Motorcycle speedway, normally referred to as Speedway, is a motorcycle sport that involves usually 4 and sometimes up to 6 riders competing over 4 laps of an oval circuit.
A variant of Track racing, Speedway is administered internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM).
Nature of the sport
Speedway racing takes place on a flat oval track usually consisting of dirt or loosely packed shale, the official definition being "a track with a top surface in granite, shale, brick granules or similar unbound material rolled in on the base ground".[1] Competitors use this surface to slide their machines sideways (powersliding or broadsiding) into the bends using the rear wheel to scrub-off speed while still providing the drive to power the bike forward and around the bend.
Originating in New South Wales, Australia in the 1920s, there are now both domestic and international competitions in a number of countries including the Speedway World Cup whilst the highest overall scoring individual in the Speedway Grand Prix events is pronounced the Speedway world champion.
FIM regulations state that the motorcycles used must have no brakes, run on methanol, use only one gear and weigh a minimum of 77 kg. By using engine and rear wheel sprockets the gear ratio can be changed as required.[2] Races consist of between 4 and 6 riders competing over 4 laps.
The use of methanol allows for an increased compression ratio to the engine producing higher power and resulting in higher speeds (approx 130 km/h when cornering) although the skill of Speedway lies in the overall ability of the rider to control his motorcycle when cornering and thus avoid losing places through deceleration.
The only quick way to stop a speedway bike is to pull a cut-off switch which is tied around the riders' wrists so if they come off the bike the engine will deactivate. The high compression ratio of the speedway engine also can assist in slowing down a machine if the throttle is closed the engine may also stop. Riders can stop the bike by deliberately laying down the bike on the track and this technique is used to avoid riders who fall in front of a pursuing colleague. Before cut outs were fitted an engine could be stopped by removing the plug lead from the sparking plug or shutting off the fuel supply.
There is a fence on the outside in case a rider falls off which prevent rider and bike from crashing into the fans. In the Grands prix and British and Polish elite leagues inflated air-fences are mandatory and have saved lives and reduced injury significantly since their arrival.
Speedway is presently most popular in Central and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, the United Kingdom, and to a lesser extent these days Australia and New Zealand; there are also over a dozen tracks operating in the United States with sites in upstate New York, Indiana and California. There are also 3 tracks operating in Canada on a regular basis.
Speedway is also raced on ice with specially adapted machines.
History
The first Speedway meeting, as reported in the Maitland Mercury newspaper on 17 December 1923, took place on 15 December 1923 at Maitland Showground in the Lower Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia, though there is now much evidence to suggest that there were earlier meetings both in the USA and Australia. Indeed, broadsiding on small dirt tracks had been practised in America since before the First World War. A rider by the name of Don Johns was known to have done this before 1914. It was said that he would ride the entire race course wide open, throwing great showers of dirt into the air at each turn. His style of taking corners was followed in America by riders such as Albert 'Shrimp' Burns, Maldwyn Jones and Eddie Brinck well before 1923. The first meeting in the United Kingdom is generally acknowledged to have taken place at High Beech on 19 February 1928. There are, however, also claims to have held meetings in 1927 from Camberley in Surrey and Droylsden in Manchester. Despite being described as 'the first British Dirt Track meeting' at the time, the meeting at Camberley on 7 May 1927 differed in that the races were held in a clockwise direction. Races at Droylsden were held in an anti-clockwise direction and this meeting appears to have a strong claim to be the first Speedway meeting in the UK, but it is generally accepted that the sport properly arrived in the UK when Australians Billy Galloway and Keith McKay arrived with the intention of introducing Speedway to the Northern Hemisphere. Both featured in the 1928 High Beech meeting. It is probable however that the first speedway meeting in this country to feature bikes with no brakes and broadsiding round corners on loose dirt, probably the main tests of real speedway, was the third meeting held at High Beech on 9 April 1928, where Colin Watson, Alf Medcalf and 'Digger' Pugh demonstrated the art for the first time in Britain.
In the late 1920's, Australian Colin Stewart of Colac, Victoria won the prestigious Silver Gauntlet. He also achieved success at an international level, racing for Southampton in 1929 and captained the Glasgow in the Northern League in 1930 before moving to Wembley in 1931, for whom he rode in just four matches, averaging 4.00 per match. He also raced in the 1930 Scottish Championship which was won by Wembley's Harry Whitfield.
The forerunner of the World Championship, the Star Riders' Championship, was inaugurated in Great Britain in 1929 but was split in to two sections as it was felt that the British riders were not yet the equal of the Australians and Americans. Frank Arthur won the Overseas Section and Roger Frogley the British. The following year, 1930, the two sections were amalgamated and Vic Huxley proved to be the winner. Huxley was probably the best rider of these early pioneer days. He won the Star Championship once and was runner-up three times. He was also the first British Match Race champion when that competition was started in 1931.
Speed in speedway
It takes about a minute to complete four laps, each 260 to 400 metres long. For example, Leigh Adams set a record time of 59 seconds on a 342-metre track, which gives the average speed of 83 km/h (49 mph). As the limited speed on curves lowers the average, one may assume that the speed on straight sections of the track reaches 110 km/h (70 mph), or more on longer tracks. That is all achieved on a motorcycle without a gearbox.
At start, it takes between a second and two seconds for the motorcycle to reach the "curve speed" (somewhat lower than the average), which can be roughly estimated to be the equivalent of 2.5 to 3 seconds to reach 100 km/h (or "nought to sixty") The start of the race is an important aspect of the race overall, "gating" correctly can help a rider gain an initial advantage over other riders, however speed advantages can be made as a race progresses. Those riders willing to take a risk and opt for finding the grippy parts of the track rather than the race line, are sometimes rewarded with extra speed allowing them to pass other riders either on the outside or the inside.
Rules
Tracks
All tracks using for professional Speedway racing are regulated by the FIM who lay out the rules concerning construction, size and safety requirements.[3]
Tracks must be between 260 and 450 meters in length, this is measured at a distance of 1 metre from the inner boundary. Start lines must either be in the centre of a straight or no closer than 35 metres from a corner entrance. Additional rules govern the placement of warning systems such as lights and also the construction of the starting mechanism.
The track itself must be made up of 4 layers of grading; the topmost of which must be of shale, granite, brick granules or other loose material of which no individual piece can be over 7 mm in size. The use of asphalt, concrete and tarmac for any layer is prohibited.
The top layer must be levelled at intervals in each event to evenly re-distribute the surface, Tractors that have been modified to tow rakes are used for this. The track is also watered regularly during meetings to minimize the amount of dust lifted by motorcycles as they race.
There is a minimum track width of 10 metres, but no maximum. The minimum width is to give each rider adequate space to safely navigate the track at all points. There is no stated maximum due to the potential for tracks to be used for other sports such as Speedway Sidecar racing.
The start line and starting gate assembly is normally located halfway along one of the two straight sections of the track but some tracks have adopted alternative locations on the straight. Starting gates are usually simple mechanisms that raise two or three strands of tape to start the race. The FIM regulations also require licensed tracks to provide a garage/pit area for motorcycles as well as medical and press facilities.
Safety requirements include the use of suspended wire fences, air fences or wooden fences (for temporary tracks). The FIM recommends the use of air fences in venues if possible, these are now mandatory for tracks of teams competing in the British Elite League and Polish Ekstraliga. Neutral zones are also added for temporary tracks, giving safe run-off areas for riders without the potential to injure spectators.
The majority of FIM licensed tracks are dedicated to Speedway or other sports such as Greyhound racing. For larger events, the FIM occasionally sanctions the use of stadiums that install temporary tracks such as the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and other Speedway Grand Prix venues.
Motorcycles
The sport of Speedway uses a unique type of motorcycle, governed by the FIM's "Track Racing Technical Rules".[2] In the past bikes with upright engines were used in speedway racing (the name taken from the way the engine sits in the frame), but today most professional riders use laydown bikes as it is argued that they are easier to handle.
Machines used must:
- Weigh greater than 77 kg
- Use a four-stroke single cylinder engine
- Have guards fitted over moving engine parts where reasonable
- Use an additional chain guard to prevent a hand or finger/s being cut by a chain
- Have a peg (Dutch Peg) fitted to prevent a broken chain flailing and injuring a rider or a fellow competitor
- Use shatter resistant plastics where reasonable
- Be fitted with a dirt deflector
- Be fuelled by methanol
Machines used cannot:
- Use a Supercharger in any form
- Be constructed in any part from Titanium
- Use uncoated ceramic parts
- Use telemetry during a race except for timing purposes
- Use any electronic components to control the engine
- Use brakes of any form
In addition all motorcycles must have a safety cut out device fitted, this is defined as a switch that "must cut off the circuit of the electrical supply by the simple action of pulling a lanyard or a non-elastic string (with a maximum length of 30 cm) attached to the rider's right wrist."[2]
As Speedway bikes do not use brakes, the clutch is used as a release mechanism for starts.
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