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 team briefly returned between 2011 and 2016 but raced in Leicester.^{[citation needed]}

In April 1929, it was announced that a speedway track under the supervision of F. Hatton, would be constructed inside the greyhound track at Long Eaton Stadium. The first meeting was held on 18 May 1929. 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'. After only two meetings the track required additional alterations and did not return to action until 26 October.

Only one meeting took place in 1930, with a special Nottingham versus Leicester fixture on 10 June.

In the Summer of 1949 the Long Eaton Urban Council supported a new scheme to bring speedway back to the stadium. Mr S. Saunders and Arthur Sherlock, directors of Long Eaton Stadium Ltd., stated that facilities could be provided for 15,000 people and the team would be called the "Long Eaton Archers".

Racing returned to Long Eaton on 25 May 1950, with the team racing a series of challenge matches throughout the season. The Archers entered the league system for 1951 and competed in the 1951 Speedway National League Division Three. The following season, the Archers started in the 1952 Speedway Southern League but ran into financial difficulties, with MD Stan Lish needing to raise £1,000 to survive. They closed down after their 31 July fixture.

Eleven years after the last speedway in Long Eaton the "Archers" name was again used when the track re-opened in 1963, with Reg Fearman entering the team in the Provincial League. The team finally completed two entire seasons in 1963 and 1964 before joining the new British League in 1965 but the team struggled in the league finishing last. The 1966 season started with signing of multiple world champion Ove Fundin and the emergence of Ray Wilson as a top rider but problems and a subsequent suspension of Fundin hampered the season. Fearman and fellow promoter Ron Wilson continued to attempt to make the Archers a leading team with the signings of Anders Michanek, Jim Lightfoot and John Boulger but results were not great again. Even worse ensued in 1968 when Wilson and Fearman moved the speedway licence to Leicester Stadium because of concerns over increased stock car events damaging the speedway track.

In 1969 a new promoter and former Leicester rider Ivor Brown re-opened the speedway with a new team name "Long Eaton Rangers", who competed in British League Division Two.

Despite a solid finish the previous season, the Rangers finished last in 1970 despite the efforts of Malcolm Shakespeare. Slightly better years were experienced from 1971 to 1974 but still with little success. The team reverted to the Archers name in 1974 and number 1 rider Geoff Bouchard's riding provided the highlight of another moderate season. After the season the speedway ceased again, with co-promoter Tony Allsopp quoting poor attendances as the reason for the closure.