| Australia | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Nation colour | Green/Yellow |
| SWC Wins | 4 (1976, 1999, 2001, 2002) Speedway of Nations 2 (2002, 2025) |
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 six-times champions of the world having won the sports premier team competition in 1976, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2022 and 2025. [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 and sixth successes came in the 2022 Speedway of Nations and the 2025 Speedway of Nations respectively (the alternate competition to the World Cup) with the squad members being Jack Holder, Brady Kurtz, 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. 2. 3. 4. | Phil Crump | 11 |
| Billy Sanders | 7 | |||
| Phil Herne | 7 | |||
| John Boulger | 6 | |||
| Garry Middleton | - | |||
| 1999 | Pardubice Svítkov Stadion | 1. 2. 3. 4. | Leigh Adams | 14 |
| Jason Crump | 13+1 | |||
| Ryan Sullivan | 12+3 | |||
| Jason Lyons | 10+3 | |||
| Todd Wiltshire | 2+1 | |||
| 2001 | Wrocław Olympic Stadium | 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. | Jason Crump | 20 |
| Leigh Adams | 16 | |||
| Ryan Sullivan | 13 | |||
| Todd Wiltshire | 10 | |||
| Craig Boyce | 9 | |||
| 2002 | Peterborough East of England Showground | 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. | Leigh Adams | 17 |
| Ryan Sullivan | 17 | |||
| Jason Crump | 14 | |||
| Todd Wiltshire | 13 | |||
| Jason Lyons | 3 | |||
| 2022 | Vojens Vojens Speedway Center | 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. | Jack Holder | 19+4+4 |
| Max Fricke | 11+3+2 | |||
| Jason Doyle | res | |||
| 2025 | Toruń MotoArena Toruń | 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. | Brady Kurtz | 20+4 |
| Jack Holder | 17+3 | |||
| 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.