| Workington Comets | |||||||||||||||||
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| Club information | |||||||||||||||||
| Track address | GT Tyres Arena Northside Speedway Workington Cumbria | ||||||||||||||||
| Country | England | ||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1970, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
| Closed | 2018 | ||||||||||||||||
| Promoter | Andrew Bain/Steve Lawson | ||||||||||||||||
| Team manager | James Denham | ||||||||||||||||
| Team captain | Troy Batchelor | ||||||||||||||||
| League | SGB Championship | ||||||||||||||||
| Website | Official Website | ||||||||||||||||
| Club facts | |||||||||||||||||
| Colours | Blue and White | ||||||||||||||||
| Track size | 302 metres | ||||||||||||||||
| Track record time | 55.6 | ||||||||||||||||
| Track record date | 20 April 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
| Track record holder | Craig Cook | ||||||||||||||||
| Current team | |||||||||||||||||
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TheWorkington Comets are a Britishmotorcycle speedway club, based inWorkington,Cumbria based at theNorthside Speedway track (known as the GT Tyres Arena for sponsorship purposes). The team previously operated from 1970 to 2018 and were based atDerwent Park Stadium.[1] They re-opened in 2022, competing during the2023 National Development League speedway season.[2][3]
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Speedway began in Workington after a successful application was made by the promotion team for a licence to race at Derwent Park for the 1970 season.[4] The promoters wereIan Thomas and Jeff Brownhut and the rugby pitch required moving 25 yards sideways to accommodate the speedway track.[5]
The team's inaugural league season was the1970 British League Division Two season and the opening fixture was held on 3 April againstBerwick Bandits in a Border Trophy match.[6] The team finished the season in 11th place.[7]
The 1973 season resulted in the team finishing runner-up toBoston Barracudas, a season which saw number 1 riderLou Sansom top the league averages with an average of 10.56.[8] After a third place finish in 1976, the Comets struggled near the foot of the table from 1977 to 1979.[9]
The new decade resulted in even worse results, the Comets lost 36 of their 38 matches in 1980 and only fared a little better in 1981. This led to the teams' withdrawal from the league just before the start of the 1982 season.[10]
Speedway returned to Derwent Park in 1987, whenGlasgow Tigers arrived to race, while searching for a new home.[11] However the team changed its name toWorkington Tigers soon afterwards but held their last fixture against Stoke on 31 July. The team's results were expunged.[12] It was the last season of speedway at Workington for twelve years.
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The Comets returned in 1999, when Ian Thomas, together with Tony Mole brought back the team to race in thePremier League (division 2). They also made a star signing by recruitingCarl Stonehewer,[13] who withBrent Werner won thePremier League Pairs Championship.[14][15]
Stonehewer was not only Workington's top rider but was the stand out rider in the Premier League, winning the Riders' Championship in 2000 and 2001, the pairs in 2000, 2001 and 2003 and thePremier League Four-Team Championship in 2001 and 2004.James Wright replaced Stonehewer in 2006 but continued to help Workington win trophies by leading the team to the fours title again. Wright then won the Riders' Championship in 2007. The following season in 2008, the Comets won theYoung Shield, pairs and fours and in 2009, there were Young Shield and fours successes.[16] The return of speedway in Workington had provided a golden era.
Off the track and at the end of the 2007 season, the club had been sold by promoter Tony Mole to businessman Keith Denham.[17][18]
Despite several team changes taking place in 2010, the Comets won a third consecutive Young Shield and two seasons later in 2012 won the pairs, courtesy ofAdam Roynon andRené Bach.[19][20]Craig Cook topped the league averages in 2017.
In October 2018, the Comets won theSGB Championship for the first time in their history.[21] In the same month, the Comets completed a treble withKnockout Cup and Championship Shield victories.[22] Despite such a successful season, it was announced in January 2019 that the Comets were withdrawing from the SGB Championship for financial reasons.[23][24]
In 2021, the return of speedway to Workington was announced, with the previous Northside training track in the town being redeveloped for league racing. The team, under the control of local businessman Andrew Bain, were set to enter the 2022National League but a series of vandalism incidents at the circuit pushed this back a year.[25] Having received permission to use the 'Comets' nickname, the club returned to action for the2023 National Development League speedway season.[3] Following their successful return in 2023, they announced that for the 2024 season they would move up a division and duly competed in theSGB Championship.[26]
SGB Championship
SGB Championship Knockout Cup
SGB Championship Shield
Young Shield
Premier League Four-Team Championship
Winners: 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009
Premier League Riders Championship
Premier League Pairs Championship
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