THE ROWE Motor Oil Premiership will be contested by six teams this summer after confirmation today (Thursday) that new track Northampton will be joining the league.
The Northampton International Shaleway, close to the village of Brafield-on-the-Green, is an established stock-car circuit and has previously hosted speedway in the 1950s and 60s. The new club will now join Belle Vue, Ipswich, King's Lynn, Leicester and Sheffield in a six-strong top flight. An opening date of Thursday, April 30 has been pencilled in. A BSPL statement confirmed: "The full structure of Northampton Speedway, including promoters, team manager, riders and team identity, will be revealed over the coming weeks in the build-up to the new season." Premiership CEO Phil Morris said: “I would firstly like to thank all supporters, and the other clubs, for their patience whilst we worked on bringing Northampton into the league. “We were determined that the Premiership would feature six teams if at all possible, and with the opportunity to include what is effectively a completely new club, I do feel it was correct to push the time window to give it every chance. “We now have a six-team league and I’m sure there will be a lot of interest in the new venue, along with the new ownership at Ipswich who I know have some exciting plans. “Our thanks also go to Deane Wood of Spedeworth, the landowners of Northampton, for their willingness to accommodate speedway racing at their stadium. “There is still a substantial amount of work to complete, and this is why Northampton’s home fixtures will commence slightly later than the other clubs, but we are confident this will all progress on schedule. “The people in charge of Northampton will make their own announcements in the near future but I know they have been talking to riders, and they now have the certainty to be able to complete their team plans. “We now look forward to the fixtures being released on Friday and this is certainly a time for positivity as we look ahead to the new season.”
