Former British Speedway president Terry Russell has passed away.
Terry, who was 75, spent the majority of his working life involved in speedway, with ownership and promotion of several clubs dating back to Crayford in the early 1980s.
Along with a successful career as the owner and director of Sabre Cleaning, he went on to promote at the likes of Hackney, Exeter, Arena-Essex, Eastbourne and Swindon.
He took on senior roles within the former BSPA, in addition to holding the worldwide commercial and television rights for British Speedway via Go Speed International.
Terry was the driving force behind British Speedway’s long-running television deal with Sky Sports which commenced in 1999, along with bringing the FIM British Speedway GP to Cardiff in 2001 – an event which ran at the Principality Stadium for over two decades.
British Speedway chairman Rob Godfrey said: “We are all shocked and saddened to hear this news. Terry was an influential figure in the sport and brought great success and high standards to everywhere he worked. He was a huge speedway fan at heart, and he devoted much of his time to improving the sport and ensuring everything was run correctly, both at his own tracks and on a wider basis. We will miss him greatly.”
Everyone involved in the FIM Speedway World Championships sends their condolences to Terry’s family and friends at this sad time.