Robert Branford (speedway rider)

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Robert Branford
Robert Branford; Rye House Speedway 2017 (33685897636).jpg
Born (1993-11-23) 23 November 1993 (age 30)
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
NationalityAustralian
Career history
Great Britain
2010–2011 Buxton Hitmen
2011, 2012 Redcar Bears
2012 Berwick Bandits
2013 Coventry Storm
2013 Leicester Lions
2015 Edinburgh Monarchs
2016 Rye House Raiders
Individual honours
2013 British Under-21 Champion
2014 Jack Young Solo Cup winner
2014 Chum Taylor Cup winner
2015Victorian State Under-21 Champion
Team honours
2010 National Trophy
2010 Knockout Cup
2010 National League
2016 National League Fours

Robert Peter Branford (born 23 November 1993) is an Australian former motorcycle speedway rider. [1]

Career

Born in Adelaide, South Australia, he is the son of former Australian rider Darrell Branford. [2] Following in his father's footsteps, Robert took up speedway at the age of ten at the Sidewinders Speedway in Adelaide, and twice finished third in the South Australian Under-16 Championship. [2] [3]

In 2010, he began his British speedway career with Buxton Hitmen in the National League, riding as part of the team that won the National Trophy, the National League Knock-Out Cup, and National League Championship that season. [2]

In late 2010, he was signed by Premier League Redcar Bears on a full transfer, and rode for both Redcar and Buxton in 2011. [2] [4] He averaged 2.82 for the Bears in 2011, and the following season only made a handful of Premier League level appearances for Redcar and Berwick Bandits, suffering a knee injury late in the season. [5]

In 2013, he signed for National League Coventry Storm after an injury to Oliver Greenwood, and was a surprise winner of the British Under-21 Championship in April, qualifying for the competition as he holds a British passport, which he qualified for via his Barnsley-born mother. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

He was subsequently signed by Leicester Lions to ride in the Premier League, initially sharing the number seven position with Lewis Blackbird, but taking the position full-time after Blackbird was allowed to join Scunthorpe Scorpions. [10] He lost his place in July to Storm teammate James Sarjeant. [11]

On 26 January 2014, Branford won the Jack Young Solo Cup at his home track, the Gillman Speedway in Adelaide. [12] Branford also finished second in the Gillman Solo Championship in 2010 (behind Sam Martin), and again in 2013 when he finished second in the final to Shane Parker. Branford also won the Chum Taylor Cup at the Pinjar Park Speedway in Perth and later won the Victorian Under-21 Championship held in Albury–Wodonga.

In 2016, he was part of the Rye House Raiders team that won the National League Fours, held on 14 August 2016 at Brandon Stadium. [13]

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References

  1. ↑ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Rider Index", speedwaygb.co. Retrieved 4 May 2013
  3. ↑ "Queensland junior shines interstate", Motorcycling Queensland, 14 November 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2013
  4. ↑ "Robert Branford agrees deal with Buxton", BBC, 10 March 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2013
  5. 1 2 Rowe, David (2013) "Coventry Storm rider Robert Branford wins British Under-21 title", Coventry Telegraph , 25 April 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013
  6. ↑ "Double Change for Storm", coventrybees.co, 20 April 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013
  7. ↑ "Branford Crowned British U21 Champion", speedway365.com, 23 April 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013
  8. ↑ "Speedway: Robert Branford takes British Under-21 crown", skysports.com, 24 April 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013
  9. ↑ Oakes, Peter (2010) "Bring It On", Speedway Star, 30 October 2010, pp. 24–25
  10. ↑ "Speedway: Leicester Lions sign Robert Branford", Leicester Mercury , 2 May 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013
  11. ↑ "Sarjeant Joins Lions", speedwaygb.co, 1 August 2013. Retrieved 1 August 2013
  12. ↑ Robert Branford wins 2014 Jack Young Cup
  13. ↑ "2016 National League Fours final" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
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