| Crayford Kestrels | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Crayford Kestrels Badge | |||
| Club information | |||
| Track address | Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium Stadium Road Crayford Kent | ||
| Country | England | ||
| Founded | 1968 | ||
| Closed | 1983 | ||
| Club facts | |||
| Colours | Red, Black and Gold | ||
| Track size | 242 metres (265 yd) | ||
| Major team honours | |||
| |||
The Crayford Kestrels were a Speedway team which operated from 1968 until their closure in 1983. They were based at Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium in Crayford. [1]
Speedway meetings in Crayford were first held during 1935 and 1936 but soon ended and the sport would not return for over 30 years. [2]
In 1967 a speedway circuit was constructed inside the greyhound track at the Crayford & Bexleyheath Stadium and promoter Johnnie Hoskins planned to bring the speedway team from Edinburgh to Crayford because Old Meadowbank had closed. [3] However, the Edinburgh team moved to Coatbridge and Hoskins turned his attention to Canterbury. Bill Bridgett and Mike Parker of the Wolverhampton Wolves stepped in to promote the Crayford speedway [4] Crayford were founder members of British League Division Two in 1968. The first signings were Mick Handley and Dave Parry (Wolves riders on loan) [5] and the team finished in sixth place during its inaugural season. [6]
The team known as the Crayford Highwaymen continued to race throughout the 1969 and 1970 seasons. Geoff Ambrose starred in 1969 when the team finished fourth in the league. [7] However, after the 1970 season the team were disbanded with the promoters citing not being able to afford the new rider pay rates. [8]
Speedway returned to the stadium in 1975 with a team nicknamed the Kestrels under the co-promotion of Peter Thorogood and Len Silver. [9] The Kestrels would compete for nine years from 1975 to 1983.
The Kestrels won the Four-Team Championship, held at the East of England Arena on 27 July 1980; the team was Paul Woods, Les Rumsey, Steve Naylor, Alan Sage and Laurie Etheridge. [10] [11] However, arguably their most successful season was the third place finish during the 1983 National League season. [12] [13]
The team were forced to relocate for the 1984 season as the stadium was sold for redevelopment [14] and for the 1984 season the team transferred the promotion to Hackney and ran a team called the Hackney Kestrels. [15] [16]
| Year and league | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 British League Division Two season | 6th | rode as the Highwaymen |
| 1969 British League Division Two season | 4th | rode as the Highwaymen |
| 1970 British League Division Two season | 14th | rode as the Highwaymen |
| 1975 New National League season | 8th | |
| 1976 National League season | 6th | |
| 1977 National League season | 10th | |
| 1978 National League season | 10th | |
| 1979 National League season | 12th | |
| 1980 National League season | 9th | Four-Team Championship winners |
| 1981 National League season | 10th | |
| 1982 National League season | 15th | |
| 1983 National League season | 3rd | |
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