 | |
| Born | 24 June 1952 Telford, England |
|---|---|
| Career history | |
| 1972 | Cradley Heathens |
| 1973-1976 | Ellesmere Port Gunners |
| 1977 | Oxford Cheetahs |
Gerald Smitherman (born in Telford, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. [1]
| | |
| Born | 24 June 1952 Telford, England |
|---|---|
| Career history | |
| 1972 | Cradley Heathens |
| 1973-1976 | Ellesmere Port Gunners |
| 1977 | Oxford Cheetahs |
Gerald Smitherman (born in Telford, England) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. [1]
The year 1972 saw Smitherman undertake the Cradley rider training school and compete in second half rides for the experience. [2] During the 1972 British League season Smitherman was thrown in the deep end due to injuries suffered by hs team and he represented Cradley Heathens. [3]
His career took off properly when he was signed for Ellesmere Port Gunners for the 1973 British League Division Two season. [4] where he stayed for four years, [5] returning decent averages in the middle ranks. [6]
In his final year, he was signed over to Oxford Cheetahs to promoter Harry Bastable [7] and competed for the Cheetahs during the 1977 National League season.
During his time as a rider, he had also made seats and continued with supplying accessories after retiring as GTS Products. [8] For the 1991 World Speedway Final, he made the suits for Sam Ermolenko, Ronnie Corrie, Billy Hamill, Jan O. Pedersen and Per Jonson as well as pit crews. Married to Sherry, they have four daughters. Gerald took up squash, winning an Over-45 championship. He still follows speedway and provides accessories for today's riders as well as retro items.
The Oxford Cheetahs are a British speedway team based at Oxford Stadium, in Oxford, England. They were founded in 1939 and are five times champions of Britain, in 1964, 1985, 1986, 1989 and 2001. The club folded in 2007 but returned to racing when participating in the SGB Championship 2022.
Cradley Heathens were a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed primarily at the top level of British speedway at Dudley Wood Stadium until its closure in 1995. The team was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National League, reverting to the Cradley Heathens name in 2013 but ceased operating after the 2019 season.
Jan Osvald Pedersen is a former Speedway rider who became Speedway World Champion in 1991 after finishing runner-up in 1986 and in third place in 1988 behind fellow Danes Erik Gundersen and Hans Nielsen. He also won the Speedway World Pairs Championship in 1990 and 1991, both times partnered by Hans Nielsen. He earned 42 caps for the Denmark national speedway team.
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