Spiralling costs force Buxton Hitmen to withdraw from league racing

Buxton Hitmen have confirmed that they will not be participating in league racing in 2019 after club chairman Jayne Moss withdrew the club at the National League AGM on Wednesday.
Photo by Ian Charles:

Sam Woolley in action for Buxton Hitmen 

Buxton Hitmen v Eastbourne Eagles, Travel Plus National League, Hi-Edge Raceway, Buxton,  28October 2018Photo by Ian Charles:

Sam Woolley in action for Buxton Hitmen 

Buxton Hitmen v Eastbourne Eagles, Travel Plus National League, Hi-Edge Raceway, Buxton,  28October 2018
Photo by Ian Charles: Sam Woolley in action for Buxton Hitmen Buxton Hitmen v Eastbourne Eagles, Travel Plus National League, Hi-Edge Raceway, Buxton, 28October 2018

It follows a tough season for the club which has seen wages rise, crowds decrease and posiitive results hard to come back.

Mrs Moss said: “It has been an extremely difficult decision by the whole family and at times over the past season.

“Ee have let our hearts rule our heads and we have had to eventually make the difficult decision to put our licence on ice for next year and look to regroup and see what happens in 2020, because in speedway you never say never.

“It does not say that the track will not be in operation next year with the slide and skid taking place and also, we have been given permission to run open meetings at times throughout the season.

“As everyone knows 2018 has been a difficult season riders wages have gone up and crowds were down and then we had a considerable amount of injuries throughout the season.

“We run on a very tight budget, but this year costs have spiralled as at every club and we have lost a lot this season.

“We don’t expect to make anything out of Buxton Speedway, but the club has to break even or at least be close to breaking even and unfortunately that wasn’t the case this year.

“In 2019 we also had to look at the situation with Sheffield who will be racing on a Sunday afternoon after losing their regular Thursday night race day, which would also have caused issues for us with it not being far for supporters to travel to and this also had to be thrown into the equation of us taking part next season.

“I’d like to thank all of our sponsors that have helped us throughout 2018 and throughout all of the years here and to our supporters and all the volunteers that have helped us this year and throughout past seasons.”