Australia national speedway team

Australia is 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.

Australia
Team managerMark Lemon
Team captainChris Holder
Nation colourGreen/Yellow
SWC Wins4 (1976, 1999, 2001, 2002)
Squad
World Championships
Team (SWC) 4 4 3
Pairs 0 3 0
Individual (SGP) 8 7 12

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 2016 SWC) is Chris Holder, Jason Doyle, Josh Grajczonek and Sam Masters.

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
Main article: Team Speedway Junior World Championship
YearPlacePts.Riders
2005——Did not start in Qualifying Round 2
2006——Did not enter
2007——3rd place in Qualifying Round 1
2008433Chris 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)
2012244Darcy Ward (14), Nick Morris (11), Dakota North (8), Sam Masters (6), Alex Davies (5)
2013420Darcy 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)
2015[2]329Host nation
Nick Morris (12), Brady Kurtz (7), Max Fricke (6), Jack Holder (4)
2016237Jake Allen (13), Jack Holder (9), Max Fricke (8), Brady Kurtz (7), Cameron Heeps (Res - DNR)
YearPlacePts.Riders

* Due to cost of travel and visa problems, Australia withdrew from the 2011 Final,

Honours

World Championships
Competitions Total Gold 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) 3 0 2 2012, 2016 1 2015
Pairs (1970-1993) 3 0 3 1974, 1983, 1990 0
Intercontinental (1975-2001) 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) 14 6 1983, 1992, 1995, 2009, 2010, 2016 4 1996, 2007, 2008, 2011 4 1991, 1994, 1995, 1999
Total medals: 58 Gold: 18 Silver: 20 Bronze: 20

Individual World Championship

Individual Under-21 World Championship

* 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

♦ Individual World Champion
• Under-21 World Champion
× World Team Cup / World Cup Champion
* Australian Champion
# Australian Under-21 Champion
† - Deceased

References
  1. "Roll of honour". Benfield Sports International (BSI). 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  2. 2015 Junior World Cup

See also
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