Tickets for Northampton Foxes' home speedway opener set to go on sale on Tuesday

The Foxes are scheduled to race for the first time at Northampton International Raceway when they take on the Witches in the Premiership Knockout Cup.

The decision to delay ticket sales until 48 hours before the event has been taken because the club’s Speedway Control Bureau (SCB) track inspection is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

The venue must satisfy the requirements of this inspection, including a track test with four riders completing racing laps, in order to be signed off to stage a meeting.

Since the announcement in March that speedway would be coming to Northampton this season, exceptional efforts have been made to complete the work required for the stadium to become dual-purpose, running speedway as well as its existing stock car use.

This includes work on the stadium infrastructure, electrical upgrades and additional safety measures specific to speedway, and the track work itself is now complete.

However, launching a new speedway venue in a very limited timeframe does bring its challenges, and there have also been unavoidable delays with the manufacture and delivery of other safety barriers essential to the running of speedway.

This explains why the SCB inspection is scheduled for the week of the opening meeting.

A club statement read: “We are very optimistic that we will be able to satisfy the SCB’s requirements by Tuesday; however, we feel it is prudent to not put tickets on sale until after we have received the green light, and we hope supporters will appreciate this move.

"We will communicate the outcome of the inspection as soon as possible, with an expectation that tickets will be on sale by Tuesday evening should we receive a positive verdict.

“Finally, if any volunteers capable of assisting with physical tasks are available to help at the stadium during the day on Tuesday, which is likely to be a busy day, please contact at the club at [email protected].”