Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only one gear and have no brakes. Racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt, loosely packed shale, or crushed rock. Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways, powersliding or broadsiding into the bends. On the straight sections of the track, the motorcycles reach speeds of up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h).
Aspatria is a town and civil parish in Cumberland, Cumbria, England. The town rests on the north side of the Ellen Valley, overlooking a panoramic view of the countryside, with Skiddaw to the South and the Solway Firth to the North. Its developments are aligned approximately east–west along the A596 Carlisle to Workington road and these extend to approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) in length. It lies about 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Maryport, a similar distance to the Southwest of Wigton, about 9 miles (14 km) north of Cockermouth and 5 miles (8.0 km) from the coast and Allonby. It comprises the townships of Aspatria and Brayton, Hayton and Mealo, and Oughterside and Allerby, the united area being 8,345 acres (3,377 ha); while the town takes up an area of 1,600 acres (647 ha). In earlier days a Roman road leading from "Old Carlisle" to Ellenborough passed through the hamlet.
The Maryport & Carlisle Railway (M&CR) was an English railway company formed in 1836 which built and operated a small but eventually highly profitable railway to connect Maryport and Carlisle in Cumberland, England. There were many small collieries in the area and efficient access to the harbour at Maryport was important.
Ralph Rodolphus Hepburn was a pioneer American motorcycle racing champion and an Indianapolis 500 racecar driver.
The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 200-mile (320 km) race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). The original course used the beach itself before moving to a paved closed circuit in 1961. The Daytona 200 reached its zenith of worldwide popularity in the 1970s when the race attracted the largest crowds of any AMA race along with some of the top rated international motorcycle racers.
The Adelaide Showground holds many of Adelaide's most popular events, including the Royal Adelaide Show.
Frederick Lee Frith OBE was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion. A former stonemason and later a motor cycle retailer in Grimsby, he was a stylish rider and five times winner of the Isle of Man TT. Frith was one of the few to win TT races before and after the Second World War. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1950 Birthday Honours.
The motorcycle sport of racing includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.
James Guthrie was a Scottish motorcycle racer.
Robert MacGregor McIntyre was a Scottish motorcycle racer. The first rider to achieve an average speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) for one lap of the Snaefell Mountain Course in 1957, McIntyre is also remembered for his five motorcycle Grand Prix wins which included three wins at the Isle of Man TT races, and four victories in the North West 200. He died nine days after injuries sustained racing at Oulton Park, Cheshire, England in August 1962.
Shane Andrew Parker is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia and a four time South Australian Champion.
Mitchell Owen Shirra is a former motorcycle speedway rider who rode with the Coventry Bees, Reading Racers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches in the British League. During his career he rode as and was better known as Mitch Shirra.
John (Jack) Parker was an international motorcycle speedway rider who made his debut at the Whitsun meeting at High Beech in 1928. He won the British Riders' Championship in 1949 and finished second in the 1949 World Championship. He earned 89 international caps for the England national speedway team.
Derek Minter was an English Grand Prix motorcycle and short-circuit road racer. Born in Ickham, Kent, with education starting in nearby Littlebourne, he was versatile rider who rode a variety of machinery between 1955 and 1967 at increasing levels of expertise and in varying capacities and classes.
The 2010 Manx Grand Prix races were held between Saturday 21 August and Friday 3 September 2010 on the 37.733-mile Mountain Course.
David Martin Blackburn is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, whose career began in the late 1970s and continued until 1997.
Leicester Super was a motorcycle speedway team based at the Leicester Super Speedway near Melton Road.
Maurice Stobbart was an English motorcycle speedway rider and promoter who started his career with York in 1931. He was the younger brother to Roland Stobbart.
Lonsdale Park also known as West Cumberland Stadium was a stadium, now demolished, used for greyhound racing, football and for motorcycle racing in Workington, Cumberland.
Louis William Sansom is a former international speedway rider from Australia.
