NEWS: Play-time at Filton as we lose another track

Former World Champion Lukas Nowacki has shared this picture of Filton Cycle Speedway track in Bristol. The track was last used (to our knowledge) in the qualifying rounds for the 2012 British Final, the council have since taken a strange step in getting it used more often.

Surprisingly, the track is still intact, except there is now, bizarrely, a play area in the centre green (pictured above). It’s quite sad to see, but with the council charging £28 per hour to use the circuit, it’s no surprise that no one uses it.

Lukas explains his surprise earlier, “I haven’t been to Filton for a long time, as this year has been very slow for me, but at a recent visit, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of kids gathered around the track. I have to say that during my regular trainings, I might have seen one or two kids on their cheep mountain bikes kidding around, so this amount of youngsters was encouraging. It only took a second look to realise the grime and sad reason of the sudden popularity of the venue. The council have erected an outdoor gym on the centre green of the cycle speedway track! After a quick investigation, it turns out the whole area, which includes the track itself, is supposed to be turned into a fitness park. It is unclear to me what exactly is going to happen with the track, as one of the parents present said something about surface changing around the track, more suitable for a fitness gym. Nevertheless the track is still useable, subject to running around kids. Might need a pelican crossing…”

This more than likely signals the end of the track as a competitive venue, as we look set to lose another decent track from the UK.