Diamonds 2000

Best Pairs 2001 Jesper Olsen
& Bjarne Pedersen

Kenni Gets The Bumps

Kenni Wins The
2010 PLRC

April 2016.  Danish star Kenni Larsen reportedly sustained his gunshot wounds to the head in an airgun accident as he remains in an induced coma this morning.

Larsen was taken to Odense University Hospital on Thursday afternoon and has undergone two operations to remove the airgun pellet and relieve a build-up of fluid on his brain.

While police investigations are ongoing, Larsen’s family released a brief statement via Falubaz.com, admitting the incident was a tragic accident.

The statement read: “What happened to Kenni was an accident". Kenni underwent neurological surgery to remove the bullet from an air gun. It was followed by a pharmacological coma and he had another operation on Friday. They had to remove extra fluids from the brain, which caused additional pressure.  “If his condition is stable, doctors will try to wake him in about two to three days.

Fyn police believe there were no witnesses to the incident and are waiting to speak to Larsen when he is medically fit.  Police chief Christian Rasmussen told Ekstra Bladet: “Our investigations suggest that the gun went off while he was alone. But we cannot ask him yet, so hopefully he comes out of the coma soon. We do not know exactly. We simply lack the young man's explanation.”

2011 Starting Team

John Courtney says: Hi John,  Just been looking at your site (very good by the way)

On 22 May 2011 Ferjan was found dead in his van at the apartment block where he lived.  His cause of death has been attributed to a blood clot in his leg.”  He had been involved in two bad crashes (one at Glasgow I think the other abroad) and it was confirmed at the time that a blood clot had come off his thigh and lodged in his heart literally turning him off like a light bulb

Extract from the Independant Newspaper on Monday 3 August 2015.  Newcastle Diamonds speedway rider Lewis Kerr is in an induced coma after colliding with another rider at a race in Peterborough. The 25-year-old, from Snettisham in Norfolk, was flown to Addebrooke's Hospital in Cambridge after he crashed into a fence following the collision; the meeting was abandoned. Team manager George English said his family are at his side.  It was not a good looking crash and it instantly became apparent that Lewis needed major attention," he said "The paramedic team were superb and gave Lewis the very best of attention on the track, but also realised that it was important to get him to hospital as soon as possible."

“Following the completion of our remaining Championship fixtures, Newcastle Speedway will announce a date to complete the season with an ‘End of Season Spectacular’. “This will be an individual meeting with invites to rider’s who have worn the Diamonds colours over the years.  “Unfortunately this meeting will also mark the last match that myself and Dave Tattum will be at the helm as Co-promoters.

“After a very hard and stressful couple of years, and after sitting down and analysing the amount of time and resources the speedway has taken away from my core businesses, I have regrettably decided I need to conclude my time with the Diamonds in order to give my main businesses the full attention they need to survive.  “I would like to wholeheartedly thank everyone connected to the club for their help and support, as without these people, my short spell at Newcastle would have been an even harder experience.

“As it currently stands, I’m setting the wheels in motion to see what will come of Newcastle Speedway in 2022, but at this moment in time all I can guarantee is the 3 remaining home fixtures.  “The Diamonds are very much a big part of the speedway family, and are the oldest running club still operating out of its original venue.

Unfortunately, our crowd attendances have been well under par this season, but maybe with new management bringing new ideas and most importantly, the time this sport so vitally requires, that is something that can be increased.  “The work is now on to try and get Newcastle to the tapes in 2022, but although I am very sad to say, this will be without myself and Dave Tattum.

“Tickets are on sale for our last two league meetings against Edinburgh on the 12th September and Birmingham the week after on the 19th, both are 6.30pm starts.  :We all sincerely hope you can all get along to see your Diamonds in action in what we hope isn’t Newcastle’s last hurrah!”  Rob Grant

Emotionally charged close call sees Diamonds lose out to Brummies by a point on “final” night at Brough Park

20 September 2021

Newcastle GEC Diamonds: 44 Birmingham Brummies: 45 SGB Championship

On an emotional night which was almost certain to herald the end of Speedway racing on Tyneside, the Newcastle GEC Diamonds welcomed the Birmingham Brummies in their final home SGB Championship match, the home side desperate to try to avoid the wooden spoon, and with the nostalgia of the occasion filtering through the absolutely massive crowd of fans old and new looked to fill the stadium ready to say goodbye to Brough Park.

Newcastle Co-promoter, Rob Grant and Diamonds’ announcer of 57 years, Barry Wallace led the crowd in a two-minute silence in memory of Grant’s promoting partner and close friend, Dave Tattum who passed away just hours before the speedway was due to take place before heat number one got underway, without Ben Barker who had withdrawn, citing emotional distress at the death of Dave Tattum, and rider-replacement covered his rides.

From the gate, Starke and Connor Mountain roared from the gate to take a solid 5-1 over Chris Harris and Josh Macdonald but Heat Two saw Adam Roynon have a chain snap with a fall and exclusion, while in the re-run Archie Freeman’s throttle jammed open down the back straight and he had to bail out leaving Birmingham with a 0-5 to collect, and with a Brummie 1-5 in the fourth from Flint and Riss over Stark from the gate to take the scores to 9-14.

Newcastle hit back with a 5-1 of their own in the fifth from leader Wright as Clegg whipped up inside Harris for second in a great move cutting the gap to 14-15, while Flint continued his paid unbeaten streak with a great tape to flag win in Heat Seven over Starke and Ashley Morris in third in a 2-4 which left the scores at 19-22. Heat Eight saw a rare fall for Flint on the first bend and left the win for Roynon to take well on his second bike over Macdonald as part of a Newcastle 4-2 catching up to within one point again, 23-24.

The sides then exchanged maximum heat wins, Heat 10 a solid and determined win from the flag for Clegg over his partner Mountain with Flint taking third, and there was once again only one point between the sides, 29-30, and with Harris winning Heat 11 well, in a shared 3-3 Newcastle were still trailing Birmingham 32-33, however a 1-5 from Sarjeant and Flint in Heat 12 over Freeman and Wright who lost his steel shoe mid race while Heat 13 was a shared 3-3, so with two heats left the score was now 36-41.

Following a vital Heat 14 5-1, taking the score to 41-42, Mountain seemed to straighten up going in to bend three at enormous speed and went hard into and under the air-fence, with his exclusion from the re-run, which also resulted in the air fence needing repair.

In the re-run Clegg led hard into the first bend ahead of Riss and held it to the end for a 3-3 ending the match 44-45.

Following Heat 15, and the fireworks, many hundreds of fans took up the invite to walk the track one last time, lining up behind the starting gate, with a green light, tapes up start accompanied by the Diamonds’ theme tune, Diamonds by Jet Harris and Tony Meehan and assorted Diamonds’ meeting music with more than a few tears being shed round the shale circuit.

Club Owner Rob Grant said: “We had hoped to go out with a win on such an important and emotional night, but a critical point was lost after a disastrous Heat Two with Adam breaking a Chain and Archie having a jammed throttle, and it proved that uncontrollable 0-5 was the race that critically lost us the match. We will be really trying do a job at Birmingham on Wednesday. but know it’s going to be a tough ask, but we will give it our all in our last match.

“There were good and bad points all match and we got seven out of 15 heat winners, but the Brummies had a star man guest in Leon Flint at reserve, and along with James Sarjeant their two reserves were match winners with paid 23 points between them to our paid nine, but it was the occasion which won the night with a massive crowd and an atmosphere like we’ve never had for ages especially with the track walk which saw hundreds of folk tread the shale for one last time.”

The Inspiration and determination of the late Dave Tattum breathes vital life into Diamonds’ future
24 September 2021

Newcastle Speedway owner and promoter, Rob Grant, was shedding more than a few tears on Sunday, along with hundreds of other Diamonds’ fans who were attending the final farewell of the club, but in honour of the memory of his former co-promoter, Dave Tattum, who tragically passed away at the weekend following an arduous and lengthy battle with illness, the Geordie former racer feels it would be grossly disrespectful to walk away and allow the club to close right now.

An emotional Grant said last night: “Since Sunday’s amazing meeting, which was charged heavy with emotion, I’ve done nothing but sit back and think, and talk with my family about the past and the future, and it seems totally disloyal to Dave’s memory that I walk away at this stage and potentially shut the Diamonds forever under our promotion’s name.

“Dave Tattum spent most of his last months teaching me in depth, with all the information and skills I’d need for running a speedway club, and all that while he was fighting for his health under very difficult circumstances, but as my great friend, he dedicated his time to me and Newcastle Speedway, and that is why I cannot walk away from this great club. I cannot do that with Dave, his efforts and, his belief uppermost in my mind.

“No concrete offer has come forward, but we’ve been looking at my other two businesses and looked hard and deep into things, and I will not walk away, and I will keep Newcastle running in 2022 for the memory and influence of Dave Tattum. We do have new backing and I’ve learned a lot in the last 18 months which will only benefit the future of the club. Also, I have sent in an application for a new co-promoter to join me, and he’s a businessman, who will be a very familiar face to the Brough Park faithful, and obviously knows this club inside out.

“The loyalty shown to us proves people of this City and beyond, love this club and desperately want it to continue, and the love poured out over the weekend has been an important factor in this decision and we have to repay that huge level of loyalty.

“This time, however, will be starting preparation for 2022 on a level playing field with the rest of the teams, and won’t be playing catch-up in the team building stakes, which will, at least mean, we’ll have a decent chance of challenging for much better league place that this 2021 season, which is now well behind us.”

The Newcastle Speedway press office will be keeping a close eye on this story, and will report all developments as it happens, but above all else, the important news today is the Diamonds will come to the tapes in 2022 and powered by the memory of the late Dave Tattum.