BRITISH SPEEDWAY NOVEMBER 10, 2022

(SPEEDWAY 1)

SCUNTHORPE REBUILD UNDERWAY

SCUNTHORPE have kicked off their 2023 team building with the signing of teenager Joe Thompson who joins from Leicester.
Thompson became available to other Championship clubs with the Lions set to move into the Premiership next season.
Scorpions promoter Rob Godfrey said: “Joe and his brother Dan have always been really fast around our track, right from their youth racing days – they certainly know the best way around the Eddie Wright Raceway.

“With Leicester moving up, we’ve gone for Joe. We wouldn’t have minded having Dan in our side as well. But I think it will help them riding for different tracks. “Joe comes in on just a 3.00 average because he had a poor second half to the season. But if you look at this average across the whole season, it was much better at 4.15, so he’s on a gift of an average compared to his overall ability.”

Godfrey also revealed the very welcome news that team manager Dave Peet is back on board and assisting with planning having missed the second half of the season after surgery to remove cancer. He added: “Dave has been a big part of this as well. He’s feeling a lot better and got himself out the week before last, so Dave and myself have put this team together and we genuinely think this will be the team to emulate 2012 (Scunthorpe’s title-winning year), something we’re long overdue to do.”

(SPEEDWAY 2)

MEMBERS of Rugby Council’s planning committee have unanimously voted to refuse the application submitted by developers to replace the iconic Brandon Stadium with a housing estate.
The committee overturned a recommendation to approve from the planning officer, on the basis that a proposed 3G football pitch ancillary to the housing development in no way compensated for the loss of the previous speedway and stock car use.

The stadium, home to the Coventry Bees and a venue which regularly hosted the sport’s Major Events, was closed by the developers at the end of the 2016 season as they pursued their planning application.
Campaign Group spokesman Jeff Davies said: “We’re absolutely delighted with the verdict of the Planning Committee, and we’re very grateful to the elected councillors of Rugby Borough for making this unanimous decision.

“Six years of hard work have come to fruition tonight, and we couldn’t be more pleased.
“We can only take each step at a time, and so far the developers have failed to get onto the Local Plan, they’ve failed with their original speculative application, and they’ve now failed with a second speculative application, this time at Committee.
“Whatever comes next, we will fight that too, and if it’s an appeal on behalf of the developers we will fight it with the same enthusiasm and vigour as we’ve done with this one.”