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John Davis (speedway rider)

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John Davis
Born (1954-11-10) 10 November 1954 (age 69)
Oxford, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
Great Britain
1971-1973Peterborough Panthers
1971, 1981-1983Poole Pirates
1971West Ham Hammers
1971-1974Oxford Cheetahs/Rebels
1972Exeter Falcons
1975-1981, 1985-1987Reading Racers
1983Sheffield Tigers
1984, 1991Wimbledon Dons
1988-1989Kings Lynn Stars
1989-1991Swindon Robins
1991Eastbourne Eagles
Sweden
1989-1990Dackarna
Poland
1991Gdańsk
Individual honours
1984Golden Helmet of Pardubice
1978The Laurels
Team honours
1977World Team Cup Winner
1980British League champion
1977Spring Gold Cup Winner

John Henry Davis (born 10 November 1954 in Oxford, England) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider[1] who represented England, when they won the World Team Cup in 1977 and 1980.[2]

Career

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Davis was capped for the England national speedway team 68 times,[2] and was the first Englishman to win the prestigious Czech Golden Helmet of Pardubice. He also raced in the Swedish and Polish Leagues for Dackarna and Wybrzeże Gdańsk.[3] He raced for Diedenbergen in the German League for ten seasons, winning four German titles, where he was consistently the top performer. He qualified for 16 consecutive British Final appearances, his best finish being second to the late Kenny Carter; this was when England ruled The Speedway World.[4]

He started his career with Peterborough Panthers, during the 1971 British League Division Two season and improved over the next two seasons to the extent that he became a regular for his home city club, the Oxford Rebels.[5]

In 1975, he left Oxford after being caught up in the wrangle over whether Ole Olsen would ride for Oxford, and was in the strange position of guesting for himself in a couple of matches at the start of the season.[6] Eventually, the Speedway Control Board ruled that Olsen would stay with Wolverhampton Wolves and Dag Lovaas would ride at Oxford, allowing Davis to join Reading Racers. He would spend seven years at Smallmead Stadium and consistently produced a high average including 10.32 in 1979.[5] He helped Reading win the league title during the 1980 British League season.

From 1981 to 1983, he rode for Poole Pirates as their main heat leader before switching to Wimbledon for the 1984 season. He returned to Reading for three more years (1985–1987) and then rode for King's Lynn Stars and Swindon Robins[7] respectively before retiring after the 1991 season.

Retirement

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After the end of his speedway career, Davis started a burger business in 1994, which progressed into event catering over the south of the country.[citation needed]

World final appearances

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Individual World Championship

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World Team Cup

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European Grasstrack Championship

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Final

  • 1983 – Germany Nandlastadt 11pts (8th)

References

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  1. ^ Lawson,K (2018) "Riders, Teams and Stadiums". ISBN 978-0-244-72538-9
  2. ^ a b "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
  3. ^ "John Harry Davis Wielka Brytania". Polish Speedway Database. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  4. ^ Oakes, P & Rising, P (1986). 1986 Speedway Yearbook. ISBN 0-948882-00-X
  5. ^ a b "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  6. ^ Lawson,K (2018) "Rebels 1975 – The Last Season". ISBN 978-0-244-99725-0
  7. ^ "Davis in transfer". Lynn Advertiser. 21 July 1989. Retrieved 7 September 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.