Machin sells Tigers speedway team

Machin concluded a deal on New Year’s Eve to sell the Tigers team to a new consortium and he says: “It’ll be strange not to be around the club after such a long time.”

The contract was signed to hand the reins of one of Britain’s oldest speedway clubs to a team headed by Machin’s business partner David Hoggart.

Said Machin: “I’ve been around for 21 years and it’s time to move on. It’s a difficult time for the sport with rising costs but I’m pleased to be handing it all over to a group who will have the best interests of Sheffield Speedway at heart. They are the right people to take it all forward.

“It is a lot to walk away from but the club has stood the test of time. We’ve won quite a few things over the years and we don’t owe anyone a penny.”

Machin, from Wickersley, took over in 1992 to rescue the club from closure and since then has become one of the mainstays of the sport’s management arm, serving at the top level.