Speedway

The term "speedway" is used to refer colloquially to two sports ñ motorcycle speedway and cycle speedway. Both these races are conducted on short oval outdoor dirt tracks. In both the types of speed races, riders make use of machines from which brakes are disabled and higher gears are removed. It must be noted though that in motorcycle speedway, the objective is to slide the motorcycle round the turns; cycle speedway requires the riders to actually ride or steer their bikes round the track and it's turns instead of simply sliding across it. A motorcycle speedway track length varies between 260 and 450 metres in length, whereas a cycle speedway is usually around 70-90 metres in length.

Both motorcycle and cycle speedway races have up to four riders contesting for the top spot. In cycle speedway, competing riders ride light-weight bicycle that do not feature any gears or such mechanical assembly. They primarily comprise a freewheel mechanism and their structure is usually a trimmed-down frame of a mountain bike. In motorcycle speedway, competing bikes are required to weigh 77 kgs and above with a methanol-powered four-stroke, single-cylinder engine.

In UK, motorcycle speedway is managed and administered by British Speedway Promoters Association (BSPA), while cycle speedway is looked after by British Cycling.