Guide to ride - Speedway

With experience - and if you're brave enough - you'll enjoy the adrenaline rush and explosive action of sliding around a fully fenced oval circuit. You can ride solo, or share the fun with a friend on a Speedway Sidecar.

Australian Senior Championship Classes are Solo, Under 21 and Sidecar and there are two race formats, the 'Twenty Two' Race Format, where 16 riders compete in 20 heats and an A and B final, or the 'Twelve' Race Format with 18 competitors who race in nine heats, two semi finals and one final.

Competitors must form up in the prescribed order behind the starting tapes on track, and when all competitors are correctly positioned and stationary, a green light or flag is shown. After a pause of not less than two seconds the Referee then releases the gate to start the race. The first competitor whose machine crosses the finish line after completing the required number of laps as indicated by the Supplementary Regulations is the winner.


In every heat, unless otherwise prescribed by the Supplementary Regulations, the following is the system for scoring:

First place: 3 points
Second place: 2 points
Third place: 1 point
Fourth: 0 points (0 for last place is better than M, R, F, T, E and N - see below)

O: For last place
M: Excluded for two minute rule
R: Retired from the race
F: Fall but not excluded
T: Excluded for false start
E: Excluded
N: No Start

Riders competing in Speedway must wear protective clothing as per the General Competition Rules pertaining to Speedway. This protective clothing includes an approved helmet, a one-piece protective suit, or jacket and trousers that must be securely attached while competing; padding must be on the shoulders, elbows, both sides of the torso and hip joint and the knees. A commercially manufactured back protector, which continuously covers the back area between the collar line and the base of the spine, must also be worn.

Boots with ankle and calf protection must be worn, and cannot be made of rubber. They must at least overlap the suit or trousers when the rider is in the normal riding position and - for solo competitors - the left foot must have a steel skid and be made with a curved front extending at least 50mm over the toe of the boot.

Gloves that are made of non-split leather or similar must be worn, along with eye protection.

Australasia has a long and proud heritage of producing some of the world's best Speedway riders, such as inaugural World Champion, Lionel Van Praag, as well as the likes of Bluey Wilkinson, Barry Briggs, Ivan Mauger, Jack Young, Ronnie Moore, Phil Crump and more.

The latest additions to that illustrious list are Jason Crump, 2009 World Speedway Cham
pion, and Darcy Ward, who won the 2009 World Under 21 Speedway Championship. Crump's third world championship was all the sweeter, as the tenacious Aussie secured the title while still recovering from a mid-season injury.

In order to participate in Speedway, riders must have a Motorcycling Australia (MA) Competition License. To get this, you will need to join an affiliated club.