Junior Bainbridge
| Born | 26 April 1924 Melbourne, Australia |
|---|---|
| Died | 5 November 2000 (aged 76) Melbourne, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Career history | |
| 1947–1953 | Glasgow Tigers |
| 1954–1957 | Ipswich Witches |
| Team honours | |
| 1952, 1953 | Scottish Cup |
Ronald Arthur Bainbridge (26 April 1924 – 5 November 2000) was an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. During his speedway career he rode as Junior Bainbridge and earned 9 international caps for the Australia national speedway team.[1][2]
Biography
[edit]Bainbridge, born in Melbourne, was spotted riding by Charlie Spinks in 1946.[2] before beginning his British leagues career riding for Glasgow during the 1947 Speedway National League Division Two season.[3] After two moderate seasons his average improved significantly during 1949, when he hit 8.17 and then increased this to 8.68 in 1950.[4] He became a crowd favourite and expectations were high when he rode for them.[5]
He reached the Championship round of the 1950 Individual Speedway World Championship and the 1951 Individual Speedway World Championship[6] and averaged an impressive 9.18 in 1952 for Glasgow.[7]
His final season at Glasgow was in the 1953 Speedway National League Division Two, because the following year he signed for Ipswich Witches at a cost of £500, to help clear the debts of the Scottish club.[2]
He would spend four years with the Suffolk club, recording 9.32 and topping the team's averages during his first season with them.[6]
He retired form British speedway after the 1957 season but returned to Australia and continued to ride for a few years, riding for Australia against England as late as January 1960.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ "ULTIMATE RIDER INDEX, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Bainbridge, Ronald Junior" (PDF). Speedway Plus. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "1947 season". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Rider averages 1929 to 2009" (PDF). Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
- ^ "Junior faces a tough speedway job here". Daily Mirror. 23 May 1949. Retrieved 10 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b "Bainbridge qualifies". Daily Record. 8 July 1950. Retrieved 10 January 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Year by Year". Speedway Researcher. Retrieved 10 January 2024.