London Riders' Championship

The London Riders' Championship was an individual motorcycle speedway competition for top riders of teams from London. It was a prestigious competition, especially in its early days.

London Riders' Championship
Barry Thomas, twice winner
Sportmotorcycle speedway
Founded1930
Ceased1997
CountryUnited Kingdom

History

The event was introduced in 1930. It was considered a prestigious competition, especially in its early days due to the fact that the leading teams in British speedway at the time were all from London. However, as the number of teams from London dwindled, so did interest in the competition.[1][2] The last competition was held in 1983.[3][4]

An attempted revival of the Championship was made in 2011 at the Arena Essex Raceway speedway track in Purfleet, Essex, where the riders taking part represented not their current clubs, but long-defunct London clubs including West Ham Hammers, New Cross Rangers, Wembley Lions and Walthamstow Wolves. It was staged there as the track, home of the Lakeside Hammers was the closest track to London staging speedway at the time. However, the meeting was abandoned after only a few heats due to heavy rain and was never restaged.[5]

Past winners

Year Winner Team Venue
1930 Jack Ormston (England) Wembley Lions Crystal Palace Exhibition Grounds
1931 Joe Francis (England) Crystal Palace Glaziers Crystal Palace Exhibition Grounds
Championship suspended 1932-1933
1934 Tom Farndon (England) New Cross Lambs New Cross Stadium
1935 Tom Farndon (England) New Cross Lambs New Cross Stadium
1936 Vic Huxley (Australia) Wimbledon Dons New Cross Stadium
1937 Jack Milne (United States) New Cross Rangers New Cross Stadium
1938 Eric Chitty (Canada) West Ham Hammers New Cross Stadium
1939 Jack Milne (United States) New Cross Rangers New Cross Stadium
Championship suspended 1939-1944
1945 Ron Johnson (Australia) unattached New Cross Stadium
1946 Ron Johnson (Australia) New Cross Rangers New Cross Stadium
1947 Vic Duggan (Australia) Harringay Racers New Cross Stadium
1948 Split Waterman (England) Wembley Lions New Cross Stadium
1949 Alec Statham (England) Wimbledon Dons New Cross Stadium
1950 Cyril Roger (England) New Cross Rangers New Cross Stadium
1951 Aub Lawson (Australia) West Ham Hammers New Cross Stadium
1952 Ronnie Moore (New Zealand) Wimbledon Dons New Cross Stadium
1953 Jack Young (Australia) West Ham Hammers Harringay Stadium
1954 Jack Young (Australia) West Ham Hammers West Ham Stadium
1955 Barry Briggs (New Zealand) Wimbledon Dons Wimbledon Stadium
1956 Brian Crutcher (England) Wembley Lions Wembley Stadium
Championship suspended 1957-1962
1963* Norman Hunter (England) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
1964 Mike Broadbanks (England) Swindon Robins West Ham Stadium
1965 Sverre Harrfeldt (Norway) West Ham Hammers Hackney Wick Stadium
1966 Norman Hunter (England) West Ham Hammers Hackney Wick Stadium
1967 Colin Pratt (England) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
1968 Colin Pratt (England) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
1969 Trevor Hedge (England) Wimbledon Dons Hackney Wick Stadium
1970 Trevor Hedge (England) Wimbledon Dons Hackney Wick Stadium
1971 Bengt Jansson (Sweden) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
1972 Ronnie Moore (New Zealand) Wimbledon Dons Hackney Wick Stadium
1973 Barry Thomas (England) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
1974 Barry Thomas (England) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
1975 Dave Jessup (England) Leicester Lions Hackney Wick Stadium
1976 Gordon Kennett (England) White City Rebels Hackney Wick Stadium
1977 Larry Ross (New Zealand) Wimbledon Dons Hackney Wick Stadium
1978 Keith White (England) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
Championship suspended 1979
1980 Finn Thomsen (Denmark) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
Championship suspended 1981
1982 Kai Niemi (Finland) Wimbledon Dons Wimbledon Stadium
1983 Bo Petersen (Denmark) Hackney Hawks Hackney Wick Stadium
1988 Andy Galvin (England) Hackney Kestrels Hackney Wick Stadium
1996 Billy Hamill (United States) Cradley & Stoke London Stadium

* 1963 - Provincial League London Riders Championship

References

  1. Jacobs, Norman (2001). Speedway in London. ISBN 0-7524-2221-9
  2. Belton, Brian (2003). Hammerin' Round. ISBN 0-7524-2438-6
  3. Oakes, P & Rising, P (1986). 1986 Speedway Yearbook. ISBN 0-948882-00-X
  4. Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 66–67. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  5. "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.