Speedway fans injured as bike flies into crowd

May 12 2008 by Paul James, The Journal

TWO teenage speedway fans were in hospital last night after a bike went off the track at 60mph and hit them as they stood in the crowd.

The couple were watching the match at Berwick on Saturday night when the freak smash happened, also injuring two riders and another spectator in the crowd.

Isle of Wight rider Paul Fry and Berwick Bandits’ new signing Scott Smith crashed on the first bend of the seventh race, at about 60mph, with witnesses telling how Smith’s bike acted as a ramp for the other bike to fly into the crowd.

Fry was catapulted into the air and flew 50ft into the perimeter wall of the stadium, as his bike careered towards 16-year-old Graham Sykes – who the team’s promoter said was due to race later that night – and his 14-year-old girlfriend. The couple took the full force of the 500cc bike as the crowd of 500 looked on in horror.

Paramedics spent 90 minutes at the scene treating the couple, along with another injured man, as the meeting at Shielfield Park in Tweedmouth was abandoned.

While crashes in the sport are no rarity, it was the first time in more than 40 years of racing in Berwick that a spectator has been injured in such a way, and team promoter Peter Waite yesterday said a full investigation would take place.

The drama unfolded at 8.30pm on Saturday during the crunch clash between Berwick and the Isle of Wight, at which first position in the league was at stake.

Racers Smith and Fry were locked together entering the first bend and both smashed into the barrier around the track. Both were left with badly injured knees and Fry also had several broken toes.

Mr Waite said that at the time the young couple had been walking back to their places and were unable to take any evasive action.

The girl suffered serious head injuries and yesterday had plastic surgery at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary. Graham suffered injuries to his collarbone and shoulder, on which doctors at Ashington’s Wansbeck Hospital operated yesterday. Another male spectator also received injuries which were not said to be serious.

Three ambulance crews and five police cars arrived in the stadium as the watching hundreds waited for news on the injured couple. There was a round of applause at the announcement that the event had been abandoned.

Mr Waite yesterday said: “Nothing like that has happened here in 40 years although there are crashes all the time. Obviously we abandoned the meeting out of respect to the supporters and everybody involved. The riders were traumatised as well. Graham is a junior and had his bikes in the pits ready to ride in the second half.

“There’s never many people stood on that part of the ground because of the shale that comes off the track on the corner. We’ll assess what’s happened and have a look at what we can do. I can never imagine that happening again – how can you stop that?”

Berwick are due to race at Somerset on Friday and the next fixture at Shielfield Park is on May 24.

No brake crashes par for the course

THE 500CC bikes used for speedway can reach 60mph in two and a half seconds, and have no brakes.

Speedway competitors race against each other over four laps of an oval-shaped track and a typical meeting would see several crashes during the night.

Police yesterday said their investigation into the incident was complete and that information would be passed to the Health and Safety Executive. Berwick sergeant Gary Hoddinott said: "We’ve spoken to the people involved, interviewed witnesses and taken photos of the scene.

"The two bikes involved have been photographed and examined.

"This was a sporting incident, the venue is properly licensed and has all the relevant public liability insurance."

Sgt Hoddinott said he had spoken to the families of both the injured spectators and that they were both comfortable in hospital.