying round of the Spe ...

::The top British Riders compete to become British Champion *

British Speedway Under 21 Championship The British Speedway Under-21 Championship (also known as the British Junior Speedway Championship) is an annual speedway competition open to riders of British nationality aged at least fifteen on the date of the first meeting, and under twenty-on ...

::The top British Riders under the age of twenty-one compete to become British Under-21 Champion. * British Speedway Under 19 Championship ::The top British Riders under the age of nineteen compete to become British Under-19 Champion. * SGB Premiership Riders' Championship ::Top riders from each First Division club compete to become Riders Individual Champion. * SGB Championship Riders' Championship ::Top riders from each Second Division club compete to become Riders Individual Champion. *

National League Riders' Championship The National League Riders' Championship is an annual motorcycle speedway contest between the top riders (or two riders) with the highest average points total from each club competing in the third tier league in the United Kingdom. The same form ...

::Top riders from each Third club compete to become Riders Individual Champion.

Clubs

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 in ...

Belle Vue Aces The Belle Vue Aces are a British speedway club, based in Manchester. The club hold the record of having won the top tier League championship 13 times. They currently compete in the SGB Premiership, racing at The National Speedway Stadium, wi ...

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 r ...

Kings Lynn Stars King's Lynn Stars are a motorcycle speedway team who compete in the SGB Premiership. The nickname "Stars" comes from the defunct Norwich Stars team. The team was founded in 1965 and has been running continually since then, except for 1996 when K ...

Peterborough Panthers The Peterborough Panthers are a British speedway team based in Peterborough, England. They are three times champions of the United Kingdom, winning the highest level league in 1999, 2006 and 2021. History 1970–1994 The Panthers inaugural se ...

- Current First Division Champions *

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Birmingham Brummies Birmingham Brummies are a British speedway team founded in 1928. They were inaugural members of the Southern League in 1929. The team have twice finished runner-up in the highest tier of British speedway, during the 1952 Speedway National Le ...

Edinburgh Monarchs The Edinburgh Monarchs are a Scottish Speedway team, currently based in Armadale. They compete in the SGB Championship, racing on Friday nights during the Speedway season. The club is run by a board of directors, chaired by Alex Harkess. The ...

* Glasgow Tigers *

Leicester Lions Leicester Lions are a speedway 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 ...

Newcastle Diamonds Newcastle Diamonds were a motorcycle speedway team that raced in the SGB Championship, every Sunday night during the season (March–October) from their home at the Newcastle Stadium on the Fossway, Byker. The Stadium, previously known as Broug ...

Oxford Cheetahs The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway teamLawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 200 ...

* Plymouth Gladiators *

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 ...

- Current Second Division League & Knockout Cup Champions *

Redcar Bears The Redcar Bears are a British speedway team who currently compete in the SGB Championship (middle tier of the British speedway leagues). Their major team honour to date is the SGB Championship KO Cup win in 2019 against rivals Newcastle Di ...

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 19 ...

SGB National Development League

* Armadale Devils - The Junior Side for the

Belle Vue Colts The Belle Vue Colts are the junior youth development team of the Belle Vue Aces, one of the World's most famous motorcycle speedway team, based in Manchester in the northwest of England. History Belle Vue first operated a reserve team during th ...

- The Junior Side for the

* Berwick Bullets - The Junior Side for the

* Kent Royals * Leicester Lion Cubs - The Junior Side for the

Mildenhall Fen Tigers The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975 and currently riding in the National Development League. History 1971–1989 The original track was built in 1971 on farm land owned by Terry Waters, with chef Bernie Kla ...

- Current Third Division Champions * Oxford Chargers - The Junior Side for the

* Plymouth Centurions - The Junior Side for the Plymouth Gladiators

Great Britain Speedway Team

The Great Britain Speedway Team is the National team of British Speedway – while Great Britain has always had a National Team competing on the World stage, a new era began in 2018 which saw a complete re-brand and new management structure unveiled. The side compete in International Global Challenge Meetings, the

and the

. Great Britain are the current World Champions, winning the

2021 Speedway of Nations The 2021 Speedway of Nations (sponsored by Monster Energy) was the fourth Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, FIM Speedway of Nations. The competition consisted of two semi-finals and a final. The final was held on 16 & 17 October 2021 a ...

at The

National Speedway Stadium The National Speedway Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium on Kirkmanshulme Lane, in Gorton, Manchester, England and is the home of the Belle Vue Aces and Belle Vue Colts speedway teams and the Manchester Titans American football team. Origi ...

in Manchester. It was Great Britain's first World Team Championship since

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. The current Captain is

Tai Woffinden Tai Woffinden (born 10 August 1990) is a British speedway rider. He is a three-time World Champion (2013, 2015 and 2018). Early life Woffinden was born in Scunthorpe, the son of former speedway rider Rob Woffinden. Although born in the Unite ...

and the current Team Managers are

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 an ...

& Oliver Allen

Former British Clubs

References

External links

BSPA homepagespeedwayworld.tv
- Official site of Benfield Sports International (SGP and SWC rights holders)
Speedway British Grand Prix
{{Speedway in the United Kingdom