Referee suspended for three meetings, following events at Poole vs Oxford meeting
SPEEDWAY referee Wayne Jarvis has been suspended for three meetings by the Speedway Control Bureau, after he failed to follow health and safety procedure and did not stop the final race of the Poole Pirates vs Oxford Cheetahs meeting on Wednesday, August 30.
A malfunction with the starting tapes at Wimborne Road, with part of the tapes left dangling down onto the outside of the track, had caused two earlier races – Heat 7 and Heat 11 – to be stopped. Despite there being a spare set of spare tapes on the centre green, the faulty tape continued to be used.
In Heat 15, SD Timmo Car Sales Oxford Cheetahs powered by County Plumbing Supplies needed a 5-1 to force a draw and a Super Heat. Skipper Sam Masters and Francis Gusts did the hard work around the opening two bends and emerged in front. But again the tapes had malfunctioned and the race had to be stopped.
In the re-run, Poole No 1 Richard Lawson had made a better start, so the start marshal – instead of leaving the track – ran and grabbed the dangling bit of tape. He then stood directly outside the track in a dangerous position to stop the tape dangling back down.
Neither the referee or trainee referee stopped the race, in which Poole took a 4-2 to clinch a 48-42 victory. The Oxford management spoke to the referee immediately after the race, to request a re-run, but the referee kicked out their protest and the result stood.
The Speedway Control Bureau statement reads: “Following a meeting of the Members of the Speedway Control Bureau last week the Poole v Oxford Cab Direct Championship Fixture on the 30th July 2025 was discussed, and in particular the actions of the Officials during the re-run of Heat 15.
“The SCB Members read a report from Mr Wayne Jarvis, the appointed SCB Referee, and viewed video evidence of Heat 15 and the re-run of the same Heat.
“During the fixture there were a number of incidents where the Starting Tape once released broke away from the Starting Tape pole and laid across the track, which meant that the heat had to be stopped in the interest of safety, and that heat was re-run.
“Unfortunately, the issue with the Starting Tape happened during further heats, and again the heat needed to be stopped and re-run which also included the initial running of Heat 15.
“Following the second attempt to run Heat 15 the Starting Tape again broke once the tape was released, however on this occasion the Start Marshal entered the track, grabbed the broken tape and held aloft positioning himself on the outside of the safety fence, but right up against the track.
“This breached the Health and Safety regulations where an Official was stood in the Neutral Zone where as per SCB Regulation 05.1.3 there must be no access.
“In this incident the heat should not have been allowed to run, as the Official was in an area that put himself at risk, and the appointed SCB Referee Mr Jarvis should have, in the interest of safety, again stopped the heat and ordered a further re-run. This did not happen and the heat was allowed to run.
“Due to this breach of SCB Regulation 05.1.3 and the appointed SCB Referee Mr Jarvis allowing the heat to continue, penalties have been issued to Mr Jarvis.
“The previous excellent performances by Mr Jarvis were taken into consideration and the following penalties have been applied: (a) 3 Match Suspension (b) Not allocated any Play-Off Fixtures for the Premiership or Championship Leagues for the 2025 season.
“The SCB have also written to the Poole Clerk of the Course and the Poole Promotion.”
It would seem no action has been taken against either the Start Marshal or the Poole Speedway promotion.
The two teams meet again in Dorset on Wednesday (August 13), in the first leg of their BSN Series semi-final clash at Wimborne Road.