Long Eaton Speedway

Long Eaton motorcycle speedway teams operated from 1950 until 1997 in Long Eaton, England. Teams have raced at the Long Eaton Stadium as the Long Eaton Archers, Long Eaton Rangers, Nottingham Outlaws and the Long Eaton Invaders. The Invaders returned in 2011, with home meetings taking place at the Leicester Lions' track.

Long Eaton Speedway
Long Eaton Archers 1974
Club information
Track addressLong Eaton Stadium
Station Road
Long Eaton
Derbyshire
CountryEngland
Founded1950
Closed1997 (revived 2011–2016)
Club facts
ColoursRed, white and blue
Track size336 metres (367 yd)
Major team honours
National league champions1984
Premier League fours champions1997
Midland Development Leagues2011

History

Speedway events had been hosted at Long Eaton from as early as 1929, the first meeting being on 18 May 1929. The team were founder members of the 1929 Speedway English Dirt Track League but withdrew and had their results expunged.[1] The Derby Evening Telegraph described the oval circuit as having four laps to the mile, with straights 35 ft wide (11 m) and the bends 50 ft wide (15 m) 'to allow broadsiding at 60 mph'. The last meeting of this era was on 10 June 1930.[2][3][4]

The site of Long Eaton Speedway Stadium in 2008

Speedway events returned to Long Eaton in 1950 with a team initially called the "Archers". The team operated until 1953 when the promotion closed. The "Archers" name was again used when the track re-opened in 1963[5] until it closed again at the end of the 1967 season.[6] In 1969 the track re-opened with the team named "Rangers" until 1974 when the "Archers" name was used for one more season. The track opened again in 1979 and were called the "Nottingham Outlaws" but closed at the end of the 1980 season.[7]

Another revival followed in 1982 as the team was again re-branded, but this time as the "Long Eaton Invaders" – the name was chosen due to the popularity of the Space Invaders arcade game at that time.[7] The Invaders won the National League Championship in 1984 and the Premier League Four-Team Championship in 1997. In early 1998 it was announced that the stadium was to be sold for housing development and the club would have to vacate immediately. The proposed development never took place, and there was an unsuccessful attempt to reopen the site for speedway racing in 2005.[8]

The site was later approved for a residential development with public open spaces by Erewash Borough Council, and is now a housing estate.[9]

The Long Eaton Invaders returned in 2011, competing in the amateur status Midland League, sharing the Leicester Lions' new track in Beaumont Park Stadium for home matches. They ended the 2011 season as Midland League champions.[10] They continued to compete in the junior leagues until 2016.

Season summary
Extended content
Year and league Position Notes
1929 Speedway English Dirt Track LeagueN/AArchers - withdrew, results expunged
1951 Speedway National League Division Three9thArchers
1952 Speedway Southern LeagueN/AArchers - withdrew, results expunged
1963 Provincial Speedway League12thArchers
1964 Provincial Speedway League11thArchers
1965 British League season18thArchers
1966 British League season18thArchers
1967 British League season17thArchers
1969 British League Division Two season10thRangers
1970 British League Division Two season17thRangers
1971 British League Division Two season10thRangers
1972 British League Division Two season16thRangers
1973 British League Division Two season9thRangers
1974 British League season15thArchers
1979 National League season14thNottingham Outlaws
1980 National League season14thNottingham Outlaws
1982 National League season7thInvaders
1983 National League season18thInvaders
1984 National League season1stInvaders, champions
1985 National League season18thInvaders
1986 National League season20thInvaders
1987 National League season15thInvaders
1988 National League season16thInvaders
1989 National League season17thInvaders
1990 National League season16thInvaders
1991 British League Division Two season6thInvaders
1992 British League Division Two season9thInvaders
1993 British League Division Two season2ndInvaders
1994 British League Division Two season2ndInvaders
1995 Premier League speedway season18thInvaders
1996 Premier League speedway season17thInvaders
1997 Premier League speedway season2ndInvaders, Premier League Four-Team Championship winners

References
  1. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - PRE-WAR ERA (1929-1939)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  2. Nottingham & Long Eaton Speedway. Philip Dalling. ISBN 978-0-7524-4163-4
  3. "Speedway in Derbyshire". Derby Evening Telegraph. 2008. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  4. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  5. ATV news archive Archived 2012-04-04 at the Wayback Machine, ATC, MACE Archive, accessed October 2011
  6. "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  7. "A History of Long Eaton Speedway". Speedway Plus. 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2007. Retrieved 20 December 2008.
  8. "Speedway: could make a comeback". BBC News. 16 May 2005. Retrieved 28 November 2008.
  9. "Details on Planning Application ERE/0710/0009". Erewash Borough Council. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  10. "Long Eaton Invaders news". Official British Speedway website. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2021.

52°53′56″N 1°15′41″W

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