COVENTRY BEES

This site is not an official website for the track shown here and is neither approved or endorsed by the speedway team.

SP Dallison.JPG (24606 bytes) Speedway has taken place in at least 3 different venues across Coventry, with the first meeting taking place at Coventry Stadium as early as 1928. That first meeting took place on 21st July on a cinder dirt-track and was to be followed by a further 12 meetings in that first season. The final meeting at the stadium took place on 14th July 1930, although greyhound racing continued to take place at the circuit until 1964.

View an early programme

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Just down the road at the Brandon Stadium speedway and greyhound racing operated, with the first speedway meeting taking place on 29th September 1928. To this day the club plays a prominent role in British speedway.
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The team were Knockout Cup winners in 1967 and other notable successes include Premiership Champions in 1986 and Elite League winners in 2006. Whilst the senior team has always been known as the Bees, the side which took part in the Conference were known as the Cougars.

Greyhound racing has taken place on a number of different tracks within the Coventry area, initially in Lythalls Lane and more recently at Brandon, with the first meeting taking place on 7th Aprl 1928. The most prestigious race of the year is the Eclipse Stakes which was first run in 1938 when it resulted in a dead heat between Demotic Mick (of Grehound Derby fame) and Catherine of Waterhall.

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This section gives a comprehensive picture of the badges produced for the team throughout the ages, but only provides the briefest of glimpses of its history. For those wishing to undertake further research we can recommend a visit to www.coventrymotorspeedway.com

and for those wishing to read more widely we recommend a visit to

http://astore.amazon.co.uk/wwwgreyhoundd-21   especially

Complete History of the British League: Speedway

by Peter Oakes  ISBN-10: 0948882077

To view a complete collection of badges choose the relevant link below:

1928-83    1984-96    1997-2021

The Coventry Bees currently contest the National League. Recent successes include the Elite League Championship in 2005, 2007 and 2010 and the Elite League Pairs in 2008 and 2010.

More detailed information is available from "Homes of British Speedway' by Robert Bamford & John Jarvis

A further great source of information is provided on John Skinners excellent website on Defunct Speedway tracks, with a link given below.
http://www.defunctspeedway.co.uk/Coventry%20(Lythalls%20Lane).htm

For all Speedway enthusiasts, John Somerville's website should always be your first port of call:-https://www.skidmarks1928.com/v/photos/john-somerville-collection
or email johnwslusar@gmail.com for inclusion of your comments and photos of speedway on this website.

1929 1930 1930
1931 1932 1933