www.Speedway-SA.com
sister site "Speedway Champions .com" is now located at
www.speedwaychampions.yolasite.com
- WALKERVILLE
The track at Walkerville, 20 miles to the south of Johannesburg, was constructed in 1999, primarily by Rhodesian-born Gerald Richter, aided by local enthusiasts. The one-time MSA steward and Speedway Controller turned Promoter had served time with Buddy Fuller's organisation after moving to South Africa in '72. In '99 he set about transforming the derelict Walkerville Showground site for competitive speedway racing for the riders and followers in the wider Jo'burg area. Below can be seen the far-from impressive 'entrance gate' in those early days of the 'Walkerville Showground', - and action from one of the very first meetings.
In each year of the early '00s rounds of the official National Championship were staged at the Showground. When Richter left for the UK in 2002 the NSA (National Speedway Association) took over the running of the Walkerville track, later morphing into the SSRC in 2004 when they broke away from MSA (Motorsport South Africa, the national governing body affiliated to FIM/FIA,) and set up at Wild Things Raceway, between Glenvista and Alberton.
Walkerville remained silent for a few years until 2006 when the SSRC returned to make the Showground their home. At this point it became the only and the last African track staging regular monthly solo and sidecar speedway race meetings, including rounds of the club's National Championship. With a change of organiser from family Bekker to family Pettit in 2011, the club was again re-badged (to WSRC, - as Flat Tracks increased it later became the WORC under family Devine,) and continued with a monthly programme of bike plus quad racing, including categories for Peewee and Flat Track as well as U21 and senior speedway classes. As the decade progressed and rider numbers reduced with retirements, etc, the Regional and SA National championships were discontinued for want of participants and the programme was substituted with more Quads and Flat Track events, which by 2018 had become the main but nonetheless diminishing racing class at the Showground oval.
- THE END OF SPEEDWAY IN SOUTH AFRICA
In this final season the Club continued to struggle to engage speedway entries, and even numbers for Flat Track, Quad and Sidecar classes diminished. Only 7 club meetings (plus 2 non-speedway events,) were staged in 2018, the few solo speedway heats being little more than demonstration rides, - the last vestiges of speedway in South Africa. No other organization, club or track, stages regular speedway racing: the last days of 2018 were to be the end of competitive solo dirt track speedway racing in South Africa.
The track at Walkerville, 20 miles to the south of Johannesburg, was constructed in 1999, primarily by Rhodesian-born Gerald Richter, aided by local enthusiasts. The one-time MSA steward and Speedway Controller turned Promoter had served time with Buddy Fuller's organisation after moving to South Africa in '72. In '99 he set about transforming the derelict Walkerville Showground site for competitive speedway racing for the riders and followers in the wider Jo'burg area. Below can be seen the far-from impressive 'entrance gate' in those early days of the 'Walkerville Showground', - and action from one of the very first meetings.
In each year of the early '00s rounds of the official National Championship were staged at the Showground. When Richter left for the UK in 2002 the NSA (National Speedway Association) took over the running of the Walkerville track, later morphing into the SSRC in 2004 when they broke away from MSA (Motorsport South Africa, the national governing body affiliated to FIM/FIA,) and set up at Wild Things Raceway, between Glenvista and Alberton.
Walkerville remained silent for a few years until 2006 when the SSRC returned to make the Showground their home. At this point it became the only and the last African track staging regular monthly solo and sidecar speedway race meetings, including rounds of the club's National Championship. With a change of organiser from family Bekker to family Pettit in 2011, the club was again re-badged (to WSRC, - as Flat Tracks increased it later became the WORC under family Devine,) and continued with a monthly programme of bike plus quad racing, including categories for Peewee and Flat Track as well as U21 and senior speedway classes. As the decade progressed and rider numbers reduced with retirements, etc, the Regional and SA National championships were discontinued for want of participants and the programme was substituted with more Quads and Flat Track events, which by 2018 had become the main but nonetheless diminishing racing class at the Showground oval.
- THE END OF SPEEDWAY IN SOUTH AFRICA
In this final season the Club continued to struggle to engage speedway entries, and even numbers for Flat Track, Quad and Sidecar classes diminished. Only 7 club meetings (plus 2 non-speedway events,) were staged in 2018, the few solo speedway heats being little more than demonstration rides, - the last vestiges of speedway in South Africa. No other organization, club or track, stages regular speedway racing: the last days of 2018 were to be the end of competitive solo dirt track speedway racing in South Africa.
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COLLAGES
Click year to view each of the following 4 collages of riders and of team line-ups full size,
- 2010 to date -1970 to '00s -1946 to '60 - Sidecars 2000>, (scroll down.) -Teams
COLLAGES
Click year to view each of the following 4 collages of riders and of team line-ups full size,
- 2010 to date -1970 to '00s -1946 to '60 - Sidecars 2000>, (scroll down.) -Teams
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sister site "Speedway Champions .com" is now located at
