Speedway

For the first time since 2011, The Spectator has been to watch Speedway. Once upon a time I watched an enormous amount of Speedway with frequent visits to Wolverhampton, Coventry, Stoke and Peterborough over the years. My interest dwindled though but as a sporting spectacle there is nothing quite like a good Speedway meeting. Rules in Speedway are constantly tinkered with year after year but why it still appeals as a sport is simple- 4 riders, 4 laps. Television simply doesn't do the sport justice and there is a raw brutality to a Speedway race. Injuries are common in a sport where riders travel hundreds and sometimes thousands of miles for only 3/4/5 races.
As you can see I've been to Wolverhampton a couple of times. In 2005 I had a season ticket at Monmore Green stadium and I can't believe how keen (mad??) I was back then.... May 19 saw a delayed start to the Wolves v Coventry match due to an unforecast thunderstorm in the hour before start time. I know it was unforecast because if it was forecast I wouldn't have been there in the first place! Wolves won 47-43 on on a night where the quality of racing wasn't quite as good as it usually is due to the poor track surface. Indeed rain is the sports biggest enemy and makes planning to attend meetings difficult.
August 9th saw a visit to Beaumont Park, Leicester for only my second ever visit to Leicester Lions. Opened in 2011, the facilities at the stadium are excellent. The track itself was very poor on my only previous visit and it took 3 years for me to go back. I'm glad to report that the 47-45 win over Wolves saw some good racing in most of the 15 heats and I won't leave it 3 years again before I return! 9 days later I saw the reverse fixture between the two teams at Wolverhampton with the home team winning comfortably 56-37.