Carl Wilkinson (speedway rider)

Carl Adam Wilkinson (born 16 May 1981)[1] is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.[2][3]

Carl Wilkinson
Born (1981-05-16) 16 May 1981
Boston, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1997Peterborough
1999, 2016King's Lynn
2000–2001, 2005Boston
2000, 2007Newcastle
2000Glasgow
2002–2006Newport
2005Berwick
2005–2006, 2008–2010Ipswich
2007Wolverhampton
2008–2011, 2015Scunthorpe
2012–2014Redcar
Team honours
1997Conference League Champion
2000Conference KO Cup Winner

Career

Born in Boston, England, Wilkinson started his career with the Peterborough Panthers in the Conference League in 1997 a week before his sixteenth birthday. It took another two seasons before he was awarded a regular Conference League ride when he was signed by his local club, the Boston Barracudas in 2000.[4]

Wilkinson has ridden for Great Britain at under-21 level. He won the Conference League with the Peterborough Pumas in 1997 and the Conference League KO Cup with the Boston Barracudas in 2000.[5]

He was retained by Boston for 2001, but 2002 saw him signed up by the Newport Wasps for their Premier League team, where he recorded a 4.35 average in his first season. He improved that figure to 4.95 in 2003. He recorded a 4.82 average in 2004 but was forced out of their line-up in 2005 due to the points limit. Wilkinson was not offered a team place with a Premier League club in 2005 so he rejoined the Barracudas in the Conference League. His form did not go unnoticed by the Berwick Bandits and in June was signed up to ride for the rest of the season.[6]

The 2006 season saw Wilkinson return his parent club Newport and he finished second of their team averages on 6.99.[7] He was snapped up by the Newcastle Diamonds in 2007 and finished the season with an average of 6.32. He also made nine appearances for the Wolverhampton Wolves, recording an Elite League average of just over three.

The Scunthorpe Scorpions signed Wilkinson on a full transfer from Newport for their maiden Premier League season in 2008 and he stayed until 2011.[8] In 2009, he shared a reserve berth in the Elite League for the Ipswich Witches. From 2012 to 2015 he rode for Redcar Bears in the Premier League, moving back to Scunthorpe Scorpions in 2015. In 2016, he rode for Scunthorpe and also returned to the Elite League riding at reserve for King's Lynn.

He spent 2017 with Newcastle before one final season with Newcastle in 2018.[9] He retired after the 2018 season.

References
  1. Oakes, P. (2005). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-30-1
  2. Bamford, Robert (1 March 2007). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2007. NPI Media Group. ISBN 0-7524-4250-3.
  3. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  4. "2008 Rider index" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  5. Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.
  6. "Berwick announce Kugelmann replacement". Crash.net. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  7. "Wasp Wilko is back". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  8. "Carl Wilkinson". Scunthorpe Speedway. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
  9. "DIAMONDS SIGN WILKINSON, AARNIO". Speedway Star. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
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