Promoter Jamie Courtney has spoken of his pride after Oxford ended their 18-year wait for a speedway title.

Chargers beat defending champions Leicester Lion Cubs 34-32 in a dramatic National League grand final at Oxford Stadium.

After the postponement at Leicester’s Beaumont Park on Sunday, British Speedway bosses said the title would be awarded to table-topping Lion Cubs in the event that the meeting was rained off.

Courtney revealed how close he was to cancelling the meeting after a heavy shower on Tuesday afternoon, on top of torrential rain early on Tuesday morning, that had already been cleared off the track.

He said: “If anyone who saw the rain that we had at around 1.30pm on Tuesday afternoon, they would have said: ‘That’s it: we’re not going to see any speedway tonight.’

“I was halfway through sending a message to the boys to tell them we were going to cancel the meeting.

“But I then remembered that I’d said to myself on Monday night that we’d do whatever was in our powers to get the meeting on with a good, safe racetrack.

“And I stuck to my guns and we managed to get the track back into a raceable condition. It held up and it was safe, and fair play to the riders from both sides, who rode it very sensibly.”

The meeting was marred by a crash by Leicester’s Max Perry in the aborted attempt to stage Heat 12.

Perry sustained various injuries, including a broken wrist and a broken ankle, and is currently in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

Since the meeting had passed 10 races, the result stood as a two-point victory to the Chargers and therefore meant they won Oxford Speedway’s first league championship since the Oxford Academy won the Conference League in 2005.

Courtney came in as promoter, alongside stadium leaseholder Kevin Boothby, during the latter stages of 2021 and oversaw the reconstruction of the stadium prior to the return of speedway to Oxford Stadium in April 2022 after a 15-year absence.

In 2023, Oxford’s second season back in speedway has seen both Cheetahs and Chargers vying at the top of their respective divisions.

Courtney said: “I’m over the moon, because the last time Oxford won a league title in 2005, I was a rider and this time around, I’m a promoter.

“It makes me feel pretty old, because I was almost exactly half the age then as to what I am now!

“The fans have been terrific and given us such good support.

“Not just the Cheetahs, but the Chargers have been so well supported."