HISTORY OF LYDD SPEEDWAY

Originally, Lydd speedway was intended to be a back-up track for the Southern Track Riders Amateur club. This was when league tracks were not availible to hold race meetings. In 1994 negotiations broke down with chairman Mike Coombes to have meetings on league tracks, as a result seven southern track riders members invested into Lydd speedway. Construction on the south coast began that same year, but not without problems.

At first Shepway District council advised that planning permission would not be required to build the track. Unfortunatly when the chalk was transported to the site the neighbours were not happy and the council decided a permit would be required. The application was turned down twice and so went to appeal. English nature even became a factor, as the track was judged to be close to site of scientific interest (Peat deposits below ground surface). In the meantime Lydd Speedway was granted a temporary license so we could finally get a speedway meeting going.

The first meeting was held on Sunday 22nd September 1996 with 15 riders participating. As a result of the planning permission fun the piggy bank was rather low so a sand surface was used until 1998. Gary Corbett, Luke Clifton and Shane Colvin rode regularly at Lydd at this time as did veteran Rog Luckhurst. In 1998 Lydd speedway was given a Three year trial period by the Secretary of State. The Romney Falcons Amatuar short track racing club Ltd was formed and boasted an impressive membership tally of over 200. During this time a number of teams visited Lydd for challenge matches. These teams included The Forest Flyers, Northern Track Riders, The amatuer broadsiders club and Mildenhalls academy league team. To this day the Romney Falcons remain unbeaten against any team. The track has held training weekends and courses for beginners for nearly 10 years now, taught by some impresive riders including Kelvin Tatum.

After years laying dormant Lydd speedway was brought back into use during the 2007 for training sessions. Track owner Malcolm took on 10 riders from all over the country to start a year long course in basic speedway skills; unfortunately the course was not a great success. The track was a shadow of the racing circuit built in 1994 and problems begun to rise. The surface was loose and the width had been reduced thanks to grass and weeds growing around the edges. There was no water system and the tracks base took on water like a fleece, meaning rain-offs were likely. On the flip side the riders were all novices so sliding was few and far between, this resulted in very little wear on the track. Riders started dropping out through the season for various reasons, some financial; some just could not get to grips with the sliding part (pretty important in speedway). When Malcolm finished the season in October only two riders from East London were left. Malcolm has later said how important it was that both riders finished the year, as he might not have continued the track in 2008 without them.

THE COMEBACK

2008 was to be the make or break year for the track, as another year with no riders would surely mean the chop. After much hard work and some changes to the track surface, word got around and riders begun to appear. The riders Malcolm trained in 2007 started to progress into amateur racing so replacements would be needed to use the track. Malcolm and his former students worked hard, slowly but surely contacts were made and interest started the re-appear at the New Romney raceway. By the end of 2008 the ghost town of Lydd had been replaced by regular contingent of 4-8 riders every week. The highlight saw some Elite and Premier league boys having a skid for fun which was fantastic to watch. November saw the practice season draw to a close and plans begun to make the track safer and more ride able. There was much work to be done, as the circuit still had no safety fence and the track was starting to feel the strain of 2 years without resurfacing.

Malcolm had enlisted the services of spares company RTN and the Couzins to lend a helping hand; others included some track staff from Elite League club’s Lakeside and Eastbourne. The agenda included a complete resurface the entire track, re shaping the inside edge of the track and widening the track by 3 metres on the corners. The fence was to be re-installed around the entire track and the drainage to be cleared and straightened out. Malcolm looked into upgrading the track grader system and sorted out the watering cart for those hot summer days. The winter was very harsh but slowly the circuit begun to take shape. The weather meant the start of the season got delayed until late March, but it as well worth the wait. It was a new life for the track which was now unrecognizable compared to way back in spring 2007.

2009 begun with launch of this very website which, went public during January. The opening day saw a spares van for the very first time, video recording of the riders and most importantly, the toilets were built and ready for use! By mid summer of 2009 we had up to 16 riders on some Sundays using the track none stop. Lakeside’s Injured star Joonas Kylmakorpi and Brit Lewis Bridger both had spins, plus there were many more top names visiting. The comeback was all but complete and Lydd speedway was buzzing again. The track was a carpet and offered amateurs a vastly different experience to Sittingbourne, which is bigger but tough for the new guys to navigate.

The return of Lydd was sealed when Malcolm and Martyn Smith held the hugely succesfull
Veterans Championship in July 2010.

Thank you to all the riders and fans alike that continue to support us. With your help we can really make amateur speedway a more enjoyable experience for the old boys and newcomers alike.

Keep Sliding, Give it Some Throttle!!!!