The 6th August 2022 edition of the Speedway Star features an article all about my 2022 Tour of the UK. Peter Oakes, who writes and fills the 'off the beaten track' segment, got in touch shortly after my trip to Ipswich to talk about the tour, why I'm doing it and what I'm looking to achieve.

Peter was told about the tour by Plymouth's programme editor Helen Charlesworth, who covered me as a guest writer in Plymouth's Championship programme against Leicester when I visited in April. When I was introduced to Helen back in March, we spoke on the phone for over an hour. But, when I was on the phone with Peter, it was for over 2 hours! It's great to speak about speedway with people whose passion hasn't waned in the face of recent adversities.

The article discusses the fixtures I've attended, the back story with my Dad and has a exert from the blog covering my trip to Newcastle in April when they hosted Edinburgh. The article featured just in time to build up to the British Speedway Grand Prix, where the tour draws to a conclusion. It's not the first time I've popped up in the speedway star, but it's always great to keep contributing to the sport long after I hung up the kevlars.

Huge thank you to Redcar's track photographer Colin Poole for the photos and the Redcar promotion for their hospitality.

You can read the full article for my trip to Redcar below.

MY ARTICLES FROM THE 2022 UK TOUR

Redcar is the sport's most underrated club. The passion and grit the fans show is backed up by one of the best racing tracks and promotions in the country, a must-see for all speedway fans.

Date Visited
Friday 13th May 2022
Fixture
Redcar Bears v Poole Pirates

Redcar is the sport's most underrated club. The passion and grit the fans show is backed up by one of the best racing tracks in the country, a must-see for all speedway fans.

It's time to make another cross-country excursion, this time to the North East to see the Redcar Bears in action. My last tour visit was on Thursday 5th May when I witnessed a strong Ipswich performance against the Aces. I made a last-minute decision to stop in at Peterborough on Monday for their home match with Belle Vue. This time though, the Aces were in no mood for messing around. The Panthers were utterly decimated by the Aces, in front of the cameras as well! I can't remember the last time I've seen a full-strength 1 to 7 get turned over like that at home, Belle Vue ran out 36-54 winners, and it could have been much worse!

I digress. It had been a full four days since my last speedway fix, so I pencilled in a visit to Redcar to stop my veins melting due to lack of methanal fume inhalation. Since my visit to the Witches, word of my tour around the country had gotten around. Speedway Star's legendary journalist Peter Oakes got in touch, and we spent some time discussing my tour, motives, and what I was trying to achieve. It was great to talk about it with him. Peter plans to feature my stint in the speedway star sometime in the future. He also arranged for me to have a picture on the track at Redcar with track photographer Colin Poole. With that in mind, I needed to leave nice and early to prevent any drama getting into the stadium!

I set off early and made my way north. I got familiar with the A1 early as I would be spending plenty of time on it! It was a challenging ride, not because of heat or rain, but wind! The crosswind travelling on the bike can get very tiring. After a few hours, I was feeling the strain, so I stopped for some lunch. Recharged, I completed my journey north into Middlesborough. I wasn't planning on stopping overnight, but the journey flattened me, so I booked a local hotel and dropped my gear off. I had a shower and changed into my lighter riding gear for the short trip to the ECCO Arena. I passed the football stadium on-route which I'd visited before for a premier league football match, Boro taking on London's Arsenal.

I digress again. The speedway can be a little tricky to find. Watch out for the big red building on the corner next to the Redcar county sign. You feel like you're driving to an industrial estate dead end but persevere. There is a speedway track back there! South Tees Motor Sports Park is a multi-sports complex containing a speedway track, a go-kart track, a motorcycle training area and a dirt track. The venue holds leisure activities throughout the year, and the speedway forms part of that set-up. It's a great asset to speedway in the northeast. Parking is easy at Redcar, with plenty of space and no charge, which is refreshing. You enter the turnstiles onto turn 1 of the track, most facilities on your left.

I arrived at Redcar's rider entrance, and the lovely lady at the pit gate let me through after I explained who I was. I popped to the entrance to pay my money (I wasn't after freebies) and get a programme. Then I had to ride through the walkways used by the fans, so it was a slow crawl. I arrived at the pits, and the guy guarding the pit gate questioned me like I was bringing in the Trojan horse. Fortunately, Colin Poole came to my rescue and parked me in the pits. I was having a photo with the Redcar team. How cool is that! I seized the opportunity to snoop around the track and the pits, having a closer look than usual. It's an exciting race circuit with a natural racers shape.

Redcar is relatively short at 266 metres, 11 metres bigger than Edinburgh's Armadale but 7 metres smaller than the last track I visited, Ipswich. The track is circular in shape, having a width to length ratio of 56%, similar to Glasgow. The straights are a nice width at 10.9 metres, the same as Leicester, and the bends are 13.8 metres wide, a fraction bigger than Birmingham. Redcar has great banking on the bends allowing the riders to get stuck in and use all the space across the width of the track. Riders average 46.5 mph at Redcar, 0.3 faster than Birmingham and Scunthorpe.

The weather was overcast with very light spitting in the air, but nothing that would trouble the speedway. Whilst the riders were gearing up, I looked around the stadium. There's an elevated covered 'grandstand' on the home straight, near turn 4, offering a great view of the track and pits, but you'll have to pay an additional £1 to enter. There are plenty of smaller terraces available along the homes straight with small platforms to bring you above the racing. There are a few smaller stands on turn 2, but my favourite new feature is the viewing installed on the backstraight. The promotors installed a new concrete path with a leaning barrier along the backstraight. It offers a terrific view above the track, and you're close to the action. It's my new favourite spot to watch speedway at Redcar! The pits at Redcar face the track so you get a good view of what's occuring wherever you stand, adding a bit more value to the evening.

I made my way back to the pits to see the riders completing their warm-ups, Colin called me over, and I had my picture with the Redcar team just before they marched out on parade. I hauled my bike out of the pits, grabbed my programme board and made my way round to the backstraight to watch the action.

Poole Pirates provided the competition for the Bears, and they were in good form. The reigning champions had again opted for a solid top 3, retaining Danny King and Steve Worrall and adding Richard Lawson to replace the retired Rory Schlein. The last time I saw the Bears, they got thumped at Leicester, so there was room for improvement!

Poole got to work straight away, Danny King got ahead of Charles Wright and held the Bears number 1 behind him, and Zack Cook led Adam Roynon for the 2-4 advantage for the Pirates. Jordan Jenkins and Jason Edwards could do nothing about Drew Kemp in Heat 2, resulting in a shared heat, but in race three, the pirates took control. Ben Cook touched the tapes resulting in Drew Kemp replacing him. Kemp then rounded the pack on the opening lap, with Stevie Worrall joining him, securing a visiting 1-5. Richard Lawson maintained the Pirates' strong start, getting the better of Lewis Kerr, who was followed home by Jason Edwards for a 3-3.

Erik Riss won Heat 5, but Kasper Andersen couldn't get amongst the points. Eric Riss was thrown into Heat 6 as a tact sub with Charles Wright, but Richard Lawson got the better of them both, despite a stern challenge from Wright. Redcar battled hard but couldn't pick up heat advantages due to the strong Pirates heat leaders. Heats 7, 8 and 9 resulted in 3-3s. Heat 10, the Bears looked like they'd cracked it, Charles Wright gated, and Stevie Worrall couldn't get across. Ben Cook beat Adam Roynon, but it was a home heat advantage! Lewis Kerr smoked Danny King in Heat 11, but again, Jordan Jenkins didn't score, and the points were shared. Heat 12, the killer blow came. Eric Riss made the start but Stevie Worrall got around him on bend 3. Drew Kemp then passed the German to join his teammate for a big 1-5.

Wright and Kerr pulled a 4-2 out of the bag in Heat 13 to give the home fans hope, but Poole put the result beyond doubt in Heat 14 when Ben Cook and Drew Kemp got ahead of Kasper Andersen for a 1-5. Charles Wright won Heat 15, but the Pirates packed the positions to give the visitors a comprehensive 10-point victory.

A strong Poole team had well beaten the Bears, but the score didn't reflect how close the Bears kept it. Although the Poole top three all scored well, they weren't untouchable and dropped a fair few points towards the end. The match winners for Poole were the Cook brothers and the talented British Under 21 star, Drew Kemp. The Pirates got three 5-1's on the night, and Drew Kemp was involved in all of them, an accomplished performance from the youngster. Drew's an easy choice as my man of the night.

Post-match, I sat on the terrace to record my thoughts on the evening's events and reflect on the current sports issues. One thing you quickly notice is how many people are still at the track, working away raking the dirt, cleaning up equipment, and putting away fence motors. When my brother and I were track staff at Lakeside, we would often be there until midnight, putting the air fence away. I would guess most people doing the track work aren't compensated for their efforts and are happy to get free admission for their troubles. The track staff personifies perfectly what speedway relies on to survive, the sense of community, sheer love of the sport, and willingness to go the extra mile for their club. If I took anything away from my experience at Redcar, it was the community around the club that strived forward with solid promoters. I really wish Redcar was closer as I would love to go more often!

After the main match, the northern junior league youngsters had a spin. Seeing as I was staying overnight, I thought I would stop and watch. The first few races were carnage, with big pile-ups on the first and second bends. But once they sorted themselves out, the riders got the laps they needed. Whilst this was happening, the bar was filling with Redcar fans ready for the post-match interviews. It's great because 1 or 2 riders always stay behind to be interviewed by Roy Clarke, laying out their thoughts on the match and the battle plan for future fixtures.

I said my goodbye's to the friendly local folk and made my way back to the hotel. If you haven't been to Redcar before, I strongly suggest you do. It's easily one of my favourite tracks in the country. You can get a superb view on the backstraight, the racing is always close, and every inch of the track is usable by the riders to duck and dive past each other. I heard good things about the track before I arrived, but I didn't appreciate just how good it was. There are some fantastic tracks in this country. Belle Vue, Peterborough, Glasgow. Redcar is undoubtedly up there with the best of them.

My journey home was against a beautiful sunny backdrop and with no wind in sight. Happy days! I left nice and early and got home in time for lunch with Eloise and the kids. Tomorrow we'd be journeying up the A11 to another of my local tracks, West Row Stadium, home of the Mildenhall Fen Tigers.

Thank you to Colin Poole and the Redcar promotion for your hospitality, it was a fantastic experience and I look forward to returning!

Parking
Plenty of parking and no charges to worry about, very good.

Admission
£18 for Adults, £16 for Concessions and Students, Children under 16 go for £1.

Programme
£3 for the programme. Another good effort and plenty to read, worth picking up.

Viewing Facilities
The grand stand is great as it offers a good view of the track and you can see the pits clearly, however, it comes with an additonal cost of £1 per person. There's plent of raised terracing along the homestraight into the first bend and another small stand on the second bend. I would highly recommend you check out the backstraight, it's above the track and close, giving you that sense of speed and a good view. The pits are open and facing the track so you can see them from most vantage points. Super place to watch speedway.

Catering
The club has some portacabins on the first bend with a bar and food outlet. There's also an over the counter option behind the grandstand. I grabbed some chips for myself and they were tasty (Note, don't walk round the bends of a speedway track during a race with an open plate of chips, unless you want to season your food with shale)

Escaping!
The Car Park filters onto the end of an industrial estate road so I can't imagine the traffic is to bad, I couldn't say though because I left long after the crowd filtered out! 

Fancy checking out South Tees Motorsport Park, I strongly suggest you pay a visit to Redcar Speedway and see the Bears in action for yourself!
 
Check out Redcar's website for the latest fixture and news, the Bear's regular race night is Friday night. Perfect, you can let the kids sleep in saturday!

http://www.redcar-speedway.com/

2022 UK TOUR STATS

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Mildenhall Fen Tigers on Sunday 15th May 2022 - Blog Coming Soon

The historically treasured Witches date back to the 1950s. Their Suffolk home of Speedway and Stockcars oozes the rich history the race track has witnessed.

Date Visited
Thursday 5th May 2022
Fixture
Ipswich Witches v Belle Vue Aces

My blogs up to now have regularly started with me describing the vast distances I've covered or hotels I'm occupying to visit each venue. No such explanation is required this time. The poultry 76-mile trip to the Witches' home felt like a trip to get the milk in comparison. I could still have dinner at home before leaving! The short trip up the A12 didn't take too long, although the rush hour trip wasn't an enjoyable ride. It's safe to say if I travelled via car, I would have struggled to make Foxhall for Heat 1.

Foxhall is right on the edge of Ipswich, not too far away from the A12. It feels like you are outside the suburban parts of Ipswich when you pull into the Stadium, but it's an illusion. Just behind the tree's on the North and West side of the woods are the largely built-up streets of Ipswich residential areas.

You pull off the main road onto a trail which leads through the woods into a clearing, unveiling the Stadium and car park. You'll never have a problem parking at Foxhall, and it's free, which is a credit to the Stadium's management. Once you've parked up, there's a single entrance which leads you into the Stadium on bend 1. The programme seller, shop and 50-50 all greet you as you enter, plus the re-run videos hut with the latest DVD's for sale.

You can walk down the back of the main stand to the pits and see little bit, it's not a great view but you see plenty of riders walking around and chatting. You can also get a good view of the pits from the stand, but there's only space for about 3 people to see anything, so don't bank on it! The main stand offers a limited view, but it's pretty low. Fans can find the stronger vantage points on bends 1, 2 and the backstraight.

The Witches facility reminds me of my local track Lakeside, with the big stock car track between the speedway circuit and the riders. It's a shame because you can't get very close. Ipswich's track is 273 metres long round the inside curb, making it the 8th smallest. It's 3 metres smaller than Scunthorpe but 7 metres longer than Redcar. The space on the turns is massive, at 15.6 metres; only Leicester and Belle Vue's turns are bigger. The straights are much smaller, only 10.4 metres wide, similar to King's Lynn (10.3) and Mildenhall (10.5). The turns are pretty tight. The riders have to power into the corners early and turn hard to make the turn, but the extra space makes them more manageable for riders. The track's shape is like Wolverhampton but with longer straights. The recently defunct Lakeside was also similar, although you had to turn very hard to get around Purfleet!

There's a large amount of gradual terracing on bends 1 and 2, with various catering outlets to choose from at the back. The main food outlet is by bend 1, but there are a further two options on bend two and an ice cream fan. They were all busy throughout my visit, so they must be worth a try! The grandstand is relatively new, and if you haven't visited Ipswich in a few years, you might not know it's there! It offers a terrific view from the backstraight, it gives you height and keeps you reasonably close. The stand also has a good capacity. The only downside is it's not covered, so you'll get wet if it rains. One thing I always remember about Ipswich is it's not the best place to be when the weather is rubbish. There are not many places to hide. I've ruined a few programmes trying to fill them in during an outburst of rain! There are viewing facilities on bend 3 but they are always closed for speedway, you also can't get access to the far end of the backstraight and bends 3 or 4.

This evening there was no danger of rain. If anything, the weather was a bit warm for speedway. The track looked good, considering the heat. Ipswich were looking for their first win of the Premiership season in their opener, having been beaten twice home and away already. The Witches couldn't have picked a worse time to host the Aces, who just added Slovenian star Matej Zager to their lineup. No offence to Jake Allen, but that is some 'swap'.

Ipswich opened the scoring with a 4-2 heat advantage. Jye Etheridge made Doyle work hard for it, but the former World Champion eased Etheridge out the way on the second lap, and Max Fricke tailed off at the back. Stark and Rowe extended the lead in Heat 2. Then the teams exchanged shared heats in 3 and 4. Ipswich extended the lead in Heat 5 with a 4-2, and again in Heat 6 after a terrific race between Brady Kurtz and Eric Riss for second. Zager won Heat 3 by some distance but couldn't stop Troy Batchelor in Heat 7, after a re-run due to Paul Stark falling. Another shared race in Heat 8 maintained the Witches 8 point lead. Belle Vue needed to do something as Ipswich were gradually pulling away.

Mark Lemon brought Zager in as a tactical in Heat 9, and he delivered the goods with Brady Kurtz. The pair gated and kept the effervescent Danny King and Ben Barker behind them. The match continued with another two shared heats between the sides. Jason Doyle run an uncharacteristic last in Heat 10 but Eric Riss saved the day, and then Paul Starke worked hard to pass Etheridge in Heat 11 only to pack up, very unlucky! Heat 12 saw Ipswich deliver a killing blow. Danny King and Paul Starke teamed up to take a 5-1 over Tom Brennan and Matej Zager. Starke did superbly, passing Brennan on the first lap. Doyle got back to winning ways in Heat 13 but Kurtz and Fricke packed the positions to share the race. Charles Wright popped up with a win in Heat 14, but the Witches' pair secured a shared heat to win the match.

Belle Vue salvaged a point for their troubles with a 1-5 in the last race. The killing instinct wasn't entirely there for Ispwich, opting for Batchelor and King instead of Doyle. Brady Kurtz moved Troy Batchelor off the racing line, allowing Matej Zager through. Once ahead, the Aces pair pulled away, Batchelor in pursuit but never threatened a pass.

Ipswich rode well throughout the meeting. The points spread evenly through the seven riders. Good performances from Erik Riss and PauL Starke swayed the moment towards the Witches. Equally, the underperformance of Max Fricke left the Aces blunt at the top end. I wouldn't be too surprised if Belle Vue go back there and win later in the season, but Ipswich have shown they are capable of beating good teams.

The result never felt like a foregone conclusion. The Aces had the riders but couldn't muster heat advantages together. I was kept engaged as the result was in doubt until Heat 14. Ipswich is relatively hard to pass on, but we were treated to some good races, especially the tussle between Eric Riss and Brady Kurtz. My man of the match was Witches Eric Riss. He kept chipping away, scoring points and won the all-important Heat 10 when Doyle fluffed his lines, maintaining the Witches' lead and momentum.

I set off content with my evening's speedway and was in a good mood to tackle the A12 returning home. It's potluck if the road is open these days, I usually get treated to a tour of the countryside going back home, but tonight I was lucky! I got home with the usual bug collection on my bike's windbreaker, then filled my wife in on the evening's events, irrespective of her wanting to know! One last thing, it was great to see Tommy Nicholls still in the pits at Ipswich. Tommy used to tune my brother and me's engines back when I raced second halves and amateur meetings.  

My next trip would be another long one, back up to the North East to Middlesborough. I was looking forward to this one. The last time I went to Redcar Speedway, Gary Havelock was number one! The Bears would face a tough test with Havelock's very own Pirates in town. It should be a cracker!

Parking
Plenty of parking and no charge either, very good.

Admission
£20 for Adults, £18 for Concessions, Children under 16 go Free.  .

Programme
£3 for the programme. NIcely presented and a good racecard, a good effort from the Witches promotion.

Viewing Facilities
The grand stand is sitauted on the backstraight. There's a small stand on the home straight, or plently of open terracing round the first and second bends. I recommend the front of the grandstand for optimal view.

Catering
There's a walk in cafe with seating on the first bend, and a few over the counter outlets on the second bend. Plenty to choose from, although the queues can get quite long so watch for that.

Escaping!
It's a bit slow as all the traffic has to use the single file track out of the woods. If you want to get out quickly I suggest you bolt after heat 15, otherwise you'll spend a bit of time getting out of the car park. 

Fancy an evening at Ipswich Speedway?
 
Check out the Witches website for the latest fixture and news, Ipswich's regular race night is Monday or Thursdays.

https://ipswichwitches.co/

2022 UK TOUR STATS

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Redcar Bears on Friday 13th May 2022

Glasgow is the golden example of how investment and professionals can turn the sport around, one of the best tracks and facilities in the country.

Date Visited
Sunday 1st May 2022
Fixture
Glasgow Tigers v Edinburgh Monarchs

My hotel in Leicester was your bog-standard motorway offering, air-conditioned and structured to block out the overnight hum of the M1. I woke up sceptical after the rain moved in the night before. I just about got away from Leicester speedway before the heavy rain moved in, but the bike was left to suffer the elements. I peered out across the services to find it was grey but dry, Result! Thankfully the weather would hold out as I journeyed across the A1 and up the country. I was 115 miles closer than I would be at home, but I still had 315 miles to cover before I would reach Glasgow's Ashfield Stadium, only 30 miles less than my journey from home to Berwick.

I made good time, stopping at the beautiful Annandale Water, where my hotel was based. I did the usual stop off to freshen up, drop off the gear and then continued north for one more hour. I should mention I met up with my wife and kids at the hotel, who would also make the journey north in the car to Glasgow for the afternoon's speedway offering!

It had been a few years since I visited Ashfield. The last few times have been when I'm on holiday in Scotland and made the journey south from Pitlockery. You know the drill. "Darling, seeing as we are up here, I might pop down to Glasgow on Sunday. They are at home to (Insert team name), and I think it'll be a cracking match". 'I'll see you when you get back. What time will you materialise" my wife replies? To be honest, I think she's resigned herself to the fact my love of speedway is on par with my family, although I stopped one short of missing my wedding because 'Peterborough were at home to Ipswich' that day.

When you arrive, you have a few options for parking. The stadium car park, I remember, is now the 'VIP' parking area. This is where I sent my wife to park, not realising it's £5 per vehicle! Most tracks allow bikes to park round where the riders are, but at Glasgow, I was sent round to the other car park, situated a minute down the road from the stadium. You've got a short walk back to the stadium; then you're good to go. There was a good crowd, as you would expect for the Scottish Derby!

It's safe to say the facilities at Glasgow have improved, it's the same stadium I remember but it's run to a far higher standard. The entrance is now situated on the first turn. Next to the ticket office, you'll find the track shop in a portacabin. The track shop is outside the stadium. I've never seen that at a permanent speedway venue before! After you've paid up and got your programme, you make your way through the bar and onto the pathway by turn 1, which is protected by some perspex sheets.

There is a small amount of viewing on the first bend, but it's low, and you can't see a great deal. The home straight has an elevated stand with seating overlooking the start gate. There's also space to stand in front of it.   Then there's a covered terrace on the fourth bend leading into the home straight. This leads into a VIP set of portacabins on bend 4. It looks like they are for commercial partners and corporate guests. On bend 4, there's another good elevated stand to get a good view of the track. If you continue round, you'll come to the backstraight where there's plenty of terracing available. The pits are situated behind the stand on the backstraight, but again you can't see a great deal because there are advertising hoardings in the way. The viewing on the backstraight is my preference as you're close but still elevated enough to get a good view of the circuit. There are food outlets on both sides of the home straight and one on the back straight, with plenty of options if you're feeling peckish.

Glasgow is 1 metre larger than Newcastle, but it's a far better shape. The track has a 55% width-to-- length ratio compared to Newcastle's 41%. This means the riders can carry the momentum built up on the bends into the next turn as the track has a 'circular' race line. Ashfield is the seventh largest track in the country at 298 metres, 2 metres longer than my last stop, Leicester. The straights are nice and wide at 12.2 Metres, and the bends are 14.1 metres, giving the riders plenty of room to pass. Glasgow is one of the quicker tracks, the riders averaging 51.8 mph.

Glasgow hosted their local rivals, Edinburgh Monarchs, and the Monarchs were out for revenge. The Tigers turned them over on home soil, taking a big 51-39 win at Armadale! The nerves were already showing when the match got underway with a tapes offence from Lasse Fredrikson. Sam Master showed no such nerves, gating on the inside of Craig Cook and disappearing into the distance. Glasgow soon got in their stride, picking up a 5-1 and 4-2 before Josh Pickering stopped the rot for the Monarchs with a 3-3. Glasgow extended their lead in Heat's 6 and 8, opening up a 12-point lead to make the score 30-18. Craig Cook made an excellent pass on Josh Pickering in Heat 6, edging the Aussie off the line and powering away. Suddenly the Monarchs looked lost at sea, the chances of revenge slipping away, or so we thought. The unbeaten Sam Masters came in as a tact sub and got a much-needed 5-1 for the visitors with Josh Pickering. Kye Thomson did brilliantly to hold Craig Cook back in Heat 10 to share the spoils, and the Monarchs clawed another 2 points back in Heat 11. Surely they couldn't?

During the interval, Glasgow has a foot race on the centre green for the kids, which my two little monsters thoroughly enjoyed. It was great to see the club engaging and getting the youngsters involved. They loved having a run around on the track, and it made the sport all the more appealing, with no on-costs to the club. The food outlets at Glasgow were very efficient, I got some chips and a drink from the food outlet on the backstraight, and it only took a few minutes.

When racing resumed, Ostergaard steadied the ship in Heat 12, keeping Castagna at bay whilst Bailey was trying everything to pass Jacob Hook. Craig Cook had no answer to Sam Masters in Heat 13, but he kept Josh Pickering out, settling for a 2-4 reversal. Only two heats left, and the gap was just 4 points. Suddenly an away win was plausible! Kye Thomson took the flag in Heat 14, but the Monarchs had to use William Lawson for his last ride, and he couldn't contribute, the Monarchs having to settle for a share of the spoils.

One Heat remaining, four points between the two sides. Monarchs need a maximum to steel a draw, and Glasgow need a maximum to send Edinburgh home empty-handed. Masters gates and gets across Brennan, but Pickering can't get around Cook. Masters leads the race with Cook in second. Pickering threw everything at Cook but couldn't get past. The Monarchs restored some pride and took a hard-earned point, but Glasgow held on for bragging rights.

It's pretty unusual to see a match change so rapidly. Glasgow took four heat advantages in the first eight heats, with the other races shared. The Monarchs claimed four heat advantages in the second half, with the remainder shared. Sam Masters was by far the stand-out rider. He rode to a flawless 18-point maximum and never looked troubled. Even the king of Ashfield, Craig Cook, couldn't get near the Australian.

If you've never been before, I highly recommend you check out Glasgow. It's one of the best racing tracks in the country. The circular shape and heavily banked bends make for a natural fluid circuit. The Grand Prix Challenge is at Glasgow in August. If you can make it, I highly recommend you do. Seeing the best riders in the world at this track would be magic!

It was time to make my way back to London, although I wouldn't be tackling the 400-mile journey straight away. I stopped off at Annandale Water services to rest for the night, where I saw non-other than Sam Masters with his family and a very unwell-looking Josh Pickering. He was on form at the track but looked purple at the services. I wasn't the least bit surprised when the Australian pulled out of King's Lynn's match at Wolverhampton the next day.

The next day I had a stroll around the lake with my wife and kids before they made their way back to London. I was tempted to stop at Belle Vue on the way back for Peterborough's visit but opted to get home. I'm glad I did because the Panthers were torn apart, and the match was all but over after six heats. With Glasgow, Berwick and the recently closed Newcastle all visited, I only had Edinburgh and Redcar to go before completing the Northern tracks. Before I worried about those, I opted for a more local trip to Ipswich. Just the 154-mile round trip this time, piece of cake!

Parking
The best option is just down the road at a charge of £1. If you park in the stadium car park it's £5 so avoid that if you can! I've had my car broken into before on the street so i would avoid that if you can, stick to the secure parking offered by the club.

Admission
Championship - £18 for Adults, £12 Students and 12 to 17s. Under 12 go for free. The Grandstand cost's an additional £2 per person.

Programme
£3 for the programme. Interesting read and has well presented front cover. Slightly smaller than other programmes but no less worth picking up.

Viewing Facilities
The main stand is seated for an additional £2 per person. You can stand in the terranced section at the back of the homes straight or infront of the grandstand. The fourth bend is good and high up, but I would still recommend the backstraight. It's close but you're looking down on the track, it still gives a good overall view wherever you stand. Bends 3, 4 and 1 have limited standing space but it's low and doesn't give a great viewpoint.

Catering
There's a bar on bend 1 and fixed catering outlets at the bend 4 end of the home straight, and the bend 3 end of the backstraight. The catering outlets were busy but getting through customers fast so you won't wait long for your food. 

Escaping!
No problems, the road is busy but the traffic filters quickly. 

Fancy a Day out at Glasgow Speedway?
 
Check out the Tigers website for the latest fixture and news, Glasgow's regular race night is Friday night and some sundays.

http://www.leicesterspeedway.com/

2022 UK TOUR STATS

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Ipswich Witches on Thursday 5th May 2022

Leicester is a purpose-built speedway venue with a multitude of speedway experiences for you to absorb in the heart of Leicestershire. A professional yet family-feeling night out rolled into one

Date Visited
Saturday 30th April 2022
Fixture
Leicester Lions v Redcar Bears

I'm not going to lie; I woke up on Saturday morning feeling a little worse for wear. I had the pleasure of hosting a Charity Night for Stand Up to Cancer on Friday evening, and the red wine was still working through my system. It was still early, to be fair, and I didn't need to set off for Leicester until late in the afternoon. It was enough time to go for a run, have a decent size breakfast and freshen up!

It's been ten days since my 4-day journey from the North East to the South West, taking in five fixtures in just four days. Today I would start another epic journey, just the 800 miles this time. The first stop would only require 130 miles, travelling to Leicester just off the M1. Tomorrow I would continue north to Glasgow for their Championship derby match with Edinburgh.

I set off and made poor time on the motorways. For some reason, the roads were particularly heavy for a Saturday. I would have made my way straight to the track, but I would have missed my check-in window. It was at the hotel I realised I had made a slight error. The speedway started at 7 pm, not 7.30! Time was of the essence. I dropped off my gear then made my way to Beaumont Park, now known as the Paul Chapman and Sons Arena. I arrived at 6.50 pm, barely scrapping through the turnstiles a few minutes before the pre-match parade.

Parking is straightforward at Leicester if you arrive at a decent time! The track has its own car-park with a little golf cart taking punters up the short pathway to the stadium. If you can't get parked there, you can go to the trading estate round the corner. The restrictions allow for speedway parking. I grabbed a programme and made my way straight to the back, just as the bears rode round on parade. It was the parade style where they announce the riders as they do a lap without their lids.

Beaumont Park is a purpose-built speedway venue, so the viewing facilities are excellent. There's a covered terrace area on the backstraight. You can stand anywhere on the first, third or fourth bends, although the ground is made up of aggregate and gravel, so I recommend some fold-up garden chairs if you don't fancy standing throughout the match. The home straight has a seated grandstand, but it comes with an additional fee of £2 per person. Unfortunately, the pits are enclosed on the second bend, so you can't see what is happening during the racing. There is an excellent standard track shop behind the grandstand and food outlets on both sides of the grandstand and on the third turn.

Leicester is the ninth largest track in the country, coming in at 296 metres on satellite imagery, just 1 metre smaller than Glasgow and Newcastle. The track has unusually long straights for a purpose-built venue. Both straight are 128 metres long which is longer than the Isle of Wight, and only behind Berwick by 7 metres. The bends are enormous in width, easily the biggest in the country at 18 metres, 2.4 larger than the National Speedway Stadiums. The straights are pretty wide at 10.9 metres, still the fifth largest though behind Wolverhampton, Glasgow, Belle Vue and Scunthorpe. The track is long and wide, but I think the unusually long straights make it difficult for riders to pick up momentum. It's the second most rectangular-shaped track in the country. Only Newcastle has a smaller width-to-length ratio, Edinburgh has a similar shape to Leicester, but it's a smaller version (Armadale).

The Lions entertained the Redcar Bears in the Championship. It looked like a fairly even contest with both teams looking strong. It was a coincidence that the last match I watched with my dad was Leicester v Redcar the previous season, so the fixture will forever hold a particular place in my heart. The Bears put up a brave fight last year but couldn't get close enough to take any league points.

Heat 1 kicked off with a cracking race between Nick Morris and Charles Wright. Wright held Morris off for two laps, but Morris had too much straight-line speed and passed him down the backstraight. To our surprise, Nick Morris broke the track record! Not because Morris isn't capable, but because he spent two laps trying to get around Wright! The Bears gated on a 5-1, but Jenkins overlocked, and both Lions sped past. Joe Thompson did well to hunt down Jason Edwards and turn the race in the Lions favour. The Lions extended the lead by a further 6 points in the next 2 races, both requiring re-runs due to starting infringements.

There was plenty of good racing on offer, but the contest quickly slipped away from Redcar. Leicester cruised into a 20-point lead by Heat 10, with Redcar failing to produce a single heat winner. Charles Wright took the flag in Heat 11, which turned out to be Redcar's only race winner and heat advantage. The Leicester heat leaders were just too strong, with only Richie Worrall dropping 1 point to Charles Wright. Kyle Howarth and Nick Morris went through the card and were backed up with thirteen points from the Thompson twins and five from Connor Mountain.

I was sure this would be a close match, but Redcar didn't turn up. I had a similar experience when I saw Leicester get torn to pieces at Plymouth just ten days ago. Now, the Lions were exacting revenge on their North Eastern rivals. Leicester won the match 60-30, convincingly taking the points. Charles Wright managed the single win on his way to 11 points, and Lewis Kerr chipped in with 7+1. Jordan Jenkins got better as the night went on, passing Morley in heat 14 to break up another 5-1, but the others struggled to a few points each.

The track was unusually dry for Leicester. Watching as the riders disappeared into the dust was hard in the later stages. It turns out the management had good reason to hold off the water bowser. Just after Heat 13, the rain started and didn't stop. I hadn't realised there was rain forecast, so fair play to Lion's set-up, the track wasn't ideal, but it was undoubtedly the safer route.

I watched most of the action from turn four on this occasion, mainly because I got there so late, and the people who arrived on time took all the best spots on the backstraight. If you visit Leicester, I highly recommend the front on the backstraight. It's close to the action, you still have a good overview of the track, and the cover makes the sounds reverberate. It's incredible! The bends are also good, although I did take a big piece of shale in the face. I'm pretty sure Richie Worrall was the culprit. I'm coming for you, Richie!!!

With the action concluded, I made my way back to the hotel to reflect on the proceedings. I had a long drive to tackle the following day. With Glasgow starting at 5 pm, I would need to get going early. Despite the loaded scoreline towards the lions, there was entertainment to be had, although I would have prefered to see a closer contest. It mainly was the Lions overhalling the visitors when they fluffed the start. They know their home track well and will be very hard to beat at home this season. Now for a cup of iffy hotel tea and an early night. I'd seen the Lions. Now it was time to see the Tigers. (Scottish tigers, not Yorkshire ones).

Parking
Sizeable parking facility on-site, there is a fee but I dodn't get a chance to find out how much. If you're willing to walk, you can park in the trading estate across the road for free (up to 4 hours).

Admission
Championship - £18 for Adults plus £2 in the grandstand, Concessions and Students get in for £15 (17 to 22), Children are £1 each with a paying adult. No charge for under 5 year olds.
National League - £14 for Adults, £12 for Concessions and students, childrens charges are the same as the Championship.  

Programme
£3 for the programme. Leicester always produce a good programme, very professional feel and plenty to read pre and post match. I like the racecard, same style as a lot of the Preimership outfits use. 

Viewing Facilities
The main stand is seated for an additional £2 per person.
All the way along the backstraight there is a covered terrace, you can also stand anywhere on turns 1, 3 and 4 and get a good view of the action.

Catering
Burger van style catering is available on both sides of the grandstand, and on the third bend. The usual mixture of traditional speedway food on offer.

Escaping!
You've got a fair walk back to the car then about 10 to 15 minutes of congestion as the traffic filters out of the car park. The traffic flows out of the trading estate quickly enough.

Thinking about checking out the Leicester Lions or Lion Cubs?
 
Check out Leicester's website for the latest fixture news for the Lions and Lion Cubs, Leicester's regular race night is Saturday, perfect for the kids!

http://www.leicesterspeedway.com/

2022 UK TOUR STATS

NEXT UP
Glasgow Tigers on Sunday 1st May 2022

Plymouth Speedway is unique for many reasons, but don't estimate south west based club. The Colosseum is an apt name for the Gladiators to battle; sometimes, size doesn't matter.

Date Visited
Tuesday 19th May 2022
Fixture
Plymouth Gladiators v Leicester Lions

I was awoken by yet another siren buzzing passed my window on a pleasant Tuesday morning. It was the last day of my 4-day mad dash to take in 5 speedway matches. I started in the far North East and slowly travelled across the country. Now I'm parked up in Wolverhampton after consuming a terrific double header between the Wolves and Aces.

The world had returned to work after the Easter weekend, not me though! I booked a few extra days off to travel south to visit Plymouth, the last leg of my epic journey! I didn't get a great night's sleep, but I was re-charged enough to get on the road towards Devon. The track was closer to Wolverhampton than my home East of London, although it was still a Trott at 208 miles.

I set off after my bang average breakfast and headed down the M5 at a leisurely pace, stopping at the Farmshop service in Gloucester for some lunch and a drink. It's a lovely service station, but I should have checked the prices first. I could have got a cooked lunch for what I paid for a sandwich and drink! After getting screwed by the Farmshop, I hopped back on my bike to be greeted by a Red Light, which was not a good sign. After 10 minutes of panic, thinking I was stranded in Gloucestershire, I realised my Imobolizer was playing up! All I had to do was take the key out, turn everything off, re-start everything and hey-presto, it's alive!

I didn't dare stop again, especially as I drew closer to the remote parts of Devonshire! I was making good time as I passed Exeter and thought, why not check out the site where the County Ground used to be? So, I headed into Exeter and made my way to the former home of the Exeter Falcons. It's incredible how I recognised the area as soon as I got there, the local shops and the Church, it was all so familiar! It made me melancholy while exploring the housing estate now sitting on the site. If you didn't know speedway was there, you would never know, not a trace of it anywhere! Enough of that; it's time to head to Plymouth!

I stopped in my hotel on route to drop my gear off, a vast upgrade to my poor choice in Wolverhampton, and then headed down to the Colosseum! I was excited! This would be my first experience of professional speedway racing at Plymouth, my previous visit was rained off, and I was at the St Boniface Arena with Ride'N'Slide many years ago! At first I struggled to find the track, I could see it as I exited the A38 but couldn't find the entrance! It turns out you loop away from the track and go under the road towards the entrance. The stadium was happy for me to park up with the rider's vans seeing as I was on a bike!

The Colosseum is purpose-built for speedway and has been done on a small budget. It's the kind of venue with a communal charm to it. Everything around you results from many individuals' hard work to build the club from nothing. You feel like you've entered a friends home for afternoon tea, that's the vibe you get. Once you've paid to enter you're greeted by the programme selling shed and the raffle ladies.

I was delighted to be featured in the matchday programme as a guest writer for the evening. Programme Editor Helen Charlesworth featured me, the speedway ramble and talked about my tour across the country.

Once you've entered, you walk left and come up to the track at bend one, just by the pits. There is a grandstand which costs an additional £2 to sit in, and if you sit at the top, you can spin round and peer into the pits. There are various viewing facilities and terraces around the entire circuit, and you can get close to the action. I'm pretty sure you could reach out and pull someone's goggles off on the backstraight!

There's a portacabin on the second bend with the usual fast-food offerings and a polish grill just next to it, offering some cuisine fit for our brothers in the Extraliga! The track shop is actually behind the stand on the first bend. Watch out for it, I completely missed it on my way in! It's worth visiting as they've got some cool merch for the Gladiator's faithful.

What makes Plymouth's home so unique is the size. It's tiny in length and width! The official length is 216 metres, although the inside curb is around 203 metres long, only 5 metres bigger than New Romney's Lydd Speedway in Kent. I've heard many riders describe it as a big track shape in miniature. That's because Plymouth's turns are not sharp like traditional small tracks such as Edinburgh or Wolverhampton. The straight-to-corner ratio is 55% putting it on par with the likes of Glasgow and Redcar. Plymouth is also incredibly small in width. The straights are less than 8 metres wide, the smallest in the country, and the turns average 10.5 metres. Only Sheffield's turns are narrower. As you would expect, the average speed is low at 39.1 Mph, just faster than Kent and 2.4 Mph faster than Lydd.

The track record is 49.4, set by Zane Keleher, the only current track record in the UK to be under the 50-second mark, although I suspect Lydd would be under 50 if full-time professionals raced on it.

Programme editor and huge speedway fan Helen Charlesworth was meeting me at the stadium to watch the racing. She frequents the fourth bend with her partner so I joined them for the action looking down the home straight from behind. I got carried away chatting, so I didn't watch any racing from other vantage points, but I reckon the backstraight is worth a look! Plymouth's National League team manager Matthew Bates stopped by for a chat and, like everyone, was very welcoming. Apparently, he's a fan of my videos, nice one Matt!

The Gladiators hosted a strong-looking Leicester side who I fancied to give them a run for their money. The host's were missing Edward Kennett and Michael Palm Toft through injury, operating Rider Replacement for Tofty and drafting Richard Lawson as a guest for Kennett.

Plymouth opened the scoring with a 5-1 but Leicester hit back straight away with 1-5 of their own. Plymouth struck back hard with four heat advantages to open up a 10-point lead. Nick Morris and Ben Barker had a slight ding-dong in Heat 5. Morris hit the deck, was subsequently excluded and wasn't happy! Barker was tough but certainly fair, nothing I wouldn't expect from professional standard riders.

Leiciester took a 4-2 in heat 7 when Howarth just caught Andersen on the line. Brilliant race! It would be their last heat advantage and race winner, as Plymouth would tear the Lions to pieces, never looking back! The Lions used the tact sub in heat 5 and conceded a 5-1. By Heat 9, the contest was over, and they were racing for pride.

Nick Morris was trying but had a bad night for Leicester, and Connor Mountain failed to score. Kyle Howarth was his usual all-action self but wasn't getting the returns. Richie Worrall was scoring but couldn't win races, and the supporting cast couldn't match Plymouth's gating skills!

The rider of the meeting has to be the excellent Ben Barker. He always gives 100% and looked untouchable all night! I should mention Alfie Bowtell, Dan Gilkes and Kyle Howarth, who were all great to watch. I thought Leicester would make a good match and didn't expect such a one-sided affair! Their performance at the Colosseum was an isolated incident, as they went on a big winning spree after the defeat to Plymouth!

With the track being so small and thin, you would think that the racing would be limited, but it's not the case! Small tracks have an advantage that races rarely get spread out, meaning riders can severely punish minor mistakes just through proximity.

Once the racing finished, I said my goodbyes to Helen and her partner before heading over the road to McDonalds! There I was joined by the Thompson twins and their crew, who would make the journey back to Leicester after some grub. Tai Woffindon would disapprove!

I had a 20-minute ride back up the A38 to my hotel, the Dartmoor Lodge in Ashburton. It was a lovely hotel, and I had a good night's rest! My speedway addiction was well fed for the week! The following day I faced the 4-hour drive back to Essex, where I would remind my Wife and Kids I'm still alive! A thoroughly successful trip, 5 out of 5! Now to plan my next excursion, a Leicester trip, then onwards to Scotland for some derby action!

Parking
Plenty of Stadium Parking at the cost of £2 per vehicle. It's your only option as the stadium's industrial estate has private parking restrictions, and apparently, they clamp people.

Admission
Championship - £20 for Adults in the NHS Stand and £18 everywhere else, £12 for ages 11 to 15, 11 and under go free, which is great value. National League - £15 for adults across the site, 11 to 15 cost £10, Under 11 go Free.

Programme
£3 for the programme, and it's a good quality offering considering the size of the operation at Plymouth, plus it featured me, so that's an obvious 10 out of 10. Nice one, Helen and Matt!

Viewing Facilities
The main stand is seated for an additional £2, and there's terraces on the first bend and backstraight. The third and fourth bend is banked, and the view there is also good. You can get really close to the racing, which is fantastic!

Catering
A variety of traditional speedway food and a polish grill if you fancy some European flavour, classy!

Escaping!
The traffic is congested outside the stadium but seems to move steadily. I stayed to watch the second-half riders, so the stadium was empty by the time I departed!  

Looking for an evening out in the South West?
 
Check out Plymouth's website for the latest fixture news for the Gladiators and Centurions, Plymouth regular race night is Tuesday.

https://www.plymouth-speedway.com/

2022 UK TOUR STATS

NEXT UP
Leicester Lions on Saturday 30th April 2022

OTHER POSTS FROM THE 2022 UK TOUR

Wolverhampton's track is tight and unforgiving, but the stadium's natural charm and charisma is indicative of a genuinely fantastic speedway experience, the essence of a great night out for the family.

Date Visited
Monday 18th May 2022
Fixture
Wolverhampton Wolves v Belle Vue

I arrived in Wolverhampton just after 6.30 pm after making the jaunt down the M6 from the earlier fixture in Manchester. I made my way to the hotel first to freshen up before travelling to Monmore. I'm not going to lie; I should have paid more for the hotel. The area I stayed in was a bit rough and ready, right of a central road in Wolverhampton, with constant Police sirens audible from the room. The hotel was a stone's throw from Molineux, home to Wolverhampton Wanderers Football team. Despite my reservations, I dropped my gear off, had a quick shower then got ready for the short trip to Monmore Green.

Monmore is well known for the Greyhound racing it hosts. It's become one of the country's central venues, especially as other big venues such as Walthamstow have closed in recent years. I got to the stadium a bit late, so it was already heaving at the gates, the central car park was nearly full, and there were plenty of patrons parking on the roads outside the stadium. The weather had taken a turn for the worst, with some rain sweeping in just before start time. It didn't appear to detour anyone going in. The queue to get in was still healthy even at 7.30, 30 minutes before tapes up.

I drove into the stadium car park and approached the entrance just to the left of the main turnstiles. They let you park up just behind the grandstand if you're a biker.

Similarly to Belle Vue, this wasn't my first visit to Wolverhampton this season. I was working in Birmingham on a Monday night a few weeks earlier in the year and sloped off to Wolverhampton for their league cup fixture with Sheffield, which was a cracker, by the way! The feel for this fixture was vastly different, though. There was a lot of additional entertainment inside the entrance aimed at the younger demographics. Dan Thompson has his bike kitted out at the gate with his twin brother Joe and their Dad, answering the fan's questions and allowing fans to sit on the bike for pictures. Where did they get that idea from, I wonder? Great to see some of these low-cost incentives being implemented by promotors.

Once you enter the stadium, you can either walk past the main stand to the right, where there are catering vans or walk into the grandstand restaurant, where there are viewing facilities behind the glass. The food service is excellent but very slow so allow plenty of time if you want to get something to eat before the speedway starts. It's worth the queue. I can't visit Monmore without my chips with Curry sauce! I took my wife and kids to Wolverhampton last year, and they both enjoyed the food while we watched the Olympique. 

Patrons can find the track shop in front of the grandstand on a few trestle tables, and the pits can be seen from the terracing near turn 1. You can't see a great deal of the pits. The Wolves' pit bays are visible from the terraces, but you are too far away to see anything interesting. The visitors are on the other side and entirely out of view. It's surprising how many tracks don't have good visibility for fans to see inside the pits during the racing. This is the fourth consecutive track I've been to where this problem has occurred!

The viewing is good at Wolves. You can get a good track view from the back of the terraces whilst being close enough to feel the speed. It's a slightly more compact version of Newcastle, with viewing restricted to the home straight. It's a bit of a shame you can't find other vantage points, but condensing the facilities to a small area does create a good atmosphere on the terraces. If you want to go higher up, there are a few spots in front of the restaurant, or you can go behind the glass. I've mentioned before that I don't particularly appreciate watching behind glass. It removes a big part of the experience for me, the smell and incredible noise. 

Monmore Green is one of the tracks we still have dating back to speedways origins in the 1920s. The tracks inside curb measurement are 253 metres, just 1 metre bigger than Iwade and 1 metre shorter than Edinburgh's Armadale Stadium, although the official track length is 264 metres. The official size makes it the sixth shortest in the country.

The track is nice and wide, measuring 11.6 metres on the home straight and 14 metres on the bends, so there's plenty of room to manoeuvre. The average width of the track is on par with Redcar. However, the bends are 46% the size of the straights, meaning the turns are very tight. This means the riders must turn very early and hard to reduce their speed, making the track very physical. The close turning ratio is the main reason for the skittle-like crashes we sometimes see at Monmore. It's a technical track to ride compared to the more extensive open circuits you see on the continent.

In my opinion, the Monmore green track gets an unfair rap, especially when Wolves are on TV. I believe a big part of the problem is the Wolves' experience is one you need to experience in person. They've got a sound P.A system, and Ian Jones is fantastic at keeping the crowd engaged. The racing is often close and riders are constantly searching for a pass, but completed passes can be more challenging, and the intensity of the racing doesn't translate to the big screens. I would argue/discuss that the issue is compounded by the slow manner in which televised meetings are broadcast, but that's a discussion for another day. Last year I here for the Wolves second home league encounter against the Panthers, a match screened live on Eurosport. I was surprised to see criticism of the match on social media when I got home. When I thought about it, a big portion of the entertainment came from just being there and getting soaked up in the heat of the moment.

Fortunately, the rain eased up just as start time loomed. The track was wet and looked grippy, especially on the third and fourth bend, although it's hard to tell from the terracing. They rushed the parade due to the suspect weather and moved straight into Heat 1. Wolves opened the scoring with a 4-2 in Heat 1, but notably, Jye Etheridge fell heavily at the back. We didn't realise it then, but Jye injured himself and would take no further part. The Aces were on the back foot straight away and conceded a 5-1 in the reserve race to compound their issues. The graders came out and did some work on turns 3 and 4. There was definatly a soft spot over there. It didn't take long for another big off! Ryan Douglas hit the same spot that caught Jye Etheridge and nearly joined us in the crowd. Fortunatly, he got the bike down quickly, and the oncoming traffic avoided the Aussie. There was a lengthy delay after Heat 3 to sort out this issue on the bends.

The meeting wasn't flowing well at all and the crowd were left for nearly 45 minutes while the work took place. Then in almost Laurel and Hardie style, the grader caught one of the Track Staff on the centre green, so they needed medical treatment after Heat 4. You couldn't make it up!

Once the track staff resolved the issues, Tony Steele brilliantly got the remaining 11 heats done quickly. Douglas's exclusion allowed the Aces to pull a few points back, which they did through a 2-4. Aces pulled another 2 points back in Heat 4 when Brennan passed Flint for third.
Heat 5, there was another delay when Brennan disappeared into the first bend air fence, the skittle effect we discussed earlier.  

Wolves pulled away after a 5-1 in Heat 6. Nick Morris did well to limit the damage in Heat 7, passing Jake Allen and nearly catching the flying Charles Wright. Heat's 8 to 11 were all shared, maintaining the 6-point advantage. There were some good battles between both teams, and Drew Kemp did an interesting dougnut mid race in Heat 11. Charles Wright came in as a tactical in Heat 12 and the Aces pulled the deficit back to 4 points, Becker doing well to capture second from Allen. But, the hard work was instantly undone by a Wolves 5-1 in Heat 13, the Aces pulled it back to 6 points in Heat 14 through the unbeaton Wright, but the Englishman's maxium was finally broken in HEat 15 with When Wolves due of Masters and Morris banged in a big 5-1, securing all the points.

Considering how Belle Vue was turned over in Manchester earlier in the day, I was pleased to see the Aces put up a good fight. Ultimately, Wolves had too much for them. My rider of the meeting has to be the visiting number 4 Charles Wright, who was so impressive, scoring 16 points, but was denied his maximum in the final race!

Wolverhampton speedway oozes class. I've always felt like it's one of the best places in the world to watch speedway. The technical shape of the track can sometimes limit the quality of 'pure' racing, but I think the live experience at Monmore more than makes up for this. If you've never seen the Wolves in action, I highly recommend visiting them. The television cameras can't do the place justice.

After Heat 15, fireworks went off, giving slightly more value to the supports as they headed for the exits. The Wolves came out to salute the crowd before the club allowed some junior riders to enter the circuit for crucial practice sessions. Although my previous visit to see Sheffield was a better match, tonight's action was enjoyable and I returned to the hotel satisfied with the enteraintment on offer.

I got back to the hotel, chained the bike up and took all the panniers off before saying my goodbyes, assuming it would be there in the morning. I needed a decent amount of sleep as my next stop was in the southwest to see the Plymouth Gladiators in action. Unfortunately, the constant hassle outside the hotel and police sirens didn't provide the relaxing backdrop I was hoping for. Never mind, next time I book my hotel I'll pay more!

Parking
Stadium Parking is available and is free to cars and bikes. There's also street parking in the area, so parking shouldn't cause any concerns.

Admission
£19 for Adults, £17 Concessions and Students, Junior (13 to 18) £8, Children (6 to 12) £1, Under 5 go for free.

Programme
£3 for the programme, which is standard A5 size with a gloss cover, not quite as polished as some others but does the job fine.

Viewing Facilities
Limited to the home straight, I recommend the back of the front terrace section for a balanced view. Close enough that you can feel the speed whilst still seeing the whole track.

Catering
Plenty of food options are available with the traditional burger van-style service on the back-straight or the more polished restaurant inside the grandstand.

Escaping!
The first 15 minutes is slow to get out, so make a move quickly if you've got far to travel. After the initial flurry, the traffic dies down fairly quickly, so not a significant issue.

Fancy a great nights family entertainment at Wolverhampton?
 
Check out Wolverhampton website for fixtures and ticket information, the Wolves regularly race on Monday Nights.
https://www.bellevue-speedway.com/

2022 UK TOUR STATS

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Plymouth Gladiators on Tuesday 19th April 2022

OTHER POSTS FROM THE 2022 UK TOUR

You can't deny the quality of the National Speedway Stadium, home to some of the world's best viewing and racing facilities. Belle Vue's track and the stadium are genuinely Ace!

Date Visited
Monday 18th May 2022
Fixture
Belle Vue Aces v Wolverhampton Wolves

My alarm went off in the early morning hours, and, if I'm brutally honest, I had to fight the urge to send the phone into orbit! My common sense prevailed, battling my lazier tendencies to get up and jump in the shower. I had to get on the road early to make the trip from Newcastle to Manchester for a 12 midday start! The Good-Friday fixture was the first of a double header, with everyone heading down the M6 after racing finished to Monmore Green for the second leg later that evening!

I got myself ready and headed into the sunshine outside, only to find my bike seat was nicely watered in the early hours and needed to be dried off. Despite the early rain, it was a fresh morning. I set off towards the west and started to worry as I drew closer to Manchester, driving through a few patches of rain! I shouldn't have worried. The backdrop of glorious sunshine greeted my arrival in Manchester!

Kirkmanshulme Lane was my destination, but not the tight greyhound track that was home to the Aces for 28 years. Just 160 metres away, a brand new purpose-built speedway arena lay, the National Speedway Stadium. Many labelled it as one of the best Speedway circuits in the UK and the world. The 8-million pound circuit is now the premier UK speedway track, and few could argue with its credentials. Just check out my video on the 2021 Play-Off final to see what racing this fantastic venue can produce.

This wasn't my first visit to the Aces' new home. I stopped in earlier in the season for the terrific Peter Craven Memorial, won by Michael Palm Toft ahead of many GP standard riders like Tai Woffinden, Jason Doyle, Robert Lambert and Matej Zager. This, however, would be the first time I would sit in the Grandstand, costing an additional £2 for somewhere to park my backside! I pulled into the main car park only to be told no chance, go round to the second bend, park there and walk back. It wasn't a big problem, but something to note if you travel via bike to the stadium. Parking is tight at the stadium, so book ahead or get here earlier to prevent delays getting into the stadium by car. If you are standing at the terracing on the back-straight, I suggest you pop around the front to look at the facade before you enter. It's cool to see Speedway as the primary sport, not football or greyhounds. You get the awe that this is the country's primary speedway circuit.

I entered the turnstiles for the Grandstand towards bend 4. There's a bar with catering facilities to the left and the entrance to the Grandstand ahead of you. You walk out to view the track from the front of the stand and proceed to your pre-allocated seat. It's similar to the traditional football stands with bulkhead entrances. The track shop is located in the recess of the Grandstand on the forecourt. Great for the home straight fans put punters from the terracing can't get to it, so that sucks! I wondered why I couldn't find the shop earlier in the season!

Once you find your seat, the view from the Grandstand is spectacular! Is it worth the extra £2? Well, that depends. The view from the backstraight is good, especially if you get there early and stand at the front. However, the further back you stand, the harder it is to see the other side of the track. The riders disappear at the far corners. The Grandstand poses no such issue. You've got a good view of the entire circuit from anywhere (I tried sitting in various places before the racing and found the view was good), probably because the stand has the height advantage that the terraces do not possess. When I return to Belle Vue, I'll likely pay the extra to go in the Grandstand, seeing as I've already spent a fortune in petrol to get there!

The only dissapointment is once again, you can't really see anything in the pits. The Grandstand viewers towards bend 1 can see the access and egress but otherwise, the riders pit bays are mostly behind the grandstand.

The National Speedway Stadium's (NSS) official length is 347 metres, making it the fourth-longest track in the country, behind Isle of Wight, Berwick and Sheffield, but just ahead of Peterborough. The straights are 63% of bend size, making the shape similar to tracks like Scunthorpe, Sheffield and Peterborough. The inside curb isn't totaly straight. It's more of an oval, making it a natural speedway circuit. The riders don't often have their wheels in line, even on the straights, as they always turn.

These features aren't unique to NSS. It's the width of the circuit that sets it apart. The average width on the straights is 13.5 metres, and the bends are 14.6 metres wide. Only Scunthorpe is wider, and the Eddie Wright Raceway produces similar racing to NSS. I believe this is because the riders have lots of room to manoeuvre into the straights and don't have to fall into a single file to fit down a 10 metres straight width.

Dan Bewley set the track record in 2019 and the average race speed is 53.4 mph, making Belle Vue the third fastest behind Berwick and Sheffield.

Belle Vue Aces entertained Wolverhampton Wolves in a must-win Premiership League Cup encounter. Wolves looked the stronger outfit, primarily as the Aces side lined up quite a way of the points limit compared to the visitors. At 12 pm prompt, the riders were marched out for the pre-match parade, then Belle Vue did a beautiful tribute to Nigel Pearson, who passed away just before the Easter weekend. Once Hayley Bromley did introductions, the riders completed the pre-match laps, and Heat 1 was underway shortly after. No messing around, especially with the evening fixture to follow.

Wolverhampton opened the scoring with a 1-5 in Heat 1 to set the tone for the afternoon. Max Fricke briefly got the better of Steve Worrall but was re-passed by the tenacious Wolf. There were passes in Heat's 2 and 3 to share the spoils. Then the Aces hit back with a 5-1 after passing Leon Flint, who led initially. This would be the only time the Aces got back level as Wolverhampton hit back with a maximum of their own over the weak pairing of Jake Allen and Charles Wright. There was more super passing in Heat 6 to bring the score back within 2 points followed by shared heats in 7, 8 and 9. Belle Vue struggled with Jake Allen at 3, he's a good rider but wasn't on the same level as the rest of the field.

Wolves opened the lead up to 4 points in Heat 10, but Belle Vue pulled it back again to just 2 points in Heat 12. A further two shared heats meant we went to the last heat Decider. With the Ryan Douglas looking very fast and Sam Masters going well, it didn't look good for the Aces. Fricke didn't look very quick, and Kurtz ran a duck in Heat 13. So it proved that the Wolves pair gated and got away. Although Douglas had to work hard for the second, he fended off the Aces' challenges to hold on for the 1-5.

Wolverhampton took the spoils with a 42-48 victory and had the confidence going into the return meeting. My rider of the meeting for this one was Australian Ryan Douglas. He's been in scintillating form so far this season, winning Josh Auties' testimonial and finishing on the rostrum at Lewis Kerrs. Today proved no different as he dropped a single point to the opposition in Heat 3.

It has to be said that the racing was exceptional. Even in races that were tapes to flag, you often felt a pass was on the cards. The track dried out towards the end, so the passing settled down, but it was still spectacular to watch. The scoreline was very close as well. Although Wolves looked stronger, it wasn't a done deal as Brady Kurtz, Charles Wright, and Max Fricke are good riders, and the last three heats could have quickly gone the other way. A brief victory parade for the Wolves riders followed the racing, although the stadium was half empty by then.

I, like everyone else, would be dashing down to Wolverhampton, but first, I checked out some of the local football stadia. Manchester City's Etihad Stadium is only a mile away from Kirkamshulme lane, so I checked it out before driving across town to Old Trafford to look at Manchester United's home. After getting told off for using a camera at the Red Devil's home, I popped in KFC for some lunch, then travelled to my Hotel in Wolverhampton. I brief pit stop to freshen up, then off to Monmore for Part 2! 

Parking
It can be tricky if you get there late, I would advise arriving with plenty of time. Pre-booked parking options are available in the local school, and limited parking on-site. There is some space in the local streets. If you travel by MotorBike, you can park by the second bend entrance.

Admission
Premiership
Adults - £20 on the covered terrace, £22 for seat in Grand Stand. Grand Stand 'Premium' seats are £25.
Concessions - £17 terrace, £19 Grand Stand and £22 Grand Stand Premium. 
Junior (Under 17) - £7 Terrace (Under 12 go Free on Terracing), £8 Grandstand and £10 Grand Stand Premium.
Family Ticket (2 Adults and 2 Children), £40 on Terracing, £48 in Grandstand or £56 for Grandstand Premium.

National Development League
Adults £12, Concessions £10, Junior (12 to 17) £5, Under 11 go Free.

I've not been to the NSS for National League, but I strongly advise you pre-book tickets for Premiership matches. The queues can get long for the ticket office and it's so easy to scan your ticket and get in quickly if you've pre-booked.

Programme
Belle Vue has a glossy programme on sale for £3 with a paper centre, a nice size racecard with plenty of space for alterations.

Viewing Facilities
You will find few better, the view in the Grandstand is on par with my favourite at Peterborough, and the terracing at the backstraight provides a great view. I'm not a fan of paying more money for grandstands at Speedway, but in this instance you pay in advance, and it's fully transparent, so fair play. It's worth £2 for a seat and premier view in my opinion.

Catering
I didn't get a chance to try any of the food, but plenty of catering options are available, providing the usual speedway foods and some healthier options. The backstraight has some burger wagon-type offerings, and they were decent. I tried one last year when I first visited the NSS.

Escaping!
It's a busy area, and the roads get clogged quickly. Kirky lane runs into two busy streets on either side with traffic lights. Don't expect to get out in a hurry unless you're in your car, as the winning time for heat 15 is given out! It's not too bad, though. I left about 30 minutes after the Speedway finished, and most traffic had already disbanded by then.

Fancy a visit Britain's Premier Speedway Venue?

Check out their website for fixtures and ticket information if you fancy watching the Belle Vue Aces, or their awesome second team the Belle Vue Colts.
https://www.bellevue-speedway.com/

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Wolverhampton Wolves
Monday 18th April 2022

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Newcastle Stadium has a rich history dating back to the first speedway league in 1929, and they are the Diamonds in the rough. Join me as I let Brough Park take you through the speedway ages, the core speedway experience!

Date Visited
Sunday 17th April 2022
Fixture
Newcastle v Edinburgh

Today was day 2 of my mad dash around the country to capture five speedway matches in four days! I woke fresh from a good night's sleep in the quiet town of Coldstream on the Scottish border, ironically, in a hotel room of a pub called the Newcastle Arms. The B&B provided me with a proper English breakfast, although I was in Scotland, so I guess it was a Scottish breakfast! Although I only had 70 miles to cover, check out was 10 am, so it was time to hit the road! I had a bit of time to burn as the action didn't get underway at Brough Park until 5 pm! Before travelling south, I stopped in Berwick to look around the famous fortifications (see my Berwick post!). Once I finished in Berwick, I journeyed south to Newcastle but still had time to spare. I thought I would check out St James Park, home to Newcastle's Premier League football team. The Magpies were hosting Leicester that afternoon in a televised match by sheer coincidence. The area was bustling, so I made sure to get out of there before the football finished! After snooping around, I made the short trip east of the town centre to an area called Byker, where Newcastle Stadium is situated.

Newcastle Stadium hosts greyhound racing and speedway, similar to tracks like Wolverhampton and Birmingham. The area feels tucked away from Newcastle proper, but the site is the suburban part of east Newcastle upon tyne. When you approach the stadium, the area has an industrial feeling. The difference in the crowd and atmosphere is instantly noticeable compared to their northeastern rivals. I imagine it's hard to create a communal feel at a club like Newcastle when the city's population is over 800'000, compared to Berwick's 50'000.

When you enter the stadium, you are greeted by the track shop on a few trestle tables and the smell of the Diamonds owner Rob Grant's burger van. The viewing is restricted to the home straight, similarly to Wolverhampton's Monmore green. The viewing is slightly below the track level at the front, the incline of the stand is very gradual, so if you want a view of the track from higher up, you'll be quite far back. The pits are tucked away on the first bend, you can just about see inside but it's limited, which is a shame.

There is a bar just under the grandstand, and as previously mentioned, there are two catering vans near the first bend. The restaurant area above the stand is OK, but it does look a little dated, although the view of the track is decent, albeit behind glass. The programme at Newcastle is undoubtedly different. It's in the style of an A4 paper magazine with the racecard found on the back.

Newcastle Speedway is your typical British greyhound stadium track, the track is quite long, but the bends are a little sharp, sometimes limiting natural overtaking opportunities. The track has housing along the back and some warehouses to the left of the grandstand, at first glance it looks like an older version of Perry Bar. Newcastle is the largest speedway track to be situated inside a greyhound track, at 300 metres.

The Advance Fire & Security Diamonds (In Association with Securicop) have struggled to put a good team together this season. Their number 1 Bradley Wilson-Dean was injured early in the season, and they've been unable to replace him. The UK rider shortage has taken a front-row seat this season, with Birmingham and Plymouth having similar issues.

Today's match marked the beginning of the Championship KO Cup, and the visitors were Edinburgh. We didn't get off to a great start. The scheduled start time of 5 pm got delayed; the congregation could see the apparent sign of discontent of riders on the first and second bends. 5.30 pm came and went, and Heat 1 didn't kick off until nearly 6 pm. I can understand delays due to track conditions, but the supporter's frustrations were justifiable on this occasion as there was no sign of any track work going on before the start time.

The visitors took control from Heat 1, scoring a 5-1 over the Diamonds guest Number 1, Chris Harris. The Monarchs got torn apart at Berwick, but there were no such issues this time. The score remained close until Heat 10, but the Monarchs eventually pulled away and never looked in danger of surrendering the lead, taking a healthy 8-point advantage back to Armadale.

The racing was pretty good despite the track being in a questionable condition. Wethers and Masters had a good battle in Heat 1, Max Clegg did well to Pass Paco Castagna in Heat 3. Matthew Wethers and Josh Pickering exchanged passes in Heat 6 and Wethers was again at the centre of a terrific Race 8. Josh Pickering passed both Diamonds in Heat 9 and had good battles in Heat 13 and 15,. Wethers slipped from second to last in Heat 10, and Paul Starke rounded Lasse Fredrikson in Heat 11. Overall I couldn't argue with the standard of racing on display. There were some fantastic passes from both teams. The rider of the day for me was Monarchs number 5, Josh Pickering. The guy is just insane on a bike! He is fully committed to every bend and doesn't know when he is beaten! Josh reminded me of Robert Lambert when he was riding in the UK.

After Heat 15 The Monarchs fan celebrated on the home straight after the match with their team and got a smashing photo celebrating with the riders! Although the second leg was still to come, I don't think anyone would be betting on the Diamonds repaying the favour at Armadale.

Fortunately, I didn't have far to go to my next hotel just south of Newcastle. I rode past the Angel of the North in the twilight to a little place called Chester-Le-Street, where my accommodation was waiting, a pub called the Red Lion, how British! This time, I remembered to get a Pot Noddle at the petrol garage for the hotel. Good thing too because the pub stopped selling food at 8 pm! I had time to face-time my wife and kids and then get a good night's sleep before making the early morning trip across the breadth of the UK to Manchester for the early morning clash between the Aces and Wolverhampton.

Parking
Plenty of Parking in the stadium.

Admission
£18 for Adults, £15 Concessions and Students, Children 5 to 16 are £3, Under 5 enter for free.

Programme
Newcastle's programme was £3 and is like a magazine, printed A4 with the racecard on the back. Not quite as polished as other programmes and is not my cup of tea, but I can see the appeal, and the supporters seemed to like it.

Viewing Facilities
Brough Park's set-up is similar to Monmore Green in that you are limited to the home straight to watch the racing. The terracing starts below the racetrack and inclines slowly to the grandstand. Personally, I would choose a spot at the back to get above the racing, although you are quite a distance from the track.

Catering
Grants catering van has all the usual offerings you find at Speedway Venues, near the pits of the first turn.

Escaping!
The car park does funnel as you exit, but the road out of the stadium turns into an industrial estate which isn't busy, so the traffic flows out steadily without a long wait.

Unfortunately, with immediate effect, Newcastle Speedway closed its doors on Tuesday 21st June 2022. Hopefully, if new ownership can be arranged the club will return in 2023.

Check back on their website for the latest news -
https://newcastle-speedway.co.uk/

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Belle Vue Aces on Monday 18th April 2022

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Shielfield Park, in the quaint town of Berwick in Northumberland is home to the Berwick Bandits, but the only thing they'll steal is you heart! 

Date Visited
Saturday 16th April 2022
Fixture
Berwick v Edinburgh followed by Berwick v Armadale

Today marked the start of my journey across the UK to soak up every speedway experience available to the paying public. The venture will take me to all 18 tracks in the leagues, two that sit outside the league and the Principality Stadium in Cardiff for the British Grand Prix.

The original plan was to start a 6 day trip across the UK, starting at Sheffield on Thursday and then travelling up north to Glasgow on Friday, then on to Berwick, Newcastle, across to Manchester, down to Wolverhampton and finishing at Plymouth before crossing back to Essex. All the arrangements were in place, hotels booked, but I got struck down with a fever at the start of the week. I definitely wouldn't make Sheffield, and to be honest, I looked at the Glasgow fixture who hosted Newcastle and couldn't face the 400-mile journey, especially as it was broadcast on BSN.

Instead, I stayed at home and recovered, watched Glasgow destroy the diamonds on tv, and then planned my departure on Saturday instead. The destination is Shelfield Park, home of the Berwick Bandits, a mere 345 miles from my home in Essex, just inside the M25.

So, I packed my programme board, speedway star, flask and thermal undies and departed for the trip up north! I was a little nervous. The furthest I'd ever ridden in one sitting previous to this was Belle Vue, 140 miles short of the total to Berwick! I had no reason to be nervous. I broke up the journey with stops at Peterborough and Carcroft near Doncaster. One of the many things I have to consider on a bike, besides the weather, is the size of the petrol tank. I can only manage around 200 miles before needing to fill up!

I made good time and arrived in Northumberland at about 4 pm, just enough time to scope out my accommodation and have a shower before heading to the speedway. I stayed at a little pub in the town of Coldstream, just inside the Scottish Border, a beautiful little place and worth a driving threw for the views alone! I changed into my local riding gear and headed to Berwick, all fresh and clean. Shelfield had a slightly earlier start time than usual as both the Bandits and the Bullets would be in action, a doubleheader!

Berwick is a quaint place. It is tucked away right on the northeast coast of England and only a stone's throw from the Scottish Border. When driving into the stadium's colossal Car-Park, I instantly felt a sense of Community about the place. The communal feeling reverberated around my whole experience at Berwick. The venue and club felt like an integral part of the town. I was also impressed with the number of youngsters and families in attendance. It's great to see and not something you can say about every track!

The facilities at Berwick are pretty impressive! When you consider the size of the track, you can get a good few from both the home straight, and it has seating, the back straight has a covered terrace, plus there's enough banking to watch from the entrance to turn 1 and exit of turn 2. The only section you can't view from is turns 3 and 4, but considering the outside of the track is 455m long, that's not an issue.

The stadium itself has some unique features and visuals, for one, the huge Simpsons Malt, which produces malt for beers and whiskeys. The malt overlooks the site from the northeast, just behind the pits. It's enormous and industrial, but it oddly adds to the stadium's charm. Then on the third turn, there's a phone mast! The stadium gets paid a fee to have the structure on-site. What a great way to generate revenue from unused space!

I have one criticism, you can't get near the pits, which is a shame. The riders are tucked away on turn 4 and there's a steward blocking any approach to get a view of what's occurring! I think the club is mindful of this as the riders came out after the meeting and mingled with the supporters in the grandstand, so fair play to them!

Catering facilities are what you would expect for a venue like this, the main food outlet on turn one was bustling throughout the speedway, and the smaller option on the backstraight wasn't much quieter, always a good sign! The track shop was tiny and had a queue to get in most of the time. The locals were keen to get their FTS Fire Training Services Bandits merchandise!

Shielfield Park has a reputation for being a large track with limited overtaking opportunities, although my experience didn't reflect that opinion. The long straights do sometimes kill momentum for outside blasts, but there are passing spots that the senior riders utilised on a few occasions. The standout race of the night was from the Monarchs. Josh Pickering hunted down Theo Pijper to earn the only Edinburgh 5-1 of the night. Otherwise, the Bandits were in control from the early doors, and the match result was never in doubt. The Bullets later in the national league fixture mirrored the Bandit's dominance.

You could tell all the dirt had moved to the outside towards the end of the second meeting. A few crashes were caused by the younger riders trying to ride near the fence and find the drive, but their judgment wasn't quite as sharp as the championship guys. I like the idea of a doubleheader, but I've always found 30 races a bit too much in practice. Tonight didn't do anything to dispel my thoughts on the matter. National League is always prone to more crashes and delays. Coupled with the main meeting's 2 hours run time and the curfew, it was a big ask to complete all 30 races. The promotion did well to get through the Championship racecard, only for a late delay caused by a nasty crash with Josh Pickering hitting the fence in heat 15. A tapes offence from Ricky Wells further delayed the re-run!

Unfortunately, the National League fixture had to be abandoned with one heat remaining. Truthfully, I don't think anyone was that worried. The evening started to get cold. The Bullets concluded the result long before that, and everyone certainly had their money's worth by then!

I rode back to the hotel, thoroughly satisfied with the evening's entertainment and for a well-earned night's sleep! Tomorrow morning I would explore Berwick more before heading south to Newcastle, who would host the Monarchs in the late afternoon. I ended the night on a slightly sour note. I left my potnoddle at home!

Berwick-Upon-Tweed
It's worth mentioning how beautiful the town of Berwick is. If you ever plan to travel to Berwick, leave yourself enough time to explore! The town has suffered centuries of conflict as control has bounced between Scotland and England until the late 17th Century. Adding to the town's interesting history are the stunning views, as the town is situated at the mouth of the River Tweed, which borders England and Scotland in the East. You can find more information about the town's fortifications, ramparts and general history on the English Heritage website.

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/berwick-upon-tweed-castle-and-ramparts/history/

Parking
Very straightforward, plenty of parking on-site

Admission
I paid £24, but that was for a double header. The Bandits usually charge £17 for adults and the Bullets £10. Very reasonable! Concessions/OAPS/Students £13 or £10, Juniors 12 to 15 £5 or £3, Under 12 go for £1.

Programme 
£3. Excellent design. I like the cover. Plenty to read, and the racecard is tidy.

Viewing Facilities
Excellent, I watched racing at every viewing spot available. I would recommend the terrace on the backstraight as the best spot. You get the extra noise from the roof, you have the height to see the whole track, and you're close enough to feel the racing speed.

Catering
Two different spots to get your grub, although you need to get there early. They were both busy throughout the night!

Escaping!
By the time the national league fixture concluded, the crowd had halved, so it's difficult for me to judge, but getting out of the car park doesn't seem too onerous. The main road wasn't hectic, so the traffic wasn't too bad.

Fancy visiting Berwick Speedway this season? Check out their website for upcoming Championship and National League fixtures.

www.berwickspeedway.com

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Newcastle Diamonds on Sunday 17th April 2022

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