Northampton to join British Speedway's top flight

Northampton will enter a team in the 2026 Speedway Great Britain (SGB) Premiership, British Speedway has announced.

Its fixtures will at Northampton International Shaleway, near Brafield-on-the-Green.

The newly-formed team makes its league debut away at King's Lynn on 20 April, before a home opener against Ipswich on 30 April.

British Speedway said the "full structure of Northampton Speedway, including promoters, team manager, riders and team identity, will be revealed over the coming weeks in the build-up to the new season".

The inclusion of Northampton brings the league up to six teams for 2026, after both Birmingham and Oxford left after last season.

British Speedway said Northampton had a "limited speedway history", with racing being staged at Brafield briefly in the mid-1950s.

Premiership CEO Phil Morris said: "We were determined that the Premiership would feature six teams if at all possible, and with the opportunity to include what is effectively a completely new club, I do feel it was correct to push the time window to give it every chance.

"Our thanks also go to Deane Wood of Spedeworth, the landowners of Northampton, for their willingness to accommodate speedway racing at their stadium.

"There is still a substantial amount of work to complete, and this is why Northampton's home fixtures will commence slightly later than the other clubs, but we are confident this will all progress on schedule."

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