TV OPENER – JOIN THE JOURNEY!

LIVE televised coverage of British Speedway returns tonight (Monday) with Birmingham hosting Belle Vue in the ROWE Motor Oil Premiership.

Once again Eurosport and discovery+ will be following the twists and turns of the race for the league title, with 18 events to be broadcast over the next five months culminating in the play-off semi-finals and Grand Final.

The opening fixture at Perry Barr presents a fascinating clash between the Brummies, who are one of two Premiership newcomers and are desperate for their first win, and the Aces who were 2022 champions and include British Champion Dan Bewley and in-form Australian stars Brady Kurtz and Jaimon Lidsey.

Despite a weather-affected start to the campaign, the on-track league action has been highly competitive and only three points cover the current top five in the table.

And Premiership CEO Phil Morris regards the launch of the live TV schedule as an opportunity for the league to kick on for a spectacular summer of racing.

Morris said: “There’s a lot of positivity surrounding our league, and after Saturday’s Croatian GP we have the current No.1 and No.2 in the World Championship racing in the Premiership.

“The first televised meeting is an important night for us and I know Birmingham have been working hard to put on a good show, both on and off the track.

“Obviously there has already been plenty of live streaming coverage so far and I must praise BSN (British Speedway Network) for the job they are doing in both leagues.

“I can’t stress enough how important all the supporters are to the journey we are looking to take. We hope to see a good crowd at Perry Barr, and we also want as many viewers on Eurosport and discovery+ as possible.

“Every spectator or viewer is important for the sport, the more people watching the better, and this also assists us with getting more sponsors on board in the future.

“We are due to visit all seven Premiership clubs in the first seven matches to be broadcast on Eurosport and discovery+, and of course the second of those is Sheffield v Ipswich on May 13 which is not only a repeat of last year’s Grand Final, it also features those current top two riders in the world, Jack Holder and Jason Doyle.”

The ROWE Motor Oil Premiership has attracted substantial backing this season, with the title sponsors joined by partners Steel Seal, Power Maxed, Media Co and Roger Warnes Transport.

And the official Premiership timing partner Omologato will be providing a watch to be presented to the Rider of the Meeting at each TV event.

Morris said: “That award will be presented during the Eurosport and discovery+ coverage, and we are looking at ways in which we can engage the fans in that process as the season goes on.

“I think everyone understands how crucial social media is nowadays, and I’d urge supporters to get involved on our various official platforms, whether commenting, sharing, re-posting – the more people that get involved, the better.

“Hopefully people can see how we have been looking to introduce new ideas for coverage across the league this year, and I’d like to make particular mention of Leicester who have really upped their game in that respect.

“On a BSP level we’ve introduced more regular pre and post-match interviews on social media, as well as additional website coverage, and we thank the clubs who have been proactively assisting with that.

“We’re seeing more and more behind the scenes footage being published, some of the Reels have been very popular, and we have our new TikTok account which is providing plenty of extra content.

“I’d ask supporters to get involved, engage with us, use the meeting hashtags wherever possible, and join us on the journey as we look to build the Premiership up even further.”

BRITISH SPEEDWAY SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/speedwaygb
X: www.twitter.com/SpeedwayGB
Instagram: www.instagram.com/officialbritishspeedway
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@officialbritishspeedway
YouTube: www.youtube.com/speedwaygreatbritain

CLUB HASHTAGS
Belle Vue – #BEL ; Birmingham – #BIR ; Ipswich – #IPS ; King’s Lynn – #KLY ; Leicester – #LEI ; Oxford – #OXF ; Sheffield – #SHE

Meeting hashtags combine the two teams involved, so Birmingham v Belle Vue will be #BIRBEL