Leigh Adams
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| Leigh Adams | ||
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| Personal Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Nationality |  Australia |
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| Date of birth | April 28, 1971 | |
| Place of birth | Mildura, Australia | |
| Current Club Information | ||
| British League | Swindon Robins | |
| Polish League | Unia Leszno | |
| Swedish League | Masarna | |
| Career History | ||
| Great Britain Swindon Robins Oxford Cheetahs King's Lynn Stars London Lions Arena-Essex Hammers Poole Pirates Poland Lublin WTS Wrocław Unia Leszno Sweden Elit Vetlanda Indianerna Masarna |
1990-1992, 1997-1998, 2004- 2001-2002 1999-2000 1996 1993-1995 1989, 2003 1991-1992, 1994-1995 1993 1996- 1995-1996 1998-1999 2000- |
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| Individual Honours | ||
| World Under-21 Champion Australian Champion Scandinavian Grand Prix Winner Slovenian Grand Prix Winner Swedish Grand Prix Winner Latvian Grand Prix Winner Speedway Grand Prix of Europe |
1992 1992, 1993, 1994, 1998, 2000 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 2002, 2007, 2008 2003 2004, 2007 2007 2008 |
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| Team Honours | ||
| World Cup Winner Elite League Champion Elite League KO Cup Winner Elite League Pairs Winner British League Cup Winner Elite Shield Winner Ekstraliga Champion |
1999, 2001, 2002 2001, 2003 2003 2004, 2005 2003 2008 2007 |
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Leigh Scott Adams (born April 28, 1971 in Mildura, Australia)[1] is an Australian motorcycle speedway rider. He is a multiple Speedway Grand Prix winner and World Team Champion.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Career
Leigh first came to England in 1988 and completed four matches for Poole in the National Junior League.[3] Adams had originally been recommended to Poole their by Australian team manager Neil Street, and it was Poole he subsequently joined for their National League Championship winning season of 1989, when he rode alongside riders such as Craig Boyce and Alun Rossiter.[4]
To further his career, Leigh then moved up a league to join Swindon for the 1990 season. He made his Robins’ debut when scoring 8+2 points from six rides against Oxford in a Gold Cup match at Blunsdon on 24 March.[3] Adams won the first of his nine Australian national titles in 1992, and also captured the World Under-21 Championship after beating Mark Loram in a race-off at Pfaffenhofen, Germany.[1] With Swindon relegated to the British League Division Two after the 1992 season, Leigh moved on to spend three years with Arena Essex (1993-95), followed by a single season at London in 1996. He then returned to Swindon in 1997 and recorded a 9.96 average in the inaugural season of the Elite League.[3] Adams was again back with the Robins in 1998 but with Swindon again dropping down a league in 1999, he left and signed for the King's Lynn Stars. Adams remained at King’s Lynn for the 2000 campaign and topped the Elite League riders averages, finishing the season on 10.24.[4]
In 2001, Adams signed for Oxford and won the Elite League Championship.[1] He remained with Oxford in 2002 and the 2003 season saw Adams register a 9.97 league average back with Poole in a year which the Pirates won the treble; winning the League Championship, the Knock-Out Cup and the British League Cup. The year also saw him awarded a testimonial, which took place at Swindon.[3]
Adams returned to Swindon in 2004 and again finished top of the Elite League averages on 10.94 and partnered Charlie Gjedde to victory in the Elite League Pairs Championship.[3] In 2005, Adams partnered new Swindon signing Lee Richardson to the Elite League Pairs Championship at Peterborough.[4] On the world stage, Leigh ended his tenth season of Grand Prix activity with his highest ever ranking by winning the bronze medal after being the World No. 4 for the previous three years.[4]
Adams put together another successful season for Swindon in 2007, as the club finished runners-up in all three major domestic finals, being beaten by Coventry in the Elite League Play-Offs final, Knock-Out Cup final and Craven Shield final.[4] Adams completed his best ever Grand Prix campaign in 2007, finishing second overall to Nicki Pedersen.[4] In a consistent Grand Prix campaign, he took victory in three rounds and completed the series with 153 points. In 2008 Adams became the Swindon Robins all time top points scorer. His paid maximum at Lakeside in August 2008 took him onto 5,482.5 points, surpassing the previous record set by Martin Ashby who scored 5,476.5 during his time with the Robins.[5]
[edit] Career honours
- 1992 World Under-21 Champion, Australian Champion & Australian Longtrack Champion
- 1993 Australian Champion
- 1994 Australian Champion
- 1995 GP Challenge
- 1998 Australian Champion & GP Challenge
- 1999 World Team Cup Champion & Czech Golden Helmet Champion
- 2000 Australian Longtrack Champion, Czech Golden Helmet Champion & Australian Champion
- 2001 Speedway World Cup, British Elite League (Oxford), & Czech Golden Helmet Champion
- 2002 Scandinavian GP, Speedway World Cup & Australian Champion
- 2003 British Elite League, KO Cup, British League Cup (Poole), Slovenian GP & Australian Champion
- 2004 Czech Golden Helmet Champion, British Elite League Best Pairs, & Swedish GP
- 2005 Australian Champion, British Elite League Best Pairs
- 2006 Australian Champion
[edit] Speedway Grand Prix results
| Year | Position | Points | Best Finish | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 15th | 28 | 8th | |
| 1997 | 10th | 42 | 9th | |
| 1998 | 11th | 51 | 5th | |
| 1999 | 7th | 67 | 4th | Made 4 semi-finals but only reached final once |
| 2000 | 6th | 65 | 4th | |
| 2001 | 5th | 69 | 3rd | |
| 2002 | 4th | 127 | Winner | Winner in Gothenburg |
| 2003 | 4th | 126 | Winner | Won Slovenian GP |
| 2004 | 4th | 131 | Winner | Won in Sweden |
| 2005 | 3rd | 107 | 2nd | |
| 2006 | 5th | 106 | 3rd | Highest placed rider not to win a GP |
| 2007 | 2nd | 133 | Winner | Won Swedish GP, Scandinavian GP and Latvian GP. |
| Final Championship standings: | 2nd | 153 | Riding No (5) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix | Pos. | Pts. | Heats | Draw No | |
| 1 /11 |  Italian SGP |
5 | 12 | (2,2,1,3,3) +1 | 14 |
| 2 /11 |  European SGP |
6 | 10 | (2,3,2,X,3) +0 | 5 |
| 3 /11 |  Swedish SGP |
1 | 21 | (3,3,2,3,1) +3 +3 | 15 |
| 4 /11 |  Danish SGP |
3 | 18 | (2,3,3,2,3) +3 +1 | 12 |
| 5 /11 |  British SGP |
4 | 14 | (1,2,3,3,2) +3 +0 | 14 |
| 6 /11 |  Czech Rep. SGP |
8 | 8 | (2,2,2,2,0) +0 | 12 |
| 7 /11 |  Scandinavian SGP |
1 | 19 | (2,3,2,2,1) +3 +3 | 5 |
| 8 /11 |  Latvian SGP |
1 | 22 | (2,2,3,3,3) +3 +3 | 12 |
| 9 /11 |  Polish SGP |
7 | 9 | (3,1,1,0,3) +1 | 3 |
| 10 /11 |  Slovenian SGP |
6 | 9 | (3,3,1,0,2) +0 | 10 |
| 11 /11 |  German SGP |
4 | 11 | (0,3,1,1,3) +3 +0 | 5 |
| Final Championship standings: | Riding No (2) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Prix | Pos. | Pts. | Heats | Draw No | |
| 1 /11 | Slovenian SGP |
14 | 5 | (0,2,3,0,0) | 4 |
| 2 /11 | European SGP |
1 | 20 | (2,3,0,3,3) +3 +6 | 9 |
| 3 /11 | Swedish SGP |
7 | 9 | (2,1,2,2,1) | 16 |
| 4 /11 | Danish SGP |
8 | 8 | (3,2,0,0,3) | 11 |
| 5 /11 | British SGP |
9 | 7 | (2,2,1,2,ex) | 1 |
| 6 /11 | Czech Rep. SGP |
6 | 10 | (3,3,0,3,1) +0 | 6 |
| 7 /11 | Scandinavian SGP |
1 | 21 | (3,3,1,3,2) +3 +6 | 15 |
| 8 /11 | Latvian SGP |
6 | 9 | (3,1,2,2,1) +0 | 7 |
| 9 /11 | Polish SGP |
8 | 9 | (1,3,2,1,2) +0 | 11 |
| 10 /11 | Italian SGP |
4 | 12 | (1,2,1,3,3) +2 +0 | 9 |
| 11 /11 | German SGP |
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| permanent speedway rider | |
| wild card, track reserve or qualified reserve | |
| rider notclassify (track reserve who not started) |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Oakes, P.(2004). British Speedway Who's Who. ISBN 0-948882-81-6
- ^ Oakes, P.(2006). Speedway Star Almanac. ISBN 0-9552376-1-0
- ^ a b c d e Bamford, Robert; Shailes, Glynn (2004). 50 Poole Pirates Greats. Tempus Publishing, 9-11. ISBN 0-7524-3257-5.
- ^ a b c d e f "Leigh Adams profile". Swindon Speedway (2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-06.
- ^ "The History Man". Swindon Speedway (2008). Retrieved on 2008-08-11.
[edit] External links
| 2008 Speedway Grand Prix riders | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N. Pedersen |
2 | Adams |
3 | Crump |
4 | Gollob |
5 | Andersen |
| 6 |  Hancock |
7 | Holta |
8 | Nicholls |
9 | Harris |
10 | Jonsson |
| 11 | B. Pedersen |
12 | Iversen |
13 | L. Dryml |
14 | K. Kasprzak |
15 | Lindgren |
| 2009 Speedway Grand Prix riders | |||||||||
| N. Pedersen |
Crump |
Hancock |
Gollob |
Andersen |
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| Adams |
Bjerre |
Walasek |
Ułamek |
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