The History of Speedway in the Bay of Plenty.

 

In 1969 the Bay of Plenty Speedway Association was established, with over sixty supporters attending the first AGM where facilities were decided upon and responsibilities allocated.

 

Over the past three decades, the club’s facilities were developed and its programme was broadened. 1978 was a turning point for the club with months and months of work going into upgrading and redesigning the circuit and building up spectator banks and barrier walls.  Throughout this period, the club enjoyed the support of many people and club members, including Rex Pollock whose company paid for naming rights for speedway in the Bay.  In 1979, following the opening of a new Todd & Pollock Baypark, the club held events in saloon cars, stockcars, midgets, solo bikes and streetstocks, with a host of local drivers going on to win national events.

 

Sadly for the club, in April 1995 its Baypark track was closed, leaving it without a suitable site on which to establish another speedway.

 

Club officials were determined to rebuild their facilities and they considered a number of venues from the Kaimais to the coast, and from Maketu to Te Puna.  Finally, the Te Maunga site was settled upon, but the development could only proceed if the club could obtain the necessary resource consents.  Then President Ray Duncan led the team in the early stages of this process, with Phil Buckland, Barry Andrews and solicitor Paul Cooney taking over the reins in the latter stages.  In December 2000, some five years after the old track closed, an environment court granted consent for the new Bay of Plenty Speedway to be built at Te Maunga.

 

If perseverance and dedication are ever to be paid back, then tonight must be the night for those men involved with resource management process.  As Phil Barry reflected on the club’s history, they note “initially all we wanted was to race our cars and provide a speedway facility for people to enjoy.  Look at what has been achieved with Bob Clarkson at the helm – a multi-purpose stadium with corporate boxes, a conference centre, full catering facilities and the ability to provide sport and entertainment in a magnificent community facility for everyone.”  Most pleasing for the club is its ongoing involvement in local speedway most of the behind-the-scene workers running speedway meetings here are volunteer club members, whose efforts will be rewarded in funds for the club.

 

There’s no denying that Opening Night at Baypark stadium signals a new chapter in speedway history in the Bay of Plenty and New Zealand and it won’t be a moment too soon for speedway fanatics who have waited for six years to hear the familiar roar of the engines and to absorb the unequivocal atmosphere that is speedway.  With 300 top drivers at the wheel, including past and present NZ champions, this night will be one to remember for years to come.