Arthur Forrest (speedway rider) explained

Arthur Forrest
Nationality:British (English)
Birth Date:5 January 1932
Death Date:January 2000 (aged 68)
Birth Place:Bradford, England
Death Place:North Yorkshire, England
Years1:1949–1951
Career1:Halifax Dukes
Years2:1952–1957
Career2:Bradford Tudors
Years3:1958–1959
Career3:Coventry Bees
Teamyear1:1950
Teamhonour1:National Trophy (Div 2) Winner

Arthur Forrest (5 January 1932 in Bradford, England – January 2000) was an international motorcycle speedway who qualified for the Speedway World Championship finals five times.[1] He earned 26 international caps for the England national speedway team.[2]

Career summary

Forrest started his career with the Halifax Dukes in the 1949 National League Division Three.[3] In his opening season aged just seventeen he scored nineteen maximums (unbeaten by an opponent) from fifty meetings. The following season the Dukes rode in National League Division Two, but Forrest carried on from the previous season, actually raising his average.[4] Whilst with the Dukes he was called up to ride for England at only eighteen years of age.[5] After a third season with the Dukes in 1951 he joined hometown club, the Bradford Tudors in 1952.[6]

The Tudors competed in National League Division One and Forrest rode so well he became top of the teams averages, and qualified for the first of his five World final appearances. He remained with the Tudors until 1957 before joining the Coventry Bees but his career seemed to have already peaked in 1956 when he finished in third place of the Speedway World Championship after beating Peter Craven in a run off.[1]

At the end of the 1959 season, Forrest retired from speedway at only twenty six years of age.[2]

World final appearances

Notes and References

  1. Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing.
  2. Web site: ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 . British Speedway . 1 August 2023.
  3. News: Darling of the fans Warren can give youth its biggest speedway boost . Daily Mirror . 10 June 1949 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 19 September 2024.
  4. Pavey,A. (2004) Speedway in the North-West, Tempus Publishing Ltd.
  5. Foster, P. (2005) History of the Speedway Ashes, The History Press Ltd.
  6. News: Forrest to train at Ainsdale . Liverpool Echo . 23 February 1952 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription . 20 September 2024.