The following is an A-Z list of riders who are contracted to appear in 2011, at Elite League, Premier League and National League level.
NOTE: (1) All entries for the current season are as per the declared team line-ups, but do not necessarily relate to actual appearances for the named clubs, particularly in the case of No. 8 riders in the Elite League; (2) The symbol II after a team's name differentiates between a club's National level and higher league side, when more than one team was operated in the same season; (3) With regard to 'Club Honours', riders have been credited with a contribution to a league title-winning side if they rode in 6 or more matches of the team's league programme - and with a cup-winning contribution if they appeared in at least one leg of the final; (4) '2011 Starting Average' is each rider's figure at the beginning of the campaign or, indeed, if they joined after the start of the season. These are the official figures, which exclude bonus points. By contrast, all averages mentioned under 'Additional Info' are 'real-time' figures; this means the average a rider achieved from all official meetings, inclusive of bonus points; (5) The Speedway Grand Prix statistics will be updated for participating riders after each round of the 2011 series.
Speedway Grand Prix and Speedway World Cup statistics courtesy of Steve Brandon.
LAST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 3, 2011
RIDERS - C
CAMPOS, Scott Dale DATE OF BIRTH: 1 May 1989, Ipswich, Suffolk. BRITISH CAREER: (2004) Mildenhall, Rye House II; (2005) Mildenhall, Boston; (2006) Boston; (2007) Oxford II; (2009-11) King’s Lynn II. 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 4.82 (NL). ADDITIONAL INFO: The former grass-tracker first sampled riding a speedway bike in 1996, before going on to take his official bow as Mildenhall’s No. 8 rider in a home league fixture versus Buxton on 31 May 2004. The year saw him represent Rye House, too, and he also recorded a creditable seventh place finish in the British Under-15 Championship.
He continued to work away at Conference level in Suffolk and Norfolk, again representing Mildenhall in 2005, but was left out of their line-up after appearing in thirteen of the club’s first fifteen official meetings of the year. He was next identified with Boston and showed improved form, particularly as the season came to its conclusion.
Campos linked with Oxford for nine matches in 2007 and, after missing the 2008 campaign, he returned with King’s Lynn in the new National League a year later and remained ever-present over their 24-match programme to record 136 points and a 6.04 real-time average. His record for the year included a first-ever paid maximum when he netted 10+2 points in a league success over the Isle of Wight.
In February 2010, the re-branded Young Stars announced that he was staying on board with them for the new campaign. And he went on to make twenty-one appearances for the side, scoring 106 points for a 5.57 average.
Campos didn’t have a team berth at the start of the 2011 season, but in May he was drafted back into King’s Lynn’s National League team as a replacement for the unfortunate Adam Lowe, who had sustained a serious back injury.
CHRZANOWSKI, Tomasz DATE OF BIRTH: 4 February 1980, Toruń, Poland. BRITISH CAREER: (2002) Poole; (2006-07) Swindon; (2009) Belle Vue; (2011) Swindon. 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.12 (EL). ADDITIONAL INFO: Prior to 2006, Chrzanowski’s only previous experience of British racing occurred in 2002, when he appeared for Poole until mid-August, before being replaced by Henrik Gustafsson. Following that, a personal highlight saw him finish second in the World Championship Grand Final at Vojens, Denmark on 14 August 2004, meaning automatic qualification for the 2005 GP series.
Remaining on board in 2007, ‘Top Cat’ contributed plenty of eye-catching scores as the Robins reached three finals – Elite League Play-Offs, Knock-Out Cup and Craven Shield – although they subsequently lost the lot to treble-winning Coventry.
Unable to be accommodated in 2008, the Toruń-born rider sat out the UK campaign. However, having indicated his desire to return by making himself available for an aborted four-team tournament, which was due to have been staged at Swindon on 30 July 2009, Chrzanowski subsequently joined Belle Vue as a replacement for Billy Forsberg in August.
His stay with the Aces proved very brief, though, as he struggled for points and was released amid a raft of changes barely a fortnight after his arrival, having appeared in only three meetings. Both Morten Risager and the injured Charlie Gjedde also saw their names deleted from Belle Vue’s team declaration, as dramatic modifications were effected.
Incoming was the returning Jason Crump, together with LuboÅ¡ TomÃÄek, whilst the Aces also opted to sign both Joel Parsons and MichaÅ‚ Rajkowski under the rule that permits Premier League riders to ‘double-up’ with clubs in the higher sphere.
On 15 February 2011, Swindon announced that their asset had been recalled ahead of the Elite League campaign. He had achieved a near 9-point average with GrudziÄ…dz in the Polish First Division in 2010 and was the highest placed homegrown rider in that league, only being headed by the Laguta brothers, Grigory and Artem, and former Robin, Lee Richardson.
Although Chrzanowski and compatriot Maciej Janowski were present for Swindon’s Press and Practice Day on 17 March, both weren’t granted start permission because the Polish authority, Polski Związek Motorowy [PZM], had issues over a new silencer that had been introduced to the sport.
The two riders finally received the all-clear to ride shortly before 5.00 p.m. on the day of the Robins’ first league match of the campaign at Belle Vue on 4 April. But it didn’t prevent the Wiltshire side from crashing to a 62-30 reverse, as skipper Simon Stead was ruled out through injury by the track doctor and club No. 1 Scott Nicholls failed to arrive after being stuck in heavy traffic.
However, Chrzanowski was to struggle for form in the Robins’ first four league fixtures of the campaign. As such, on 17 April, the club announced the double signing of Nicolai Klindt and Jesper B. Monberg to replace both him and injured compatriot Grzegorz Zengota in the line-up.
FIM Speedway Grand Prix Record: Grand Prix ridden: 10 – 58th on SGP all-time list Grand Prix points: 30 – 65th on SGP all-time list Grand Prix races: 47 – 56th on SGP all-time list Grand Prix race wins: 3 – 66th on SGP all-time list Grand Prix wins: 0 – n/a Grand Prix finals: 0 – n/a CHESSELL, Luke Pearson DATE OF BIRTH: 6 January 1990, Swindon, Wiltshire. BRITISH CAREER: (2010) Scunthorpe II, Weymouth; (2011) Dudley, Isle of Wight. CLUB HONOUR: National Shield winner: 2011 [Dudley]. RIDER LINKS: Son of Mark Chessell (born: 26 July 1966, Ludlow, Shropshire). Nephew of Gary Chessell (born: 20 January 1965, Ludlow, Shropshire) and Martin Chessell (born: 30 January 1970, Ludlow, Shropshire). 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 3.42 (NL). ADDITIONAL INFO: Chessell comes from a speedway dynasty, as his father and two uncles all participated in the sport. Luke himself first rode shortly before Christmas in 2008 at Scunthorpe’s mini-track.
Thereafter, he continued to hone his skills by appearing in two rounds of the Winter Championship at the Eddie Wright Raceway, on 21 February and 13 March 2009, achieving eighth position overall in the Support Class.
He went on to compete in the Summer Championship at the North Lincolnshire raceway, appearing in four rounds and finishing ninth in the Support Class. Whilst in the middle of contesting the meetings at Normanby Road, an early career highlight saw him drafted into a short-handed Buxton side for a one-off appearance in a National League match at the Isle of Wight on 28 July 2009.
Meanwhile, he also participated in Southern Track Riders’ events at Rye House and the Isle of Wight on 14 June and 29 September, respectively. Extremely enthusiastic about the sport, he again made the trip – along with his father – to Scunthorpe on 12 December to get in more laps of important practice during the club’s next Winter Championship series, finishing fourth in the ‘B’ Final of the Open Class.
On 7 March 2010, he won the ‘C’ Final at the Eddie Wright Raceway and also finished second to Ashley Birks in the ‘B’ Final. And prior to the last round of Scunthorpe’s winter series on 13 March, Chessell agreed to fill the Saints’ No. 8 berth. He celebrated by winning the ‘A’ Final to finish second overall, again to Birks.
On 11 April, he again showed his potential by heading the score-chart in a British Under-21 Championship qualifying round at Mildenhall. And, although, he took victory in his semi-final, he subsequently finished fourth in the final, behind winner Scott Campos, Steven Worrall and Richard Franklin.
Then, five days later, he once more served notice of his talent by scoring 8+1 points for Scunthorpe in a home Knock-Out Cup tie versus Dudley. He was in the wars in a league fixture at Bournemouth on 25 April, however, when he sustained a knee injury that necessitated a spell on the sidelines. Whilst he recuperated, the following month he was replaced in the No. 8 spot by Ashley Birks.
Despite losing his spot in the squad, he did make a couple of guest appearances for the Saints; these both occurred against Plymouth – away first and then at home – on 21 and 31 May, respectively. Then, on 6 June, Chessell claimed a confidence-building win in the third round of Scunthorpe Speedway’s Summer Championship. After losing to Gary O’Hare and Jack Hirst in his final qualifying ride, he made no mistake in the final and relegated the pair to minor podium places.
Shortly afterwards, he was snapped-up on loan by Weymouth as a replacement for Danny Stoneman. And, with a touch of irony, he claimed a brilliant 14-point haul for the South Coast outfit when they appeared at Scunthorpe for a league fixture on 20 June.
However, the Swindonian reverted back to his parent club in August, when he took the place of Gary Beaton in the Saints’ line-up. He had made eleven appearances for the Wildcats, which yielded 58 points and a 4.73 average. Meanwhile, in total he rode in five meetings for the Saints, although only three of them counted in the official team declaration, yielding 13 points and an average of exactly 5.00.
A return to Scunthorpe in 2011 was ruled out when Chessell informed the club that he would be living and working in Cornwall during the year. And, on 25 February, he was named as the final piece in Dudley’s team-building jigsaw where he would initially fill a reserve berth alongside fellow Swindonian Darryl Ritchings.
Chessell vowed to start the season on time – despite suffering a broken bone in his wrist. The rider had to turn down the chance to race in the British Under-21 semi-final at Stoke on 26 March because of the injury sustained in practice. But, having broken a small bone close to his little finger, he told Heathens’ boss Will Pottinger that he should be fit for the club’s opening meetings in April and he proved true to his word.
On 5 May, Dudley announced that they had brought in Danny Stoneman to replace Chessell; a move that completed a team re-shuffle. The Heathens had already signed Kyle Newman to replace the injured Adam Roynon, but needed to make a second change to come under the points-limit, hence the acquisition of Stoneman.
The former Cradley club expressed their gratitude to Chessell for his efforts and wished him well for the future. And, just five days after losing his team spot at Dudley, the Isle of Wight revealed that they had signed the enthusiastic rider as a short-term replacement for the injured Tom Hill.
However, Chessell took a heavy fall in the Islanders’ home league match versus Belle Vue Colts on 24 May. This occurred on the second lap of heat seven, when he hit the fence on the third turn and was withdrawn from the meeting suffering from back pain. It was later revealed that he had fractured both his coccyx and sternum, which meant a spell on the sidelines for a minimum of five to six weeks.
COCKLE, James Robert DATE OF BIRTH: 26 May 1986, Edmonton, London. BRITISH CAREER: (2001-03) Rye House II; (2004) Boston, Sheffield II, Reading, Glasgow; (2005) Glasgow, Sittingbourne, Boston; (2006) Glasgow; (2007) Sheffield, Scunthorpe; (2008) Mildenhall, Boston, Birmingham, Redcar II; (2009) Weymouth, Birmingham; (2010) Weymouth; (2011) Plymouth, King’s Lynn II. CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2007 [Scunthorpe]; Pairs Championship winner: 2008 [Boston]. 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 3.00 (PL), 7.46 (NL). ADDITIONAL INFO: Cockle was appointed skipper of Weymouth in 2009 and, in May, he was also drafted back into the Birmingham line-up for a second spell as a replacement for Ben Taylor, after a deal to sign Darren Mallett had fallen through. However, in another amendment to the Brummies’ line-up early in July, Cockle lost his spot in the side to Jay Herne.
He saw the season out with the Wildcats, although the closing months of the campaign saw his form hampered by a knee injury. His tenacity was rewarded in December, when the Weymouth management announced that he would remain with them in 2010.
In early June, it was reported that Cockle was struggling to make ends meet in the National League and that he could be forced into retirement before the season’s end. However, he soldiered on to remain ever-present throughout Weymouth’s 30-match schedule, scoring 272 points for a solid 7.81 average. His efforts were rewarded on 6 November, when he won the Wildcats’ Rider of the Year award.
Having effectively held Weymouth together in what proved to be the club’s final campaign, Cockle made the winter switch to King’s Lynn Young Stars which, being based in March, Cambridgeshire, represented a huge reduction in travel compared with the 6-hour journey he endured in two successive seasons with the Wildcats.
Indeed, he had been a regular in the King’s Lynn pits during his last season with Weymouth, acting as mechanic for Darren Mallett and Simon Lambert. With his experience, enthusiasm and knowledge of his team-mates, it was only natural that he was appointed skipper of the Norfolk side.
On the eve of the season, Cockle was also drafted into the Plymouth side as a late replacement for Nicki Glanz, who had failed to agree terms with Devils’ boss Mike Bowden. The promoter was grateful to Glasgow – who owned the rider’s contract – and also to King’s Lynn for their assistance in the move at such short notice.
Following a broken leg suffered by his Young Stars’ team-mate, Darren Mallett, the Londoner took over the defence of the National League Bronze Helmet. However, at PL level he was to struggle for form and, having attained an average of below 4 points a match, he found himself replaced in the Devils’ line-up by Jaimie Pickard in a team re-declaration on 17 June.
Cockle successfully retained the Bronze Helmet on 28 June when he defeated Paul Starke at the Isle of Wight. However, he lost his grip on the coveted prize on 13 July, when the Islanders’ skipper Nick Simmons beat him at King’s Lynn.
The rider returned to Plymouth for his second spell of the campaign at the start of September, when he was drafted back into the side as a replacement for the injured Kyle Hughes.
COMPLIN, Peter Lee DATE OF BIRTH: 17 November 1984, Cowling, Nr. Skipton, Craven, North Yorkshire BRITISH CAREER: (2001) Sheffield, Sheffield II; (2002) Sheffield, Belle Vue; (2007-08) Stoke; (2009) Stoke, Peterborough, Wolverhampton; (2010-11) Berwick, King's Lynn. CLUB HONOURS: League Championship winner: 2001 [Sheffield II], 2002 [Sheffield]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2002 [Sheffield]; Young Shield winner: 2002 [Sheffield]. 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.43 (PL), 4.00 (EL). ADDITIONAL INFO: Throughout his life, Complin has always been known by his middle name of Lee, rather than that with which he was christened – Peter. In his youth, he played for Bradford City FC and was also an accomplished schoolboy grass-tracker, winning six national titles.
Having taken his first official speedway rides in 2001, he appeared all but lost to the sport after the conclusion of the 2002 campaign. During what was to be a lengthy break, the Yorkshireman continued with the football theme by making representative appearances for Sheffield FC – a club acknowledged by the FA and FIFA to be the World’s first and oldest football club.
As a prelude to a dramatic return to the racing scene, Complin won the British Flat-track Championship in 2006, and having had some five years away from speedway, he was hailed as the ‘Comeback King’ the following year, when he returned to the sport in April and put in many fine performances for Stoke.
Regrettably, the rider was involved in a serious road traffic accident on 26 May 2008, which left him hospitalised in the neurology unit at Leeds General Infirmary. Due to a seized engine, Complin’s Subaru Impreza had left the A629 near Keighley, just a few miles from his home in the village of Cowling at about 3.40 a.m.
Thankfully, after recuperating from back, neck and chest injuries, Complin was able to return to action with Stoke late in September the same year. The Yorkshireman lost his position as one of Peterborough’s ‘doubling-up’ representative’s upon Claus Vissing’s return from injury in May 2009, when the club opted to have a straight 1-7 line-up instead.
Subsequently, however, towards the end of June, he was drafted into the Wolverhampton squad as a ‘doubling-up’ rider in place of Chris Kerr. After the conclusion of the season – in December – Berwick revealed that they had signed Complin on loan from his parent club, Sheffield, for the 2010 campaign.
Regrettably, he sustained a broken arm in two places in his debut meeting for the Bandits versus Newcastle in the Tyne-Tweed Trophy at Shielfield Park on 20 March. The injury occurred in heat five when, having shot into the lead, he fell on the apex of the pits corner and was then inadvertently struck by closely following team-mate Paul Clews.
In his absence, the Berwick management decided against signing a temporary replacement and instead kept his place open by sharing his outings amongst colleagues. His recuperation went well and he was able to return to the Bandits’ line-up a couple of months later.
Unfortunately, Complin was injured again shortly after his return to action. This occurred in heat six of a home league fixture versus Somerset on 29 May. The race was re-started after the Bandits’ Adrian Rymel had gone through the tapes. In the re-run, the Yorkshireman and Cory Gathercole contested the early exchanges, with the home rider just getting the better run to edge ahead.
The Victorian was all over him, however, as he gradually worked a position for an overtaking manoeuvre. And, as lap three closed, the Rebels’ representative cut-back inside from high up on the pits banking but, as he got up the inside of Complin, the homester appeared to lock-up, leaving Gathercole nowhere to go.
As a result, he crashed into the back of the Berwick speedster, who sustained a broken metatarsal. Bravely, he rode on for two more heats, but was clearly in discomfort come the end of the meeting due to the broken bone in his left foot.
Remarkably, he was present for the Bandits’ next league match at Newport on 6 June and didn’t miss any meetings through the foot injury. He went on to average a shade below 7 points a match for the side, as his passing manoeuvres became something of folklore at Shielfield Park.
In fact, so popular a team member was Complin that he became the first rider to sign a 2011 Berwick contract following a home meeting versus Newport in the Young Shield on 2 October. And he concluded the season in style at Shielfield Park by taking victory ahead of a quality field in the prestigious Bordernapolis on 23 October.
His statistics for the campaign equated to a 7.17 average, the popular rider having registered 185 points from twenty-four official fixtures. The high spot at home occurred in that very meeting against Newport on 2 October, when he tallied 15 points from six rides; his score on the night being enhanced by 4 points from a tactical outing in heat eleven.
Having been named as their first rider for 2011 back in October, on 5 March during the club’s Pre-Season Dance at Berwick Holiday Centre, Bandits’ team manager Ian Rae announced that Complin had been appointed captain of the side.
He was subsequently released by the Bears in early July to make way for the comeback of Stuart Swales. Somewhat ironically, it was expected that the Tenerife-born rider – who is unique to British speedway for that very fact – would return to action with King’s Lynn’s National League side later the same month as a replacement for the injured Jamie Smith, but the move didn’t materialise.
He instead eventually re-located to Weymouth early in August, going on to make sixteen official appearances for 103 points and a 7.14 real-time average. In February 2010, Scunthorpe announced that the former Conference League Riders’ Champion would be re-joining them to fill the No. 1 berth for the Saints side in the new campaign. He had actually been the North Lincolnshire outfit’s first signing when they were formed in 2005 and had been a mainstay of their Championship-winning sides of 2006 and 2007.
On 30 August, Scunthorpe entertained Buxton in a National League fixture and Compton announced that his appearance in heat fourteen would be his last race in the sport. It would have been nice for him to finish with a flourish but, as the other riders shot from the tapes, his machine ground to a halt.
It was a disappointing way to end his career but, nevertheless, many at the Eddie Wright Raceway held a special place in their hearts for the West Yorkshire lad who notched a total of 993 points in 124 meetings for the club.
However, Compton couldn’t resist the urge to make a return to the sport in September 2011, when he again linked with Scunthorpe’s National League side as a replacement for injured Australian John Oliver. COOK, Craig William DATE OF BIRTH: 21 May 1987, Whitehaven, Cumbria. BRITISH CAREER: (2008) Scunthorpe II; (2009) Buxton, Workington; (2010) Workington, Buxton, Peterborough; (2011) Edinburgh, Belle Vue. MAJOR HONOUR: National League Riders’ Champion: 2009. CLUB HONOURS: Young Shield winner: 2009 [Workington], 2010 [Workington]; National Trophy winner: 2010 [Buxton]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2010 [Buxton]; League Championship winner: 2010 [Buxton]. 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 6.47 (PL), 3.88 (EL). ADDITIONAL INFO: Workington owner Keith Denham persuaded Cook to take his first speedway skids at Derwent Park in October 2008, the youngster having previously been a schoolboy moto-cross Champion on three occasions. That same month, he made his Conference League debut for Scunthorpe, making just a single official appearance for them before the season’s end.
After initially being named as Workington’s No. 8 rider in 2009, the Cumbrian joined Buxton on loan in order to gain some experience – the plan being that the Comets would look at using him in the Premier League a year later. However, it didn’t take long before the Cumbrian side changed strategy and started to use Cook as well, having promoted him to a berth in their official 1-7 late in May as a replacement for Luke Priest.
He showed encouraging form thereafter for the Comets and further emphasized his considerable talent when notching a whopping 22-point haul for Buxton in a 51-42 National League defeat at the Isle of Wight on 28 July – Cook’s tally equating to 52.38 per cent of his side’s total. The fact that it was his first-ever visit to the banked Smallbrook raceway made the performance all the more remarkable.
Cook’s fairytale year continued when he moved from reserve to the No. 1 spot for the Hitmen before the end of August. And, his first meeting in the team proper showed that he wouldn’t suffer from riding with more pressure, as he scored 13 points in a home win over Weymouth.
Continuing his meteoric rise up the speedway ladder, his form with the Peak District outfit secured a place in the National League Riders’ Championship at Rye House on 26 September, when he travelled south with nothing to lose as he wasn’t considered to be amongst the favourites. As it turned out, four race wins and a second place saw him in a run-off for the title against Kyle Hughes.
In the decider, the Plymouth representative made the better start and Cook was right on his tail when Hughes shed a chain, leaving the Buxton rider – albeit somewhat fortuitously – to take the crown and become the club’s fifth winner of the trophy.
In achieving this success, he became the first rider to win the individual title of British speedway’s third tier in his initial season in the sport. He didn’t have long to think about his victory, though, as he was racing for the Hitmen at home to Plymouth the following afternoon and celebrated then by recording a first full maximum.
Adding to a glorious debut term, late in the season he helped Workington to lift the Young Shield courtesy of an aggregate win over Rye House in the final. He ended the campaign with a real-time average of a shade below 4 points per meeting for the Comets and unsurprisingly was named as a definite starter for 2010. For Buxton, meanwhile, he posted a 9.51 figure (including bonus) and it was confirmed in February that he would also have a second term with them.
He began the campaign like a steam train, too, racking up tall scores at both Premier and National League level, including a six-ride tally of 14+1 points for Workington in a home league fixture versus Stoke on 3 May, when he and fellow reserve John Branney carded an amazing total of paid 29 points between them.
On 6 May, he made a guest appearance in the top-flight for Peterborough at Swindon, winning his first-ever race at the Abbey Stadium and later registering another excellent victory in heat twelve. This, and a further guest booking at Belle Vue four days later, undoubtedly made an impression with the Panthers’ management who – shortly afterwards – announced the acquisition of Cook as their new No. 8 rider in place of the injured Joel Parsons.
Cook made his debut at No. 1 for the Comets at the start of July, having completed a super-quick rise up the rankings, moving from reserve to second-string and then up to the club’s top spot in a remarkable three months. He went on to maintain an average of around 7.5 points per match for the Cumbrian outfit; meanwhile with Buxton, he comfortably topped the entire National League averages. He also enjoyed several outings with top-flight Peterborough, although one that didn’t hold such fond memories occurred in a league match at Ipswich on 23 September.
In heat six of the meeting at Foxhall Heath, Panthers’ team-mate Troy Batchelor locked-up in front of him on a slippery surface, causing Cook to also lock-up in an effort to avoid colliding with the Aussie. The closely following Witches’ Linus Sundström couldn’t avoid the youngster’s rear wheel and the Whitehaven-born youngster took an unwanted trip over his own handlebars, before hitting the deck heavily. There were initial fears that he had sustained a broken collarbone, but that didn’t prove the case and it appeared his shoulder had popped out of joint and gone back in.
In a trophy-lade season, although he missed the second leg of Workington’s Young Shield final victory over Rye House, he was credited with his second successive win in the competition with the side. With Buxton, he helped the Hitmen enjoy the most successful term in their 16-year history by registering a clean-sweep of the National Trophy, Knock-Out Cup and League Championship.
Indeed, on the last official day of the season – 31 October – Buxton defeated Newport 56-35 in a one-legged Play-Off final on their own track after the scheduled first leg in South Wales had been washed out two days beforehand. Cook’s contribution on the day was 12 points, as he concluded a wonderful second full term in the sport.
Looking at his record for the year in more depth, with the Hitmen he rode in twenty-three matches for 281 points and an average of 10.39. There were many highlights at home, including full 15-point maximums against Scunthorpe (NL, 22 August), Weymouth (NL, 29 August) and Weymouth again (NT, also 29 August).
At Premier League level, he rode in forty-five official meetings for Workington and accrued 364 points for an average of 7.47. Meanwhile, in the top-flight, he scored 10 points from seven official appearances for Peterborough, which produced a 2.00 average.
In the close season, it was announced that Cook would be leaving Workington and, on 17 December, it was Edinburgh who won the race for his prized signature on a full transfer. And, on 8 February 2011, Belle Vue announced that they had handed the rising British star a place in their squad as a ‘doubling-up’ rider. It was later confirmed that he would share the Aces’ position with Kozza Smith.
Cook began the campaign in impressive fashion and, over the weekend of 1-3 April, covered a remarkable 1,400 miles during the course of representing Edinburgh at home to Glasgow in the Spring Trophy, then riding for Belle Vue at Eastbourne in the Elite League, before scorching to 9+1 points from the No. 6 berth when the Aces entertained Swindon in another top-flight encounter.
The Cumbrian racer crashed during Belle Vue’s Elite League visit to Wolverhampton on 26 April, taking a hefty knock to an ankle. This became very swollen and painful, resulting in a hospital check the following day. There was concern that Cook had suffered a break, but it turned out to be badly sprained and he quickly resumed racing once the swelling had gone down.
The rider, who shot to a real-time average in excess of 9 points per meeting for Edinburgh, sustained slight rib and back injuries when he tangled with Ipswich’s Taylor Poole in heat eight of the Monarchs’ home league match against the Witches on 6 May. However, with the following evening’s trip to Workington falling foul to inclement weather, Cook was able to rest up and resumed with the Scottish outfit when they appeared at Sheffield in a Knock-Out Cup tie on 12 May.
He was to enjoy a terrific first half of the campaign, as he vied for top spot in the Monarchs’ averages with Matthew Wethers on a figure in excess of 8.5 points a match. Meanwhile, for the Aces he averaged over 5 points per meeting and, on 4 July, hit a magnificent tally of 15+4 points from seven rides – in spite of difficult track conditions and pain from a sore wrist – to top their score-chart in a comfortable home league victory over Lakeside.
In August, Belle Vue revealed an amendment to their ‘doubling-up’ situation by replacing Kozza Smith with Morten Risager in the shared berth alongside Cook.
COOPER, Paul Robert DATE OF BIRTH: 7 June 1982, York, North Yorkshire. BRITISH CAREER: (2003) Sheffield II; (2004) Sheffield II, Oxford II; (2005) Sheffield; (2006) Sheffield, Scunthorpe; (2007) Sheffield, Boston; (2008-10) Sheffield; (2011) Scunthorpe II/Sheffield II. CLUB HONOURS: Pairs Championship winner: 2006 [Scunthorpe ‘B’], 2007 [Boston]; Knock-Out Cup winner: 2006 [Scunthorpe]; Conference Trophy winner: 2006 [Scunthorpe]; Conference Shield winner: 2006 [Scunthorpe]. 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 9.98 (NL). ADDITIONAL INFO: Cooper made his official debut with Sheffield Prowlers in 2003 and, the following year, turned down a Premier League berth at Berwick due to work and grass-track commitments, although he did again represent the Prowlers.
Having completed his apprenticeship as a joiner, he linked with the senior Sheffield team in 2005 and was ticking along nicely, when his season came to a sudden halt at Glasgow on 11 September. The meeting saw him clash with Adam Roynon on the second bend in heat two and the resultant crash left him nursing ligament damage to the left knee.
The injury bug was to strike again on 23 October 2006, whilst Cooper was riding for Scunthorpe in a Conference Trophy match at Boston. In heat four, he was involved in a four-man pile-up, along with team-mate Scott Richardson and the home duo of Nathan Irwin and Cal McDade.
The Yorkshireman received a broken bone in his wrist yet, despite the obvious pain, still did his utmost for Sheffield in both legs of the Play-Off final against King’s Lynn, on 26 and 27 October. Prior to the injury, on 28 August, he had joined forces with Benji Compton to win the Conference League Pairs Championship at Scunthorpe’s Normanby Road venue.
Cooper subsequently enjoyed a very good 2007 campaign – despite blowing two engines early in the season – remaining ever-present over the 28-match league programme with Sheffield to post a solid real-time average of 6.60. And, topping off an excellent term of progress, he received an award at the Stars of Shale presentation dinner in Coventry for being the highest bonus-points scorer in the entire Premier League.
The year also saw him ride for Boston at Conference level and, although he only made four league appearances for the Barracudas, he did represent the club in the CL Pairs Championship at Scunthorpe on 22 July when, together with Simon Lambert, he posted his second successive victory in the prestigious event.
The York-born speedster continued his long association with Sheffield in 2009, the campaign representing his fifth season at PL level and his seventh overall at the Owlerton-based club. He was to endure a nightmare start to the season, which saw him collect just 7 points from his first seven meetings as he struggled for power.
After changing numerous parts in an effort to rectify the problem, he eventually discovered that work done on an engine had not been completed properly. Then, having started to return some eye-catching scores after a move to reserve, his season hit the buffers on 9 August when he sustained a shattered ankle and heel – together with broken bones in his foot – in a league match at Newcastle.
The injury occurred in heat fourteen, when team-mate Richard Hall lost control and careered into the fourth bend safety fence, taking Cooper with him. Whilst he recuperated, the Tigers brought club asset Scott Smith into the side to fill the gap.
Despite ending the campaign on the sidelines, the Sheffield management thought highly enough of his efforts to offer him a 2010 team spot in November. Regrettably, the Yorkshireman received a body-blow in February when, after working as a craftsman joiner for ten years, he lost his off-track job.
‘Coops’ took over Sheffield captaincy from Ricky Ashworth a week after a home defeat at the hands of Birmingham on 15 April. He was to be a key member of the side but, having scored 153 points from twenty-five matches for an average of 5.90, he was taken to hospital following an horrific high-speed grass-track accident with Paul Hurry in the prestigious Speedway Star Monty Banks Memorial British Masters Championship on 1 August.
He continued to make excellent progress and also returned to full-time work as a joiner, but found himself left out of Sheffield’s plans for 2011 following the signing of Shane Parker. Tigers’ co-promoter David Hoggart admitted that the toughest part of the South Yorkshire club’s team building was telling the popular Cooper that he wasn’t included.
However, on 23 February, it was announced that Cooper had agreed to ride in the National League for the joint Scunthorpe/Sheffield side. The Sheffield asset had been practicing at the Eddie Wright Raceway and it was confirmed that he would wear the No. 1 race-jacket when the season got underway.
The rider saw the move as a platform to eventually return to Premier League level and an opportunity to prove a few people wrong, having felt he had been written off because the telephone didn’t ring from a PL club during the winter.
Due to work commitments, he was forced to miss some action at the beginning of May and this led to him being temporarily replaced in the squad by the returning Gary Irving, who himself had also previously been temporarily replaced by Greg Blair. But Cooper returned to the squad on 17 May, though, when Stefan Nielsen shuffled to the No. 8 slot.
However, Cooper didn’t appear for the side after May, having returned to his grass-track commitments and he was eventually replaced towards the end of August by Aussie John Oliver, who had lost his team spot at Premier League Leicester.
COTTHAM, Gary Dominic DATE OF BIRTH: 13 September 1989, Eastbourne, East Sussex. BRITISH CAREER: (2004-05) Rye House II; (2006) Rye House II, Sittingbourne; (2007-08) Rye House II; (2009) Mildenhall; (2010) Weymouth; (2011) Isle of Wight. RIDER LINKS: Son of Gary Cottham [Senior] (born: 2 November 1955). 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 4.24 (NL). ADDITIONAL INFO: Both father and son have represented teams with a Crusaders moniker – in Gary senior’s case with Canterbury in the 1970s, whilst Gary junior represented Sittingbourne in 2006, having started his career two years previously on the books of Rye House.
Having again represented the Hoddesdon-based club in 2007 and 2008, Cottham joined Mildenhall in 2009 but lost his spot in the Fen Tigers’ declared line-up after just a handful of appearances at the start of the campaign.
That came after he had sustained a broken arm in heat one of the British Under-21 Championship semi-final at the Isle of Wight on 14 April. He was replaced in Mildenhall’s squad by Darren Smith towards the end of May and didn’t ride again for the remainder of the season.
In early February 2010, Weymouth revealed that they had signed the Eastbourne-based rider on a free transfer from Rye House. He joined the Wildcats with a good reputation, having joint top-scored for the Isle of Wight with a paid 12-point haul when they visited the Wessex Stadium for a challenge match on 13 July 2007.
Despite some eye-catching scores, he was only able to maintain an average of around 5 points per match and the Wildcats’ management took the decision to rest him in August, when Karl Mason was re-introduced to the side.
Shortly afterwards, however, Cottham was recalled to the Weymouth line-up after Luke Chessell had reverted back to his parent club, Scunthorpe. He went on to total twenty-nine appearances for the club, which yielded 176 points and an average of 5.59.
Cottham was left without a team at the start of the 2011 campaign, but was drafted into the Isle of Wight line-up in ealy June, following a double thigh fracture sustained by John Resch when the Islanders had ridden at Mildenhall on 29 May.
COURTNEY, Jamie Mark DATE OF BIRTH: 22 April 1988, Ashington, Northumberland. BRITISH CAREER: (2003) Rye House II, Trelawny II; (2004) Swindon II, Isle of Wight, Oxford II; (2005) Oxford II, Workington; (2006) Rye House; (2007) Redcar, Cleveland; (2008-09) Rye House II; (2010) Glasgow, King’s Lynn; (2011) Leicester, Dudley CLUB HONOUR: League Championship winner: 2005 [Oxford II]. RIDER LINKS: Son of Mark Courtney (born: 25 March 1961, Braintree, Essex). Nephew of Sean Courtney (born: 5 September 1964, Braintree, Essex). Brother of Scott Courtney (born: 3 January 1983, Middlesbrough, Cleveland). 2011 STARTING AVERAGE: 3.00 (PL), 6.75 (NL). ADDITIONAL INFO: In 2005, Courtney sustained a broken shoulder socket and popped it out several times; however, with the assistance of some good doctors, he continued to ride for much of the campaign.
His career was generally blighted by injuries in the interim period, but he remained fit and healthy in 2009 to post a real-time average of over 7 points per match for Rye House’s National League side. That led him to seek a Premier League berth in 2010 and his wish was granted in January, when he agreed terms to represent Glasgow.
His signing re-opened a fantastic family link at the club, as the Courtney name has been synonymous with the Tigers; his father (Mark), uncle (Sean) and brother (Scott) have all ridden for the team at some stage in their career. Although Jamie had yet to ride for the side prior to 2010, he was certainly no stranger to the Glasgow set-up having spent plenty of his youth growing up around the track when it first opened in 1999.
Having become a King’s Lynn asset through a winter transfer from Rye House, it was confirmed in February that he would also appear at National League level for the re-branded Young Stars. However, prior to making any appearances for the Norfolk outfit, he was replaced in the declared squad by Ricky Wallace late in April.
Meanwhile, despite showing glimpses of his potential with Glasgow, he was unable to be as consistent as he would have liked and lost his place in the side at the end of July to the returning Mitchell Davey. At the time of his departure, he had represented the Scottish outfit on twenty-two occasions and scored 68 points for a 3.16 average.
In August, he ironically returned to Premier League action with King’s Lynn amidst an astonishing raft of changes at the Norfolk club. The first move had seen Adam Roynon replace Joe Haines and this was immediately followed by another four amendments to their team declaration, as Casper Wortmann and Chris Mills were released, whilst the injured Kevin Doolan and the unwell Darren Mallett also had their names removed from the 1-7.
Olly Allen effectively replaced Doolan in the No. 1 position, with the other incoming riders being Courtney, Lasse Bjerre and Cal McDade. However, the Ashington-born rider was to lose his place in the line-up towards the end of the same month, when Adam Lowe was elevated to the side from King’s Lynn’s National League operation.
At the time, he had ridden on just four occasions for the Stars, scoring 6 points for an average of 1.50. With the addition of his meetings for Glasgow, it produced a seasonal tally of 74 points from twenty-six appearances for an overall average of 2.93.
On 1 December, it was revealed that here would be a familiar name in the Leicester corner of the pits in 2011 after Lions’ promoter David Hemsley completed a deal with King’s Lynn to bring Courtney to Beaumont Park on a full transfer.
His signing obviously created considerable interest due to the family connection with the club; his father, Mark, previously made 126 appearances for Leicester and scored close to 1,000 points in all competitions. And, in the final season of speedway at Blackbird Road, the former England international finished the campaign as the No. 1 rider at the club.
Courtney was to find points-gathering hard going and, in June, the Leicester management took the decision to dispense with his services and draft in Charles Wright, following the Stockport-born rider’s release from the Workington line-up.
Dudley announced the signing of Courtney on 14 August in place of Adam Roynon, who was struggling with a leg injury he sustained back in April and had pulled out of the Heathens’ trip to Scunthorpe two days previously.
CAMPOS, Scott Dale
CHRZANOWSKI, Tomasz
COCKLE, James Robert
COMPLIN, Peter Lee
COMPTON, Benjamin (Benji) Mark
COOPER, Paul Robert
COTTHAM, Gary Dominic
COURTNEY, Jamie Mark
