LEICESTER Speedway are delighted to confirm their main team sponsorship deal with Watling JCB has been renewed for the 2026 season.
Having had previous involvement in backing the club, the locally-based JCB franchise stepped up to full team sponsorship in 2017 meaning next year will mark a full decade of Leicester’s senior side being known as the Watling JCB Lions.
Watling JCB are based in Whetstone, Leicestershire, and the company runs from nine fully equipped offices, stores and workshop facilities, with the other depots at the likes of Peterborough, Hereford, West Bromwich and Stoke-on-Trent.
They are one of the world’s largest JCB sole franchises, boasting a huge range of new and used JCB machinery which is then sold into the construction and industrial sectors, with the company providing unrivalled product support.
During the period of team sponsorship so far, Leicester have won the Championship league title in 2019 along with the Championship Shield in the same season, and then after stepping back up to the top-flight in recent years they finished as Premiership runners-up in the last two campaigns and secured major silverware at that level for the first time with their KO Cup victory earlier this summer.
The sponsorship from Watling JCB has previously been overseen by Andy Raine, who spent over a decade as Sales Director before moving to a role as Special Projects Director in 2022.
Andy left the company earlier this year and is now involved in consultancy as he prepares to relocate to his native north-east, but he has retained his links and was accompanied at the play-off semi-final against Sheffield and the Grand Final at Ipswich by his successor as Sales Director, Chris Armitage.
Chris said: “Speedway is something quite new to me, but I really enjoyed the two meetings that I attended at the end of the season.
“It was a shame we couldn’t quite get the win in the Grand Final but it was great to see such a massive crowd, and now I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone at the club.
“I’m aware that this is now a decade into Watling JCB as team sponsors of Leicester Speedway, and this is a perfect example of a local company supporting our local team.
“We’re very proud to be able to continue that next year, and we’re delighted to support and be part of the Leicester Speedway journey.”
Leicester Speedway would like to express our gratitude once more for the backing of Watling JCB, and the news is a major boost heading into the winter. We look forward to welcoming Chris and colleagues to the stadium next season.
We would also like to thank Andy Raine for all his help and support over the years, and look forward to seeing him in 2026 wherever it is possible for him to attend.
