Even though he’s hardly got his feet under the table, Phil Morris has already got to work in his new job as arguably the most important man in British Speedway. Less than a week into his role as CEO of the Premiership, Phil somehow found time to talk to PETER OAKES about the past, the present, and, most important of all, the future

2 speedway star March 11, 2023

P F

IVE days in and Phil Morris had already had a Zoom call with all the Premiership promoters, talked to each of the six team managers, been in lengthy touch with the Speedway Control Bureau, he’s chatted to Eurosport, and agreed to have his first face-to-face meeting with fans at Sunday’s Celebration of Speedway.

Also on his agenda is to meet with riders to discuss what they feel is right – or wrong – about British speedway…

He doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet, admitting: “I’m not just doing this because I have got a job, it’s not nine to five and I’ve already put in crazy hours because I want to make changes.

“Speedway is in my blood, I want to make it better for everyone, the fans, the riders, the promoters, the TV companies, the staff at tracks, the media.

“From my own personal thing, I’d like to think I have built a reasonable reputation and I want to keep that. I don’t want to fail.

“I know it’s a challenge and it’s very important because if this fails, it means I have failed. It’s a challenge for me that I want to take with both hands and make a difference to the sport I love.

“My parents were Newport fans and took me there when I must have been in a pram, although I can’t remember that. But I can remember going to Swindon with my parents, I’ve got some pictures of when I was 10 or 11. I was named after Phil Crump who was riding for them.

“I want people to come to meetings and to feel that this is the Premiership, this is the top level of sport in this country. They want to enjoy having an evening of entertainment and also feel comfortable doing it and not saying, ‘pity there was this, pity there was that, it’s a shame that this just went wrong’.

“Of course, it’s important fans see change; I want it to be more professional for the riders, I want it to be better, more attractive. Hopefully they can get more sponsors.

“If everyone can work together, that’s a win-win. I’d like to see teams get more sponsors and media partners and all sorts of partners.

“If everyone does that, if the product is better, and there is more enthusiasm, that will transmit itself to the fans.

“We are fortunate this year (to have) Dan Bewley, Nicki Pedersen, Emil Sayfutdinov...wouldn’t it be satisfying if, over the next two or three years, instead of three riders like that racing in the Premiership, it’s nine or 12? We are only going to do that by putting the product we have right.”

• Man in a hurry: Phil Morris is keen to make his mark on British speedway

MORRIS honestly believes (as do most of us who go regularly) that the basic, very basic, package, the racing on track, is as good as any other sport, and better than most other motorsports because of the very nature of the beast. Fifteen or more short, sharp, minute-long races.

All the advertising slogans – ‘faster than a F1 car from 1-60’, ‘no brakes...’ – are not simply figments of the imagination of the brand maker, they are actually true of a sport that is played out in the full, uninterrupted view of every single spectator.

It is, at its best, genuinely a thrill-a-minute entertainment and there is no greater proponent than Phil Morris, who insists: “I believe that the product itself is as good as any other sport when you step back and look at it.”

I’M P