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Bike enthusiast Andrew Day talks to Your Sport Swindon at the Abbey Stadium Farewell meeting on Sunday night.
Click on the video above to watch this interview.
Swindon Robins speedway said goodbye to their beloved Abbey Stadium on Sunday night, their home since 1949.
In a fitting farewell the club saw riders past, present and future taking to the track for one final time.
A bumper crowd turned up for the event which was kick started with the British 1500cc Final where some of the sport’s rising stars raced around the Abbey’s inner track.
The eventual winner of the event was Lean Flint, who also broke the track record in the process.
Flint pipped Jason Edwards, Sam Stead and Jordan Palin to take the national title.
The club then paid tribute to its legends, with a parade and interviews taking place involving several members of past Robins teams – as well as recognition for those who were unable to be present.
In the main meeting of the night, the present Swindon Robins side defeated an Elite League Select team 43-35.
Sam Masters stood in for the unavailable Swindon Robins star Peter Kildemand and impressed greatly with an 11-point score, a total matched by Chris Harris for the Elite League side as both dropped their only points to each other.
Grzegorz Zengota had received great acclaim from the crowd as the Robins’ Rider of the Year and celebrated with a paid-11 haul, dropping his only point to Harris in heat seven as he snatched second place from Danny King off the last bend.
The Elite League side held a narrow 10-8 lead after three races but Swindon went in front for the first time in heat five although they had to wait until the last race to officially confirm victory with a 5-1.
The remaining races took place on specially provided machines with new Jawa engines developed by 1993 World Champion Sam Ermolenko – and that standard kit, with the riders racing them for the first time, produced winning times only 2-3 seconds outside those from the main meeting.
Harris won the first race with Masters taking the second, and it was Masters who then had the honour of the last-ever race win at the Abbey Stadium as he defeated Harris, who overhauled his Coventry team-mate Danny King for second place.
The final laps of the circuit, though, were taken by current Robins boss Alun Rossiter before the fireworks ended an unforgettable occasion – and brought a glorious era to a close.
Current Swindon Robins team boss Alun Rossiter paid tribute to everyone involved in the evening, saying: “It couldn’t have gone any better, it really couldn’t.
“It was a great send-off for the Abbey as we know it before the club starts a bright new future at the new track next year.
“Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, it was normal admission prices so nobody could complain about value for money, the weather was with us and it was just a great occasion.
“My thanks go to everyone who came together to make the event such a success. It was emotional, too, particularly when the names of those riders sadly no longer with us were displayed on the scoreboard. I thought that was superb.
“Now we have to look to the future and exciting times ahead for Swindon Speedway.”
You can view our gallery of pictures taken by James Booth by clicking on any of the images below.
