IMPROVE track conditions or risk losing fans across the country.

That’s the powerful message issued by Swindon Robins heat leader Adam Ellis following Monday’s dire SGB Premiership meeting against Leicester Lions at the Abbey Stadium.

The meeting, screened live on BT Sport, was plagued by lengthy delays and multiple crashes caused by what riders and mechanics described as a ‘sandy’ surface.

It’s not the first time that Alun Rossiter’s men have encountered this problem. In May, their meeting at Somerset Rebels was heavily delayed, while last week’s trip to Wolverhampton Wolves also failed to pass without incident.

Following the annulment of Rye House Rockets earlier this month, Ellis relayed a powerful message to clubs across the country regarding the state of tracks.

He said: “It’s not good enough, to be honest. It’s been getting worse and worse. This year has been the worst that I can remember for tracks not being up to scratch.

“Most of the clubs in the league need to sort it out before we lose more fans and have more clubs shut down.”

Monday’s meeting saw Nick Morris, Tobiasz Musielak and Scott Nicholls all hit the deck as a consequence of unforced errors.

The issue is caused by shale not binding sufficiently with a mix of concrete, sand and other substances used to construct the foundation of a speedway track.

As a result, the dirt is blown off the surface during racing – creating ruts and holes in the track.

Ellis added: “Most of the time, the ruts are at the entrance to a corner or in the middle of the corner. We saw Nick (Morris) have two awful crashes and Tobiasz (Musielak) had an awkward spill too.

“That’s down to the track – they’re two of the best riders in the league. It’s a matter of time before somebody gets hurt.

“It seems to be tracks in the UK at the moment, not all of them. But Somerset at the start of the year was shocking. We went to Wolverhampton last week and that was the worst I’ve ever seen that place.”

The 22-year-old also revealed riders have little say when it comes to competing in dangerous conditions.

If there was any positive from Monday’s meeting, which Swindon won 51-39, Ellis praised the pre-meeting work of Swindon track curator Ronnie Russell after his team listened to riders’ concerns to make the track in a fitter state to ride on.

“We have no say before the meeting,” said Ellis. “For the meeting to not go ahead, all 14 riders have to agree to that. And that never happens because there will always be one or two that want to ride.

“To be fair, Ronnie bladed the worst of it off on Monday. Swindon realised the problem and managed to make it the best they could.

“But it’s a problem, and it’s not good enough.”

A Swindon Robins statement on the issue said: “The management of Swindon Speedway recognise that track conditions for Monday’s meeting against Leicester were far from perfect.

“A number of factors came together to create a perfect storm of problems.

“We are working hard on the issues and expect to have them resolved by next Monday’s meeting against Wolverhampton.’’