Former Speedway champion Chris Morton MBE joined host Ian Brannan on the latest episode of The Sport Social Podcast Network’s “Humans of Speedway” show and promised that he has high hopes for the sport in the coming years.
Morton’s success has led to him becoming a legend of the sport, having claimed the title of British Champion back in 1983, and World Pairs Champion alongside Peter Collins a year later.
After retiring from riding in 1990, Morton’s influence on the sport has been massive. He’s now involved with Manchester-based team Belle Vue aces, and has been for the last 15 years.
Speaking about the “National Speedway Stadium” in Gorton, which opened in 2016, Morton said that he felt it could help push the sport to the next level.
“There’s more on offer yet, there’s more to see as riders get better at riding it”.
The new national stadium was designed to recapture some of the magic of the Belle Vue/Hyde Road stadium that was demolished back in 1987. It was a track at which Chris, when riding for Belle Vue Aces, experienced much of his success: a motivating factor in his ambition to give the sport its stadium back.
“I carried a lot of these ideas around for years and years, and to be able to do it was just a fantastic thing to be able to do”.
Since its opening, the stadium has held prestigious events such as the Speedway World Cup and is due to host the Speedway of Nations final later this year.
You can hear Ian chat to Chris on the latest episode of Humans of Speedway available via the Sport Social Podcast Network.
While you’re there, why not check out some more episodes from the series, which takes a look at the people who make Speedway tick, including riders, coaches, fans and more.
Listen to “Humans of Speedway”.