Speedway!

Sheffield Tigers vs Belle Vue Aces, 11th August 2025

I used to go to the speedway at The Shay, Halifax and later Odsal Stadium in Bradford. In the late 70s I saw The Dukes in derby races at the Boulevard, Hull; Owlerton in Sheffield; and at Belle Vue in Manchester and in that era the sport attracted decent crowds with some big name riders.

I occasionally still go to race meetings and I am an infrequent visitor to Sheffield. The Belle Vue fixture is always a crunch event and no less so when I visited this month. A few years back I had a go at riding speedway at the Glasgow Tigers track and it was some experience – the speed, the physical challenge of handling the bike and the lack of brakes – and literally the fastest way to learn counter-steering a motorbike.

Photos of the racing…