Speedway a brief history
Speedway originated in Australia, and was brought to Britain
in 1928 by Johnnie Hoskins. In those early days, and up until
the early 1950's, it was run on cinder tracks. Early speedway
bikes were really normal road bikes with the headlights and
other non-essentials removed for racing, then put back on
at the end of the meeting and ridden home.
 Although
speedway is a predominantly male sport, there were 2 female
riders in the 1930's. Riders were not only British, but also
Americans, a small number of Germans and Danes, and a number
of Australians and Canadians.
The earliest tracks had the inside area marked out, the surface
covered in cinders and the spectators formed the outside of
the track, which was not only dangerous for the riders, but
it was also very hazardous for the spectators!! Since the
track was based on an oval shape, the spectators had a view
of the whole of the race, unlike other sports, such as F1,
where spectators only see the rider once every lap.
 A
crowd of 2,000 was expected at the first ever meeting in Britain
at Epping Forest, but 30,000 turned up! Because of its instant
success, purpose-built tracks sprung up all over the country,
which included safety regulations and safety fences to protect
the spectators. The World Championship did not come into being
until 1936. Before that, there was only the British Championship
to ride for in this country.
More information
Speedway today
Speedway history
Who is this Mark Loram?
External Links
The
Official Poole Speedway Home Page
The Unofficial
Poole Speedway
Home
Page
The
Official
Mark Loram Fan Club
Unofficial Poole
Pirates Speedway Web
This page is updated by Maggie Bevan - Former Embassy Member
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