A Message from the British Speedway Chairman

Thursday September 24, 2020 at 4:44pm
A Message from the British Speedway Chairman

Hello Everyone.
I feel a few lines are appropriate to address the current situation our sport faces.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate all those promoters who have been, and indeed still are, working hard to bring some action to the track this season.

I wish Belle Vue and all the riders and staff every success with their Premiership Challenge match tonight which will be live streamed for people to enjoy at home.

And, of course, we have the British Final at Ipswich on Saturday. I am very much looking forward to that and, once again, supporters can watch through the live stream.

Speaking of the British Final, I gave an interview to a reporter from the Press Association which has since appeared in the news section of yahoo.com – it was me speaking from the heart, on a personal level and not that at British Speedway Promoters Ltd level. The reporter caught me at a bad time. My chin was on the floor having just received confirmation that all the hard work and energy which Chris Louis at Ipswich had done, firstly working to a 2,200 crowd, then down to 1,000 and then on Tuesday down to zero, was wasted.

I am a passionate man and I was personally feeling extremely low. I regret some of the things I said and given more time I would have put things differently.

So, fast forward 48-hours and here we are. We are looking ahead to two fantastic events for this wonderful sport of ours to spread the word and show people again what a wonderful product British Speedway is.

And what about going forward from here? Nobody apart from those directly involved has any idea about the hours of negotiations to secure a new, five year TV deal with Eurosport, who have been wonderfully supporting throughout the pandemic.

Nobody has any idea of the lengths we have gone to in order to secure a league sponsor. That’s ongoing.

The youth system is working well right now – there are some really talented youngsters ready to emerge - and our national team, through the GB speedway team organisation, are making wonderful progress both on and off the track.

Not to mention the months we have spent looking at relaunching our website for 2021 and the round-the-clock work of our social media team who have travelled hundreds of miles to secure content when there has been no racing!

There is so much to be positive about and that will only become clear when we can get back to league racing and a new season next spring. I can also reveal how the board of directors meet every Tuesday on zoom, and we hold fortnightly discussions about the future with Eurosport. We have a bright, enthusiastic approach as a board of directors.

We are actively working hard for the future of British Speedway and every club promoter in Great Britain believes in this wonderful sport.

Please stay with us. Your support means everything. We cannot do this without you.

Thank you and please look after yourselves.

My very best wishes – Rob Godfrey.

LIVE STREAMS of Belle Vue v APTI All-Stars and the British Final can be ordered from sportcentral.tv

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