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Shawn Moran

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Shawn Moran
Born (1961-11-19) November 19, 1961 (age 63)
Lakewood, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Career history
Great Britain
1980Hull Vikings
1980-1988, 1994Sheffield Tigers
1989-1993Belle Vue Aces
Sweden
1990-1991Rospiggarna
Individual honours
1982North American Champion
1983Long Track World Champion
1981European Under-21 Champion
1982Northern Riders' Champion
1984, 1985, 1990Intercontinental Champion
1985Overseas Champion
1989British League Riders Champion
1989Peter Craven Memorial
Team honours
1982, 1990World Team Cup

Shawn Moran (born November 19, 1961, in Lakewood, California)[1] is an American former professional motorcycle speedway rider who was one of the most popular and talented riders ever to race for Sheffield Tigers.[2] He earned 74 caps for the United States national speedway team.[3]

Career

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Moran first rode in British speedway for Hull Vikings in 1979 under the alias 'David East', before riding under his real identity in 1980.[4] He had been subject to a bid to sign him by Cradley Heath before[5] he joined Sheffield from Hull in 1980 for £8,000 and established himself as a fans' favourite who topped the clubs averages every year he was with them.

After finishing 15th at the 1980 European Under-21 Championship, Moran won the 1981 Championship in Slaný, Czechoslovakia, with a 15-point maximum.[6]

In 1982, along with reigning World Champion Bruce Penhall, Bobby Schwartz, Scott Autrey, and his older brother Kelly Moran, Shawn won the Speedway World Team Cup at the White City Stadium in London, England. He would later repeat this success with Team USA in 1990 at the Svítkov Stadion in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia alongside Sam Ermolenko, Rick Miller, Billy Hamill and Kelly Moran.

Moran also helped the US team to second place in both 1985 and 1988 at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach (the only times that the World Team Cup Finals were held outside of Great Britain or Europe), while finishing third in 1984 (Leszno, Poland) and 1987 (three rounds held at Fredericia in Denmark, Coventry, England and Prague, Czechoslovakia).

In 1986 Moran was joined by his brother Kelly at Sheffield. Shawn amassed a total of 3,257 points for the Tigers at an average of 9.36. Although regarded as a world-class rider, the individual World Championship eluded him. Moran was first nicknamed 'Shooey' by Bobby "Boogaloo" Schwartz and it stuck throughout his career.[4]

He rode in three World Championships in 1984 (Göteborg) where he finished 8th, 1985 (Bradford) where he finished 5th and 1990 (Bradford). Arguably 1985 was his best season as he won both the Overseas and Intercontinental Finals on his way to the World Final at Bradford. He finished the 1985 World Final at the Odsal Stadium in fifth place with 10-points and two wins from his 5 rides. In the 1990 World Final at Odsal he lost a run-off to Sweden's Per Jonsson after both finished on 13 points, 1 point clear of Australia's Todd Wiltshire.

Moran, though, remains America's only World Longtrack Champion. He won the crown in 1983 while still recovering from a broken leg. He is also a three time winner of the Intercontinental Final, winning in 1984 in Vojens, Denmark, 1985 in Vetlanda, Sweden, and 1990 at Fjelsted Speedway Stadium in Denmark.

In 1989, Moran won the British League Riders' Championship, held at Belle Vue Stadium on 1 October[7] and the Peter Craven Memorial Trophy, also at Belle Vue Stadium.

During his career, Shawn Moran was a regular visitor to Australia. He proved to be a popular rider 'Down Under' and enjoyed success on the often larger Australian tracks. In the 1989/90 Australian season Moran was a resident international rider at the tight North Arm Speedway in Adelaide, and rode for a "Rest of the World" team in a series of test matches against the Australians throughout the season.

In 1984 Moran released a cover version of the 1975 Chris Spedding single, "Motor Bikin'".[8]

World Final Appearances

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Individual World Championship

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* 1990 - Disqualified - Failed random drug and alcohol test at 1990 Overseas Final

World Pairs Championship

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World Team Cup

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Individual Under-21 World Championship

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Between 1977 and 1987 the Under-21 Championship was known as the European Junior Championship.

References

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  1. ^ Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-81-6
  2. ^ Montague, Trevor (2004). The A-Z of Sport. Little, Brown. p. 525. ISBN 0-316-72645-1.
  3. ^ "Ultimate rider index, 1929-2022" (PDF). British Speedway. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Lanning, Russell (1985) "Rider Profile: Shawn Moran", Speedway Star, April 20, 1985, p. 26-7
  5. ^ "Cradley in star spangled chase". Daily Mirror. October 30, 1979. Retrieved September 1, 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  6. ^ "Sports Summary". Daily Mirror. July 20, 1981. Retrieved March 9, 2024 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. ^ "Sad day for Doncaster and Shirra". Reading Evening Post. October 2, 1989. Retrieved June 5, 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ Speedway Star, October 20, 1984, p. 8

Further reading

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