Tom Perry (speedway rider)

Thomas Andrew Perry (born 22 February 1993) is a British speedway and grasstrack rider.[1]

Tom Perry
Born (1993-02-22) 22 February 1993
Albrighton, Shropshire, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
2010–2012, 2014, 2017Dudley/Cradley Heathens
2012–2013Somerset Rebels
2013Isle of Wight Islanders
2014Leicester Lions
2014Wolverhampton Wolves
2014Scunthorpe Scorpions
2015–2016Birmingham Brummies
2016Berwick Bandits
2016Peterborough Panthers
2017Glasgow Tigers
2018Belle Vue Colts
2019Stoke Potters
Team honours
2011National Shield
2015National League
2014, 2015, 2019UK fours

Career

Born in Albrighton, Shropshire in 1993, Tom Perry began grasstrack racing at the age of six and took up speedway at the age of ten.[2] His grasstrack successes included winning the British 125cc Youth Championship in 2006, placing in the top three in both the 250cc and 350cc championships in 2009, a fourth place in the British Under-21 Championship and becoming the youngest rider ever to compete in the British Masters Championship when aged 16, finishing in fifth place.[2]

In 2010, he joined National League speedway team Dudley Heathens, and continued to haves success in grasstrack, winning the British Under-21 Championship.[2] After a successful first season is speedway, at the end of which he was voted 'rider of the year' by Heathens fans, he re-signed for the team in 2011, winning the National Shield with Heathens later that year.[2][3] At the end of the season he was awarded a Darren and Sharon Boocock Speedway Scholarship which saw him travel to Australia to gain experience racing in Queensland.[4]

In 2012, he continued with Heathens and also rode in the Premier League for Somerset Rebels, riding in 36 matches for the club. He finished as runner-up in the British Under-21 Speedway Championship that year.

In 2013, he was retained by Somerset in the Premier League, also riding for Isle of Wight Islanders in the National League. He represented Great Britain in the Under-21 Speedway World Cup semi-final, and finished fifth in the British Under-21 Speedway Championship.[5][6]

In December 2013, he was picked in the reserve draft to ride for Leicester Lions in the Elite League in 2014.[7] He was also part of the Cradley team that won the National League Fours, held on 26 October 2014 at Brandon Stadium.[8]

Perry was the 350cc British Grasstrack Champion in 2015 and experienced a very successful season riding for Birmingham Brummies during the 2015 National League speedway season.[9] He won the National League title and was part of the Birmingham team that won the National League Fours, held on 14 June 2015 at Brandon Stadium.[10]

He rode for the Belle Vue Colts during the 2018 National League speedway season and in 2019, he was part of the Stoke Potters team that won the NDL Fours, held on 13 July 2019 at Loomer Road Stadium.[11]

References
  1. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  2. "Rider Index", speedwaygb.co. Retrieved 3 December 2013
  3. "Tom Perry to ride again for Dudley Heathens in 2011", BBC, 11 February 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2013
  4. Hamblin, Tim (2011) "Dudley Heathens riders head to Oz", Express and Star, 14 September 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2013
  5. "Somerset Rebels rider Tom Perry fifth in British U21 Speedway Championship", thisissomerset.co.uk, 24 April 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013
  6. Rogers, Chris (2013) "Tom Perry in GB squad for Under-21 Speedway World Cup semi-final", Western Gazette, 23 May 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013
  7. "Reserve Pairings Revealed", speedwaygb.co, 3 December 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013
  8. "2014 National League Fours" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  9. "Tom Perry". WWOS Backup. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  10. "2015 National League Fours" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  11. "2019 fours final" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
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