Coventry Bees speedway team have issued the following statement regarding arrangements for their East Midlands Bowl matches.
The statement is as follows:
"COVENTRY Speedway wish to clarify arrangements for their opening meeting of the season at Brandon on Friday March 20.
The Buildbase Bees are to face Leicester in the second leg of the East Midlands Bowl, with the first leg at the Jordan Road Surfacing Stadium the previous Sunday.
The timing of both meetings has sparked debate over the last 24 hours due to the Testimonial and Memorial events which also take place early in the season.
The first leg of the EMB at Leicester has now been brought forward to a midday start in order to avoid a clash with Rory Schlein’s Testimonial at King’s Lynn.
The second leg at Brandon takes place on the Bees’ regular Friday race-night, at the same time as the Lee Richardson 'Remembering #Rico' meeting at Lakeside.
Coventry Speedway wish to place on record the fact that everyone at the club has the utmost respect for Lee’s achievements in the sport, and for his family, and we are sure the Purfleet event will be the success it deserves to be.
The scheduling of our opening fixture against Leicester is in no way intended as a show of disrespect to the memory of Lee, who represented the Bees between 2000 and 2003 and won the Elite League Riders’ Championship whilst in our colours.
In purely practical terms, dates are very limited this season with availability of top riders, and with our first Elite League match taking place on March 27, when we face Wolverhampton, we needed to arrange our season-opener for the previous Friday in order to provide a home meeting before the league competition begins.
This is our first available Friday to stage a fixture, as the season does not start until March 15 and this can only be brought forward when Easter falls in March.
However, we intend to stage a collection on the night at Brandon with all proceeds going to Lee Richardson’s family, and this will enable hopefully a large number of Coventry and Leicester supporters to contribute.
In addition, our Track Shop will be fully supportive of the Remembering #Rico Spring Classic, and we will be very happy to sell any merchandise relating to the event, including the meeting DVD when produced, on behalf of the organisers.
It was never our intention to cause upset over this issue, and we hope this makes our position clear. Naturally, we wish everyone involved in the Remembering #Rico Spring Classic all the very best for the event."