EWR to host British Amateur Speedway Championships

Ever wanted to be a British Champion? Never had a class to compete in for a British Championship? Never wanted to have to pay for an ACU and SCB licence just to compete in one or two meetings a year? Now is your chance! On 28th and 29th April 2018 Scunthorpe Speedway will hold the inaugural British Amateur Championships and there is a class for everyone.

There are 13 different classes competing over the two days with all classes limited to a maximum of 16 riders (except Quads who will be limited to 10 entrants whilst the Youth 500 & Youth 250 classes will be limited to 8 entrants). The 13 classes are:

Pro Class – limited to 16 riders and aimed at current NL riders (but with last GSA of less than 5 if in 2016/7) or recently displaced riders from any league (but excluding riders who have had a 2016 or 2017 team place in the top two leagues)

Open Class – limited to 16 riders and aimed at riders without a 2018 NL place or a 2016/2017 NL average above 5
Support Class – limited to 16 Development League (SJL/MDL/NJL) standard riders

Novice Class – limited to 16 pre-development league standard riders

Upright Open Class – limited to 16 riders who are likely to beat 75 seconds around Scunthorpe

Upright Support Class – limited to 16 riders who are likely to be over 75 seconds around Scunthorpe

160cc Speedway – limited to 16 riders

Youth 500 – limited to 8 riders

Youth 250 – limited to 8 riders

Youth 125/150 Open – riders who are likely to beat 75 seconds around Scunthorpe

Youth 125/150 Support – riders who are likely to be over 75 seconds around Scunthorpe

Quad Speedway – limited to 10 riders

Formula 2 – limited to 16 riders. Bikes will be provided

Organiser Richard Hollingsworth, who has been at the forefront of amateur speedway racing for many years, felt there was a need to re-invigorate the scene and the time was right to introduce such an event. “Whilst the youth scene under the control of Neil Vatcher is as vibrant as it has ever been one man can only do so much. I saw that the British Youth 125/150 championship could only accommodate eight entrants in a second half last year and I just thought it such a shame. It made me think and I want to give riders the chance of the perfect 16-rider, 20-heat individual meeting where every rider meets the other fifteen once.

Then we thought why cut it off at 16? There are often more than 16 riders in the British Youth rounds but then there are all the 125/150cc riders who don’t do to the youth rounds and those who perhaps aren’t quite ready to compete with the fastest in the class. Why not have a Support Class when those riders can compete against others of a similar ability for their own title? We know that on our main track and mini track there is a host of riders who would like the opportunity to race but are put off by the top riders who can go as quick as 64 seconds for four laps. Hopefully the support class will encourage them to come have a go.

We then wondered if we could extend to four classes for the adults so that, once again, we could have strong fields competing with riders of a similar ability. After analysing all the riders it came as a shock how many have recently been displaced out of league teams and how quickly they stopped riding altogether. Professional riders don’t compete in speedway for the vast amounts of money on offer. They do it for the love of the sport so we wanted to give them a reason to keep riding. Hopefully the British Amateur Championships will give them that opportunity. Maybe if it is a success we’ll sort something with other tracks and have a couple of qualifying rounds in the future to give everyone another meeting and have one of the qualifiers a bit further south. Maybe the top four in one year qualify automatically and we have the top six from two rounds after that. We’re getting ahead of ourselves but you never know how things might develop if the riders show it is a format they like”.

The provisional format for the weekend is as follows (timings subject to change):

Saturday 10.30am to 2pm – Pro, Open and Quad classes
Saturday 3pm to 6.30pm – Upright Open, Upright Support and 160cc speedway classes
Sunday 10.30am to 3pm – Support, Formula 2, Youth 500 and Youth 250 classes
Sunday 3.30pm to 7.30pm – Novice, Youth 125/150 Open and Youth 125/150 Support classes

Entry for the event is now open will be £45 for adults and £35 for the youth classes. For those that that want to stay over there will be free hard standing and camping on the Friday and Saturday night whilst those riders without SCB licences can compete in the meeting using a free day permit that will be completed on the day.

Please note that entries are on a first come, first served basis and will be confirmed upon receipt of a Paypal payment for £25 deposit (£15 for youth entries) to scunthorperaceway@virginmedia.com. Please state rider name, a contact phone number and required class as a note to the payment. Should anyone want to discuss the meeting, rider classes, sponsorship opportunities or any other aspect of the championship then please email Richard or text/call him on 07832-402167.

An enthusiastic Hollingsworth declared “We truly feel this is going to add something new and exciting to the British speedway scene. It might take a year or two to build or it might be a big success in the first year. We don’t know but it’s not going away. We’ve run dozens and dozens of amateur meetings over the years and hopefully we’re pretty good at it, but this will take it up a level or two. If any adult riders are unsure of the class they should be entering then there is a going to be a file attached to our Facebook group page at Scunthorpe Amateur Speedway and Track Racing. It is there for guidelines but with nearly 400 riders listed we’re going to get some wrong. Please don’t be offended if you’re not on the list or we’ve got it wrong”.