Tom Brennan (speedway rider)

Thomas Brennan (born 2 July 2001) is a British Motorcycle speedway rider.[1]

Tom Brennan
Born (2001-07-02) 2 July 2001
Swindon, Wiltshire, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
Great Britain
2017–2021Eastbourne Eagles
2019Cradley Heathens
2021–2023Glasgow Tigers
2021–2023Belle Vue Aces
Poland
2021Łódź
2022Rawicz
Individual honours
2021British Under-21 Champion
Team honours
2021World team champions
2023Speedway World Cup silver
2022British champions
2023Div 2 winner
2018Div 3 winner
2017, 2018Div 3 KO Cup winner

Career

In 2016, Brennan made a number of guest appearances at reserve for Eastbourne Eagles after he turned 15 and was eligible to ride in the National League. He made his debut for Eastbourne on his 15th birthday against Birmingham Brummies,[2] however he crashed in his first ride and suffered a broken collarbone.[3]

Brennan retained his spot for Eastbourne for the 2017 season.[4] A good start to the season saw him move from reserve to number 1,[5] before he moved to number 4 for the majority of the season. He scored his first paid maximum scoring 9+3 from 4 rides in the National League Knockout Cup Final against Mildenhall Fen Tigers.[6] Brennan finished the season with an average of 7.21, making him the most improved rider in the National League in 2017, with an increase of 4.21 from his starting average of 3.00.[7] He also helped Eastbourne win the Knockout Cup for the third successive season, beating Mildenhall in the final.[8]

For the 2018 season he started in the number 3 position and scored his first full maximum and moved back to number 1 by the end of June.[9][10][11] On 5 July, Brennan competed in the European U19 semi-final in Pardubice, scoring 11 points from his five rides finishing 5th and qualifying for the final.[12] In the final at Varkaus he finished 9th overall with a total of 7 points.[13] Brennan also made a guest appearance in the SGB Premiership.[14][15] Brennan helped Eastbourne win the National League and cup double, winning the playoff and Knockout Cup, defeating Mildenhall in both.[16][17]

Brennan continued with Eastbourne despite their move up to the SGB Championship 2019[18] and this allowed Brennan to sign for the Cradley Heathens in the lower division as well.[19]

In 2021, he became a world champion after Great Britain secured the 2021 Speedway of Nations (the world team title) and signed for the Belle Vue Aces.[20] He returned to ride for Belle Vue in the SGB Premiership 2022, where he won the league title[21] and for the Glasgow Tigers in the SGB Championship 2022.[22] He finished runner-up to Dan Bewley in the 2022 British Speedway Championship[23] and finished in 9th place during the World Under-21 Championship in the 2022 SGP2.[24]

In 2023, he re-signed for Belle Vue for the SGB Premiership 2023[25] and for Glasgow for the SGB Championship 2023,[26] where he won the league title.[27] Also in 2023, he was part of the British team that won the silver medal in the 2023 Speedway World Cup final.[28]

References
  1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  2. "Schoolboy racer Tom Brennan set for Eastbourne Eagles debut". The Argus. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  3. "Eastbourne Eagles win thriller but Tom Brennan suffers debut agony". The Argus. 2 July 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  4. "Speedway ace Brennan, 15, signs for Eagles". Eastbourne Herald. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  5. "2017 National Development League Issue 11" (PDF). Speedway GB. 31 May 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  6. "Eastbourne v Mildenhall" (PDF). Speedway GB. 22 October 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  7. "2017 National Development League Final Averages Issue 33" (PDF). Speedway GB. 9 November 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  8. "Eagles Retain KO Cup". Speedway GB. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2018.
  9. "Brennan back with Eagles". Speedway GB. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  10. "Tom's first 15-pointer". Eastbourne Eagles. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  11. "2018 National Development League Issue 17" (PDF). Speedway GB. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  12. "European U19 Individual Speedway Cup - Semi-Final 1". SpeedwayLive.eu. 5 July 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  13. "The U19 European Cup final in Varkaus". sportowefakty. 11 August 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  14. "Swindon v Poole" (PDF). Speedway GB. 27 August 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  15. "2018 National Development League Issue 31" (PDF). Speedway GB. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  16. "We Win Again!". Eastbourne Eagles. 13 October 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  17. "Just Champion". Eastbourne Eagles. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  18. "Eagles are Go!". Eastbourne Eagles. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  19. "Heathens sign League Champion". Cradley Heathens. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
  20. "Speedway: Great Britain claim first world title since 1989 with win over Poland". BBC Sport. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  21. "2022 Premiership Grand final results". British Speedway. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  22. "Brennan, Tom". British Speedway. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  23. "British Final Roll of Honour". Speedway GB. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  24. "World Under 21 SGP2". FIM. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  25. "Bewley back as Aces declare team". British Speedway. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  26. "Tigers confirm first three". British Speedway. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  27. "Tigers take title glory". Glasgow Tigers Speedway. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
  28. "POLAND WIN SPEEDWAY WORLD CUP AHEAD OF GREAT BRITAIN AS MACIEJ JANOWSKI BEATS ROBERT LAMBERT IN DECISIVE HEAT 20". Eurosport. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
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