Australia national speedway team explained

Clubname:Australia
Colour:Green/Yellow
Swcwins:5
(1976, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2022)

The Australia national speedway team is one of the leading teams in international motorcycle speedway, with the country regarded as the birthplace of the sport in the 1920s. The team are five times champions of the world having won the sports premier team competition in 1976, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2022.[1]

History

The national speedway team held test matches against the England as early as 1928, although the first official test match is listed as 30 June 1930 at Wimbledon Stadium.[2]

The team won its first Speedway World Team Cup in 1976, with captain John Boulger, Phil Crump, Billy Sanders and Phil Herne.[3] [4] [5] They had to wait over 30 years before winning three tournaments out of four, between 1999 and 2002. Key riders during the period were Jason Crump, Leigh Adams, Ryan Sullivan and Todd Wiltshire, who all took part in three wins, while Jason Lyons rode in two (1999 and 2002) and Craig Boyce rode in 2001.[6]

The fifth success came in the 2022 Speedway of Nations (the new name for the World Cup) with the squad members being Jack Holder, Max Fricke and Jason Doyle.[7]

Four times Australian champion Jim Airey is the only Australian rider to win the World Team Cup not riding for Australia. He won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup in Wrocław, Poland, as part of the Great Britain team.

Major tournament wins

World Team Championships

YearVenueStandings (Pts)Australia Riders and Pts
1976
London
White City Stadium
1. Australia (31)
2. Poland (28)
3. Sweden (26)
4. Soviet Union (11)
Phil Crump11
Billy Sanders7
Phil Herne7
John Boulger6
Garry Middleton-
1999
Pardubice
Svítkov Stadion
1. Australia (51)
2. Czech Republic (35)
3. USA (29)
4. England (29)
Leigh Adams14
Jason Crump13+1
Ryan Sullivan12+3
Jason Lyons10+3
Todd Wiltshire2+1
2001
Wrocław
Olympic Stadium
1. Australia (68)
2. Poland (65)
3. Sweden (51)
4. Denmark (44)
5. USA (30)
Jason Crump20
Leigh Adams16
Ryan Sullivan13
Todd Wiltshire10
Craig Boyce9
2002
Peterborough
East of England Showground
1. Australia (64)
2. Denmark (58)
3. Sweden (54)
4. Poland (48)
5. Czech Republic (36)
Leigh Adams17
Ryan Sullivan17
Jason Crump14
Todd Wiltshire13
Jason Lyons3
2022
Vojens
Vojens Speedway Center
1. Australia (30)
2. Great Britain (32)
3. Sweden (30)
4. Denmark (28)
5. Czech Republic (27)
6. Poland (26)
7. Finland (16)
Jack Holder19+4+4
Max Fricke11+3+2
Jason Doyleres

International caps (as of 2022)

Since the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[8]

RiderCaps
Adams, Leigh71
Airey, Jim36
Allan, Gary*1
Amundson, Kym4
Amundson, Robin1
Arnfield, Jack1
Arthur, Frank15
Bainbridge, Junior9
Baker, Steve13
Bartlett, Greg1
Bass, Chris7
Batchelor, Troy9
Bear, Stan4
Benson, Lionel3
Bentzen, Les1
Bibby, Jack4
Biggs, Jack39
Blackadder, Robbie4
Blake, Bobby1
Blight, Ernie3
Board, Johnny1
Boulger, John65
Bowerman, John1
Bowes, Shane51
Boyce, Craig45
Boyle, Tony1
Bradshaw, Peter1
Bryden, Bill10
Butler, Troy28
Cameron, Ken3
Carlson, Mark6
Case, Dick39
Catlett, Stan1
Chamberlain, Johnny6
Chapman, Jack17
Cheshire David3
Chessell, Rod1
Chignell, Jack5
Clay, Norman2
Coddington, Neil8
Collins, Eric9
Colquhoun, Rod3
Cox, Keith5
Cresp, Ray4
Crump, Jason51
Crump, Phil76
Curtis, Geoff9
Davies, Stephen27
Day, Ricky10
Dolan, Frank8
Doyle, Glenn20
Duckett, Frank20
Duggan, Ray14
Duggan, Vic30
Dykes, Peter1
Evans, Ernie8
Farrell, Mike12
Fenn, Eric8
Fiora, Mike6
Forrest, Wayne3
Galloway, Billy1
Gavros, Dennis3
Geran, Jack11
Grosskreutz, Max57
Guasco, Gordon10
Guglielmi, Gary14
Gurtner, Keith23
Hansen, Arnie3
Harding, Merv11
Hastings, Harold1
Henderson, Ron2
Herne, Phil41
Hewitt, Les1
Hibberd, Buzz1
Hodgson, Craig8
Holder, Chris17
Humphreys, Bob12
Hunter, Alec3
Hunter, Rod3
Huxley, Vic47
Hyland, Jack2
Hynes, Dave1
Ingram, Peter2
Isbel, Clayton1
Jackson, Dave4
Johnson, Ron59
Johnston, Steve16
Kennedy, Danny10
Kentwell, Greg18
Kingston, Bert9
Koppe, Steve16
Lamont, Billy15
Landels, Bill8
Langdon, Tony8
Langfield, John50
Langton, Steve2
Lawson, Aub70
Lawson, Don4
Le Breton, Ken12
Leisk, Les9
Lemon, Mark8
Leverenz, Bob10
Levy, Lionel16
Lewis, Harry1
Lindsay, Norman1
Little, Wally13
Loakes, Bryan7
Longley, Bill39
Lyons, Jason35
MacDonald, Kevin1
McCallum, Bruce1
McDonald, Glenn5
McGowan, Travis2
McKean, Dudley2
McKeown, Mick11
McLachlan,Doug2
Maxfield, Rob1
Melluish, Bill2
Menzies, Andy6
Middleton, Garry1
Mills, Dave1
Mitchell, Clem29
Mitchell, Lindsay2
Monk, Charlie26
Moore, Peter22
Moore, Ronnie13
Mountford, Stuart3
Mudge, Geoff10
Murphy, Mick7
Murray, Ken2
Norman, Scott2
Nunan, Tim2
O'Brien, Trevor1
Parker, Shane20
Payne, Arthur18
Pearce, Frank8
Poole, Mick22
Prettjohn, Dave2
Proctor, Ty3
Quinn, Allan1
Regeling, Steve28
Reinke, Steve16
Rivett, Alan9
Rogers, Bill13
Ryan, Buck6
Ryman, Jim2
Sanders, Billy67
Sansom, Lou3
Sawyer, Les1
Schlam, Sig1
Schlein, Rory10
Scott, Jack7
Sedgmen, Justin1
Seers, Dick1
Sharp, Jack14
Sharp, Bob13
Sharpe, Les8
Shields, Adam6
Shields, Dave1
Shirra, Mitch2
Smythe, Dick10
Spencer, Bert6
Spinks, Charlie26
Stewart Col1
Stewart, Len1
Street, Neil9
Sullivan, Ryan33
Sulway, Dick3
Taylor, Alby2
Taylor, Chum28
Taylor, Glyn8
Taylor, Ray4
Thompson, Peter6
Titman, John61
Torpie, Kevin14
Tremmeling, Nigel1
Tulloch, Terry2
Underwood, Doug2
Valentine, Bob24
Van Praag, Lionel54
Vandenberg, Peter2
Walsh, Ken3
Ward, Darcy8
Warren, Graham29
Watson, Cliff14
Watson, Noel4
Watt, Davey18
White, Doug7
Wilkinson, Bluey63
Wiltshire, Todd29
Wise, Dick4
Woods, Len2
Woodward, Cameron1
Wright, Keith1
Young, Frank1
Young, Jack32

Riders marked with an asterisk represented Australia but were not Australian.

See also

Notes and References

  1. . Speedway of Nations Preview . Speedway Star . 22 . 23 July 2022 .
  2. Web site: United Kingdom international matches . International Speedway . 24 October 2023.
  3. Book: Rogers, Martin. The Illustrated History of Speedway. 1978. 134. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-904584-45-3.
  4. Book: Bott, Richard. The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. 1980. 99. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. 0-09-141751-1.
  5. Book: Oakes, Peter. 1981 Speedway Yearbook. 1981. 27–28. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. 0-86215-017-5.
  6. Web site: Roll of honour . Benfield Sports International (BSI) . 2008 . 2008-09-16 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070927213807/http://www.speedwayworld.tv/en/swc/a2595 . 27 September 2007.
  7. . Awesome Aussies . Speedway Star . 3–10 . 6 August 2022 .
  8. Web site: ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022 . British Speedway . 6 October 2023.