| London Lions | |
|---|---|
| Club information | |
| Track address | Hackney Wick Stadium Waterden Road Hackney London |
| Country | England |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Closed | 1996 |
| Team manager | Colin Pratt |
| Team captain | Leigh Adams |
| League | British League |
| Club facts | |
| Colours | Blue and Yellow |
| Track size | 345 yards (315 m) [1] |
The London Lions were a motorcycle speedway team that operated for one season during the 1996 Premier League speedway season from the Hackney Wick Stadium, the former home of the Hackney Hawks and the Hackney Kestrels. [2] [3]
The promoter and team manager for that season was former Hackney rider Colin Pratt. Fellow promoters were Ivan Henry and Terry Russell who moved their Arena Essex Hammers promotion into Hackney. [4]
They finished the season in ninth place (out of nineteen), [5] [6] but because the stadium had been newly modernised and the track was not as good as when it was held there previously, crowds were not as high as was hoped for. Speedway had barely returned in 1995 (for the British Grand Prix) when it was announced that the stadium had passed into the ownership of the receivers. At the end of the 1996 season, there was still no new owner. Racing was never seen at the stadium again. The greyhound racing also vacated the stadium at the end of 1996. [7]
Hackney Hawks speedway opened in 1963 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London, England, and operated until 1983. The team replaced the Hackney Wick Wolves who had raced at the stadium from 1935 to 1939. The Hawks were then themselves replaced by the Hackney Kestrels.
Hackney Wick Stadium was a greyhound racing and speedway stadium located at Waterden Road in Hackney Wick, London, England.
Len Silver is a former motorcycle speedway rider and is former promoter of the Rye House Rockets.
Malcolm Simmons was a motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned 73 international caps for the England national speedway team and five caps for the Great Britain team.
Vic Harding was a motorcycle speedway rider.
Colin George Pratt was a British motorcycle speedway rider and later promoter of the Coventry Bees who compete in the British Elite League. He earned 14 international caps for the England national speedway team and 7 caps for the Great Britain team. He was later the manager of the Great Britain national team from 1979 to 1980 and from 1986 to 1993.
Kelvin Martin Tatum MBE is a former British international motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider. He earned 65 international caps for the England national speedway team.
Edward David Kennett is a motorcycle speedway rider. He was the British Under-21 Champion in 2005 and has appeared in two Speedway Grand Prix as a wild card. He has recently retired from the sport due to injury.
Barry John Thomas is a former motorcycle speedway rider. He spent 20 consecutive seasons at the Hackney Wick Stadium and earned 26 international caps for the England national speedway team.
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.
Bo Petersen is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Denmark. He was the 1980 Danish champion.
Thomas Farndon, was a British speedway rider who won the Star Riders' Championship in 1933 whilst with the Crystal Palace Glaziers.
The Hackney Kestrels were a Speedway team which operated from 1984, when the Crayford Kestrels transferred the promotion to Hackney, until their closure in 1990.
The Middlesbrough Bears were a British speedway team which operated under various names from 1939 until their closure in 1996.
The Walthamstow Wolves were a speedway team which operated from 1934 and again from 1949 until their closure in 1951.
Dag Lövaas is a former international motorcycle speedway rider, who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship in 1974.
Hackney Wick Wolves speedway opened in 1935 at Hackney Wick Stadium, Waterden Road, London, and operated until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Many years later the Hackney Hawks and Hackney Kestrels rode at Hackney Wick Stadium.
Roy George Arthur Case was an Australian international speedway rider who finished sixth in the 1936 Speedway World Championship, the first ever final.
The 1938 National League Division Two was the inaugural season of British speedway's National League Division Two albeit a continuation of the Provincial League from the previous season in all but name.
Hugh Saunders is a former speedway rider from Guernsey, who competed in the National League.
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