Top flight speedway is coming to Northampton... and the season starts next month

British Speedway has announced that a new team will be operating out of the Northampton International Shaleway stadium near the village of Brafield-on-the-Green, just outside the town.

The newly-formed Northampton speedway team will compete in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership, taking the tally of clubs in the nationwide league up to six.

Northampton will be competing against established speedway stalwart clubs Leicester, Belle Vue, Sheffield, Ipswich and King’s Lynn.

The stadium at Brafield has traditionally been used as a stock car racing track, although it did stage some speedway events in the 1950s and 60s.

Since the tarmac circuit was removed in 2018 and the oval converted to a shale surface, there has been the potential for the venue to be used for speedway.

And that has now turned into a reality, with the Northamption team pencilled in to start the campaign at the end of next month with Knockout Cup ties due to be staged on April 30.

A statement from British Speedway read: "British Speedway is pleased to announce this season’s top-flight will comprise six clubs as newcomers Northampton join the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.

"Situated within easy access of junction 15 of the M1 near the village of Brafield-on-the-Green, speedway’s newest venue is already an established motorsports site.

"Northampton International Shaleway has hosted top level stock car racing for over 50 years, previously as a tarmac circuit.

"It was converted into a shale track in 2018, offering the potential for further modifications to enable stock car racing to run side by side with speedway – with the sports having operated successfully together at several other venues in the past.

"Stadium facilities are excellent, with a seated grandstand installed as recently as 2024 on the back straight, along with bar and catering outlets, and ample parking.

"The inclusion of Northampton enables British Speedway to establish a new venue in the central corridor of the country, which has been particularly hit over the past decade with closures due to the actions of landowners and developers.

"Northampton itself has a limited speedway history, with racing being staged at Brafield briefly in the mid-1950s in the Southern Area League, and low-level meetings also took place for a short time around ten years later.

"But now the top stars of the Premiership will be heading to the venue on a regular basis, with home meetings taking place mainly on Thursdays, and with April 30 pencilled in as the start date.

"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."

The top-flight of British Speedway has seen some changes in recent years, following the demise of both Peterborough and Wolverhampton teams at the end of the 2023 season.

They were replaced by Birmingham and Oxford, with the latter deciding to run a team in both major professional leagues, the Premiership and second tier Championship.

At the end of last season, Oxford pulled out of the top-flight to concentrate on their Championship team again, while the Birmingham team's track was lost to development.

The league was very keen to boost the Premiership back up to six teams, and that void will now be filled by Northampton. With six clubs competing in the Premiership, the play-offs will revert to the format of the top four teams in the league table qualifying with each club meet twice at home and twice away during the regular campaign. The KO Cup also operates on a mini-league group format at the start of the season, with the Northern group featuring holders Leicester, Belle Vue and Sheffield, while Northampton will be in the Southern group alongside Ipswich and King’s Lynn. The two group winners will meet in the final. The full Premiership fixture list is due to be announced this Friday (March 6) at 8am.