First Junior Pro* win: Holland European Round - Junior Men 1998
First Senior Pro** race result:
First Senior Pro win:
Retired: Active
Height & weight at height of his career (1999–2015): Ht:6'2" Wt:197lbs.
*In the NBL it is B"/Superclass/"A" pro (beginning with 2000 season); in the ABA it is "A" pro. **In the NBL it is "A" pro (Elite men); in the ABA it is "AA" pro.
Career factory and major bike shop sponsors
Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous ever-changing co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are used.
GT Bicycles (Europe Division): 1996-December 1999. Batey would turn pro with this sponsor.
Professional
GT Bicycles (Europe Division): 1996-December 1999
Haro Bicycles (UK Division): January 2000-February 2002
One Bicycles European Team: January 2003-December 2005
Intense BMX World Team: 21 December 2005 – 31 December 2006
Free Agent All-Star World Team: 1 January 2007 – 31 December 2010
Intense Route 55 1 January 2011 – 31 December 2013
GET Racing 1 January 2014 – present
Career bicycle motocross titles
Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial/Department, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Only sanctioning bodies active during the racer's career are listed.
Amateur/Junior
British Cycling Bicycle Motocross (BCBMX)(England):
National Bicycle League (NBL)
None
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
None
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
*See note in professional section
Professional/Eite Men
British Cycling Bicycle Motocross (BCBMX)(England):
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)*
None
Fédération Internationale Amateur de Cyclisme (FIAC)*
None
Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)*
1998 Junior Men European Elite/Junior Champion
1999 Junior Men World Bronze Medalist
2005 Elite Men Cruiser Silver Medalist
2006 Elite Men Cruiser Bronze Medalist
2007 Elite Men Cruiser Bronze Medalist
2013 Masters World Champion
2014 Masters World Silver Medalist
"2015 Masters World Champion"
*Note: Beginning in 1991 the IBMXF and FIAC, the amateur cycling arm of the UCI, had been holding joint World Championship events as a transitional phase in merging which began in earnest in 1993. Beginning with the 1996 season the IBMXF and FIAC completed the merger and both ceased to exist as independent entities being integrated into the UCI. Beginning with the 1996 World Championships held in Brighton, England the UCI would officially hold and sanction BMX World Championships and with it inherited all precedents, records, streaks, etc. from both the IBMXF and FIAC.
Pro Series Championships
Notable accolades
British Cycling BMX Rider of the Year 1999
South Yorkshire Sports Personality of the Year 2007
BBC North Male Sports Personality of the Year 2007 runner up
Lifetime achievement award with Cycling Ireland. November 2014
Significant injuries
Broken CollarBone at 1997 World Championships, Australia
Suffered a compound fracture of the femur on 24 May 2002 at the Bike 2002 in Birmingham, England. He fell at the back end of a jump and then a competitor, Steve Peat, cleared the jump but landed on Batey. Was laid up until late summer 2002.
Broken and dislocated wrist July 2001 - out for 6 months
Broken hands suffered at World Supercross Cup - out for 3 months
Concussion, broken hand and broken ribs at GB Olympic trials 2008
Rotator cuff surgery on shoulder 2008
Torn posterior cruciate ligament in the knee - August 2015 after falling 20 feet over a pro section while going for a national title at the final round of the series at Birmingham.
All out racer who leaves everything he has on the track. Has fought through numerous injuries before, during and after races to make sure he is up on the gate for a big race meeting. Balls out but fair style wins him a lot of respect from the race fans and fellow racers.
Miscellaneous
Worked at Winterhill School in Rotherham as a PE Teacher.
Working closely with Cycling Ireland and BMX Ireland in promoting the sport in the country.
Brother Liam is a well known poker player who also used to be a top BMX rider in Gb
Post BMX career
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2010)
After his bmx career he became a physical education teacher Winterhill school in Rotherham.
Teaches children and other riders with great support.
BMX press magazine interviews and articles
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2010)
BMX magazine covers
Note: Only magazines that were in publication at the time of the racer's career(s) are listed unless specifically noted.
Fastlane BMX Mag Issue 1
Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:
None
Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:
None
BMX Plus!:
Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:
None
Moto Mag:
Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL publication under two names):
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA publication under three names):
BMX racing is a type of off-road bicycle racing. The format of BMX was derived from motocross racing. BMX bicycle races are sprint races on purpose-built off-road single-lap race tracks. The track usually consists of a starting gate for up to eight racers, a groomed, serpentine, dirt race course made of various jumps and rollers and a finish line. The course is usually about 15 feet (4.6 m) wide and has large banked corners, which are angled inward, that help the riders maintain speed. The sport of BMX racing is facilitated by a number of regional and international sanctioning bodies. They provide rules for sanctioning the conduct of the flying, specify age group and skill-level classifications among the racers, and maintain some kind of points-accumulation system over the racing season. The sport is very family oriented and largely participant-driven, with riders ranging in age from 2 to 70, and over. Professional ranks exist for both men and women, where the age ranges from 17 to over 40 years old.
Gary Leo Ellis Jr. was one of the last American "Old School" professional bicycle motocross (BMX) racer whose careers started in the 1970s to early 1980s. His prime competitive years were from 1982 to 1996. He was nicknamed "The Lumberjack".
Charles Heath Townsend is an "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1996. He has 2 kids.
Melanie R. Cline is an American former amateur "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1982–2004 and 2009 to the present.
Thomas Allier is a French professional "Mid/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1993 to 2006. Allier was a member of the French Olympic BMX Team participating in the debut of BMX racing at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Allier did not make it past the quarter finals.
Warwick Brian Stevenson Jr. is an Australian professional "Mid/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years are from 1995 to current. Nicknamed the "Warlock" as a play on his given name Warwick.
Donald Robinson is an American professional "New/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years are from 1999 to the present. His moniker is "dR", his initials. The use of the lowercase "d" for his given name is perhaps related to his relatively diminutive physical size. A past nickname, "Scrawny", was definitely linked to his small stature, since even when very young he was the smallest child in his age group. It was given to him by Bruce Minton. Like BMX predecessors Mike Miranda and Eric Rupe, Robinson is a devout Christian. He admitted in late 2013 to suffering at least 25 concussions over the course of his career. In the same interview, he advocated for better concussion protocol at the lower levels of BMX racing. Robinson joined the board of directors of concussion-education collaborative The Knockout Project in January 2013.
Daniel Lee Nelson was an American professional "Mid & Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years are from 1993 to 2003. His nickname is "Thunder".
Matthew Merle Hadan is an American professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1985 to 1995. Hadan was nicknamed early in his career as "The Master" and later "The Diesel".
Andrew Patterson is an American former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1977 to 1985. His moniker was "Mr. Bigfoot" for his size 13 feet. Patterson was one of the first American racers to compete on the European BMX circuit during its formative years on a regular basis. He developed a large European following.
Gary Wayne DeBacker is a retired American professional "Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose competitive years were from 1980-1999. His greatest achievements occurred during his amateur days, highlighted by four international world championships.
Dale Holmes is a Retired British professional "Old/Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1983 to 2009. He now lives in San Diego, California.
Bas de Bever is a Dutch former professional "Mid/Current School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were 1985–1993.
Darwin L. Griffin is a former professional American mid-school Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were 1982–1989.
Frankie Lee Medlin was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from (1977–1982) His nickname was "Peddlin'", an obvious play on his surname and the motive power of a bicycle.
John George was a professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from (1972–1978).
Deanna J. Jamieson was an amateur "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1981-1987. She retired in 1987 but resumed racing in 2004.
Jamie Nicole Lilly was a professional American "Mid School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1987 to 2004. Nicknamed "Kiddo #1" at the age of 8 years, she became one of the first female professionals of the American Bicycle Association (ABA) when they for the first time created a female professional division in the sanctioning body's history in 1998 and became one the ABA's first number one Girl Pros.
Jeffrey Kosmala is a retired professional American "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were (1978–1981).
Māris Štrombergs is a Latvian former professional BMX racer. In the 2008 Summer Olympics he became the first Olympic champion in BMX cycling. Earlier that year he won the 2008 UCI BMX World Championships. In 2012 he prolonged his Olympic title by winning the gold medal in the London Olympics.
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