NEATH, Christopher (Chris)
DATE OF BIRTH: 29 January 1982, Worcester, Worcestershire.
BRITISH CAREER: (1998-99) Newport, Newport II; (2000-01) Newport; (2002-03) Swindon, Wolverhampton; (2004) Rye House, Wolverhampton; (2005-06) Rye House; (2007) Rye House, Lakeside, Reading; (2008) Rye House, Wolverhampton; (2009) Rye House, Poole; (2010) Rye House, Lakeside.
CLUB HONOURS: Premier Trophy winner: 1999 [Newport], 2005 [Rye House]; League Championship winner: 1999 [Newport II], 2002 [Wolverhampton], 2005 [Rye House], 2007 [Rye House]; Four-Team Championship winner: 2003 [Swindon].
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.93 (PL), 3.49 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Neath initially forged a successful career in speedway's sister sport, becoming British Schoolboy Grass-track Champion at Junior level in 1993 and at Intermediate level in 1997. He has gone on to gain a wealth of experience on the UK speedway scene, having first ridden for Newport at Conference League level in 1998. His meteoric development that year saw him appear in three different spheres in the one season; he rode in the Youth Development League for Wolverhampton, as well as representing Newport at both Conference and Premier level.

He is currently the skipper of PL outfit Rye House and, having become an asset of the side in a formal off-season transfer from Wolverhampton, the 2009 campaign represented his sixth successive term with the Hertfordshire side. And, he had to overcome a nasty burn injury to his thigh in the opening meeting of the season versus Birmingham in the Premier Trophy at Hoddesdon on 15 March, before determinedly going on to total 412 points from forty-six official matches for a real-time average of 7.82.

‘Mr. Big Stuff', as he is known at the Hoddesdon club, won the Premier League Championship with the Rockets in both 2005 and 2007, having previously struck Elite League gold with the Wolverhampton in 2002. Neath was awarded a testimonial in 2008, with his special meeting going ahead at Rye House on 20 September, when Fredrik Lindgren took the spoils of victory in an individual event.

The Worcester-born speedster also replaced Craig Watson as Poole's No. 8 rider in April 2009. However, a re-shaping of the Pirates' declared line-up towards the end of the following month saw Neath lose his position with at the club. He had previously enjoyed similar stints at top-flight level with Lakeside and Reading (both 2007), and Wolverhampton (2008) - the latter with whom he also ‘doubled-up' from 2002 to 2004, inclusive. In November 2009, it was announced that the ever-loyal teamster had agreed to remain with Rye House for a seventh straight season in 2010. And, in early July, he again took a No. 8 role with Elite League Lakeside, filling the position previously held by Jerran Hart.

NEWMAN, Kyle
DATE OF BIRTH: 14 December 1991, Poole, Dorset.
BRITISH CAREER: (2007-08) Weymouth; (2009) Bournemouth, Newport; (2010) Newport II, Birmingham.
CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2008 [Weymouth], 2009 [Bournemouth]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2009 [Bournemouth].
RIDER LINKS: Son of Keith Newman (born: 3 May 1962, Poole, Dorset).
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 7.21 (NL), 3.00 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Having initially been Newport’s No. 8 rider, Newman officially came into the Wasps’ declared 1-7 in May 2009 as a replacement for the injured Nick Simmons. However, by the end of the month, he himself had been replaced in the line-up by Tony Atkin. The Poole-born rider was subsequently recalled by the Wasps as a ‘doubling-up’ rider – along with Kyle Hughes – in place of Atkin in early June. Subsequently though, at the start of the following month, his ‘doubling-up’ partner was changed to Shelby Rutherford, as the club brought in a raft of changes to try and improve their on-track results.

A little over a week later, though, a further alteration saw Newport opt for a straight 1-7 line-up, with Marek Mroz coming in to replace both Newman and Rutherford. The Dorset lad continued his somewhat yo-yo association with the Wasps in August, however, when he was re-declared back into the line up after Mroz had sustained a broken leg. Regrettably – having helped Bournemouth to lift the Knock-Out Cup – the youngster ended the season with a serious injury himself, when he shattered his left thigh in six places during the Welsh Junior Championship at Queensway Meadows on 18 October.

He received the multiple injuries in heat ten when, on the third bend of lap three, he attempted to pass Andrew Aldridge. The two riders unfortunately collided and Newman was violently hit by both machines, before ending up in the air safety barrier. Aldridge was back on his feet quickly, whilst Newman was eventually taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital in extreme discomfort, wrecking his plans for a close season of racing in Australia. The injury also forced him to miss Bournemouth’s Play-Off success over Plymouth, although he was still credited with a second successive League Championship-winning medal.

Newman still made to trip Down Under to help his recovery from a broken femur but, shortly after leaving, he surprisingly lost his team spot with the Buccaneers to Dan Halsey. However, within days of his shock exit from the Dorset club, Newport announced that he would represent their National League side in 2010. Furthering his career, it was revealed on 25 May that Birmingham had also acquired him as a replacement for Australian Jake Anderson.

As a mark of both his progress and potential, the Brummies went on to sign him as a club asset just prior to the second leg of the Premier Trophy final versus Newcastle at Perry Barr on 28 July. Newport countered that he remained their asset, however, and revealed in October that they had turned down an offer from top-flight Swindon for the youngster.

NICHOLLS, Scott Karl
DATE OF BIRTH: 16 May 1978, Ipswich, Suffolk.
BRITISH CAREER: (1994) Peterborough; (1995-98) Ipswich; (1999-2000) Poole; (2001-04) Ipswich; (2005-07) Coventry; (2008) Eastbourne; (2009) Coventry, Ipswich; (2010) Ipswich.
MAJOR HONOURS: British Under-21 Champion: 1998, 1999; British Champion: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008; Czech Golden Helmet Champion: 2005.
CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 1998 [Ipswich], 2005 [Coventry], 2007 [Coventry]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 1998 [Ipswich], 2006 [Coventry], 2007 [Coventry], 2008 [Eastbourne]; Craven Shield winner: 1998 [Ipswich], 2007 [Coventry]; Elite Shield winner: 2006 [Coventry].
RIDER LINKS: Brother of Shaun Nicholls (born: 30 November 1971, Ipswich, Suffolk).
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 8.08 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Nicholls began his career with then-Division Two Peterborough in June 1994, before he first linked with top-flight Ipswich the following year. After four seasons with the Witches – culminating in a League Championship success alongside the likes of Tony Rickardsson, Tomasz Gollob and Chris Louis – he moved to Poole in 1999. However, he returned to his hometown club after just two campaigns in Dorset and went on to capture the first of five British Championship titles in 2002.
   
Nicholls’ testimonial meeting was held at Ipswich on 24 July 2004, when victory in an individual event went the way of Leigh Adams. The Englishman subsequently joined Coventry for £36,000 plus VAT in 2005, the fee eventually being set by a tribunal after Ipswich had initially valued the rider at £55,000. After three terms in the Bees’ colours – and two League Championships – he spent a year on loan with Eastbourne before deciding to take a break from domestic racing. But, late in May 2009, Nicholls ended his self-imposed exile from British racing by re-joining parent club Coventry for a short stint as a replacement for the injured Olly Allen.

However, following his first meeting back for the Bees versus Ipswich at home on 25 May, Nicholls’ 10-point score were deducted because the SCB found that Coventry’s re-declaration had not been approved by the BSPA Management Committee. An agreement was subsequently reached with the BSPA in early June to allow Nicholls to ride for the club, with Jordan Frampton standing down from the team.

When Allen was deemed fit to return to the Bees’ line-up in July, the Ipswich-born rider returned to his hometown team on loan for the remainder of the campaign, replacing Jarosław Hampel. Following the cessation of the season – at the end of November – the Witches revealed that Nicholls would be part of their starting line-up for 2010. And he was to show excellent form to finish fifth in the overall Elite League averages on a figure of 9.25, having notched 366 points from thirty-three official matches.

FIM Speedway Grand Prix Record:
Grand Prix ridden: 80 – 9th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix points: 619 – 13th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix races: 405 – 10th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix race wins: 60 – 15th on SGP all-time list
Grand Prix wins: 0 – n/a      
Grand Prix finals: 9 – 15th on SGP all-time list

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:
SWC tournaments: 7
Events: 16 – 2nd on Great Britain’s list; 12th on SWC all-time list
Points: 173 – 2nd on Great Britain’s list; 10th on SWC all-time list
Finals: 6
Gold medals: 0

NIEMINEN, Kauko Tapio (Kake)
DATE OF BIRTH: 29 August 1979, Seinajoki, Finland.
BRITISH CAREER: (2002-05) Workington; (2006) Glasgow; (2007) Workington; (2008) Workington, Lakeside; (2009-10) Lakeside.
MAJOR HONOURS: Finnish Under-21 Champion: 1998, 1999, 2000; Finnish Champion: 2009, 2010.
CLUB HONOURS: Four-Team Championship winner: 2004, 2008 [both Workington]; Pairs Championship winner: 2008 [Workington]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2009 [Lakeside].
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 5.63 (EL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The likeable Finn first came to British shores at the start of the 2002 campaign to ride for Workington and made great progress year-on-year. He represented the Comets in five of his first six seasons in the UK, his one year away from Derwent Park being spent with Glasgow in 2006. Nieminen made an instant impression in Lakeside's colours in the summer of 2008 when he was signed as the club's No. 8 rider - and ended up scoring a hatful of points. Such was the regard in which he was held by both supporters and management alike that he was signed to ride for the Hammers on a full-time basis in 2009.

In an excellent term, he remained ever-present throughout the club's forty official meetings to yield 253 points and a real-time 6.26 average. Indeed, he was a key rider as Lakeside made it through to the Play-Offs for a second successive season and rounded-off the campaign in style by defeating Coventry to win the Knock-Out Cup. There was never much doubt that he would again be named as a team member for 2010 by the innovative Hammers' management, this being confirmed in January. And he again rode competitively to maintain an average of close on 6 points per match, whilst also scooping a second successive Finnish Championship at Kauhajoki on 7 August, when he brilliantly came from behind to pass both Niko Siltaniemi and Tero Aarnio in the final.

FIM Speedway World Cup Record:
SWC tournaments: 6
Events: 8 – 1st on Finland’s list; 40th on SWC all-time list
Points: 23 – 3rd on Finland’s list; 72nd on SWC all-time list
Finals: 0
Gold medals: 0

NILSSON, Kim
DATE OF BIRTH: 4 February 1990, Stockholm, Sweden.
BRITISH CAREER: (2009-10) Newport.
RIDER LINKS: Son of Tommy Nilsson (born: 10 March 1955, Stockholm Sweden).
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 7.00 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: Nilsson rode in moto-cross from just 3-years-of-age and continued with the discipline until he could acquire his racing licence at 16. He broke into league racing in 2006 at third tier level in his homeland and, after continuing to progress, Newport decided to blood the teenager in mid-September three years later – following an injury to Leigh Lanham – with a view to their team’s make-up for the following season.

The son of former rider, Tommy, was a team-mate of fellow Wasp Jonas Andersson with Vargarna in Sweden and, indeed, it was Andersson who had initially made overtures to the Newport management regarding his compatriot. Nilsson gained good international experience, having won a bronze medal with his country in the Under-21 World Cup in both 2008 and 2009.

Having impressed with the Wasps in the two late-season matches he appeared in, it was confirmed in November that Nilsson had agreed a return to the Welsh side for the start of the 2010 campaign. And he was to produce several eye-catching performances as Newport strung together a fine run in the second-half of the campaign. In the final analysis, the Swede totalled 259 points from thirty-three official matches for a solid real-time average of 7.45.

NORTH, Dakota
DATE OF BIRTH: 4 August 1991, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.
BRITISH CAREER: (2009) Mildenhall; (2010) Newcastle.
MAJOR HONOUR: Australian Under-16 Champion: 2007.
CLUB HONOURS: Premier Trophy winner: 2010 [Newcastle]; Play-Off winner: 2010 [Newcastle].
RIDER LINKS: Son of Rod North (born: 26 October 1956, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia).
2010 STARTING AVERAGE: 3.00 (PL).
ADDITIONAL INFO: The young Aussie’s father appeared in British speedway in the late 1970s and early 1980s, riding mainly for Stoke. Dakota is so named because of his dad’s love of aeroplanes and he first started junior speedway racing in 2003, before going on to lift the Aussie Under-16 Championship some four years later, when he defeated a certain Darcy Ward in the final.

The same year also saw him win the Australian Junior Pairs Championship, partnered by Justin Sedgmen. North briefly experienced the British racing scene during a visit in September 2007, when he rode twice apiece for both Oxford and Rye House at Conference level, although none of these appearances are recorded officially as he wasn’t in either sides declared line-up.

He is backed by Leigh Adams and was part of the LAR pit crew during the 2009 Australian Championship, which saw the long-serving Swindon rider claim his tenth national title. The Victorian subsequently joined Mildenhall in July, following Darren Smith’s decision to concentrate on business interests. However, having impressed with some high scores, his stay in the UK was to be short-lived. On 14 July, he represented Australasia in an Under-21 Test match at the Isle of Wight and, having collected 13 points from his first six rides, he took a hefty tumble on the third bend of heat fourteen.

Although it was thought he had suffered only bad bruising, it turned out that a couple of bones in his vertebrae had been chipped. As such, he returned home to Australia to recuperate and was eventually replaced in the Fen Tigers’ team declaration by Adam Kirby. In December, Peterborough revealed that they had signed the exciting youngster as a club asset and, shortly afterwards, he was loaned to Premier League Newcastle for their 2010 campaign assault. The talented teenager will start the season on a 3.00 average thanks to his British passport.

North fell four times in his three races during Newcastle’s league visit to Scunthorpe on 23 July, before it became one crash too many and he was signed out of the meeting after suffering concussion in heat six. But he bounced back to play a full part as the Diamonds sealed an aggregate victory over Birmingham in the Premier Trophy final at Perry Barr five days later.

He was also to play his part in October, when the Geordie side defeated Sheffield in the Play-Off final. The success wasn’t without cost for the Aussie, though, as he crashed in heat eight of the second leg at Brough Park on 17 October, sustaining an acutely painful right heel after trapping it under his footrest. That brought his season to a sudden conclusion, but it had certainly been a successful one as a 5.40 average indicated, North having registered 269 points from forty-five official matches.