Luke Killeen and Jody Scott thank supporters for generosity

A GOFUNDME page set up by Oxford Speedway Supporters’ Club to raise funds for Luke Killeen and Jody Scott incredibly looks set to smash the £5,000 barrier.

Both 19-year-old Killeen and 17-year-old Scott had bikes written off, after clashes with Poole’s Vinnie Foord during the second leg of the Cab Direct Championship Grand Final at Poole last Wednesday.

Furthermore, both riders are ruled out by injury from this week’s two Cab Direct Knockout Cup Final meetings between Monarch Oxford Cheetahs and the Poole Pirates.

After requests from fans, Oxford Speedway Supporters’ Club chairman Gavin Beckley set up a machinery fund for the two riders as a GoFundMe page.

It reads: “Both Oxford Cheetah reserves Luke Killeen and Jody Scott suffered crashes at the Cab Direct Playoff Final second leg at Poole on 9th October. Both riders have been left with repair bills of many thousands of pounds, so we’re raising money to help them with the costs.”

The two riders and their families have been blown away with the response. The fund was set up on Friday evening, and by the end of the night, it was already approaching £3,000. At the time of writing, the fund has raised an astonishing £4,793.

Luke Killeen said: “Oxford Speedway is a wonderful club where you can really feel all the love from the fans. I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who has chipped into the GoFundMe page, after I had both a bike and a helmet written off at Poole last week.

“I didn’t know about it at first, but someone told me about it and when I saw how much it had already raised, it brought a tear to my eye.

“I was stressing out about how to pay the bills, because as I’m ruled out by concussion, I’ve got no racing left to earn money. It’s a massive weight off my shoulders and I’m just stoked. It’s amazing and it means so much to Jody and me.”

Shaun Scott added: “As Jody’s father, I cannot even begin to say how grateful we are towards the Oxford fans and everyone who has donated. This means that Jody can continue with his dream. You are all awesome!”

Supporters’ Club chairman Gavin Beckley explained: “Luke and Jody wrote off a bike each at Poole last week. In all the discussion on the internet after the meeting (and there was a LOT of discussion), it was suggested we raise some funds to help them out.

“It was always our intention to donate the raffle proceedings from Thursday’s meeting, do a collection, and top up with some funds from the Supporters’ Club coffers. But we also realise some people couldn’t be there on Thursday, so we set up a GoFundMe page. I know our supporters a generous lot, but I was expecting around £1,500. Maybe, if we were lucky, we’d get to £2,000. How wrong I was. The GoFundMe for Luke and Jody currently sits at over £4,500.

“Oxford Speedway is a family, and we all want the guys to come to the tapes next season in the best possible shape, but the support shown towards Luke and Jody has blown me away.”

The Machinery Fund for Luke Killeen and Jody Scott is at: https://www.gofundme.com/f/machinery-fund-for-luke-killeen-jody-scott

Monarch Oxford Cheetahs are involved in the final of the Cab Direct Knockout Final this week. The first leg will take place down in Dorset at Poole Stadium in Wimborne Road tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7.30pm, with the return leg at Cowley a day later on Thursday at 7.30pm.

Tickets are on sale for the second leg at Cowley at https://oxfordspeedway.club/tickets/

Admission is available at the early bird price of £20 for all adults, which increases to £22 on Race Day. All under-16s go free. A reminder that Oxford Speedway is online ticket sales only – tickets remain on sale on the website until the start-time of the meeting.

Season Passes are NOT valid on Thursday. The passes did not include progression in any competition and all 28 meetings (12 Spires, 11 Cheetahs and 5 Chargers) covered by the Ultimate Pass have all taken place.

Supporters are also urged to buy their tickets for the End Of Season Party at the Double Tree By Hilton Oxford Belfry a week on Friday (October 25) at 7pm. Ticket sales for the party close on Thursday at midday.

PHOTO: Luke Killeen comes crashing down at Poole last Wednesday. Vinnie Foord’s footrest took out over half the spokes from Killeen’s wheel and brought him to a very sudden halt (pic: Steve Edmunds)