Australia national speedway team

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]

Australia
Nation colourGreen/Yellow
SWC Wins5
(1976, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2022)

History

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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

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World Team Championships

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Year Venue Standings (Pts) Australia Riders and Pts
1976  
London
White City Stadium
1.   Australia (31)
2.   Poland (28)
3.   Sweden (26)
4.   Soviet Union (11)
Phil Crump 11
Billy Sanders 7
Phil Herne 7
John Boulger 6
Garry Middleton -
1999  
Pardubice
Svítkov Stadion
1.   Australia (51)
2.   Czech Republic (35)
3.   USA (29)
4.   England (29)
Leigh Adams 14
Jason Crump 13+1
Ryan Sullivan 12+3
Jason Lyons 10+3
Todd Wiltshire 2+1
2001  
Wrocław
Olympic Stadium
1.   Australia (68)
2.   Poland (65)
3.   Sweden (51)
4.   Denmark (44)
5.   USA (30)
Jason Crump 20
Leigh Adams 16
Ryan Sullivan 13
Todd Wiltshire 10
Craig Boyce 9
2002  
Peterborough
East of England Showground
1.   Australia (64)
2.   Denmark (58)
3.   Sweden (54)
4.   Poland (48)
5.   Czech Republic (36)
Leigh Adams 17
Ryan Sullivan 17
Jason Crump 14
Todd Wiltshire 13
Jason Lyons 3
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 Holder 19+4+4
Max Fricke 11+3+2
Jason Doyle res

International caps (as of 2022)

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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]

Rider Caps
Adams, Leigh 71
Airey, Jim 36
Allan, Gary* 1
Amundson, Kym 4
Amundson, Robin 1
Arnfield, Jack 1
Arthur, Frank 15
Bainbridge, Junior 9
Baker, Steve 13
Bartlett, Greg 1
Bass, Chris 7
Batchelor, Troy 9
Bear, Stan 4
Benson, Lionel 3
Bentzen, Les 1
Bibby, Jack 4
Biggs, Jack 39
Blackadder, Robbie 4
Blake, Bobby 1
Blight, Ernie 3
Board, Johnny 1
Boulger, John 65
Bowerman, John 1
Bowes, Shane 51
Boyce, Craig 45
Boyle, Tony 1
Bradshaw, Peter 1
Bryden, Bill 10
Butler, Troy 28
Cameron, Ken 3
Carlson, Mark 6
Case, Dick 39
Catlett, Stan 1
Chamberlain, Johnny 6
Chapman, Jack 17
Cheshire David 3
Chessell, Rod 1
Chignell, Jack 5
Clay, Norman 2
Coddington, Neil 8
Collins, Eric 9
Colquhoun, Rod 3
Cox, Keith 5
Cresp, Ray 4
Crump, Jason 51
Crump, Phil 76
Curtis, Geoff 9
Davies, Stephen 27
Day, Ricky 10
Dolan, Frank 8
Doyle, Glenn 20
Duckett, Frank 20
Duggan, Ray 14
Duggan, Vic 30
Dykes, Peter 1
Evans, Ernie 8
Farrell, Mike 12
Fenn, Eric 8
Fiora, Mike 6
Forrest, Wayne 3
Galloway, Billy 1
Gavros, Dennis 3
Geran, Jack 11
Grosskreutz, Max 57
Guasco, Gordon 10
Guglielmi, Gary 14
Gurtner, Keith 23
Hansen, Arnie 3
Harding, Merv 11
Hastings, Harold 1
Henderson, Ron 2
Herne, Phil 41
Hewitt, Les 1
Hibberd, Buzz 1
Hodgson, Craig 8
Holder, Chris 17
Humphreys, Bob 12
Hunter, Alec 3
Hunter, Rod 3
Huxley, Vic 47
Hyland, Jack 2
Hynes, Dave 1
Ingram, Peter 2
Isbel, Clayton 1
Jackson, Dave 4
Johnson, Ron 59
Johnston, Steve 16
Kennedy, Danny 10
Kentwell, Greg 18
Kingston, Bert 9
Koppe, Steve 16
Lamont, Billy 15
Landels, Bill* 8
Langdon, Tony 8
Langfield, John 50
Langton, Steve 2
Lawson, Aub 70
Lawson, Don 4
Le Breton, Ken 12
Leisk, Les 9
Lemon, Mark 8
Leverenz, Bob 10
Levy, Lionel 16
Lewis, Harry 1
Lindsay, Norman 1
Little, Wally 13
Loakes, Bryan 7
Longley, Bill 39
Lyons, Jason 35
MacDonald, Kevin 1
McCallum, Bruce 1
McDonald, Glenn 5
McGowan, Travis 2
McKean, Dudley 2
McKeown, Mick 11
McLachlan,Doug 2
Maxfield, Rob 1
Melluish, Bill 2
Menzies, Andy 6
Middleton, Garry 1
Mills, Dave 1
Mitchell, Clem 29
Mitchell, Lindsay 2
Monk, Charlie 26
Moore, Peter 22
Moore, Ronnie 13
Mountford, Stuart 3
Mudge, Geoff 10
Murphy, Mick 7
Murray, Ken 2
Norman, Scott 2
Nunan, Tim 2
O'Brien, Trevor 1
Parker, Shane 20
Payne, Arthur 18
Pearce, Frank 8
Poole, Mick 22
Prettjohn, Dave 2
Proctor, Ty 3
Quinn, Allan 1
Regeling, Steve 28
Reinke, Steve 16
Rivett, Alan* 9
Rogers, Bill 13
Ryan, Buck 6
Ryman, Jim 2
Sanders, Billy 67
Sansom, Lou 3
Sawyer, Les 1
Schlam, Sig 1
Schlein, Rory 10
Scott, Jack 7
Sedgmen, Justin 1
Seers, Dick 1
Sharp, Jack 14
Sharp, Bob 13
Sharpe, Les 8
Shields, Adam 6
Shields, Dave 1
Shirra, Mitch* 2
Smythe, Dick 10
Spencer, Bert 6
Spinks, Charlie 26
Stewart Col 1
Stewart, Len 1
Street, Neil 9
Sullivan, Ryan 33
Sulway, Dick 3
Taylor, Alby 2
Taylor, Chum 28
Taylor, Glyn 8
Taylor, Ray 4
Thompson, Peter 6
Titman, John 61
Torpie, Kevin 14
Tremmeling, Nigel 1
Tulloch, Terry 2
Underwood, Doug 2
Valentine, Bob 24
Van Praag, Lionel 54
Vandenberg, Peter 2
Walsh, Ken 3
Ward, Darcy 8
Warren, Graham 29
Watson, Cliff 14
Watson, Noel 4
Watt, Davey 18
White, Doug 7
Wilkinson, Bluey 63
Wiltshire, Todd 29
Wise, Dick 4
Woods, Len 2
Woodward, Cameron 1
Wright, Keith 1
Young, Frank 1
Young, Jack 32

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

References

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  1. ^ "Speedway of Nations Preview". Speedway Star. 23 July 2022. p. 22.
  2. ^ "United Kingdom international matches". International Speedway. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  3. ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
  4. ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
  5. ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
  6. ^ "Roll of honour". Benfield Sports International (BSI). 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  7. ^ "Awesome Aussies". Speedway Star. 6 August 2022. pp. 3–10.
  8. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.

See also

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