Ray Bales

Last updated

Ray Bales
Ray Bales (speedway rider).jpg
Ray Bales - speedway rider for Mildenhal Fen Tigers
Born (1951-06-11) 11 June 1951 (age 73)
Norwich, England
NationalityBritish (English)
Career history
1971–1973 Boston Barracudas
1972–1976 King's Lynn Stars
1977–1978 Leicester Lions
1978–1982, 1984 Mildenhall Fen Tigers
Team honours
1973 British League Division Two Champion
1973 British League Div Two KO Cup Winner
1979 National League Champion
1984 Fours Championship winner

Raymond H. Bales (born 11 June 1951) is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. [1]

Biography

Born in Norwich, Bales is the son of former international rider Billy Bales. [2] He took up speedway after a successful career in cycle speedway, in which he rode for Tottenham Kangaroos and also represented England. [2]

His first speedway experience was at Boston in 1970 and he rode in nine matches for Boston Barracudas in Division Two in 1971. [2] He was a regular member of the Boston team in 1972 and 1973, winning the league and cup double there, and made his Division One debut for King's Lynn Stars in 1972. [2]

He rode regularly for King's Lynn in 1973 and made the move full-time in 1974, [3] averaging over 5 points per match in the top flight between 1974 and 1976. [2] [4] In 1977 he moved on to Leicester Lions, where he struggled despite riding in every match, averaging below 4, and moved down to the National League with Mildenhall Fen Tigers in 1978, [5] scoring well until the end of the 1982 season.

After missing the 1983 season, he returned to Mildenhall for a final season in 1984. In 1984, he helped the Mildenhall win the Fours Championship during the 1984 National League season [6]

Bales represented Young England against Sweden in 1973. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mildenhall Fen Tigers</span> British motorcycle speedway team

The Mildenhall Fen Tigers are a British speedway team, founded in 1975, who last raced in the National Development League during 2023.

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

David John Jessup is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He was a world championship runner-up, world pairs champion, world cup winner and British champion. He earned 97 international caps for the England national speedway team.

Neil Jeffrey Collins is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ray Wilson (speedway rider)</span> British motorcycle speedway rider

Raymond Wilson is a former international motorcycle speedway rider who was World Pairs Champion in 1972 and British Speedway Champion in 1973, was also England Team Captain for five years in the early 1970s. He was the first Englishman to record a maximum score in a World Team Cup Final. He earned 72 international caps for the England national speedway team and 36 caps for the Great Britain team.

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

Simon James Lambert in Boston, Lincolnshire, England, is an English motorcycle speedway rider.

Mark Vincent Courtney is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode in the British League for several teams between 1978 and 2003. He earned five international caps for the England national speedway team.

Colin Cook is an English former motorcycle speedway rider who rode for Ipswich Witches and Leicester Lions in the British League, before spending eight successive seasons with the Exeter Falcons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reidar Eide</span> Norwegian speedway rider

Reidar Eide was a Norwegian motorcycle speedway rider, who was champion of Norway on five occasions.

Alan Edward Cowland was a motorcycle speedway rider, who represented England and Great Britain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derek Harrison (speedway rider)</span> British former motorcycle speedway rider (born 1959)

Derek Charles Ernest Harrison is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.

Robert Frank Henry is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who rode for Mildenhall Fen Tigers for eleven seasons, later going on to manage the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pete Smith (speedway rider, born 1957)</span> British former motorcycle speedway rider (born 1957)

Peter Edward Smith is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.

Michael William Lanham is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England, who had a long career with Ipswich Witches.

Thomas William Leadbitter was a British scrambles, motorcycle speedway and grasstrack rider. He earned two international caps for the England national speedway team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Owen</span> British former motorcycle speedway rider (born 1956)

Joseph William Owen is a British former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned three international caps for the England national speedway team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Turner (speedway rider)</span> British former motorcycle speedway rider (born 1958)

Christopher Turner is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.

Neil Spencer Leeks is a British former motorcycle speedway rider who rode for Mildenhall Fen Tigers and Leicester Lions.

Carl Glover is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England. He earned one international cap for the England national speedway team and later managed the national team in 1984.

Lewis William C. Blackbird is a former motorcycle speedway rider from England.

Connor Coles is a motorcycle speedway rider from England.

References

  1. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oakes, Peter & Mauger, Ivan (1976) Who's Who in World Speedway, Studio Publications, ISBN   0-904584-04-6, p. 13
  3. ↑ Lawson,K (2018) “Riders, Teams and Stadiums”. ISBN   978-0-244-72538-9
  4. ↑ Jones, Alan (2010) Speedway in Leicester: The Lions Roar, Automedia, p. 158
  5. ↑ "Ray Bales signs on" . Newmarket Journal. 16 March 1978. Retrieved 15 September 2024– via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ↑ "Red hot Tigers takes fours crown at last" . Cambridge Daily News. 23 July 1984. Retrieved 10 May 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.