Newcastle Diamonds were a motorcycle speedway team 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 ...

, every Sunday night during the season (March–October) from their home at the

Newcastle Stadium Newcastle Stadium is a greyhound racing and former motorcycle speedway stadium, located on The Fossway, Byker, Newcastle. Racing at the stadium takes place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The circumference of the track is 41 ...

on the Fossway, Byker. The Stadium, previously known as Brough Park, is primarily used for greyhound racing with the

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 ...

track built in the centre.

Facilities

The stadium has a large grandstand located on the home straight and a fully licensed bar which is located on the first floor of the grandstand providing unrestricted views of the stadium.

History

Early history

The club were inaugural members of the

1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League The 1929 English Dirt Track League was the inaugural season of speedway in the United Kingdom for Northern English teams. There was also a Southern League called the 1929 Speedway Southern League that started during the same year. Summary The se ...

finishing in fourth place and then raced a single season of Northern League in 1930. The club did not race league speedway again until 1938 when they joined 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 ...

. In 1946 the team raced as Newcastle Brough and in 1949 as Newcastle Magpies. from 1952 to 1960 the team did not race in the league.

1960–1990

Newcastle returned in 1961 competing in 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 ...

and later won their first major trophy, winning the

1964 Provincial Speedway League The 1964 Provincial Speedway League was the fifth and final season of the Provincial League in the United Kingdom. Twelve speedway teams took part. A second division of British speedway would not return until 1968. Season summary The 1964 season ...

, led by

Ivan Mauger Ivan Gerald Mauger (4 October 1939 – 16 April 2018) was a New Zealand motorcycle speedway rider. He won a record six World Championships (Finals), a feat equalled only with the inclusion of the Speedway GP Championships by Tony Rickardsson ...

who would go on to become six times

World Champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. In 1967, Ole Olsen made his British debut for Newcastle and would later be a three times World Champion. After competing in the British League from 1965 to 1970 the team missed four seasons (1971–1974) before returning in 1975. The following season they won the double of National League title and Knockout Cup. Another double of league and cup came their way during the

1982 National League season In 1982 the National League, also known as British League Division Two, was the second tier of speedway racing in the United Kingdom. Summary The league champions were Newcastle Diamonds. Milton Keynes rider Brett Alderton was killed in an ac ...

and one year later they won their third National League title. After missing 1985 they were renamed the Newcastle Federation Specials for the 1986 season.

National League Champions 1976

;1976

Team * Tom Owen *

Ron Henderson (speedway) Ron Henderson (born in Brisbane, Australia) is a former motorcycle speedway rider in British League and National League. Career Ron Henderson had two years racing in Britain, starting and finishing his career with Newcastle Diamonds,Lawso ...

Joe Owen Joseph William Owen (born 13 September 1956) is a British former motorcycle speedway rider from England. Career Born in Ormskirk, Owen took up speedway at the age of fourteen at the training school at Belle Vue and made his competitive debut ...

Andy Cusworth Andy may refer to: People * Andy (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Horace Andy (born 1951), Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer born Horace Hinds * Katja Andy (1907–2013), German-American pianist and pi ...

Brian Havelock Career Robert Brian Havelock (born 9 May 1942 in Yarm, Yorkshire) is a former motorcycle speedway rider and is the former promoter of the Redcar Bears, who compete in the Premier League.Oakes, P. (2004). ''British Speedway Who's Who''. A long ...

*Phil Michelides * Rob Blackadder

1991-2009

In 1992, rider Wayne Garratt died in hospital after crashing at the track, the fourth person to do so since 1946, including Chris Prime in 1978. Newcastle won their fifth league title during the

2001 Premier League speedway season The 2001 Premier League speedway season was the second division of speedway in the United Kingdom and governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB), in conjunction with the British Speedway Promoters' Association (BSPA). Season summary The Leagu ...

2010-2022

The 2010 season was a very successful campaign for the Diamonds. Although the

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 ...

dominated the League, it was the Diamonds that took most silverware of the season by winning the Premier League Play-Offs (Against

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 ...

), the Premier Trophy (against

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 ...

) and the Premier League KOC (against

). The Diamonds also found success in the Super7even events, when the Dane

Kenni Larsen Kenni Arendt Larsen (born 14 June 1988), known as both Kenni Arendt and Kenni Larsen, is a Danish speedway rider. Born in Odense, Denmark, Larsen began his British speedway career in 2008 with Newcastle Diamonds, the first of three seasons that ...

won the Premier League Riders Championship to add a fourth honour to the club's successful season. Fellow Dane Rene Bach encountered further success away from the club by helping Denmark to win the under 21 world cup with a 15-point maximum, and by winning the Danish Under 21s Championship. In recognition of their achievements the team was awarded the prestigious 'Team of the Year' award by Sports North-East, shortly before the 2011 campaign commenced, ahead of the

Championship League Championship League is a professional snooker tournament, devised by Matchroom Sport. A ranking event version of the tournament began from September 2020, played similarly to its invitational, non-ranking counterpart but with some minor changes ...

winning football side Newcastle United.http://www.worldspeedway.com/artman/publish/article_14972.shtml Robert Lambert, who rode for the Diamonds during the 2016 and 2017 seasons, was crowned both British Under 21 and European Under 19 Champion in 2017. He, alongside

Steve Worrall Steven "Steve" Worrall (born 23 September 1991) is a British speedway rider. Career Born in St Helens, the twin brother of Richie Worrall, Steve competed in motocross before taking up speedway in 2009 and had his first competitive season in 2 ...

(who rode for the Diamonds in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017) represented Great Britain in the

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...

during the 2017 season. GB won event one at King's Lynn where both Lambert and Worrall scored 13 points each, helping the team to qualify for the World Team Cup Final in

Leszno Leszno (german: Lissa, 1800–1918 ''Lissa in Posen'') is a historic city in western Poland, within the Greater Poland Voivodeship. It is the seventh-largest city in the province with an estimated population of 62,200, as of 2021. Previously, it ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. On 16 September 2018, Newcastle Diamonds legend

Stuart Robson Stuart Robson may refer to: * Stuart Robson (actor) * Stuart Robson (speedway rider) See also * Stewart Robson Stewart Ian Robson (born 6 November 1964) is an English former football player and TV and radio football pundit. He played for A ...

announced his retirement from the sport. He first rode for the Diamonds at the age of 16 in 1993. Newcastle Diamonds' celebrated their 90th anniversary season in 2019. After the 2019 season Rob Grant and former Stoke Potters promoter Dave Tattum took ownership of the club. Going into 2022, speedway clubs in the UK were challenged by the impacts of

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...

and European rider availability. The club had already come close to closing in 2021 before ultimately committing to a second league season under Grant's ownership. Grant cited a rider shortage and low crowd numbers as reasons for temporarily closing the club in June 2022, with the goal of maintaining the club's financial resources to resume in 2023. Grant also cited his other business ventures, finances, and mental health as reasons to close the club before the completion of the league season. Speedway promoter and BSP Chairman Rob Godfrey stated that " had been working with the Newcastle promotion in an attempt to get them to the end of the season...but sadly that’s proved not to be the case."

2006 season

Team * * * * * * * ^‡
^†

2007 season

Team * * * * * * * Also Rode: *^‡

2008 season

Team * * * * * * * Also Rode: *^‡ *^‡ *^‡ *^†

2009 season

2009 team and statistics * * * * * * * Also rode: * (Released) * (Released) * (Released) 80th anniversary series In 2009 to commemorate the Diamonds 80th anniversary a series of 50 cigarette cards were produced by the club. Riders included:

2010 season

Season overview: triple champions Performance in national competitions 2010 team and statistics Greensheet averages The following averages take into account league and trophy matches only, excluding playoffs, semi-finals, and finals. These averages are used for team building purposes and riding order. Note: British riders have 2.5% reduction on their 2010 averages.
Also Rode: ^‡ , All match averages The following averages take into account all matches including Knockout Cup and Playoffs. Number of maximums Fastest times The following are the riders fastest times around the Brough Park track.

2011 season

Season overview Performance in national competitions 2011 team and statistics Note: British riders have 2.5% reduction on their 2010 averages.
Also Rode: ^‡ , , ^† Ferjan died on 22 May 2011. 2011 fixtures / results Note: Top scorer in ''italics'', indicates a full or paid maximum.
Fixtures: TTW: Tyne/Tweed Trophy, CHAL: Challenge, PS: Premier Shield, PL: Premier League
Coloring: Green: Won, Red: Lost, Yellow: Draw, Blue: Lost, but still gained league points (PL matches only)

2018 season

Personnel *George English, Andrew Dalby & Martin Phillips (club owners) *George English & Martin Phillips (club promoters) *Boiler Technical Services (team sponsor) Performance in national competitions Team and statistics Averages below are green sheet averages based on BSPA (as at 1 October 2018):

2019 season

The full team was confirmed on 22 December 2018 with only Matthew Wethers retained from the 2018 season. Thomas Jorgensen joined the Diamonds following 2018 with neighbours and rivals Redcar Bears. Danny Phillips was on loan from the Diamonds at Scunthorpe during 2018. Max Clegg travelled south from Edinburgh Monarchs, while Steve Worrall and Simon Lambert were late additions to the team from Workington. Finally, Lasse Bjerre, younger brother of Newcastle legend Kenneth Bjerre who started his British career with the Diamonds in the early 2000s before going on to star in the

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 ...

series, was on the team. Personnel *George English, Andrew Dalby & Martin Phillips (club owners) *George English & Martin Phillips (club promoters) *Technical Services (team sponsor) Team and statistics Averages below are based on BSPA (as at March 2019): ‡ Released, Cruz Roja

Injured

2020 season

The 2020 SGB Championship season was cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In 2020, Newcastle entered a junior team, named the Newcastle Gems to compete in the National Development League National Trophy competition.

2021 season

Personnel *Robert Grant Jnr (club owner) *Robert Grant Jnr & Dave Tattum (club promoters) *Grant's Event Catering (team sponsor) Team and statistics Averages below are based on BSPA (as at July 2021):

Season summary

Season summary (juniors)

Club honours

Team honours

19 Titles *Provincial League Champions - 1964 *

Champions - 1976, 1982, 1983 *

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 Fo ...

Champions - 2001 *National League Knockout Cup Winners - 1976, 1982 *

Premier League Knockout Cup The Premier League Knockout Cup was a motorcycle speedway Knockout Cup competition in the United Kingdom between 1995 and 2016, governed by the Speedway Control Bureau (SCB). History The teams from the Premier League, the top tier of league rac ...

Winners - 2010 * Premier Trophy Winners - 2010 *Premier League Playoff Winners - 2010 *Premier Shield Winners - 2011. *Supernational Winners - 1982, 1983 *Gold Cup Winners - 1991, 1992 * National League Four-Team Championship Winners - 1976, 1982, 1983 *National League Best Pairs Winners - Tom Owen & Brian Havelock (1975)

Individual honours

*World Champions - Ivan Mauger (

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

) *National League Riders Championship - Joe Owen (1976, 1982) *Provincial League Riders Championship - Ivan Mauger (1963, 1964) *Premier League Riders Championship - Kenni Larsen ( 2010)

Regional honour

*Sport Newcastle Team of the Year - 2010, awarded ahead of the

winning football side Newcastle United.

Notable Newcastle riders

Highest averaged rider

Rider of the Year

As nominated by supporters: *2011:

*2010: Kenni Larsen *2009: Mark Lemon *2008: Jason King *2007: Sean Stoddart *2006: Christian Henry

Hall of fame riders/managers

There are currently three inductees in the Diamonds hall of fame: *

* Tom Owen * Kenni Larsen

References

External links

British Speedway Promoters Association
{{SGB Championship Speedway Premier League teams Sport in Newcastle upon Tyne SGB Championship teams Speedway British League Division Two / National League