John Cook (speedway rider)

Last updated
John Cook
Born (1958-12-18) 18 December 1958 (age 65)
Van Nuys, California
NicknameCowboy
NationalityFlag of the United States.svg  United States
Current club information
Career statusRetired
Career history
1980 Hull Vikings (GBR)
1981-1982, 1984-1986 Ipswich Witches (GBR)
1987, 2000 King's Lynn Stars (GBR)
1993 Poole Pirates (GBR)
1992-1993 Indianerna (SWE)
1995 Getingarna (SWE)
1996-1997, 1999 Smederna (SWE)
Individual honours
1992 Swedish Champion
Team honours
1981 1984 British League KO Cup winner
1984 British League Champion

John Kenneth Cook (born December 18, 1958, in Van Nuys, California) [1] is an American former international motorcycle speedway rider. He was represented the USA in several World Team Cup Finals.

Contents

Career

Cook is mainly remembered for his spell at the Ipswich Witches teams from 1981 to 1982 and from 1984 to 1986 where he walked out on the club mid-season on both occasions. He also had further spells at Hull Vikings, King's Lynn Stars, Poole Pirates.

Cook was a showman and continued in this vein for the whole of his career, whilst not always riding in the British League, he was a regular rider in the Swedish League with Indianerna where he attained Swedish citizenship in the early 1990s and in fact was the Swedish Champion in 1992 winning all of his rides. He is also attributed with introducing Jet Ski watercraft to Australia, New Zealand and Europe where he became the first European Champion in closed course competition. During a speedway hiatus, he also competed as an American Expert Jet Ski racer and was ranked #4 in the World while racing underpowered craft.

Cook continued to ride well into his 40s and almost qualified for the Speedway Grand Prix Series for 2002, only failing at the 2001 Intercontinental Final stage.

Cook surfaced again on the international Speedway front in 2006 where he was indeed a member of the USA squad for the 2006 Speedway World Cup, however he was not required to ride in the actual competition.

In October 2006 Cook suffered a serious motocross accident while racing at Washougal Washington in which he hurt his back quite badly and had to have metal rods inserted. The rods were later removed as Cook began to make a recovery but he has had to retire from racing and remains retired in his longtime home of Sacramento, California.

National Titles

World final appearances

Individual World Championship

World Team Cup

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White City Stadium</span> Stadium in London, England, 1908 to 1985

White City Stadium was a stadium in White City, London, England. Built for the 1908 Summer Olympics, it hosted the finish of the first modern marathon and other sports like swimming, speedway, boxing, show jumping, athletics, stock car racing, concerts and a match at the 1966 World Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Penhall</span> American speedway rider

Bruce Lee Penhall is an American former professional motorcycle speedway racer who later starred in television and in film. He was the World Speedway Champion in 1981 and 1982 and rode for the successful Cradley Heath Heathens speedway team in the United Kingdom. He retired from speedway racing the night he won his second World Championship in 1982 in front of his home crowd at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Autrey</span> American motorcycle racer

Scott Brian Autrey is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider. In 1976, he became the first American rider to reach a speedway world final since Ernie Roccio in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Hancock</span> American speedway rider

Gregory Alan Hancock is a former professional motorcycle speedway rider from the United States. As of 2023, he was one of only six riders to have won the individual World Championship four or more times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cradley Heathens</span> Former motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England

Cradley Heathens was a motorcycle speedway team from Dudley, England. The team was founded in 1947 and competed at the top level of British speedway until its closure in 1995. It was revived as Dudley Heathens in 2010, competing in the National League, reverting to the Cradley Heathens name in 2013. It ceased operating after the 2019 season, although a team bearing the Heathens name has operated under the NORA umbrella on the Isle of Wight in 2021 and 2022 and in 2022 won The Michael Richardson Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Ermolenko</span> American speedway rider

Guy Allen Ermolenko is a former motorcycle speedway rider. During his career he was known as Sam Ermolenko. In 1993, he won the Speedway World Championship.

Kelly Michael Moran was an American professional speedway rider who rode for a number of British clubs and also represented the United States national speedway team. His younger brother Shawn Moran was also a successful speedway rider.

Shawn Moran is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider who was one of the most popular and talented riders ever to race for Sheffield Tigers who also represented the United States in international speedway competitions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States national speedway team</span> United States national motorcycle speedway team

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Knudsen</span> Danish speedway rider

Tommy Knudsen is a former Motorcycle speedway rider who won eight Speedway World Team Cups, and two World Pairs. He is not to be confused with Tom P. Knudsen, another rider from the period.

Arthur Dennis Sigalos is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobby Schwartz</span> American speedway rider

Robert Benjamin Schwartz is an American professional motorcycle speedway rider. He became World Pairs Champion with Bruce Penhall in 1981 and Dennis Sigalos in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Cross</span> British motorcycle speedway rider

Simon James Cross is a former motorcycle speedway rider who spent most of his career with the Cradley Heathens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitch Shirra</span> New Zealand speedway rider

Mitchell Owen Shirra is a former motorcycle speedway rider who rode with the Coventry Bees, Reading Racers, Swindon Robins and Ipswich Witches in the British League. During his career he rode as and was better known as Mitch Shirra.

Richard Leonard (Rick) Miller is a former American international motorcycle speedway rider, and an automotive and motorcycle stuntman. Miller won two national BMX titles as a Webco-sponsored rider in his early teens. Miller then rode motocross in the southern California area before switching to Speedway.

Henrik Anders (Henka) Gustafsson is an international Motorcycle speedway rider who won the 1993 World Pairs Championship with Tony Rickardsson and the Speedway World Team Cup with Sweden in 1994 and 2000. Early in his career Gustafsson was known as much for his long, curly blonde hair as he was his riding, though his riding soon outshone his locks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Wiltshire</span> Australian speedway rider

Todd Wiltshire is a former motorcycle speedway rider from Australia, who competed at the highest level of the sport, finishing a career best third in the 1990 Individual Speedway World Championship at the Odsal Stadium in Bradford, England. He is also a two time Australian Champion, winning in 1999 and 2001.

Ronald Nunan Preston is an American former international motorcycle speedway rider who was the European Junior Champion in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Costa Mesa Speedway</span> Motorsports venue in California, US

Costa Mesa Speedway in Costa Mesa, California, US, is a major motorsports venue credited with the renaissance of motorcycle speedway racing in Southern California. The 185 yards long track hosts both Solo and Sidecar speedway.

Lance Alan King is a former speedway rider from the United States.

References

  1. Oakes, P & Rising, P (1986). 1986 Speedway Yearbook. ISBN   0-948882-00-X