Reading Racers
| Reading Racers | |||||||||||
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| Club information | |||||||||||
| Track address |
Smallmead Stadium Reading |
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| Country | England | ||||||||||
| Founded | 1968 | ||||||||||
| Closed | 2008 | ||||||||||
| Website | www |
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| Club facts | |||||||||||
| Colours | Blue and White | ||||||||||
| Track size | 307 metres (336 yd) | ||||||||||
| Track record time | 58.1 seconds | ||||||||||
| Track record date | 12 October 1987 | ||||||||||
| Track record holder | Per Jonsson | ||||||||||
| Major team honours | |||||||||||
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Reading Racers (known as the Reading Bulldogs for 2006 and part of 2007 season) were a British motorcycle speedway team. Formed in 1968, they won four British League titles during their history. The club closed in October 2008 after the lease on Smallmead Stadium was sold and the site was demolished.
The club was formed in 1968 and were originally based at the Tilehurst Stadium until it was closed in 1973. Smallmead Stadium was constructed during 1974 near the site of a refuse tip close to Junction 11 of the M4 motorway. The Racers returned for the 1975 season, a crowd of 9,264 witnessed the opening meeting against Hull and Reading won the match by 18 points. The club finished 6th that campaign and had an average crowd of almost 6,500 every meeting. Between 1976 and 1979 the crowd figures remained high, despite a poor 1978 when the club finished 14th out 19 teams.
The club enjoyed a successful 1980 season, winning the British League title and attracting crowds of over 7,000 on a regular basis. The club made headline news with a £40,000 insurance bond payment for winning the league title, which gained much media interest. However, behind the scenes unrest in the management structure saw major changes at the end of the season with Bill Dore taking control of the club with local businessman Frankie Higley. Dore's daughter Pat Bliss became more involved in the running of the speedway and Dore's son Martyn was tasked with the maintenance of the track and stadium.
Despite tracking very competitive looking teams in the mid-1980s the club never achieved the dizzy heights of the start of the decade, until 1990 when the appointment of loyal fan Tim Sugar as the team manager saw the club win the league title in both 1990 and 1992, with top rider Per Jonsson also crowned world speedway champion in 1990. However, Jonsson suffered terrible injuries in a crash in Poland in 1994, and this had an adverse effect on the club and its fortunes.
1995 and 1996 were poor seasons for the club, as crowds dropped and media interest waned. The 1997 season saw the club stay in the Premier League, which became the second tier after the Elite League was formed; This bought some much needed success for the club as they were crowned league champions that year, with Dave Mullett (who had been part of the championship winning teams in 1990 and 1992) proving to be the best rider in the league, subsequently won the league cup in 1998. The period 1999 to 2003 were lean years for the club, which had seen veteran promoter Chris Shears and his son Ivan become part of the promotional set up.
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