Ray Bales

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Ray Bales
Ray Bales (speedway rider).jpg
Ray Bales - speedway rider for Mildenhal Fen Tigers
Born (1951-06-11) 11 June 1951 (age 72)
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, 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 [5]

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

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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. ↑ "Red hot Tigers takes fours crown at last" . Cambridge Daily News. 23 July 1984. Retrieved 10 May 2023– via British Newspaper Archive.
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