Summary
The Rye House Rockets were a speedway team based at Rye House Stadium, Hoddesdon, England. They competed in various British speedway leagues from 1954 to 2018.[2]
| Rye House Rockets | |||||||||||||
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| Club information | |||||||||||||
| Track address | Rye House Stadium Rye Road Hoddesdon Hertfordshire EN11 0EH | ||||||||||||
| Country | England | ||||||||||||
| Founded | 1934 | ||||||||||||
| Closed | 2018[1] | ||||||||||||
| Club facts | |||||||||||||
| Colours | Black, Chrome and Orange | ||||||||||||
| Track size | 262 metres (287 yd) | ||||||||||||
| Track record time | 54.7 seconds | ||||||||||||
| Track record date | 1 August 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Track record holder | Robert Lambert | ||||||||||||
| Major team honours | |||||||||||||
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History edit
Rye House began life in 1934 hosting open meetings. Whilst at Hackney in 1937, Dicky Case took over the sixty acre estate of Rye House and set up a training school at Rye House Stadium, operating under the name of the Hackney Motor Club.[3] The school operated until 1938 when Rye House entered the Sunday Dirt-track League.[4][5][6]
Their first season competing in a league was in 1954 when as the Rye House Roosters they finished third in the 1954 Southern Area League.[7] The team then won two league titles; the 1955 Southern Area League and the 1956 Southern Area League.[8]
The team competed in the 2nd division of speedway for 20 years, from 1974 to 1993, with their best successes being the 1980 league champions and 1979 Knockout Cup winners.[9][10]
In 1999, the team returned to league action in the Conference League (the 3rd division) but they soon moved up to division 2 and formed a junior side to compete in the Conference League. The team's last major honours were winning the league during the 2005 Premier League speedway season and repeating the feat two years later in 2007, after winning the playoffs.
In September 2018, the Lakeside Hammers, a speedway team in the SGB Championship, moved to the Rye House Stadium.[11] The Rye House Rockets had “been annulled by the Speedway Control Bureau” earlier that year.[12]
In December 2020, the Rye House stadium was demolished.[13]
Junior teams edit
Rye House ran a junior side called the Rye House Raiders and later the Rye House Cobras. The team competed in the Conference League and then the National League.[14] The Raiders won the Conference League Four-Team Championship in 2003.[15]
Riders edit
Rider of the year edit
- 2017:
Scott Nicholls[16] - 2016: Stuart Robson[17]
- 2015: Edward Kennett[18]
- 2014: Edward Kennett[19]
- 2013:
Tyson Nelson[20] - 2012: Jason Garrity
- 2011: Chris Neath
- 2010:
Linus Sundstrom - 2009: Luke Bowen
- 2008: Luke Bowen
- 2007: Tai Woffinden
- 2006: Steve Boxall
- 2005: Stuart Robson
- 2004: Tommy Allen
- 2003: Scott Robson
- 2002: David Mason
Notable riders edit
Season summary edit
Junior riders edit
Extended content
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2009 team
2008 team
2007 team
2006 team
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References edit
- ^ "Statement:Rye House Speedway". speedwaygb.co. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
- ^ Bamford, Robert (1 March 2007). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2007. NPI Media Group. ISBN 0-7524-4250-3.
- ^ Jacobs, N. (2003) Speedway in the South-East, Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-2725-3
- ^ Jacobs, Norman (2007). 70 Years of Rye House Speedway. Stroud: Tempus Publishing ISBN 978-0-7524-4162-7
- ^ "Cinder Star Plans". Daily Mirror. 14 September 1937. Retrieved 23 January 2022 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Jacobs, N. (2003) Speedway in the South-East, Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-7524-2725-3
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - POST-WAR ERA (1946-1964)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 129. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "British League Tables - British League Era (1965-1990)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
- ^ "LAKESIDE CLUB STATEMENT - British Speedway Official Website". www.speedwaygb.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "STATEMENT: RYE HOUSE SPEEDWAY - British Speedway Official Website". www.speedwaygb.co.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2019.
- ^ "Speedway fans devastated by 'huge loss' as iconic Hoddesdon Rye House track is ripped up". Hertforshire Mercury. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ Jacobs, Norman (2007). 70 Years of Rye House Speedway. ISBN 978-0-7524-4162-7
- ^ Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.
- ^ "Rye House Speedway Official Website: SCOTT IS MR ROCKET!". ryehouserockets.co. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "KENNETT SKIPPERS ROCKETS". Speedway World Championships. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
- ^ "Rye House Speedway Official Website: MASTERS AND BRANFORD WIN ACES!". ryehouserockets.co. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
- ^ "Kennett and Garrity set to stay at Rye House Rockets next season Archived 29 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine", Hertfordshire Mercury, 10 November 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2014
- ^ "Tyson Nelson named Rye House Rockets rider of year", Harlow Star, 6 October 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2014
