Allan Russell Dent (born 22 July 1940) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team.[1][2]

Russ Dent
Born22 July 1940 (1940-07-22) (age 84)
Consett, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1961–1967, 1970Newcastle Diamonds
1967–1969Glasgow Tigers
1971Halifax Dukes
1971–1974Sunderland Stars
1972Wolverhampton Wolves
Team honours
1964Provincial League Champion

Biography

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Dent began his British leagues career riding for Newcastle Diamonds during the newly formed 1965 British League season.[3] Halfway through the 1967 season he moved north of the border to join the Scottish club Glasgow Tigers on loan.[4] He returned to Newcastle for the start of the 1970 Season. In 1971, Newcastle dropped out of the league and most of Newcastle's riders were allocated to Reading Racers but Dent along with George Hunter and Mike Watkin were left without a club.[5]

He dropped down to the British League Division Two in 1971, after joining the Sunderland Stars[6] and made an immediate impact, topping the team's averages for the season.[7] He spent fours years at Sunderland[8] becoming their team captain and earning the nickname 'The Skipper'. He scored 931 points with 61 bonus points, broke the Hull track record and won 1971 Teesside Farewell Trophy and the 1973 Northern Star Championship.[2] He represented England against Scotland in 1974.

References

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  1. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Russ Dent". Speedway Museum online. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  3. ^ "1965 season results" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Happiness and regret". Sports Argus. 26 August 1967. Retrieved 12 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "Speedway". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 15 March 1971. Retrieved 2 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Russ Dent in Wear Line up". Newcastle Evening Chronicle. 5 April 1971. Retrieved 12 November 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  8. ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 12 November 2023.