The first speedway in Coventry arrived during the inaugural year of UK speedway on 21 July 1928, at the Lythalls Lane Stadium.[2] The racing was organised by Midlands Speedways (a Manchester company) with a series of open and challenge events. In September 1928, rival venue Brandon Stadium began to host events. The first match to feature a Coventry team was an away fixture to Liverpool on 24 October 1928.[3]
After the 1930 season, the team disbanded following financial difficulties experienced by the owners Motordromes Ltd.[5] They did however return mid-way through the 1931 season to replace Leicester Stadium, who were liquidated in late May.[6]
Coventry were founder members of the National League from 1932 to 1933. The team were all set to return to action in 1934,[7] but the Brandon proprietor C. W. East suddenly put the stadium up for sale.[8] Despite challenges matches taking place during 1934 and 1936, league speedway would not return to Coventry for 15 years.
1940s
Coventry was devastated during the war and it was not until 1948 that speedway returned under Coventry Stadium Ltd.[9] Jack Parker became the technical adviser and a team entered the 1948 Speedway National League Division Three.[10] The club also became known as The Bees and Charles Ochiltree became the team manager.[11][12] In 1949 the Bees competed in the second division.[13]
After a second Midland Cup win in 1960,[18] the Bees experienced limited success, even after joining the new revamped British League in 1965. However, finally in 1967 the team won the British League Knockout Cup 1967 and finished runner-up to Swindon Robins in the league. The following season for the 1968 British League, the Bees signed Czech rider Antonín Kasper Sr. to support Nigel Boocock and Ron Mountford and the consistency of other riders such as Col Cottrell, Les Owen and Rick France resulted in the Bees becoming UK champions for first time.[19]
1970s
Mitch Shirra
Ole Olsen
Despite winning a third consecutive Midland Cup in 1971[20] the Bees experienced several poor seasons. In an attempt to bring back success they signed the world champion Ole Olsen in 1976 and the Bees results began to improve. The team won back to back league titles in 1978 and 1979.[21] Olsen was imperious, with Mitch Shirra and Alan Molyneux adding vital support, as did two Danes Alf Busk and 17 year-old Tommy Knudsen.
1980s
Brandon Stadium in 1980
The 1980s saw smaller successes, with League Cup wins in 1981 and 1985 and Midland Cup wins in 1981 and 1982 but the Bees fell short when it came to challenging for the league title.
Charles Ochiltree continued to promote the speedway as he had done way back in the 1950s under Allan Sanderson's company Midland Sports Stadiums. Ochiltree was now Managing Director of the company.[23]
Coventry versus Oxford in 2007Brandon Stadium, 2009
The American pairing of Hancock and Hamill led Coventry into the new millennium and the Bee's results were solid, twice finishing 3rd in 2001 and 2002 before finishing runner-up behind Poole Pirates in 2003. After a terrible 2004 campaign changes were made with Scott Nicholls coming in to support number 1 Andreas Jonsson. The pair were well supported by other new signings Joonas Kylmäkorpi and Sebastian Ułamek, which resulted in the Bees becoming the 2005 champions.
On 28 October 2007, the Bees lifted the Elite League Knockout Cup for the second year running, defeating the Swindon Robins in the final, completing a clean sweep of all three major trophies, having already annexed the Craven Shield by beating Swindon Robins and the Poole Pirates over the three leg final and winning the league title. Scott Nicholls remained with the team from 2005 and was well supported by Chris Harris.[24]
2010s
In 2010, the Bees won the Elite League Championship, defeating the Poole Pirates in both legs of the play-off grand finals.[25] The 2010 triumph was the eighth and last time that Coventry would be crowned champions of Britain.
The 2011 season brought continual problems starting on 24 November 2010, when changes to the rules for rider averages made at the AGM of the BSPA saw the Bees and Peterborough Panthers walk out of the meeting,[26] resulting in the BSPA omitting both teams from the 2011 season for failing to declare their intent to compete.[27][28] However, four months later on 8 April 2011, the BSPA reverted the decision.[29] Later, captain Edward Kennett was banned for six months, after it was deemed his silencer was 'illegal,[30] with Kennett blaming a fellow team member.[31][32] Then on 21 September, the Bees were put up for sale by owner Avtar Sandhu.[33] Businessman Mick Horton and Colin Pratt took over the team.[34]
Five more seasons of Elite League racing ensued including a play off final in 2014 before the racing ceased due to the closure of Brandon Stadium.
Closure
On 26 February 2017 it was announced by the BSPA that the club has had its licence frozen because they were unable to satisfy the BSPA that they could fulfil a full season of league racing. This was primarily due to having an agreement with Leicester Lions to only use their stadium for a handful of fixtures and not having any guarantees of being able to return to Brandon Stadium for the remaining fixtures.[35][36]
The Bees were reformed to compete in the junior 2018 National League speedway season, with home meetings being staged at Leicester.[37] but once again became homeless in 2019 as the Leicester promotion decided to run their own National League junior team. Brandon Stadium today lies derelict with several planning applications having been made for redevelopment. Many club enthusiasts, supported by the local council, have campaigned for the return of speedway and stock car racing to the stadium.[38]
In early 2022, an organisation advocating the return of motorsport to the site, Save Coventry Speedway, proposed to the council that speedway be restored to the stadium, along with a museum and restaurant.[39] In January 2024, Brandon Estates appeal for planning application to redevelop the site was dismissed by the Inspector.[40]
Coventry Storm made their competitive debut in the 2013 National League season.[41] The Bees had previously run a team in the third tier of British speedway in 2004, under the name Coventry Cougars. The initial team line-up was Joe Jacobs, James Sarjeant, Oliver Greenwood, Brendan Johnson, Richard Franklin, Trevor Heath, and Martin Knuckey, but a broken wrist for Greenwood saw Robert Branford replace him, with Tommy Fenwick also replacing Heath.[42]
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