Buxton Hitmen
| Buxton Hitmen | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Club information | |||||||
| Track address | Buxton Raceway Dale Head Lane Axe Edge Buxton Derbyshire | ||||||
| Country | England | ||||||
| Founded | 1994 | ||||||
| Closed | 2018 | ||||||
| League | National League | ||||||
| Website | www | ||||||
| Club facts | |||||||
| Colours | Gold, Red and Black | ||||||
| Track size | 240 metres | ||||||
| Track record time | 52.9 | ||||||
| Track record date | 27 June 2004 | ||||||
| Track record holder | James Wright | ||||||
| Major team honours | |||||||
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The Buxton Hitmen were a motorcycle speedway team in the British National League (formerly the Conference League) from 1994 to 2018. The club stopped racing in the National League after the 2018 speedway season.[1][2][3][4]
History
[edit]Origins & 1990s
[edit]
In 1994, a team called Hi-Edge Hitmen began racing on the Buxton Raceway. Promoted by Barry Watson and former England rider Chris Morton,[5] the team's inaugural season was in the 1994 British League Division Three in which they finished in sixth place.[6][7] The following year they finished third in the 1995 Academy League before joining the Conference League (division 3).
The speedway promotion agreed with the stock car promotion that a separate speedway track could be built adjacent to the main circuit. The team was then renamed the Buxton Hitmen from the 1996 Speedway Conference League season.[8] The first season on the new track in 1996 ended with an eighth-place finish.[9][10]
Two Buxton riders, Mike Hampson[11] and Jon Armstrong won consecutive Riders' Championships in 1996 and 1997 respectively.[12]
2000s
[edit]
During the 2002 Speedway Conference League season the team won their first silverware when winning the Conference League Knockout Cup.[13] They comfortably defeated the Rye House Raiders 99–81 on aggregate in the final, with William Beveridge scoring a 15-point home leg maximum and Aidan Collins scoring 17 in the away leg.[14]
The remainder of the decade was spent in mid-table positions, with the highlight being the Riders' Championship successes by James Wright in 2004[15] Adam Roynon in 2006[16] and Craig Cook in 2009.[17]
2010s
[edit]Their best season was 2010, when they achieved the treble. After finishing second in the regular season table behind Dudley Heathens during the 2010 National League speedway season they won the playoffs, defeating Newport Wasps in the final. They also won the Knockout Cup and National Trophy.[18] The treble winning team included riders such as Craig Cook, Nick Morris, Robert Branford and Jason Garrity.
The Hitmen struggled to compete in the league in the following years, finishing last in 2016 and enduring a disastrous campaign during 2018. After the 2018 season, the speedway club chairman Jayne Moss withdrew the club at the National League AGM, following financial struggles. The speedway team has not raced since.[19] In the 25 years that the team raced they always competed in the third division.
Honours
[edit]- Conference Knockout Cup 2002
- National League Champions 2010
- National League Knockout Cup 2010
- National Trophy 2010
Season summary
[edit]Notable riders
[edit]
Riders previous seasons
[edit]Extended content
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2007 team
2008 team Also rode: 2009 team Also Rode: 2010 team
2018 team
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See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "HITMEN WITHDRAW FROM LEAGUE RACING - British Speedway Official Website". speedwaygb.co.uk. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "Buxton Hitmen Speedway Official Website: HITMEN WITHDRAW FROM LEAGUE RACING". buxton-speedway.com. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "Spiralling costs force Buxton Hitmen to withdraw from league racing". www.buxtonadvertiser.co.uk. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- ^ "Buxton Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Buxton Speedway is under Orders". Manchester Evening News. 13 July 1994. Retrieved 27 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "1994 season" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "BRITISH LEAGUE TABLES - MODERN ERA (1991-PRESENT)". Official British Speedway website. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Buxton Speedway". Defunct Speedway. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Buxton". Speedway Plus. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Speedway". Nottingham Evening Post. 16 September 1995. Retrieved 27 February 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Half a team". Cambridge Daily News. 9 September 1996. Retrieved 28 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Lee Nightmare". Nottingham Evening Post. 8 September 1997. Retrieved 22 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.
- ^ "Rye House 2002" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
- ^ "Ulrich Ostergaard is back!". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Adam Roynon joins The SWTR Centurions". Plymouth Speedway. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "Monarchs sign Craig Cook". Edinburgh Speedway. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Hitmen withdraw from league racing". Buxton Speedway. Retrieved 27 February 2024.