Oct 9th, 2018

KP History: Motorcycle Speedway Edition

GMHBA Stadium returns to its former glory as a Motorcycle racecourse ahead of the Round Three Supercross Championships this Saturday.

Formerly known as the Geelong Velodrome, Kardinia Park hosted a Motorcycle speedway during the late 1920s and early 1930s. This is just another level of the Stadium’s rich history, following its stint as a zoo during the early 1900s, which you can read about here.

The stadium boasted a large dirt track speedway and played host to the Inaugural Victoria Solo Championship in 1926/27. A second championship was held in 1927/28, before moving to the Melbourne Exhibition Speedway. Billy Pilgrim (first picture) won both championships in Geelong.

There is no official closing date for the Geelong Velodrome, however, shortly after the Geelong Football Club begun using the Eastern Oval at Kardinia Park as their home ground, where they remain to this day.

Gallery:  

1926 Billy Pilgrim on his winning number 6 machine. Photo: C V Bland
Col Stewart another noted rider who competed at the Geelong Velodrome Photo: unknown
Fred Betts was a pilot and motorcyclist between WW1 and WW2 who raced at Geelong. Photo: Aaron Betts.
Kardinia Park after the Speedway Closed. Photo: Unknown
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