The Australia national speedway team is one of the leading teams in international motorcycle speedway, with the country regarded as the birthplace of the sport in the 1920s. The team are five times champions of the world having won the sports premier team competition in 1976, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2022.[1]
| Australia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nation colour | Green/Yellow |
| SWC Wins | 5 (1976, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2022) |
History
editThe national speedway team held test matches against the England as early as 1928, although the first official test match is listed as 30 June 1930 at Wimbledon Stadium.[2]
The team won its first Speedway World Team Cup in 1976, with captain John Boulger, Phil Crump, Billy Sanders and Phil Herne.[3][4][5] They had to wait over 30 years before winning three tournaments out of four, between 1999 and 2002. Key riders during the period were Jason Crump, Leigh Adams, Ryan Sullivan and Todd Wiltshire, who all took part in three wins, while Jason Lyons rode in two (1999 and 2002) and Craig Boyce rode in 2001.[6]
The fifth success came in the 2022 Speedway of Nations (the new name for the World Cup) with the squad members being Jack Holder, Max Fricke and Jason Doyle.[7]
Four times Australian 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.
Major tournament wins
editWorld Team Championships
edit| 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 | |||
| 2022 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center |
1. Australia (30) 2.  Great Britain (32)3. Sweden (30)4. Denmark (28)5. Czech Republic (27)6. Poland (26)7.  Finland (16)
|
Jack Holder | 19+4+4 |
| Max Fricke | 11+3+2 | |||
| Jason Doyle | res | |||
International caps (as of 2022)
editSince the advent of the Speedway Grand Prix era, international caps earned by riders is largely restricted to international competitions, whereas previously test matches between two teams were a regular occurrence. This means that the number of caps earned by a rider has decreased in the modern era.[8]
Riders marked with an asterisk represented Australia but were not Australian.
References
edit- ^ "Speedway of Nations Preview". Speedway Star. 23 July 2022. p. 22.
- ^ "United Kingdom international matches". International Speedway. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
- ^ Rogers, Martin (1978). The Illustrated History of Speedway. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. p. 134. ISBN 0-904584-45-3.
- ^ Bott, Richard (1980). The Peter Collins Speedway Book No.4. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd. p. 99. ISBN 0-09-141751-1.
- ^ Oakes, Peter (1981). 1981 Speedway Yearbook. Studio Publications (Ipswich) Ltd. pp. 27–28. ISBN 0-86215-017-5.
- ^ "Roll of honour". Benfield Sports International (BSI). 2008. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
- ^ "Awesome Aussies". Speedway Star. 6 August 2022. pp. 3–10.
- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 6 October 2023.