FOLLOWING two last minute abandonments, Oxford promoter Jamie Courtney has explained his position and implored the faithful Cheetahs supporters to stand by him and the club.
“We feel we’ve established an outstanding relationship with our fanbase and the local community since reinstalling speedway to Oxford Stadium and your support never ceases to amaze us,” reflected Courtney.
“Wednesday’s fixture against Scunthorpe presented challenges the like of which we had yet to experience since relaunching Oxford Speedway last year.
“It was with regret – and immense frustration – that we had to postpone Wednesday’s meeting after our scheduled start time when supporters had already gone to additional expense to be trackside. And we owe everyone a clear explanation.”
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Courtney then went on to explain that running two teams, both with play-off deadlines to meet, creates immense pressure.
“As a club committed to the development of British speedway’s next generation, Cheetahs and Chargers fixtures are required to be fulfilled within a tight timeframe,” he said.
“Cancelling any event is a decision we simply cannot take lightly, and we must work with our greyhound racing colleagues when rescheduling fixtures – without their support, Oxford Speedway simply does not exist.”
With a patchy forecast, including plenty of rain, Courtney and his team spent hours on Tuesday tyre packing the track down hard so it could deal with the amount of rain.
Once the rain stopped, Courtney commenced his usual preparation and that is when things started to go wrong.
“It was only at this point we realised the track wasn’t behaving in its usual way,” he said.
Understanding the frustration of all in the stadium he implored: “To our supporters, we thank you for your understanding. The return of Oxford Speedway is the feel-good story of the decade locally.
“Now, it’s time to move on from the challenges we’ve faced and unite with two outstanding teams chasing our first piece of team silverware in 18 years.”
Plenty to digest from yesterday’s defeat for #oufc
— Liam Rice (@OxMailLiamRice) August 6, 2023
❌ Not the finished article
🅱 Plan B required
📈 More needed from full back
⚡ Mills a bright sparkhttps://t.co/lBXPjH5RkN
He finished with a rallying call to everyone: “We’re in this together, let the next three months bring memories which will last a lifetime.”
It is rare for a speedway promoter to be so open and honest about something they take so personally, and demonstrates his commitment to the club.
More importantly, it shows his commitment to the all-important fans, who he clearly does not take for granted.
The Oxford Chargers take centre stage tonight at Sandy Lane in the rearranged National League fixture against the Kent Royals.
Only the top two go into the play-off for the Championship and with four home fixtures left to go, every match is a must win.
A win tonight would see the Chargers go second, one point behind Leicester.
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