WHAT IS SPEEDWAY?

Speedway bikes have no brakes, just one gear a clutch and a 500cc engines which run on methanol fuel and can accelerate upto 60mph, faster than a formula one car!!!

They race around oval circuits of around 300 metres in length and in an anti-clockwise direction. To get around the tight corners at high speed the riders have to actually accelerate to bring the rear wheel out and initiate a skid.

Speedway meetings can be run as individual events although what you will usually see on a weekly basis throughout the country are two teams racing against each other.
Both teams have seven riders each and race over a fifteen heat format with each team having two riders in each race. If a rider wins a race he earns his team three points, if a rider finishes in second place his team gets two points, the third placed rider scores one point for their team with the rider who ends up in last position failing to score any points at all.

There are four main leagues in the UK
1- British League Division One
2- British League Division Two
3- British League Division Three
4- The Academy League (For British riders aged 15-24 with a GSA of below 5.00)

THE BRITISH LEAGUE EXPLAINED

The British leagues are made up of three divisions, with each containing ten teams each season. Every year each team rides thirty six league matches with each team riding every other team four times. Two of these meetings are rode at each home track whilst the other two are ridden away from home.

POINTS SCORING SYSTEM:
A league win: Two points
A draw: One point to each team
A league defeat: No points
* BONUS POINT*
These are awarded to the team who has scored the most points on aggregate over the home and away fixtures between each team in each half of the season, meaning each team has the possibility of earning an extra eighteen points throughout the season.
If scores are level on aggregate after the two matches, the highest scorer from each team compete in a run-off for the bonus point.

The league uses a promotion/relegation system each year to determine which teams ride in each division the following season. The three teams in positions 8th, 9th and 10th after all thirty six league matches in both Divisions One and Two are RELEGATED to the Division below whilst the teams finishing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in Divisions Two and Three are PROMOTED to the League above.
The team who finishes first place in Division One are crowned the British League Champions whilst also qualifying for the European Cup along with the teams finishing in 2nd and 3rd place.
The team who wins the Knockout Cup secures the fourth European place, unless a team from the top three wins. If this occures then the fourth placed team in Division One qualifies.
The team finishing bottom of Division Three are known as the club who gets the wooden spoon.

At the end of each season, each club has the option whether to continue there Speedway licence. Whilst the majority of teams are League regulars, some teams do opt not to renew their licence. This opens up opportunities for new clubs to enter the British League and the promotion/relegation places are changed accordingly. At the end of last season (SL23), Peterborough Pirates who were league ever presents and one of the most well known clubs in British Speedway decided to close their doors for the final time whilst both Newport Exiles (3 years) and Lewes Fireflies (one year) also followed suit.

The League welcome three new teams for the SL24 season, all of whom begin their Speedway journeys in Division Three.
They are,  New Way Nighthawks, Poole Sapphires and Runcorn Rockets.

THE ACADEMY LEAGUE

Every season each club has the option to participate in the Academy League. The League is for riders who are British, have a GSA of 5.00 or less and aged between 15-24. Squads must contain no more than eight riders during the league season. Each club who runs an Academy team is allocated a 15 year old (apprentice) each season, normally a local youngster.
Each team must choose six riders per meeting from their squad whilst meetings are raced over a twelve heat format.
The League format this season is that the twenty two clubs competing ride each other home and away once, making a total of fourty two league matches. The points system is the same one used as in the main league meetings as well as the bonus point one. The League is mainly used to unearth talent of the future and provide teams with riders they can train in the hope of them being regulars for many years to come and possibly even a World Champion one day.

THE MEETINGS

A league meeting or match as it's sometimes referred to is between two teams in the same division. There are also several cup competitions. Each league has a divisional cup which sees two groups of five compete, with the top two teams advancing into the semi finals where teams meet home and away to determine the finalists. Probably the biggest cup competition on these shores is the Knockout Cup. All thirty league teams compete and any team can be drawn against any other. Each tie is over two legs with the aggregate winners advancing in each fixture.

There is also a European Cup competition where the top four teams from both British League Division One and the European League go head to head over two legs until there is a winner.

Each team meeting is rode over fifteen heats/races with the team scoring the most points awarded points towards their league tally.
A winning team will score two points, whilst each team will score one point each if the match ends in a draw. Any team losing a match fails to score any league points. There is also single bonus points available for any team who beats another on aggregate over the course of each half of the league season.

WHO ARE THE TEAMS

There are teams racing each other from all over the country each week throughout each season. Teams have seven riders each with the promoter/manager deciding the riding order of race jackets 1-5 whilst the lowest two averaged riders are classed as reserves and must ride in the number 6 and 7 positions.
Each team must also field a team of riders under the 45 point limit from weeks 1-6 whilst the team total must be under 47 points for the remainder of the season.
Each team also wear their club colours with the home team wearing red and blue helmet colours whilst the visiting team (away team) must wear white and yellow/black helmet colours.

THE HEATS
Each heat consists of four riders, two from each team and is made up of four laps of the track. Every race normally lasts around 60 seconds but there is plenty of action in that time.
Points are awarded as follows:
1st place: 3 points, 2nd place: 2 points, 3rd place: 1 point, 4th place: 0 points

The points that each rider scores are counted towards the team's total at the end of the meeting.

THE EQUIPMENT

Each rider rides a 500cc motorcycle with no brakes and fixed gearing. The bikes run on methanol for fuel and each bikes tank will hold enough fuel for one race.  The bikes can reach upto speeds of 80mph and can reach 0-60 in approximately 3 seconds.

THE RIDERS
Each rider wears a kevlar race suit that protects their bodies. In addition to this each rider must wear a pair of racing boots, one of which will have a steal shoe fitted which the rider puts down when cornering. Finally a race helmet is worn with goggles to protect a riders head and face. Each riders Kevlar race suit is tailor made and includes the riders sponsors. The bike covers are generally designed to match the riders race suit.