FACHER, Frank
DATE OF BIRTH: 11 June 1989, Olching, Germany.
BRITISH CAREER: (2009) Berwick; (2010) Stoke.
MAJOR HONOUR: German Under-21 Champion: 2009.
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 7.00 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The young German was introduced to the Berwick side at the beginning of August 2009, when he replaced locally-based Greg Blair. His first taste of domestic British racing came after he had impressed in the German Championship at Diedenbergen on 14 September 2008, when he occupied fourth position. However, because of enforced changes to fixtures in his homeland, Facher's future unavailability meant a revision of the Bandits' team plans towards the end of August, with Tamas Sike subsequently drafted in to replace him. Facher went on to achieve glory at Norden on 13 September, when he won the German Under-21 Championship ahead of Kevin Wölbert and Max Dilger. After almost a year away from the British racing scene, he made a return with Stoke early in August 2010, when he replaced injured Czech Hynek Štichauer.

FELTON, Dean Graham
DATE OF BIRTH: 18 August 1969, Wolverhampton, West Midlands.
BRITISH CAREER: (1994) Buxton, Oxford, Ipswich; (1995-96) Buxton; (1997) Buxton, Stoke, Edinburgh, Skegness, Long Eaton, Shuttle Cubs; (1998) Stoke; (1999) Berwick, Glasgow; (2000) Buxton, Berwick; (2001) Stoke, Buxton; (2002-03) Carmarthen; (2004) Carmarthen, King’s Lynn II; (2005) Buxton; (2006-08) Sittingbourne; (2009) Mildenhall, Isle of Wight; (2010) Isle of Wight.
RIDER LINKS: Nephew of Dave Harvey (born: 13 October 1950, Birmingham, West Midlands).
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 4.27 (NL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Felton first rode in the Reserve League for his hometown track, Wolverhampton, in 1993. He is a vastly experienced competitor, particularly in British speedway's third tier of operations. Although linked with Buxton more than anyone else, the West Midlander has also ridden for a variety of clubs on his way to being the highest all-time appearance-maker at Conference/National League level, with well over 200 matches under his belt. In 2009, he joined Mildenhall after being identified with Sittingbourne for the previous three seasons, but lost his place in the Fen Tigers' line-up towards the end of August, when Taylor Poole was drafted into the side.

Almost immediately, though, Felton was signed by the Isle of Wight following the injuries suffered by Brendan Johnson in a frightening track crash at Smallbrook Stadium. And, in January, the Islanders' management announced that the veteran campaigner would again be a member of their 2010 line-up. He was in the wars shortly after the start of the season, however, when Newport's Tom Young collected him in heat eight of the Isle of Wight's visit to Queensway Meadows for a National League fixture on 24 April.

The accident saw Felton go head first into the air safety barrier and he was fortunate to escape with only facial injuries and a knock to an elbow. Then, on 4 May, the Wolverhampton-born rider crashed on the first lap of heat ten as the Islanders entertained Weymouth in a Knock-Out Cup tie, sustaining further damage to the elbow he had injured at Newport. Subsequent X-rays, taken at his local hospital, revealed that he hadn't suffered any broken bones, although there was some muscle/ligament damage.

FISHER, Ryan Scott
DATE OF BIRTH: 7 September 1983, Riverside, California, USA.
BRITISH CAREER: (2002-03) Coventry; (2004) Oxford; (2007) Belle Vue; (2008) Edinburgh; (2009) Edinburgh, Swindon; (2010) Edinburgh.
CLUB HONOURS: Premier Trophy winner: 2008 [Edinburgh]; League Championship winner: 2008, 2010 [both Edinburgh]; Play-Off winner: 2008, 2009 [both Edinburgh].
RIDER LINKS: Son-in-law of Gene Woods (born: 27 March 1958, Long Beach, California, USA).
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 8.25 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The uncle of Fisher’s wife, Daelyn, is former rider Rick Woods (born: 11 June 1948, Newport Beach, California, USA). In another speedway tie-up, her step-father is Mike Faria (born: 4 March 1957, Richmond, California, USA) who, like Fisher, served Edinburgh with distinction during his time in the UK.

The hugely talented American rider began his British career at Coventry in 2002 and was to spend two terms with the Brandon-based club, before a switch to Oxford in 2004. Following that, he didn’t return to these shores until 2007, when he linked with Belle Vue for what turned into a frustrating spell for both rider and club, being eventually dropped in June and subsequently replaced by Billy Forsberg.

The Californian was offered a lifeline by Premier League Edinburgh in 2008 and he grabbed it with both hands to play a leading role in the Monarchs’ League Championship and Premier Trophy double success. His tenacious and energetic brand of racing guaranteed ‘Fish’ a return to Edinburgh in 2009, when he also joined Swindon as a ‘doubling-up’ rider alongside Cory Gathercole and, in the latter part of the campaign, Mark Lemon.

Such was his form with the Robins that he did consider a switch back into the top-flight for 2010; however, in November, the Scottish outfit was delighted to announce that the remarkable, up and at ‘em American, who possesses the ultimate in determination, had agreed terms for a third successive season in their distinctive colours. And he was to power the Monarchs to their second League Championship success in three years, courtesy of an average in excess of 10 points per match.

Although it looked like he would finish the campaign at the head of the entire Premier League’s statistical run-down, he was pipped for top spot right at the death by Newcastle’s Kenni Larsen as Edinburgh finally ran out of steam, losing in the Play-Off semi-final to Sheffield and the Knock-Out Cup final to Newcastle. Even so, Fisher still ended the term with a fantastic 10.01 average, having recorded 495 points from forty-three official matches.

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:      
SWC tournaments: 2
Events: 3 – 7th on USA’s list; 83rd on SWC all-time list
Points: 20 – 7th on USA’s list; 74th on SWC all-time list
Finals: 0
Gold medals: 0

FRAMPTON, Jordan John
DATE OF BIRTH: 8 March 1985, Poole, Dorset.
BRITISH CAREER: (2004) Swindon II, King’s Lynn II, Sheffield II; (2005) Sittingbourne; (2006) Plymouth, Mildenhall, Weymouth II; (2007) Somerset, Oxford II; (2008) Somerset, Poole; (2009) Newport, Coventry; (2010) Rye House, Swindon.
CLUB HONOUR: Knock-Out Cup winner: 2008 [Somerset]
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.81 (PL), 3.90 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Since initially representing Swindon Sprockets at Conference-level in 2004, the talented youngster has made solid progress in recent seasons and established himself as a consistent performer in Premier League circles. He assumed a ‘doubling-up' position with Coventry in 2009 and, at the beginning of May, the club announced that they had completed the signing of Frampton as a full asset after a series of eye-catching early displays in the Elite League. The Poole-born rider was purchased from the former Somerset promotion, and continued to race for Premier League Newport while also ‘doubling-up' with the Bees.

However, following Coventry's decision to sign Scott Nicholls as an interim replacement for the injured Olly Allen and negotiations with the BSPA over the re-declaration of their team line-up, the Bees agreed that Frampton would stand down from the side until Allen was fit to return to the saddle. His place in the squad was therefore filled in the interim period by Robert Ksiezak. When Allen was fit to resume in the Coventry side in July, this saw the release of Nicholls and meant that Frampton was permitted to return to his ‘doubling-up' role alongside Josh Auty.

Unluckily, the rider from Dorset crashed in his first ride (heat three) for the Bees at Wolverhampton in an Elite League fixture on 20 July, sustaining a broken scaphoid and medial bone in his wrist. As a result, Coventry temporarily dispensed with using the ‘doubling-up' facility and this meant an extended run in the side for Filip Šitera, who had previously been covering for the injured Ben Barker. Both Frampton and Auty were recalled to the ‘doubling-up' position with Coventry at the end of August, though, upon the release of Šitera.

Frampton went on to complete fifty-seven official meetings between his two clubs, representing Newport thirty-seven times and scoring 305 points for a real-time 7.36 average. For the Bees, meanwhile, he made twenty appearances and yielded 91 points for a 4.72 average. Just after the calendar had clicked into January, Rye House announced that they had acquired Frampton's services on loan for 2010 and, shortly afterwards, Swindon unveiled him as their second ‘doubling-up' rider, alongside Cory Gathercole.

He was to produce great form for the Rockets, which saw him maintain an average of over 8.5 points per match before an injury stopped him in his tracks. This occurred when the Hoddesdon-based club visited Berwick for a league match on 31 July when, in heat thirteen, Frampton took a heavy tumble after being involved in a collision with team-mate Linus Sundström. There was bad news for Rye House the following morning when the extent of his injury was partially revealed; the 25-year-old was diagnosed with a dislocated left knee cap. Regrettably, the rider was to learn from subsequent hospital X-rays that he had also fractured the knee cap, which meant a prolonged spell out of action for the 2010 British finalist.

Frampton was given the all-clear by his doctor on 6 September and participated in a ‘closed doors' practice session two days later. That delivered a positive outcome as he came through the session with flying colours and, although not surprisingly a little off full match fitness, reported no side effects to his injury after a gruelling one hour-plus trial.

FRANC, Josef (Pepe)
DATE OF BIRTH: 18 January 1979, Caslav, Czech Republic.
BRITISH CAREER: (2001) Berwick; (2003-04) Berwick; (2005-08) Newcastle; (2009) Berwick; (2010) Sheffield.
MAJOR HONOURS: Czech Republic Under-21 Champion: 1998, 1999, 2000.
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 7.84 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Franc first rode at the famous Marketa Stadium in Prague – home of the Czech Republic Grand Prix – in 1994, when aged fifteen. Prior to journeying to the UK, he brilliantly posted three successive wins in his country’s Under-21 Championship, taking victory in 1998, 1999 and 2000. He was signed by Berwick in 2001 and his cheerful demeanour made him an instant hit with the Bandits’ supporters. The Czech star didn’t reappear on these shores the following year, but resumed with the Borders club for a two-year stint starting in 2003.

He travelled down the A1 to link with Newcastle in 2005 and enjoyed four seasons with the Geordies, with whom he was renowned for his electric starts and prolific scoring ability. In a move that was very well received by the fans, the small-in-stature rider made a return to the ranks at Berwick in 2009 and again held down a heat-leader berth as he continued his long-term association with the North-East. Capped by his country on a number of occasions since making his international debut in 2003, ‘Pepe’ was a member of the Czech team that contested Event One of the Speedway World Cup at Vojens, Denmark, on 11 July 2009.

Franc joined Sheffield in a loan deal from Berwick for the 2010 campaign but, after making a promising start in their colours, he had to withdraw from the Tigers’ league meeting at Somerset on 14 May. This came after he had been forced off his machine by Rebels’ star Cory Gathercole in heat seven. As the tapes rose on the race, the fast-gating Czech led from the home side’s Aussie duo of James Holder and Gathercole. The latter closed on Franc and challenged on the fourth turn but, as he delivered what appeared to be a telling pass, he caught some grip and his bike straightened, clipping the Sheffield rider’s steed in the process.

As a result, the diminutive racer took an almighty tumble into the safety fence and was down for some time. Despite sustaining ligament and muscle damage to his left arm, he rode on in the Tigers’ next couple of matches at Rye House the following day and at home to Berwick on 20 May. But he came a cropper again in heat nine of the latter meeting, aggravating the damage to his arm. This led to a spell on the sidelines, before he was declared fit to return a little under a month later.

On 23 July, Franc was a surprise winner of the prestigious Scottish Open Championship at Edinburgh – after only been invited to participate on the day before the meeting! The diminutive rider finished well clear in the grand final, having picked up his gating later in the meeting after starting off with three third places. The Czech was joined on the rostrum by runner-up Olly Allen, with Andrew Tully the best home rider in third spot.

That was undoubtedly the highlight of his campaign, but a low point occurred when he missed Sheffield’s Premier League Play-Off semi-final against Edinburgh at Owlerton on 30 September after a clash of fixtures in the Czech Republic. Having been deemed to be withholding his services, he received the statutory 28-day ban.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Record:
Grand Prix ridden: 2 – 92nd on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix points: 4 – 105th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix races: 4 – 111th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix race wins: 0 – n/a
Grand Prix wins: 0 – n/a      
Grand Prix finals: 0 – n/a

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:
SWC: 4
Events: 5 – 5th on Czech Republic’s list; 52nd on SWC all-time list
Points: 11 – 8th on Czrch Republic’s list; 93rd on SWC all-time list
Finals: 0
Gold medals: 0

FRANKLIN, Richard (Ritchie)
DATE OF BIRTH: 30 October 1992, Coventry, Warwickshire.
BRITISH CAREER: (2008) Rye House II; (2009) Scunthorpe II; (2010) Dudley.
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 5.06 (NL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Franklin, a former Coventry mascot, regrettably sustained injuries to his back and pelvis whilst representing Great Britain in an Under-21 Test match versus Australasia at King's Lynn on 11 July 2009. The accident, in heat four, saw him catapult over his handlebars and into the fence after opposing rider Shelby Rutherford had locked-up on the fourth corner of the initial lap. The injury meant a spell on the sidelines and he was replaced in Scunthorpe's National League team by Sean Stoddart.

Franklin returned to the Scorpions' declared line-up near the end of the same month, when he took the place of John MacPhail. The youngster was subsequently forced to miss another sector of the season in August, when he had to have an operation to remove his appendix. In early-February 2010, he was named as a member of the new Dudley side - who had entered the National League - riding their home fixtutes out of Birmingham and Wolverhampton.  

Franklin was injured during the Heathens' away league match at King's Lynn on 18 July and necessitated an overnight stay in hospital. He sustained a throat injury after his windpipe had taken a hefty knock and struggled to talk properly as a result. The Coventry-born racer also had difficulty in swallowing solid food; however, his recuperation proved quick and he returned to action for Dudley in a league encounter versus Scunthorpe at Wolverhampton's Monmore Green racing strip just nine days after the accident.

The former Cradley club lost key reserve Franklin with concussion after a crash in the second race during their league fixture at the Isle of Wight on 2 September but, six days later, he happily received the all-clear from his doctor to resume riding. And he marked his return to the side that evening by top-scoring with an excellent haul of 10+3 points, as the Heathens defeated Plymouth in a National League fixture at Birmingham's Perry Barr raceway.