Oxford Cheetahs

Oxford Cheetahs
Club information
Track address	Oxford Stadium Sandy Lane Cowley, Oxford
Country	England
Founded	1939
Promoter	Jamie Courtney
Team manager	Peter Schroeck
Team captain	Scott Nicholls
League	SGB Premiership SGB Championship National Development League
Website	Official Website
Club facts
Colours	Blue and Yellow
Track size	297 metres (325 yd)
Track record time	56.2 seconds
Track record date	13 October 1988
Track record holder	Hans Nielsen
Major team honours
United Kingdom Champions 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989, 2001 Knockout Cup Winners 1964, 1985, 1986 UK tier 3 winners 1950, 2023 National Trophy tier 3 winners 1950 Premier League Fours 1994, 1996 Gold Cup Winners 1989 League Cup Winners (Shared) 1986 Premiership Winners 1987 Midland Cup Winners 1975, 1985, 1986 Britannia Shield Winners 1964 Craven Shield Winners 2005

The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway team^[1] based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 2001. The club folded in 2007 but returned to racing when participating in the SGB Championship 2022.

During their history they have run under several other names; from 1972 to 1975, they were known as Oxford Rebels^[1] and from 2003 to 2005, they were known as Oxford Silver Machine. They have also run junior sides known as the Oxford Cubs, Oxford Silver Machine Academy, Oxford Lions and Oxford Chargers. For 2024 the club will run two teams in addition to the Cheetahs, one under a new guise of the Oxford Spires in the Premiership and the Chargers in the development league.

Current squads

Spires SGB Premiership	Cheetahs SGB Championship	Chargers NDL
Maciej Janowski	Scott Nicholls (capt)	Luke Killeen
Nicolai Klindt	Sam Masters	Jacob Clouting
Charles Wright	Jordan Jenkins	Jody Scott
Chris Harris	Cameron Heeps	Jason Garrad
Rohan Tungate	Henry Atkins	Ashton Vale
Lewis Kerr	Luke Killeen	Alex Spooner
Ashton Boughen	Ashton Boughen	Senna Summers

History

1939-1948

The Oxford Motorcycle Speedway Club moved to Oxford Stadium in 1939 from a grass circuit in Sandford-on-Thames. The Secretary Ted Mander orchestrated the move and the first individual meeting was held on Easter Saturday 8 April 1939 won by Roy Duke. The club contested team meetings against Smallford, Wisbech, High Beech and Reading.^[2]

Racing resumed on 28 April 1940, with guest teams racing. This was followed by just two meetings in 1941 before Mander announced that racing would be suspended for the duration of the war. Despite the war ending in 1945 there was no racing from 1942 to 1948. However, during 1948 the stadium owner Leslie Calcutt unsuccessfully applied to the Speedway Control Board for a licence to race in the Third Division.^[2]

1949-1956

Following major track renovations in 1949, the club joined the 1949 Speedway National League Division Three. The club took the nickname 'Cheetahs' following a competition for the general public, held by the local Oxford Mail newspaper. The team manager was Ron Bear and the club colours were dark blue and yellow, with the first match being an away fixture at Exeter on 18 April 1949. Oxford lost heavily 60-24 and three days later lost to Hastings 47–37 in their first home fixture.^[2] The Cheetahs finished in last place during their inaugural season and used 24 different riders. The following season they won the division 3 league and cup double and were promoted to Division two in 1951. After finishing bottom of the division two in 1952 they rode in the third division called the Southern League in 1953 but following a league restructure returned to division two in 1954.^[3]

1957-1971

Following a league merger the Cheetahs rode in the top tier for the first time in 1957. After struggling in the top division for several years they dramatically won the top-tier league for the first time in 1964^[4] despite finishing last the season before with many of the same riders. The winning team consisted of Arne Pander, Colin Gooddy, Colin McKee, Danny Dunton, Eddie Reeves, George Major, Jack Geran, Jimmy Gooch, John Bishop, Ron How and Ronnie Genz. They also completed a treble by winning the National Trophy and Britannia Shield. The team failed to emulate the success in the following seasons finishing mid-table for the next 7 years.^[3]

1972-1975

From 1972 to 1975, they were known as Oxford Rebels under promoters Danny Dunton and Bob Dugard. In what was to be the final year for the Rebels at Cowley Stadium, they won the Midland Cup against Wolverhampton Wolves under the captainship of Dag Lovaas. Following the threat of track closure^[5] the promoters started a new team at White City called the White City Rebels leaving Oxford with no team or riders.

1976-1983

A new Oxford team were formed and entered division two,^[6] they took back the name Cheetahs with new promoters Harry Bastable and Tony Allsop after a committee of fans had created a "Save Our Stadium" campaign over the previous winter.^[7] The team competed for eight years in the division.

1984-1992

The golden period of Oxford speedway started in 1984. The stadium owners Northern Sports, headed by David Hawkins, invested heavily into the stadium with a £1.5 million three tier grandstand restaurant and sports centre. Hawkins installed Bernard Crapper and John Payne as speedway co-promoters and the team were entered for the 1984 British League season (the top league tier), with a new team that included Danish international Hans Nielsen (signed for £30,000) and Simon Wigg (£25,000).^[8] The team were champions of Britain in 1985, 1986 and 1989. In addition they won two British League Knockout Cups, a League Cup, Premiership and Gold Cup and paraded through Oxford on an open top bus.^[9]

1993-1997

Northern Sports parent company Hawkins of Harrow began to run into financial trouble and the team suffered lack of investment, Hans Nielsen left and the team applied to and raced in division two. They won the division two fours championship in 1994.^[10] Northern Sports were later liquidated, meaning the team was not financed by the stadium owners. Additionally in 1995 and 1996 there was only one division of British speedway meaning the Oxford Cheetahs returned to the top division under independent promoters.^[3] In 1997, another league restructure resulted in a new Elite League with the Premier League becoming division two, Oxford competed in the latter.

1998-2002

The team competed in the Elite League under new promotion from 1998 and in 2001 won their fifth top tier title. The team consisted of Aleš Dryml Jr., Andrew Appleton, Brian Andersen, Davey Watt, Leigh Adams, Lukáš Dryml, Steve Johnston and Todd Wiltshire and was promoted by Steve Purchase.

2003-2006

The Oxford Cheetahs were renamed for three seasons as the Oxford Silver Machine under the promotion of Nigel Wagstaff.^[11] In 2006 they reverted to their original name which was apt because it was their final full season as a top tier speedway team.

2007

Until 30 May 2007, they rode in the Elite League and operated a junior side known as the Oxford Lions which competed in the Conference League. In a statement issued by the British Speedway Promoters Association on 31 May 2007, their owner Colin Horton closed the club as a result of only 400–500 regular supporters attending home fixtures, and losing several thousand pounds every week.^[12] In June 2007, businessman Allen Trump invested in the club (also sponsoring the club via LCD Publishing) to secure the lease on the track and the Cheetahs completed the 2007 season in the Conference League, replacing the Lions.^[13]

After the 2007 season, owner Allen Trump planned to bring the Cheetahs back into the Premier League for 2008.^[14] However, Trump was unable to secure a deal with landlords, the Greyhound Racing Association (GRA) to continue speedway racing at the Cowley and handed the promotion back to the BSPA.^[15][16] Further negotiations with the GRA were unsuccessful and Oxford had no speedway for 14 years.^[17] A number of committed fans keen to see the return of speedway to Oxford remained active. Two supporters groups, the Oxford Speedway Supporters Club (OSSC) and Save Oxford Speedway (SOS) held regular events and trips for Oxford fans and actively campaigned for the return of speedway to Oxford.^[18]

2022-present

On 11 November 2021, it was confirmed that the Cheetahs would return for the 2022 season in the SGB Championship, after a 14-year absence from British Speedway. The stadium had been leased to Kevin Boothby, who was keen to bring back the sport.^[19] Jamie Courtney would be the team promoter.^[20][21] The Cheetahs also ran a junior side called the Chargers for the 2022 NDL season^[22] and 2023 NDL season, winning the league title during the latter.^[23]

In 2024, Oxford named three teams to compete in all three tiers of British speedway (the first time that a club had a team in each league). The Cheetahs remained in the Championship, while the Spires would enter the Premiership and the Chargers would compete in the revised NDL.

Historical teams

Season summary

See also

• List of United Kingdom Speedway League Champions
• Knockout Cup (speedway)

Further reading

• The Story of Oxford Speedway. (Robert Bamford and Glynn Shailes, 2007) ISBN 978-0-7524-4161-0

References

This page was last edited on 29 March 2024, at 18:44