Redcar Bears Speedway would like to place on record our heartfelt thanks to Jamie Swales, who has announced that he will step down from his role as Promoter at the end of the 2026 season.
Jamie will leave his role after seven years as a Promoter with the Bears, a period in which the club has grown enormously both on and off the track.
While we are naturally sad to see Jamie leave the Promoter’s role, we completely understand and respect his decision to devote more time to his career and other areas of his life.
As Jamie explained in his own announcement:
“It hasn’t been an easy decision, but I now need to dedicate more time to other areas of my life. It has been an honour to lead a club that has so many connections to my family and has been such a huge part of my life.”
We believe it is important to recognise just how much work, commitment and personal sacrifice goes into running a Speedway club.
For seven years, Jamie has carried that responsibility, working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that Redcar Bears not only survived, but continued to progress, compete and establish itself as one of the most ambitious clubs in the sport.
And the results speak for themselves.
Over the last six seasons, the Bears have reached the playoffs four times, contested two Knockout Cup Finals, won three Pairs titles plus a silver medal, celebrated an Individual Riders’ Champion and lifted the BSN Series title in 2025.
But Jamie’s contribution cannot simply be measured in trophies and results.
Throughout his time as Promoter, there has been a constant determination to build a club that is sustainable for the long term while still having the ambition to compete at the highest possible level.
That balance is not easy to achieve.
As Jamie himself said:
“I’m sure managing a speedway club could be an easier job if we weren’t so ambitious or so determined to keep moving the club forward while making sure it remains sustainable.
“But those ambitions come with a huge amount of work and responsibility.”
We have seen first-hand just how much of that work takes place away from the race track, and we would like to thank Jamie for every hour, every difficult decision and every challenge he has taken on in his time as Promoter.
We would also like to acknowledge the incredible support Jamie has received from his wife, Leanne, who has herself given so much to Redcar Speedway and will continue in her role with the club.
Jamie described Leanne as “an absolute rock” to him personally, and we know how important her contribution has been to the Bears.
We would also like to thank the many people who have shared this journey with Jamie — our owners, management team, riders, sponsors, partners, volunteers, and of course our brilliant supporters.
Jamie has rightly highlighted the role of the Redcar faithful in making everything worthwhile:
“Your loyalty and passion for this club is ultimately what makes all of the work worthwhile. There have been nights at the ECCO Arena that I will never forget, and being able to play a part in creating some of those memories has been an absolute privilege.”
We hope Jamie can look back on those memories with the same pride that we do.
Looking to the future
Although Jamie’s time as Promoter will come to an end after the 2026 season, the work of moving Redcar Bears forward continues.
We can confirm that we are already at an advanced stage of discussions with an experienced individual to join Leanne Swales and Keith Miller as co-Promoter.
Those discussions are progressing positively, and we hope to be able to provide supporters with a further update in the near future.
Our ambition remains unchanged.
We want Redcar Bears to be a sustainable club that competes, challenges and wins — while continuing to provide our supporters with a Speedway club they can be proud of.
That is the legacy Jamie leaves behind.
As Jamie said in his statement:
“I feel I can step away knowing that Redcar Speedway is not only a sustainable club, but one that now expects to compete, expects to challenge and expects to win silverware.
“That is something I am immensely proud of.”
And he should be!
Thank you for seven years of commitment to the Redcar Bears.
Thank you for the hours that supporters saw — and the countless hours they didn’t.
Thank you for the ambition, the hard work and the determination to keep pushing this club forward.
Most of all, thank you for helping create a Redcar Bears that can look to the future with genuine optimism.
Thank you, Jamie. ❤️🤍