Speedway Motorsports

A FORMER iconic UK stadium fell into disrepair before eventually being demolished.It was once one of the main sites in British motorsport and greyhound racing for 94 years.
This iconic stadium fell into disrepairCredit: YouTube/The Urban Collective
The rail was left broken and fell apartCredit: YouTube
The racetrack made a miserable demiseCredit: YouTube
The former stands overgrew with weedsCredit: YouTube/The Urban Collective
Speedway was a regular fixture at the Manchester arena from 1988 through to 2015.
But by 2020, the venue had been totally abandoned in a sad demise for the area.
And images of the derelict ground reveal how much of a state it was in before the work to destroy it got underway in May 2021.
The track was overgrown with weeds while the rail had fallen apart and broken up.
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Further footage showed the abandoned hospitality suites, empty bars, wrecked rooms and damaged ceilings stuck in time since the doors closed for the final time to the public in 2020.
Elsewhere, the betting boards started to crumble and the control room looks like something from an apocalypse movie.
The famous ground is Belle Vue Stadium – home of the Belle Vue Aces speedway team until they moved to their purpose-built national stadium in 2016.
For nearly a century, though, it was one of the key stadiums for greyhound racing.
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It staged the first race around an oval track in Britain way back in 1926.
However, when the National Asset Management Agency sold Belle Vue Stadium to Crown Oil Pension Fund in 2014 for £2.6million, a 15-year, £249,000-per-year lease back was agreed.
But the tenancy included a clause which enabled the rent to be terminated early.
And in December 2019 planning permission was granted for a new housing estate to be built on the plot.
That prompted Belle Vue’s closure during the Covid pandemic before the bulldozers arrived the following year.
The abandoned ground looked totally wreckedCredit: YouTube/The Urban Collective
It closed its doors to the public in 2020Credit: YouTube/The Urban Collective
Bellue Vue Stadium was once a key home for greyhound racingCredit: Alamy
It was the home of the Belle Vue AcesCredit: Alamy
The stadium was located in South-East ManchesterCredit: Alamy More

THE world’s sexiest racing driver is a huge fan of Sir Lewis Hamilton.Lindsay Brewer competes in the USF Pro 2000 having discovered her love for motorsport aged 11 at a go-karting birthday party.
Lindsay Brewer is known as the world’s sexiest racing driverCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
She competes in the USF Pro 2000Credit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
She has built a 2.1million following on InstagramCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
Lindsay loves wowing her followers with bikini snapsCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
Lindsay is a big Lewis Hamilton fan and described the F1 star as a role modelCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
The driver is 19th out of 20 in the USF Pro 2000 overall standingsCredit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
The 25-year-old discovered her love for motorsport at a birthday party aged 11Credit: Instagram / @lindsaymariebrewer
And she is a driver of many talents, having built up a huge online following as well as completing a degree in business.
Brewer, 25, boasts 2.1million followers on Instagram alone, thanks in part to her penchant for posing in bikinis.
She often shares snaps from her adventures on the track and keeps fans updated on her races – over the weekend she competed at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.
She finished 18th, continuing her disappointing start to the season with the Colorado-based driver 19th out of 20 in the overall standings.
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Despite that Brewer has amassed a huge social media following, something she admits is a “doubled-edged sword”.
In an interview with Racers Behind The Helmet she said: “I enjoy trying to showcase to people out there that pushing the boundaries is possible, and having a following does help get the message out there, especially in racing.

“I have a following across all the platforms I’m on, somewhere in the 3.5M range, and I try my best to use it to bring positivity and inspiration to the people who care to follow what I’m up to.
“The other edge of it, is obviously the negative connotations that are assigned to someone whom is still trying to produce results and whom has a following.
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“However, to those whom question my motives, if you’re a true motorsports fan I hope all those who are out there will understand that I’m passionate about this sport as a pro athlete, and I hope that my following will only encourage more people to be passionate about this sport as well.”
Brewer also spoke about her idols within motorsport, unsurprisingly pointing to Hamilton given his success in F1.
Asked who her role models are, Brewer said: “I would say Lewis Hamilton and the Andrettis.
“Nowadays I still am a big fan of Lewis, and of people like Romain Grosjean who made the move to Indycar and is doing a fantastic job of helping market the series and build the viewer base.
“I’ve grown up driving alongside a bit of the Indycar and F1 paddock, and it’s great to see people I’ve karted with who have gotten to where they are now.” More

COURAGEOUS Lee Complin once died FOUR TIMES and now feels he is reborn again as a speedway rider.The gritty Yorkshireman, 38, admits that he is lucky to still be alive after a horrific car crash in May 2008.
Lee Complin nearly died after a horror car crashCredit: Taylor Lanning
Lee Complin (left)in action for Peterborough PanthersCredit: Alamy
Complin flipped and rolled his Subaru Impreza on the A629 near Cullingworth, Bradford.
Medics arrived at the scene and pronounced him dead — but he was resuscitated and rushed into an ambulance.
He died three more times on the way to hospital and was saved each time.
After a month on a life support machine, he somehow walked out of hospital.
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Nearly 15 years later, he has made a remarkable fightback to fitness and starts a new speedway season for Glasgow and Mildenhall over the next fortnight.
On the crash, Complin revealed: “I was in my Subaru Impreza in bad weather and can’t remember a thing. I must have hit a kerb, flipped and rolled.
“I was pronounced dead at the scene, I’d snapped my neck clean in half.
“They resuscitated me and then I died three times again on the way to the hospital in the ambulance.
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“The doctors got my parents in to say goodbye to me.
“I was on a life support machine and in intensive care for a month. I wasn’t getting better.
“I wasn’t breathing for myself and every time they turned the machine off, I was going to die again.
“They gave my parents an ultimatum to either keep my machine on or turn it off.
“My mum was like, ‘No, you’re not turning it off’. My dad was, ‘Just turn it off’, as I wasn’t going to be able to function, walk, talk or eat even if I survived.
“They had to drill through my skull three times to take the pressure off my brain.
“But I made it through the night and, two weeks later, I had managed to become stable.
“They cleared an infection on my chest, I started breathing for myself and eventually I came round. They said it wasn’t possible.
“I was told I’d have to stay in hospital for a year and I had to rebuild myself.
“But just a month later, I returned back home on the train. I walked out of the intensive care unit and the doctors and nurses couldn’t believe it — they said it was a miracle.
“Doctors said the only reason I survived, defying all science, was because I was so fit.
“I didn’t drink or smoke and my neck was that muscly that when it snapped, my shoulders stopped it moving.
“Nothing scares me now because I believe everything happens for a reason. If I want something I’m going to do it as I shouldn’t really be here.”
Complin says some of his determination comes from  his anger at being picked on at school and how that made him eventually turn to building up his body.
He added: “I don’t like bullying but I was bullied at school and it wasn’t nice. Maybe it was because I was small at school and there were hard lads.
“There were like the rugby lads or football lads. I was football and  because I didn’t play rugby, I was called a pansy. We had this banter and then it got a bit tense.
“These rugby players were having a go and one time I just said, ‘Go on then’, and took them on.
“Obviously I lost because there were four of them. But then I did training for about five or six months, went back to school and they were doing it again to me.
“So again I told them, ‘Come on then’, and I did all four of them.”
Complin now knows he has one last chance at speedway after missing over a decade — and he clearly wants to make it work.
He added: “I had 11 years out from 2011 to 2022. I quit because I had family issues with my ex-partner. We had a child and it was difficult financially.
“The bodybuilding came after I had to finish speedway in 2011.
“I needed something to keep me busy and focused and I  started winning competitions.
“It’s about dedication and you have to bulk up to 16 stone and then you go into competitions at 11 or 12 stone.
“I had to eat 7,500 calories a day and in one sitting I’d have eight fried eggs and brown bread. I had to eat until I could not eat anymore.
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“But now I’m over the moon to be back racing and those 11 years out was the time I needed to find my path.
“I’m covered in tattoos and got one on my back after my car crash. It says, ‘What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger’.”
Lee Complin fought back from near death to race againCredit: Taylor Lanning
Complin’s car was wrecked, but thankfully he survivedCredit: Supplied More

TRIBUTES are pouring in for superbike rider Chrissy Rouse, who has died aged 26, just days after his horror crash at Donington Speedway.Rouse was taken to hospital after crashing on the final corner and being struck by an oncoming rider.
Rouse passed away aged 26 after a horror crashCredit: Twitter
The crash happened at the Donnington Park Circuit in LeicestershireCredit: Rex
He was competing in the third race in Sunday’s penultimate round.
Rouse underwent an emergency neurosurgery procedure late on Sunday night, but a statement has now confirmed the Crowe Performance rider has passed.
Tributes have poured in for the Newcastle-born fan favourite.
Rouse’s former college have hailed him as a “person of excellence”.
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Emmanuel College said on Twitter: “We are very deeply saddened by the death of former student, staff member and friend, Chrissy Rouse.
“Someone who exemplified the spirit of Emmanuel College.
“A person of excellence who lived with humility and demonstrated remarkable love for others.”
A racing fan said: “There really are no words.
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“The world has lost a true gent, a top podcaster, British champion and all round nice guy. RIP Chrissy Rouse, you will be sorely missed.”
A statement from the British Superbike Championship read: “Following an accident during Bennetts British Superbike Championship race three at Donington Park (on Sunday 2 October 2022), competitor Chrissy Rouse crashed heavily on the opening lap of the race and was unavoidably struck by an immediately following rider.
“He sustained a significant head injury.
“The race was stopped and he was treated immediately trackside by the BSB Medical Team before being transferred to the circuit medical centre.
“He was stabilised and put in a medically induced coma at the medical centre before being transferred to Queens Medical Centre/University Hospital, Nottingham for further assessment and treatment.
“He underwent an emergency neurosurgical procedure shortly after admission.
“It is with great regret that we have to announce that Chrissy Rouse aged 26, from Newcastle upon Tyne, has succumbed to his injuries, and passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family in hospital earlier this afternoon.”
The Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board has vowed to investigate how the incident occurred.
The statement continued: “On behalf of Chrissy’s family they wish to convey their deep appreciation for the support and well wishes that they have received in recent days.
“As well they wish to thank all the attending marshals and medical services who provided such skill and care attending to Chrissy.
“The family also ask for privacy at this difficult time as they attempt to deal with their devastating loss.
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“MSVR is now working with the Coroner, Police and the Motorcycle Circuit Racing Control Board in order to investigate the full circumstances of this tragic accident.
“Our deepest condolences are extended to Chrissy’s family, friends and team members.” More