Australia | |
---|---|
Nation colour | Green/Yellow |
SWC Wins | 5 (1976, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2022) |
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]
The 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.
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 |
Since 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.
Jason Philip Crump is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. He is a three-time Speedway World Champion, a World Cup winner and a former World Under-21 Champion.
William Robert Sanders was an Australian international Speedway rider who won six Australian Championships and was a five time Speedway World Championship finalist with a career best second place in West Germany in 1983.
Newport Wasps were a British motorcycle speedway team based in Newport, South Wales from 1964 to 2012. They were the 1999 Conference League champions. The Wasp logo incorporates the traditional black and amber colours of the City of Newport.
Craig Vincent Boyce is a former motorcycle speedway rider who primarily rode for the Poole Pirates in the British Elite League. After retiring from riding, Boyce became manager of the Australian national team until 2012.
Philip John Crump in Mildura, Victoria is a former Motorcycle speedway rider from Australia who attained third place in the 1976 World Championship. He also won the 1976 Speedway World Team Cup with Australia in the same year.
The Great Britain national speedway team is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway. The team is managed by former Great Britain riders Oliver Allen and Simon Stead, and captained by the Tai Woffinden.
The Sweden national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.
The United States national speedway team are an international motorcycle speedway team governed by the American Motorcyclist Association. They compete in the major international speedway competitions, including the Speedway World Cup and Speedway of Nations and the former events the Speedway World Team Cup and the Speedway World Pairs Championship.
The Russia national speedway team are one of the major international motorcycle speedway nations.
The Denmark national speedway team are one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.
The Czech Republic national speedway team is one of the major teams in international motorcycle speedway.
Neil Joseph Street OAM was an international motorcycle speedway rider, manager and engineer, who first arrived in Britain in 1952 to ride for the Exeter Falcons. Street was born in Melbourne, Australia.
The Hungary national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
James Sydney Airey is an Australian former international motorcycle speedway rider, who rode in the 1971 World Final in Göteborg, Sweden and was a member of the Great Britain team that won the 1971 Speedway World Team Cup. He earned 36 international caps for the Australia national speedway team and 17 caps for Great Britain.
The Italy national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Slovenia national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
The Finnish national speedway team are one of the teams that compete in international team motorcycle speedway.
John Boulger is a former international motorcycle speedway rider. Boulger won a record nine South Australian Championships, as well as two Australian Solo Championships during his career. As part of the Australian team, Boulger won the 1976 World Team Cup as captain.
The New Zealand national speedway team are one of the teams in international motorcycle speedway. The team were champions of the world having won the sports premier team competition in 1979.
Warren Edric Monk is a former international motorcycle speedway rider from Australia. He earned 26 international caps for the Australia national speedway team and 15 caps for the Great Britain national speedway team.