Great Britain national speedway team
| Great Britain | |
|---|---|
| File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg | |
| Team captain | Tai Woffinden |
| Nation colour | Blue |
| SWC Wins | 10 (inc SON) (1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1989, 2021, 2024) |
| Squad |
|
The Great Britain national speedway team (formerly the England speedway team) is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by the Tai Woffinden. The team raced as England from 1928 to 1961 and again from 1974 to 2000. They have raced as Great Britain from 1962 to 1973 and since 2001.
History
The national speedway team held test matches against the Australia as early as 1928, although the first official test match is listed as 30 June 1930 at Wimbledon Stadium.[1] The team won the Speedway World Team Cup on five occasions as England and four times as Great Britain from 1968 to 1989. They were a major force in the 1970s, winning five consecutive tournaments, two as England and three as Great Britain.[2] Key riding members of the title wins include Peter Collins (five wins), Malcolm Simmons (four wins), New Zealand born Ivan Mauger and Ray Wilson (all three wins).[3] Prior to 1974, the Great Britain team often consisted of riders from other Commonwealth Nations including Australia and New Zealand.[4] The cup eluded the team after 1989, although they came close in 2000, missing out when Mark Loram fell in a race-off and 2004 where a team of Mark Loram, Lee Richardson, Gary Havelock, David Norris and Scott Nicholls missed out by one point. Both the 2000 and 2004 narrow defeats were at the hands of Sweden and both in somewhat controversial fashion. In June 2018, Great Britain competed as one of 15 nations in the inaugural Speedway of Nations tournament and in August 2018, Great Britain hosted a top-level international test match for the first time in over 15 years when they took on Australia at Glasgow's Peugeot Ashfield Stadium. At the 2021 Speedway of Nations in Manchester, Team GB ended a 32 years drought. After finishing third in qualifying, they beat Denmark 6–3 in the Grand Final qualifier and then beat Poland in the Grand Final 5–4. The winning team included Robert Lambert, Dan Bewley and Tai Woffinden.[5] The team subsequently won the 2024 Speedway of Nations.[6]
Major tournament wins
World Team Championships
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | England London Wembley Stadium |
1. United Kingdom Great Britain (40) 2. Sweden Sweden (30) 3. Poland Poland (19) 4. Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia (7) |
Ivan Mauger (NZ) | 12 |
| Nigel Boocock | 10 | |||
| Martin Ashby | 8 | |||
| Barry Briggs (NZ) | 7 | |||
| Norman Hunter | 3 | |||
| 1971 | Poland Wrocław Stadion Olimpijski |
1. United Kingdom Great Britain (37) 2. Soviet Union Soviet Union (22) 3. Poland Poland (19) 4. Sweden Sweden (18) |
Ray Wilson | 12 |
| Ivan Mauger (NZ) | 10 | |||
| Jim Airey (AUS) | 9 | |||
| Barry Briggs (NZ) | 6 | |||
| Ronnie Moore (NZ) | dnr | |||
| 1972 | West Germany Olching Olching Speedwaybahn |
1. United Kingdom Great Britain (36) 2. Soviet Union Soviet Union (21) 3. Poland Poland (21) 4. Sweden Sweden (18) |
Ivan Mauger (NZ) | 11 |
| John Louis | 9 | |||
| Terry Betts | 9 | |||
| Ray Wilson | 8 | |||
| Ronnie Moore (NZ) | dnr | |||
| 1973 | England London Wembley Stadium |
1. United Kingdom Great Britain (37) 2. Sweden Sweden (31) 3. Soviet Union Soviet Union (20) 4. Poland Poland (8) |
Peter Collins | 12 |
| Terry Betts | 9 | |||
| Malcolm Simmons | 8 | |||
| Ray Wilson | 8 | |||
| Dave Jessup | dnr | |||
| 1974 | Poland Chorzów Stadion Śląski |
1. England England (42) 2. Sweden Sweden (31) 3. Poland Poland (13) 4. Soviet Union Soviet Union (10) |
Peter Collins | 12 |
| John Louis | 12 | |||
| Dave Jessup | 10 | |||
| Malcolm Simmons | 8 | |||
| Ray Wilson | dnr | |||
| 1975 | Germany Norden Motodrom Halbemond |
1. England England (41) 2. Soviet Union Soviet Union (29) 3. Sweden Sweden (17) 4. Poland Poland (9) |
Peter Collins | 12 |
| Malcolm Simmons | 11 | |||
| Martin Ashby | 10 | |||
| John Louis | 8 | |||
| Dave Jessup | dnr | |||
| 1977 | Poland Wrocław Stadion Olimpijski |
1. England England (37) 2. Poland Poland (25) 3. Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia (23) 4. Sweden Sweden (11) |
Peter Collins | 10 |
| Michael Lee | 9 | |||
| Dave Jessup | 9 | |||
| John Davis | 6 | |||
| Malcolm Simmons | 3 | |||
| 1980 | Poland Wrocław Stadion Olimpijski |
1. England England (40) 2. United States United States (29) 3. Poland Poland (15) 4. Czech Republic Czechoslovakia (12) |
Michael Lee | 11 |
| Chris Morton | 11 | |||
| Peter Collins | 10 | |||
| Dave Jessup | 8 | |||
| John Davis | dnr | |||
| 1989 | England Bradford Odsal Stadium |
1. England England (48) 2. Denmark Denmark (34) 3. Sweden Sweden (30) 4. United States United States (8) |
Jeremy Doncaster | 13 |
| Paul Thorp | 12 | |||
| Kelvin Tatum | 12 | |||
| Simon Wigg | 11 | |||
| Simon Cross | 0 | |||
| 2021 | England Manchester National Speedway Stadium |
1. United Kingdom Great Britain (64+6+5) 2. Poland Poland (74+4) 3. Denmark Denmark (68+3) 4. Australia Australia (49) 5. France France (47) 6. Latvia Latvia (42) 7. Sweden Sweden (30) |
Robert Lambert | 32+4+3 |
| Dan Bewley | 11+2+2 | |||
| Tai Woffinden | 14 | |||
| Tom Brennan | 7 | |||
| 2024 | England Manchester National Speedway Stadium |
1. United Kingdom Great Britain (35+5+7) 2. Australia Australia (36+2) 3. Sweden Sweden (27+4) 4. Germany Germany (26) 5. Poland Poland (24) 6. Denmark Denmark (21) 7. Latvia Latvia (20) |
Robert Lambert | 22+3+4 |
| Dan Bewley | 13+2+3 | |||
| Tom Brennan | dnr |
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Titles
World Pairs Championship
| Year | Venue | Standings (Pts) | Riders | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Sweden Borås Ryavallen |
1. England England (24) 2. New Zealand New Zealand (24) 3. Sweden Sweden B (22) 4. Sweden Sweden A (22) 5. Poland Poland (15) 6. Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia (12) 7. Hungary Hungary (6) |
Ray Wilson | 15+3 |
| Terry Betts | 9 | |||
| 1976 | Sweden Eskilstuna Snälltorpet |
1. England England (27) 2. Denmark Denmark (24) 3. Sweden Sweden (22) 4. Australia Australia (16) 5. New Zealand New Zealand (15) 6. Scotland Scotland (12) 7. Poland Poland (10) |
John Louis | 17 |
| Malcolm Simmons | 10 | |||
| 1977 | England Manchester Hyde Road |
1. England England (28) 2. Sweden Sweden (18) 3. West Germany West Germany (18) 4. Czech Republic Czechoslovakia (17) 5. New Zealand New Zealand (17) 6. Finland Finland (14) 7. Australia Australia (12) |
Peter Collins | 15 |
| Malcolm Simmons | 13 | |||
| 1978 | Poland Chorzówr Stadion Śląski |
1. England England (24) 2. New Zealand New Zealand (24) 3. Denmark Denmark (21) 4. Czech Republic Czechoslovakia (18) 5. Poland Poland (15) 6. West Germany West Germany (13) 7. Sweden Sweden (11) |
Malcolm Simmons | 15+3 |
| Gordon Kennett | 9 | |||
| 1980 | Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Krsko Matija Gubec Stadium |
1. England England (29) 2. Poland Poland (22) 3. Denmark Denmark (21) 4. Sweden Sweden (18) 5. New Zealand New Zealand (16) 6. Finland Finland (14) 7. Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (6) |
Dave Jessup | 15 |
| Peter Collins | 14 | |||
| 1983 | Sweden Göteborg Ullevi |
1. England England (25) 2. Australia Australia (24) 3. Denmark Denmark (19) 4. United States United States (18) 5. Sweden Sweden (16) 6. West Germany West Germany (12) 7. New Zealand New Zealand (11) |
Kenny Carter | 15 |
| Peter Collins | 10 | |||
| 1984 | Italy Lonigo Santa Marina Stadium |
1. England England (27) 2. Denmark Denmark (25) 3. New Zealand New Zealand (25) 4. United States United States (19) 5. Australia Australia (14) 6. Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia (10) 7. Italy Italy (6) |
Chris Morton | 14 |
| Peter Collins | 13 |
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International caps (as of 2022)
Since the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[7]
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Managers
- 1975–1975 (Reg Fearman)
- 1975–1976 (John Berry)
- 1976-1976 (Len Silver)
- 1977–1978 (John Berry)
- 1979–1980 (Colin Pratt)
- 1980–1980 (Ian Thomas)
- 1981-1981 (Len Silver)
- 1982-1982 (Eric Boocock)
- 1983-1984 (Wally Mawdsley)
- 1984–1984 (Carl Glover)
- 1984–1985 (John Berry)
- 1982 & 1986–1993 (Eric Boocock)
- 1986–1993 (Colin Pratt)
- 1994–1998 (John Louis)[8]
- 1994–1994 (James Easter)[8]
- 1998–2001 (Dave Jessup)[9]
- 2001–2008 (Neil Middleditch)
- 2009–2010 (Rob Lyon)[10]
- 2011–2013 (Neil Middleditch)
- 2014–2019 (Alun Rossiter)[11]
- 2019– (Oliver Allen)[12]
- 2019– (Simon Stead)[12]
References
- ↑ "United Kingdom international matches". International Speedway. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ↑ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ↑ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ↑ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ↑ "Speedway: Great Britain claim first world title since 1989 with win over Poland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
- ↑ "Great Britain wins FIM Speedway of Nations World Title in manchester Thriller". FIM Speedway. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Boocock quits". Nottingham Evening Post. 26 November 1993. Retrieved 22 December 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "New boy dave aims to heal the old wounds". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 21 March 1998. Retrieved 22 December 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ↑ "Lyon named GB Boss". Wolverhampton speedway. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ↑ "Alun Rossiter: Great Britain Speedway boss leaves role". BBC. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Team Managers revealed". British Speedway. Retrieved 22 December 2023.
