Exeter Falcons took flight in speedway's heyday

Speedway in Devon is under threat and could disappear. Fifteen heats of four laps, each race lasting less than a minute with two riders from two teams racing off against each other in the quest for points on bikes with no brakes, reaching speeds of up to 60mph. What is there not to like?

But if things carry on the way they are, then the riproaring action that has captivated many for generations could be a thing of the past. The Plymouth Gladiators are now the only speedway club in the South West following the closure of clubs like Trelawny Tigers and Somerset Rebels - and of course - the famous Exeter Falcons.

Plymouth Gladiators promoter Mark Phillips says it is his intention to run the club again in 2024, despite a challenging summer on and off the track at the Coliseum. But for that to happen, help is needed. If Plymouth are to run in 2024, then there will be a change on the regular race nights as well with Phillips keen to run on Saturdays. That would clash with Speedway’s flagship event – the FIM Speedway Grand Prix series – but to avoid a clash with those meetings, Phillips says the Gladiators would switch back to Tuesday nights.

Read More - Speedway in Devon under threat with Plymouth Gladiators facing uncertain future

However, the immediate need is for Plymouth Speedway is to find someone commercially savvy that can help bring revenue to the club in order to make it sustainable and cover the costs for 2024 and beyond. The alternative would be the Gladiators joining Wolverhampton and Peterborough, who have already said that they will not be riding in 2024, and become another footnote of the past with nostalgic memories - just like the Exeter Falcons sadly have become.

From 1947 to 2005 there was a place in Exeter where you could watch the Falcons fly. The County Ground Stadium was a unique arena of a bravery and dirt which was home to the city's speedway team.

With brakeless abandon the riders threw their machines around the track, striking elegant and contorted poses as they slid around the bend, always on the point of glory or disaster. The oval even had its own smell - hot dogs and onions, and the sweet tang of speedway bike exhaust fumes. It was also, as befits a nimble bird of prey, the fastest speedway track in the UK.

Riders like Neil Street in the 1950s, triple World Champion Ivan Mauger in the 1970s, and Mark Loram in the 90s thrilled crowds. Monday was the night to see the Falcons fly, as the TV adverts used to say, Tapes up at 7.30. Don’t be late.

The thrill and the noise was intoxicating. It has been said that in those heady days speedway was a shared experience of the working man, the epitome of blue-collar British sport.

The sport boomed in its early days reaching a peak in the 70s and early 80s. Teams such as Manchester's Belle Vue could attract crowds of 25,000 and in 1976 the Falcons were one of 37 teams in two leagues.

Up to six riders would power flat out and anti-clockwise around the track, reaching speeds of up to 70 miles an hour on the straight. The machines themselves were low-saddled and always seemed on the point of racing away on their own. Once the clutch was released it was simply a question of who held on to their seething steeds the longest and got around the track first.

The Falcons roll of honour included cup and league triumphs in in every decade from the 1940s to 2004. They were British League winners in 1974 and Premier League winners in 2000. The County Ground track was unique in that it had a solid sheet metal safety fence, the dynamics of which, combined with the wind, made it unpopular with some riders.

But the heady days for the sport could not last forever. Exeter's Falcons have been grounded since 2005 when the rugby club sold the stadium and moved to the newly built Sandy Park. While they embarked upon a remarkable run of success their old neighbours simply faded away. Attempts to revive the club have so far come to nothing.

In recent decades speedway has found it impossible to compete with bigger more glamorous sports and has failed to arrest a long term decline. But it still has die hard fans who continue to offer support. Maybe one day, when the time is right, those wild machines may return to Exeter once again - but first - they need to ensure they stay in Devon with the Plymouth Gladiators.

Mauger himself rode the final laps as the lights went out for the last time. Then there was the rallying Falcon War Cry, ‘1-3-5-7, hear this roar from Glorious Devon.....’.

Former DevonLive reporter Guy Henderson, writing in 2020, recalled: "Standing down in the front row of the main grandstand, right next to the tapes, was utterly thrilling and terrifying at the same time. At full speed, the monstrous bikes would roar past an arm’s length away, flat out as they curved into the first corner.

"The County Ground was famously quick, with a white solid steel wall all the way round the outside. You can only begin to imagine what it was like to ride at speed, in the dark. It was extraordinary just to watch and listen after sunset, when the match result hung on the result of the final heat and the crowd went bonkers.

"That spot by the tapes was the spot at which the riders were at their very fastest on the very fastest track in the country. I can still hear the noise. We bought programmes and stickers, and clipboards on which to note down the heat and match results.

"Our rally jackets got splattered with cinders when we stood too close to the corners, and we got home way too late on a school night."