Pete Smith (speedway rider, born 1942)

Not to be confused with Pete Smith (speedway rider born 1957).

Pete Smith

Pete Smith (Poole Pirate)
Born	(1942-07-11) 11 July 1942 (age 83) Hanworth, England
Nationality	British (English)
Career history
1962-1977	Poole Pirates
Team honours
1969	British League Champion
1963, 1964	Provincial Southern League Winner

Peter Arthur Smith (born 11 July 1942, in Hanworth, England) is a former international motorcycle speedway rider ^[1] from England, who spent his entire career with the Poole Pirates. ^{[2] [3]} He earned seven international caps for the England national speedway team and two caps for the Great Britain team. ^[4]

Career

Smith began riding speedway motorcycles at the training track at Rye House Stadium in the early 1960s. In 1962, Smith took part in a number of second-half meetings at Wimborne Road and made his first full appearance for Poole at a challenge match at Rye House. ^[3] He continued to improve at Poole and by 1968, Smith had become the Pirates third heat-leader. Poole won the British League championship in 1969 and Smith rose to the number one position at the club with an average of 9.52. ^[5] Smith also made his first international appearances for England in 1969 against Australia, ^[6] New Zealand and Scotland. He was made Poole's captain in 1971 and continued to ride for the club until his retirement from the sport in 1977. ^{[3] [7]}

He made 620 appearances for Poole Pirates during his 15 years career establishing a club record. ^[8]

References

1. Lawson, K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. ISBN   978-0-244-72538-9
2. Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN   0-948882-81-6
3. Bamford, Robert; Shailes, Glynn (2004). 50 Poole Pirates Greats. Tempus Publishing. pp. 116–118. ISBN   0-7524-3257-5.
4. "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
5. "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
6. "Speed champs hit Gwent" . Gwent Gazette. 2 April 1970. Retrieved 19 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
7. "Glover favourite to reach last eight" . Wolverhampton Express and Star. 22 April 1976. Retrieved 8 October 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
8. "Pete Smith | The History of Poole Speedway". www.poole-speedway.co.uk. Retrieved 27 February 2023.