Humans of Speedway
Humans of Speedway gets to know the stars, unsung heroes and characters of one of the most exhilarating sports in the world. In this series hosted by lifelong fan & BSN commentator Ian Brannan, we speak to all of those people who make the sport of speedway happen. From World champions & star names & rising stars, promoters, managers, referees, commentators, writers, mechanics, match day hosts and more! Each have their own story of their love affair with the sport, and each play their own role, large or small, in making speedway one fo the most action packed, adrenaline fulled yet also friendliest sports there is. So please hit subscribe and get ready for Humans Of Speedway..! Find us on the Sport Social website: https://podcast.sport-social.co.uk/podcast/humansofspeedway/
Episodes
March 8, 2024 • 50 mins
Celina Liebmann is a trail blazer in speedway, becoming the first female rider to race in an FIM World Speedway Championship event competing in SGP2 in 2022. And in 2024 she will become the first female rider to race in a professional British league when she joins the Workington Comets on the Cab Direct Championship.
With speedway being a male dominated world, she's had no shortage of advice from online experts, but as you'll hear,...
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February 22, 2024 • 61 mins
Kyle Howarth captained the Sheffield Tigers to their first top flight championship in 2023, and in 2024 celebrates his testimonial at Owlerton with some of the sports top stars racing against the Sheffield 24 line up. He'll also race for Scunthorpe in the Championship too where he starts as the Scorpions number 1.
In this podcast we get to know Kyle a little better, how he found his way into the sport and his personal highlights.
...
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February 7, 2024 • 61 mins
Gino Manzares is a former USA National Champion, has raced in the UK for Ipswich & Scunthorpe and now he prepares to captain Team USA Vs The World in the upcoming clash in California. In this podcast we hear more about Gino's story, how Bruce Penhall and a cast of American legends have helped him on his way, and how he hopes to be considered for a team spot in the UK again.
Since last riding in the UK in 2018 Gino has turned down o...
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February 1, 2024 • 65 mins
Charles Wright is a former British Champion, and has won league titles at both professional levels of British Speedway, and 2024 marks his testimonial year in the sport!
Of course his brother has been a top level rider too, but both are very much following in their grandfather's footsteps, Jim Yacoby was a rider with Belle Vue Aces in the 1960's and that's where the family routes in the sport lay. We'll hear how it hasn't always be...
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January 25, 2024 • 83 mins
Get ready for an exhilarating ride through the life and times of Peter Adams, British Speedway's most decorated manager.
From his early chance encounter with Ole Olsen, to his strategic genius on the tracks taking Coventry, Cradley and Wolves to multiple league titles, this episode of our podcast is packed with thrilling stories and insights.
Listen as Peter reveals the high-octane world of speedway racing, his unexpected encount...
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December 14, 2023 • 86 mins
Hans Nielsen has been recognised by the FIM as an icon for very good reason..! In his career he won 22 World Championship medals in all competitions, including 4 individual World titles. It could however have been so many more were is not for the fickle finger of fate, as he claimed many more silver medals, missing the top step by the smallest of margins.
We discuss Hans' stellar career which saw him dominate British speedway throu...
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December 8, 2023 • 54 mins
He's a title winning Captain of the Belle Vue Aces, a former Australian Champion and has raced in Speedway GP in his homeland as a wildcard..! We get to know more about one of Australia's top young stars, Brady Kurtz!
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November 28, 2023 • 76 mins
Craig Ackroyd is one of the World's top speedway referees, and one of the few on the Grand Prix circuit in addition to officiating across British Speedway's leagues.
Craig himself had ambitions of being a speedway rider, and was involved in Grasstrack alongside the likes of Carl Stonehewer and Garry Stead. However he eventually followed in his Dad's footsteps and entered the referee's box and hasn't looked back since.
He has taken ...
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November 22, 2023 • 52 mins
A rising star in the speedway world, Ben Cook has already won 5 trophies in his 3 years with the Poole Pirates, and in 2024 will captain the side. He follows in a long line of speedway greats who have made the journey from New South Wales to Dorset, basing himself with Middlo.
In this podcast we find out more about the journey and the standards required for a young Aussie to make it in the UK and Europe, why the state championships...
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November 14, 2023 • 84 mins
Alun Rossiter is in a very select group of people in British Speedway, as one of the few to have won a top level league title as both a rider and manager. On the bike Rosco represented his home town club Swindon Robins through the 80s, with a spell at Coventry Bees in between, along with spells at Exeter, Weymouth, Wolves King's Lynn and Peterborough among a few. His most success as a rider came at Poole Pirates where he won 3 leag...
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March 30, 2023 • 75 mins
Danny King has had a career spanning over 20 years, including becoming British Champion in 2016, beating Bartosz Zmarzlik in a GP, and representing GB in a World Cup.
Much of his career has been spent with the Ipswich Witches where he is now Captain, and in 2023 will represent Redcar Bears in the Championship.
But he's also ridden for a number of other great names of British Speedway, including Coventry Bees, Sheffield Tigers, Leic...
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March 15, 2023 • 95 mins
Steve Worrall rides for Wolverhampton Wolves in the British Speedway Premiership, and is the 2023 captain of reigning champions the Poole Pirates in the Championship.
2023 sees Steve celebrate his testimonial year, with a early season Champion of Champions meeting at Poole Stadium where the Championship title holders Poole face a Belle Vue Aces side featuring 5 of the 2022 Premiership winning team.
Steve of course has ridden for bo...
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March 1, 2023 • 79 mins
Paul Bowen is a well known face around speedway tracks, both from his time as a rider with the Belle Vue Colts, a presenter on BSN, YouTuber, pie supplier, 2024 BBC Apprentice contestant, and now as someone leading the charge of electric speedway into the UK.
He's also putting on a demonstration day at Scunthorpe on March 5th where you can have a look at these bikes in action, all for free..!
Find out why electric speedway is not s...
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February 16, 2023 • 93 mins
In this episode we head down under to chat with Australian speedway star Justin Sedgmen. In 2023 Sedgy will be lining up in British Speedway's Premiership with newly promoted Leicester Lions, and in the Championship once again with the Birmingham Brummies.
Over his career he's raced for some of the most respected teams in the UK including Swindon, Somerset, Sheffield, Glasgow and Edinburgh Monarchs where he won the treble in 2014 a...
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February 2, 2023 • 103 mins
Dave Rowe is one of the voices of Eurosport's speedway TV coverage working as a reporter on the British Premiership matches, and as commentator for the SEC series. You might also know him as a voice on Talksport as a voice of their football coverage during the season.
He's also a journalist for the Speedway Star, head of the British Speedway official press office and a stadium announcer at for Birmingham Brummies. In fact in 2022 D...
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January 25, 2023 • 101 mins
In this episode not just 1, but 2 guests..! Berwick Bandits Team Manager and Co Promoter Gary Flint, and his son, British U21 & U19 Champion, Leon Flint.
2023 sees Leon take the proud role of captaining his hometown side under his Dad's leadership, whilst also taking the rising star position at Premiership side Wolves.
We chat about the upcoming season an also a little about how the speedway life came their way. Gary is also himsel...
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January 18, 2023 • 66 mins
Adam Roynon has ridden some some of the biggest clubs in British Speedway over his 20 year career, including the Coventry Bees, Sheffield Tigers, Workington Comets and Rye House Rockets to name a few.
A hugely popular and talented rider, he won the Premier League title with Rye House in 2007 racing as a young reserve alongside Tai Woffinden. He got to race alongside his idol Gary Havelock with Redcar, and won the Premiership Pairs ...
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November 16, 2022 • 32 mins
Peter Collins MBE is without doubt one of the most successful British riders of all time, and a Belle Vue Aces legend. He's finally put together his autobiography called Keeping It On The Tyres, and recently at his book launch at Longsight Sports on Social Club on Kirkmanshulme Lane, I managed to get some time with him beside his world title winning bike..!
His book is over 500 pages and documents everything you could ever want to...
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March 25, 2022 • 68 mins
Stuart Robson hails from a real speedway family, his dad being a rider in the 70s and his brother also taking up the sport, it is perhaps little surprise that Stuart followed in their footsteps.
Growing up in Sunderland, his first experience of racing was via the grass track scene, but later moving into speedway with Newcastle Diamonds, and then later the Coventry Bees. Indeed Stuart spent multiple seasons and eras at those 2 clubs...
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March 8, 2022 • 62 mins
Katie Gordon is a rising star in British Speedway, and aiming to be the first finale rider to race in one of the top 3 leagues in British Speedway.
Currently racing for Redcar Cubs at youth level, she's already beating many of the boys, and is proving that speedway is not all about strength, but also skill and mental attitude.
Speedway is a male dominated sport, and she reveals some of the obstacles and stereotypes she's had to fac...
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