FANS of the Swindon Robins turned out at the Abbey Stadium last night on the eve of the speedway season for a fans’ forum, hosted by BBC Wiltshire.

The event offered supporter the chance to pitch key questions to members of management, riders and others involved behind the scenes at the club as they prepare to defend the SGB Premiership crown.

Team manager Alun Rossiter and club chairman Terry Russell were among the panel, while Steve Park and Lee Kilby from the commercial team were also present.

Riders including Australians Nick Morris, Troy Batchelor and Mitchell Davey also faced questions as did Adam Ellis, David Bellego and Zach Wajtknecht. Polish star Tobiasz Musielak was the only rider not present.

Unsurprisingly, fans were quick to ask about plans for the new stadium, which has hit a series of setbacks since ideas were first suggested more than a decade ago.

While chairman Russell confirmed work will disrupt the Robins’ 2018 campaign, he couldn’t pin-point a time scale on when work will be completed.

He said: “Plans for our new stadium have changed since starting. Regarding a timescale for the new stadium to be ready, I don’t know.

“It will affect our season this year. We plan for the back straight to be demolished before the home straight. This is all scheduled to take place during the season.

“When we’re in the new stadium the track will be smaller. I hope for a very good track that will create good racing.

“We’ve got to get on with it. We’ve had a lot going on in the past few weeks with measurements.”

The subject of team captain was also raised, with team manager Rossiter confirming that returning Aussie Batchelor would not lead the team this season, suggesting Morris would take over from the departing Jason Doyle.

The forum also presented the chance to question the club on financial losses during last year.

Despite winning the Premiership, Robins ended the season with ‘heavy losses’ – something commercial manager Kilby is keen to correct.

He said: “The moment we won the league I was already thinking about securing sponsorship for this season.

“Our intention is to get out and about as much as we can. We want to visit places like Chippenham, Calne, Melksham and really spread the word about Swindon Speedway.”

Russell added: “It’s hard when you lose considerable amounts of money after winning the league.

“We’re not going to see the club close, we’ll keep working hard.

“But we need to encourage more people to come – that will generate a better atmosphere and make coming to the Abbey Stadium a better night out.”

Rossiter also commented on the financial loss of last season, stating speedway needs to ‘move forward’.

He said: “The only money we get is from the legends lounge, the money from the turnstiles and our track shop.

“If we got money from the stadium (food and drink) we’d survive better.”

The Robins start their 2018 season with a press and practice session at the Abbey Stadium today (doors open to the public at 3pm) before travelling north to face Belle Vue Aces in a Charity Shield contest on Monday, March 19.