By Henry Chard

The 2020 British Final will be held at Foxhall Stadium on Saturday 26^th September at 7.30pm after the government announced that it would be one of the sporting events used to pilot the safe return of spectators to elite sport.

League racing in Britain was cancelled in July without a wheel being turned due to the coronavirus pandemic and so news that the showpiece event will take place with a limited number of spectators will come as a boost to speedway fans across the country.

The event was scheduled to take place in June at the National Speedway Stadium but has been moved to Foxhall due to the experience the venue has in hosting events with spectators during the pandemic and it was therefore decided by the government that it would be the best place for a test event.

There will be a limited number of spectators on the terraces with all tickets having to be bought online prior to the event. There will be no turnstile ticket sales on the day. Tickets are priced at £20 for adults whilst children 15 and under go free. You must purchase your ticket online via the SpeedwayGB website ahead of the event. Turnstiles will open at 6.30pm and the line-up for the event will be released in the next few days.

Supporters attending the event should familiarise themselves with the ‘Spectator Code of Conduct’ ahead of their visit which can be found at the bottom of this article.

Promoter Chris Louis said that it was an honour to be hosting the event at Ipswich and is excited to see some racing at Foxhall.

“It is an honour to be hosting the test event and it shows a lot of faith in the club’s ability to do that,” said Louis. “It is great to have the flagship event as far as domestic speedway goes at Ipswich. I am really excited, the line-up will be a competitive line-up, full of people that I know are out trying to find laps wherever they can and trying to dial themselves in. They’ve got one shot at a meeting some of them and they want to make a good job of it.”

Louis is determined to make sure the event runs smoothly and is an enjoyable and relaxing evening for all those supporters in attendance despite the guidelines that will be in place at the stadium.

“It is a COVID secure event and with that in mind, things are going to be a little different. We are going to try and make it as relaxed and enjoyable as possible, so I don’t think anyone has got anything to worry about as far as that is concerned and we aim to make a really good job of it.

“It is a test event which will have a bearing on all sports and their ability to have fans in stadiums, that is a reason to make it a success. Speedway is one of those sports and it could affect some of those clubs wanting to run in front of spectators in October. So, we will be doing everything we can to make it a success.”