BRITISH SPEEDWAY JANUARY 23, 2026
(SPEEDWAY 1)
FRASER’S RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK
POOLE newcomer Fraser Bowes faces a race against time to be fit for the new UK season after an unfortunate run of incidents in Australia.
Bowes, who has joined the defending Cab Direct Championship holders in a move from Workington, missed his national title series due to a crash just before it got underway.
Then he came to grief last weekend in Mildura, suffering a broken scapula which is currently being assessed.
Bowes said: “At the moment I’m in a waiting period to determine whether surgery is needed. We’ll know more in about a week once we can see if the bone has moved or dropped.
“It’s obviously very frustrating to have a break this close to the season, but we’re doing absolutely everything possible to get me ready for the first match in April.”
(SPEEDWAY 2)
OXFORD will defend the National Development League title with five of the seven riders who took the Chargers to the top in 2025.
Captain Jody Scott, Darryl Ritchings, Senna Summers, Ashton Vale and Max Broadhurst will all be back at Cowley this year.
Newcomers for the Chargers are Mason Watson and Hary Fletcher, who join from Belle Vue, with Jacob Clouting and Arran Butcher missing out from last season.
Manager Peter Schroeck said: “It is really hard when you had such a great bunch of guys; however, the sport is a numbers game which made changes unavoidable.
“We have a great couple of new recruits joining us this year and I am confident we will be challenging for the title again.”
(SPEEDWAY 3)
BUXTON have named double NDL title winner Jack Smith as their captain for the return of the sport to Hi-Edge in 2026.
Smith enjoyed success with Birmingham in 2016 and followed up with Belle Vue the following year, spending five seasons with the Colts in various spells.
He also has a team place in the Cab Direct Championship with Berwick once again this year.
Smith said: “When I heard Buxton was coming back, I was interested in being part of it. I don’t live far away from there, so despite being at Berwick on a Saturday night, home travel on a Sunday is not too bad.
“It’s an honour to be asked to captain the DUCTAIR Bulls, and I am sure we will put together a good side to challenge for honours.”
(SPEEDWAY 4)
THE existing five teams in the Northern Junior League have all confirmed they will compete once again in 2026.
Ashfield (Glasgow), Berwick, Redcar, West Lothian (Edinburgh) and Workington will all be involved in the competition, which takes place in second halves after senior meetings.
The NJL title went down to the very last fixture in 2025 where Berwick just pipped West Lothian on points difference, with Berwick on +41 and West Lothian on +37 after both teams finished on 11 league points at the top of the table.
The format is the same again for 2026 with four riders in each team – two of those riding 500cc motorcycles, with two Youth riders on 125cc machines.
SCB Co-Ordinator Neil Vatcher said: “This is such a great league for a number of reasons, including more development time for the young British riders in a structured team format, taking place in most cases after the main event of the fixture of their senior teams.
“Our thanks again to the commitment of the five clubs for their continued support to Youth development for British riders.”
