Gone in sixty seconds

Methanol fuelled, 500cc. 70bhp. 75 kg. Top speed around 80mph. One gear. No brakes. That’s the bike.

Two riders for each team. Four riders in each race. Teams comprise of seven riders in total.

Four 15 second or thereabouts laps of a loose surface oval track around 300 metres long means you’re never kept waiting long for the action. In speedway things happen fast. Very fast.

Top speed around 80mph. One gear. No brakes.

The bikes accelerate faster than a Formula One car. But don’t stop like one. In fact the only way to stop fast is to drop it. Or stick it in the crash barrier. Neither are particularly advisable. Both will probably hurt to a varying degree. And it’s one of the reasons riders will have visited A&E at some time in their career. That’s speedway!

And in the time it took you to read this far the race will almost over. So you need to pay attention. But that’s not difficult because the action happens right in front of you. With every inch of every lap visible to the whole crowd, things get exciting.

Not surprising really when four riders are throwing their brake-less bikes sideways at 80mph to slow them enough to negotiate the bends while staying uprightish in the process.

And catching the action is easier than with most other forms of motorsport. There are more tracks than you realise scattered around the country, many hosting greyhound racing and stock car racing too. So you need to check the events calendar carefully or you may get more, or less than you bargained for! Great thing is, just like football, there’s a lot of support for the home team in the crowds. But none of the aggravation because the crowds and the riders are family friendly. You could even introduce your Mum to most of them.

a family outing costs a lot less than a trip to your local premier league football match

Now facilities might not be up there with F1 or MotoGP. But neither are the prices. For the top league (Elite), adults pay around £18. Under 16s a fiver and under 11s go free. So a family outing costs a lot less than a trip to your local premier league football match. That’s value for money entertainment by anyone’s standards.

And if you can’t make it to see your team in action, not to worry. Sky Sports have spotted the entertainment value covering the full season of Elite league meetings.

Greg is a classic example of good things getting better with age. In 2014 he took his third title at the tender age of 44!

At NGK we have a bit of thing about speedway that’s why you’ll find a fair few riders sporting the NGK roundel. Not the least of which is the current World Champion Greg Hancock. Greg is a classic example of good things getting better with age. In 2014 he took his third title at the tender age of 44!

Unfortunately due to the idiosyncrasies of the way the sport is run, Greg now spends most of his time racing in Europe. However there’s a great opportunity to see him and the rest of the top rank riders at this year’s British Speedway G P 2015 at Cardiff Millennium Stadium on July 4 .

Better still enter our competition and you could win tickets for two, including paddock passes. If last year’s event is anything to go by you’re in a for a great evening of sporting action, with a fair share of thrills and spills. Check it out now and hopefully we’ll see there. If not make it to your track soon for some serious biking action. With no brakes.