For most people watching a Glasgow Tigers speedway meeting on Tigers TV, the focus is firmly on the action on the track. Riders line up at the tapes, engines roar into life, and the racing unfolds at Ashfield Stadium.
What viewers don’t see is the team behind the broadcast.
Among them are Ducky Dorman, IT Support Engineer, and Robert MacRae, IT Apprentice Support Analyst. By day, both work as part of Allied Vehicles’ IT team. On race nights, however, they find themselves helping bring British Speedway to supporters watching from across the UK and beyond. The pair’s shared interest in technology, streaming and content creation makes them uniquely qualified to help turn a long-discussed idea into a reality.
Tigers TV, the club’s streaming platform, has been broadcasting Glasgow Tigers’ home meetings since around April 2026, opening up the sport to supporters who are unable to attend in person. While the project had been discussed within the business for years, it finally gathered momentum towards the end of 2025.
“It was something that Gerry and Peter Facenna, Troy Magee, and Derek Baillie had talked about a few years ago,” explains Ducky. “Then towards the end of last year and into the start of this year, we thought maybe we should try and chase that again.”
Bringing the idea to life required the right mix of technical knowledge and practical experience, and the pair were a natural fit. Ducky had spent years involved in online communities, web development and game-related projects, while Robert arrived at Allied freshly qualified in TV production.
“Ducky and I are actually roommates,” Robert says, “so I came along with him to the Allied Family Day last year to help out. I had studied TV production and there wasn’t much going in the way of TV jobs, and I got chatting to some people that day and ended up applying for the apprenticeship.”
Ducky adds, “We both had experience with streaming and content creation, Robert knows a lot about cameras and the production side, and it all just kind of came together.”
On race nights, the production setup is surprisingly modest. A central control computer manages the stream, video feeds and broadcast software, while Robert operates the main camera from the stadium tower.
A second camera focuses on the start line, helping to capture race finishes. Elsewhere in the stadium, race information, scores and rider data are fed into custom software developed by Ducky and colleague Derek, allowing graphics and overlays to appear on both the stream and the stadium’s big screen.
It’s a simple but effective setup, and the team already have ambitious plans for possible upgrades.
“It would be great to get a wireless camera in and do interviews,” says Robert.
For Ducky, the long-term vision is a more immersive broadcast experience, similar to what dedicated speedway broadcasters can achieve with multiple wireless cameras positioned around a venue.
“That’s what we’d like to get to at some point,” he says. “To be able to move around the stadium, do interviews and really be part of the action.”
Of course, live broadcasting can be famously delicate. If just one piece of the setup fails, the whole thing can go dark. One memorable moment came when a vital camera cable (pictured, right) looked as though it might fail during a meeting. With the wiring running through the tower and across the stadium roof, replacing it quickly wasn’t an option.
“The metal casing that protects the wiring just pinged off! It was definitely an ‘oh no’ moment,” Robert recalls. “It was halfway through the meeting, and we just had to hope that it would hold.” Thankfully, it did.
While Speedway provides an exciting change of pace, broadcasting the meetings is only one part of their roles at Allied.
Robert is approaching his first anniversary with the company and works as a first-line IT apprentice, helping colleagues with everything from new user setups to device configuration and day-to-day support issues.
Ducky, meanwhile, is approaching four years with the business and has taken a less conventional route through the organisation. Having initially joined as a Salesforce developer, his role evolved through software development before moving into infrastructure and broader IT support.
“My entire time here has been a bit different,” he says. “No two days are the same. It’s madness, but I wouldn’t change it.”
For both, one of Allied’s greatest strengths is the encouragement employees receive to explore new ideas and ways of working.
“The freedom of ideas is probably my favourite thing,” says Robert. “If we have an idea we can suggest it and, if it’s possible, we’re encouraged to try it. We’ve got a lot of creative freedom with the stream too, and I enjoy all that side of things anyway.”
Ducky agrees, adding that the support within the wider IT team has played a huge role in helping projects succeed.
“If you ever get stuck, there’s always somebody who can point you in the right direction,” he says. “Everybody knows their stuff and everybody’s willing to help.”
Today, whether they’re solving technical challenges across the business or helping deliver live Speedway coverage to supporters, the pair have found an opportunity to combine professional development with personal interests.
For Ducky, an enthusiasm for Speedway – which Allied introduced him to – makes the project especially rewarding. For Robert, it provides a chance to put the TV production skills he studied before joining Allied into practice.
Together, they’ve helped transform a long-held ambition into a working reality, bringing Glasgow Tigers home meetings to a wider audience. And if Tigers TV continues to grow, viewers can expect to see plenty more innovation from the pair working behind the cameras.
If you’d like to watch the Glasgow Tigers in action but can’t get along to Ashfield, check them out on the stream on Tigers TV at https://tv.glasgowtigers.co.uk/
