NORA Level Racing For A Re-opened Mildenhall Speedway
The next move to get Speedway racing back at the refurbished Mildenhall Stadium is to be put before the members of the newly constituted Mildenhall Speedway Supporters Trust - and will see the club in its 50th. anniversary year going down the route of NORA sanctioned racing.
Joint co-coordinator speaking on behalf of the Steering Committee, Kieran Philips explains.
"Following weeks of communication between the Trust and the Speedway Control Bureau, our last two emails presenting our revised plans for a foam-style safety fence used in conjunction with the existing air barrier were unfortunately met with silence. As such, we have had to make a decision regarding the Fen Tigers at Mildenhall Stadium. This decision, which we'll be asking Trust members to ratify, is that we will bring Speedway racing back to West Row under the NORA insurance banner. "
NORA stands for ‘National Off-road Racing Association’ and have been involved in recent years in sanctioning Speedway racing at the Isle of Wight track and at the home of the Kent Kings in Iwade – where Phillips’ fellow co-coordinator, looking to bring racing back to West Row after a year’s absence, Steve Ribbons was the driving force.
Using the model used with considerable success at Iwade last term Phillips and Ribbons propose, once given the go-ahead, to stage as many meetings as possible with the dates already agreed with the Stadium owners for 2025 - possible fixtures being mooted at this stage could involve visiting sides from Rye House Rockets, Isle of Wight Warriors, Cradley Heathens, Kent Kings and individual and representative meetings.
Ribbons explained,
"While the NORA regulations are not like the SCB in regards to the track being licensed, we will still have to make provisions to pass this as NORA will conduct a track inspection the same way the SCB do.
“The SCB were concerned about the chances of the Mildenhall air fence lifting upon a rider hitting it. Consequently, they insisted on a foam fence. We have offered solutions to this one, by filling our air fence with foam blocks; then, hey presto the air fence becomes a foam fence. We also offered to put the foam blocks behind the existing air fence so a rider would have to go through both the air fence and the foam fence before impacting the stock car barrier. We also explained that the Mildenhall air fence is secured both top and more importantly at the bottom, so the chances of it ‘lifting’ are minimal.
"I will not have a rider seriously injured on my conscience, but Speedway is an inherently dangerous sport and if you take away all the possible danger no Speedway race would ever come to the tapes! We will do as much as we can to offer riders a safe circuit to race on”.
Read more: NORA Level Racing For A Re-opened Mildenhall Speedway
Shareholders To Meet To Decide On Next Steps...
The recently-constituted Mildenhall Speedway Supporters Community Interest Company [CIC] is to hold a meeting of all Trust members to hear details of the progress of moves to get the track at West Row ready for the return of Speedway.
Commenting on the latest position regarding meeting the Speedway Control Bureau's [SCB] requirements following the recent track inspection, joint co-ordinator Kieran Phillips said,
"We have been in touch with a lot of companies who we thought may be able to help us with a solution to our fencing issues and have received numerous quotes; and we now believe that we have been able to find a solution that we are happy with from a safety and financial point of view.
"Our plan now is to call a meeting with paid CIC members to explain how we hope to fund this venture, and the implications moving forward. We will take a vote on all aspects discussed, and should we get a 'yes', we will move to the next stages and begin discussions with the SCB and look at funding options."
Phillips went on,
"Our intention is to have a meeting with the SCB track inspector to lay out how we plan to operate on a meeting night and to see if our proposed safety measures comply - this will of course include inspection of the samples of the new fencing we have. Should the Control Bureau give us the go-ahead, this will enable us to gain the track licence."