Norwich Stars were a motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway

Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. Speedway motorcycles use only one gear and have no brakes and racing takes place on a flat oval track usually...

 team based in Norwich

Norwich

Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 which operated from 1930 until their closure in 1964.

History

Speedway racing was staged in Norwich both before and after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 at The Firs Stadium in Aylsham Road, Hellesdon

Hellesdon

Hellesdon is a thriving suburb of Norwich in the District of Broadland in Norfolk, England. It lies approximately 4 miles north-west of Norwich and has 11,177 inhabitants.- History :...

. Pre-War Norwich were members of the National Provincial League in 1937, National League Division Two in 1938 & 1939. After the war, the Norwich Stars raced in the Northern League in 1946 and the National League Division Two

Speedway National League Division Two

The National League Division Two was the second tier of Speedway league competition in the United Kingdom. The competition was founded in 1938 following a competition named "The National Provincial League". Following World War II the second tier of racing was entitled "The Northern League" in 1946...

 from 1947 to 1951. They won the League Championship in both 1950

1950 Speedway National League Division Two

-Final table:...

 and 1951

1951 Speedway National League Division Two

-Final table:...

.

They were invited into the National League Division One

Speedway National League

The National League was the top division of Speedway in the United Kingdom from 1932 until 1965 when it became known as the British League. Prior to 1932 there were only small regional leagues competing within the sport in the UK. The National League was re-incarnated in 1975 as the second division...

 in 1952 and finished runners up in the League in 1958 and 1963. Another honour was the winning of Speedway's premier Knockout Competition, the National Trophy. This was achieved in both 1955 and 1963.

The Stars raced in the top flight until the stadium was closed at the end of the 1964 season when the track and stadium were sold for re-development.

Notable riders

• Ove Fundin
  Ove Fundin
  Ove Fundin is a former speedway rider who won the Speedway World Championship five times...
  
  
• Trevor Hedge
  Trevor Hedge
  Trevor John Hedge is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of theSpeedway World Championship in 1970. He also won the London Riders' Championship twice in succession in 1969 and 1970...
  
  
• Aub Lawson
  Aub Lawson
  Aubrey "Aub" Lawson was an Australian international speedway rider who featured in ten World Championship finals including the 1939 final which was never run due to the outbreak of World War II.-Career:Lawson first came to the UK in 1939 and rode for the Wembley Lions but at his mother's...
  
  
• Wal Morton
• Bob Leverenz
  Bob Leverenz
  Bob Leverenz was an international speedway rider who featured in the 1951 Speedway World Championship final.Leverenz was born in Findon, South Australia, Australia.-Career:...
  
  
• Geoff Pymar
  Geoff Pymar
  Geoffrey 'Geoff' Pymar was a former international motorcycle speedway rider who rode in the World Championship final in 1938.-Career:...
  
  
• Raymond "Billy" Bales
  Billy Bales
  Raymond Arthur Bales was a former international motorcycle speedway rider reached the final of Speedway World Championship in 1955.-Career:...
  
  
• Phil Clarke
• Titch Read
• Olle Nygren
  Olle Nygren
  Harald-Olof Ingemar Nygren is a former international speedway rider who reached the finals of the Speedway World Championship five times. Nygren was Swedish Champion in 1949 and became Nordic Champion in 1960...
  
  
• Terry Betts
  Terry Betts
  Terence Arnold Betts is a former international speedway rider who reached the final of theSpeedway World Championship in 1974...
  
  
• Fred Brand
• Ted Bravery
• Johnny Chamberlain
• Harry Edwards
• Jack Freeman
• Jimmy Gooch
• Max Grosskreutz
  Max Grosskreutz
  Max Octavius Grosskreutz was a Speedway who finished third in the Star Riders' Championship in 1935, the forerunner to the Speedway World Championship....
  
  
• Alec Hunter
• Wilf Jay
• Syd Littlewood
• Paddy Mills
  Paddy Mills (speedway rider)
  Paddy Mills was a motorcycle speedway rider whose career spanned World War II.Mills was born in Leicester in 1913, and began his career at Sheffield, spending a season there before joining the Royal Air Force. He served in the RAF for six years, and was awarded the British Empire Medal...
  
  
• Fred Pawson
• Cyril Roger
  Cyril Roger
  Cyril Roger was a former international motorcycle speedway rider reached the final of Speedway World Championship five times.-Career:...
  
  
• Fred Rogers
• Bert Spencer
• Derek Strutt
• Reg Trott
• Dick Wise
• Bryan Tungate
• Barrie East