Australia national speedway team
| Australia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Team manager | Mark Lemon | ||||
| Team captain | Chris Holder | ||||
| Nation colour | Green/Yellow | ||||
| SWC Wins | 4 (1976, 1999, 2001, 2002) | ||||
| Squad | |||||
| World Championships | |||||
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Australia are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway with the country regarded as the birthplace of the sport in the 1920s. The current team is managed by former rider Mark Lemon, and captained by 2012 World Champion Chris Holder. Australia finished 3rd in the 2014 Speedway World Cup Final on 2 August in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Speedway World Cup
The Australian national speedway team has won both the Speedway World Team Cup (1960-2000) and the Speedway World Cup (2001–present) on two occasions respectively, and were a major force at the turn of the 21st century. The team won its first World Team Cup in 1976 with captain John Boulger, Phil Crump, Billy Sanders, Phil Herne and reserve Garry Middleton, but had to wait over 30 years before winning three tournaments out of four, between 1999 and 2002. Key riding members of the title wins since 1999 include Jason Crump (undefeated through the 2001 World Cup rounds and Final), Leigh Adams, Ryan Sullivan and Todd Wiltshire who took part in all three wins, while Jason Lyons rode in two (1999 and 2002) and Craig Boyce rode in 2001.[1]
Multi-time Australian and New South Wales 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.
The current Australian team (at the 2014 SWC) is Chris Holder, dual Under-21 World Champion Darcy Ward, Jason Doyle and Troy Batchelor.
| 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 | |||
| Key: +1,2... - bonus points gained by finishing behind teammate +1j,+2j... - extra points gained in joker ride | ||||
Team Under-21 World Championship
| Year | Place | Pts. | Riders |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | — | — | Did not start in Qualifying Round 2 |
| 2006 | — | — | Did not enter |
| 2007 | — | — | 3rd place in Qualifying Round 1 |
| 2008 | 4 | 33 | Chris Holder (16), Troy Batchelor (7), Tyron Proctor (7), Robert Ksiezak (2), Kozza Smith (1) |
| 2009 | — | — | Darcy Ward (18), Richard Sweetman (8), Justin Sedgmen (6), Josh Grajczonek (2), Mitchell Davey (1) |
| 2010 | — | — | Darcy Ward (15), Richard Sweetman (11), Sam Masters (9), Justin Sedgmen (8), Josh Grajczonek (3) |
| 2011* | — | — | Won Semi-final 2 Darcy Ward (15), Josh Grajczonek (14), Sam Masters (13), Justin Sedgmen (11), Richard Sweetman (10) |
| 2012 | 2 | 44 | Darcy Ward (14), Nick Morris (11), Dakota North (8), Sam Masters (6), Alex Davies (5) |
| 2013 | 4 | 20 | Darcy Ward (14), Alex Davies (4), Nick Morris (3), Tyson Nelson (2) |
| 2014 | — | — | Max Fricke (10), Mason Campton (10), Nick Morris (9+2), Ryan Douglas (8) |
| Year | Place | Pts. | Riders |
* Due to cost of travel and visa problems, Australia withdrew from the 2011 Final,
Honours
World Championships
| Competitions | Total | Golden medals | Silver medals | Bronze medals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | Years | Total | Years | Total | Years | |||
| Team World Cup |
(1960-2000) (since 2001) |
11 | 4 | 1976, 1999, 2001, 2002 | 4 | 2003, 2009, 2011, 2012 | 3 | 2007, 2013, 2014 |
| Team U-21 | (since 2005) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2012 | 1 | 2015 | |
| Pairs | (1970-1993) | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1974, 1983, 1990 | 0 | ||
| Individual Grand Prix |
(1936-1994) (since 1995) |
27 | 8 | 1936, 1938, 1951, 1952, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2012 | 7 | 1983, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008 | 12 | 1936, 1950, 1951, 1958, 1976, 1980, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010 |
| Individual U-21 | (since 1977) | 13 | 5 | 1983, 1992, 1995, 2009, 2010 | 4 | 1996, 2007, 2008, 2011 | 4 | 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999 |
| Total medals: 56 | Gold: 17 | Silver: 19 | Bronze: 20 | |||||
World Champions
Individual World Championship
- 1936 -
London, Wembley Stadium - Lionel Van Praag 26+3pts - 1938 - London, Wembley Stadium - Bluey Wilkinson 22pts
- 1951 - London, Wembley Stadium - Jack Young 12+3pts
- 1952 - London, Wembley Stadium - Jack Young 14pts
- 2004 - Jason Crump 158pts
- 2006 - Jason Crump 188pts
- 2009 - Jason Crump 159pts
- 2012 - Chris Holder 160pts
Individual Under-21 World Championship
- 1983* -
Lonigo, Pista Speedway - Steve Baker 13pts - 1992 -
Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, Speedway Stadion Pfaffenhofen - Leigh Adams 14+3pts - 1995 -
Tampere, Ratinan Stadion - Jason Crump 13+3pts - 2009 -
Goričan, Stadium Milenium - Darcy Ward 13pts - 2010 - Gdańsk,
Daugavpils, Pardubice - Darcy Ward 30+3pts
* Steve Baker's win in 1983 was when it was known as the European Under-21 Championship
World Team Cup / World Cup Titles
| Preceded by England |
World Champions 1976 (1st title) |
Succeeded by England |
| Preceded by Sweden |
World Champions 1999 (2nd title) |
Succeeded by Sweden |
| Preceded by Sweden |
World Champions 2001 (3rd title) 2002 (4th title) |
Succeeded by Sweden |
Notable riders
- Leigh Adams • × * #
- Jim Airey × *
- Frank Arthur * †
- Steve Baker •
- Troy Batchelor *
- John Boulger × *
- Shane Bowes
- Craig Boyce × *
- Troy Butler *
- Jason Crump ♦ • × *
- Phil Crump × *
- Stephen Davies
- Glenn Doyle *
- Jason Doyle
- Ray Duggan †
- Vic Duggan * †
- Mark Fiora
- Max Grosskreutz * †
- Gordon Guasco †
- Gary Guglielmi
- Phil Herne
- Craig Hodgson # †
- Chris Holder ♦ *
- Vic Huxley * †
- Aub Lawson * †
- Ken Le Breton †
- Bob Leverenz †
- Jason Lyons ×
- Travis McGowan #
- Garry Middleton ×
- Scott Norman
- Shane Parker
- Mick Poole
- Steve Regeling *
- Billy Sanders × * †
- Rory Schlein #
- Bob Sharp †
- Neil Street †
- Ryan Sullivan × * #
- John Titman *
- Chum Taylor *
- Lionel Van Praag ♦ †
- Bluey Wilkinson ♦ * †
- Todd Wiltshire × *
- Darcy Ward • #
- Davey Watt
- Cameron Woodward
- Jack Young ♦ †
♦ Individual World Champion
• Under-21 World Champion
× World Team Cup / World Cup Champion
* Australian Champion
# Australian Under-21 Champion
† - Deceased
References
- ↑ "Roll of honour". Benfield Sports International (BSI). 2008. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
See also
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