Swindon Robins

The Swindon Speedway team, also known as the Swindon Robins, are an English motorcycle speedway team established in 1949 that competes in the SGB Premiership, the top division of speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. They were league champions in the 2017 and 2019 seasons.[1]

Swindon Robins
Club information
Track addressAbbey Stadium, Blunsdon, Swindon
CountryEngland
Founded1949
Team managerAlun Rossiter
Team captainJason Doyle
LeagueSGB Premiership
Websitewww.swindonrobins.co
Club facts
ColoursRed, White and Black.
Track size315 metres (344 yd)
Track record time58.86 seconds
Track record date6 May 2019
Track record holderBrady Kurtz
Current team
Rider CMA
Jason Doyle 8.96
Troy Batchelor 8.82
Rasmus Jensen 7.86
Adam Ellis 6.33
Jordan Stewart 4.00
Ellis Perks 3.48
Anders Rowe 3.00
Total 42.45
Major team honours
British League Champions1967
National League Champions1957
National League Div 2 Champions1956
Premier League KO Cup Winners2000
Elite League Pairs Champions2004, 2005
Elite Shield Winners2008, 2013, 2018
Elite League2012
Midland Cup1967
SGB Premiership2017, 2019
SGB Premiership Charity Shield2018
SGB Premiership Supporters Cup2019

The club have raced on their home track at the Abbey Stadium, Lady Lane, Blunsdon since their inception.

History

Early history
The Abbey Stadium, the home of Swindon Robins

The formation of the club followed the sport's prehistory in the town at the now-demolished Gorse Hill Aerodrome, where dirt track racing had taken place since 1928.[2]

The birth of the Robins was a product of the partnership of Bristol speedway manager Reg Witcomb and businessman Bert Hearse. Under their direction, a 410-yard (370 m) cinder track was built.[3]

The first meeting, a non-league home challenge match, took place on 23 July 1949 against future rivals Oxford, and an official attendance figure of 8,000 was given, although employees of the club believe that 10,000 would be closer to the truth. The Robins lost their debut meeting 39–45 in a meeting that saw Ginger Nicholls top score for the home side with 11 points on his wedding day. In the process he won the first-ever race, was beaten by an opponent only once, and set the first-ever track record at 82.8 seconds.

2010-2019

Current team performances in Speedway's First Division since 2013[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

Teams no longer participating in the league are not included on the graph. When a team's figure rises from zero, that indicates having moved up to the Premiership after the previous season

Following difficult campaigns in 2010 and 2011, Swindon signed Denmark's Peter Kildemand, former world #5 Hans Andersen and Australian international Troy Batchelor, who rode for the Robins in 2008 and part of the 2009 season. Alun Rossiter also returned as team manager after a 2-year spell with Coventry, with whom he won the Elite League in 2010. In 2012, the Robins won the Elite League title after beating the Poole Pirates 95–89 on aggregate following a 45-year wait for glory.

In 2013, 2014 and 2015, the Robins made the semi-finals of the playoffs, but failed to advance further. At the start of the 2015 season, Swindon Robins No 1 Adrian Miedziński was injured in the first meeting at the Abbey vs Poole Pirates, with Peter Kildemand filling in on a temporary basis before the club signed Australian international Darcy Ward. However, Ward suffered a career-ending accident while riding in Poland, and Kildemand once again stepped in to complete the season.

The 2016 Swindon Robins team was nicknamed Roscos Roo's, because it contained five Australians in addition to the required two British reserves. In 2017, the Robins won the League Championship against Wolverhampton Wolves despite losing the first leg at their home track.

A new stadium was planned to be built for the 2018 season.[11] At the start of the 2019 season, the Abbey Stadium was to be reduced in size to 320 metres from its original 363 metres; the track record holder on the old track size was Leigh Adams, with a time of 63.86 seconds, on 31 August 2009.

Riders

2019 team

Previous seasons
Extended content

2018 team

2018 Team

2017 team

2016 team

2010 team

2009 team

Also Rode:

2008 team

Also Rode:

2007 team

Also rode:

2006 team

Club honours

British League

Champions: 1967

National League

Champions: 1957

National League Division Two

Champions: 1956

Elite League Pairs Championship

Premier League KO Cup

Winners: 2000

Premier League Four-Team Championship

Winners: 2003

British League Division Two Best Pairs

Winners: 1994 (Tony Olsson and Tony Langdon)

Young Shield

Winners: 2000

Midland Cup

Winners: 1967, 1968, 1994

Elite Shield

Winners: 2008, 2018

Elite League

Champions: 2012

SGB Premiership

Champions: 2017, 2019

Individual honours

World Champion

World Under-21 Champion

World Ice Speedway Champion
  • Erik Stenlund (1988)

British Speedway Championship

British League Riders' Championship

British League Division Two Riders Championship

All-time points scorers
RiderTotal PointsAverage
Leigh Adams 6442.5 9.72
Martin Ashby 5476.5 8.61
Phil Crump 4254 9.52
Mike Broadbank 4239 7.84
Bob Kilby 4192 7.95
Jimmy Nilsen 3815 8.41
Barry Briggs 3681 10.71
Ian Williams 3452.5 7.54
Brian Karger 2754 7.60
Neil Street 1802.5 7.45

Notable riders

References
  1. "Result: Thursday October 17", speedwaygb.co.uk, 17 October 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019
  2. Bamford, Robert; Shailes, Glynn (1999). 50 Years of Swindon Speedway. Bamford and Shailes.
  3. Bamford, Robert; Shailes, Glynn (2002). Speedway In The Thames Valley. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0752424084.
  4. Elite League 2013 Table
  5. Elite League 2014 Table
  6. Elite League 2015 Table
  7. Elite League 2016 Table
  8. Premiership 2017 Table
  9. Premiership 2018 Table
  10. Premiership 2019 Table
  11. Bamford, Robert (2005). Swindon Speedway: The Definitive History of the Robins. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0752427482.
  12. Bamford, Robert; Shailes, Glynn (2003). 50 Greats: Swindon Speedway. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 0752427482.
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