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Gary Havelock

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Gary Havelock
Havelock in 1988
Born (1968-11-04) 4 November 1968 (age 56)
Eaglescliffe, England
Career history
Great Britain
1985-1986Middlesbrough Tigers
1986-1988, 1990-1997Bradford Dukes
1998Eastbourne Eagles
1998-2002Poole Pirates
2003-2004Peterborough Panthers
2005Arena Essex Hammers
2006-2012Redcar Bears
Poland
1992, 1996Gorzów
1998Częstochowa
2000Rzeszów
2001-2003, 2005Piła
Sweden
1994-1995Indianerna
1999-2000Filbyterna
2000-2003Masarna
Individual honours
1992World Champion
1986British Under 21 Champion
1987European Under-21 Champion
1991, 1992British Champion
1992, 1995South African Champion
1995Premier League Riders Champion
1992Overseas Champion
Team honours
1997Elite League Champion
2000Swedish Elitserien Champion
1991, 1992, 1993, 1995British KO Cup Winner
2007Young Shield Winner
1985National League Fours Winner

Robert Gary Havelock (born 4 November 1968) is a British former speedway rider who was World Champion in 1992.[1][2]

Career

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Havelock's father was speedway rider Brian Havelock.[3] Gary Havelock first competed in grasstrack racing, winning the British Junior Championship, before following his father into speedway.[4] Havelock showed his potential early in his speedway career, winning the Suffolk Open Championship at Mildenhall as a 16-year-old in 1984, only two weeks after qualifying for a licence.[5][6]

Havelock started his league career with local club Middlesbrough Tigers (the team managed by his father) in 1985, moving from reserve to the main body of the team by May. He helped Middlesbrough win the Fours Championship during the 1985 National League season.[7]

He moved to the Bradford Dukes in 1987, the same year that he won the 1987 Individual Speedway Junior European Championship (this would be the final year that it would be called the European Championship as it became the World Under-21 Championship from 1988).[8] He stayed with Bradford for next ten seasons.

The highlight of his career was when he won the World Championship in 1992 at the Olympic Stadium in Wrocław, Poland.[9] Havelock, the first British World Champion since Michael Lee in 1980, finished three points clear of 1990 World Champion Per Jonsson of Sweden, and four in front of Dane Gert Handberg[10]

Havelock won the Premier League Riders Championship at Odsal Stadium on 14 October 1995[11] but missed most of the 1996 season after seriously injuring his back whilst representing England in a test match against Australia at Poole in July.[12] Havelock had ridden in the first two of the Speedway Grand Prix meetings that season.

He has also represented Great Britain in the Speedway World Team Cup finals six times, finishing runner-up in 1990 and in the Speedway World Cup four times, finishing runner-up in 2004.[12]

The 1998 season, was spent with the Eastbourne Eagles and this was followed by five seasons with the Poole Pirates until 2003.[2] During this time Havelock also spent the 1986/87 and 1988/89 seasons in Australia based at the North Arm Speedway in Adelaide.

Havelock (right) battles with Gert Handberg in the Polish league

His 2012 season was ended early by a crash in March in which he was hit by Derek Sneddon's bike, resulting in a broken collarbone, a broken arm, and broken ribs.[13][14]

As a consequence of the injuries to his arm, Gary Havelock announced his retirement from speedway on 22 February 2013.[15] A week later he was named as the new team manager of Coventry Bees.[16]

Off track

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Havelock was banned for the entire 1989 season after he tested positive for cannabis at the British League Riders' Championship meeting in 1988.[12]

At the 2007 BSPA Annual General Meeting, Great Britain team manager Neil Middleditch announced that he would be "happy to continue" in the position but recommended that Havelock should be his successor once he has retired from racing, stating "he would take to it like a duck to water". Middleditch also mentioned he would be happy for Havelock to act as his assistant.[17]

Havelock appeared in the Sky TV football show Premier League All Stars in 2007, representing eventual winners Middlesbrough F.C.[18]

Havelock is a patron of the charity National Association for Bikers with a Disability.[19]

World final appearances

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Individual World Championship

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World Pairs Championship

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World Team Cup

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World Cup

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Individual Under-21 World Championship

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Speedway Grand Prix results

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Year Position Points Best Finish Notes
1995 13th 45 7th
1996 16th 27 6th

References

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  1. ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 520. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  2. ^ a b Bamford, Robert (1 March 2007). Tempus Speedway Yearbook 2007. NPI Media Group. ISBN 978-0-7524-4250-1.
  3. ^ Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-81-6
  4. ^ Daniel, Paul (1985) "Stars of Tomorrow: Gary Havelock", Speedway Star, 18 May 1985, p. 18-19
  5. ^ Butt, Randall (1984) "Great Gary", Speedway Star, 20 October 1984, p. 28
  6. ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Speedway". Cambridge Daily Mirror. 22 July 1985. Retrieved 11 May 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Havelock lifts European title". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. 13 July 1987. Retrieved 9 March 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ "Flying Brit GAry on top of the world". Birmingham Daily Post. 31 August 1992. Retrieved 29 August 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ^ Bamford, R. & Shailes, G. (2002). A History of the World Speedway Championship. Stroud: Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2402-5
  11. ^ "Mullett misery". Reading Evening Post. 16 October 1995. Retrieved 7 June 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ^ a b c Oakes, P (2006). Speedway Star Almanac. Pinegen Ltd. p. 85. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0.
  13. ^ "Havelock Injured Archived 2 February 2013 at archive.today", speedway365.com, 23 March 2012, retrieved 9 August 2012
  14. ^ "Havelock Hurt at Redcar", speedwaygb.co, 23 March 2012, retrieved 9 August 2012
  15. ^ Neal-DNU, Martin (23 February 2013). "Speedway legend Gary Havelock announces retirement". TeessideLive. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Havvy is New Bees Boss", speedwaygb.co, 1 March 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2013
  17. ^ "Havvy could be 'next GB boss'". Daily Echo. 22 November 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  18. ^ "'Boro quarter final clash ejects Birmingham City". Sky One. 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2007.
  19. ^ NABD Patrons Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine, accessed 27 May 2009
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