Speedway revival in Workington on hold until 2023 due to vandalism

Speedway’s ruling association has confirmed that the sport will not be revived in Workington in 2022.

The British Speedway Promoters Association said the efforts have been delayed until 2023.

Last week, Cumbria Crack revealed that vandalism at the redeveloped Northside training track had caused a rethink on proposals to join the National Development League next season.

There are plans to resume work on the track and apply for an open licence to run non-League racing at Northside in 2022, with a view to joining the NDL a year later.

Eeight clubs will contest the National Development League campaign in 2022.

Champions Mildenhall return to defend their title along with fellow ’21 regulars Armadale, Belle Vue, Berwick and Leicester, whilst happily the sport will still take place in Kent, with the Iwade venue stepping into the competition instead of Central Park.

Entries have also been accepted from two more current Championship clubs, Oxford and Plymouth.

The points limit has been set at 40, and the play-offs will return to decide the league title with the top four teams competing.

There will also be a reduced KO Cup competition featuring the five clubs who expressed their wish to stage additional meetings.

Two rule changes have been agreed concerning team composition: Any rider who started the 2021 season in the NDL and achieved an average above 4.00 in the Championship is still eligible to compete in the NDL.

Where clubs have two riders in their top five unavailable for a meeting, these can be replaced by a guest and rider-replacement, rather than the previous requirement for any rider rather than an absent No.1 to be replaced by either RR or an unattached rider.

Both Workington (Northside) and Isle of Wight have decided to place their applications on hold, to be revisited for 2023.

British Speedway chairman Rob Godfrey said: “There’s a lot of positivity around the sport at the moment, and we have done everything we can to encourage continued participation of riders in the NDL.

“It’s encouraging to see the interest in the NDL, and we look forward to welcoming Oxford and Plymouth into the league, as well as the continuation of the Kent name at Iwade.

“In addition, we can confirm that Workington at Northside is now a 2023 project, due to vandalism and damage at the site, and security must now be stepped up to prevent that from happening again.

“We were pleased to hold discussions with the Isle of Wight, and we wish them well for the year ahead in the hope that we can welcome them back into the fold in 2023.”